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Bus on fire in Rome highlights poor maintenance in debt-laden transport company

Xinhua,May 08, 2018 Adjust font size:

ROME, May 8 (Xinhua) -- A local public bus operated by transport company ATAC caught fire in the heart of the Italian capital on Tuesday morning, in the latest of a series of similar episodes.

The incident occurred in a large street of Rome's historic center, a few hundred meters from several tourist attractions and the government building, police reported.

A long column of black smoke could be seen from far away.

All passengers on the bus were immediately evacuated after flames broke out at the back of the vehicle, according to local reports.

None of the passengers were injured, but a pedestrian was slightly burned when one of the bus tires exploded, Ansa news agency reported.

The incident created heavy traffic disruption, and several streets across the city's central districts had to be temporarily closed, local police confirmed on Twitter.

A preliminary check by local police and the fire department suggested the incident could have been caused by a short circuit in the electrical system of the bus.

The bus was around 15 years old, according to Ansa.

This was the last episode in a series of similar incidents affecting Rome's local transport company ATAC. In fact, most reports on Tuesday highlighted how ATAC's fleet of buses and trams was deeply affected by both poor maintenance and old age.

The company's debts amounted to 1.3 billion euros (1.54 billion U.S. dollars) at the end of 2016, Rome's mobility councillor said in October.

However, bankruptcy has not been declared so far. The company has asked judicial authorities permission to undergo -- under specific conditions -- a composition with major creditors, which included Rome municipality.

A court in Rome should give its final answer on the request as early as at the end of May.

Including this incident, at least nine ATAC buses have caught fire this year, another 22 in 2017, and 14 in 2016, Rome-based Il Messaggero daily newspaper said, citing unofficial statistics. Enditem

 

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