Buses were involved in 18 fatal crashes that claimed 21 lives: Report
Abdul Wahab Khan
Panaji : The number of accidents involving Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited (KTCL) buses has increased from 28 in 2021-22 to 74 in 2025-26, a rise of over 164 per cent in five years, while the accident rate has nearly doubled from 0.15 to 0.29 per lakh effective kilometres, highlighting the growing road safety concerns surrounding the state-run transport undertaking.
Over the five financial years from 2021-22 to 2025-26, KTCL recorded 223 accidents, comprising 18 fatal accidents claiming 21 lives, 94 major accidents and 111 minor accidents, said the latest annual report.
The figures show a sharp increase of 271 per cent in minor mishaps over the five-year period, even as fatal accidents fell from seven in 2023-24 to two in 2025-26, four people were still killed in the latest year.
KTCL managing director Rohan Kaskar identified overspeeding as a primary cause of accidents, citing a case in which camera footage showed a corporation bus approaching a bend on a ghat road at high speed, losing control near the turn and subsequently catching fire. Kaskar also pointed to incidents in which other vehicles hit KTCL buses while overtaking or attempting to negotiate narrow passages. However, he said minor accidents accounted for the largest share of reported cases and maintained that there had been no rise in fatal accidents.
The year-wise data shows 28 accidents in 2021-22, comprising one fatal, 13 major and 14 minor accidents. The total increased to 38 in 2022-23, including four fatal, 22 major and 12 minor accidents. In 2023-24, the corporation recorded 37 accidents, comprising seven fatal, 15 major and 15 minor cases.
Accidents rose to 46 in 2024-25, including four fatal, 24 major and 18 minor incidents. The number then surged to 74 in 2025-26, with two fatal, 20 major and 52 minor accidents.
The number of people killed in accidents involving KTCL buses varied over the five-year period, with one fatality reported in 2021-22 in one accident, four in 2022-23 in four accidents, and eight in 2023-24 in seven accidents.
In 2024-25, four people were killed in four fatal accidents, while in 2025-26, four fatalities were recorded in two accidents.
The accident rate per lakh effective kilometres stood at 0.15 in 2021-22 and 2023-24, rising marginally to 0.16 in 2022-23. It increased to 0.20 in 2024-25 before reaching 0.29 in 2025-26, its highest level in the period under review.
The rate measures accidents relative to the distance operated by the corporation’s buses, offering a more meaningful indicator of accident incidence than the absolute number of crashes alone.
