Blaze engulfs bus; no passengers aboard
A Lawrence city bus was damaged by fire Wednesday afternoon after an apparent catastrophic engine failure. Enlarge video
A Lawrence city bus was damaged by fire Wednesday afternoon after an apparent catastrophic engine failure.
No passengers were on board when the bus caught fire, said Bob Nugent, the city’s new public transit administrator.
“We were lucky,” he said of the incident, which occurred about 12:30 p.m. near Fourth and Maine streets.
The bus was traveling north down Maine Street, when “the driver heard a clunk and a big bang,” Nugent said.
When the driver pulled the bus over and exited the vehicle, the bus became engulfed in flames. No one was injured in the blaze.
Nugent said the bus had just returned to the streets after a recent engine replacement.
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was_freashpowder2 (Alexander Neighbors) says…
HA !! It's Lawrences first...... Toast T !! Or is it crisp-T
sbdad (anonymous) says…
and no passengers on board, now that's a shock. Imagine the luck.
matahari (anonymous) says…
Why anyone would think that is funny is beyond me. After all isn't that yours and my tax money that was burned?
GetItRight (anonymous) says…
Our tax dollars also pay for insurance!
Eride (anonymous) says…
"No passengers were on board when the bus caught fire"
That isn't luck, that is operating procedure!
em1 (anonymous) says…
It will be OK. Nothing a little sales tax increase can't fix...
KansasVoter (anonymous) says…
GetItRight (Anonymous) says…
"Our tax dollars also pay for insurance!"
How much do you want to bet that the insurance company will try to weasel out of paying by claiming that the new engine wasn't installed properly, or some other b.s. like that?
budwhysir (anonymous) says…
so where was the bus headed? with no one on board at the time, we should calculate the revenues generated by this particular route and see if the cost of repair and insurance is covered by the route.
autie (anonymous) says…
Almost sounds like the engine replacement didn't include and oil replacement.
Pywacket (anonymous) says…
KansasVoter~ Do you think at all before you post? Wait-- I think we all know the answer to that one.
If the engine was recently replaced and the bus was destroyed by catastrophic engine failure, it would not be "b.s." but rather prudent to question whether the new engine were defective, the work flawed, etc. If whoever installed the engine has to eat the cost, the city won't have to pay a deductible, the city's insurance company won't have to fork over, and they won't subsequently have any excuse to raise the city's insurance rates. Wouldn't that be the best-case scenario for the taxpayers?
In general, I hate insurance companies and consider them legal organized crime, but in a case like this, it makes sense to hope they WON'T need to cover the loss.
It seems unlikely that recent engine work followed by spectacular engine failure would be a coincidence. If the materials or labor are to blame, it should be under warranty, right?
blue73harley (anonymous) says…
"No passengers were on board when the bus caught fire, said Bob Nugent, the city’s new public transit administrator."
God, how I needed a laugh today!
Here's your sign!
think_about_it (anonymous) says…
Just like the old saying "where there's smoke there's fire"
justchuck (anonymous) says…
driving by this particular incident yesterday was fun. i did happen to notice people standing outside the side of the bus. must have just been nieghborhood people gathered near a fence watching the drama....or passengers?
weatherguy48 (anonymous) says…
I saw it being towed at 23rd and Mass, the back was all charred out. I'm never sitting in the back again!
50YearResident (anonymous) says…
Please correct me if I am wrong, but I seem to remember that the city is self insured an the engine work would have been done by the city maintenance shop also self insured so the total cost of 1 toasted bus would be 100% city expense and I would guess it will cost over $100,000 to replace.
gsxr600 (anonymous) says…
Well of course no one was riding the T bus. No one really does anyway, at least not in large numbers. It's only "green" as you people like to call it when it's got a full load. Otherwise, with an empty bus it's incredibly dirty.
VoiceOfReason (anonymous) says…
"after an apparent catastrophic engine failure."
Should they really be speculating before they've located the black boxes?
vega (anonymous) says…
I consider myself very lucky since I was 5 min. late to catch that particular bus from the Lawrence Memorial hospital (my regular bus route).
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
I'm so glad the driver was not hurt.
this of course could have had a much worse ending. thank God, the worst is just the snarking, or snarfing as Bronzie says.
Easy (anonymous) says…
From what i understand the work on replacing the motor was done by a company in Kansas City. Also the bus was having issues for 30 or so minutes before the fire but the driver kept on driving it.
Irish (Leslie Swearingen) says…
I see bus people! I even take pictures of bus people - on the bus and then put the picture on my blog. And people write about the empty bus, which is full of people.
Go figure.
OldEnuf2BYurDad (anonymous) says…
"Why anyone would think that is funny is beyond me. After all isn't that yours and my tax money that was burned?"
My tax dollars have been burning ever since they decided to fund those empty buses.
autie (anonymous) says…
Marion (Marion Lynn) says…
We used to call “catastrophic engine failure” “throwing a rod”!
autie writes:
ain't that generally from a lack of internal lubrication...like no oil?
doc1 (anonymous) says…
This is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If my tax dollars go to funding an 98% empty bus system then we might as well get a fireworks show out of it. I wish I could have witnessed the beauty what happened.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
ain't that generally from a lack of internal lubrication…like no oil?
---Autie! you've hit on it man!
the explanation for Marion: a lack of internal lubrication!
begin60 (anonymous) says…
Am I being a voyeur to ask what number this bus was? One of those morning commute emergencies, huh? I'm glad the driver is o.k. It would be great if the K.U on Wheels drivers could quit being so rude and presumptuous about "saying things to people."
They are violating customers' civil rights and so could get themselves in legal trouble. If you really want to "help" simply learn to drive and park. That's all that falls within your job description. Driscriminating and condescendingly treating people with biogtry and prejudice certainly doesn't. Or fricking try buying completely accessible state-of-the-art buses, you cheapos.I met a real rude and self-righteous driver-dude after the early afternoon shift change on the park-and-ride a few weeks ago. How does barging into people's business constitute "being nice" by any stretch of the imagination? Get a clue: you are not the brainiest or most perceptive person in the world-- even if Lawrence is your home. Kindly mind your ps and qs.
justforfun (anonymous) says…
I am still cracking up!! All just from knowing what comments were to follow!! Then I read then and laugh further!!! Good job peeps!!!
budwhysir (anonymous) says…
I rode a city bus once. And once was surely enough for me. Maybe it is a pandemic like the swine flu and all busses will burn
notajayhawk (anonymous) says…
>>> "No passengers were on board when the bus caught fire"
Well, the odds were pretty good.
>>> "“We were lucky,” he said of the incident"
'Here at the mT, we make our own luck!'
Or maybe this was just an example of the city's fiscal responsibility - after all, keeping the buses empty must save them a fortune in liability insurance!
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budwhysir (Anonymous) says…
"with no one on board at the time, we should calculate the revenues generated by this particular route and see if the cost of repair and insurance is covered by the route."
Using the usual argument that no riders means we need more buses, the mT-proponents' will cite the bus being empty as a justification to raise taxes for five new buses.
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OldEnuf2BYurDad (Anonymous) says…
"My tax dollars have been burning ever since they decided to fund those empty buses."
D*mn, beat me to it! :)
none2 (anonymous) says…
Irish (Irish Swearingen) says…
I see bus people! I even take pictures of bus people - on the bus and then put the picture on my blog. And people write about the empty bus, which is full of people.
=======================
Perhaps you would like to also challenge the public transportation administrator for daring to say no one was on the bus when the fire broke out on Maine Street. Surely the bus was standing room only, and had to be quickly evacuated to avoid any harm to humans.
Perhaps the National Enquirer has the real photographs of all the people leaving the smoldering bus?
Irish (Leslie Swearingen) says…
I was not writing about this particular bus, but buses in general. The ones I have ridden have have had plenty of passengers. I was responding to those who claim the bus is always empty.
I have never been on a bus that was empty unless it was nearing the end of the route.
I was referencing the movie 6th Sense, I think it was, with Bruce Willis and the little boy.
gl0ck0wn3r (anonymous) says…
I dare someone to take a picture from the inside of a full T bus and post it. If the T is as utilized as Richard Heckler claims, it shouldn't be difficult to use a cell phone to capture the fun.