Proceedings on National Conference on trends and Innovations in Mechanical Engineering (TIME2015), 17th April, 2015

Reliability Analysis of Passenger Transport

Vehicles in Public Sector Undertaking
Dr. S.Nallusamya, 1,*, K.Balakannanb, 2, Dr. P.S. Chakrabortyc, 3, Dr. Gautam Majumdard, 4
a

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute University,
Chennai-600095, Tamilnadu, India, 1email:ksnallu@gmail.com
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sri Muthukumaran Institute of Technology, Chennai-600 069, India
2

email: kbalakannan@gmail.com

Department of Adult and Continuing Education & Extension, d Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jadavpur
University, Kolkata- 700 032 3email: p_s_c2001@yahoo.com, 4email: gmajumdar59@yahoo.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*Corresponding Author: ksnallu@gmail.com , +91-9962306799

Abstract- Due to the economic liberalization and globalization

of the market time has become more valuable than money
to the common man. A Transport services should provide
service to place at personnel so as to ensure that the Right
Fleets are in Right place at the Right time which is also a sign
post of profitable business. A bus operator has to run an
efficient, economic, coordinated and comfortable transport
service by maintaining the vehicle in an efficient manner. A
breakdown in the operation of public transport vehicles of
State Transport Undertaking (STU) is found to be a major
area of loss of revenue and interruption in the service to the
commuters. In this study the breakdown rate for various
nature of breakdown in the performance of a depot of
Metropolitan Transport Corporation (Chennai) Ltd (MTC)
was analysed for the period of three years. Reliability analysis
of public transport vehicles is carried out and
recommendations are made. The analytical results will provide
ideal management information to apply corrective measures
and to improve the reliability of vehicles continuously.
Keywords- Transport, Vehicle,
Maintenance, Reliability.

Subsystem,

Breakdown,

I.
INTRODUCTION
The State Transport Undertakings (STU) in Tamilnadu
came into existence with an intention to channelise and
improve passenger transport service. The main aim of these
STUs is to provide adequate, regular, comfortable,
economical and well coordinated services to the travelling
public. The MTC (Chennai) Ltd daily carries about 50 Lakhs
of passengers with around 9.70 Lakhs kilometers of
operation. While coming to manpower analysis, men per bus
ratio comes to 6.65. Maintenance is one of the important
activities in the transport sector for its efficient operation.
The scheduling and the utilization of vehicles regularly
depend on the effective maintenance system that is being
followed. All efforts have to be taken to keep the vehicles
intact and always roadworthy. If reliability and safety are
assured by MTC, the passengers will continue to patronage
its services. Through efficient bus maintenance and by
providing adequate training one can ensure reliability and
safety of passengers in the present competitive market. With
this idea, the study on Reliability Analysis of Passenger

Transport Vehicles in Public Sector Undertaking with a

special reference MTC had been undertaken.
Vehicle breakdown and traffic accidents are a matter of
serious concern to transport corporation since it is these
reasons more than other factors that cause passenger
vexation and inconvenience. Breakdowns apart from
accidents are therefore to be prevented at all costs.
Experience shows breakdowns in the operation of buses are
found to be major area of loss of revenue and interruption in
the service to the commuters. Reliability of the service will
have to improve continuously. In this study, the breakdown
rate for various natures of breakdowns in the performance of
a depot of MTC is analysed for the period of 3 years i.e.
2011, 2012 and 2013.The probable reasons for unreasonably
high rate of breakdowns are identified. It is hoped that the
analytical results will provide and ideal management
information, to enable them to apply corrective measures to
avoid major breakdowns.
II.

OBJECTIVES

i. To analyse the breakdowns of public passenger

transport vehicles.
ii. To measure reliability of the vehicles.
iii. To incorporate necessary measures to minimize
breakdowns thereby improving the reliability of
vehicles during their operation.
III. METHODOLOGY
MTC has in all 3652 of vehicles and out of this,
majority of vehicles i.e., 3445 [94.33 %] are Leyland make
and the balance 207 [5.66%] vehicles are TATA make. This
study was taken up based on a typical branch with more than
150 vehicles of Leyland make in a depot of MTC. The
related breakdown data of vehicles is obtained from the
depot for the period Jan 2011 to Dec 2013.The breakdowns
that occurred in the year 2012 had been compared with the
year 2011 and the year 2013. The month wise, year wise,
system wise and age wise breakdown analysis had been
carried out. The areas of most frequent breakdowns were
identified and evaluated. The reasons behind breakdowns
were also analysed.

Proceedings on National Conference on trends and Innovations in Mechanical Engineering (TIME2015), 17th April, 2015

The breakdown rates, the breakdown per bus and the

IV.
BREAKDOWN AND BREAKDOWN RATE
breakdown per 10000 operated kilometers were calculated A. Breakdown
based on the data collected. The data for breakdowns was
A breakdown is defined as the stoppage of vehicle on
classified under the following major systems of a vehicle.
road due to either mechanical defects or other failures or
1. Engine system
both rendering the vehicles immobile or unfit for the
A] Engine b] Cooling system c] Fuel system
continuation of the revenue earning trip without attending to
2. Transmission System
it, irrespective of the time involved.
3. Break system
a) Mechanical failures: Stoppage vehicle on road due
4. Steering and Suspension system
to
mechanical
defects and the vehicle have become
5. Rolling system
immobile
irrespective
of the time involved.
6. Electrical system
b)
Other
failures:
All breakdowns due to non
7. Body and others
mechanical causes like fuel shortage, engine oil shortage,
and tyre puncture or burst etc., rending the vehicle immobile
A. ABC Breakdown Analysis
irrespective of the time involved.
The principle of ABC analysis was applied to analyse
Stoppage of vehicles due to accidents should not be
the breakdowns. Generally the following trends occur for
counted as breakdowns. In case, a vehicle is repaired during
breakdowns.
the halting time at a place enroute or between two trips in a
(i) The total range of breakdowns as much as 70% is called schedule and repaired within the interval, it should not be
A category breakdowns.
considered as breakdown, provided the scheduled halting
(ii) About 5% of breakdowns together account for C time or interval time is not exceeded.
category breakdowns.
(iii) The intermediate one 25% of breakdowns are called B B. Breakdown Rate
category breakdowns.
Break down rate is the relative measure of the incidents of
If reliability of the fleet is to be improved, it is necessary breakdowns.
to classify break downs into A, B, C Classification and
Breakdown per bus =
concentrate on the system of A category breakdowns .The
Total number of breakdowns / month
improvement in reducing A category can be done by
Total number of buses operated in that month
detailed study of that system for changing the design,
Breakdown per 10000 =
carrying modifications or purchase better material. In order
to control break downs effectively, it is not only necessary to
Total number of breakdowns x
classify them cause wise but also system wise and into A, B,
10000Effective Kilometers
C classification of the system. Detailed analysis and action
Total Effective Kilometers
in 2 or 3 systems which results in about 70-80% of the break
The above definitions are related and linked with
downs is essential for selective control of break downs. For
effective kilometers and the fleet strength. The dead
improvement of reliability of the fleet, it is must to
kilometers are not to be counted while working out the
concentrate investigation on A category breakdowns.
breakdown rate as per the above definition.
The cause wise number of break downs per month for
the period Jan to Dec 2011, 2012 and 2013 and the cause
V. ANALYSIS AND RESULTS
wise percentage of break downs for the same period were
The subsystems failure data followed Exponential
arrived. The breakdown analysis on fleet performance, the
distribution
performance of each vehicle was estimated .This was useful
Empirical distribution was used to compute the
in solving specific problems of affected vehicles. The
reliability of independent vehicle
number of break downs suffered by each vehicle during
The data on the time between failures for each vehicle
above period was collected and analysis was carried out.
was used to create a database for the time between two
The breakdown details of the Leyland vehicles attached
occurrences of each type of failure
to a depot were collected for the year 2011, 2012 and 2013
Using this database and the codes for the troubles and
respectively. These data were arranged and tabulated in such
subsystems, the time between failures for each
a way to facilitate analysis of month wise, system wise and
subsystem was obtained.
age wise breakdowns of vehicles and for comparative
Based on the MTBF values for each subsystem, their
purpose.
failure rates were computed as follows
l[t] =1/MTBF.
B. Abstract of the Data Collected
The reliability was computed using the formula
a) Month wise breakdown (Table I)
R[t] = e-lt
b) Year Wise rate (Table II)
Now the interval size was calculated to obtain the frequency
c) System Wise Breakdown (Table III)
of occurrence of failures by using
d) ABC Breakdown (Table IV)
Dx= [amax-amin] / [1+3.333*log N]
e) Age Wise Breakdown (Table V)

Proceedings on National Conference on trends and Innovations in Mechanical Engineering (TIME2015), 17th April, 2015

Where,
a max: The maximum value for time between failures,
a min: The minimum value for time between failures,
N: The total number of values.

The breakdown data collected in a depot during the

period from January to December of 2011, 2012 and 2013
were analysed in detail. The total number of breakdowns
reported during the periods was 3711, 3684 and 3578
The intervals were then decided and frequencies were breakdowns respectively. The number of breakdowns
occurred in each month is shown in Table I and the Fig. 1
computed from the data.
The relative frequencies were computed, to arrive at shows the graphical distribution of month wise cumulative
probability of occurrence of failure with respect to time breakdowns.
interval, from these values, cumulative distribution
TABLE I
MONTH WISE BREAKDOWN DETAILS
function [cdf] has been developed.
Based on the cumulative distribution function, we
Quantity in Numbers/ Year
computed the probability of survival.
Month
2011
2012
2013
The survival was then plotted, with probability of
survival against time scale.
January
261
287
315

February
234
281
301
Data and analysis of breakdown is an important input to
March
296
246
349
modify maintenance policies and maintenance schedules.
Hence detailed breakdown analysis at regular intervals
April
274
224
288
May
295
269
296
should result in improving the effectiveness of the fleet
June
320
259
301
maintenance of a transport corporation. The rate of
breakdowns is an important parameter to judge the reliability
July
333
294
317
of transport operations.
August
377
359
301
Each breakdown should be investigated, cause wise,
September
305
360
289
(material and maintenance system) and system wise. The
October
355
425
273
cause wise analysis will enable the managers to take
November
314
359
196
remedial action for improvement in preventive maintenance
December
347
321
352
system, training personnel, purchase of better spare parts etc.
Total
3711
3684
3578
System wise analysis of breakdown occurring frequently in
that depot of division will make them to take appropriate
In the year 2012, 27 break downs were lesser than that
action in bringing out modifications in that system, of corresponding 12 months in the year 2011 and in the year
modifying maintenance schedules to add additional task to 2013, 106 breakdowns were lesser of the 2012 and 133
that system, to train the mechanics in the depot in that breakdowns were lesser than that of the year 2011.
system etc.

A. Month Wise Breakdown Analysis

Fig. 1 Month Wise Breakdown Details

B. Year Wise Breakdown Rate Analysis

Since the rate of breakdowns is a relative measure and
is measured as number of breakdowns per vehicles of
operation calculated on month basis, year wise are shown
in Table II and also shown in Fig. 2.

The overall breakdown/vehicle /day during 2011 were

0.063, during 2012 was 0.061 and during 2013 was 0.063.
It
was
found
that
the
number
break
downs/vehicles/day/was more or less same in all the 3
years except during the year 2012, in spite of the average
fleet strength of the depot.

Proceedings on National Conference on trends and Innovations in Mechanical Engineering (TIME2015), 17th April, 2015
TABLE II
YEAR WISE BREAKDOWN RATE

Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr

2011
0.05
0.05
0.06
0.06

May
June
July
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Average

Breakdown/vehicle
2012
2013
0.06
0.07
0.06
0.07
0.05
0.07
0.05
0.06

0.06
0.07
0.07
0.08
0.06
0.07
0.06
0.07
0.063

0.05
0.06
0.06
0.07
0.08
0.09
0.08
0.07
0.061

0.06
0.06
0.07
0.06
0.06
0.06
0.04
0.08
0.063

Fig. 2 Breakdown Rate - Breakdown per Vehicle

C. System Wise Breakdown Analysis

Month wise and System wise breakdowns data at a
depot for the year of 2011 is indicated in Table III.
Similarly the data for the year of 2012 and 2013 were
analysed. From the following table it is found that during
the year of 2011 out of total 3711 breakdowns, 933 were
due to engine system, 845 due to transmission and 889
were due to rolling system. These three systems were
reasonable for 2667 breakdowns out of a total of 3711
breakdowns.

During summer season the tyre puncture and radiator

boil would have been more. Similarly during rainy season
because of flood there will be an increase in breakdowns
due to electrical systems (Weak Battery, Starter motor and
Alternator failures].Again in winter season electrical
breakdowns [battery discharge] is likely to be more. There
is no doubt there was a small change in trend on subsystem
wise breakdowns due to seasonal variations but it has
negligible implications on the results.

TABLE III
SYSTEM WISE BREAKDOWNS

Sl.
No
1

2
3
4
5
6
7

System Failed

Year 2011

Month

10

11

12

Total

Engine System
a. Engine
b. Cooling
c. Fuel
Transmission system
Brake system
Steering and Sus. Sys.
Rolling System (tyres)
Electrical system
Body and others

65
12
8
45
52
23
14
66
21
20

62
9
10
43
64
14
10
49
22
13

75
11
11
53
76
16
9
69
34
17

68
8
13
47
70
15
8
70
23
20

81
11
16
54
55
22
11
74
34
18

83
19
11
53
71
27
12
87
16
24

87
20
19
57
79
25
15
73
27
27

86
16
18
52
82
33
9
91
45
31

68
13
12
43
79
15
13
69
35
26

77
17
20
40
69
27
11
102
40
29

83
13
19
51
56
27
5
76
36
31

98
15
24
59
92
30
10
63
19
35

933
164
172
597
845
274
127
889
352
291

Total

261

234

296

274

295

320

333

377

305

355

314

347

3711

Proceedings on National Conference on trends and Innovations in Mechanical Engineering (TIME2015), 17th April, 2015

TABLE IV
SUBSYSTEM WISE PERCENTAGE OF BREAKDOWNS

S.No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Subsystem Failed
Engine System (A)
Transmission System (B)
Brake System (C)
Steering and suspension System (D)
Rolling System(Tyres) (E)
Electrical System (F)
Body and Others (G)
Total

2011 (%)
25.14(933)
22.77(845)
7.38(274)
3.42(127)
23.96(889)
9.49(352)
7.84(291)
100(3711)

2012 (%)
23.51(866)
25.27(931)
11.16(411)
6.32(233)
20.28(747)
7.49(276)
5.97(220)
100(3684)

2013 (%)
26.56(950)
33.26(1190)
8.66(310)
6.9(247)
11.29(404)
7.15(256)
6.18(221)
100(3578)

Fig. 3 System Wise Percentages of Breakdowns

From the above data Subsystem wise percentage of

break downs were calculated for the year 2011. Similarly,
for the year of 2012 and 2013 were also calculated and
detailed given below in Table IV. Also the Graphical
representation is shown in Fig. 3.
It could be seen that during the year 2013 out of a total
3578 breakdowns, 950 (26.56%) were due to engine, 1190
(33.26%) due to transmission and 404 (11.29%) were due
to rolling system (tyres) .These three systems were
responsible for 2544 (71.11%) out of a total of 3578
breakdowns. These three categories could be grouped and
classified as A class breakdowns. Breakdowns due to
braking systems were 310 (8.66%), steering and
suspension breakdowns were 247 (6.9%) and electrical
breakdowns were 256 (7.15%). Brake, steering and
suspension and electrical breakdowns which constituted
813 (22.71%) could be grouped and classified as B class
breakdowns. Body and other system was responsible, for
221 (6.18%) and these breakdowns could be classified as
C class breakdowns.
Similarly, for the year 2011 and 2012, A class, B class,
and C class Breakdowns were found out. ABC
classification was calculated year wise and shown in Table
V. The Graphical representation of the same is shown in
Fig. 4.

TABLE V
ABC BREAKDOWN ANALYSIS

Type

B
C

Subsystem
1)
Engine
2)
Transmission
3) Rolling
( Tyres )
Brake,
Electrical
Ste. & Sus.
Body &
Others

Total B/Ds (100%)

2013
950
(26.56%)
1190
(33.26%)
404
(11.29%)

Year
2012
866
(23.51%)
931
(25.27%)
747
(20.28%)

2011
933
(25.14%)
845
(22.77%)
889
(23.96%)

813
(22.71%)

920
(24.97%)

753
(20.29%)

221
(6.18%)

220
(5.97%)

291
(7.84%)

3578

3684

3711

Fig. 4 Year Wise ABC Breakdown Analysis

Proceedings on National Conference on trends and Innovations in Mechanical Engineering (TIME2015), 17th April, 2015

1) Breakdowns due to Transmission System Failure

The various subsystems of transmission system are:
i) Gear box, ii) Propeller shaft (front, center and rear), iii)
Yoke assembly, v) Clutch cover assembly, v) Clutch disc
and vi) Differential assembly.
The various causes for breakdowns due to
transmission are Gear trouble / Noise, Joint trouble / Noise,
Clutch trouble, Crown noise, Clutch rod broken and Gear
rod broken. Breakage of the center joint rubber bush was
shafts whenever repairs are made on them. To avoid clutch
and gear box failures, their removal, inspection, repair or
replacement at regular intervals is necessary.
2) Breakdowns due to Transmission System Failure
The various subsystems of transmission system are:
i) Gear box, ii) Propeller shaft (front, center and rear), iii)
Yoke assembly, v) Clutch cover assembly, v) Clutch disc
and vi) Differential assembly.
The various causes for breakdowns due to
transmission are Gear trouble / Noise, Joint trouble / Noise,
Clutch trouble, Crown noise, Clutch rod broken and Gear
rod broken. Breakage of the center joint rubber bush was
the cause for majority of breakdowns. The propeller shafts
are dynamically balanced by the vehicle manufacturers.
The sliding yoke of a propeller shaft of one vehicle is not
interchangeable with other vehicle. Alignment of propeller
shafts and the sliding yoke is important. If these
precautions are not taken, while refitting the propeller
shafts, its dynamic balance gets affected, causing damage
to centre joint and sometimes to the cross member of the
chassis. It is necessary to dynamically balance the propeller
shafts whenever repairs are made on them. To avoid clutch
and gear box failures, their removal, inspection, repair or
replacement at regular intervals is necessary.
3)

Breakdowns due to Engine and Related Systems

Failure

The various subsystems of engine and related systems are:

i) Engine assembly, ii) Water pump assembly, iii) Air
compressor head, iv) Radiator assembly, v) Fuel injection
pump and vi) Atomisers.
The various reasons of breakdowns are engine trouble,
accelerator trouble, fan belt cut, radiator boil, radiator leak,
radiator hose (top and bottom) cut, oil block, pump trouble
and air lock. The main causes for air lock failures are
breakages in the fuel pipes from the diesel tank to the feed
pump, dirty fuel tanks and fuel tank filters, choked fuel
filters and improper working of fuel feed pump.
While attending repairs it is necessary to ensure that
all the fuel pipe lines are properly clamped. The fuel filter
elements are to be changed on the basis of operating
conditions. Overhauling of fuel feed pump at regular
intervals reduces air lock. It is necessary to check up the
condition of radiator hose, radiator foundation and holding
brackets in weekly maintenance schedule. To avoid
radiator failures it is necessary to procure quality hoses and
change it at predetermined periods. Also fan belts should
be changed at periodic intervals after inspection to avoid

the cause for majority of breakdowns. The propeller shafts

are dynamically balanced by the vehicle manufacturers.
The sliding yoke of a propeller shaft of one vehicle is not
interchangeable with other vehicle. Alignment of propeller
shafts and the sliding yoke is important. If these
precautions are not taken, while refitting the propeller
shafts, its dynamic balance gets affected, causing damage
to centre joint and sometimes to the cross member of the
chassis. It is necessary to dynamically balance the propeller
the breakdown. Fuel injection pumps must be
reconditioned or replaced without fail during quarterly
maintenance and half FC / full FC (Fitness Certificate)
programmed to increase the reliability of the route
vehicles.
4) Breakdowns due to Rolling System Failure
The various subsystems of rolling (tyres) systems are:
i)

Tyres

ii) Wheel discs

The various reasons of breakdowns due to rolling

systems are air leak, tyre puncture, tyre burst, tube valve
leak, tread ply peeled off; wheel bolts broken and bearing
failure.
To avoid these types of breakdowns, quality inner
tubes and tyre flaps are to be used while assembling, over
inflation / under inflation of tyres are to be avoided and
recommended air pressure of 6.6 Kg/cm2 in each tyre are
to be maintained. During daily and weekly maintenance it
is better to scrap a tube after two or three repairs to avoid
loss of air from the tube and causing tyre puncture. By
removing worn out tyres in time, 60% of tyre punctures
and consequent breakdowns could be avoided. All the
wheel bolts are to be properly tightened to the correct
torque level using proper leverage.
Thus, to improve the reliability of the fleet, the
improvements in reducing A category breakdowns
(Transmission, engine and Rolling systems) of 70% in all
years could be concentrated and planning of maintenance
should be directed.
D. Age Wise Breakdown Rate
Detailed analysis carried out on the breakdowns
occurred by each and every vehicle according to the age
pattern. In MTC (Chennai) Ltd., Fitness certificate
maintenance is carried out for each and every vehicle once
in six months. Since natures of failures were almost same
on all the three years, data of breakdowns of each vehicle
collected for a period of one year 2013 for 160 vehicles
attached to a depot is analysed. Vehicles were classified
according to age group and number of breakdowns per
vehicle in that age group is shown in Table 6. Based on the
data, age wise vehicle reliability curve was drawn and
shown in Fig. 5.
From the following graph it can be concluded
that, as the age of the vehicle increases, the rate of
breakdown also increases. On vehicles up to the age of 72
months the schedule maintenance should be concentrated
and uniform. It was found that the optimum vehicle life
was 72 months (6 years approximately) and average

Proceedings on National Conference on trends and Innovations in Mechanical Engineering (TIME2015), 17th April, 2015

breakdown of 5.75 per vehicle was occurring for a period

of 6 months. Beyond vehicles having more than age of 72
months lesser importance should be given and the highest

maintenance cost incurred vehicle may be identified and

slowly withdrawn from the vehicle pool.

TABLE VI
AGE WISE BREAKDOWN RATE

Age group in months

No. of vehicles

0-12

No. of break
downs
0

No. of Break
Downs / vehicle
0

13-24

24

72

3.0

25-36

23

95

4.13

37-48
49-60
61-72

0
25
4

0
139
15

0.0
5.56
3.75

73-84

32

160

5.0

85-96

0.0

97-108

22

5.5

109-120

21

3.5

Reliability Curve

Actual Life

Number of Vehicle

6
5
4
3
2
1
0

12

24

36

60
72
Age in Months

84

108

120

Fig.5 Age Wise Vehicle Reliability Curve

VI. RECOMMENDATIONS
Breakdown monitoring cell may be created to take
care of reported breakdown vehicles during its
operation. The cell should be headed by supervisor
who is well versed with the various tasks in fleet
maintenance.

(i) Periodical preventive maintenance as scheduled

has to be carried out for each and every vehicle
without any omission.
(ii) The technical staff working in the monitoring
cell should be well versed with the various
automobile system and working techniques.
A key to improve the quality of services is to take
corrective action after thoroughly investigating the
reported breakdown. Such an investigation can go

into every breakdown reported so as to find out the

root cause developed.
Apart from analysis of breakdown, various controls
have to be exercised to reduce the number of
breakdowns at depot level
Technical Control
Operational Control
Managerial Control
Periodical/lubrication and oil changes can be carried
as per the manufacturers recommendations by
following their maintenance procedures.
Technical staff working in the depot should be
educated and trained accordingly and the
maintenance procedures adhered as per vehicle
manufacturers recommendations.

Proceedings on National Conference on trends and Innovations in Mechanical Engineering (TIME2015), 17th April, 2015

The drivers are also to be educated periodically and

trained in order to operate the vehicle to the entire
satisfaction of travelling public.
Continuous log sheet reports by the drivers should
be given high priority, during night maintenance.
Also interaction with the crew to sort out perennial
problems of breakdown should be attended.
Adequate float sub systems (Sub assemblies) have to
be provided at the depots to reduce downtime apart
from improvement in utilisation of manpower.
Adequate spares are to be made available at the
required time at the depots. Otherwise the
maintenance staff will resort to cannibalization
which will adversely affect the control of
manpower.
Maximum degradation of vehicles: Reliability takes
place during the initial fitment of subsystem; wear
out in mechanical subsystem start from 0KM
onwards.

REFERENCES
[1]

[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]

[11]

CONCLUSIONS
a) The breakdowns during the year 2012 were
compared with the breakdown of the year 2011 and
the year 2013. The breakdown rate per vehicle of
operation arrived was in the increasing trend.
b) The various types of subsystems (engine,
transmission and rolling system) that in majority of
breakdowns were arrived from the analysed Data.
c) It revealed that more than six years old vehicles are
to be replaced on a planned basis. Accordingly
replacement policy has to be developed.
d) The transmission, engine and rolling systems
recorded more breakdowns and remedial action has
to be taken on that particular area for the reduction
of breakdown.
e) It reveals that initially when the new vehicles were
inducted, their reliability were more and as age
increased, reliability of vehicles decreased.
The passengers will continue to patronage bus service
if reliability and safety are assured by the MTC, the
operator. The MTC (Chennai) Ltd has tries hard to ensure
reliability and safety of passengers in present competitive
market, through efficient bus maintenance and by
providing adequate training to the drivers. The breakdown
rate is the yardstick to measure the quality and reliability of
bus services and has to be maintained as low as possible to
enhance the reputation in the minds of travelling public.
Goodwill of the passengers alone can save the STUs from
the threat of privatization and this can be earned by
providing breakdown free, accident free reliable services.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors are grateful to Er. A.C.S. Arunkumar, The
President, Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute
University, Chennai, India for his moral support to
complete this research work.

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

A.H. Christer & W.M. Waller, An Operation Research

Approach to Breakdown Maintenance, Problem Recognition, J.
Opl Res. Soc. Vol.34 (11), pp.1041-1052, 1983
Anatony S. Corder, Maintenance Techniques, McGraw Hill
Book Company (UK) Ltd., 1976
Armand V.Feigenbanm (1986) Total quality control, Third
Edition, McGraw Hill Company
Central Institute of Road Transport Indian Journal of Transport
Management Vol: 37(1), Jan Mar (2013).
Dr. Y. Satyanarayana.Fleet Maintenance Management,
ASRTU, New Delhi.
Internal Reports Metropolitan Transport Corporation,
Chennai, 2011-2013.
John Dolce, Fleet Management, McGraw-Hill Book Company,
1984.
Patrik D.T.O Connor (1985) Practical Reliability
Engineering, John Wiley & Sons.
Research Reports Institute of Road Transport, Chennai -2013.
S.Nallusamy, V.Anbalagan, and Gautam Majumdar, Failure
Mode Effect Analysis for Refurbished Buses in STU, Indian
Journal of Transport Management, Vol.30 (2), April June
2006, pp.205-222
S.Nallusamy, V.Anbalagan, and Gautam Majumdar, Performance
Evaluation of Metropolitan Transport Corporations in India,
Indian Journal of Transport Management Vol.3 (2), April-June,
2007, pp.103-121
S.Nallusamy, V.Anbalagan, Critical Analysis on Maintenance
Systems for Vehicles in State Transport Undertaking, Indian
Journal of Transport Management, Vol.31, (1), pp.35-54,
January-March, 2007
S.Nallusamy,
V.Anbalagan,
and
Gautam
Majumdar,
Comparative Analysis of Performance of Urban State Transport
Undertakings in India, Research Bulletin, The Institute of Cost
and Works Accountants of India, Vol. XXXI, pp.123-133,
January-December, 2008.
Syed S & Khan A , Factor Analysis for the Study of Determinants
of Public Transit Ridership, Journal of Public Transportation, Vol
3, (3), 2000,pp 1-17
Thukral Krishnan L, Efficiency of Trucking Industry in India-A
Reforms Agenda, Indian Journal of Transport Management, Vol.
36, (3), July-September 2012, pp174-187
Tiwari g, Key Mobility Challenges in Indian Cities, International
Transport Forum, Discussion Paper, Transport for Society, 2011