Rome Has A Big Problem With Burning Buses

Yesterday, a public bus caught fire on Rome's Via del Tritone. The number 63 bus quickly become engulfed in flames but thankfully, the driver and passengers escaped unhurt. Interestingly, the sight of a burning bus in central Rome is nothing new with people blaming Atac, the capital's transport authority, for the unusual phenomenon. So far this year, nine buses have caught fire in the city while there were 22 incidents last year. In 2016, there were 14 in total.

The blazes have become so common that they even have their own social media hashtag - #flambus, which rhymes with Trambus, Atac's previous name. Unions have said the buses suffer from a lack of maintenance and internal investigations have failed to stop the fires. Officials have also warned that Atac services are unsafe and there is a growing risk to travellers. La Repubblica has reported that preliminary investigations say the Mercedes Citaro bus suffered a short circuit before it became engulfed in flames.