Getting a fitness certificate for a rickety bus in Howrah is far easier — and cheaper — than making the vehicle fit for the certificate.

The owner of a bus that is on the road every day needs to spend no more than Rs 25,000 on a nip and tuck, apart from periodic maintenance, for the vehicle to be eligible for a fresh fitness certificate. Most bus owners take the shorter route to fitness.

“Going by the book, new tyres are a must but that will cost us a fortune. Resoling tyres is quick and doesn’t cost much. Sometimes we hire a new set of tyres on the day of the test. The (transport) officers know it but don’t question us. A token bribe does the trick,” the driver of a bus on the Howrah Maidan-Diamond Park route told Metro.

The minibus that plunged 35 feet from Bankim Setu onto rail tracks below on Saturday evening was carrying a fitness certificate that had ceased to be valid three months ago.

Sources said around 70 per cent of the buses in Howrah were now plying with outdated fitness certificates because their owners aren’t willing to spend money on renewing the papers without knowing if their vehicles would remain on the road beyond July 31.

“Nearly 80 per cent of the buses and minibuses in Howrah are more than 15 years old. The owners fear their buses will be impounded if they are found plying after July 31, the deadline set by the high court for the phase-out of commercial vehicles more than 15 years old,” said Bappa Ghosh, the joint secretary of the Howrah District Bus and Minibus Association.

Abul Kalam, the secretary of the Howrah District Minibus Workers’ Union, claimed that bus owners would “readily” get the fitness certificates renewed if the authorities assured them that their vehicles would not be impounded.

“It is in their interest to get the certificates renewed because that is a must for insurance claims. Why would any bus owner do something that would come in the way of him getting insurance money after an accident?” Kalam asked.

What no union member would officially admit is that the procedure for assessment of roadworthiness is a sham.

On Sunday afternoon, Metro found 18 out of 20 buses parked near Howrah Maidan with resoled tyres that wouldn’t pass muster in a proper fitness test. Resoled tyres are available for Rs 50 to Rs 100, depending on their condition, sources said. A new bus tyre costs around Rs 8,000.

Many buses don’t have proper brakes either. “We drive vehicles without brake linings. Sometimes the brakes don’t work properly, though we try not to let the passengers feel it,” admitted the driver of a bus on the Howrah Maidan-Teghoria route.

Brake linings are made of heat-resistant material and mounted on a solid metal backing using high-temperature adhesives or rivets. It is the portion of the braking system that converts the vehicle’s kinetic energy into heat, and must be capable of surviving high temperatures without excessive wear and tear or “outgassing”, which decreases the brake power.

“The annoying squeal that you hear when buses brake is a sign that the pads need to be replaced. If the squeal is ignored for long, drum or rotor damage (often accompanied by a grinding sound or sensation) will cause an accident,” said an automobile engineer.