State govt plying buses in 135 routes to ease woes of commuters

Kolkata: Government buses plied in full strength as 90 per cent private buses stayed off the roads on Tuesday.

According to sources, West Bengal Transport Corporation is plying buses in 135 routes in the city and the suburbs. Depending upon the size, these buses can accommodate 40 to 50 passengers.

Last week, the state Transport department had included 400 buses to its existing fleet of 1,100 buses. This apart,

Tram services on the Tollygunge-Ballygunge route were thrown open to the public on June 14.

"Earlier, during pre-lockdown days, 42,000 private buses and 3,000 mini buses used to ply across the state. Today, only five- 10 per cent of these buses are running on the roads. The main reasons of reduction of private buses are COVID-19 pandemic and skyrocketing fuel price that increased by more than Rs 5 during the last two weeks and maintenance cost," said Tapan Banerjee, general secretary of Joint Council of Bus Syndicates.

He reiterated that the private bus operators are running not more than the seating capacity (maximum 60 passengers). However, the fare is

the same, Rs 7 for three kilometers.