After govt asks operators to resume service, over 2K pvt buses run in city

KOLKATA: Much to the relief of the daily commuters, some private buses hit the roads in the city and its suburbs on Thursday. More than 2000 private buses ran in different routes in the city on Thursday against the usual 6,500 buses.

The government buses had started plying in the city from July 1 but private buses had refused to run demanding fare hike because of the escalating petrol and diesel prices.

State Transport minister Firhad Hakim had held a meeting with the private bus operators on Monday and asked them to operate buses and assured them that their demand of fare hike is being considered at the appropriate level.

"A similar situation had happened last year too when buses started plying after lifting of lockdown due to COVID-19 situation. The state government had promised a fare hike but it did not happen. The government has to understand that we cannot run buses if fares are not enhanced. Some buses are plying and we have asked the transport workers not to press any passenger for paying any extra fare," Tapan Banerjee, general secretary of Joint Council of Bus Syndicate said.

Though there has been no official hike in the minimum bus fare of Rs 7, some buses have been demanding Rs 10 as minimum fare from the passengers in different routes. Private buses have started hitting roads gradually from Tuesday and the numbers are increasing with each passing day.

"The common people are also in great difficulty amid the COVID-19 situation. So, I have requested the bus operators to start services considering the situation and have assured them that their demands have been placed at the appropriate level and will surely be considered," Hakim said.