Commuters' woes continue as several pvt buses stay off roads

Kolkata: Commuters were inconvenienced as most of the private buses remained off the roads on Monday.

"I waited for almost half an hour to avail 24 A/ 1 number bus from Topisa crossing. Then I booked an Uber bike taxi and it left me to my office in Howrah. I paid Rs 112 to the Uber bike taxi driver for the ride," Sneha Shaw, a regular bus passenger.

While the state government fleet strength has been increased to 1,800 to ensure hassle free journey of office goers, earlier Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also threatened to acquire 6,000 private buses in Kolkata through the imposition of National Disaster Management Act if the owners continue to refuse to operate them even after July 1.

"There are 42,000 buses and 3,000 mini buses in the state. Today, 1,000-1,200 buses are plying on the roads in the city. The main reason private private buses are reducing is spiraling diesel cost that is now Rs 75.89 per litre. This apart, most of the bus drivers have gone home in different districts due to lockdown imposed on containment zones," said Tapan Banerjee, general secretary of Joint Council of Bus Syndicate.

He reiterated that bus owners are running their buses with seating capacity of the passengers due to physical distancing norm.