Daily passenger count in govt buses drop by about 1.5 lakh

kolkata: The daily count of average number of passengers travelling via government buses after the pandemic has decreased by about 1.5 lakh. Two years back, the number of commuters used to be approximately 2.5 lakh.

The once popular CSTC buses are now running in an economic loss considering the rise of oil prices and the stagnation in the rise of ticket prices. Earlier per day earnings ranged around 32 to 35 lakh, now it has dipped to Rs 10 lakh. Unlike private buses, they have not raised the fare.

It has been reported by a news publication that managers at several depots in the sub-urban districts are finding it extremely difficult to take out the available buses considering the lack of oil.

It has been claimed by the officials of the corporation that this has resulted in the reduction of the numbers of buses being plied.

Total number of bus services used to be 900; it has been reduced by 200 per day. A reduction in the daily plying of state buses has also resulted in passengers choosing alternative buses to reach a destination.

This impact has been due to a multitude of reasons. The primary being fuel cost and ticket prices, the other being increase in ownership of private vehicles like cars and bikes.