Kolkata: The state Transport department has taken an initiative to make a robust arrangement for public transport in Jungalmahal, by introducing new bus routes in the area.
Suvendu Adhikari, the state Transport minister, said in the Assembly on Wednesday that a review has been done to ensure better bus connectivity at different places in Jungalmahal area. A similar initiative has also been taken for Murshidabad and Nadia districts.
He further said that there will be 15 new routes on which buses will start plying and at the same time, 22 new buses will also be introduced. The new buses would commence in August.
It may be mentioned that with the initiative being taken, the public transport system is further going to improve in districts including Jhargram and Purulia.
The minister further informed the Assembly that steps have also been taken to improve bus service in North Bengal. "Alipurduar is a new district and efforts have been made to ensure a better bus service in the district," the minister added.
Meanwhile, the state Transport department has also decided to introduce shuttle night bus service in Durgapur, Haldia and Kharagpur. The same service will also be introduced from New Jalpaiguri to Siliguri and Siliguri to Jalpaiguri.
This comes after the success of night bus service in Kolkata and its suburbs. The service will be introduced in the 2018-19 financial year.
While speaking about the success of the night bus service in Kolkata, Adhikari said: "At present, 27 buses operate at night and everyday around 2,000 people avail the service."
The state Transport department has purchased around 1,200 new buses in the past seven years. In 2011, around 2,500 state-run buses used to ply in the state.
Despite scrapping around 100 buses that plied for more than 15 years or 8 lakh kilometres, there are around 3,200 state-run buses that ply in the state at present. Moreover, the buses are equipped with better infrastructure including GPS system and panic button.
At the same time, the number of air-conditioned buses has also been increased. The state Transport department is also giving stress on introduction of e-buses. More CNG buses will also be introduced.