Bus operators hail HC nod for 15-yr-old buses, commercial vehicles in KMA

Kolkata: Bus operators have welcomed the Calcutta High Court decision allowing 15-year-old buses and commercial vehicles in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA) to continue operating, provided they strictly meet fitness and pollution norms.

Operators said the order would help ease the acute shortage of buses on several routes.

“We have always said a bus’s end of life should be determined by its health, not its age. This historic judgment will be a milestone for Bengal’s transport sector and will revive an industry struggling under the earlier phase-out order,” said Tito Saha of City Suburban Bus Services.

Seven operators’ bodies—City Suburban Bus Service, All Bengal Bus Mini Bus Samannay Samity, Basanti Highway Bus Owners Samannay Committee, Biswa Bangla Bus Service, Howrah Bus Welfare Society, North 24 Parganas Bus Owners United Forum and Howrah Bus Mini Bus Owners Welfare Association — had moved the court, arguing that vehicles meeting pollution standards should not be taken off the roads solely because they are older than 15 years.

The court advised the organisations to work with the state government to reach a practical and amicable solution. The Transport department informed the court t

hat there was no rationale in cancelling buses purely on the basis of age if they continued to pass fitness and emission checks.

“We welcome the Calcutta High Court’s judgment and will issue a notification shortly. Strict pollution and fitness checks will be ensured as directed by the Court. Nearly 900 buses that were about to be phased out have been saved by this order,” said State Transport Minister Snehasis Chakraborty.

According to the court’s directions, buses older than 15 years may operate only under stringent conditions: mandatory fitness and pollution checks every six months after crossing 15 years; a Certificate of Fitness issued strictly under Section 56 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988; full compliance with relevant MoRTH notifications; and adherence to the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR), 1989.

The order covers both diesel and petrol-operated commercial vehicles. CF and Pollution Under Control Certificates (PUCC) must be issued only after detailed verification and a reasoned order.