Bus services remained affected on counting day

Kolkata: Transportation in the city remained largely affected as private buses remained engaged in Lok Sabha poll counting duty. Private bus operators have assured that bus services will return to normalcy from Wednesday.

Commuters have been complaining of fewer bus availability since May 30, two days prior to the seventh phase election. According to private bus operators, the buses were either requisitioned for poll duty or by police. Nearly 50 per cent to 20 per cent buses on various routes within the city and connecting suburban areas were off the road.

The dearth of buses on city roads was felt only from May 30 evening.

According to a private bus operator, the buses were initially taken on a rotational basis but a large chunk was hired from May 30. About 3,000 private buses operate in the city and suburban areas.

Out of which, depending on bus routes, 20 to 50 per cent have been deployed

for elections.

A private bus operator Rahul Chatterjee informed that 250 to 300 buses from Howrah district have been hired, hence the passengers in the Howrah Maidan and Howrah Railway Station area are being highly inconvenienced.

According to another bus operator Titu Saha, 50 per cent buses are gone from Salt Lake, 90 per cent from Dakshineswar and 30 per cent from Jessore Road.

The reducing number of mini buses and slow replacement of old buses by new were felt by the authorities as well. According to a bus operator, since the requirement of mini buses could not be met from Kolkata and Howrah, mini buses from Durgapur and Asansol were hired.

The Transport department increased the rate of hiring of vehicles, vessels and launches as well as the tiffin allowance for drivers in connection with the general election to the Lok Sabha 2024.

The transport operators had earlier written to the Chief Electoral Officer seeking for revision of the rates. On March 12, the Transport department informed the Chief Electoral Officer that the rates for hiring or requisition of vehicles or vessels along with the rate of consumption of fuel has been fixed. For buses, the rate of hiring of vehicles per day is Rs 2,530 which has increased from Rs 2,300. Similarly for minibus, it has been increased from Rs 1,900 to

Rs 2,090.

Metro services, however, remained unaffected on Blue Line which connects Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash, Green Line–Sealdah to Salt Lake Sector V and Esplanade to Howrah Maidan, Orange line–from Kavi Subhash to Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (Ruby More) and Purple line, which connects

Joka to Taratala.