Transport minister to visit city roads today amid bus shortage concerns
Kolkata: State Transport minister Snehasis Chakraborty, along with the department’s secretary, Saumitra Mohan, will take to the city’s streets on Monday to inspect the alleged issues commuters face due to a shortage of buses.
During an administrative review meeting at Nabanna on January 2, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed concerns about the shortage of buses and directed the transport minister to personally assess the situation. She also directed the minister to conduct on-ground surveys to identify areas in need of increased bus services.
According to sources within the Transport department, minister Chakraborty will visit various locations on Monday evening, coinciding with the peak time when many office-goers are returning home. Potential areas for inspection include Saltlake Sector V, Karunamoyee and Ruby. The purpose of this initiative is to evaluate routes where bus frequencies can be increased and identify locations where new services may be necessary. Based on the findings, the number of buses may be increased accordingly.
The state government has already taken measures to alleviate the bus shortage, with the Transport department increasing the number of government buses on city roads and significantly boosting daily bus trips.
According to a department official, a total of 550 government buses were previously running in the city in each shift, with each bus making three trips a day, accounting for a total of 3,300 trips daily. With the addition of 898 trips and an increase of 90 buses, the fleet now comprises 640 buses, making a total of 4,198 trips each day. Special circular routes have been introduced covering key city areas such as Rasbihari, Gariahat, Kalighat, Alipore, Exide, and PTS, with four buses running in two shifts, each making three trips, totalling 24 trips per day.
In Newtown, 18 buses per shift now operate, resulting in 36 buses a day and 108 trips. Additional bus services have been added to popular routes like S-9, S-9A, S-24, S-5, S-7, and the Nabanna specials.
Sources also highlighted that a shortage of drivers remains a key factor behind the limited government bus services. A proposal to recruit 200 additional drivers has already been submitted to the state government and is awaiting approval.
