Two ladies’ special buses to be introduced in Kolkata today

Kolkata: In a move aimed to ensure the safety and comfort of women during office hours, the Transport department is going to introduce two ladies’ special buses in Kolkata, starting from June 25. Transport minister Snehasis Chakraborty is scheduled to launch the services from Howrah bus stop on Tuesday.

These buses will depart from Howrah Station to Ballygunge and will cover most parts of Central and South Kolkata. According to a news report, the service is designed to assist commuters from districts by providing them a convenient connectivity from the terminal station to their workplace during the morning rush hour.

The two non-ac buses will leave from Howrah at 9:30 am and 10 am, which reportedly have been coordinated with arrival timings of ladies special trains on the Howrah-Burdwan line of Eastern Railway and Howrah-Kharagpur line of South Eastern Railway. Ladies’ special buses were introduced in 2013 but they were discontinued after some time. The department also plans to introduce similar services from Sealdah station for women commuters.

It will have women conductors who will regulate boarding at gates to ensure that only women commuters board the buses. The officials are considering adding more to the fleet in future and consideration will be made about a

proposal regarding extending the bus services to afternoon rush hour.