Transport dept plans to increase night bus services

Kolkata: The state Transport department is mulling to increase night bus services to ensure hassle-free communication of the passengers.

"There is a huge demand for night bus services in the city. At Kolkata Airport, Howrah station, Sealdah station, IT hub Salt Lake and Rajarhat, the response of night bus service is very good. We are planning to increase the number of buses plying at night. Our main objective is to give better services to the passengers from our end," said an official of the West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC).

At present, 27 buses are plying from 10 pm to 6 am. The routes in which these buses ply are Howrah Station to Kolkata Airport via Sealdah, Howrah Station to South Kolkata via Park Street and Howrah station to New Town.

The buses operate in routes so that they pass via major hospitals, so that family members of patients can reach the hospitals without facing any problem at night.

There are many instances

when people need to go to hospitals to donate blood, even at night.

The state Transport department started the night bus services in March 2018, all the buses will be fitted with a panic button and GPS so that they can be tracked in case of any emergency. This apart, passengers can also alert concerned authorities, using the panic button.

"The basic idea behind initiating the night bus service was to ensure that no one remains stranded after reaching any of the major railway stations and the airport, even after midnight," pointed out the official.

It might be mentioned that the WBTC has fulfilled the demands of a modern metropolitan city 24X7 public transportation service by night special busses controlled with safety measures and monitoring that run night hours on the roads.