February 27, 2014
Summer respite for people: WB Govt to run a new fleet of 632 AC Volvo buses
The state Transport Department will ply 63 air-conditioned Volvo buses from April this year. The buses will ply in Kolkata and its outskirts. The fare will be the same as that of the current Volvo buses. The Calcutta State Transport Corporation (CSTC) will run these buses. The state government announced 10 new routes for AC Volvo services. The Transport Department has introduced routes touching Sealdah, Park Street, Hazra Crossing, Gariahat, Golpark, Chingri Ghata, Narkel Bagan, Park Circus, Kalikapur and Rajarhat.
Earlier, the fleet was given to private operators but they failed to pay the monthly instalments to the bank and later they grounded the vehicle. So, this time the government has entrusted CSTC to run the fleet, said state Transport Minister Mr Madan Mitra.
874 AC and non-AC buses will be bought in all. Out of these, 632 buses will ply in Kolkata, 80 in Siliguri, 60 in Jalpaiguri, 60 in Asansol and 42 in Durgapur. All these buses will be run by state transport undertakings (STUs). While CSTC will run 632 buses, North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) will run 140 buses and South Bengal State Transport Corporation (SBSTC) will run 102 buses.
Announcing the new routes, Transport Minister Mr Madan Mitra said, “The AC buses will decongest the city by encouraging car users to avail bus services. We have worked on the alignment so that almost every part of the city gets covered.”
The Transport Department also signed a MoU with the Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd (BAPL) for managing chopper services. BAPL will manage landing facilities and other infrastructure. The government has bought 40 flying hours a month from Pawan Hans for its official trips. The unutilized hours are being used for tourism and transportation purpose.
