February 20, 2019
After New Town, now e-bus service to start in Kolkata
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has always given importance to both passenger convenience and protection of the environment on an equal basis.
The e-bus service in New Town has become hugely popular, so much so that last June itself, just a month after its introduction, the service crossed the 10,000 passengers per month mark. From three, the number of e-buses has increased to 10.
From this week, an e-bus service is going to start in Kolkata. A total of 80 e-buses will be introduced. The pilot project started with 20 e-buses, which were flagged off by Mamata Banerjee at Nabanna today.
Alongside these, 20 CNG buses, which are also pollution-free and hence environment-friendly, were launched by her. Both the e-buses and CNG buses would run under the South Bengal State Transport Corporation (SBSTC).
The chief minister also launched the women-driven special taxi service, called Pink Cab Services, which is set to be another standard bearer of women’s empowerment in the State. These can be purchased through the Gatidhara Scheme.
The renovated Jadavpur 8B bus stand was also inaugurated by her.
Highlights of the Chief Minister’s speech:
I congratulate all women drivers of the pink taxis. The drivers themselves are the owners of these vehicles. The number of pink taxis will be increased to 1,000 in the near future.
We are planning to increase the number of e-buses as well, to at least 80, this year itself. This is a new gift to Kolkata. Fifty five charging centres have already been set up, which can also be used by private vehicle owners.
Bus stands in Kolkata are also being newly renovated in a similar fashion like 8 B bus stand in Jadavpur. The renovation was undertaken to reduce traffic jams and reduce the inconvenience for passengers and people in general.
Different places such as Joka, Bally Halt and Naihati too are getting newly constructed bus stands.
We are providing financial assistance under the Gatidhara and Jaldhara schemes to increase employment for unemployed youth, men and women. Till now 36,000 unemployed persons have been given subsidies.
We are the first to launch electric bus service. The fare for these buses will be the same as non-electric buses. These buses will operate on three routes for now – Airport to Joka, Shyambazar to Nabanna and Tollygunge to Bidhannagar. New routes will be launched soon.
