Kolkata, 08 June (H.S.) : The West Bengal Transport Department has decided to deploy additional government buses on select Kolkata routes after a significant rise in passenger volume following the introduction of free bus travel for women.

Officials said that several routes have witnessed a 22–25% increase in ridership, prompting concerns over overcrowding and commuter inconvenience. Based on a recent departmental survey, the government has identified 14 high-demand routes where additional buses will be introduced to ease congestion and improve service efficiency.

The routes include major corridors such as Ultadanga–Eco Space (New Town), Eco Park–Howrah Station, Ultadanga–Sector V, Jadavpur–Karunamoyee, Raktala–Howrah Station, Ultadanga–Ruby, Howrah Station–Garia, Howrah Station–Airport, and Ruby–Howrah among others.

Transport officials noted that in several of these routes, women passengers are overwhelming available capacity, leading to severe overcrowding not only during peak office hours but throughout the day.

The department also expressed concern over complaints that some conductors and drivers were allegedly failing to stop buses at designated stops when they saw waiting women passengers, despite the fare-free travel policy. Authorities have directed all state transport corporations to investigate such complaints and take strict action where required.

According to the survey findings, some routes are experiencing such heavy demand that passengers are struggling to board buses even outside peak hours, resulting in daily inconvenience and commuter distress. The deployment of additional buses is expected to reduce waiting times and ease pressure on existing services.

Currently, five state-run transport corporations operate 1,783 buses across 368 routes in West Bengal. The government has also planned to introduce 50 additional electric buses within the next six months as part of its broader expansion strategy.

Transport department officials described the alleged reluctance of some staff to halt buses for women passengers as “deeply unfortunate,” reiterating that strict adherence to service guidelines will be enforced moving forward.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh