(TAN): West Bengal’s tourism department has reintroduced the iconic double-decker buses on the roads of Kolkata. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee officially inaugurated the buses on October 13.
With Durga Puja days round the corner, the buses are expected to attract a good number of visitors who want to take a trip down the memory lane. Although the new buses have been coloured blue-white replacing the crimson of the past, that is no way going to dent the nostalgia associated with them!
Commercial Operations will commence from October 23 following all Covid-19 safety protocols. The bookings will open on the WBTDCL website the same day.
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The double-decker buses were introduced to Kolkata by the Britishers nearly a century ago in 1926. Launched in line with the red London buses, the vehicles became a part of the identity of the city by the Ganges.
Starting with the first double-decker bus between Shyambazar and Kalighat, gradually a fleet of the Crimson vehicles were introduced that crisscrossed the arterial thoroughfares of the city. In the 1990s, the Left Front government phased out these buses owing to the high cost of maintenance of the aging fleet compared to the revenue they generated.
The new re-designed open-top white-blue buses have been designed in-house by the state transport department. There are no approved double-decker models, since no Indian automobile manufacturer makes them.
These buses were manufactured at Bebbco, Jamshedpur, a company that specializes in manufacturing standard buses, goods vehicles and delivery vans. The buses are environment-friendly, diesel-run and are BS IV compliant and fuel efficient.
The design has got the final approval from the Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT) and the final road worthiness certificate has been obtained and now the vehicles are ready to hit the roads.
The buses will cover the Heritage and Cultural Trails of Kolkata including Victoria Memorial, Fort William, St Johns Church, GPO, Old Currency Building, Dalhousie Square (Binoy Badal Dinesh Bag), Great Eastern Hotel, Curzon Park, Town Hall, Treasury Building, Princep Ghat and Lal Dighi among others. During October 13–22 folk music artistes from various parts of West Bengal, such as Bauls, singers of Jhumur, Bhatiali, Kabigaan and Tarja will perform for the tourists on the bus.
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