Private buses stay off roads in West Bengal's green zones despite govt nod

Private buses in the green zones of West Bengal remained off the roads, despite the government granting them permission to ply with a maximum of 20 passengers during the third phase of the lockdown, beginning on Monday.

Bus associations claimed they were not confident of recommencing services as it could lead to more financial losses and other hassles.

Rahul Chatterjee, the general secretary of the Bus Minibus Coordination Committee, said that it was not a viable idea as the money earned from the 20 passengers would not be enough to meet fuel expenses.

"Private buses did not hit the roads in any of the green zones in the state on Monday. We urge the government to place requisition for buses, as is done during elections for movement of polling personnel and security forces. The state can then run the buses and pay a daily fee to the owners.

"We have already informed senior officials of the transport department about our inability to run the buses under the present circumstances," he said.

The state transport department had been running skeletal bus services since the imposition of the lockdown to cater to the emergency needs of people in Kolkata.

According to the Mamata Banerjee government, Bengal has eight districts in green zone, including Cooch Behar, north Dinajpur, south Dinajpur, Purulia and Jhargram.

Chatterjee said buses that ply in these districts usually have 45 to 55 seats, with space to stand in the middle, and ferrying 20 people would mean operators would have to make do with just one-third of the revenue usually earned.

With offices closed and train services suspended owing to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown, buses in the districts may not even get 20 passengers, he noted.

Secretary of Joint Council of Bus Syndicates Tapan Banerjee said there is little possibility of getting passengers in the rural areas, as the government has allowed only intra-district movement of public vehicles.

Banerjee also claimed that a section of bus employees were also wary that they might contract COVID-19 during the course of their journey.

"The government should consider the financial part, since the earnings from sales would not be enough to bear fuel cost, leave alone staff salary and maintenance expenses," he said, adding that 85 per cent of total passengers in the state travel by bus.