West Bengal to add more electric, CNG buses over next two years

The West Bengal government is looking to deploy nearly 1,200 electric buses in Kolkata over the next two years in a bid to reduce pollution levels in the country. Out of these, 400 units will be operational in January 2023, a senior transport official told PTI. The state's transport department is also working on introducing CNG-run buses in the northern and western parts of the state.

The transport official told PTI that the department will introduce 1,180 buses to be run by the West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) within the Kolkata municipal area over the next two years. Out of these, 400 buses will hit the streets by January next year, he said.

Praising the state government's move, environmental activist Subhas Dutta called it a “good start". "Let there be a start for a better environment; the electric buses will definitely reduce carbon emission," he said. Currently, around 80 electric buses are operated in the eastern metropolis, which were acquired under the capex (capital expenditure) model – the WBTC procured the vehicles and has been operating these on its own.

Another 50 electric buses are being bought for Salt Lake and New Town areas adjoining Kolkata. Of these, 11 are already operational. The new 1,180 buses are being acquired under the opex (operating expenditure) model – the Tata-made electric buses will be provided by an agency that is the owner of the vehicles, the official said.

Out of these, around 750 buses will be of 12-metre length while the rest will be eight-metre long. "We will pay the company on a kilometre-running basis," he said, adding, the drivers will be provided by the firm, while conductors will be from the WBTC.

The new CNG-run buses will be acquired by the two other state transport undertakings (STUs) – Durgapur-headquartered SBSTC (South Bengal State Transport Corporation) and Coochbehar-headquartered NBSTC (North Bengal State Transport Corporation).