Lapsed fitness certs send 400 govt buses off roads, worsen commute woes in times of fuel shortage

Kolkata: Nearly 400 govt buses operating in Kolkata and adjoining areas have been grounded due to lapsed fitness certificates, putting further strain on the city's public transport network that is already reeling from a fuel shortage. With the raging war in West Asia pushing up auto LPG prices and causing around 20% of three-wheelers to go off their routes, commuters are being forced to turn to costlier options like app cabs and bike taxis.The crisis has its roots in a startling administrative lapse. A review ordered after a bus accident in Topsia on Jan 13 revealed that 397 govt buses had been running for years, some for as long as 10 years, without a valid fitness certificate. All these buses have been withdrawn over the past two months. More such buses have been identified and will be taken off the roads soon, a transport department official said."With the available fleet drastically reduced, we are having a trying time running services on various routes. The demand-supply gap is widening by the day. There is a fuel crisis as well. As depots are not getting adequate fuel because of unpaid bills, a problem that crops up every now and then, even functional buses are not rolling out," the official added.The situation has turned so bad that services have stopped on several popular routes or reduced to just one or two buses a day. Private bus operators, too, have cut services, citing operational constraints and dwindling returns. Many operators prefer to ply their buses only during rush hours and keep them off the roads when the passenger volume drops. The combined shortfall leave commuters waiting at bus stops for prolonged periods.Aniket Banerjee, general secretary of Kolkata Bus-O-Pedia, which works to popularise buses and trams, said the crisis is particularly severe at govt bus depots in Taratala, Thakurpukur and Paikpara, where very few fuel tankers arrived in the past two weeks. Aniket Banerjee of Bus-O-Pedia said, "Services have been affected on popular routes such as S-45, 3A, S4 and 12D," Banerjee said. Services on routes connecting Howrah and north Kolkata to Ballygunge and Patuli, such as S-24 and S10A, have been hit, too.Passenger groups complain that services collapse on many routes after 6 pm. The S-45 (Shakuntala Park-Kolkata Station) commuters' union said only one bus plies on the route in the evening. On busy routes such as C11 and T2, only one or two buses ply daily. On route C26 (Baruipur-Howrah), two to three buses run in the evening, down from six not so long ago.Sudip Samanta, a resident of Amtala in South 24 Parganas, said, "I was a regular passenger on AC-52 from Howrah to Amtala. Now, only one CNG bus runs on the route after 6.30 pm."Depot managers said drivers and conductors are reporting for duty as usual but often there are no buses to operate. "Even electric buses are developing snags as the batteries are becoming outdated. Servicing, which should be done every 1,000 km, is irregular. Some new CNG buses, too, are developing problems," said a govt bus driver.Officials estimate regularising the entire fleet of unfit buses would cost several crores of rupees, which will place further strain on the funds-starved state transport corporation. Since the penalty for operating a bus with a lapsed fitness certificate is Rs 50 per day, the cumulative fine for some buses has reached staggering amounts. The corporation is planning to write to the transport department seeking waiver of penalties, while asking depots to immediately obtain fitness certificates from local RTOs. Until the issue is resolved, commuters may have to brace for prolonged transport disruptions across the city.