{"id":4814,"date":"2020-07-08T07:37:58","date_gmt":"2020-07-08T07:37:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/?p=4814"},"modified":"2020-07-08T07:37:58","modified_gmt":"2020-07-08T07:37:58","slug":"with-pvt-buses-off-the-roads-bengal-govt-banking-on-trams-ferries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/?p=4814","title":{"rendered":"With pvt buses off the roads, Bengal govt banking on trams, ferries"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n
By: Express News Service<\/a> | Kolkata |
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPublished: June 30, 2020 11:46:53 am\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\"\"

With most private buses continuing to stay off the road because of the Mamata Banerjee<\/a> government\u2019s refusal to allow a fare hike, the state administration is banking on tram and ferry services to somewhat ease commuters\u2019 problems. It is also planning to bring in state-run buses from other districts.<\/p>\n

On Monday, commuters again complained of inordinate delays in getting to their destinations as fewer private buses operated compared to last week. Most private bus owners have rejected Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee\u2019s offer of Rs 15,000 subsidy for 6,000 buses for three months, saying it is not a permanent solution. A private bus owners\u2019 organisation said there would be even fewer vehicles on the road from Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe demanded a fare increase to survive in this situation. It is impossible to make profits with present fare as we have to maintain social distancing<\/a> and follow other Covid-19<\/a> protocols. The price of diesel has also increased to almost Rs 80 per litre. We have told the government about our problems many times. But, instead of a fare hike, the government announced a Rs 15,000 subsidy for only 6,000 buses. This is not the solution,\u201d said Joint Council of Bus Syndicates General Secretary Tapan Banerjee.<\/p>\n

He pointed out that there were far more private buses across the state than what the government has accounted for. \u201cHow will the government choose 6,000 buses from among them? So, we decided not to take out our buses,\u201d said Banerjee.<\/p>\n

An organisation of minibus owners also said its members would soon stop their services.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, ferries started operating on 14 routes on Monday. The vessels have a passenger limit of two-thirds their capacity, and are following the standard operating procedure governing inland water transport. The ferries would be disinfected and sanitised from time to time, said the transport department.<\/p>\n

Expediting the restart of tram services, however, is a more difficult task, according to officials. During last month\u2019s Cyclone Amphan<\/a>, many tracks were damaged by uprooted trees, and the overhead wire system was crippled.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince then [Amphan], restoration work by the WBTC is underway. Teams of engineers are working to restore the tracks. Of the six routes that were operating before the pandemic<\/a> struck, one route has been restored. The trial run of route no. 24\/29 [Tollygunge to Ballygunge] was conducted on June 13, and services resumed on June 14, with safety protocols and social-distancing norms being followed. The trams are operating at 25-minute intervals from 7 am to 8 pm,\u201d said a senior official of West Bengal Transport Corporation.<\/p>\n

The tram route from Howrah bridge to Rajabazar may be reopened in the first week of July, said the official.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udce3 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress)<\/a> and stay updated with the latest headlines<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

For all the latest Kolkata News<\/a>, download Indian Express App.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Express News Service | Kolkata | Published: June 30, 2020 11:46:53 am The tram route from Howrah bridge to Rajabazar may be reopened in the first week of July, said the official. (Express photo by Partha Paul) With most private buses continuing to stay off the road because of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4815,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kolkata"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/tram759.jpgw759.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}