Finally, some relief in North Bengal.
The North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) is set to receive 67 new CNG buses, which will soon operate on various routes across North Bengal. Notably, 18 of these will be special buses designed for the hilly Siliguri–Darjeeling route. The corporation hopes to bring the buses on the road within the next three to four months.
NBSTC Managing Director Dipankar Piplai said on Wednesday, "The state finance department's approval has been received. Once administrative approval is obtained, orders will be placed for manufacturing the buses. This will help fill the bus shortage to some extent."
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According to officials, the 67 buses include 14 standard AC buses that will run on routes such as Cooch Behar-Siliguri, Raiganj-Siliguri, Raiganj-Malda, and Balurghat-Malda. Another 30 are non-AC buses meant for local routes. Additionally, five AC rocket buses will be used for long-distance travel. The list also includes 18 buses with 32 seats each, meant specifically for the Siliguri–Darjeeling hilly route.
Corporation sources say the current 40-seater buses running on hilly routes are not suitable for such terrain, yet they had no choice but to operate them until now, which led to frequent issues. They expect these problems to be resolved once the new buses arrive. NBSTC currently has 706 buses, but several are set to be retired soon as they have crossed 15 years. Officials believe the new additions will help ease the shortage.
It has also been learned that the option to purchase CNG buses is available under a special transport-related project of the central government.
