Pollution-free buses – New initiative for Kolkata’s public transport

Kolkata, Sep 15: Commuters in the city will soon be able to travel on pollution-free buses. These buses will run, not on diesel or CNG, but on electricity with the help of rechargeable batteries. Referred to as ‘electric buses’ by the Transport Department, 25 such vehicles will initially ply in the city on a trial basis. It has been decided that for starters, these buses would be recharged at the various tram depots in the city. Their routes would also be fixed from there. A Department source said the West Bengal Transport Corporation has experience in operating electric vehicles. Trams, which have been plying in Kolkata for over a century now, are a primary example. Hence, the electric buses would also have their depots in the tram depots, which already have electrical infrastructure. It may be pointed out that running electric buses is comparatively much cheaper than running fuel-run buses. They are not just pollution-free from exhaust but also from noise, the levels of which are much less compared to conventional buses. Keeping all these advantages in mind, the Department has decided to go ahead with the pilot project. The number of such buses will be increased later. UNI