Connecting crisscross: Office bus service in Kolkata

As offices & ITs are gradually in the phase of being unlocked, Kolkata bus depots have resumed their booming services. Without lagging behind, the auto-rickshaws & metros too, are facing a high volume of passengers.

 

Coming exclusively to bus services, the official bus service of Kolkata is not only elaborate & dynamic, connecting every nook & corner of the busy work stations across the city, but it also offers services to its commuters at a very cheap, affordable rate. In fact, the Kolkata bus & metro are known all over the country for being the most pocket-friendly conveyance system.From Ballygunge to Bagbaazar to Esplanade, from RabindraSadan to Paikpara, Sealdah to Thakurpukur, Tollygunge to Esplanade to Airport, Garia to Rashbari, Garia to Howrah; you just need to name any junction of Kolkata & you will find it interconnected with buses. The infrastructure that the office bus service in Kolkata has, in this highly complicated, mesh-like interconnected metro, & the efficiency with which it works, is no less a wonder.

 Commuters would travel for work in buses, from one extreme of the city to another for their livelihood, like packed sardines & drenched in sweat, yet would be highly active in debates in politics & sports, or gossips, with their friends or fellow passengers. This jovial temperament amidst difficulties bears the testimony to why Kolkata is known as “The city of joy”.

 

However, owing to 4-5 months of lockdown, the sector has suffered a huge loss. As they are now slowly trying to repair the damage, we get to see some unexpected hike in bus fares, especially for private buses.With the office bus service of Kolkata connecting routes of the busiest networks of the city once again& even the elevated fares still being cheaper compared to cabs, it is now a win-win situation for both the passengers & the service providers, plus the bus-drivers&conductors; the former who can expect a hassle-free, undisrupted service to their workplace & the latter, who would be able to compensate the loss to some extent, incurred due to Covid 19 lockdown.