Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee unveiled two open-top double-decker buses on Tuesday.
“These buses are generally seen in London and will be used here for hop-on hop-off tours. The reservation can be made online as of October 23 ”, he said.
The buses will pass heritage buildings and important landmarks in Kolkata such as Writers’ Building, GPO and Victoria Memorial. Authorities will review the route to include more landmarks based on demand.
“Folk artists will perform on the bus to show the culture of Bengal,” he added.
Double-decker buses were introduced in the 1920s. The former Left Front government phased out them in the early 1990s. In 2005, the last bus left the city’s roads. In 2011, after coming to power, Banerjee ordered the transportation department to bring back the iconic buses.
“From now on, these two will be used for puja parikrama and pandal hopping. They will later be used for tourism, such as tourist bus tours. They are not intended for commercial services, ”said a transportation department official.
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The new buses will have features such as automatic doors, destination boards, panic buttons, and CCTV cameras. While older buses used to have two doors, these will have one door. Of the 51 seats, there will be 16 on the upper deck.
“The buses will be painted blue and white, the prime minister’s favorite color, and it will be a BS-IV complaint. One of the main purposes of the old double-decker buses that were phased out was that they used to consume a lot of fuel and were therefore not economical. They were also polluting, ”said the official.
While the festive season has already begun and puja shopping is in full swing, pandal building is in the final stages as well. In some places the idols of the goddess Durga have already arrived. The Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, will open virtually dozens of bids over three days. Puja begins on October 23.
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