Bengal govt decides to preserve last double-decker bus reverses earlier decision to scrap it

Kolkata, Oct 14 (PTI) The West Bengal government has decided to preserve the last double-decker bus, which ceased operations in the early 2000s, reversing its earlier decision to scrap it.
    A senior transport official told PTI on Monday that the initial decision to retire the bus was made due to the high maintenance costs associated with keeping it. However, the department has now opted to renovate the vehicle for display in a museum.
    The bus features the logo of an automobile manufacturer along with the iconic tiger symbol of the former Calcutta State Transport Corporation (CSTC).
    "After consideration, we decided to restore the bus and exhibit at a state-run museum, alongside models of a palanquin and a hand-pulled rickshaw, showcasing the evolution of transport in the city," the official added.
    An earlier photo of the bus, taken at a scrap yard in the northern part of the city during the last week of September, sparked a public outcry.
    Kolkata Bus-o-Pedia, a group of bus enthusiasts, raised the issue with Transport Minister Snehasis Chakraborty, who took the initiative to save the solitary double-decker from extinction.
    General Secretary Aniket Banerjee said after discussions with the minister, it was confirmed that the double-decker would not be scrapped.
    Currently, the bus is being restored at the Paikpara depot in north Kolkata.
    "WBS 1095 has been rescued from the brink of destruction and will now continue to serve for many more days, months, and years. Truly, it has a story to tell future generations," the organisation said in a statement.
    The transport department official noted that the bus was taken off city roads in 2005 and was later renovated in 2016 for tourism at Eco Park. However, when the park closed in March 2020 due to the pandemic, the bus was sidelined, leading the department to decide on its scrapping earlier this year.
    The red double-decker buses first appeared on Kolkata’s roads in 1926, connecting various parts of the city. By 1985, there were over 350 double-decker buses in operation, but this number dwindled to just two by 2005, both of which were eventually withdrawn.
    One of the remaining double-deckers was remodeled without a roof and repurposed for tourism. The fleet of approximately 400 red double-decker buses began to disappear from the streets in the early 1990s as the state deemed them to be "white elephants" due to high operating and maintenance costs.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)