North Bengal: NBSTC launches ‘women’s special’ bus service

Shashikesh Roy, MP, 19 Nov 2024, Cooch Behar: The North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) has launched a women-only bus service to promote safe and comfortable travel for women. 

The initiative began on Monday from the Cooch Behar Central Bus Terminus, with the first route connecting Cooch Behar to Alipurduar. 

This unique service is exclusively for women passengers and will be operated entirely by women staff, including drivers and conductors. 

On the inaugural day, the bus witnessed a significant turnout of women passengers. NBSTC has plans to extend this service to additional routes, including Cooch Behar to Dinhata and Jalpaiguri to Siliguri. 

According to NBSTC officials, the decision to introduce women-only buses was finalised during a board meeting in September. The initiative has been met with enthusiasm among women passengers. 

Reena Saha, a regular commuter from Cooch Behar to Alipurduar, expressed her appreciation, saying: “This service is a great initiative for women. I travel this route daily and I hope similar services start on other routes soon.” 

NBSTC Chairman Partha Pratim Roy highlighted the vision behind the project, stating: “This initiative follows the directives of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Transport minister Snehasis Chakraborty. 

The women’s special bus service is part of our commitment to ensuring safe and secure transport for women. Services on other routes will be launched in the coming days.”