Kolkata's iconic double-decker buses now back in a new avatar

Double-decker buses, a key part of Kolkata’s history and heritage are all set to make a comeback in the city next week.

The buses which first rolled out on the streets of Kolkata in 1926 will once again grace the city in a new avatar as the state government has decided to run two buses per day for tourism purposes.

Many Kolkatans had a trip down the memory lane on Tuesday when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee flagged off two modernised double-decker buses from the State Secretariat.

The blue and white open roof buses, similar to those in London, however, are much different from their lumbering red predecessors. Gone are the sliding glass windows, often hot and humid upper cabins during summers.

The new double-decker buses are fully air-conditioned and equipped panic buttons, destination boards, CCTV cameras and automatic doors. There will be a total of 51 seats out of which 17 are located on the second floor of the bus.

The first double-decker bus in the city plied between Kalighat in South Kolkata and Shyambazar in the northern part of the city in 1926.

Soon they gained popularity among commuters and became an integral part of the city’s public transport and heritage. After Independence, the erstwhile Calcutta State Transport Corporation (CSTC) took over the double-decker buses.

The bright red buses with the face of a Royal Bengal Tiger painted on its sides were a common sight on city roads. The CSTC procured 295 double-decker buses in 1985. It was the last time such buses were bought by the state government.

However, from 1990 the state government started to decrease the number of double-decker buses due to excessive fuel consumption.

Finally, in 2005 they were totally discontinued and most of them were sold as scrap. Mamata Banerjee said that for now, two double-decker buses will ply in the city from October 23.