Over 30,000 buses, taxis in West Bengal get tracking devices with panic buttons

Kolkata: Over 30,000 buses and taxis in West Bengal have installed vehicle tracker devices for safety passengers, Transport Minister Snehasis Chakraborty said.

The state Transport Department has directed all buses and taxis to install such devices by October 30 and if they fail, their permits and fitness certificates would not be renewed, he said.

"Around 30,000-40,000 vehicles have already installed these devices. The prices of these devices have also been reduced to Rs 5,000 from the earlier Rs 8,000-10,000," Chakraborty told PTI.

"We hope the remaining vehicles will get the devices as the safety of passengers, specifically women, is a priority. The vehicles that do not get these devices will not get their fitness certificates renewed," he said.

Besides helping to track the vehicles, these devices also have panic buttons to raise alarms during emergencies.

Bus unions, however, said that though the owners were installing the devices, they were reeling under pressure of escalating input costs.

"The private bus operators are struggling to stay afloat. Operating stage carriages has become a loss-making proposition. It will be difficult for a bus owner to spend Rs 5,000 for these devices while managing only two-three trips every day," said TMC MLA Swarna Kamal Saha, also an office-bearer of the Bengal Bus Syndicate.

Pradip Narayan Bose, the general secretary of the West Bengal Bus and Minibus Owners' Association, said they have been providing amenities to passengers by incurring losses due to the rise in fuel prices.

"Still the state is not considering our repeated pleas to either spare us from installing the devices, or bear the expenses," he said.

Around 16,400 private buses and 35,000 taxis ply in Kolkata and its neighbouring areas.

Sambhunath Dey, the general secretary of Progressive Taximen's Union, said the cost of these devices is causing a strain on the owners.