Kolkata, Nov. 12 -- The West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) has introduced two Volvo 9600 series luxury buses equipped with bio-toilets, marking the first instance of a government-run bus service in Bengal offering such a facility. The coaches became operational just before the Kali Puja vacation on long-distance routes such as Kolkata-Siliguri and Kolkata-Asansol.
The two bio-toilet coaches are part of a batch of six fully built 12.2-metre Volvo 9600 B8R buses procured by the Corporation, the remaining four being standard versions without toilets. Each BSVI-compliant bus accommodates 43 passengers, excluding the driver and co-driver, and is equipped with Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems.
According to Transport department officials, the bio-toilet buses were delivered before Durga Puja and pressed into service in mid-October, while the four standard coaches had arrived earlier. Although private operators have been running bio-toilet-equipped luxury buses for some time, this is the first such facility introduced in a state-run service. The fare structure, however, remains unchanged from existing government-operated Volvo services.
Passenger feedback has been encouraging, though sources within the Transport department admitted that maintaining the bio-toilet systems will be a challenge in the long run, particularly as fares have not been revised. "The issues are awareness and maintenance. Cleaning becomes a major concern over time," an official said. Unlike private operators, state-run services cannot raise fares dynamically to offset maintenance expenses or employ additional cleaning staff.
Officials noted that private operators often supplement revenue through freight carriage and flexible pricing-advantages unavailable to government-run services.
"We operate within a fixed fare structure, so additional expenditure on cleaning or maintenance becomes difficult to recover," the official added.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.