WB Transport Department to retire old buses

West Bengal State Transport Department has decided to retire buses which are over 15 years old in an initiative to keep the pollution level of the city in check. According to the State Transport Department officials, more than 3000 buses will be phased out gradually during this process. The old busses and especially old diesel vehicles contribute a lot to the air pollution level which affects the environment. The air quality of the city has degraded over the years for these vehicles and has raised environmental concerns.  The government has thus come up with this decision. It also decided to ban school buses over 25 years old. Entry of old buses from outside the state will also be restricted within the next few months. The process of identifying these old vehicles has already begun from January 2019. Around 1.25 lakhs of commercial vehicles move around the city daily and phasing out a section of it might have a strong impact on the passengers. However, the transport department has assured that phasing out old vehicles won’t affect the transport system of the city. Suvendu Adhikari, State Transport minister said, “The process of phasing out the old vehicles has begun in January. We will restrict the old vehicles that flout traffic norms”.