Commuters facing difficulties in booking a ride on the online app cab platforms for medical or similar emergency situations tomorrow could avail one by dialing a few numbers.
As nine constituencies in Kolkata and adjoining areas are slated to vote tomorrow, the West Bengal Online Cab Operators’ Guild (WBOCOG) has opened a number to help commuters avail a ride during emergency situations to ease out transport woes on poll day.
With buses, online app cabs, school buses or even trucks being requisitioned for poll duty, the city roads are almost sans any surface transport. Commuters, particularly office goers, are having a harrowing time as a large number of various kinds of vehicles are on poll duty and a skeletal fleet is hitting the city roads since yesterday. The crisis has been created following a large number of vehicles reporting to various spots called collection points for poll duty since yesterday. While around 4,500 buses from various routes of north Kolkata and adjoining areas have been requisitioned, an additional 2,500 vehicles from various districts have been hired and sent for poll duty from one organization. Apart from this, around 80 per cent of the vehicles from All Bengal Bus Minibus Samannay Samiti have also been on poll duty since yesterday. Not only private buses, but a fleet of around 230 school buses is also on poll duty along with 2,500 trucks that have been sent across the state to be used during elections.
With so many buses off the roads, commuters are having a difficult time in reaching their destination. According to commuters, the waiting time at busy city routes that used to have buses at intervals of 10 minutes, has increased to nothing less than 40 minutes now. In longer routes with fewer options of buses, the availability of buses during lean hours is said to have become negligible.
A similar crisis is being faced by commuters in availing a ride on the online app cab platforms. Cabs that were earlier available in five minutes are hardly being found even in 15 minutes. According to the general secretary of the WBOCOG, Indranil Banerjee, around 3000 cabs from Kolkata and adjoining areas have been sent for poll duty. Considering the fact, the organization has opened a number on which commuters face difficulties in booking a ride during an emergency situation on the poll day. On calling the number-9804458045, the WBOCOG would arrange a cab for the commuter in need.