Kolkata: The city’s fleet of govt buses, which wore red during the Left Front regime and switched to blue-and-white after Trinamool Congress came to office, is now turning saffron with BJP at the helm.The shift in the colour code became evident last week, following the rollout of govt-run AC buses on AC-58 route, which connects Sonarpur with Eco Space in New Town. Commuters expecting the familiar blue livery were instead greeted by a fleet painted in vibrant saffron.A day later, a newly launched private fleet operating between Ghatakpur in South 24 Parganas and Santragachhi in Howrah hit the roads sporting a matching saffron-and-white colour scheme.While red has long been associated with left politics and saffron is identified with BJP, blue is not a Trinamool colour, even though the blue-and-white colour scheme came to represent Trinamool’s 15 years in office.“A city’s transport network must evolve with time,” transport minister Arjun Singh said. “Saffron not only represents the dynamic double-engine regime, it symbolises modernisation and eco-friendly shift in mobility. This is a progressive rebranding, designed to give Kolkata a clean, modern transit identity.”Behind the workshop doors of West Bengal Transport Corporation and South Bengal State Transport Corporation, the makeover is quietly accelerating. The digital watermark on commuter e-tickets have also transitioned from blue to saffron.Govt officials are maintaining a cautious stance on the visual overhaul. “There is no formal policy decision to permanently alter the colour scheme of the state’s transport department,” a WBTC official said.Many connected with the transport sector view the change through a critical lens, warning that cosmetic changes are overshadowing deeper systemic crises. “Every new regime treats the transport fleet like a billboard for their political brand,” said Tapan Das, a transport union leader. “But changing the colour from blue to saffron does nothing to address the severe shortage of drivers and maintenance staff.”For daily commuters, political symbolism matters far less than operational reliability. The fleet strength of state-run corporations has seen a decline over the last decade.Anirban Dutta, an IT professional who commutes daily between Garia and Sector V, said punctuality should matter more than colour schemes. “Whether the bus is blue, red or saffron makes no difference if you have to wait for 45 minutes to board one. The administration should focus on increasing the fleet strength.”“Like yellow cabs, red govt buses defined Kolkata once. The white-and-blue colour scheme heralded the coming of AC buses in large numbers. Now, saffron can herald the start of a CNG era. Let this be a rebranding exercise, instead of a political gimmick,” said Aniket Banerjee, a founder of ‘Kolkata bus-o-pedia’.
