Kolkata: Public commute continued to be a nightmare even on Thursday with very few buses operating, autos disappearing after afternoon, surging app cab and bike fares and Metro trains bursting at the seams.Just like on Chaturthi, office-goers faced a harrowing commute to work on Panchami morning as they found it difficult to find a foothold on Metros. By evening, the scene turned worse as compartment doors could not shut with passengers jostling and shoving their way in or out.“I thought I would suffocate. Each time a station arrived, I had to step out on the platform and then push my way back inside,” said Saikat Banerjee, a Kudghat resident. The waiting time at Sealdah and Esplanade stations for baggage check and swiping cards almost tripled.On the road, the wait for app cabs or app bikes was long and the rides expensive. “It was so crowded that I could not board a metro at Rabindra Sarobar in the morning. I came out on the road and tried to book a cab to my office on Park Street and the fare showed Rs 430, way more than the usual amount. After much effort, I booked an app bike for Rs 180,” said Tanima Mondal, who works at a private firm on Park Street.Mithun Ghosh waited for over half an hour for an app bike before being forced to book a cab at a much higher fare. “I had to shell out Rs 475 for a ride from Behala Chowrasta to Rabindra Sadan to reach my office,” he said. The app vehicles were not only expensive but also very few to be booked. “Traffic was slow and it was difficult to book cabs as many had reserved the vehicles for pandal-hopping,” said Indranil Banerjee, general secretary of Online Cab Operators GuildBus operators like Titu Saha of City Suburban Bus Service said several workers refused to operate for “fear of being requisitioned by cops”. Sources though said several routes shut or operated in a skeletal manner as unions had issues with puja bonuses. This resulted in most minibuses staying off the road and private buses operating at 50%-60% strength. “I had to wait for 55 minutes to get a bus from Gariahat to Tollygunge. In this entire time, three private buses and two govt ones arrived with passengers already hanging out of the doors,” said Sandhya Banerjee, who was travelling with her 10-year-old daughter.
