West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) is a West Bengal state government undertaken corporation which plies buses, trams and ferries in the state. It was formed by merging existing state transport agencies, namely the Calcutta State Transport Corporation (CSTC), the Calcutta Tramways Company (CTC) and the West Bengal Surface Transport Corporation (WBSTC).
Bus services in Kolkata (then known as Calcutta) started in the year 1920 but were unorganised. The organized road transport in the public sector was given shape on 31 July 1948 with the creation of State Transport Services under the Directorate of Transportation, Government of West Bengal. It started operations on 6 intracity routes, with a fleet of 25 buses. The diesel era started with the addition of two double-decker buses in 1949âÂÂ50. Then the STS became self-sustainable with the establishment of depots and terminals. Gradually, the structure of State Transport Services turned into a full-fledged organization with spreading its network of operation to the entire city (mainly covering Calcutta Improvement Trust area). After about 12 years, State Transport Services became CSTC (Calcutta State Transport Corporation) on 15 June 1960. This was the start of a new era for the public transport system in the city and state. Up to 1966âÂÂ67, CSTC nationalized about 90% of the city's routes. After that CSTC could not sustain the increased passenger demands in the city mainly due to financial constraints. Since then the Government decided to allow private buses to operate on CSTC routes and areas. It also started operating on long-distance routes, starting with CalcuttaDigha in 1968. Over the years, with rapid expansions of long-distance operations, CSTC connected remote rural areas of the state with Kolkata. Soon, it covered almost the whole state and connected the district headquarter towns. In 1989, a new body was formed, named West Bengal Inland Water Transport Corporation Limited, for the operation of vessel services. It started with ferry services on the Hooghly River and the Muri Ganga rivers. Later this was merged into West Bengal Surface Transport Corporation, which provided bus services in Kolkata and different areas of South 24-Parganas, along with the CSTC. In June 2016, WBSTC, CTC and CSTC were merged into one with operational name WBTC. Till the merger, WBSTC had a fleet of 233 (Volvo AC, TATA Marco Polo AC and non-AC) buses.
WBTC has a fleet of 1337 buses as of 2019. and 20 vessels for Passenger Ferry Service. Right now its fleet consists of 400 AC buses. These were brought under the visionary of the central JNNURM scheme. The buses are in blue and white livery of Volvo, Tata Marcopolo, Eicher and JanBus models from Ashok Leyland, the first low floor front entry public buses in the country. WBTC is rapidly modernizing its fleet in 2026, focusing on eco-friendly and premium options. Key updates include a new 200-bus fleet of Eicher AC CNG buses (120 semi-deluxe, 50 deluxe, 30 midi) and new PMI Foton electric buses. This initiative aims to enhance commuter comfort and reduce pollution.
Previously, the depots were separately administered by CSTC, CTC, WBSTC. But after the merger, all have come under the purview of WBTC.
WBTC Depots are used for parking and repairing buses and trams. The following depots are:
Buses are operated on many routes across Kolkata and its suburban areas providing express bus service with limited stops.
This was introduced to provide late night transportation service to the city. Buses ply on several important routes across the city connecting northern & southern parts of the city with Howrah Station, Kolkata Airport, Salt Lake and New Town. These routes are AC-39, AC-24/AC-24A, AC-12D, AC-5, AC-47, AC-50A, S-10A, E-1, E-32, AC-54, EB-14, S-22, S-24, S-7, S-12, S-12D, S-3A, S-30, S-31 and AC-37.
This service was introduced to connect district Headquarters towns of the state with the state capital with express bus service, so that people can travel overnight to reach Kolkata.
The bus route number starts with BE.
The tram operations came under WBTC from CTC, after the merge. In 2019 air-conditioned Trams were introduced in the network.
WBTC also operates ferry routes across Hooghly river. One can avail the services using daily tickets, and few routes using season ticket.
Some special bus services are also provided on some occasions like
In 41 days the area was converted into a paradise for tram lovers, with stamps, tickets, coins, old tram documents and vintage photos. Food, music and art will be added in due course to make it an international tourist destination for tram lovers.
Launched by MD Rajanvir Singh Kapur IAS in presence of Chairman Rachpal Singh IPS Retd.
To cope up with the increasing demand of public transport in the city, some innovative measures were taken up, with a cost of â¹ 9,39,89,926, except fleet management. This also includes the Yatri Sathi app.