From red to blue to saffron: How Kolkata's buses have become political canvases

Kolkata's government buses have long mirrored the state's political transitions. Once unmistakably red under the Left Front and later repainted in blue-and-white during the Trinamool Congress era, the city's public transport fleet is now taking on a distinctly saffron hue under the BJP government.

The latest shift became visible last week when a fleet of newly introduced air-conditioned government buses began operating on the AC-58 route between Sonarpur and Eco Space in New Town. Instead of the familiar blue-and-white livery, commuters were greeted by buses painted in bright saffron.

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A day later, a newly launched private bus service connecting Ghatakpur in South 24 Parganas with Santragachhi in Howrah also hit the roads in a matching saffron-and-white colour scheme, reinforcing the perception of a broader visual transformation.

While red has historically been associated with Left politics and saffron is widely identified with the BJP, blue was never officially the Trinamool Congress's party colour. Yet over the past 15 years, the blue-and-white palette came to define the Mamata Banerjee government's urban aesthetic, extending from government buildings and flyovers to public buses.

Transport Minister Arjun Singh defended the new look as part of a broader modernisation drive rather than a political statement.

"A city's transport network must evolve with time," he 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."

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The makeover is gradually spreading beyond the streets. Behind the workshop gates of the West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) and South Bengal State Transport Corporation (SBSTC), buses are quietly being repainted, while even the digital watermark on commuter e-tickets has shifted from blue to saffron.

Despite the visible changes, transport officials insist there has been no formal policy decision to permanently alter the department's colour scheme.

"There is no formal policy decision to permanently alter the colour scheme of the state's transport department," a WBTC official told Times of India.

The cosmetic overhaul has, however, drawn criticism from sections of the transport sector, who argue that appearance is being prioritised over long-standing operational challenges.

"Every new regime treats the transport fleet like a billboard for their political brand," Tapan Das, a transport union leader told Times of India. "But changing the colour from blue to saffron does nothing to address the severe shortage of drivers and maintenance staff."

For commuters, the debate over colours is largely secondary to the everyday realities of an overstretched public transport system. State-run bus corporations have seen their fleet strength decline over the past decade, leading to longer waits and fewer services.

Anirban Dutta, an IT professional who commutes daily between Garia and Sector V, said commuters were more concerned about reliability than symbolism.

"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," he told Times of India.

Others believe the colour change could be an opportunity to signal a genuine transition if accompanied by substantive reforms.

"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, founder of Kolkata bus-o-pedia.

For decades, Kolkata's buses have done more than ferry passengers—they have reflected the political identity of the governments that run them. Whether saffron ultimately comes to represent a meaningful transformation in the city's public transport system or remains simply another change in paint may depend less on the colour itself than on whether commuters notice improvements where they matter most: frequency, reliability and service quality.


(With inputs from Times of India)