At least two bus routes plying from places north of Tallah to Esplanade and Sector V stopped operations from Saturday citing mounting losses since buses were stopped from taking Tallah bridge.

Bus union members said that they were burning more fuel but completing fewer trips as the new route via Belgachhia was longer and the stretch remained congested round the day. They said that it had become financially nonviable to run the routes, as expenses were sometimes becoming more than revenue earned per trip.

Each of 34C and 201 routes had 40 buses. While 201 used to run between Belghoria and Salt Lake Karunamoyee, 34C used to run between Noapara and Esplanade.

The shutdown means immense trouble for daily passengers as the 80 buses of the two routes used to ferry thousands of commuters every day.

Tapan Banerjee, a leader of the joint council of bus syndicates, largest body of private bus operators in the state, said that all other routes were also facing similar challenges.

“The distance from Noapara to Esplanade was about 11km when buses used to take Tallah bridge. The distance between the two terminals has increased to 25km as buses have to take a very long detour,” said Banerjee.

Heavy vehicles such as buses or trucks are not being allowed on Tallah bridge that is in a “rotten” condition. A consultant company as well as a bridge engineer, who were appointed by the Bengal government, have recommended demolition of the bridge.

Engineers who have inspected the 57-year-old bridge have said that the bridge could collapse any time.

The bridge engineer has also asked the government to stop all vehicular movement on the bridge within two months. The government has taken several measures such as restricting speed of cars that are still being allowed on the bridge.

Bus operators told Metro that because of the long detour and huge snarls along the diverted route, each route was running fewer trips every day.

“The income of drivers and passengers depends on commissions that in turn depends on number of tickets sold in a day. Fewer trips means a bus is carrying fewer passengers in a day and their daily income is also diminishing,” said an operator. He added that under this circumstance it was almost impossible to run the buses.

Several commuters have complained that it was taking them more than an hour to cover a distance that used to take 10 minutes.

A Bangur resident said that it was taking him more than an hour to reach Belgachhia Metro station from home, something that he used to cover in 15 to 20 minutes earlier.