Central Calcutta is a compact, congested area sprawling up along the west bank of the Hooghly River, from the Zoological Gardens in the south up to Howrah Bridge some 5 km (3 miles) north. Over the bridge are some of the worst slums, 
and the beautiful Botanical Gardens. In the city centre is the large open expanse of the Maidan, hugged by BBD Bag (West Bengal Tourist Office, GPO, American Express, etc.) on the north; by Chowringhee /Jawaharlal Nehru Rd (hotels, restaurants, airline offices, Government of India Tourist Office, etc.) on the east; and south¬, by the Victoria Memorial, Birla Planetarium and other major sights on the east.
Calcutta is notoriously difficult to get around. There are three reasons for this. First, like many Indian cities it suffers from a confusing duplication of street names, and nobody seems very sure whether to use the old (Raj) or new (post-Independence) names. Rickshaw-wallahs will continue to call Jawahar lal Nehru Road by its old title of Chowringhee Road for many years to come. Even maps aren’t consistent. The second problem is lack of city planning. Calcutta was originally partitioned into a series of walled, self-contained jute mill or factory areas, with few surrounding streets. Roads today account for only 6% of the city’s surface area, as compared to 25% in New Delhi. Third, and most relevant, hardly any of the city’s main roads have pedestrian footpaths, and human traffic just spills over into motorised traffic. With a mind boggling average of 50% of Calcutta’s population (against a national average of 20%) on the streets at any one time, it’s a picture of sheer chaos.
The big plan is to displace 25% of this commuter crush off the streets and down into the new Metro railway which will hopefully by the mid-1990s run all the way up from Tollygunge to Dum Dum airport, but completion of this 
project is continually being deferred. A 4-km (2 /2-mile ) section, starting at Esplanade south to Tollygunge, was opened in late 1985, and for a few rupees you can experience the pleasure of travelling on India’s first underground railway. It’s immaculately clean (if you drop even a sweet wrapper, other passengers will pounce on you and make you pick it up!) and there’s a train every 12 minutes, from 8 am to 9.30 pm Monday–Saturday, from 1 pm to 7 pm Sunday.
Bus travel is to be avoided. Not only do passengers cling onto the sides of buses (regular Indian procedure), but passengers cling onto passengers clinging onto the sides of buses. Like the public city trams, this mode of transport is not recommended during the rush hours. If you do manage to get on, make sure you’re near the door, or you’ll never get off. And watch out for pickpockets.
Most people get around by taxi. Under the new fare structure, the minimum fare is Rs5 (for the first 2 km) and Rsl for every subsequent 200 m. Most meters are calibrated to start at Rs4 so be prepared to pay extra—the driver should have a printed conversion chart. Owing to the shortage of auto-rickshaws (the few survivors hang around Sudder St/Chowringhee; Rsl.60 per km plus a 60% surcharge), many people use the old man-powered cart rickshaws. Calcutta is their last stronghold, and they are so keen for business you’ll always get a cheap ride.
Calcutta’s unique traffic situation is perhaps the main ‘sight’ of the city—a avast , heaving bedlam of rickshaws, cars, brightly painted lorries, double-Decker buses, bullock carts, commuters and trolley buses. The combined impact of all this noised , dust, crowds and traffic is enough to put many sightseers off altogether. Persistence is the key. Expect to spend three times as long getting anything seen or done here as elsewhere in India, and start out slowly; spend the first couple of days just getting to know your immediate neighborhood. If you don’t have time to sightseer at leisure. allow 3/4 days to drift around town by hotel hired car, then brace yourself for a full-day city bus tour.
