Bhubaneswar-Cuttack’s Mo Bus service has been adjudged the best bus service project at the Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference and Expo 2019, which was held in Lucknow. The award was collected by the Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) from the Union Ministry of Urban Development in the UP capital.
Experts attending the meet have praised the Mo Bus model, and have called for its replication in other states. “All state transport undertakings should learn from CRUT in Bhubaneswar. Odisha was severely affected by cyclone Fani. Despite the damages, it is commendable that Mo Bus service has attained a ridership of 1 lakh”, said Surendra Kumar Bagde, General Manager of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST).
While cities like Lucknow, Kochi and Jaipur have a daily bus ridership of around 25,000-35,000, the Mo Bus caters to a daily volume of around 85,000 people. Despite Fani causing huge damages to the transport network, the service was fully restored within five months of the harrowing cyclone onslaught.
Managing director of CRUT, Arun Bothra, said, “Customer-friendly initiatives such as ‘freedom monthly passes’, ‘newspapers on wheels’, and installation of maps and route numbers in bus shelters have helped us gain ridership. Mo Bus is a service for the people and we are trying to reduce its carbon footprint. It is not a profit-making initiative”.