Bhubaneswar: Hours after the Private Bus Owners Association announced to resume bus services across the State from July 19 following a fruitful meeting with government, the Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT), the managing body of city bus services in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Puri, has declared to resume ‘Mo Bus’ services in the Capital city in the initial phase from the same date.
Through a press release, the CRUT stated that buses will ply on 16 routes in Bhubaneswar from Monday in strict adherence to the Covid protocols.
As per guidelines, passengers can travel in buses wearing masks and following all Covid protocols as laid down by the Health department. Similarly, no passengers would be allowed to travel in standing position. The staff have been instructed not to allow anyone to board the vehicle beyond the seating capacity in the buses, the notification added.
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“Initially, 87 buses will operate on 16 routes in the Capital region. We will keep on adding more number of buses and routes over a period of time,” informed Dipti Mahapatro, General Manager, CRUT.
The buses will operate from Monday to Friday during the initial period.
However, bus service for incoming passengers will continue from Railway Station to Cuttack and Khordha and shuttle service will be available from Airport to Railway Station during the weekends, it added.
“No mask, No entry’ is the mandatory policy for the passengers. As a precaution, the passengers should carry hand sanitisers with them while travelling in the ‘Mo Bus’, the CRUT stated.
All the crew members have been inoculated with two doses of Covid-19 vaccine. Cleaning and disinfection of the vehicles are being done on regular basis for the safety of passengers.
Earlier on the day, the private bus owners had announced to restart bus services from Monday after their meeting with government yielded fruits. The association took the decision after State government agreed to fulfill most of their demands.
The bus owners had submitted a memorandum to the government mentioning a series of demands including extension of loan repayment period, bank EMIs, insurance, taxes and financial assistance for initiating maintenance works of the buses before resuming transport.