Mo Bus Helps Bhubaneswar Live Up To Its Women-Friendly City Tag

Bhubaneswar: Lady guides and conductors in Mo Bus services provided by Capital Region Urban Transport make women travellers feel more safe and secured. There are reserved seats for women in Mo Bus. Besides, CCTV cameras have also been installed in these buses.

Chhavi Dhingra, who visited Bhubaneswar a few months back on a work trip, shared her ‘MoBus Mo Story’. She had to board a bus from Nandankanan to Master Canteen late in the evening. She stumbled and fell while boarding the bus. The crew of Mo Bus immediately rushed to help her. “I was amazed at the love and affection I received on this bus full of strangers and suddenly felt totally taken care of and safe. As I alighted from the bus, a female co-passenger went the extra mile to help me reach my destination. In this one evening, Bhubaneswar became one of the most female-friendly and safe cities in India for me.”

It is a woman, General Manager Dipti Mahapatro, who leads CRUT from the front and looks after Mo Bus operations and other activities. She is popularly known as ‘Mo Bus Madam’ in Odisha. She along with all other female staff are instrumental in making Mo Bus a success story.

After a gap of almost two months, Mo Bus services were resumed on May 26 on seven routes with 40 buses.

By June, 66 buses were plying on seven routes. The following month saw eight routes getting operationalised. On September 27, two new routes Route 50- Puri and 70 – Konark were introduced.

By November, 109 buses were plying on 17 routes with a ridership of 26000.