Bhubaneswar: In a major step to improve urban mobility and public transport in the city, the Odisha government, through Comprehensive Region Urban Transport (CRUT), has proposed to pilot the Bus Priority Lane initiative on two key corridors of Bhubaneswar.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Usha Padhee, Additional Chief Secretary, Housing & Urban Development Department, in Bhubaneswar.
The meeting was attended by Transport Commissioner Amitabh Thakur, MD of CRUT, Md Siddique Alam, Commissioner of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), Chanchal Rana, and Additional DCP (Traffic), Chief Construction Engineer, R&B, Works Department, Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) and BMC.
Following a detailed presentation by Md Siddique Alam, the ACS directed that the initiative be taken up initially on a pilot basis along two high-density corridors. A multi-agency committee has been formed to oversee the implementation, monitor the pilot on a continuous basis and make necessary refinements before finalising the model for wider expansion.
Officials said the Bus Priority Lane initiative seeks to address traffic congestion, improve the reliability and predictability of public transport, and make more efficient use of available road space by giving priority to public buses, school buses and emergency/essential services.
At present, congestion in mixed traffic results in an estimated loss of 1,200–1,500 bus trips every month, accounting for nearly 16 per cent trip loss due to traffic-related cancellations, besides causing significant variations in bus travel time. By reallocating appropriate kerb-side road space for priority movement, the pilot is expected to achieve a 10–20 per cent reduction in bus travel time and a 15–25 per cent improvement in average bus speeds, along with improved road safety.
The two corridors identified by CRUT in coordination with Traffic Police and the Works Department are the Biju Patnaik International Airport–Nandankanan Corridor, covering 18 km, and the Vani Vihar–Sishu Bhawan Corridor, covering 5 km.
The Airport–Nandankanan corridor connects major administrative, educational, commercial and healthcare destinations, covers 34 bus stops and caters to an average daily ridership of around 9,000-10,000 passengers across major routes.
The Vani Vihar–Sishu Bhawan corridor traverses important commercial and transit locations, including Master Canteen, Rajmahal, Ram Mandir and the Bhubaneswar Railway Station area. It covers 15 bus stops and caters to approximately 5,000–6,500 passengers daily.
The pilot will adopt a flexible kerb-side bus priority lane design rather than rigid physical segregation, with the objective of minimising disruption to general traffic while improving bus movement and operational efficiency. The preparatory phase, expected to take around 10–12 weeks, will include detailed traffic surveys, corridor-level design, lane markings, signage, improvement of Bus Queue Shelters (BQS), traffic signal optimisation and identification of designated pick-up and drop-off points for three-wheelers and cabs. This will be followed by a 3–6 month pilot phase, during which operational performance will be closely monitored and real-time data collected through Intelligent Transportation Management Systems (ITMS).
The multi-agency committee will also prepare detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for operationalisation of the Bus Priority Lane. The SOPs will define lane usage, bus movement protocols, stopping and boarding arrangements, interaction with other road users, enforcement mechanisms, emergency access, incident management and responsibilities of the concerned agencies. The SOPs will be finalised based on the operational requirements identified during the preparatory phase and refined further based on the experience of the pilot.
A key component of the initiative will be training and sensitisation of CRUT bus crew. Drivers and other operational crew will be provided dedicated training on the Bus Priority Lane system, including lane discipline, entry and exit protocols, safe stopping at designated locations, interaction with general traffic, pedestrian safety, emergency situations and compliance with the approved SOPs. The training will be undertaken by CRUT prior to commencement of the pilot to ensure safe and consistent operations.
The initiative will be supported by 24×7 ITMS-based monitoring and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) CCTV cameras, along with on-ground enforcement by Traffic Police personnel. In addition, the in-bus camera system installed in public buses will be explored as a modern technology-enabled enforcement and monitoring tool. Camera feeds and recorded footage may assist in identifying unauthorised use of the priority lane, unsafe lane changes, obstruction, illegal parking and other violations, subject to applicable protocols and technical feasibility. This will supplement roadside surveillance and strengthen evidence-based enforcement.
Unauthorised entry of private vehicles into the priority lanes and illegal kerbside parking will attract auto-generated e-challans, wherever technically and legally feasible. Emergency services, including ambulances and fire tenders, will have unrestricted priority access to these lanes.
Before implementation, extensive public awareness and sensitisation measures will be undertaken. Road users, public transport users, residents, commercial establishments, schools and other stakeholders along the identified corridors will be informed about the proposed changes, lane markings, permitted users, traffic movement arrangements and enforcement provisions. Public communication through signage, social media, media campaigns, on-road information boards and other appropriate channels will be undertaken sufficiently in advance to facilitate a smooth transition and encourage voluntary compliance.
The initiative will also be aligned with a broader Hub-and-Spoke/Trunk-and-Feeder public transport model for Bhubaneswar. Based on passenger demand and corridor-level travel patterns, suitable feeder routes will be identified and integrated with major trunk routes and transport hubs. This will strengthen first- and last-mile connectivity, improve access to high-capacity public transport corridors and reduce dependence on private vehicles for short connecting trips. The pilot corridors will, therefore, be examined not only from the perspective of bus speed and lane priority but also in terms of their integration with feeder services and interchange points.
The performance of the pilot will be assessed on the basis of travel-time savings, bus speeds, service reliability, passenger experience, traffic impact, road safety, enforcement effectiveness and first- and last-mile connectivity.
Operational data generated through ITMS, ANPR and other technology systems will support continuous assessment and evidence-based decision-making.
Based on the evidence and lessons emerging from the pilot, the Bus Priority Lane model, including its design, SOPs, enforcement mechanisms, crew training and feeder-route integration, will be refined and considered for expansion to other major public transport corridors across Bhubaneswar.