Odisha’s Mo Bus Wins High Praise At National Mobility Meet

Bhubaneswar: The Mo Bus service by Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) was roundly applauded at the ongoing Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference and Expo, 2019 in Lucknow.

Surendra Kumar Bagde, general manager of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), said the Mo Bus model should be emulated by other states.

“All state transport undertakings should learn from CRUT, Bhubaneswar. Odisha was severely affected by cyclone Fani in May. Despite the large scale damage, it is commendable that they achieved 1 lakh ridership in just five months,” Bagde said at the comference on Saturday.

The managing director of CRUT, Arun Bothra, was specially invited to the conference to make a presentation on the success story of Mo Bus. Speaking on the occasion, Bothra said, “Taking forward the vision of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to provide safe, affordable and sustainable public transport to the citizens of the Capital Region, Mo Bus has achieved 1 lakh ridership in a short span of time.”

Bothra highlighted that consumer friendly initiatives like ‘Freedom Monthly Pass’, ‘Newspaper on Wheels’ and installation of maps and route numbers at Bus Queue Shelters (BQS) were much  appreciated by the riders. “Operational measures like ‘Introduction of Night Out schedule’ in Cuttack has helped us to save substantially by eliminating dead kilometres,” he added.

He further said that public transport like Mo Bus is a service for the people while making an endeavour to minimize carbon footprints.

A manual ‘Bhubaneswar on the move: Tools and guidelines for city bus operations’ was launched on this occasion. It has been published by CRUT in association with German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ).

With the theme of ‘Accessible and Liveable Cities’, the 12th edition of UMI conference & expo was inaugurated by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow on November 15.

Union Minister of State for Housing & Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri and Secretary for Union Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs Durga Shankar Mishra were also present in the inaugural ceremony. The conference is an excellent platform for the exchange of ideas and experiences for peer learning and mutual benefits.

The event is being hosted by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Govt. Of India in association with Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited.

Over 1000 delegates are participating in the 3-day conference-cum-expo which will conclude on November 17.