Bhubaneswar: In order to ensure a complete transformation of the urban public transport scenario in the city and its hinterland, the Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) Tuesday rolled out its new buses known as Mo Bus (my bus).
Flagging off the much-awaited service in the historic city, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik congratulated the citizens on getting such a safe, economical and smart public transport. He took a ride on the first Mo Bus along with some winners of the social media contest by CRUT and also citizens cutting across age groups and social strata. He purchased a ticket from the conductor of Mo Bus before taking the ride. No security personnel was present in the bus while the Chief Minister was on board, said sources.
The Mo Bus, with a fleet of 125 new vehicles, comes with many safety features like in-vehicle CCTV cameras, adequate number of seats for women and senior citizens, and women conductors. Very soon, 75 more buses will be added to the fleet. There will be free Wi-Fi facility soon.
A CRUT official said Mo Bus vehicles are intelligently designed as per the Urban Bus Design Code with features like spacious cabins, far better than private-owned public transport buses.
As the most cost effective mode of transport, Mo Bus will help citizens save a lot of money at a time when the entire country is now worried over the rising fuel prices. There would be monthly, quarterly and annual payment options to use that savings for more meaningful investments. Citizens also can use their Odyssey City Card for purchasing the tickets.
Mo Bus will ensure minute-to-minute perfection in reaching destinations so that the travellers can save a lot of time and enhance their productivity at workplace. The mobile app Mo Bus for both Android and iOS operating systems and a desktop variant can track the locations of nearby bus queue shelters and check arrival times of buses. Travellers using the mobile app can also locate the buses and their exact time of arrival near a Bus Queue Shelter (BQS), which will also have digital screens to display the bus route numbers and the arrival times thereof.