Bhubaneswar: Bhubaneswar was adjudged the ‘City with the Best Public Transport System’ at the 17th Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference and Exhibition 2024 organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs at Gandhinagar in Gujarat, Sunday. Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra received the award from Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
Speaking at the conference, Mahapatra said, “This honour symbolises our collective commitment to building a sustainable future under ‘Viksit Odisha’ vision. Our commitment to enhance public transport system has transformed the way citizens of Odisha commute. We have implemented innovative technologies, expanded our network and prioritised safety as well as accessibility of passengers.” On the occasion, Khattar announced Gurugram in Haryana as the venue for 18th UMI Conference and Exhibition 2025. The UMI has 12 categories of awards in the field of transport, especially urban transport. The awards are given to the state/city authorities for ‘excellence/best projects in transport’.
The public transport system in Bhubaneswar is being regulated by Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) which manages technology-driven and citizen-friendly ‘Mo Bus’ and ‘Mo E-Ride’ services. Earlier during the day, CRUT inked a pact with Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) for the launch of ‘Odisha Yatri’, a transformative mobility app, in the presence of the H&UD Minister and CRUT managing director N Thirumala Naik.