Bhubanewsar: Mo Bus sees steady rise in passenger footfall

BHUBANESWAR: The city bus service, Mo Bus, run by Capital Region Urban Transport (Crut) has been witnessing a steady rise in passenger footfall after Covid-19 cases decreased significantly over the past few months.
In the pre-Covid times, on an average, around 80,000 passengers used to board these buses per day.
While an all-time high footfall of 1.70 lakh passengers a day was recorded recently, the daily average has gone up too as a majority of daily commuters have switched to the city buses from auto-rickshaws, two-wheelers and the like due to comfort, fare and better point-to-point contact.
Most of these regular commuters are professionals, lawyers, students and sales executives. Passengers who shuttle between Bhubaneswar and neighbouring Cuttack in long-distance express buses have also started using the Mo Bus services.
“We started redefining the city commuting in 2018. Our commuter-centric approach has not only helped commuters explore the city, it has also generated a steady income to bus crew members. For us, customer satisfaction, providing safe and affordable rides hold utmost importance,” said Crut managing director Sanjay Kumar Singh.
Of Crut’s 225 buses, 50 are air-conditioned. While 68 buses ply on the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Road, over 120 ply in the capital. “While the intra-city footfall on a given day in Bhubaneswar has increased to 70,000, the number of Cuttack-bound commuters is 50,000. Mo buses are comfortable because of their wide gangways and better seats. All buses have CCTV cameras to ensure safety to our women passengers. We have discounts for regular riders and senior citizens,” said Crut general manager Dipti Mahapatra.
Prasant Kumar Biswal, a daily commuter and a businessman, said: “I boarded a Mo Bus for the first time in the pre-Covid times and found it to be very punctual unlike auto-rickshaws that stop anywhere to take passengers. The journey is also economic.”
Nilesh Sahu, a computer teacher, said: “After using Mo bus services, it feels the distance to Cuttack has shortened. These buses stop at the designated stops only. The fare is also affordable.”
On October, 11, 2019, the count of Mo Bus users for the first time crossed one lakh.
In the first and second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic fell drastically with limited buses plying.