BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik flagged off a new fleet of 20 buses, including 19 air conditioned deluxe buses, at a special function here on Saturday. The buses will ply on 11 routes in the State.
This is for the first time that Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) has introduced air conditioned luxurious buses to provide passengers comfort and good travelling experience.
The buses flagged off at Paribahan Bhawan here will ply on Bhawanipatna-Visakhapatnam, Berhampur-Chandahandi, Balangir-Berhampur, Burla-Berhampur, Bhubaneswar-Malkangiri, Visakhapatnam-Jagdalpur, Cuttack-Nabarangpur, Cuttack-Berhampur, Angul-Damanjodi, Keonjhar-Bhubaneswar and Jeypore-Cuttack routes.
While two buses have been assigned to each route except Visakhapatnam-Jagdalpur, Cuttack-Berhampur and Keonjhar -Bhubaneswar routes, 10 buses on Berhampur-Chandahandi, Bhubaneswar-Malkangiri, Cuttack-Nabarangpur and Angul-Damanjodi and Cuttack-Jeypore routes will ply via Andhra Pradesh.
As the current fleet of OSRTC buses did not have air conditioning facilities, introduction of these modern luxurious buses will help the corporation get more passengers who can opt for the service instead of private buses.
The State Government had provided capital support to OSRTC to purchase around 70 new buses. The Corporation has spent nearly `13 crore from its internal accruals while `20 crore was capital support from the Government. People frequenting to Berhampur, Malkangiri, Jeypore, Nabarangpur and Keonjhar are happy with the introduction of AC buses.
"There was no bus with air conditioning system playing on Bhubaneswar-Malkangiri route. We had to travel at least 15 hours at a stretch in the non-AC buses. Thanks to OSRTC, now we can have a smooth journey," said Pramod Tripathy, who is posted in a high school in Malkangiri.
Last year, the corporation had computerised all its accounts. While e-ticketing machines were installed, manual ticketing system was abolished after introduction of mobile ticketing system. With a fleet strength of 459 buses, it has also started premium bus service.
Among others, Commerce and Transport Minister Ramesh Chandra Majhi, Culture and Tourism Minister Ashok Panda, MP Prasanna Patsani and local MLAs were present.