BHUBANESWAR: The Comprehensive Region Urban Transport (CRUT) has announced to provide free travel to women passengers in Ama Buses on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan on Thursday.
The decision has been taken basing on the direction of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Housing and Urban Development minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra. The facility will be available in all Ama Buses operating in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Berhampur and Keonjhar.
Issuing a statement, CRUT said the free bus travel is expected to benefit over one lakh women passengers in a single day. “The primary objective is to ensure safe, convenient and affordable public transport for women. By promoting safe and inclusive public mobility, the initiative is expected to further strengthen women’s social and economic mobility and enable them to travel with greater confidence and ease,” it said.
The agency said Ama Bus services were being made safer and more reliable through facilities such as GPS-based bus tracking, CCTV surveillance, trained bus staff and passenger assistance systems, among other measures.
CRUT managing director Sadique Alam said the initiative further strengthens their commitment to provide women with safe, affordable and dignified mobility. He informed that women passengers will have to collect a ‘zero ticket’ to avail the free travel facility.