BHUBANESWAR: The Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT), managing the Mo Bus service, will soon embrace the digital option of payment as it looks to make commute safer and quicker in the wake of Covid-19. Citizens commuting through Mo Bus will be able to enjoy their rides with contactless payment system like QR Code and tap-and-pay facility from June.
Sources said the facility is likely to be launched by June 2 and commuters will pay bus fare using any Unified Payments Interface (UPI) Id. With the number of riders increasing gradually, the move will not only check spread of coronavirus but also encourage digital payment and bring more transparency in transaction, it added.
CRUT officials said after the bus service resumed on limited routes in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Khurda post-lockdown relaxations, more than 20,000 people have travelled in Mo Bus. The daily average ridership of the city bus service till May 29 had remained 5,100. Of the seven routes on which the Mo Bus are plying, Cuttack-Bhubaneswar is the busiest one till date with a passenger load of 27 per cent. Besides, route numbers 23 and 27 that connect the hospitals such as AIIMS and SUM are catering to a sizable number of passengers, they added.
Bothra posted as CMD OSRTC
Bhubaneswar: As Tata Power is all set to take over the management of CESU from June 1, the State Government on Saturday posted Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Arun Bothra as the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of OSRTC. Bothra will be in additional charge of CRUT as its MD. The Government also gave additional charge of Fire Service, Home Guard and Civil Defence to Special DG, Intelligence Satyajit Mohanty. Balasore SP B Jugal Kishore has been posted as Cuttack SP and Crime Branch SP Sudhansu Sekhar Mishra as Balasore SP.