BHUBANESWAR: Bhubaneswar has the most seamless mobility system and with an overall score of 34.2 it has been ranked third among the 11 promising cities having a projected population of up to 10 lakh. As per the Ease of Moving Index-India Report 2022, Bhubaneswar has the shortest perceived access and wait time among its peers which is indicative of the extensive mass transit coverage with adequate transit stops at regular intervals in the city.
While public transport in Udaipur and Shimla were perceived to be most accessible by persons with functional difficulties, commuting in Bhubaneswar was considered safest amongst the promising cities.
The city scores the highest on efficient and reliable mobility as over 41 per cent respondents agree that the roads are adequately wide and therefore have less traffic with over 78 per cent respondents commuting less than 30 minutes to reach their place of work.
Almost 26 per cent of public transport users can access the nearest transit stop within ten minutes by walk or cycle. Capital Region Urban Transport, the city’s public bus transport operator, has made strides in enabling access to necessary information through multiple mediums as over 64 per cent commuters agree information about public transport is easily available.
Bhubaneswar was among two temple cities to have a functioning unified metropolitan transport authority. Though most cyclists feel the city has adequate cycling infrastructure, the public bicycle sharing (PBS) system launched with three operators in 2018 now faces operational challenges, the report stated.
The temple city has over 40 km of bicycle lanes and wider roads. Commuters in the state capital with a monthly household income of up to Rs 30,000 spend on an average 26 per cent of their income towards commuting - the highest across all cities. Despite this, over 40 per cent of these commuters found public transport affordable between any two points in the city.
Seamless integration of public transport with walking and micro-mobility modes, first and last mile connectivity and ease of parking have been taken into consideration in the report prepared by Ola Mobility Institute (OMI).