Bhubaneswar: Mo Bus services which had remained suspended since May 5 due to Covid-19 restrictions were resumed Monday in the Odisha capital. Along with it, private bus services were also resumed across the state.
The Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) said initially buses will operate on 16 routes in this city following Covid-19 guidelines strictly. The public transport provider will operate 87 buses initially. It will add more number of routes and buses in a phased manner, it was learnt.
The service will be available between 7.00am to 6.00pm from Monday to Friday. Owing to weekend shutdown, the service will remain suspended Saturdays and Sundays. However, the services will be available for passengers at Cuttack, Khurda and Bhubaneswar railway stations. Similarly buses will also be operational from the BPIA, even during weekend shutdown.
Passengers without masks will not be allowed to board the bus. Also buses will take passengers not exceeding their seating capacity. Standing of passengers will not be allowed.
The state government had earlier allowed intra-state bus service while easing Covid-19 restrictions. However, the private bus owners had not resumed the services, citing various reasons related to loans, insurance, bank EMIs and taxes.
However, they decided to resume the services after receiving assurance from the Odisha government to look into their demands.
“The state government has assured us that it will consider issues raised by our association. So, we have decided to resume bus services Monday,” said a private bus operator.
PNN