Bhubaneswar: In a bid to streamline the public transport system in the capital city, the State Transport Commissioner has asked Khurda administration to regulate the plying of private buses and auto-rickshaws within the city limits.
Issuing a direction in this regard to Khurda collector, the transport commissioner, who is also the chairman of State Transport Authority (STA), has recently said that private carriers that have or propose to have multiple halts inside the city will not be allowed to do so in future.
According to the commissioner, the buses starting from or terminating at Bhubaneswar should not be allowed to stop, pick up and set down passengers at places other than Baramunda and Master Canteen bus stands like the city bus service.
However, to facilitate proper regulation of passenger service, the local administration has been asked to find four other interchange points from where passengers can be picked up and set down by private buses. From these points, passengers may move to their destination within the city by availing city bus transport system, officials said.
According to a transport official, this decision, taken at a meeting chaired by Home Secretary, follows observations that stopping of private buses at random places is adding to traffic woes in the city.
Likewise, he said, the district administration and Khurda Regional Transport Authority have been asked to regulate the movement of auto-rickshaws as part of long-term comprehensive transport plan for the city under sustainable urban transport scheme.
He said that a directive has been issued to Khurda Collector and other concerned authorities to put a cap on the number of auto-rickshaws to ply in Bhubaneswar city and ensure they operate only on feeder routes finalised by the transport authority.
Officials said that the move is aimed at proper traffic regulation as well as to curb pollution. Currently, over 40,000 auto-rickshaws are operating in Bhubaneswar-Cuttack city areas and their annual growth is 13 per cent in Bhubaneswar.
With the city hosting the Men’s Hockey World Cup in November-December, this year, regulation of bus and auto transport is highly essential for better management of traffic, the officials said.
PNN
