Private buses, auto-rickshaws to be regulated in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Transport Commissioner has asked Khurda district administration to regulate the plying of private buses and auto-rickshaws in Bhubaneswar.

The transport department has taken the decision in a bid to streamline the public transport system in Bhubaneswar.

The transport commissioner, who is also the chairman of State Transport Authority (STA), has asked the Khurdha district collector that private carriers that have or propose to have multiple halts inside the city will not be allowed to do so in future.

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.
Besides, the district administration has 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.

Currently, over 40,000 auto-rickshaws are operating in Bhubaneswar-Cuttack city areas and their annual growth is 13 percent in Bhubaneswar.