Naveen takes ride as Mo Bus celebrates first anniversary

Bhubaneswar: Mo bus service of the Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) celebrated its first anniversary on Wednesday as Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took a ride from Biju Patnaik Airport Square to Jayadev Bhawan along with the citizens of Bhubaneswar.

Expressing happiness about the safe and affordable service of Mo Bus, Chief Minister said that Mo Bus has become a major mass transit facility in the Capital Region.

“It is heartening to see citizens opting for Mo Bus for their commute,” he added.

Patnaik further said, “I dream of Mo Bus being the lifeline of Capital Region like Best Buses in Mumbai and Metro rail in Delhi and Kolkata.”

In the midst of raising concern about pollution level in the country, Chief Minister announced that soon as many as 50 electric buses (E-buses) will be added in the Capital region to give a push to clean mobility in public transportation.

On this occasion, Chief Minister unveiled the name of Mo Bus Mascot – MOBBY (Mo Bus for Better You).

A contest was organised on social media in the month of October to find the name for the mascot. There was an overwhelming response by the followers on various social media platforms. Ahwan Paikray, city based professional won the contest.

Speaking on the occasion, Arun Bothra, Managing Director of CRUT said that the first year journey Mo Bus was challenging as a learning experience for CRUT Team.

“Government organisations are considered slow in their work. But we have justified our tagline ‘The way we move’ and reached 1 lakh ridership in a short span of time, less than a year of starting the operation of Mo Bus. Credit for this milestone goes to the riders who have trusted in us from the beginning of service and gave us constant feedback for improvement,” said Bothra.

He further highlighted the growth story of Mo Bus in the past one year.

“In the month of May, we had daily 33000 riders average, however in the last three months we had grown significantly, now the average is 85000. Similarly revenue average in the month of May was 5 lacs daily, now it has grown to 12 lacs daily,” he added.

He emphasised that it is the human resource of Mo Bus which differentiates it from other bus operators.

“Our captains and guides are not only sincere in their work but are also consistent with demeanour during the commute.”

Talking about the journey ahead, Arun Bothra said, “With the constant support of the State government and our commuters, we target to reach 1.5 lakhs ridership by 2020.”

Housing and Urban Development Minister Pratap Jena, department secretary G. Mathi Vathanan, and Odisha Skill Development Authority (OSDA) chairman Subroto Bagchi were also present on the occasion.

Bagchi highlighted steps taken by OSDA under the Skilled in Odisha banner that the programme to train the staff of MO BUS is a unique programme being piloted in the state of Odisha.

Speaking on the occasion, Pratap Jena said it is heartening to see that Mo bus has more daily passengers than Uttar Pradesh public transport daily riders.