BHUBANESWAR: The state government has decided to conduct an ‘impact
assessment study’ of the city bus services in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and
Puri. The Centre has granted Rs 4.85 lakh to the state under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme for the study.

The state housing and urban development department (H&UD) will
depute an independent agency to find out if the city bus service is a
success. “The agency will be selected through a transparent process, for
which a request for proposal (RFP) will be prepared,” said a senior
H&UD officer.

“The assessor will take into account the
opinions of all stakeholders, including passengers, bus staff and police
on how the service is functioning,” said Nishikant Mishra, chairman of
Dream Team Sahara (DTS), operator of the city bus service.

“DTS had earlier conducted a survey and collected the feedback of
passengers. Some passengers demanded installation of AC in buses. Others
demanded proper bus bays and route charts for their convenience,”
Mishra said.

A total of 105 buses ply in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack,
Khurda and Puri. Though the city bus service was launched here on
October 10, 2010, requisite infrastructure continues to elude the bus
operator and passengers.

Proposed originating and departure terminal and bus bays are yet to come up in the cities.Though review meetings are being held at regular intervals and promises
were made to provide necessary logistical support for smooth running of
the bus service, nothing tangible has happened so far.”We have
set deadlines for completion of the depot in Pokhariput area and
originating-departure terminals at other places,” H&UD secretary
Injeti Srinivas had told TOI earlier.