Cuttack, June 12: Dream Team Sahara, entrusted with the task of running the city bus service, today expressed its inability to extend the service to Cuttack on the three routes finalised for running of 10 buses in the first phase.

“Running of buses on the three routes is not viable with 10 buses provided to us by the state government under the extended city bus service route to Cuttack,” Dream Team Sahara (DTS) chief executive officer (CEO) Sudhansu Sekhar Jena told The Telegraph today.

In pursuance of a high court order, a committee, constituted under the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack commissioner of police, finalised three routes for running of 10 buses on May 12.

Five buses were to ply on Route No. 1 (Biju Patnaik Park in Sector 12 of CDA to A.G. Square in Bhubaneswar via high court, Badambadi and Madhupatna), four buses in Route No. 2 (Chahata to Bhubaneswar via College Square, OMP and Madhupatna) and one in Route No. 3 (Jagatpur to Bhubaneswar via Sikharpur, OMP square and Rasulgarh).

Advocate Chittaranjan Mohanty, a committee member, said: “Though the three routes had been finalised in consultation with the company, all buses were running on one route,”

“In fact, representatives of the company had agreed that it would run buses on the other two routes from May 25. But now they are refusing to ply buses on Route 2 and 3,” Mohanty said.

Jena said: “We have limited the city bus service to Route No. 1 to ensure reasonable frequency of buses for the commuters on the route.”

“While minimum frequency of 10 to 15 minutes is required on a route to ensure that the commuter chooses to board the bus, we are able to ensure 20 to 25 minutes frequency with the 10 buses,” Jena said.

“Of the 10 buses, if some are diverted to the other two routes, the frequency would decrease further. It may rather cause inconvenience to the commuters. At least 30 buses are required for plying on all the three routes,” Jena added.