Cuttack, June 22: The future of the intra-city bus project looks uncertain with the private operator engaged to run it deciding to pull out of its contract.
The private operator, Dream Team Sahara (DTS), has expressed reluctance to run the project, reportedly saying it could no longer afford it because of heavy financial losses. While 30 buses had been provided to the DTS between April and October last year, 14 of them are already off the road and another 10 are yet to be rolled out.
The housing and urban development department had set up a special purpose vehicle, Cuttack Urban Transport Service Limited (CUTSL), under the aegis of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation to drive the project. With the municipal commissioner as the chief executive officer, CUTSL had entered into a contract with the DTS to operate the service for seven years.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik flagged off the project on April 14 last year with a fleet of 20 buses. By October, the department had provided another 10 buses - all under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission scheme. But since February, the DTS has kept most of the buses - provided in the first phase - off the road. Moreover, the 10 buses - provided in the second phase in October last - are yet to be put into service.
DTS chief executive Sudhansu Jena told The Telegraph today: "We have already given notice to CUTSL for termination of the agreement."
He refused to give details except for conceding that at present only six buses were running between Cuttack and Banki.
The service aims to offer connectivity to Cuttack from Choudwar and nearby towns such as Banki. Accordingly, 10 buses each started service on two routes - Cuttack-Banki via Markatnagar and Naraj and Markatnagar-Charbatia (Choudwar) via Badambadi and OMP Square - in the first phase. The 10 buses provided in the second phase were to operate between Cuttack and Kandarpur and between Cuttack and Bayalish Mouza.
CUTSL's CEO Bikash Mohapatra said: "I have received the notice from the private operator. As there is very little that can be done by CUTSL, the matter has been referred to the housing and urban development department to take a decision."
"The private operator has said it is difficult for them to run the service because of huge financial loss," Mohapatra said.
While low rate of passengers was a major factor, road tax has become another burden. The private operator kept the buses off road reportedly to save taxes.
In another development, CUTSL has so far not been able to get permits for running the buses from the State Transport Authority. It had applied for permits for the routes. "But, the applications are in the hearing stage as some private bus operators had raised objections against CUTSL's proposed routes," an authority official said.
Head of the civic body's standing committee for licence and appeal Bikash Ranjan Behera said: "Under the city bus service project, the private party was awarded contract on operation and maintenance basis where it was to incur all the expenses in connection with the operations, including payment of all applicable taxes. In return for this, the operator would be allowed to collect and retain appropriate fares from the passengers."
