Bhubaneswar, Aug. 20: Commuters are unhappy with the delay in introduction of monthly passes for the city bus service in the wake of the government giving its nod to the proposed fare hike.

Dream Team Sahara (DTS), the private operator of the bus service, had proposed to introduce a smart card facility for the convenience of passengers, but it is yet to materialise. The card was supposed to let passengers travel on all the 12 routes.

“The fare hike is going to affect us. We have been demanding concession in bus fares for a long time. If the operator is not ready to give us a concession, it could at least introduce a monthly pass system,” said Chandrakant Baral, a postgraduate student at Utkal University.

The city bus service, that hit the road on October 10, 2010, with only 20 buses, has emerged as the backbone of the city’s public transport system. At present, the service has 12 routes that touch Puri, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and parts of Khurda. Between 37,000 and 42,000 people depend on the service everyday. From 20, the number of city buses has grown to 105.

On August 7, the state government gave its nod for the revision of the city bus fares for the first time since its introduction. The revised fare included a hike of Re 1 for destinations less than 12km away and the maximum fare had been increased to Rs 35 from Rs 32 for distances 30km and above.

“We are ready to accept the fare hike, but the authorities must offer a monthly pass system so that the daily passengers can get some concession. You will find such services offering monthly services to passengers everywhere,” said Hemant Biswal, an employee of a private organisation.

Sources in the DTS said they were working on a plan to introduce either a pass or a smart card system for the benefit of passengers. “We have collected feedback from the passengers for introduction of a pass system. Nearly 60 per cent of the passengers want a smart card that will enable them to travel cashless,” said an official of DTS.

Chairman of DTS Nishikant Mishra said the fare hike would be implemented only after the introduction of monthly passes or smart cards.

“We are hopeful that pass system will be introduced by the end of this month after which the revised fare will come into effect,” said Mishra.