Cuttack, Jan. 24: The municipal corporation has moved one step closer to implement the city bus service project on public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

The corporation had set up the Cuttack Urban Transport Service Limited (CUTSL), a special purpose vehicle, last year to manage the city bus service with a fleet of 50 buses. With the municipal commissioner being the chief executive officer, the CUTSL had invited tenders along with a request for proposal.

"We had received responses from two parties. Since it is a PPP project, both the bids were sent to the state government last week after a thorough scrutiny. It would award the contract for the operation of the bus service soon," CUTSL chief executive officer Gyana Das told The Telegraph today.

"The decision is expected to come shortly that will enable us to start the service with a fleet of 50 buses by February end. The buses would be procured by the state housing and urban development department," Das said.

The project plan indicates the CUTSL will engage the operator for city bus service covering the Cuttack Development Plan Area of 320sqkm, consisting of 59 wards under Cuttack Municipal Corporation, 19 wards of Choudwar Municipality as well as 60 villages.

"The state transport department has already approved 10 routes with two buses every hour between Cuttack and Choudwar and two to three buses every hour on routes within the city," said Das.

The routes have been chosen to provide connectivity to important areas such as the railway station, Matagajpur, Nuapada, Nirgundi, Charbatia, Choudwar, Badambadi bus terminus and some more places. The private operator selected by the state government will operate the buses on the 10 routes for a period of seven years.

The head of the standing committee for licence and appeal, Bikash Ranjan Behera, said: "Under the city bus service project, the private party would be awarded contract on operation and maintenance basis, where the selected operator will have to incur all the expenses in connection with the operations, including payment of all applicable taxes. In return, the operator would be allowed to collect and retain appropriate fares from the passengers as notified by CUTSL."

"The operator will also be allowed to utilise the advertisement space on the buses and on bus stands, but will be required to share the revenue earned," Behera said.

Cuttack city does not have an organised public transport system. "It remains to be seen when the plan becomes a reality," said Dilip Mohapatra, an advocate residing in Chandini Chowk.

The existing city bus service is managed by the Bhubaneswar Puri Transport Service Limited under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission scheme in Bhubaneswar, Puri and Cuttack.

Private operators manage it only on three routes with a fleet size of less than 20 buses.