Bhubaneswar, Sept. 15: The hike in Odisha’s city bus fare that came into effect today has not gone well with the passengers. A large number of people depend on this cheap public transport system in Cuttack and Puri, apart from the capital.

Dream team Sahara, which operates the bus service, said the fare hike was a long-awaited decision taken by the government.

“We depended on city bus because its fare was the lowest compared to other public transport systems such as auto-rickshaws or private town buses. But with this hike, the fare has become equal to some of the others,” said Sumant Sahani, a daily passenger.

Dream Team Sahara chairman Nishikant Mishra said this was the first time the fare had been increased since the city bus service was launched nearly two years ago.

He added that it had been hard to operate with increased fares despite fuel price hikes during this period.

“We had appealed the government to raise the fares and they finally gave the nod this August,” said Mishra, adding that they had urged the government for a bigger hike.

According to the new rates, bus fare up to 12km has been raised by Re 1. The ticket charge has been increased by Rs 2 for distances between 12 and 21km, Rs 3 for distances between 21 and 24km, Rs 4 for distances between 24 and 30km and Rs 5 for more those travelling for than 30km.

“We took a decision after looking at all angles. This fare hike will not be a big burden on the passengers,” said an official of Bhubaneswar Puri Transport Services Limited, that manages the bus service.

At present, the city bus service runs on 13 routes in Bhubaneswar, Puri, Cuttack and Khurda. The government had purchased 125 buses, of which 105 are plying on the road. The remaining 20 are yet to be operational. More than 54,000 people depend on the bus service everyday.

Initially, the bus service that began operating on October 10, 2010, was meant for Bhubaneswar and Puri under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission project of the Centre. The service was extended to Cuttack after the intervention of Orissa High Court.

Bhubaneswar Puri Transport Services Limited was formed with representation from Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, Bhubaneswar Development Authority, Puri–Konark Municipal Corporation and the housing and urban development department of the state government.