New city buses ready to roll out on Cuttack road. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, May 16: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the much-awaited city bus service between the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar today.

A total of 10 buses will now run on three routes between the two cities.

The city bus service is an extension of the facility that is in place in Bhubaneswar, Puri and Khurda. It has been extended to Cuttack following the high court’s intervention.

“I am delighted that Cuttack is getting a new city bus service from today,” said Naveen.

The three routes on which the buses are running are from Biju Patnaik Park in Cuttack to Indira Gandhi Park in Bhubaneswar, Chahata Ghata to Master Canteen and from the Jagatpur industrial estate to Bhubaneswar.

The first route between Biju Patnaik Park and Indira Gandhi Park would be via sector-6 of CDA, eye hospital, Sati Choura, Ring Road, Khannagar, Badambadi, Madhupatna and Press Square.

On the second route, the city bus will cover areas including Chahata ghat, National Law University, deer park, Gadagadia Ghat, Jobra Anicut, College Square, OMP to Master Canteen. The third route runs along NH-5 from Jagatpur industrial estate to Bhubaneswar.

From Tuesday, all the 10 buses would commute on the first route from Biju Patnaik Park to Indira Gandhi Park in Bhubaneswar. “We have decided to allow passengers to travel free of cost on Tuesday and we will start commercial operations from Wednesday,” said an official.

The bus service began in Bhubaneswar last October as a joint venture of Dream Team Sahara and BPTSL under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

“The passengers can avail free rides to their respective destinations from Cuttack to Bhubaneswar on Tuesday while the commercial operations will start from Wednesday,” said Dream Team Sahara CEO Sudhanshu Jena.

According to Jena, 10 buses would ply between 7am and 7pm. “Initially, we are starting the service on one route and subsequently the facility will be extended to the other routes in the city,” said Jena.

A passenger will have to pay Rs 15 for travelling from Cuttack to Bhubaneswar, a distance of 36km. The residents of the Silver City have welcomed the new city bus service which was much needed by hundreds of commuters, college students and office-goers.

“I have to spend Rs 25 to travel to Bhubaneswar which includes Rs 15 auto fare and Rs 10 bus fare. But now I can save around Rs 10 every time I go to Bhubaneswar,” Janardan Sahoo, a resident of Tulsipur area said.

According to the officials of Dream Team Sahara, the passengers will not have to wait for the buses as there will be gap of 25 minutes between the arrival and departure of buses at various destinations.

“Keeping in view the comfort, safety and other aspects, we have decided to run buses so that the passengers will not have to wait for hours to catch a bus to reach their destinations,” Jena added.