Cuttack, April 14: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the much-awaited city bus service here today.

Naveen flagged off a fleet of 20 buses that would extend connectivity among Cuttack, Choudwar and Banki that lacked an organised public transport system. The 26-seater buses are equipped with intelligent transport system, along with fire detection and suppression system.

The Cuttack Municipal Corporation introduced the service by forming Cuttack Urban Transport Service Limited.

Shahara Roadways, a private player, has been roped in to operate the service from Cuttack that would provide service to 4,000 passengers every day from CDA, Banki, Athgarh, Bayalish Mouza and Tangi in a phased manner.

"On two routes - Cuttack-Banki via CDA and Naraj and from CDA to Charbatia (Choudwar) via Badambadi and OMP Square, 10 buses were introduced in the first phase from today," chief executive officer of the transport body Gyana Das said.

The minimum fare for passengers has been fixed at Rs 7 for travelling within a distance of 3km, Rs 8 for a distance ranging from three to 6km, Rs 10 for a distance of six to 9km and Rs 12 for covering a distance of nine to 12km. A passenger will have to pay a maximum fare of Rs 47 for covering a distance of 30km and more.

The service would resolve the problems faced by the passengers, especially on the western fringes of the city and commuters residing at the satellite townships of Markatnagar, Choudwar, Banki and Athgarh.

Shahara Roadways official Sudhanshu Jena said the transport body had identified 10 routes within the city from where the city bus service will be available. Some of them include Badamabadi, SCB Medical College and Hospital, College Square, Matagajpur and Nuapada. Passenger from these locations can avail themselves of the city buses to travel to Bayalish Mauza, Nirgundi, Choudwar, Charbatia, Athgarh and Banki.

Closed-circuit television cameras have been installed in the buses, which has a centralised public address system and the movement of the vehicles can be tracked through GPS.

"It had been a long demand for the passengers, especially from the western fringes of Markatnagar for a dedicated public transport system to Banki, Athgarh and Choudwar. We are happy that the city bus service started from today," said Sector-VI resident Vikash Rathi.

Rathi said that earlier the residents had to travel to Badambadi bus terminus to board a bus to Banki or Athgarh. But now, the passengers can directly board a bus from Markatnagar.

"We earlier had to come to Badamabadi terminus to board a private bus to travel towards Athgarh, Banki and even Choudwar. The city bus service from CDA will be relatively cheaper since passengers would not be spending Rs 10 to Rs 15 for auto fare to travel to Badambadi," said Umesh Agarwal, a businessman.

In a different development, the chief minister also laid the foundation stones for the renovation of four parks at an estimated cost of Rs 2 crore.