Lack of signboards indicating bus numbers and routes at bus stops in Bhubaneswar leave passengers confused. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 4: City bus drivers do not know where to slam the brakes. Nor do the commuters know where to stand and wait for the bus that will take them to their destinations.

Though the number of city buses has reached 90 and they are operating on 12 routes in the capital besides plying to Puri and Cuttack, the lack of signboards displaying bus numbers and route details are creating problems for commuters.

The absence of stoppage boards and route details is not only confusing passengers, but also making it difficult for drivers to stop vehicles at the right place.

In fact, the service provider Dream Team Sahara (DTS) has already planned and prepared 60 to 70 signboards and 300 more are being made. As the concerned authorities are yet to tell DTS officials where to put up the signboards in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri, the entire city bus service is suffering.

“We will be able to provide services of 125 city buses through the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission funds, but basics such as bus numbers and route details are missing, which is vital for a city-centric service,’’ said a senior DTS official.

“We have already placed order to prepare signboards to the DTS management and they will soon be ready. Once those are ready, local residents as well as tourists will have no difficulty to find the right bus from the right place in the city,’’ said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena, who is also the chairman of the Bhubaneswar-Puri Transport Service Limited.

Sources at the housing and urban development department admitted that the signboards were yet to come up because of the delay in deciding on the designated bus stops. Before the decision is implemented, the City Management Group (CMG) needs to agree on it.

The CMG comprises the general administration department, police commissionerate, roads and building department, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and Bhubaneswar Development Authority.

Shakti Mishra, a teacher who at times travels by city bus on the Nandankanan-Airport route, said: “Signboards are very important for senior citizens, children and students. Also, people coming from the nearby areas and the city outskirts are confused without signboards. With the city bus service extending up to Cuttack and Puri, people are bound to get more confused. The city bus service has been running for almost a year and hence it should have adequate signboards.’’

Meeira Swain, a faculty member at a city-based engineering college, feels that infrastructure facilities for the city bus service should be in place so that people are not confused. “The service is for better public transport, but if commuters are confused, how will it serve the purpose?’’ she said.

DTS officials also added that not only passengers, but bus drivers and staff members were also stressed as they find it difficult to stop and pick up passengers from the right stoppage. As there are no designated places for city buses to stop, private players and autorickshaw drivers are also taking undue advantage of the situation.

“We are ready with signboards for the past six months and have spent nearly Rs 20,000 per board. If the authorities do not show us the place to put those, how can we place them?’’ asked a DTS staff.

Not only signboards, but also the main bus terminus at Pokhariput and the origin and destination (OD) terminals at five places in Bhubaneswar, two in Cuttack and two in Puri are yet to come up.

The OD terminals are required for parking buses at the end of the day. At present, they have to either come back to the Master Canteen terminal or be parked on the roadside.