Bhubaneswar: The city is getting more city buses and a modern inter-state terminal, but the drivers are yet to be trained to stop their vehicles only at designated spots.

The city has more than 100 bus stops. But, buses stop everywhere to pick up and drop passengers except for the designated places, alleged Nirmal Mishra, a daily commuter.

Raju, who runs a roadside tea shop on Janpath, couldn't agree more. "These bus stops are there only for namesake. I have never seen a bus stopping at a stoppage," he said.

As the buses do not stop at the designated places, passengers are left with no option but to board the buses from random places, contributing to risk of accidents and traffic congestion. "Initially, I used to wait for my bus at the bus stop near Shastri Nagar. But shortly I realised that they never stop at the designated places," said Shastri Nagar resident Gayatri Maharana.

"The drivers should be trained to stop the buses only at the designated stoppages. If they continue to stop the buses anywhere, the passengers will also try to hail and ride the vehicles here and there. There has to be a regulation."

Ironically, the city police has got no provisions for levying any fine to errant drivers who do not stop their vehicles at designated places. The Odisha Urban Police Act, 2003, clearly mentions that all passenger vehicles should lift and drop passengers only at places designated by police. But, drivers pay no attention to it as there is no provision for levying a penalty to violators.

Many bus stops are also suffering from lack of maintenance. In 2016, the civic body and other agencies decided to repair the bus stops that were in a bad state. There were plans to replace the iron frames with steel ones for sustainability.

"The administration earns revenue from these bus stops by using the space for advertisement. They should spend the money collected in maintaining those. In the absence of maintenance, the bus stops are falling prey to encroachments," said social worker Alok Mohanty.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said they planned to revamp the bus stops. "I will talk to the service provider and direct them to train their drivers to stop the buses at designated places," said Jena.