Mo Bus : Transforming Urban Transport Landscape and Community Connect

Bhubaneswar, July 24: The girl students and inmates of Urban Hostel, Pokhariput on every early morning wait for their ``Mo Bus’’ near the Pokhariput bus queue shelter. They would have faced a lot more difficulties in attending their classes in city institutions had there been no `Mo Bus’ service.

As the Odisha Government is giving emphasis to ``girl power’’ through Mission Shakti the students are not the only beneficiary. From the ``Mo Bus’’ Guides or ticket collectors to the e-Sarathis (e-ride drivers for last mile connectivity) are women proving the gender equality agenda. So apart from the big help in providing a sustainable urban transport agenda, ``Mo Bus’’ has also become a platform for socio-economic evolution in the city and around.

“Mo” in the local Odia language means “my” and this nomenclature was devised to instill a sense of ownership among the public by the Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT). It recognises that public transit is more than just a means of transportation. It is a vital component of the community that connects people to their daily lives, whether it is work, school, healthcare, or leisure activities. CRUT’s services are designed to cater to the diverse needs of the region’s residents, including those who have limited mobility or rely on public transport as their sole means of transportation.

The journey of CRUT in setting a ground for itself and winning the trust of the public has not been a cakewalk. The journey from No Bus to Mo Bus has indeed been full of ups and downs. Within a year of operations, the Capital Region of Odisha experienced one of the worst super cylone in the recent past called Fani in May 2019.

As CRUT was recovering from the huge damage in its infrastructure caused by the disaster, in March 2020 the world was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. But two back to back disasters did not deter the CRUT team as it did not stop its service to the public. During the lockdown induced by the pandemic, CRUT initiated its Grocery on Wheels service where groceries were supplied to containment zones through Mo Bus.

Meanwhile, the Government of Odisha came up with the Odisha Electric Vehicle Policy, 2021 which is one of the most balanced State Electric Vehicle Policy in India that has a compressive overview of the EV ecosystem, starting with incentives for manufacturers and buyers to encouraging Circular Economy with scrappage of the discarded EV products after its lifecycle is over.

CRUT promptly acted upon both the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) II Scheme of the Central Government and the Odisha Electric Vehicle Policy and launched its fleet of E-Bus variant of Mo Bus and the e-rickshaws known as Mo E-Ride. The Electric Vehicle (EV) fleet of CRUT paved way for Green Mobility in not only the smart city of Bhubaneswar but also the first of its kind to be launched by a Public Transport Agency in Odisha.

At present, Mo Bus serves approximately 2.5 lakh riders per day in a network of over 500 km across 67 routes in the Urban Transport Areas of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri and Rourkela. There are 10 Mo E-Ride routes plying on a pilot basis providing feeder service to Mo Bus in Bhubaneswar by ensuring first and last mile connectivity.

To make public transport a popular among the public, CRUT from time to time organises special rides in both Mo Bus and Mo E-Ride. On special occasions like T20 or Paralympics matches, CRUT provides special Mo Bus shuttle services. During FIH Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup, 2023 CRUT also gave free Mo Bus rides to people having valid tickets for the hockey matches.

Heritage on Mo E-Ride was one such major initiative that was held this year where tourists took free rides in Mo E-Ride and by taking a tour of the Temple Complex area of Old Town in Bhubaneswar. As a part of citizen participation activity, recently there was a BQS and Bus Pole Design Competition held to bring in ideas from the public as to how they would like to have their BQS and Bus Pole built and designed.