Bhubaneswar, 11 August (H.S.): Housing & Urban Development Department Additional Chief Secretary Usha Padhee chaired a review meeting on the functioning of Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) at Kharavela Bhawan, directing officials to take time-bound measures to improve the safety, reliability and quality of Ama Bus services.

The review covered fleet and route operations, road safety, passenger services, crew management, digital systems, financial sustainability, infrastructure and future expansion plans. Padhee stressed the need for continuous monitoring of service delivery, prompt corrective action and greater accountability to ensure a safe and commuter-friendly public transport system.

CRUT currently operates 770 buses, including 390 electric buses, across seven cities and 138 routes, serving around 3.5 lakh passengers daily. Technology-driven systems such as GPS tracking, ITMS, CCTV, passenger information systems and Command and Control Centre monitoring are being used to improve operations.

Road safety received special attention, with CRUT reporting a 52% reduction in accidents compared to the corresponding period last year. Measures include enhanced driver training, mandatory alcohol testing, speed monitoring and KPI-based crew assessment. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Driver Fatigue Monitoring Systems (DFMS) are also being planned.

The meeting also reviewed digital ticketing, live bus tracking, passenger feedback, National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) integration and last-mile connectivity through Sarathi and electric feeder-bus services. The feeder pilot currently records around 4,000 daily passengers.

CRUT is also focusing on workforce development, financial sustainability and expansion. Cost recovery has improved to around 65%, while proposed measures include AI-enabled scheduling, automated vendor and billing systems, asset monetisation, organisational restructuring and expansion to additional cities.

Padhee directed CRUT to institutionalise regular monitoring of routes, schedules, fleet utilisation, safety indicators, passenger grievances and crew performance, with timely follow-up on decisions to strengthen Ama Bus as a safe, efficient and citizen-centric urban transport service.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda