Bhubaneswar, March 19: It is rare for a bus company to make an appeal to the commuters not to travel. This is one such unexpected moment for MoBus. Though with lot of efforts in last one year CRUT has been able to increase the ridership from 35000 to 1.2 lakhs per day. However today we are constrained to request the commuters to travel in MoBus only when it is necessary. In view of the threat posed by Corona virus health and well being of our riders and society at large is the most important consideration at this moment.
“Everybody is worried about Corona Virus; CRUT is equally concerned about the health and safety of the passengers as well as the staff. In larger public interest we are asking people not to travel unless it is necessary & maintain social distancing. But on the other hand for the people who cannot avoid travelling we are taking utmost care to keep the buses thoroughly clean and hygienic,” said Mr. Arun Bothra, Managing Director, CRUT.
Mr. Bothra further added, “We want to reiterate that the frequency of cleaning drives has been increased. It is being done on daily basis as per standard procedure in the interest of passengers and staff deployed in the buses. After the last trip all the buses go to respective depots. 10 PM onwards mandatory cleaning of buses start which continues till 5 AM in the morning. In addition to this, extra measure is being taken to sanitise the buses with INFEKTOCIDE, a high level disinfectant used in critical areas. It is eco-friendly, non-corrosive, non-irritant and bio-degradable. We are using fogging, spraying and mopping methods for the same.”
“All the crew members have been instructed to request the passengers not to commute in the buses where all the seats are already occupied. However the Bus Captains and Guides are not in a position to physically stop people from boarding the bus. On some of the routes, passengers are not paying heed to our request. It is in their own interest they should not crowd the buses. Though CRUT is making efforts to clean and sanitize the buses but still possibility of passing of the virus from person to person stays,” Mr.Bothra added.
Ever since first positive case of Coronavirus in Odisha was registered, there is a sharp decline in ridership of Mo Bus. The decline in ridership is across all the routes operating in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Khordha. On March 17, there was significant drop in the footfall when 75,766 people travelled in Mobus.
Mr. Bothra further added, “We are OK with this decline. It may still go down further. Safety of people is much more important than our ridership and revenue.”
It is nature of their job that Captains and Guides cannot stirctly practice social distancing. We are keeping an eye on their health. They have been sensitized about the same. As far as the masks and sanitisers are concerned, in the prevailing conditions they are not easily available. Still CRUT has made serious effort to procure the masks from outside the State. “More than 50% of the crew have been provided with the masks. Over next few days it will available for all of them.”
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