Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has proposed to pilot a Bus Priority Lane initiative on two key corridors in Bhubaneswar as part of efforts to ease traffic congestion, improve public transport reliability and make more efficient use of the city’s existing road space.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Housing & Urban Development Department Additional Chief Secretary Usha Padhee at Kharavela Bhawan here. The meeting was attended by Transport Commissioner Amitabh Thakur, CRUT Managing Director Md. Siddique Alam, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation Commissioner Chanchal Rana, Additional DCP (Traffic), senior officials of the Works Department, Bhubaneswar Development Authority and other agencies.
Following a presentation by CRUT MD Md. Siddique Alam, Padhee directed that the initiative be taken up initially on a pilot basis along two high-density corridors. A multi-agency committee has been constituted to oversee implementation, monitor the pilot and suggest refinements before its possible expansion to other parts of the city.
The two corridors identified are the Biju Patnaik International Airport-Nandankanan corridor, covering 18 km, and the Vani Vihar-Sishu Bhawan corridor, covering 5 km.
The Airport-Nandankanan corridor connects major administrative, educational, commercial and healthcare destinations and has 34 bus stops. It caters to an average daily ridership of around 9,000-10,000 passengers across major routes. The Vani Vihar-Sishu Bhawan corridor covers 15 bus stops and serves around 5,000-6,500 passengers daily, passing through important locations including Master Canteen, Rajmahal, Ram Mandir and the Bhubaneswar Railway Station area.
According to the proposal, congestion in mixed traffic currently results in an estimated loss of 1,200-1,500 bus trips every month, accounting for nearly 16 per cent of trips lost due to traffic-related cancellations. Traffic congestion also causes considerable variations in bus travel time.
The pilot is expected to reduce bus travel time by 10-20 per cent and improve average bus speeds by 15-25 per cent, besides enhancing road safety and service reliability.
The initiative will use a flexible kerb-side bus priority lane rather than rigid physical segregation to minimise disruption to general traffic while improving bus movement. The lanes will give priority to public buses, school buses and emergency and essential services.
The preparatory phase is expected to take around 10-12 weeks and will include detailed traffic surveys, corridor-level design, lane markings, signage, improvement of bus queue shelters, traffic signal optimisation and identification of designated pick-up and drop-off points for three-wheelers and cabs. This will be followed by a three-to-six-month pilot phase, during which operational performance will be monitored through Intelligent Transportation Management Systems (ITMS) and other real-time data systems.
The multi-agency committee will prepare Standard Operating Procedures for lane usage, bus movement, stopping and boarding arrangements, interaction with other road users, enforcement, emergency access and incident management. The SOPs will be refined based on operational experience during the pilot.
CRUT bus drivers and operational crew will also undergo dedicated training on lane discipline, entry and exit protocols, safe stopping, pedestrian safety, emergency situations and compliance with the approved SOPs before the pilot begins.
The system will be supported by 24×7 ITMS-based monitoring and Automatic Number Plate Recognition CCTV cameras, along with on-ground enforcement by Traffic Police personnel. CRUT will also explore the use of in-bus camera systems installed in public buses for technology-enabled monitoring and enforcement.
Unauthorised entry of private vehicles into the priority lanes and illegal kerbside parking may attract auto-generated e-challans wherever technically and legally feasible. Ambulances, fire tenders and other emergency services will have unrestricted access to the designated lanes.
The government also plans extensive public awareness and sensitisation campaigns before implementation. Road users, residents, commercial establishments, schools and other stakeholders along the two corridors will be informed about lane markings, permitted users, traffic arrangements and enforcement provisions through signage, social media, media campaigns and on-road information boards.
The pilot will also be aligned with a broader Hub-and-Spoke or Trunk-and-Feeder public transport model for Bhubaneswar. Feeder routes will be identified based on passenger demand and travel patterns and integrated with major trunk routes and transport hubs to strengthen first- and last-mile connectivity and reduce dependence on private vehicles.
The performance of the pilot will be assessed on travel-time savings, bus speeds, service reliability, passenger experience, traffic impact, road safety, enforcement effectiveness and first- and last-mile connectivity.
Based on the findings and lessons from the pilot, the Bus Priority Lane model, including its design, SOPs, enforcement mechanisms, crew training and feeder-route integration, will be refined before being considered for expansion to other major public transport corridors in Bhubaneswar.
