THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU
BHUBANESWAR, AUGUST 13, 2026
In a major push to make public transport faster, more
reliable and commuter-friendly, the Odisha government has decided to pilot bus
priority lanes on two key corridors of Bhubaneswar, aiming to ease congestion,
improve bus speeds and make more efficient use of the city's existing road
space.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by
Usha Padhee, Additional Chief Secretary, Housing & Urban Development
Department, at Kharavela Bhawan here on Thursday.
The pilot, proposed through Comprehensive Region Urban
Transport (CRUT), will initially cover the Biju Patnaik International
Airport-Nandankanan corridor and the Vani Vihar-Sishu Bhawan corridor.
The meeting was attended by Transport Commissioner Amitabh
Thakur, CRUT MD Md. Siddique Alam, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC)
Commissioner Chanchal Rana, Additional DCP (Traffic), Chief Construction
Engineer, R&B, Works Department, Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA)
and BMC officials.
Following a detailed presentation by CRUT MD Md. Siddique
Alam, the ACS directed that the initiative be implemented initially on a pilot
basis along the two high-density corridors. A multi-agency committee has been
constituted to oversee implementation, continuously monitor the pilot and make
necessary refinements before a wider rollout.
The initiative is aimed at addressing traffic congestion and
improving the reliability and predictability of public transport by giving
priority to public buses, school buses and emergency and essential services.
According to CRUT, 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 trip loss due to traffic-related cancellations. It also
causes significant variations in bus travel time.
By reallocating appropriate kerb-side road space for priority
movement, 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.
The Airport-Nandankanan corridor, stretching 18 km, connects
major administrative, educational, commercial and healthcare destinations. It
has 34 bus stops and caters to an average daily ridership of around
9,000-10,000 passengers across major routes.
The Vani Vihar-Sishu Bhawan corridor, covering five km,
passes through important commercial and transit locations, including Master
Canteen, Rajmahal, Ram Mandir and the Bhubaneswar Railway Station area. It has
15 bus stops and caters to approximately 5,000-6,500 passengers daily.
Unlike rigid physical segregation, the pilot will adopt a
flexible kerb-side bus priority lane design to minimise disruption to general
traffic while improving bus movement and operational efficiency.
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 (BQS), 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 closely monitored and real-time
data collected through Intelligent Transportation Management Systems (ITMS).
The multi-agency committee will prepare detailed Standard
Operating Procedures (SOPs) covering lane usage, bus movement protocols,
stopping and boarding arrangements, interaction with other road users,
enforcement mechanisms, emergency access, incident management and responsibilities
of the concerned agencies.
The SOPs will be finalised based on operational requirements
identified during the preparatory phase and further refined from the experience
gained during the pilot.
CRUT bus drivers and other operational crew will also undergo
dedicated training before the pilot begins. The training will cover lane
discipline, entry and exit protocols, safe stopping at designated locations,
interaction with general traffic, pedestrian safety, emergency situations and
compliance with the approved SOPs.
The initiative will be backed by 24x7 ITMS-based monitoring
and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) CCTV cameras, besides on-ground
enforcement by Traffic Police personnel.
The in-bus camera system installed in public buses will also
be explored as a technology-enabled enforcement and monitoring tool. Camera
feeds and recorded footage may help identify unauthorised use of the priority
lane, unsafe lane changes, obstruction, illegal parking and other violations,
subject to applicable protocols and technical feasibility.
Unauthorised entry of private vehicles into the priority
lanes and illegal kerbside parking will attract auto-generated e-challans
wherever technically and legally feasible. Emergency services, including
ambulances and fire tenders, will have unrestricted priority access to the
designated lanes.
Before the pilot begins, extensive public awareness and
sensitisation measures will be undertaken for road users, public transport
users, residents, commercial establishments, schools and other stakeholders
along the two corridors.
The public will be informed about lane markings, permitted
users, traffic movement arrangements and enforcement provisions through
signage, social media, media campaigns, on-road information boards and other
communication channels.
The initiative will also be aligned with a broader
Hub-and-Spoke/Trunk-and-Feeder public transport model for Bhubaneswar. Based on
passenger demand and corridor-level travel patterns, suitable feeder routes
will be identified and integrated with major trunk routes and transport hubs.
This is expected to strengthen first- and last-mile
connectivity, improve access to high-capacity public transport corridors and
reduce dependence on private vehicles for short connecting trips.
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.
Data generated through ITMS, ANPR and other technology systems will support
continuous assessment and evidence-based decision-making.
Based on the evidence and lessons emerging from the pilot, the bus priority lane model, including its design, SOPs, enforcement mechanisms, crew training and feeder-route integration, will be refined and considered for expansion to other major public transport corridors across Bhubaneswar.
The initiative marks a significant step towards building a more reliable, efficient, technology-enabled and sustainable public transport system in the state capital, while encouraging greater use of public transport and making better use of the city's existing road infrastructure.
