A total of 16,611 buses are operating in the State now against requirement of 10,727 buses as per the standard set by the Central Institute of Road and Transport (CIRT), Pune, informed Transport Minister Ramesh Chandra Majhi in the State Assembly on Saturday.
“According to the CIRT, 24.20 buses are required per a lakh of population. Accordingly, Odisha requires 10,727 buses only,” the Minster said in response to a question of BJD MlA Dr Raseswari Panigrahi.
In response to a question of Congress MlA Tara Prasad Bahinipati, the Minster said the OSRTC has a total of 430 buses and, of them, 375 are plying on 206 routes and the rest 55 buses are not operating. The OSRTC has now decided to put 46 of the 55 defunct buses on auction sale.
The Minister further informed that the Government has decided to procure 115 more buses soon.