Smart City bus service resumes today

Aurangabad, Nov 4:

The public transport service introduced under Smart City Mission is resuming after a gap of six months in the city from tomorrow (November 5). The Aurangabad Smart City Development Corporation Limited (ASCDCL) is the custodian of Smart City buses. Hence the administration is worried whether it would be able to attract citizens or not as the bus fares have been increased by 7 per cent due to the rise in fuel prices.

The general manager of the bus service, Prashant Bhusari, confirmed that the public transport service is resuming with the addition of new routes, from tomorrow. " We will be operating 30 buses under the first phase, while 26 and 28 buses will be brought on the road, after a gap of a couple of weeks, in the second and third phase respectively. The bus service will be available from 5 am to 11 pm.

Under the first phase, the buses will run on four new routes including Cidco to Railway Station via T V Centre and Aurangpura-Waluj-Aurangpura. The buses will be plying from Cidco to Jogeshwari, Chikalthana to Ranjangaon, Central Bus Stand (CBS) to Phulambri, CBS to Bidkin, CBS to Karmad and CBS to Ellora," said Bhusari.

ASDCL has introduced many passenger-friendly facilities like vehicle tracking system (VTS), mobile app, e-ticketing, smart card etc. The passengers can see the location of the bus he is expecting to board through VTS. Through an app, he will be able to see the bus time table, the number of bus stops on his route, etc. The passengers can obtain e-ticket, apart from Smart Card for commuters wishing to travel regularly or occasionally. The advancement in the public transport system will help provide comfort and satisfactory services to customers, said Bhusari.

The administrator of Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) A K Pandey will inaugurate the bus service from AMC bus stop near Cidco Bus Stand, on Thursday at 11 am.