City bus services and Autos are the two dominant modes, excluding personalised vehicles, for daily commuters and tourists in the city. Bus Services operated by, both, Bhubaneswar Puri Transport Services (BPTS) and Private Bus Associations plays an important role for providing regional connectivity particularly with surrounding suburbs like Cuttack, Puri, Khurda and Jatani. Presently AC and Non AC both kinds of services are available for inter-city connectivity, particularly for Cuttack and Puri for every 10 mins. All the Inter-city Bus Services are operate and managed from two big terminals of the city, i.e. Baramunda and Master Canteen terminal. Baramunda is the biggest terminal in the city which manages both, manages approx. 500 buses daily, Inter State and Inter City Services. On an average the both the services made available for 18-19 Hrs; morning 4:30 AM to night 11 PM.
BPTS is the sole authority for providing intra-city connectivity which manages all its services from Master Canteen terminal. All the buses operated by BPTS has a clear distinction in-terms colour and comfort level from other privately operated buses. These buses are either red (AC) or green (Non- AC) colour and built as per the urban bus standards. Presently the minimum bus fare for BPTS buses is Rs. 7.00 for first 3 km. Average daily operation time is 15 hrs; morning 6:00 AM to evening 9:00 PM. Citizen can refer the details of routes, schedules and fares from official web portal of BPTS, i.e. http://bptsl.in/.
Autos run by individual auto owners are the most abounded para transit mode in the city which is available almost all the major roads in Bhubaneswar. Both individual and shared auto services are available for commuter’s preference. Auto fare is not controlled from Government, its individual auto owner (in case of individual services) or Auto association (in case of shared services) who decides the fare based upon market demand. On an average shared auto charges Rs 2-3 per km.
Special “pink auto rickshaw services’’ are also available in the city to ensure safe ride for female travellers. They operate as normal autos in the city. However, the credentials of drivers of these rickshaws have been specially verified by the cops to provide better safety assurance.
Auto and Cab aggregator services like, Jugnoo, Ola and Uber services are presently available in the City. These demand based 24*7 hrs. services are available every nook and corner of the city and easy to book a ride from their respective mobile application. Presently inter-city, particularly for Puri and Cuttack, services are also available, details regarding charges can be viewed from their respective mobile app or web portal.
Soon the city is planning to introduce Public Bi-cycle Sharing Schemes for better last miles connectivity to bus or auto services and create a connected neighbourhood. Details on the scheme shall be made available quickly.