Orissa to launch ''fly by road'' Volvo bus service tomorrow

Bhubaneswar, Mar 8 (UNI) Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will tomorrow flag off the luxurious Sweden made Volvo bus service, owned by Orissa State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC), between Puri and Kolkata.

Describing the bus service as ''fly by Road'', the OSRTC had entered into a tie up with Mahindra and Mahindra (M and M) which would look into the maintenance part and provide the trained drivers.

OSRTC Chairman cum Managing Director Binaya Kumar Behera said the service would run on a 60:40 partnership between M and M and the Corporation.

He said M and M had procured two Volvo buses, each costing Rs 63 lakhs for the purpose. Tickets costing Rs 525 would be available at the OSRTC counters in Puri and Bhubaneswar.

The Corporation, Mr Behera said, had also made arrangements for home delivery of tickets with an additional charge of Rs 50.

He said the journey between Puri and Kolkata would take maximum eight hours with a few minutes stoppage at Jaraka for refreshment.

The service would cater to the middle class people and the Corporation had taken all care to provide maximum comfort to the passengers during the journey, he added.

The Corporation would decide running of such buses on other routes like Bhubaneswar-Ranchi, Bhubaneswar- Raipur and Bhubaneswar-Vizag besides within the state if this project turned viable, Mr Behera said.

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