CRUT revises speed limit of ‘reckless’ Mo Buses

BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to check rash driving, the Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) on Wednesday revised the speed limits of Mo Buses with Urban Development Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra warning strict action against drivers found to be overspeeding.

Mahapatra said in cities, Mo Buses will be allowed to travel at a maximum speed of 40 km/hr. On highways, the buses can travel up to 50 km/hr. The decision to revise the speed limits came a few days after a woman suffered serious injuries when a Mo Bus hit her in Chandrasekharpur area here.

Interestingly, CRUT recently conducted an internal audit to check the driving ethics of its drivers and found out that Mo Buses were involved in 139 accidents in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Puri and Berhampur in the last one year. CRUT operates Mo Buses in these six cities.

In fact, seven persons were killed in road accidents involving Mo Buses in the last two years. In many instances, overspeeding by Mo Bus drivers was found to be the reason behind the accidents. Sources said after the audit, CRUT decided to reduce the speed limit of its buses and the same was proposed to the state government.