Bhubaneswar, May 27 (PTI) After a gap of over two months private buses will operate in Odisha from Thursday, the All Odisha Private Bus Owners Association said.

The association in its general body meeting here on Wednesday decided to run buses "in phases" with the state government agreeing to fulfill some of their "genuine demands".

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"The state government has fulfilled our three primary demands and assured us that it will pay heed to some others in view of the losses incurred by bus owners due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

"After an unanimous decision among all the stakeholders and keeping in mind the interest of the public, we have decided to run the buses across the state from Thursday," association secretary Debendra Sahoo said.

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There are over 14,000 buses providing service to passengers across the state, he said. "Bus fares will not be increased in view of the COVID-19 pandemic," the association secretary said. Private buses are the lifeline of the state as government buses are not adequate to cater to passengers, Sahoo said.

The association secretary said, the transport minister has assured the private bus operators that taxes payable by the bus owners during May have been waived and steps are being taken for providing insurance facilities to the staff.

The association has demanded insurance for the driver, helper and conductor of buses who will be exposed to passengers.

Sahoo said that the association is aware about the losses to be incurred due to dwindling passenger count, but keeping in view its social obligation it has decided to begin bus services.

Social distancing will be maintained in the buses and the vehicles will be sanitised frequently as per the guidelines of the state government, Sahoo said.

Earlier, the private bus owners were not ready to operate intra-state buses after the government had given them a permission on May 24 as they felt that they would have to pay taxes for the month of May.

Meanwhile, the city bus service resumed operation in the state capital from Tuesday, officials said.

The "Mobus" service run by Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) is initially operating in 7 routes of the Capital Region from 7 am to 7 pm.

Auto-rickshaws and cabs are also plying with drivers and passengers maintaining social distancing and wearing masks.

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