Mo Bus, the bus service of Odisha’s Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) authority, has been recognized by the United Nations as one of 10 global recipients of its annual Public Service Awards for 2022.

Mo Bus service

• The Mo Bus service was launched on November 6, 2018.
• It aimed to ensure transformation of the urban public transport scenario in the city and its hinterland through use of smart technology, service benchmarking and customer satisfaction.
• The buses are designed to integrate smart technologies such as free on-board Wi-Fi service, digital announcements, surveillance cameras, and electronic ticketing.
• CRUT says that to increase women’s participation in the workforce, and to make women riders feel safer, it is committed to ensuring that 50% of Mo Bus Guides (conductors) are women.

What is the recent award?

• The public transport service has been recognised for its role in “promoting gender-responsive public services to achieve the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)”.
• The “impact” is that 57 per cent of the city’s commuters now use the Mo Bus, the UN said.
• Mo E-Ride is estimated to reduce pollution by 30-50 per cent.

About UN Public Service Award

• The UN describes its Public Service Awards as the “most prestigious international recognition of excellence in public service”.
• The first Awards ceremony was held in 2003, and the UN has since received “an increasing number of submissions from all around the world”.
• It is intended to reward the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions that lead to a more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide.
• Through an annual competition, the UN Public Service Awards promotes the role, professionalism and visibility of public service.

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