ANDC Report

PRE-PANDEMIC
People across the area had a very healthy lifestyle. Social

interaction was there and there was no problem in the
transportation unit. Although people did faced problems in
the bus stop due to the absence of many infrastructural units
and the unit itself was very old. A redesign was highly
needed.
The stakeholders never faced any problems during their
work. The bus stop didn’t have a large no. of cleaners and
shopkeepers, for which the bus stop was not cleaned well
enough and the people faced problem in buying goods
directly from the bus stop.
The street vendors could sell their products to the people in
the bus stop. They didn’t have any problem in their work.
People find it easy to go to their respective houses because
of the continuous presence of auto rickshaws near the bus
stop.
The enquiry counter was not well developed and didn’t have
a proper rest shed. Sometimes people faced problems in
knowing the time of arrival and departure of the buses.
There was no mode of cashless transaction, although MO
bus, a bus service initiative started by the government which
covered areas like Bhubaneswar, Puri, Cuttack and Khordha,
had started the initiative of cashless transaction through
online payment system in their app.
The bus stop followed all the guidelines properly.
There was a lack of healthcare centre and police station
nearby. It took a lot of time for them to come there in case of
emergencies.
The pathways followed all the by laws and people never
faced any problem in those areas.
There is no proper entrance in the bus stop. Basically, the
entry point and the exit point are the same.
There is no free wifi network coverage in this age of
digitization despite the direction.
The overcrowding and traffic jam happened most of the
times. As the bus stop is nearby to the railway station, the
bus routes intersect with the people going to the station at
that time and there’s a huge congestion near the entrance of
the bus stop, which further makes a change in the arrival and
departure time of the buses.
There are two temples nearby the bus stop where people
visit sometimes.
Proper sewerage system and sanitization system is not
present. Due to the absence of a proper drainage system, the
road gets waterlogged during the rainy days.
POST-PANDEMIC
Amid the coronavirus crisis, two things must be noted. One:
in the absence of a definitive treatment or vaccine, we will
have to live with the pandemic for some time. Two: we
cannot have an endless lockdown.
Bus commuters interact with three main contact points – bus
stops, ticket counters and inside the vehicle.
Safe standing distances can be marked out at the bus stops
along with queuing for smooth boarding. In cases of buses
with two doors, passengers should be allowed to enter and
exit only from separately designated gates.
The bus service operator must allow digital payments to buy
tickets, reducing the contact points drastically on the bus.
Passengers should be allowed to sit and stand only in the
designated locations, based on physical distancing norms.
Routine cleaning and disinfection practices of public
transport vehicles will also minimise the spread of disease.
Maintaining a temperature of 24-27 degrees Celsius and
ensuring relative humidity of 40%-70% through the regular
infusion of fresh air is vital for air-condition operations.
Impact on Street design
Sidewalks in the numerous South Asian Countries tend to be
crowded, irregular, if they exist at all. Sidewalks are occupied
by street vendors, pavement dwellers and a range of informal
activities. In efforts to direct social distancing while queuing,
sidewalks leading to shops have been marked with yellow
circles a meter and a half apart. Cities in both the Global
North and South may need to consider adding more space to
accommodate for new queuing norms at the entrances of
shops, services, and public facilities.
While living in unprecedented times, people are not only
battling the fear of corona virus but are also gripped with
anxiety and worry of losing their source of income amid the
economic crisis due to the lockdown. There should proper
measures taken so that the vendors can again start selling
their products during this pandemic. We can introduce new
designs to the vending shops so that the social distancing
norms are followed, and the spread of the virus can be
prevented. Vending machines can also be introduced to the
terminus with proper sanitization.
The bus routes should be changed according the design,
thereby making sure that the overcrowding and traffic jam
doesn’t happen. The main road doesn’t need to be changed,
but the roads that links with the bus stop and the main road
and the railway station can be changed. The road width can
be increased, and the pathways can be redesigned following
the government guidelines of social distancing so that there
is no overcrowding.
The circulation pattern of the whole bus terminus will be
changed. The pre pandemic circulation caused a lot of
congestion around the entrance of the bus terminus, as the
entry point and the exit point are the same.
As one exits the bus terminus, he/she gets the first look of
the auto rickshaws in front of the entrance. Keeping in mid
the road width and the same entrance and exit of the buses
from the terminus, an overcrowding problem can occur. It
happened for most of the time before the pandemic.
Cashless transaction should be introduced in the bus
terminus as most of the busses are not registered with the
online transaction system. Even if people who doesn’t have
online payment apps, the enquiry counter should be
redesigned in a way where there is less human to human
interaction and the social distancing norms can be followed
thoroughly.
PPP- public private partnership should be introduced. Private
sector companies should work with the public sector to bring
out new ideas and innovation to the bus stop during this
pandemic, which will help people in numerous ways. Artificial
intelligence and robots can be introduced to the bus
terminus. A prime example can be the students from the
college VSSUT has developed a robot-driven ultraviolet light
machine for sanitization works. It has named the machine as
UVRAS (Ultra Violet Robot-Assisted Sanitation). Since the
machine is omni-directional in nature, it can move to any
part of the targeted area for sanitization work. It is fitted with
a camera that can capture still photos and shoot real-time
video of the area being sanitised by the machine. The
machine can be operated with a remote control set to enable
the user to sanitise the area without coming in the contact
with the things. The robot has also been successfully tested
on mobile phones. Earlier, the college students developed an
automated hand sanitizer machine. It has a sensor that can
sanitise the user’s hands without touching it. The chemicals
used in it for sanitation were produced in the university lab.
Private companies can take part like these in introducing
many things to the bus terminus. The bus terminus lacks in
free wifi network coverage for the people. Recently Google
and many other private software and network companies
investing on railways for free network coverage is a very
good example. They can also work with the government in
introducing these new things to the bus terminus.
The parking layout will be changed. The layout needs to
follow the new social distancing guidelines of this pandemic.
Public toilets need to be installed in the bus terminus with a
janitor room. These toilets should be sanitized daily and
should be designed in a way that it prevents the spread of
diseases. No touch sanitizer dispenser should be installed at
appropriate places.
Bus terminus’ sitting areas should be changed following the
pandemic guidelines. This can further change the
anthropometry of the sitting areas and other places as well.
A healthcare clinic and a police station should be installed in
the site because of the unavailability of these units in the
nearby area. A small emergency quarantine centre can be
built where if a person who somehow got the disease can be
moved to this unit, which will be a little away from the public
spaces.
The overcrowding of the buses should be prevented by
following the pandemic guidelines of social distancing norms.
New machines can be installed in the buses where it can
check the status of a person if he is infected or not, without
causing any hiatus. Sanitization of a person should be done
before entering the bus. The buses should also be sanitized
daily.
Proper booths and stalls should be introduced before the
entry to the bus terminus to check if a person has covid 19 or
any other disease symptoms or not.
Hoardings should be put in the bus stop so that people get
updated with the news and guidelines to follow during the
pandemic. During these unprecedented times, people who
cannot get access to new updates and guidelines, they can
depend on these hoardings whenever needed.
Small houses and rooms can be built for the various
stakeholders in the bus terminus where they can live
whenever a sudden lockdown is imposed.

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PRE-PANDEMIC

People across the area had a very healthy lifestyle. Social

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