BANGALORE: If Bangalore is groaning under the weight of a heavily overloaded public transport service, Ahmedabad has shown the way with an innovative exclusive bus lane service that is smooth, fast and efficient.
For the last six years, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has contemplated an Ahmedabad-type Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS). The idea has remained on paper. Recently the State Government said it would implement the system between Central Silk Board and Hebbal on the Outer Ring Road (ORR).
Ahmedabad has a relatively less efficient public transport system compared to Bangalore, but it has managed to implement the BRTS on a 39-km corridor. The Gujarat Government formed the Ahmedabad Janmarg Ltd., involving Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority with CEPT University, Ahmedabad, being the prime consultant. With the 39-km corridor first phase widely praised, the second phase involving a 50-km corridor will be ready by next year.
M. Shivananda Swamy from Karnataka, Professor and Associate Director of CEPT University, Ahmedabad, said the Ahmedabad Janmarg is modelled on Transmilenio of Bogota, the capital of Columbia and BRTS of Curitiba, Brazil. The exclusive bus lane runs along the median of arterial roads. A road needs to have a minimum width of 24-meters to form the lane. Prof. Swamy was interacting with reporters from different States at a workshop on Janmarg organised by CMS Environment at Ahmedabad recently.
The Outer Ring Roads in Bangalore fit the requirement. The BRTS can transport 45,000 people per hour per direction and costs about Rs. 12 to Rs. 15 crore a km. Comparatively the Metro, which too will carry about 45,000 people an hour, costs a whopping Rs. 160 to Rs. 180 crore a km, said Prof. Swamy. He said a city like Bangalore should have a combination of feeder bus services, Metro, commuter rail and BRTS for an efficient public transport system.
Continuity
Janmarg in Ahmedabad was possible because of sustained government patronage, continuity of officials executing the project and people's cooperation, said Ahmedabad Mayor Asit Vora. The Municipal Corporation being the owner of BRTS was an advantage, he added. Before becoming the Mayor, Mr. Vora was the Chairman of Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTC), while Municipal Commissioner I.P. Gautam is holding the post since 2006.
Mr. Vora said about 1.1 lakh people use Janmarg every day. Commuters were offered free travel for three months before the formal launch.
According to Mr. Gautam, consultation with commuters before implementation, adaptable design to suit local conditions and affordability of the system were the three ingredients for the success of the system. Janmarg fares are relatively less – minimum of Rs. 2 for five bus stops (2.5 km) and maximum of Rs. 20 for 39 km, he said. Janmarg confines itself to the periphery of the city, whose boundaries were recently expanded to 460 sq km from 190 sq km.
Most successful
Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic and Security) Praveen Sood said that Janmarg is the finest example of BRT in India and one should emulate it. It should have been implemented in Bangalore by now, he said.
A BMTC official said perhaps the difference of opinion among govermental agencies could be the reason for the delay in implementing BRTS in Bangalore. In Ahmedabad, the Government was committed to its implementation.
Success of BRTS in Ahmedabad attributed to sustained government patronage
As many as 1.1 lakh people use Janmarg every day, says Mayor Asit Vora
For the last six years, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has contemplated an Ahmedabad-type Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS). The idea has remained on paper. Recently the State Government said it would implement the system between Central Silk Board and Hebbal on the Outer Ring Road (ORR).
Ahmedabad has a relatively less efficient public transport system compared to Bangalore, but it has managed to implement the BRTS on a 39-km corridor. The Gujarat Government formed the Ahmedabad Janmarg Ltd., involving Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority with CEPT University, Ahmedabad, being the prime consultant. With the 39-km corridor first phase widely praised, the second phase involving a 50-km corridor will be ready by next year.
M. Shivananda Swamy from Karnataka, Professor and Associate Director of CEPT University, Ahmedabad, said the Ahmedabad Janmarg is modelled on Transmilenio of Bogota, the capital of Columbia and BRTS of Curitiba, Brazil. The exclusive bus lane runs along the median of arterial roads. A road needs to have a minimum width of 24-meters to form the lane. Prof. Swamy was interacting with reporters from different States at a workshop on Janmarg organised by CMS Environment at Ahmedabad recently.
The Outer Ring Roads in Bangalore fit the requirement. The BRTS can transport 45,000 people per hour per direction and costs about Rs. 12 to Rs. 15 crore a km. Comparatively the Metro, which too will carry about 45,000 people an hour, costs a whopping Rs. 160 to Rs. 180 crore a km, said Prof. Swamy. He said a city like Bangalore should have a combination of feeder bus services, Metro, commuter rail and BRTS for an efficient public transport system.
Continuity
Janmarg in Ahmedabad was possible because of sustained government patronage, continuity of officials executing the project and people's cooperation, said Ahmedabad Mayor Asit Vora. The Municipal Corporation being the owner of BRTS was an advantage, he added. Before becoming the Mayor, Mr. Vora was the Chairman of Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTC), while Municipal Commissioner I.P. Gautam is holding the post since 2006.
Mr. Vora said about 1.1 lakh people use Janmarg every day. Commuters were offered free travel for three months before the formal launch.
According to Mr. Gautam, consultation with commuters before implementation, adaptable design to suit local conditions and affordability of the system were the three ingredients for the success of the system. Janmarg fares are relatively less – minimum of Rs. 2 for five bus stops (2.5 km) and maximum of Rs. 20 for 39 km, he said. Janmarg confines itself to the periphery of the city, whose boundaries were recently expanded to 460 sq km from 190 sq km.
Most successful
Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic and Security) Praveen Sood said that Janmarg is the finest example of BRT in India and one should emulate it. It should have been implemented in Bangalore by now, he said.
A BMTC official said perhaps the difference of opinion among govermental agencies could be the reason for the delay in implementing BRTS in Bangalore. In Ahmedabad, the Government was committed to its implementation.
Success of BRTS in Ahmedabad attributed to sustained government patronage
As many as 1.1 lakh people use Janmarg every day, says Mayor Asit Vora
SOURCE : THE HINDU (Anil Kumar Sastry)
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