One option for a BRTS in Bangalore could be from Indiranagar/Domlur to E-City after the airport shifts and the elevated expressway comes up.
Once the airport shifts, the pressure on the IRR will come down. Once the elevated expressway comes up one lane can be dedicated to the BRTS on Hosur Road (at the bottom).
Starting from Domlur/Indiranagar/BDA complex on OM Road - travel along 100 ft road (mixed lane), move to IRR, travel along IRR, turn left to Sarjapur Road at Koramangala, then to Madivala and then Silkboard and then to E-city. Some parts will be a mixed lane. But it certainly seems promising.
Srivathsa
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The route?
Hmm, thats a thought. I tried to draw the Route till silk board. Problem will be the path between points 5 and 6 (Ejipura to Madivala police station)
BRTS - Indiranagar to Hosur Road /Electronic City
Srivathsa,
This route is also recommended in the CTTP report (Domlur to Hosur Rd), however, it can be extended either ways, I suppose.
The problem at intersections at Ejipura, KML 80-ft rd, Sarjapur Rd & at Hosur Rd T-junction can be solved if narrow magic boxes are used exclusively for these buses to speed them up.
This corridor can operate in mixed traffic on Indiranagar 100-ft road, on exclusive lanes on IRR upto Ejipura, bypass the signal there using a magic box fixture, operate again in mixed traffic till Hosur road, however bypass all signal delays at the junctions mentioned with narrow underpasses, & again operate on exclusive lanes on Hosur road.
This should speed up the services & if restraints on car usage are introduced (tolls, etc), then it might be successful. The best way to test this might be to use ordinary buses + volvo vajras & check out the response, without going in for expensive vestibule /CNG buses.
combination of mixed traffic and dedicated lane
Mixed traffic operation with better control on road entropy is one option on 100 ft road in Indiranagar. Or, it could be a single bus lane on one side pavements of 100 ft road. You dont *really* need wide footpath on both sides of the road.
Speaking of "mixed traffic" mode of BRT, as long as the buses move at the average speed of private cars, it is good enough to win car commuters. I have noticed this a few times when I drive Whitefield-CBD with 333P or 335E ahead or behind me - the Volvos reach almost at the same time, making me think, ah, why did I drive today. Volvos do move faster, thats probably a combination of two things - much better acceleration than old TATA buses, and fewer stops.
But mixed traffic model wont work once you hit Koramangala at Ejipura - the area is too crowded to be predictable. One way routing magic could help here. If IRR could be made one way from Sonyworld till Sarjapur Road (dedicating one side of IRR for the bus lane), that should help.
One problem with small sretch trial run is this. Unless you have nice end to end connection, folks wont use the buses, and the trial/experiment will be termed as failure. What I am saying is that half hearted attempts at 'checking out' a route could be dangerous, especially in Bangalore where the car lobby big and strong.
why toll road?
Tarle - I mean below the tollway
TS,
Not sure if the last comment is directed at me. When I reread my post, I realized that my statement could be mistaken to use the toll road as the bus lane. I changed it almost immediately after posting.
I also mean one lane in each direction for a BRTS. We also need to keep in mind that not everyone goes to E-City and a number of routes go beyond - Attibele, Chandapura, etc. Will the BRTS interfere with them? Or could the BRTS lane be dedicated for limited hours (7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m to 7:00 p.m.) and let other buses use the BRTS lane for the rest of the time.
Is this something that some of us at Praja can work on and make a proposal to someone who has the ears of the powers that be? Else it will become one more idea that is discussed to death and forgotten about in 2 weeks. It need not be the "traditional BRTS" but maybe a Aircon Volvo/TATA/Leyland system to ferry people from I.Nagar and Koramangala to E-City and back?
SB - Given that 30-35% of travel time is at signals - a car will not make it much quicker than a bus. The issues are last mile connectivity as well as reliability of the service. If a system like this can average 25kmph it can make it from I Nagar to E-City in 1 hr.
Srivathsa
Drive safe. It is not just the car maker which can recall its product.
touch HSR?
If we see EC as the cradle for IT..then HSR and BTM are the bunker beds..how about getting bus route touch HSR, before entering hosur road?
Also, taking the bus onto the BETL is a good option than taking it below. Since the bus is directed as connectivity to EC (and the KMS BT? ) , its ok for it to take the BETL..
As the normal trend goes..there is a sizable IT croud that hops on to BMTC at bommanahalli..but almost close to none after that..Bommanahalli folks can as well get to SB and catch the fast bus from there! Leave the road below to the mofussil and out of state transport.
How about large capacity busses as shown here?
http://www.youtube.com/wa...
these are used in brazil and as this example goes its in Budapest and also volvo makes these too!
HSR
BlrSri,
Taking every Indirangar bus via HSR might add to the transit times - even if 10-15 mins. Maybe every alternate bus or 1 bus in 3 to go on Sarjapur Road, take a U turn onto ORR and comeback to Silkboard. Or have one more leg originate in Koramangala and hit HSR before joining Silkboard junction.
On taking it onto BETL, it should be possible as long as tolls are paid. Each bus will displace 20-25 cars and that will mean a loss of revenue to BETL and so that lobby might come into play to disrupt public transport to ECity on a large scheme.
Srivathsa
Drive safe. It is not just the car maker which can recall its product.
BETL for BRT
yes agree..it will add 10 min to travel time..we can as well start a leg from Sarjapur road connecting HSR to hosur road and a similar leg starting from BTM thru SB!
About BETL use for the busses..we may not need a BRT exclusive lane, as the road does not have junctions..but the toll needs to be paid though.
Let the IT cos who first lobied for the BETL pay for the bus tolls..afterall they need to pay the congestion/pollution toll! They already have private cops manning hosur road and something like this should not be too difficult..
Also lets stop thinking about the profits of BETL..making money is their problem..let them handle it!
Not worried about their profit - but their disruptive power
Blrsri,
I could hardly care less about how much BETL makes on that road. But if any public transport comes in the way of their making money then it's likely that it will be killed off by touting various reasons.
Srivathsa
Drive safe. It is not just the car maker which can recall its product.