Bangalore Transportation: Research and Reports

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A lot of research and study work has been done to analyze Bangalore's transportation situation and requirements. The most recent and popular one was a Comprehensive Traffic and Transportation Study (CTTS) done by RITES. This study produced a report-cum-plan in 2007 which is referred to as Comprehensive Traffic and Transportation Plan, or CTTP-2007.

Bangalore CTTP 2007

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Comprehensive Traffic and Transportation Plan for Bangalore

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

CHAPTER – 1 INTRODUCTION (PDF 6MB)
1.1 GENERAL BACKGROUND
1.2 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
1.3 DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
1.4 TRANSPORT NETWORK
1.5 GROWTH OF MOTOR VEHICLES
1.6 THE BANGLORE METROPOLITAN REGION
1.7 URBAN LAND USE STRUCTURE FOR BMA
1.8 BANGALORE MYSORE INFRASTRUCTURE CORRIDOR AREA PLANNING AUTHROITY (BMICAPA)
1.9 EARLIER STUDIES
1.10 NEED FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE TRAFIC AND TRANSPORTATION PLAN

CHAPTER – 2 STUDY OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY

2.1 STUDY GOALS
2.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
2.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

2.4. STUDY METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER – 3 EXISTING TRAFFIC AND TRAVEL CHARACTERISTICS (PDF)
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 PRIMARY TRAFFIC AND TRAVEL SURVEYS
3.3 TRAFFIC ZONE DELINEATION
3.4 ZONAL POPULATION
3.5 TRAFFIC CHARACTERISTICS
3.6 SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND TRAVEL CHARACTERISTICS
3.7 PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC CHARACTERISTICS
3.8 PARKING CHARACTERISTCS
3.9 SPEED & DELAY STUDY
3.10 PUBLIC TRANSPORT SURVEY
3.11 TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
3.12 ROAD ACCIDENTS
3.13 PROBLEMS AND ISSUES

CHAPTER – 4 DEVELOPMENT OF OPERATIONAL TRAVEL DEMAND MODEL (PDF)
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 METHODOLOGY FOR MODEL DEVELOPMENT
4.3 TRIP GENERATION
4.4 TRIP ATTRACTION
4.5 BASE YEAR NETWORK DEVELOPMENT
4.6 GENERALIZED COST
4.7 CALIBRATION AND VALIDATION OF OBSERVED MODELS
4.8 CONCLUSIONS

CHAPTER – 5 STRATEGY FOR TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT

5.1 NATIONAL URBAN TRANSPORT POLICY
5.2 GROUND REALITIES VS URBAN TRANSPORT POLICY
5.3 VISION
5.4 OBSERVATIONS
5.5 THE PREFERRED STRATEGY FOR TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER – 6 FUTURE DEMAND ANALYSIS AND SYSTEM SELECTION (PDF)

6.1 FUTURE GROWTH SCENARIO
6.2 DO MINIMUM SCENARIO
6.3 SCENARIO 2
6.4 SCENARIO 3
6.5 RECOMMENDED SCENARIO
6.6 SYSTEM SELECTION
6.7 SUGGESTED MASS TRANSPORT SYSTEMS FOR BANGALORE

CHAPTER – 7 THE TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION PLAN
7.1 COMPONENTS OF THE TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION PLAN
7.2 MASS TRANSPORT SYSTEM
7.3 THE METRO NETWORK SYSTEM
7.4 MONO RAIL / LIGHT RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM (LRT)
7.5 COMMUTER RAIL SYSTEM (CRS)
7.6 BRT SYSTEM
7.7 AUGMENTATION AND IMPROVEMENT IN CITY BUS SYSTEM
7.8 INTEGRATED MULTIMODAL TRNASIT CENTRES – CUM - INTERCITY BUS TERMINALS
7.9 ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE
7.10 INTER-MODAL INTERCHANGES
7.11 NON- MOTORISED MODES
7.12 PARKING
7.13 FREIGHT MOVEMENT
7.14 DEMAND CONTROL
7.15 TRANSPORT SYSTEM MANAGEMENT - B-TRAC 2010

CHAPTER – 8 TRANSPORT INTEGRATION
8.1 NEED
8.2 INTEGRATION OF MODES
8.3 FEEDER SERVICES
8.4 INTER-CHANGE FACILITIES
8.5 OPERATIONAL INTEGRATION

CHAPTER – 9 COST ESTIMATES, PHASING AND FINANCING PLAN (PDF)
9.1 UNIT RATES
9.2 COST ESTIMATES OF PROPOSALS AND PHASING OF IMPLEMENTATION
9.3 FINANCING PLAN
9.4 FUNDING OF INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGH DEVELOPMENT, CONVERSION AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT CHARGES

CHAPTER – 10 INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT (PDF)
10.1 REGIONAL PLANNING
10.2 AGENCIES INVOLVED IN CIVIC WORKS
10.3 ROLE OF VARIOUS TRANSPORTATION AGENCIES
10.4. NEED FOR UNIFIED METROPOLITAN TRANSPORT AUTHORITY
10.5 DIRECTORATE OF URBAN LAND TRANSPORT
10.6 BANGALORE METROPOLITAN LAND TRANSPORT AUTHORITY
10.7 TRANSPORT PLANNING UNIT (TPU)
10.8 TRAFFIC ENGINEERING CELLS (TEC)

CTTP Bangalore Executive Summary

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Comprehensive Traffic and Transportation Plan For Bangalore - CTTP Bangalore
Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development And Finance Corporation
 

Executive Summary
RITES Ltd. Oct 2007

 

The core content is in section 4 and includes executive summary & descriptive maps of mass transport, TTMCs & Parking, Road and Freight complexes and pedestrian zones and facilities proposed in the CTTP.

You can download the complete document from the kuidfc website (20 MB)

You can also quickly see the content of the executive summary and the main details of the document by following the links below:

1. Problems And Issues

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1. PROBLEMS AND ISSUES
1.1 Bangalore population has been growing at a rate of 3.25% per year in the last decade. There has been a phenomenal growth in the population of vehicles as well especially the two and four wheelers in this period due to rising household incomes. The number of motor vehicles registered has already crossed 28 lakhs. In the absence of adequate public transport system, people are using the personalized modes which is not only leading to congestion on limited road network but also increasing environmental pollution. An average Bangalorean spends more than 240 hours stuck in traffic every year. Such delays result in loss of productivity, reduced air quality, reduced quality of life, and increased costs for services and goods

1.2 The analysis of collected data from primary and secondary sources has brought the following major issues regarding the transport system of Bangalore:
1) Road network capacity is inadequate. Most of the major roads are with four lane or less with limited scope of their widening. This indicates the need for judicious use of available road space. The junctions are closely spaced on many roads. Many junctions in core area are with 5 legs. This makes traffic circulation difficult. There is need to optimise the available capacity by adopting transport system management measures and by making use of intelligent transportation systems.
2) Traffic composition on roads indicates very high share of two wheelers. The share of cars is also growing. This indicates inadequate public transport system. V/C ratios on most of the roads are more than 1. Overall average traffic speed is about 13.5 kmph in peak hour. This not only indicates the need of augmenting road capacity but the also to plan high capacity mass transport systems on many corridors.
3) Outer cordon surveys indicate high through traffic to the city. This points to the need of road bypasses not only for Bangalore Metropolitan Area (BMA) but also for Bangalore Metropolitan Region (BMR). High goods traffic also indicates the need of freight terminals at the periphery of the city.
4) The household travel surveys indicate high share of work trips. This segment of travel demand needs to be mostly satisfied by public transport system. Considering the large employment centres being planned in the BMA, the public/mass transport system needs to be upgraded/extended substantially.
5) At present, modal split in favour of public transport is about 46% (exclusive of walk trips). The trends show a decline in this share over the last two decades. This is further expected to fall unless adequate and quality public transport system is provided to the people of Bangalore. Share of two wheelers and cars in travel demand is disturbingly high. This trend needs to be arrested.
6) There is high pedestrian traffic in core area and some other areas in Bangalore. Footpath facilities are generally not adequate and their condition is deteriorating. Therefore up gradation of their facilities is very important. Share of cycle traffic has declined over the years. This mode of transport needs to be promoted by providing cycle tracks along the roads.
7) Parking is assuming critical dimensions in Bangalore. Parking facilities need to be augmented substantially. In the long run, city-wide public transport system needs to provide not only to reduce congestion on roads but also to reduce parking demand.
8) Area of the BMA has been increased as per Revised Master Plan-2015. This plan has provided for densification of existing areas, Mutation corridors, hitech areas etc in various parts of the city. This likely to have a major impact on traffic demand. The transport network including mass transport system needs to be planned taking the proposed development in to consideration.
9) Major developments have been proposed in the suburban towns of Bangalore by BMRDA in the BMR. This is likely to increase interaction between Bangalore and these suburban towns. There will be need to provide commuter rail services to these towns from Bangalore.

1.3 Thus while planning for the transport system of Bangalore, the above problems and issues need to be kept in consideration. The issues relating to traffic and transportation in a large and growing city like Bangalore need to be viewed in the larger perspective of urban planning and development. Issues relating to land use planning and development control, public-private transportation policy and industrial location would need to be integrated at the perspective planning level. With Metro Rail under implementation there is the need to coordinate inter modal transport issues.

2. The Preferred Strategy For Transport Development

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2. THE PREFERRED STRATEGY FOR TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT

In order to prepare the Comprehensive Transport Plan the following policy measures have been considered:

a) Extension of mass transport system to provide wide coverage and transport integration with other modes of transport.

b) Provide substantially large network of medium level mass transport system such as BRT to cover the areas beyond the Metro network and on over loaded corridors.

c) Landuse adjustments and densification of corridors along mass transport corridors where possible.

d) Extension of commuter rail system upto the BMRDA’s New Townships & beyond upto Tumkur, Hosur etc. to act as sub-urban services.

e) Rationalisation of local bus system and its augmentation.

f) Improvement in traffic management through TSM measures.

g) Special facilities for pedestrians within the entire network specially in the core areas; pedestrianisation of selected shopping streets in side the core area going to be served by Metro. Provision of pedestrian sky walks/subways, footpaths and road furniture along the roads where necessary.

h) Diverting through traffic on Peripheral Ring Road. Providing transport hubs at the junctions of Peripheral Ring Road with important radials such as; the National Highways and other heavily loaded roads.

i) Improving primary, arterial and other important roads (particularly radial and ring roads) by providing grade separation, junction improvements, adding missing links, widening and other road side facilities wherever necessary.

3. Transport Demand Analysis

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3. TRANSPORT DEMAND ANALYSIS
3.1 Population of the BMA is expected to increase from 61 lakh in 2001 to 88 lakh in 2015 and 122 lakh in 2025. Considering proposed land use, transport sector requirements upto 2025 have been assessed using travel demand modeling. The transport sector recommendations contained in the Master Plan for BMA, city development plan proposed by Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) under the auspices of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), region development plan prepared by Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (BMRDA), development plans of Bangalore International Airport Area Planning Authority (BIAAPA) and Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Area Planning Authority (BMICAPA) have been examined.

3.2 For the purpose of transport demand analysis, various scenarios have been considered as follows.
Scenario 1: This scenario considers a ‘do minimum’ situation wherein Improvement & augmentation in existing system for the bus network and roads already proposed. The purpose of the scenario is to capture the intensity of the problem if no measures are taken to overhaul the transport system in the city
Scenario 2: in addition to what has been considered in scenario 1, scenario 2 considers the implementation of metro project as planned, a mono rail system covering 50 km, a BRT system covering 30km, commuter rail system covering 62 km, elevated core ring road of 30 km, a peripheral ring road of 114 km and intermediate ring road of 188 km as proposed IN Master Plan.
Scenario 3: this scenario is developed to address the anticipated demand with extensive public transport system as the focus for development. It is developed upon scenario 2 with additional lines of mass transport systems (about 650 km).

3.3 127 lakh person trips by mechanical modes are estimated to be generated in 2025 against 56 lakh in 2006. Present modal split of 46% in favour of public transport is estimated to fall to 29% by 2025 for scenario 1. Thus most of the trips would be undertaken by personalised modes creating unbearable congested conditions. For scenario 2, modal split in favour of public transport is expected to improve to 50% by 2025. However, this is also not enough for the city of size of Bangalore and many roads would still be overloaded. For scenario 3, the modal split in favour of public transport is estimated as 73%. This modal split is in conformity with the desirable modal split for the city of size of Bangalore as recommended by a Study Group of Government of India. The study, thus, recommends scenario 3 that would fulfill the objectives of the transport sector development integrated with the proposed land use and giving predominance to the public transport system.

4. The Proposed Traffic And Transportation Plan

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4. THE PROPOSED TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION PLAN
4.1 On the basis of projected traffic, an integrated multi-modal mass transport system plan on various corridors has been suggested in order to cater to traffic up to the year 2025. The mass transport systems have been proposed on various corridors considering expected traffic demand by 2025, available road right-ofways and system capacity. The balance traffic should be carried by road system in order to satisfy the needs of normal bus system and other modes such as two wheelers, cars, bicycles, trucks, pedestrians etc. The proposed Traffic and Transportation Plan for Bangalore contains the following types of proposals, which will cater to requirements of the projected travel demand up to the year 2025.

*Mass Transport System
-- Metro System
-- Monorail/LRT System
-- Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) System
-- Commuter Rail Services
*City Bus System
-- Augmentation of Bus Fleet
-- Grid Routes
-- Bus Terminal cum Traffic & Transit Management Centres (TTMC)
-- Volvo Depot cum Traffic & Transit centre
-- New Bus Stations/bus shelters
-- Additional Depots
-- IT Infrastructure
-- HRD Infrastructure
-- Environment Protection Projects
*Inter-city Bus Terminals
*Transport Integration
*Transport System Management Measures
*Pedestrian/NMT Facilities

-- Footpaths
-- Skywalks/Subways
-- Pedestrian zones
-- Cycle Tracks
*Road Development Plan
-- New Roads/Missing Links (Peripheral Ring Road, Core Ring Road, New Airport Expressway etc).
-- Road Widenings
-- Grade Separators
-- Re-alignment of Outer Ring Road
*Parking Facilities
*Integrated Freight Complexes


4.2
Integrated multi modal transport system has been recommended in order to ensure seamless travel. For the balance travel demand, road improvement proposals have been formulated. While making road proposals, entire corridor has been proposed to be improved instead of isolated improvements.

4.3 The proposed mass transport corridors are shown in Table 1 and Figure 1. Proposals pertaining to city bus system (other than BRT), parking, pedestrian and road improvement proposals are shown in Figures 2 -4 (below). Summary of proposals is given in Table 2.

4.4 Summary of the cost estimates for various projects is also given in Table 2. Overall cost of the entire plan is estimated as Rs 44,029 crore of which Rs 25,872 crore is proposed for Phase I (2007-12). Cost of the projects proposed in Phase II (2013-18) is Rs 17,017 crore.

Table 1 Proposed Mass Transport Corridors

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Table 1 Proposed Mass Transport Corridors

Metro Corridors
Total length: 137.0 km
1) Baiyyappanahalli to Mysore Road East-West Corridor 18.0
2) Peenya to R.V terminal North-South Corridor 18.8
3) Extension of North –South corridor from R.V. Terminal upto PRR 10.2
4) Baiyyappanahalli to Benniganahalli along Old Madras Road. 1.5
5) Yelahanka R.S to PRR via Nagavara , Electronic City 36.0
6) Indira Nagar Metro Stn to White field Railway Station via 100ft Indira Nagar Road 19.5
7) Proposed Devanhalli Airport to M.G.Road via Bellary Road 33.0

Monorail/LRT Corridors

Total Length 60 km
1) Hebbal to J.P. Nagar (Bannerghatta Road) along the western portion of outer ring road 31.0
2) PRR to Toll Gate along Magadi Road 9.0
3) Kathriguppe Road / Ring Road Junction to National College 5.0
4) Hosur Road - Bannerghatta Road Junction to PRR along Bannerghatta Road 15.0

Commuter Rail Corridors
Total Length 204.0 km
1) Kengeri - Bangalore City Station 13.0
2) Bangalore City Station - Whitefield 24.0
3) Bangalore City Station – Baiyyappanahalli Via Lottegollahalli 23.0
4) Lottegollahalli to Yelahanka 7.0
5) Banaswadi upto BMA Boundary 29.0
6) Kengeri- BMA Boundary 9.0
7) Yeshwantpur to BMA Boundary 14.0
8) BMA Boundary – Hosur 12.0
9) BMA Boundary- Ramanagaram 23.0
10) BMA Boundary to Tumkur 50.0

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Corridors

Total Length 291.5
1) Hebbal to Bannerghatta Road along eastern crescent of outer ring road 33.0
2) Benniganahalli (ORR) to PRR along old Madras Road 7.0
3) From ORR to Hosur Rd along Hi-tech Corridor 8.0
4) Hosur Road to Tumkur Road along PRR (western part) 41.0
5) Tumkur Road-PRR Junction to Hosur Road along PRR via Tirumanahalli, Old Madras Road, Whitefield 76.0
6) Along Core Ring Road 30.0
7) Vidyaranyapura to Nagavarapalya via Hebbal, Jayamahal Road, Queens Road, M.G. Road, Ulsoor, Indiranagar, CV Raman Nagar 29.0
8) Kengeri Sattelite Town to J.P. Nagar along Uttarahalli Road, Kodipur 13.0
9) Banashankari III stage to Banashankari VI stage Ext. along Ittumadu Road, Turahalli, Thalaghattapura 6.0
10) Domlur Ext. to Koramangala along inner ring road 5.0
11) PRR (Mulur) to Maruti Ngr. (up to Hitech corridor) along Sarjapur Road 7.0
12) Peenya to PRR along Tumkur Road 6.0
13) Old Madras Road near Indiranagar to ORR near Banaswadi along Baiyyappanahalli Road -Banaswadi Road 5.5
14) Hebbal to Devanahalli Airport along Bellary Road 25

Table 2 Summary Of Proposed Projects And Cost Estimates

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Figure 1 Mass Transport Corridors

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Figure 1 Mass Transport Corridors
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Figure 2 TTMC & Parking

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Figure 2 TTMC & Parking
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Figure 3 Road Proposal & Integrated Frieght Complexes

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Figure 3 Road Proposal & Integrated Frieght Complexes
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List of Grade Separators

Grade Seperators-Roads

1 Hudson Circle- N.R.Road Under pass
2 Cauvery Theatre Junction-Bellary Road Grade separator
3 Minerva circle-J.C.Road Fly over
4 Nagavara Junction Along ORR Flyover
5 Hennur Banasvadi along ORR underpass
6 Sarjapur Road & ORR Jn. Along ORR flyover near Ibbalur
7 On ORR Jn. Along ORR near Agara flyover
8 Flyover along Hosur Road near Check post
9 Hosur Road-Inner Ring Road along Hosur Road fly over
10 Additional slip road at CSB intersection
11 Hosur Road Grade separator @ Attibelle
12 Along 16 main BTM Layout underpass
13 Puttenahalli along ORR underpass
14 Kanakapura Road & ORR Jn. Along ORR flyover
15 Kadirenahalli Road & ORR Jn. along ORR flyover
16 Flyover on RV road near RV Teacher College
17 Tagore Circle underpass on Gandhi Bazaar Main Road
18 Tumkur Road & ORR Junction along ORR Grade separator
19 Flyover along NH 4 at Jalahalli Cross
20 Underpass along pipeline road near Ayyappa Temple
21 Grade separator along Guttahalli Main Road near Guttahalli Circle
22 Grade separator at Yeshwantpur Circle near Bus Station
23 Bridge at Gali Anjaneya Junction
24 Grade separator at Malleshwaram Circle
25 Underpass at Prof. CN Rao Circle
26 Underpass along Chord Road at Magadi Road & Chord Road Junction
27 Underpass along ORR at ORR and Banaswadi Ramamurthy Nagar Road Junction
28 Grade separator at ORR & Magadi Road Junction

Road Over Bridges / RUBs-Rail
29 ROB along MES Road near Jalahalli
30 Underpass along Link Road Connecting D Rajagopal Road & Kodigehalli Road
31 Ashoka Theatre - Pottery Road
32 Nagavara-Arabic College Road
33 Kasturinagar-Chikka-Banaswadi Road
34 Baiyyappanahalli Road
35 Kadugondanahalli Railway line along Nagavara Main Road
36 Hudi Main Road near Whitefield Railway Station
37 Construction of ORR connecting Mysore Road to Magadi Road including underpass across Bangalore Mysore Rly Line
38 Along settihalli main Road
39 Along S M Road near Gurudwara
40 Along Koigehalli Main Road near Kodigehalli Rly Stn
41 Along Hesaraghatta Main Road
42 Near Tanisandra Rly Stn
43 Along Kundalahalli Road at Kundalahalli gate.
44 Along Varthur Road near Lakshmi Layout
45 Along Panathur Main Road near Bellandur Rly Stn
46 Along Sarjapur Road

Elevated Roads

47 Elevated Road From Sirsi Circle to ORR on Mysore Road (6.0 Km)
48 Elevated Road on Hosur Road (10.5 Km)

Figure 4 Pedestrian Facilities

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Figure 4 Pedestrian Facilities

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Locations of Sky Walks / Sub-Ways
1. Cauvery Bhavan to Education Department Building and to Law College to Mysore Bank crossing KG Road on State Bank Junction
2. Opposite NTI connecting Guttahalli Road and Palace (opposite Bus Stop) on Sankey Road
3. Arya Bhavan Sweets to Kanthi Sweet to Himalaya Theatre, crossing KG Road
4. Lalbagh Main Gate (Javaraiah Circle)
5. Bannerghatta Road near Jayadeva Hospital
6. BMTC Main Bus Stand to Amar Lodge Building in Majestic Area
7. KSRTC Kempegowda Bus Station to BMTC Main Bus Station
8. At Kengeri Bus Stand, Mysore Road
9. At Byatarayanapura on Bellary Road (near Junction of BBMP office complex)
10. BMTC Main Bus Station to Railway Station Premises
11. Shanthala Silk House to KSRTC Main Bus Station and to Good-Shed Road
12. RNS Motors, Tumkur road
13. Jalahalli Circle, Tumkur Road
14. Near Webb junction
15. Near Kamakhya, Kathriguppe Ring Road
16. Gandhi Bazaar Main Road
17. On Vittal Mallya Road near Mallya Hospital
18. Sheshadri Road near Maharani College
19. On JC Road near Ravindra Kala Kshetra
20. On Hosur Main Road near Madivala Check post
21. On Raja Ram Mohan Roy Road, near Pallavi theatre
22. On Richmond Road near D’Souza Circle
23. On Race Course Road near Chalukya Hotel
24. On Commissariat Street near Garuda Mall
25. On Residency Road near Mayo Hall
26. On Kamaraj Road near Commercial Street
27. Near Indira Nagar 100 feet Road & Water Tank junction on Airport Road
28. On Hosur Road(Near Forum)
29. On Tumkur Road, near SMS Railway Junction
30. On Air Port Road, Marath Halli at Village Road.
31. On Air Port Road, Marath Halli at Junction of Under Pass ORR
32. K.R. Puram Bus Stand
33. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Devaraj Urs Road
34. On Hosur Road “T” Junction with Tavarekere Main Road (Opposite Sai Sadan & Prestige Acropolis) (High Rise Apartments Condominium)
35. Mission Road at the foot of Fly over
36. Vidhana Veedhi near M S Building
37. Tumkur Road near Yeshwantpur Circle
38. At South End Circle
39. Malleshwaram 5th cross
40. Double Road opposite Shanthi Nagar bus station
41. City Market additional arm to be added to existing underpass
42. 30 no. Sky –walks / Sub-Ways along the eastern crescent of the ORR

5. Institutional Strengthening

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5. INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING
5.1 The current structure of governance for the transport sector is not adequately equipped to deal with the problems of urban transport. Multiplicity of organizations, independent legislations and inherent conflict in the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders actually impede in the process of planning and implementation of major schemes aimed at development. Government of Karnataka has recently accorded sanction for the creation of State Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) under the Urban Development Department with the intended objective of ensuring integration of transport planning and development of transport infrastructure in urban areas. The government has also sanctioned setting up of Bangalore Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) for BMR. BMLTA will function as an umbrella organization to coordinate planning and implementation of urban transport programmes and projects. All land transport systems (excluding Railways) in the BMR will be brought under the purview of BMLTA. Therefore it is important that BMLTA is established at the earliest with statutory backing and adequate technical staff provided for this organization. It is also important that BMLTA is also given with the power to assign various projects to various organizations. All the finances to the concerned organizations should also be routed through BMLTA in order to make BMLTA effective and to ensure timely completion of projects.

5.2 Transport Planning is an essential component of town planning. Presently there is no proper technical body for required transport planning inputs. It is necessary that technical expertise is created within BDA and BMRDA to undertake this task. For the purpose Transport Planning Unit (TPU) is proposed to be established in BDA and BMRDA.

5.3 A large number of agencies deal with road system such as BBMP, BDA, Traffic Police, PWD, NHAI, BMRDA, Transport Department, KUIDFC, BMRCL, BMTC, BMLTA etc. There are numerous issues of proper road geometrics, traffic circulation, junction design, traffic signals, road signs/markings, street furniture etc which are not properly attended to by these agencies due to lack of traffic engineering expertise. Traffic planning is a continuous affair. It is therefore important that Traffic Engineering Cells are established in these organizations with qualified and adequate staff such as traffic engineers and transport planners. This will ensure that the traffic schemes are properly implemented with better results and fine-tuned later, if necessary. This will go a long way to improve traffic flow in Bangalore. As bus system will continue to be an important sub-system in future also, it is also important that BMTC is adequately strengthened through its HRD initiatives.

Chapter–1 Introduction

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CHAPTER – 1 INTRODUCTION

Download chapter 1 external link pdf 6MB

Chapter–2 Study Objectives And Methodology

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STUDY OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY

2.1 STUDY GOALS
The present study goals include:
i) Development of transportation network to achieve convenient and cost effective accessibility to places of employment and education for the next 20 years;
ii) Optimal utilization of funds and human resources.

2.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

i) Identify travel pattern of residents of the local planning area of Bangalore which is co-terminus with the territorial jurisdiction of Bangalore Development Authority (BDA);
ii) Select, develop and operationalise an Urban Transport Planning model using state of the art modeling techniques and software package, appropriate to the conditions and planning needs of the study area;
iii) Assess the relevance of the existing strategy, identify the consequences of pursuing alternative transportation strategies and recommend / update a long – term comprehensive transportation strategy for the study area up to 2025 (2015 and 2025);
iv) Identify for all modes, a phased program of appropriate and affordable investments and policy proposals; and also integration of various modes of mass transits.
v) Help strengthen transport planning skills, and transfer all data, planning model/tools and knowledge obtained through the study to KUIDFC and other agencies such as BDA, BMTC, KSRTC, South Western Railway, BMRTL, Traffic Police, etc.
vi) Strategize transport policy as an integrate part of urban planning
vii) Recommend institutional mechanism for inter agency co-ordination
viii) Assess existing infrastructure and forecast requirement - short term and long term.

2.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

In line with the specific objectives of the study described above, the scope of work is divided roughly into the following areas of activities as follows.
i) Collecting household, land use, and travel demand data
ii) Development and operation of an urban transport model
iii) Formulation of transport strategy and institutional mechanism;
iv) Identification of a phased program of transport investments and management proposals; and
v) Training and knowledge transfer to the concerned agencies

2.4. STUDY METHODOLOGY
The adopted study methodology to achieve the set objectives and scope is given in Figure 2.1. The study methodology adopted can be broadly divided in to five stages.


Stage 1:
Finalisation of study methods
-- Secondary data collection and analysis.
-- Finalization of zone plans and hierarchy of zones
-- Detailed sampling basis and questionnaires for Household interviews, Business interviews and Roadside interviews.
-- Base road and public transport network survey.
-- Draw up Proposal for traffic surveys like speed- flow, parking, traffic counts, network inventory, and their analysis.
-- Required computer program suites etc.
Stage 2:

The second stage was the collection of information, and review of existing transport scenario. In order to collect various travel information following surveys were conducted.
-- Household interviews
-- Roadside interview surveys
-- Public transport surveys
-- Traffic surveys
-- Road network inventory
-- Speed and delay studies
The data so collected was analyzed and validated to the existing traffic scenario which forms an input to the transport models.
Stage 3:
Development of detailed operational model forms the fourth stage of the study, this included
-- Development of observed trip matrices
-- Calibrate and validate trip end models
-- Formulation of projects necessary to fulfill the requirement of master plan using forecast models
-- Calibration and validation of trip distribution – modal split model
-- Validation of Assignment models and running them for different schemes/combination of facilities
-- Formulation of management policies
Stage 4:
The fourth stage involved development of Transport Strategy for Bangalore
-- Taking stock of current situation of Bangalore – Urban Transport Policy, Economic growth, current initiative, land use plans both existing and proposed etc.,
-- Analyzing the traffic situation in terms of present situation and constraints and future growth.
-- Proposed land use based on the newly prepared Master Plan.
-- Analyzing the transportation demand vis-à-vis the supply and the constraints.
-- Analyzing the present institutional arrangement and future requirement.
Stage 5:
The fifth and the final stage of CTTS study involve the following:
-- Development of various strategies to address the transport requirements
-- Evaluation of strategies based on selected criteria (mobility, congestion, safety, environmental and economic) and recommendation of suitable strategy
-- Drawing up a Transport Plan for BMA and investment requirements
-- Preparation of investment program for various schemes in operational plan,
-- Carrying out a financial analysis of the proposals identified for Implementation in regard to implementing agencies with funding options
-- Carrying out economic analysis for the recommended strategy to establish viability
-- Recommending Organizational set up and institutional arrangement for implementation of plan.

 

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Chapter–3 Existing Traffic And Travel Characteristics

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CHAPTER – 3 EXISTING TRAFFIC AND TRAVEL CHARACTERISTICS

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Chapter–4 Development Of Operational Travel Demand Model

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CHAPTER – 4 DEVELOPMENT OF OPERATIONAL TRAVEL DEMAND MODEL

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Chapter–5 Strategy For Transport Development

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CHAPTER – 5
STRATEGY FOR TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT

5.1 NATIONAL URBAN TRANSPORT POLICY
5.2 GROUND REALITIES VS URBAN TRANSPORT POLICY
5.3 VISION
5.4 OBSERVATIONS
5.5 THE PREFERRED STRATEGY FOR TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT

5.1 NATIONAL URBAN TRANSPORT POLICY

5.1.1 The Government of India has evolved a policy to overcome the problem of poor mobility which dampens the economic growth and deterioration in the quality of life. The approach is to deal with this rapidly growing problem as also it can offer a clear direction and a framework for future action.
The vision of this policy is:
-- To recognize that people occupy center-stage in our cities and all plans would be for their common benefit and well being
-- To make our cities the most livable in the world and enable them to become the “engines of economic growth” that power India’s development in the 21st century
-- To allow our cities to evolve into an urban form that is best suited for the unique geography of their locations and is best placed to support the main social and economic activities that take place in the city.

5.1.2 The objective of this policy is to ensure safe, affordable, quick, comfortable, reliable and sustainable access for the growing number of city residents to jobs, education, recreation and such other needs within our cities. This is sought to be achieved by:
--Incorporating urban transportation as an important parameter at the urban planning stage rather than being a consequential requirement
--Encouraging integrated land use and transport planning in all cities so that travel distances are minimized and access to livelihoods, education, and other social needs, especially for the marginal segments of the urban population is improved
--Improving access of business to markets and the various factors of production
--Bringing about a more equitable allocation of road space with people, rather than vehicles, as its main focus
--Encourage greater use of public transport and non- motorized modes by offering Central financial assistance for this purpose
--Enabling the establishment of quality focused multi-modal public transport systems that are well integrated, providing seamless travel across modes
--Establishing effective regulatory and enforcement mechanisms that allow a level playing field for all operators of transport services and enhanced safety for the transport system users
--Establishing institutional mechanisms for enhanced coordination in the planning and management of transport systems
--Introducing Intelligent Transport Systems for traffic management
--Addressing concerns of road safety and trauma response
--Reducing pollution levels through changes in traveling practices, better enforcement, stricter norms, technological improvements, etc.
--Building capacity (institutional and manpower) to plan for sustainable urban transport and establishing knowledge management system that would service the needs of all urban transport professionals, such as planners, researchers, teachers, students, etc
--Promoting the use of cleaner technologies
--Raising finances, through innovative mechanisms that tap land as a resource, for investments in urban transport infrastructure
--Associating the private sector in activities where their strengths can be beneficially tapped
--Taking up pilot projects that demonstrate the potential of possible best practices in sustainable urban transport

5.2 GROUND REALITIES VS URBAN TRANSPORT POLICY
i) The urban planners do consider the transportation as an important parameter, but the growth of the city has been so fast that the inadequacy sets in too fast to enable any possible review and taking remedial measure.
ii) It is very much essential to carry out integrated land use transportation planning. However, as part of the study, the possible implications of the proposals on land use in some areas and recommendations for necessary changes in policy have been included. It is also proposed to test impact of densifying measures around MRTS stations. But such measures will require major policy change and practicability and implications of same will need to be studied.
iii) Transport planning in the last two decades in BMA has been oriented towards developing a mix of public transport but funds have been a constraint. Despite same, a 36 km metro line has been taken up and the bus transport has been providing more and more services, which is indicated by the fleet growth and increased passenger trips.
iv) Share of walk and cycle trips in Bangalore have been comparatively low in Bangalore even earlier. Non motorized trips share has been going down. Apart from non availability of cycle tracks on roads, increased trip lengths for almost all purposes may have caused this fall.
v) The current policy has been more road oriented. The fast growing economy and higher per capita income has resulted in high vehicle ownership and usage. The roads in the core area getting congested and land cost mechanism has encouraged more of peripheral growth, increasing urban sprawl. This has resulted in longer trip lengths for all purposes.

5.3 VISION
5.3.1 With this background, it is desirable to have a vision be developed before considering different alternative strategies. A vision by definition is ‘a vivid image produced by the imagination’. A Transport Planner’s vision for the city and metropolitan area is to see ‘a well contained city with efficient people-friendly transport system with minimum travel time & maximum safety and comfort’. At the same time the facility provided should be optimally used. The different actions which have to contribute to this vision are diagrammatically represented in Figure 5.1.

Figure 5.1 Vision for Transportation and Associated Actions

 


The diagram above paraphrases what we would like to see when we look at Bangalore ten years from now. In order to achieve this, an integrated land usetransport strategy is called for. Preparation of such a step is diagrammatically indicated in Figure 5.2 below.

Figure 5.2 Integrated Landuse Transport Strategy for Bangalore

 

Diagram source: Balachandran and Sowmya Haran

5.3.2 The Road Map (Strategies)
Considering the status of progress in various fronts that have already been initiated in Bangalore, the road to an integrated urban transportation strategy is fraught with difficulties. The process is bound to be messy and will appear costly in terms of time, money and effort to be invested in such an exercise. However, the COST OF NOT DOING THE INTEGRATION is far higher than that of doing it and the resultant situation, if the integration is not done, will be far more messy than the process of doing it. Therefore the following initiatives are recommended.

5.3.2.1 Integrated land use – transport strategy
A team consisting of both urban planners and transportation planners and preferably led by an urban planner with a holistic understanding of urban transport issues should put together an integrated land use – transport strategy for Bangalore. This strategy should incorporate modern concepts in land use planning, urban transportation planning road network planning and street design in a mutually complementary manner. Such an approach necessarily means that the team should review the city’s Master Plan as well as plans relating to mass transport and road network improvements.
A strategy such as this will have no statutory backing as such. Therefore if this strategy is to be taken seriously then it should be mandated by an overarching body which has sway over all the stakeholder organizations. No such body exists as of today. A Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority has been mooted on many occasions. Even such a body would leave out land use planning. Therefore the possibility of an Integrated Land and Transport Management Authority for Bangalore may be considered to mandate the preparation and operationalization of this strategy.

5.3.2.2 Revised Land Use Plan and Development Controls
The land use and density component of the above strategy can be operationalized only through revisions in the Master Plan. High traffic generating activities and high density (high FSI) zones should be realigned around mass transport nodes and along major transportation corridors.
Such a reorganization of land use and density cannot be realized only through the modifications in the Master plan. In already developed areas, this needs to be translated into projects for planned redevelopment, ensuring that the high density and high intensity of activities are supported by appropriating land for improvements in the road network, street design and supporting infrastructure. The energy for redevelopment already exists in the real estate market in Bangalore, and will receive further impetus from the implementation of mass transport projects.
In new growth areas, a mechanism for micro-level planning (such as Town Planning Schemes in Gujarat) will need to be introduced to ensure that all new development is adequately served by primary, tertiary and secondary road network with provision for public transport facilities. These would also essentially have to be translated into land management projects.

5.3.2.3 Road network and street design

Having articulated the approach to road network planning and street design in the Strategy document, the primary road network proposals in the Master Plan should be modified appropriately. In many places, particularly in the already developed areas, these modifications can be realized only through carefully structured redevelopment projects as the missing links in the primary road network will have to go through existing development.
In the case of the secondary and tertiary level roads, as explained in the previous section, the improvements in developed areas, in many cases, will have to be achieved through planned redevelopment. In the new growth areas these have to be part of proactive land management initiatives.
Street design has to be standardized according to the hierarchical level and function of a street and customized according to local conditions. On all BRTS roads, the street design of extremely high importance. In the areas surrounding a mass transport node also, street design has to enable easy access of pedestrians, bicyclists and para transit passengers to the mass transport facility.

5.4 OBSERVATIONS
The important observations are as following, which will now guide the strategy for development.

1. The City though claimed to be compact in the basic premise, is actually quite wide spread - The development area of more then 800 sq km, to accommodate around 1 Crore persons by 2015/20 as per Master Plan 2015. Thus, a multi-modal system with a fairly large coverage will be required.

2. Pockets of economic activities like Hi-Tech & Electronic city having very large employment potential are planned. Of course a large part of the human resources to be engaged in these activities is expected to come from with in BMA but quite a large no. is also to the expected from the Bangalore Metropolitan Region & even from towns like Hosur, Tumkur, etc. This will require special High capacity mass transport system connecting these work centres with the living areas within Bangalore as well as meeting the needs of the long distance / suburban commuters, especially along the corridors leading to these centers.

3. The present radial network is bringing the entire load of traffic to the ORR & core areas causing congestion. The trend needs to be stopped through :
--Dispersal of traffic at the periphery by completing the PRR, & the other Ring Roads planned at the Regional level like the Intermediate Ring Road & Satellite Town Ring Road.
--Creating Transport Hubs for goods traffic and the junctions of PRR & selected Radials
--Banning the entry of Heavy vehicles at the Transport hubs & allowing only LCV to transport the goods from the Transport Hubs to the inner city areas and that too during the non-peak hours (i.e. No Entry between 9 A.M. to 9 P.M.)

4. The master plan proposal of having Mutation Zones along practically all the radial corridors would require some sort of mass transport system along them.

5. The core areas inside the core ring road are proposed to be fully traversed by the Metro. Therefore the vehicular movement inside this area should be minimized & if possible completely avoided during working hours for 9am to 9pm through:
--Complete pedestrianisation of narrow commercial streets.
--Providing adequate parking along the CRR and running dedicated BRT on the lower level of the CRR and restricting all private vehicles on the elevated portion thereof.
--Smooth & free flow of emergency vehicles like Ambulance, Fire Engines etc in side the core area.
--The goods feeder services like LCV be allowed to come in only doing 9PM to 9AM to unload materials etc.
--Attempts may be made to decentralize certain trades requiring bulk carriage like heavy machinery, hardware, building material etc in organized markets beyond the ORR and preferably near the PRR.
--On a few of the wide roads inside the core area the feasibility of running BRT etc. may be examined.

5.5 THE PREFERRED STRATEGY FOR TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT

Based on the above observations it is clear that the already planned network will be insufficient to cope up with the future requirements especially after the target year of 2015. As such in order to prepare the Comprehensive Transport Plan the following policy measures are required to be taken based on which the CTTP will be finalized.
1. Extension of mass transport system to provide wide coverage and interchange facilities with other modes of transport.
2. Provide substantially large network of medium level mass transport system such as BRT to cover the areas beyond the Metro network and on over loaded corridors.
3. Landuse adjustments and densification of corridors along mass transport corridors where possible.
4. Extension of commuter rail system upto the BMRDA’s New Townships & beyond upto Tumkur, Hosur etc. to act as sub-urban services.
5. Introducing BRT and wherever possible dedicated bus lanes
6. Rationalisation of Local Bus system and its augmentation.
7. Improvement in traffic management through TSM measures.
8. Special facilities for pedestrians within the entire network specially in the core areas ; pedestrianisation of selected shopping streets in side the core area going to be served by Underground sections of Metro. Provision of pedestrian sky walks, under passes, footpaths and other road furniture along the roads where necessary.
9. Diverting through traffic on Peripheral Ring Road. Providing transport hubs at the junctions of Peripheral Ring Road with important radials such as; the National Highways and other heavily loaded roads.
10. Improving Primary, Arterial and other important roads by providing grade separation, junction improvements, adding missing links, widening and other road side facilities wherever necessary. The Arterial roads outside the PRR need to be improved upto the New BMRDA townships in order to take the increased load of commuters.
11. Transport integration of various modes.

Chapter–6 Future Demand Analysis And System Selection

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CHAPTER – 6 FUTURE DEMAND ANALYSIS AND SYSTEM SELECTION

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Chapter–7 The Traffic And Transportation Plan

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CHAPTER – 7 THE TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION PLAN
The following are the sub-sections in this chapter:

7.1 Components Of The Traffic And Transportation Plan

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7.1 COMPONENTS OF THE TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION PLAN

7.1.1 The previous chapter has dealt with the future travel demand analysis on various corridors. On the basis of projected traffic, an integrated multi-modal mass transport system plan indicating different mass transport systems on various corridors has been suggested in order to cater to traffic up to the year 2025. The balance traffic should be carried by road system in order to satisfy the needs of normal bus system and other modes such as two wheelers, cars, bicycles, trucks, pedestrians etc. The proposed Traffic and Transportation plan for Bangalore contains the following types of proposals, which will cater to requirements of the projected travel demand up to the year 2025.

Mass Transport System
-- Metro System
-- Monorail/LRT System
-- Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) System
-- Commuter Rail Services
City Bus System
-- Augmentation of Bus Fleet
-- Grid Routes
-- Bus Terminal cum Traffic & Transit Management Centres (TTMC)
-- Volvo Depot cum Traffic & Transit centre
-- New Bus Stations/bus shelters
-- Additional Depots
-- IT Infrastructure
-- HRD Infrastructure
-- Environmental Protect Projects
Inter-city Bus Termini
Transport Integration
Transport System Management Measures
Pedestrian/NMT Facilities
-- Footpaths
-- Skywalks/Subways
-- Pedestrian zones
-- Cycle Tracks
Road Development Plan
-- New Roads/Missing Links
-- Road Widenings
-- Grade Separators
-- Re-alignment of ORR
Parking Facilities
Integrated Freight Complexes

7.1.2 While framing proposals priority has been given to public transport and nonmotorized transport such as pedestrian facilities. For the balance travel demand, road improvement proposals have been formulated. The details of these proposals are given in the following paragraphs.

7.2 Mass Transport System

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7.2 MASS TRANSPORT SYSTEM
Public/Mass Transport System will be the backbone of the city’s transport system. The basic premise of the Transport Plan in terms of the National Urban Transport Policy is to create an efficient, cost effective and extensive network of public transport which could provide comfortable, convenient and affordable means of transport to the maximum number of commuters. In this direction a number of schemes are already under implementation and quite a few on the drawing board. Infact keeping in view the observations of the scenarios in Chapter-6 there exist a large requirement for additional facilities in respect of public/mass transport system for the large area proposed to be developed in the forthcoming two decades as per the Master Plan - 2015 proposals.

7.3 The Metro Network System

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THE METRO NETWORK SYSTEM

7.3.1 Metro Corridors under Implementation:

Work on implementation of 36.8 km of metro, partly underground and partly elevated, has already been initiated by Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) along East-West & North-South corridors crossing at Majestic. These corridors will basically cover the most congested core areas of Banglore like Peenya, Gandhinagar, M.G. Road, Vijayanagar, Indiranagar, Majestic area, K.R.Market, Jayanagar, and Basavanagudi etc. Tables 7.1 give these Phase I Metro corridors.

Table 7.1 Phase-1 Metro Corridors
1 Baiyyappanahalli to Mysore Road (East-West Corridor) 18.0 km
2 Peenya to R.V terminal (North-South Corridor ) 18.8 km
3 Total length 36.8 km


7.3.2 Extension of Metro Corridors:
The above corridors may be able to give relief to the immediate traffic problems within the core areas and its immediate neighborhood but by the time the Master Plan proposals get implemented and development of areas beyond the outer ring road takes place in right earnest, the above system will fall short and a more extensive system will become necessary as brought out in Chapter 6. This is especially true because the Master Plan 2015 and its detailed Zonal plans propose the development of around 814.4 Sq. Kms. of area for various urban uses. This brings very large spread of area on which various urban activities will take place.
They would now be located right upto the Peripheral Ring Road in practically all directions and at a few places even beyond it. These activities include some with huge employment potential areas like the Electronic City in the east and southern portions of the BMA. It is therefore necessary that the Metro gets ultimately extended to the most of the high density centers. Therefore the following additional corridors considering the projected travel demand are proposed to be taken up as extension of the Metro in Phase 2.

7.3.2.1 Extension of North –South corridor from R.V. Terminal upto Peripheral Ring Road:

The area to the south of Jayanagar consisting of J.P.Nagar Banashankari, Kumaraswamy layout are fully developed and quite densely populated. Substantial commutation takes place between these areas and core areas of Bangalore. BMICAPA has plans to develop residential and commercial activities along the Bangalore Mysore Expressway corridor, the North –south commuter traffic is expected to increase substantially. It is therefore being proposed that the already approved North-South corridor between Peenya to R V Road Terminal may be extended upto the PRR along the Kanakapura Road. This extension of approximately 10 km should be taken up in the first phase itself.

7.3.2.2 Baiyyappanahalli to Benniganahalli along Old Madras Road

The first phase of the East West line has been proposed from Baiyyappanahalli to Mysore Road. How ever as would be seen from the plan and the subsequent proposals, Outer Ring Road (ORR) is one of the most important spines of Banglore on which large city traffic converges and keeping this in view mass transport in the form of BRT/ Mono-Rail/ LRT is proposed on it in addition to its improvement and smoothening. Benniganahalli located just on the ORR is also the Rail station for the proposed Commuter Rail Systems on the intersection of Bangalore City Station – Whitefield & Banaswadi - BMA Boundary rail corridors. Thus, since it is a very important transport node where a number of transport modes i.e. BRT, CRS etc., meet it, can act as an excellent inter-modal interchange. Therefore it is proposed the east west corridor is extended from Baiyyappanahalli to Benniganahalli through a distance of 1.5 km in the first phase itself.

7.3.2.3 Yelahanka to Hi-tech corridor via Nagavara, Electronic City
The singular North-South corridor planned so far will mostly be able to cater to the western part of the city between Peenya and Kanakapura Road. However the development coming up on the eastern side between Hosur Road and white field – the I.T. and the Electronic cities and in the Northern side near Thanisandra and Yelahanka need another north-south corridor. In order to meet the traffic demand of this area another 34 km long corridor from Yelahanka to PRR via Nagavara, Electronic City has been planned. This corridor will cover Nagavara, Veerannapalya, Frazer Town, the residential, commercial and industrial (IT Sector) areas along Hosur Road. This corridor will also have interchange with the airport expressway and airport metro to provide direct access from south and south east Bangalore to the airport. This will also at interchange with the East West metro corridor.

7.3.2.4 Indira Nagar Metro Stn. to White field Railway Stn. via 100ft Indiranagar Road
The up coming industrial areas, I.T hubs and commercial developments near the White Field area, C.V. Raman Nagar and the commercial development along most of the roads in the Indira Nagar area have totally chocked the Airport Road and the White Field Road and by the time the I.T. hub is fully functional the traffic demand will require a Metro connection of the White Field area with the heart of the City. Accordingly a 19.5 Km. Metro link between Indira Nagar Metro station and White field is proposed. This link when completed would have an inter face with the Mysore Road - Benniganahalli east west corridor at Indira Nagar.

7.3.2.5 Proposed Devanahalli Airport to M.G.Road via Bellary Road
A new International airport is coming up at Devanhalli about 33 Kms North of Banglore and is slated to be completed shotly. In order provide an unhindered direct approach to the Airport a Metro link between M.G. road and the new airport approximately 33 km long has proposed. In order to make the corridor truly functional, the following Terminal / checkin & pick stations have been suggested:
i. City Airport Terminal: In police grounds on M.G.Road the CAT is planned and the metro ramp structure from Mink underground section to M.G. Road elevated section will pass through the CAT structure, integrating both systems.
ii. Hebbal Check-in Station: The second check-in station has been planned at the end of the Hebbal fly-over towards left, with elevated cross-passage with escalator facility to cross-over from the bus-terminal being planned on the right side. The ease of access from the ORR will be able to attract large clientele to this Station.
iii. Yelahanka Pickup Station: It is located at the junction of the N.H. and the Yelahanka Town Road. At this station luggage checkin is not being provided but passengers with hand baggage only will be able to board and alight the train.

The above proposals of metro extensions have been consolidated and listed in the following table. These proposals would add up to about 100 Kms. of Metro to taken up in later phases.

Table 7.2 Extension of Metro Corridors
1 Extension of North –South corridor from R.V. Terminal upto PRR 10.2 km
2 Baiyyappanahalli to Benniganahalli along Old Madras Road. 1.5 km
3 Yelahanka R.S to PRR via Nagavara , Electronic City 36.0 km
4 Indira Nagar Metro Station to White field Railway Station via 100ft Indira Nagar Road 19.5 km
5 Proposed Devanhalli Airport to M.G.Road via Bellary Road 33.0 km
  Total length 100.2 km

Thus ultimately it is suggested that approx. 137 km of network of Metro will be required to effectively serve the major traffic corridors and high density use areas to meet the travel demand up to 2025. This could be taken up in two phases.
Corridors No 1 and 2 of the above Table 7.2 may be taken up along with the corridors indicated in Table 7.1 under implementation in Phase I, while the corridors Sr. No 3 &4 above may be taken up in the subsequent phase. In view of the pace at which the new Airport is constructed, it will be desirable to take up the Airport connection at S.No. 5 above in the first phase itself in order to make the same accessible as and when commissioned. These proposals are indicated in Figure 7.1.

Figure 7.1 Mass Transport Corridors
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7.4 Mono Rail / Light Rapid Transit System (LRT)

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7.4 MONO RAIL / LIGHT RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM (LRT)

In addition to the metro, the corridors where the traffic volumes are upto 20,000 phpdt and the requirement is to cover a wide area with a large network and also to act as feeder to Metro, a medium capacity system is required. Infact upto about 15000 phpdt, a BRTS can also work reasonably well. However the limitation with it is that in order to make it really effective dedicated 10 meter wide BUS Lanes (Bus ways) are necessary at grade. However on roads where the right of way does not permit carving out the at-grade Busway, an elevated mono rail / light rail is the preferred option, since it does not impinge upon the capacity of the at grade carriageways which continue handling the vehicular traffic as explained in Chapter 6. The Master Plan 2015, while pointing out the inadequacies of the present Public Transit system and emphasizing the need for a Multi-Modal Public Transport system, has referred to mono-rail as one of the modes. It has proposed a Mono–Rail along the western crescent of the ORR from Bellary Road to Kanakapura Road along with a couple of spurs along selected radials leading to the core area. In addition an independent corridor has been proposed from Hosur Road - Bannerghatta Road Junction to National park. Considering all the factors, while basically keeping the same configuration, the proposed radial corridors along Magadi Road and Bannerghatta Road need to be extended upto the PRR and along ORR, extended up to Bannerghatta Road. Accordingly the following corridors with a total length of 60 Km. have been identified for Mono-Rail / LRT system.


Table 7.3 Mono-Rail/LRT Corridors
1 Hebbal to J.P. Nagar (Bannerghatta Road) along the western portion of outer ring road 31.0 km
2 PRR to Toll Gate along Magadi Road 9.0 km
3 Kathriguppe Road / Ring Road Junction to National College 5.0 km
4 Hosur Road - Bannerghatta Road Junction to PRR along Bannerghatta Road 15.0 km
Total 60.0 km

The option of system selection i.e. Light rail or Monorail will depend on the detailed feasibility for these corridors as and when taken up.

7.5 Commuter Rail System

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7.5 COMMUTER RAIL SYSTEM (CRS)
Within the BMA, approximately 120 km of rail system of the Indian Railways exists basically for long distance passengers and goods/ freight. This system currently is not being utilized for intra-urban movement with in the BMA. However RITES in its study has identified some of the Railway corridors along which it is possible to run commuter service with some additions and improvements. A similar proposal of utilizing approximately 62 km track and incurring an expenditure of Rs. 650 Crore on making the commuter service possible in two phases (2007 to 2012 & 2013 to 2018 each estimated to cost Rs. 325 Cr.) has been recommended in M.P.2015. The plan has also indicated a land requirement of 62 Ha. for this project. However it is found that the network proposed above will not be sufficient to meet requirements of the Development Area proposed in Master Plan 2015 upto the year 2025. Accordingly it has been considered necessary to extend the CRS network to approximately 119 Kms, using the existing at-grade railway system to serve intra-city needs, which is proposed along the corridors 1 to 7 in Table 7.4.

In addition, with the coming up of the BMRDA’s planned new Town Ships at Bidadi, Ramanagaram, Solur, Sathanur & Nandagudi, high level of commutation between them and the Metropolis. Also, with the development of the huge Multiple Economic Activity Areas like Electronic City, I.T. Parks, Industrial & Commercial Areas with consequent job opportunities on the one hand and availability of comparatively cheaper accommodation in surrounding towns like Hosur, Ramanagaram and Tumkur etc. where a large number of working population is likely to live, substantial of commuter movement between these towns and the Metropolis will take place. In order to cater to this suburban commuter traffic, the CRS is proposed to be extended as corridors 8 to 10 in Table 7.4 below.

Table 7.4 Commuter Rail Corridors

SNo.

Corridor Length

Kms

1.

Kengeri - Banglore City Station

13.0

2.

Bangalore City Station - Whitefield

24.0

3.

Bangalore City Station – Baiyyappanahalli Via Lottegollahalli

23.0

4.

Lottegollahalli to Yelahanka

7.0

5.

Banaswadi upto BMA Boundary

29.0

6.

Kengeri- BMA Boundary

9.0

7.

Yeshwantpur to BMA Boundary

14.0

8.

BMA Boundary – Hosur

12.0

9.

BMA Boundary- Ramanagaram

23.0

10.

BMA Boundary to Tumkur

50.0

 

Total

204.0

Corridors 1, 2, 6 and 9 are proposed to be taken up in the I Phase, while Sl No 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8 will be taken up in the II Phase. The Corridor at Sl No 10 upto Tumkur may be taken in III Phase.

7.6 BRT System

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7.6 BRT SYSTEM
BRT is one of the most cost effective public transport modes where the following two conditions can be met:
--Sufficient Right of way (30m or more) is available along the corridor to provide for exclusive carriage ways for BRT
--The peak hour commuter load is up to 20,000 phpdt.

The BRT has also the advantage of large coverage and ease of accessibility as well as simpler operational systems. Accordingly taking into consideration the Master Plan 2015 development proposals and the likely travel demand as explained in Chapter 6, BRT system along the following corridors is proposed:

Table 7.5 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Corridors

S.No.

Corridor Length

km

1

Hebbal to Bannerghatta Road along eastern crescent of outer ring road

33.0

2

Benniganahalli (ORR) to PRR along old Madras Road

7.0

3

From ORR to Hosur Rd along Hi-tech Corridor

8.0

4

Hosur Road to Tumkur Road along PRR (western part)

41.0

5

Tumkur Road-PRR Junction to Hosur Road along PRR via Tirumanahalli, Old Madras Road, Whitefield

76.0

6

Along Core Ring Road

30.0

7

Vidyaranyapura to Nagavarapalya via Hebbal, Jayamahal Road, Queens Road, M.G. Road, Ulsoor, Indranagar, CV Raman Nagar

29.0

8

Kengeri Sattelite Town to J.P. Nagar along Uttarahalli Road, Kodipur

13.0

9

Banashankari III stage to Banashankari VI stage Ext. along Ittumadu Road, Turahalli, Thalaghattapura

6.0

10

Domlur Ext. to Koramangala along inner ring road

5.0

11

PRR (Mulur) to Maruti Nagar (up to Hitech corridor) along Sarjapur Road

7.0

12

Peenya to PRR along Tumkur Road

6.0

13

Old Madras Road near Indiranagar to ORR near Banaswadi along Baiyyappanahalli Road -Banaswadi Road

5.5

14

Hebbal to Devanahalli Airport along Bellary Road

25

Total

291.5

Thus it is proposed to have at least 569 km of mass transport system consisting of Metro, Mono Rail / LRT, BRT and CRS within the BMA supported by another 85 Kms of CRS out side BMA connecting the Metropolis to some of the BMRDA’s new Townships and the Regional Towns of Tumkur and Hosur. All these proposals are shown in Figure 7.1. In addition to this network, the city bus system will cover a much larger area and will compliment the above systems.

 

7.7 Augmentation And Improvement In City Bus System

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7.7 AUGMENTATION AND IMPROVEMENT IN CITY BUS SYSTEM
While the high capacity BRT will be operational on selected routes where substantial right of way is available, the major areas specially the inner areas and the areas approached by the internal roads will in any case continue to be served by local bus system which will act as the most important feeder system to the Metro, Mono Rail/LRT and the CRS. For this purpose the BMTC has identified East-West, North-South & diagonal grid routes along 27 corridors as already indicated in Figure 1.4.

Figure 1.4
(click on image for higher resolution)

In addition to improving the fleet capacity, rationalization of routes, improvement in traffic management at the junctions including priority signaling, provision of proper road side bus stops and integration points with the Metro, Mono Rail and CRS will provide effective use of the bus system. BMTC shall continue to play a vital and leading role in public transport in any scenario of the City’s development. In order to meet the future challenge, BMTC has planned a number of initiatives as included in the following proposals:

Table 7.6 Proposed Improvements in the City Bus System
1. Augmentation of Schedule and Fleet
At present the BMTC is operating approximately 4500 buses at more than 1700 routes carrying approximately 35 Lakh passengers. By the year 2025, despite the fact that we are going to add Metro, Mono-rail /LRT, BRT and start CRS, still the feeder services as bus services on the other less dense corridors, will definitely be run through the city bus system only. It is expected that by 2025 at least 60 Lakh trips will be performed by buses only. For this volume of traffic at least 10000 buses will be required. However, this number may have to be increased substantially incase any of the MRT components lag behind in implementation. It is further pointed out that mere increase in fleet is not enough, its quality will also have to be of much higher standard if we want to achieve the NUTP policy of changing the passenger preference from personalized vehicles to Public Transport.
Accordingly it is suggested that all the new buses to be added to fleet, either as addition or replacement should be low floor good quality buses fully considering the commuter comfort. The BMTC plans to add 2500 new vehicles and replace 1415 aged old vehicles, taking the Scheduled strength to 7000 by 2010. The financial implication towards these new vehicles is estimated as Rs 1000 Crore. In the later phases the balance 3000 buses are proposed to be added to meet the ultimate requirement of 10000 buses.

2. Grid Routes and Dedicated Bus Lanes
The BMTC has at present identified 27 grid routes in the North South, East and West and diagonal direction, which will meet the requirement till about 2010. Most of these grid routes are confined upto the ORR, and only a few at present transcend beyond it. However, by 2025 when the complete Development Area of more than 814 Sq. Kms proposed in BDA Master Plan gets fully occupied, these grid routes will both have to be extended upto the PRR and new routes added to serve this area. These routes will complement the Metro and BRT already proposed between the ORR and PRR.

3 Bus Terminal cum Traffic & Transit Management Centres (TTMC)

TTMC’s are planned to have multi-level parking lot, public utilities like mini-shopping centres and food courts. These centers in addition to providing park & ride facilities are also proposed to act as hubs for Mini – Buses planned by BMTC to transport the commuters from every major residential area to the nearest TTMC, so that commuters can board a bus of their choice. BMTC has planned such TTMC’s at the following 45 locations. Of these TTMCs at Bannerghatta, Kengeri, Domlur, Yeshwantpur, Koramangala, Vijayanagar, ITPL, Banashankari and Shantinagar are planned to be taken up very shortly. In fact quite of few these center will act as Intermodal transfer nodes and will provide logistic support to MRT modes like – METRO, Mono-rail/LRT, BRT & CRS etc. through Park & Ride as well as other facilities. In fact as the MRT network grows some additional TTMC’s may be required and in some case a slight relocation of some of the following TTMC’s may be required.

TRAFFIC & TRANSIT MANAGEMENT CENTERS (TTMC)

1. Yeshawantapur
2. Jayanagar Bus Stn.
3. Domlur
4. Kengeri
5. Bannerghatta
6. Shanthinagar
7. Koramangala
8. ITPL, Whitefield
9. Vijayanagara
10. Banashankari
11. Indiranagar
12. Kathriguppe
13. Hebbal.
14. Hennur
15. HSR layout
16. Kalyan Nagar
17. Nagarabhavi
18. Sriganda Kaval
19. Poorna Prajna
20. Jayanagar Depot-4
21. Peenya22. Yelahanka
23. Rajarajeshwari Nagar
24. Hosakote
25. Bidadi
26. Vaddarahalli
27. Anjanapura
28. International Air Port
29. Venkatala
30. Bairathi
31. Avalahalli
32. Channasandra
33. Kodarhi
34. Dodda Tugur
35. Gollahalli
36. Kaggalipura
37. Challaghatta
38. Sulikere
39. Machohalli
40. Madapura
41. Harohalli
42. Soladevanahalli
43. Kambipura
44. Baiyyappanahalli
KR Pura

4 Multi-Modal Transit Center
The MMTC at Subhash Nagar has been planned at a cost of Rs. 350 Crore

5 Volvo Depot cum Traffic & Transit centre
Banashankari

6 New Bus Stations/Bus Shelters

In addition to the 4 major Bus stations located at Subhashnagar, Shivajinagar, City Market and Shanthinagar & 27 sub-nodal bus-stations commissioned at various locations, BMTC has planned another 23 bus stations and about 300 bus shelters at a cost of Rs. 279 Crore

7 Modern Bus Depots
Nagarabhavi
Sreegandhadakaval
Vaddarahalli
Kothnurdinne
Poornaprajna Layout

8 New Depots
In addition to the existing 24 bus depots, BMTC intends adding another 27 depots at a cost of Rs. 161 Crore to make the total number to 51 by 2010. However in order to cater to the 2025 proposed fleet size of 8000 buses, we may need another 20 depots for the additional fleet.

9 Improvement of IT Infrastructure
BMTC is the first public transport undertaking in the country to use the sophisticated GPS technology for monitoring and tracking of vehicles. This is expected to cost Rs. 33 Crore. In order to provide commuter friendly information, the corporation proposes to transfer GPS generated positional details of the buses to commuters in the form of passenger information system (PIS) through display at bus stops/ bus stations also through interactive voice response system (IVRS). This is expected to cost Rs. 84 Crore. In addition introduction of Electronic Destination Boards on buses, introduction of Electronic Ticketing System, Expansion of Computerisation activity and establishment of surveillance system at a cost of Rs. 66 Crore has been proposed.

10 Development of HRD Infrastructure
Training of employees of a large staff organization such as bus system is very important. Therefore 2 hitech multi disciplinary centers (Rs. 50 crore), establishment of employee training modules (Rs. 20 crore) and establishment of employee development centers (Rs. 80 crore) have been proposed.

11 Environment Protection Projects
Various environment protection measures at bus depots are being proposed such as Rain water harvesting, Installation of solar lighting system and other environmental initiatives costing around Rs. 49 crore.

------------------------------

BMTC Grid Routes

 

 

 

7.8 Integrated Multi Modal Transit Centres –Cum- Intercity Bus Terminals

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7.8 INTEGRATED MULTI MODAL TRANSIT CENTRES –CUM- INTERCITY BUS TERMINALS
At present all the buses whether inter-city, Inter-state or Intra-city originate and terminate at the Central station in Majestic area. These not only creates congestion and heavy traffic density on all radial routes coming into the core of Bangalore but also result in substantial delay to the passengers who have to take the buses from far flung area. Though another intercity bus terminal cum integrated multi modal transit center is being contemplated at Peenya, It will not be sufficient to meet the requirements of traffic from the other direction especially North, East & South. It is, therefore proposed that there should be at least 3 more Intercity terminals. Accordingly it is suggested that ultimately 4 intercity terminals be located at the following places:

1. Peenya
2. Hosur Road
3. Old Madras Road near ORR
4. Bellary Road near Hebbal

The above terminals are proposed to be located at the Metro and the BRT terminals and will act as Inter Modal Interchanges between regional and local traffic.
Also these would be the center for Chartered and tourist buses, with adequate parking facilities and tourist bureaus / offices etc as well as other tourist infrastructure for operation of private tour operators who are at presently located mostly around the majestic Area.
These proposals have been indicated in Figure 7.2.

Figure 7.2 TTMC & Parking
(Click on the image for higher resolution)

 

 

7.9 Road Infrastructure

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7.9 ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE

The present road network consists of the Ring Roads and major radial corridors. A number of proposals have already been very broadly included in the Master Plan 2015. In addition quite a few proposals are being implemented by Govt. agencies like NHAI, State PWD, BMC, BDA, BMRDA and BMICAPA along with the private sector through PPP model. It is necessary to integrate / superimpose all these proposals in the light of projected travel demand for road traffic and confirm that they are in conformity with each other and there is neither conflict nor duplication. As the radial road corridors are expected to have high traffic volume, these corridors have been proposed to be strengthened instead of isolated improvements. The road improvement proposals include road widening, new roads (bypasses and other roads), ORR realignment, grade separators (road flyovers, ROBs, RUBs), Integrated Freight Complexes etc. These proposals are explained below.

See attachment for the rest of the section. (pdf 107.1kb).

The following the figures in the section:

Figure 7.3 Road Cross Sections - download image here (pdf 203.2 kb)

Figure 7.4 Road Proposals & Integrated Freight Complexes
(click on image for higher resolution)

AttachmentSize
7_9_Road_Infra.pdf 107.01 KB

Parking & traffic congestion

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Traffic

There is an urgent need for a paradigm shift on two counts. Firstly, shift focus from road widening to junction improvement. Secondly, shift focus to create parking infrastructure.

Pravin Sood, additional commissioner of police (traffic & security)

As a child, I read a story about six blind men asked to describe what an elephant looked like by feeling different parts of its body. The first man,  who felt the leg, said the elephant was like a pillar; the other, who felt the tail, said it was like a rope; the one who felt the ear said the elephant was like a hand fan and so on. Their descriptions differed because each experienced different parts. There's an analogy between this story and our understanding of the traffic problem.

There is an urgent need for a paradigm shift on two counts. Firstly, shift focus from road widening to junction improvement. Increasing capacity of roads without addressing capacity of junctions negates benefits accruing from the investment. Even after road widening, in the absence of grade separators at junctions, vehicles reach the junctions faster and then wait there for clearance.

Moreover, road widening requires much more effort in terms of land acquisition, cutting of trees, shifting of utilities and confrontation with pressure groups with different mandates. Also, wider roads could become natural parking lots. Not that road widening should not be done. In fact, Bangalore has the distinction of lowest road-to-area ratio in the country. But, Bangalore also has a rare distinction of having more than 40,000 junctions of which 1,000 are on arterial roads; and, of these about 100 signalised junctions across 14 corridors spanning about 59 km carry 50% of the total traffic in a day. The issue is not `road' or `junction' but `road and junction' improvement. Unless junction improvement accompanies corridor improvements, the full benefits of road widening can never be experienced.

Secondly, shift focus to create parking infrastructure. Major roads have been made one-ways while part of these roads is used for parking; 30% of the arterial road space is used as parking lots. Why do we invest in road widening, when they end up as parking lots? Why not invest the same money for parking infrastructure? Removing parking on roads is easier said than done. Considering the flourishing economic activities in parking space (basements) and near absence of parking infrastructure, it's a distant dream. Theoretically, if on-street and footpath parking is totally eliminated, hundreds of schools, commercial establishments and even government offices will have to close down. To expect police to do something like this is denying the existence of malignancy in the system.

Why can't we convert a few one-ways into two-ways? We can, if roads are kept only for moving vehicles, not for parking and certainly not for pedestrians. In our society, most of the economy survives on encroachment of public spaces.

Enforcement without creating alternatives can never be a solution. Of the 35 lakh vehicles on the roads every day, not even 20% are parked throughout the day at earmarked places. Is it possible to tow away 80% of the vehicles? Where is the parking space for all the vehicles? Most parking infrastructure has come up in malls in recent years, but that has not mitigated the problem. These have merely created an additional need and fulfilled that need.

Even on-street parking remains unregulated and since most is free, there is no incentive for people to use public transport. Parking capacities can never be created by government alone and private sector can only be expected to participate if it makes economic sense. Often, the intelligentsia talks about congestion pricing like in London, to which my answer is, we walk before we must run. Parking pricing itself can encourage migration to public transport.

I won't be surprised if you don't agree with me. I could well be one of those six blind men.

Source

7.10 Inter-Modal Interchanges

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7.10 INTER-MODAL INTERCHANGES

7.10.1 Proper integration of modes
Integration between Bus, MRTS, and railway is a vital need for the future. The city is planning two such major inter-modal interchanges.
-- The first such interchange is already under bid – the Kempegowda bus terminus at Subhashnagar is proposed to be converted into an interchange that accommodates the BMTC, KSRTC, BMRC, and a “city center” complex.
-- The second interchange is proposed at Baiyyappanahalli, which will have the BMTC, KSRTC, Railways, BMRC, and the Airport Rail Link.

In addition to the above major 47 interchanges as indicated in Figure 7.1 are proposed at required intersections of mass transport corridors.

Figure 7.1 Intermodal Interchanges
(click on images for higher resolution)

7.11 Non- Motorized Modes

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7.11 NON- MOTORISED MODES

7.11.1 Cycle Facilities
Their use in Bangalore is not significant but still this needs to be encouraged on environmental considerations. Provision for safer and better section of road or cycle track is the best way to keep them on roads. This is necessitates more on roads in the periphery of city and in many areas in BMA. In CBD some side roads and lanes can be exclusively reserved for cyclists and pedestrians in peak periods. In the new cross sections for major roads in Figure 7.3, reservation for cycle tracks has especially been incorporated. (See attachment)

7.11.2 Pedestrian Facilities
Pedestrians form a major proportion of commuters. Not only trips are conducted by walk in its entirety but every public transport trip will also have component of walk at its both ends. Though they are short distance travelers, they are spread all over the city. As facilities furnished for them are encroached upon by vendors or for road space, they have to spill on roads. These contribute to accidents also. One alternative for their facility and controlling their spill on roads is to provide good footpath with railings covering about one to one half meters width on either side of the road with openings at desired crossing points. Another alternative is to develop some narrow roads especially adjacent to major arterials as “pedestrians only” roads. Bus bays and foot paths at bus stops can also help in restraining their spill on to carriageways and reducing accidents. Pedestrian subways at important location on all 6 lane roads and at busy inter sections/junctions on 4 lane roads are to be planned on a programmed basis.

7.11.2.1 Pedestrian Cross-Over Walk-ways facilities
The proposed skywalks/pedestrian subways are given in Table 7.12.

Table 7.12 Sky Walks / Sub-Ways
SNo. Locations of Sky Walks / Sub-Ways

1. Cauvery Bhavan to Education Department Building and to Law College to Mysore Bank crossing KG Road on State Bank Junction
2. Opposite NTI connecting Guttahalli Road and Palace (opposite Bus Stop) on Sankey Road
3. Arya Bhavan Sweets to Kanthi Sweet to Himalaya Theatre, crossing KG Road
4. Lalbagh Main Gate (Javaraiah Circle)
5. Bannerghatta Road near Jayadeva Hospital
6. BMTC Main Bus Stand to Amar Lodge Building in Majestic Area
7. KSRTC Kempegowda Bus Station to BMTC Main Bus Station
8. At Kengeri Bus Stand, Mysore Road
9. At Byatarayanapura on Bellary Road (near Junction of BBMP office complex)
10. BMTC Main Bus Station to Railway Station Premises
11. Shanthala Silk House to KSRTC Main Bus Station and to Good-Shed Road
12. RNS Motors, Tumkur road
13. Jalahalli Circle, Tumkur Road
14. Near Webb junction
15. Near Kamakhya, Kathriguppe Ring Road
16. Gandhi Bazaar Main Road
17. On Vittal Mallya Road near Mallya Hospital
18. Sheshadri Road near Maharani College
19. On JC Road near Ravindra Kala Kshetra
20. On Hosur Main Road near Madivala Check post
21. On Raja Ram Mohan Roy Road, near Pallavi theatre
22. On Richmond Road near D’Souza Circle
23. On Race Course Road near Chalukya Hotel
24. On Commissariat Street near Garuda Mall
25. On Residency Road near Mayo Hall
26. On Kamaraj Road near Commercial Street
27. Near Indira Nagar 100 feet Road & Water Tank junction on Airport Road
28. On Hosur Road(Near Forum)
29. On Tumkur Road, near SMS Railway Junction
30. On Air Port Road, Marath Halli at Village Road.
31. On Air Port Road, Marath Halli at Junction of Under Pass ORR
32. K.R. Puram Bus Stand
33. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Devaraj Urs Road
34. On Hosur Road “T” Junction with Tavarekere Main Road (Opposite Sai Sadan & Prestige Acropolis) (High Rise Apartments Condominium)
35. Mission Road at the foot of Fly over
36. Vidhana Veedhi near M S Building
37. Tumkur Road near Yeshwantpur Circle
38. At South End Circle
39. Malleshwaram 5th cross
40. Double Road opposite Shanthi Nagar bus station
41. City Market additional arm to be added to existing underpass
42. 30 no. Sky –walks / Sub-Ways along the eastern crescent of the ORR

The choice between lift/escalator operated skywalks and underpasses will depend upon the specific site conditions and the quantum of pedestrian traffic while undertaking the detailed feasibility studies. Location of these facilities is indicated in Figure 7.5.

Figure 7.5 Pedestrian Facilities
(click on images for higher resolution)

7.11.2.2 Foot paths
It has been observed that most of the footpaths along the major arterial and sub
arterial roads need extensive repairs and up gradations. The major problems
observed are:
--Insufficient widths (< 1.5 mts.)
--Uneven surface because of settlement of base course, improper covering of service lines, manholes etc.
--Obstruction due to encroachments, unwanted garbage, unused building materials, fallen/ half cut trunks of trees and full grown trees, cable stays of electric poles etc.
 Level difference and steep risers with junctions of roads.
For this purpose tentatively it has been estimated that footpaths along 350 km of
roads are required to be taken up. The basic principles for construction of new
footpaths and improvement of existing ones are as under:
--Footpaths along existing roads should be widened and the minimum width be kept at least 2.0 mts.
--Proper leveling of footpath surface – with a stable base course fully compacted and safe guarded against any settlement before laying the top surface. In addition the cover for the underground services and man holes, if any, located below the footpaths or crossing should be properly designed to maintain a proper level with the surface of the footpath and no subsidence occurs.
--Continuity of footpaths
--Adequate ramp facilities for physically challenged people at junctions and cross overs.
--Proper merger of footpaths with skywalks/ underpasses/zebra crossings and junctions be provided with pedestrian priority signaling.

7.11.2.3 Pedestrian Zones
Substantial areas inside the core ring road has quite a few streets which are either fully commercial or majority of whose frontage is being used as shopping. The commercial activities on these roads can broadly be divided into the following two categories:

i. Retail and general Shopping like general merchandise, clothing garments and allied products, household white goods, consumer electronics, groceries & kitchen ware, Food & sweet shops etc., which are more or less regularly visited by shoppers.
ii. Wholesale and specialised shops dealing in machinery, building materials, Hardware etc. which are occasionally visited by customers with specific requirements and need bulk handling through Trucks and MCV’s As far as these commercial activities are concerned attempt should be made to shift them out side the ORR along wide corridors where adequate loading / unloading facilities can be provided along with required parking facilities for visitors / shoppers. For shifting of these wholesale activities both strong measures against their functioning in their present locations in the core areas and incentives for shifting to the new locations will have to be provided.

The majority of the customers visit the core area to meet their retail needs through first type of establishments. As per the plan, this central area is going to be very well served by:
--3 Metro Links namely
i. Baiyyappanahalli to Mysore Road (East-West Corridor)
ii. Peenya to Banashankari (North-South Corridor)
iii. Yelahanka R.S to PRR via Nagavara and Electronic City
--An elevated core ring road surrounding this area with provision for BRT
--Adequate park & ride facilities out side the core area at Bus Terminal cum Traffic & Transit Management centres, Metro Termini & important metro Stations, BRT stations, along side Core Ring Road and Monorail Termini & Stations.

Thus the entire core area will be fully covered by elaborate public transport network and as such the entry of all private vehicles, especially during the shopping hours 10 A.M. to 9 P.M. should be minimised.

7.11.2.4 Proposed Pedestrian Zones
To start with following two areas are being suggested for pedestrianisation:

1. Gandhi Nagar & Chickpet Areas-
The area surrounded by Seshadri Road, Kalidas Marg, K.G.Road, Distt. Offices Road, N.R.Road, Mysore Road and Bhashyam Road, Tank Bund Road & Dhanvantri Road can be converted into two pedestrian zones I & II on either side of K.G.Road. The two Zones can be inter connected through a semi depressed under pass near Alankar Plaza and Jantha Bazar. All the private vehicles will be required to move on Seshadri Road, Kasturba Road, NR Road and Bhashyam Road, while K.G.Road and District Offices Road be used by Public Transport –Busses & Trams. In the surrounding areas 5 mechanical parking spaces with a capacity of 500 vehicles each will be provided at;
--P13- Behind Sagar
--P14- Kanteerava Stadium
--P15-Near City Market
--P16-Near Bakshi Gardens
--P17 – KSRTC Bus Depot

2. Commercial Street - To be designated as ‘CLOSED FOR VEHICLES FROM 10 A.M TO 9 P.M.’ and supported by parking P-2 near Kamaraj Road
3. Brigade Road - To be designated as ‘CLOSED FOR VEHICLES FROM 10 A.M TO 9 P.M.’ and supported by parking P-1 near M.G.Road

These proposals are indicated in Figure 7.6.

Figure 7.6 Pedestrian Zones

 

 

 

 

 

 

==*==

AttachmentSize
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7.12 Parking

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7.12 PARKING

7.12.1 The parking demand is growing with growth of vehicles in the city. The multistoried buildings in busy/commercial areas are major attractors. Though the building regulations specify a minimum provision of parking area, there can be many defaulters and some who later convert the spaces for other purposes. This results in the vehicle parking spilling to streets (main road or side streets). A practical solution is to provide off street multistoried parking lots in this areas. As funds will be constraint consultants suggest a policy in this regard. The Owner who fails to provide required parking spaces as per the regulations should be charged an annual levy equivalent to market rental value for the short fall in parking area provided. Subsequently the market value will rise every year. Amount so collected plus parking charges collected will be substantially enough to meet the repayment installments of loans which were taken to construct multistoried parking lots. Once such facility is provided it is possible to prevent the on Street parking of vehicles or otherwise road space can be utilized for traffic. The development control regulations and TCP act may be suitably amended to provide for such levies.

7.12.2 Parking demand can also be controlled by implementing transport management measures like staggering office and school working hours and banning on-Street parking of private vehicles in CBD and on major arterials. However it must be realized that mere regulatory measures are not enough and positive steps are required to meet the parking demand and provide safe parking outside the congested areas. It is suggested that for proper parking management and control, to start with we may divide the city into three zones.

7.12.2.1 Zone A
Central areas inside the core ring road where only short term parking on hourly basis should be provided between 9 AM to 9PM with high telescopic charges increasing with every hour of parking. These areas will invariably be provided with automatic mechanical parking (AMPs). Beyond 9PM and upto 9AM they can offer lower tariff rates for long term night parking.

7.12.2.2 Zone B
between the CRR and ORR – in these areas a combination of AMPs and Conventional Multi level Parking (CMPs) can be provided at selected interchanges, especially at the TTMCs and other identified locations closer to public transport corridors. Parking in these areas will also be short term time based but at a slightly lower tariff as compared to Zone A.

7.12.2.3 Zone C – outside the ORR
– large CMPs may be provided at the TTMC s and other locations adjoining the public transport stations of Metro, Monorail/LRT, BRT etc. these will be long term parking lots of 8 to 12 hour duration at a nominal tariff to encourage the vehicle owners to park at these facilities and ride the public transport system to their destination and back.

7.12.3 To begin with parking for about 10000 vehicles has been suggested at the
following sites in Table 7.13.

Table 7.13 Proposed Parking Sites

S.No.

Location

Phase

Type

1

M G Road

P-1

AMP

2

Near Kamraj Road

P-1

AMP

3

Gandhi Nagar

P-1

AMP

4

Jayanagar Shopping Complex

P-1

CMP

5

Koramangala near Raheja Tower

P-1

CMP

6

Rajajinagar BDA Complex

P-1

CMP

7

Banashankari BDA Complex

P-1

CMP

8

Gandhi Bazaar

P-1

CMP

9

Malleshwaram

P-1

AMP

10

Fire Station, Residency Road

P-1

AMP

11

Dhobi Ghat, Cunningham Road

P-1

AMP

12

SP Office, Miller Road,Cunningham Road crossing

P-1

AMP

13

Near Sagar & States

P-1

AMP

14

Kanteerava Stadium

P-1

AMP

15

City Market

P-1

AMP

16

Bakshi Gardens

P-1

AMP

17

KSRTC Bus Depot

P-1

AMP

Of these sites, where the availability of land is limited and the land values very high, automatic mechanical parking (AMP) which can provide 500 parking lots in approx. 1000 sqm of space have been suggested. In the outer areas, conventional multistory parking (CMP) has been proposed.

In addition, since most of the TTMC’s are proposed to be adequately served by Public Transport like Metro, Mono Rail/LRT, BRT etc, substantial Park and ride facilities should be provided from where the commuters can switch over from private to public transport. These proposals are indicated in Figure 7.2.

Figure 7.2 Parking
(Click on the image for higher resolution)

Similarly at all the termini of Metro, Mono rail/LRT, BRT,CRS and their major stations out side the Core Ring Road should be provided with adequate park and ride facilities are to be provided.

Within the core area where the land is scarce and very expensive, mechanical automatic & semi automatic parking may be provided with heavy time based parking Charges.

In the long run, when the mass transport system is city-wide and adequate, parking demand will stabilize. Therefore it is important that adequate and convenient mass transport system as recommended above is provided.

7.13 Freight Movement

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7.13 FREIGHT MOVEMENT

7.13.1 The freight movement through the city particularly on some of the arterials is already restricted in CBD area. Many orbital corridors cannot be easily restrained till such time the wholesale activities are concentrated in the CBD. The strategy already followed is to decongest the CBD by shifting the wholesale market to outer areas or proposed IFCs along the PRR. In order to facilitate the shifting of the wholesale activity from the core areas, both harsh measures in terms of restriction on the activities at their present location and incentives for relocation in the new areas will have to be followed. The restrictions in the central areas could be in the form of banning the entry of HCVs completely and permitting only LCVs between 10 PM and 9 AM; treating these properties as engaged in misuse activities and charge a very hefty misuse charge on a daily basis and a substantial increase in the property tax. All private vehicles should be banned from entering these areas between 9 AM to 10PM. simultaneously well developed wholesale markets may be created along side the IFCs with modern transport, loading and unloading, parking and ancillary facilities. These sites can be allotted to the persons relocating their business on no profit no loss basis on priority.

The provision of PRR is itself going to help diversion of through freight traffic. Nearly 80% of the ORR has lost the sole identity of ring road, the PRR being thought of in this connection will be a boon to the city. Development of another orbital ring road as proposed by BMRDA would also help in diversion of the freight traffic. So far there is no though regarding the shifting of the goods shed. If a ring railway is formed over the outer ring road, shifting of the goods shed to the periphery of the city can also be thought of. But this will take longer time. However, future planning of the rail facilities in and around Bangalore will need to be kept this in mind. Such shifts will have some adverse effect i.e. HCV/LCV movement from the goods sheds on the periphery and any wholesale complexes, into the city will develop. By suitable management measures like restricting these movements during particular timings of the day, problem can be suitably managed.

7.13.2 Integrated Freight Complexes (IFC)

Near the junctions of the PRR with the following radial corridors, six IFC’s are proposed as indicated in Figure 7.4:
1. Hosur Road
2. White Field Road
3. Old Madras Road
4. Bellary Road
5. Tumkur Road
6. Mysore Road
In addition to acting as nodes for handling the HCVs traffic and diverting it on the PRR they will also act as center for wholesale trade. Quite a few wholesale markets to be shifted outside the central area can be located as part of the IFC for efficient handling for bulk goods.

Figure 7.4 Integrated Frieght Complexes
(click on image for higher resolution)

7.14 Demand Control

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7.14 DEMAND CONTROL

7.14.1 Reducing Private Vehicle Use
There are two ways to restraint the growth of private vehicles on road to either by pricing policy or by providing better level of service on public transport. Road pricing is difficult to achieve in a city like Bangalore particularly since its enforcement would be very difficult. It should be possible to put constraints in some areas by restricting private vehicles entering into the congested roads particularly during the peak hours. Providing good public transport with feeder IPT modes like Mini buses for facilitating the commuters to reach their destinations from Train/Bus stations would also induce many private vehicle users to shift from private vehicles. In fact with the coming up of the Core Ring Road, proposed improvements in the alignment of the ORR, Coming up of the various Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Modes like Metro, Mono-Rail / LRT & BRT we can substantially achieve the objectives through the following measures:
--Enough parking lots be provided outside the ORR & CRR easily accessible from the radials reaching the ORR & CRR
--Proper park & ride facilities for long term parking at the stations / termini of the MRT modes out side the ORR.
--Providing comfortable, environmentally friendly transport (Electrically operated / CNG mini busses) between MRT stations and the core areas.
--The parking facilities provided / planned in side the CRR should only be for Short term parking with high hourly charges.
--Congestion Charges be imposed on slab-scale from private vehicles entering first the ORR and then the CRR.
--Private vehicles be completely banned from entering the pedestrian zones
between the shopping hours i.e. 10 AM to 9 PM.
The above measures can help in reducing private vehicles in busy areas.

7.14.2 Land use for demand optimization
The land use and density component of the above strategy can be operationalized only through revisions in the Master Plan. High traffic generating activities and high density (high FSI) zones should be realigned around mass transport nodes and along major transportation corridors.
Such a reorganization of land use and density cannot be realized only through the modifications in the Master plan. In already developed areas, this needs to be translated into projects for planned redevelopment, ensuring that the high density and high intensity of activities are supported by appropriating land for improvements in the road network, street design and supporting infrastructure. The energy for redevelopment already exists in the real estate market in Bangalore, and will receive further impetus from the implementation of mass transport projects.
In new growth areas, a mechanism for micro-level planning (such as Town Planning Schemes in Gujarat) will need to be introduced to ensure that all new development is adequately served by primary, tertiary and secondary road network with provision for public transport facilities. These would also essentially have to be translated into land management projects.

7.14.3 Development of Integrated Facilities
As already pointed out, Bangalore has a good network of rail system, which can be converted by adding a few facilities like parallel lines, electrification, additional stations etc to serve as a commuter rail system also. Detailed studies have been completed already. CRS along with the Metro system under construction and the Bus transport can be integrated with good interchange and parking facilities at stations to form an Integrated Transport System.

7.15 Transport System Management - B-TRAC 2010

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7.15 TRANSPORT SYSTEM MANAGEMENT - B-TRAC 2010

7.15.1 Background
Bangalore City, has witnessed a phenomenal growth in vehicle population. As a result, many of the arterial roads and intersections are operation over the capacity (i.e., v/c is more than 1) and average Journey speeds on some of the key roads in the Central Area are lower than 10 Kmph in the peak hour. Therefore, it has become necessary to establish plans for efficient traffic management in Bangalore. In this regard, Bangalore City Police have envisaged the “Bangalore Traffic Improvement Project – B- TRAC 2010”

7.15.2 Goal and Objectives
The objectives of B-TRAC 2010 would be two-fold:
1. Operational Objectives:
(a) Reduce traffic congestion by 30% in the Central Area of Bangalore City;
(b) Reduce accidents by 30% in the city of Bangalore;
(c) Achieve significant reduction in pollution;
(d) Achieve substantial compliance of Traffic Laws and Rules; and
(e) Set up an effective Trauma Care System.
2. Institutional Objectives:
(a) Coordinated traffic management by developing mechanisms for the same, like institutionalizing Traffic Task Force, Road Safety Committee, Traffic Action Committee etc;
(b) Robust Revenue Model (traffic funds to pay for traffic management infrastructure and maintenance);
(c) Legal and Institutional reforms;
(d) Capacity Building (Modernization and up gradation of Traffic Training Institute etc.); and
(e) Strengthening of Traffic police by augmenting officers and staff; construction of buildings and provision of modern communication and mobility.

7.15.3 Approach
The city of Bangalore needs a traffic management that addresses not just supply aspects, but also demand and B-TRAC – 2010 adopts this very same approach.

7.15.4 Strategy
B-TRAC-2010 framework would be as follows:
(a) Land use development controls;
(b) Primacy to Public Transport;
(c) Parking controls and management;
(d) Automated Control and Enforcement (ITS/ATC);
(e) Entry Restriction to the Central Area; and
(f) Road safety plan for accident reduction.
Specific components of the strategy are:
(a) Central Area – Area Traffic Control System; One way systems; dedicated bys lance and signal priority for buses; Parking controls; creation of no-auto zones; restricted entry of traffic in to the core area
(b) Core ring road development for unhindered movement of traffic thereby avoiding the central area
(c) Corridor Traffic Control System (as in ATC) for the several radial roads
(d) up gradation of intermediate and outer ring roads and development of the peripheral ring road
(e) Traffic police modernization with improved communication, computerization, mobility, capacity building and automated enforcement systems.

7.15.5 Components

The various components of B-TRAC are as under:
*Junction Improvements
*Street Furniture and Road Marking
*Intelligent Transport System including. ATC, VMS etc for 250 intersections
*Surveillance / monitoring and enforcement cameras etc
*Education and Training / Others

7.15.6 Benefits
(a) Traffic congestion will be reduced by 30% in the Central Area of Bangalore City
(b) Accidents will be reduced by 30% in the city of Bangalore
(c) There will be significant reduction in pollution
(d) Substantial compliance of Traffic Laws and Rules will be achieved
(e) Effective Trauma Care System will be set up
(f) Coordinated traffic management will be achieved
(g) Level of traffic and road safety awareness will be enhanced and
(h) State of the art traffic policing and regulation will lead to substantial compliance.

7.15.7 Summary

B-TRAC 2010 will be first of its kind project in the country to address the issues of traffic congestion, safety etc by utilizing the latest traffic management technology and techniques, which are appropriate to our context. This will give the much-needed scope for larger infrastructure projects to be planned and implemented for improving the transportation system in Bangalore city.

Chapter–8 Transport Integration

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CHAPTER – 8 TRANSPORT INTEGRATION

8.1 NEED
A multi-modal public transport network for the BMA has been proposed to be developed to meet expected commuter’s travel needs. Integration of various modes of transport is vital to evolution of a least-cost and viable transport system. Objective of an integrated transport system is to offer maximum advantage from economic, traffic and planning considerations. Various transport modes are to be integrated in such a way that each mode supplements the other. For effective integration, total transport system has to be planned, implemented and operated under common policies. Depending upon the forecast transport demand and other parameters along various corridors, an appropriate transport system giving least-cost option has been proposed.

8.2 INTEGRATION OF MODES
8.2.1 It is not possible to provide direct origin to destination service and vice a versa for all commuters. The need to interchange modes and or corridors is an essential feature of any public transport system. The planning objective as stated earlier is to minimize the need to change and when change is essential to make it as convenient as possible and with minimum time loss.
8.2.2 The proposed network includes corridors that are collector routes to serve areas at some distance from the mass transport routes. Another corridors are radial that normally would be direct origin to destination routes and hence will meet the objective of minimum interchanges. There are circular routes that will interchange with the radial routes. On these routes, one interchange should meet the needs of most commuters. The overall network of radials and circular corridors has formed a grid and hence most commuters should not need more than one or two interchanges.

8.3 FEEDER SERVICES
Feeder services to the proposed network will also be important in order to provide convenient and quick transfer of passengers from one mode of transport to other. As all commuters will not be living within walking distance of the proposed network, proper planning for feeder services will be necessary to ensure the forecast passenger demand on the system. For catchment area of about 0.5-1 km from the proposed network, commuter can easily access it by walk. People residing in next 1-km can reach station by cycles, scooters, autorickshaws and mini-buses. Areas outside the 2-km catchment area will require regular feeder bus services to important terminals/stations. Feeder services can also be provided by Para-transit modes. However, choice of a particular mode will depend upon passenger demand, road cross-section, road gradient, etc.

8.4 INTER-CHANGE FACILITIES
8.4.1 One of the most important elements of transport integration is the provision of inter-change facilities. Required inter-changes will be between the proposed mass transit systems such Metro, CRS, LRT/Monorail, BRTS and with other feeder services. Integration facilities at stations would depend upon expected station load to ensure proper system utilization. This will also include approach roads to stations, circulation facilities, pedestrian ways and adequate parking areas for various modes that are likely to come to important stations including feeder, bus/mini-bus routes. The provision will have to be made for peak demand at each station. At either stations, proper road based integration is to be ensured.
8.4.2 Figure 7.1 shows the interchange points in the mass transport network. There are 49 locations of interchange with high capacity mass transport modes.

Zoom In

8.4.3 The main issue is to make these interchanges convenient with minimum time penalty. Facilitates for interchange between modes/corridors should be planned for convenience and minimum loss of time. Side by side or vertical interchange that involves minimum walking is the best and hence has to be the norm in planning. It is proposed that planning and design of convenient interchanges and safe access from the area up to stations and stops forms the subject of a special study devoted to achieve the objective.

8.5 OPERATIONAL INTEGRATION
Integration at operational level will be required to synchronize the timings of mass transit and feeder services. For efficient inter-change, walking/waiting time at these stations will need to be minimized. Introduction of common ticketing and their availability at convenient places will be necessary to ensure forecast patronage of the system. An integrated passenger information system covering all modes through publication of common route guides, time-table, information boards at terminals for providing up-to-date information for the system users will also be important.

 

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Chapter–9 Cost Estimates, Phasing And Financing Plan

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CHAPTER– 9 COST ESTIMATES, PHASING AND FINANCING PLAN

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Chapter–10 Institutional Development

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CHAPTER–10 INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING

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Bangalore Mass Transit - Summary of Past Study Reports

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The first CTTP for Bangalore had been carried out in 1963-64 by the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI, New Delhi). This study, though termed “Comprehensive” had focused on the road system, & had proposed construction of 138 km of ring roads, 77.5 km arterial roads & various grade separators, pedestrian subways and truck terminals.

An effort to refresh the data & update the proposals was made by the BDA (Town Planning Dept) in 1977. One of its recommendations was to look into a mass rapid transit project, i.e. a Metro system, or similar.

This hade been taken up by a high-level Committee in 1981 & the Lynne Committee, that had been appointed, agreed that a Metro study was warranted, and a team from Southern Railways, Chennai (Madras, then) was commissioned to do this.

In 1983, the Southern Railway team recommended a 2-corridor Metro of 24 km, & also 3 commuter rail lines, and a 58-km ring railway over a 25-year period. No action followed this proposal.

In 1988, RITES was commissioned to do another transport study, with a broad coverage of roads, traffic and mass transit. The study was completed, proposing various road & traffic improvements, & also improvements on commuter rail lines, but again without much follow-up action.

In 1993, the State established another committee to look into mass rapid transit. This committee recommended the same metro project put forward by Southern Railways in 1983 and the same circular railway. Again, there was no follow up action.

Meanwhile, the CDP that had been made & approved in 1984 was again revised in 1994 due to very high unanticipated growth, & finally approved in 1995. This plan was a zoning document with rough locations for road networks – It had no bearing on transport matters.

In 1994, the Bangalore Mass Rapid Transit Ltd was created, to seek a public /private partnership for a mass rapid transit project (25/75 basis). The government also introduced a special city cess dedicated to the anticipated mass rapid transit project. BMRTL commissioned a feasibility study, which pointed in the direction of an Elevated Light Rail, 96-km long network on 6 routes. The alignment was on major radial roads, & the first route, completely elevated, was from Aranganagudda on Mysore road, to Indiranagar bus depot (via Chord rd, Platform rd, KG rd, Residency rd, MG rd & OMR). The capacity was about 25,000 phpdt. The forecast was that it would attract 40% of road-based traffic. Some action followed, at last. UB Group undertook further development of the project on a BOT basis. After more detailed studies of costs & demands were made, they asked for a 94/6 funding formula (the study probably showed poor profitability – this study report has not been made public). The matter had ended there as they were prepared to bring in only 6%, which was unacceptable to the state.

In 1999, BMTC commissioned a feasibility study for a bus-based mass rapid transit system (BRT). The study, completed in 1999, identified a network of 20 bus routes, composed of Siamese-twin central rings intersected by 8 radial routes. A pilot 12-km line from Jayanagar to Shivajinagar was estimated to cost Rs.39.5 crores. This included the exclusive corridors /depots & 35 dedicated vestibule buses, provided as aid by SIDA (Swedish International Development Agency). Nothing is known about this proposal – it has not been rejected, nor has it been accepted. Press reports at the time suggested that SIDA was not prepared to provide the rolling stock since the city had failed to create the corridors, despite studies endorsing it’s viability.

In 2003, DMRC was commissioned to carry out a detailed study for a metro, to be done along the same technical & financial approach used in Delhi. This entailed a 25/25 contribution from the Center & the State /City, the rest to be borrowed from domestic & international sources (specifically JBIC). The feasibility study also included an environmental impact analysis. The study recommended a 2-line metro, 18 km and 15 km in length, cross-shaped, with the middle of the cross at Majestic. Station spacing was to be 1 km on average (32 stations of which 7 underground). This proposal had been accepted, & the actions following this, went the full distance, finally, though debates had delayed the start of construction.

CCTF Report

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A Commuter Comfort Task Force (CCTF) was setup in 199x to suggest improvements to Bangalore's public transportation system. Since BMTC bus was the only mode of public transport, this task force was essentially setup to consult with BMTC. CCTF produced a report outlining some suggestions, most important of which was around routing of BMTC buses.

CCTF Report 6. Key Recommendations

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6. KEY RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE TASK FORCE (IMPLEMENTABLE BY BMTC)
6.1 Improved Connectivity
The Task Force is unanimous that improved connectivity is a necessity for a comfortable journey for an individual. This not only involves bus connectivity but also multi-modal connectivity and steps must be taken in that direction to streamline the operations of buses, trains and the proposed metro railway. While the BMTC has begun to selectively introduce buses on a direction-oriented basis, this needs to be promoted and encouraged so that the need to travel to the centre of the city is reduced. In some ways, it will involve the creation of a multiple hub and spoke model with hubs on the periphery of the city with feeder services linking the hubs and services operating between these hubs being the ‘grid services’ or the metro bus services.

It must be emphasised that the BMTC should use an external benchmark to gauge its progress on the providing improved connectivity. We recommend that the BMTC set a target of capturing 60% of all journeys by 2006 up from 50% currently. This would require increasing ridership and capacity by approximately 15% every year (compared to 10% currently).

A separate discussion on the grid system is already covered in section 5. However, connectivity with all modes of transport needs to be encouraged with the BMTC providing last mile service to all road users.

6.2 Recommendations for people with special Needs

6.2.1 Senior Citizens

  1. BMTC intends to provide concessional passes of 50% discounted fare between 11am to 5pm (a period of six hours). We recommend that the time restriction be removed, with the discount being extended to daily, weekly and monthly passes in addition to daily tickets.
  2. In buses two seats are to be earmarked for senior citizens, but this is not done yet in some buses. Implementing this in the buses, needs education and training of BMTC staff and commuter’s co-operation.
  3. Most drivers keep the buses moving while the commuters are alighting and boarding the buses. This habit has proved very dangerous for women, children and especially, senior citizens. The drivers should be trained and strictly instructed to stop the buses completely at the stops and move only after the commuters are safely inside the bus.

6.2.2 Children

Students are among the worst hit by overcrowding in public transport as they usually carry with them large school bags which are not manoeuvrable. The large amount of money that parents are willing to pay in order to ensure that their child goes to school even if it is an a cramped auto is an indication of the opportunity that exists to provide an efficient public transport system.
  1. We recommend that the needs of students be identified through consultations with schools and exclusive ‘School Special’ trips during pre and post-school hours, i.e., between 7 to 9 am and 3 to 5 pm. It is also recommended that a campaign to change timings in school be conducted to ‘spread the peak hour’ and increase the carrying capacity of the roads.
  2. It is also suggested these school special trips can run on a regular revenue model of monthly commuter passes. Objective of this scheme is to attract those parents who send their children in Auto-rickshaws, personal vehicles and to ensure highest safety with easing congestion near school zones. Student concessional passes would continued to be allowed in regular buses but these school special buses exclusively run for student on monthly passes.
  3. Options of starting buses inside schools, which have larger compounds need to be explored like starting of buses from Baldwins Boys High School. (or like the GKVK campus of the University of Agricultural Sciences).

6.2.3 Physically Disabled
The current design of buses and bus stops together with the non systematic stoppage of buses on roads make it difficult for this category of people to use buses even if at off-peak hours when the load is lower. In addition to the recommendations above (for both children and elders), it is important to make changes to the design of buses itself that make it easier for such users to use these buses. Lower floors and better-designed bus stops will be essential as well as sound indicator mechanism for those with visual disability to enter and exit the buses.

6.3 Safety

The importance of safety cannot be over-emphasised in the present context as road accidents place considerable costs in terms of serious injury, productivity losses and lives lost. In addition, a safer road environment has been documented to create lower stress levels and reduce road rage, which is increasingly becoming a problem with higher levels of congestion.

While the role of other stakeholders is covered separately, there is a greater role that the BMTC can play in order to improve road safety both for itself and for other road users. The record of the BMTC is certainly not a bad one but there are areas for significant improvement. Appendix A gives a break up of the total number of cases booked under the Motor Vehicles Act for the year 2003 (up to the month of May). If this is projected into a twelve-month scenario, the results do merit some concern. If other recommendations of this Task Force are followed, a majority of the cases can be handled as Foot Board travel accounts from nearly two thirds of the total number of cases booked against the BMTC. Areas of concern include jumping of red signals, reckless driving and cutting the yellow line. This Task Force believes that the only way to further reduce the number of cases booked against is by a sustained campaign to train all BMTC drivers in defensive driving.

Education and constant reinforcement of the message that safety is first is crucial to ensure that there is a continuous improvement in the record of the BMTC. The Task Force also notes that the accident rate of the BMTC at 0.22 per lakh km is one of the lowest in the country. However it is important not to be complacent but continuously improve.


6.4 Differentiation of Bus Travel

The recent modifications that have been made to existing buses have helped to create a new look bus be continued with the BMTC pioneering the move to improve public transport and the comfort of the travelling public. In order to increase the percentage of the commuting public using the BMTC buses, it is necessary that differentiation of buses be created much like how the Pushpak buses originally helped to create a niche market (which has since been eroded for various reasons).

However, the differentiation should not be so complex or based on a route-based system with little or no real choice on a given rule. The differentiated buses should act like competition with the existing services in order to enhance the comfort of the travelling public. Two classes of travel are suggested. The first would be the introduction of Express buses (and designated as such). The second would be the gradual and widespread introduction of air-conditioned buses on certain key routes with revenue generating potential. For people to make the switch to start using buses in preference to their own private modes of transport, it is necessary to create a significantly better travelling experience to entice those users of their private vehicles to start using the bus service. Air conditioned buses and Express buses might be a step in that direction. Ideally, these buses should be differentiated from the other buses through a different chassis/ lower floors or other visible difference which can be their unique selling point. Smaller buses can also be introduced in order to emphasise the difference.


6.5 Other Recommendations

6.5.1 Bus Design
Members inside PE2100 bus to inspect passenger friendly design

  1. Vehicle chassis being used in Buses are derived out of Truck chassis, which are not comfortable for city transport. Hence task force recommends that BMTC should convert all the chassis into low or semi-low chassis, with Euro II engines.
  2. At the bus stations/stops, the entry door should be in level with the Bus floor. Commuter should be able to walk into the bus. This is very helpful in Indian conditions, wherein women wearing saris is common. This measure is immense beneficial to physically challenged persons, kids and senior citizens.
  3. Bus Floor should be even without any undulations
  4. Driver’s seat should be barricaded as to not allow any commuter to stand behind / near him.
  5. Ceiling horizontal grip rod should not be very high as well as the hand belts should be made immovable
  6. Standing and sitting space should never over loaded. Task force believes that implementation of Grid scheme, which ensures high frequency of buses will limit over loading.
  7. Stipulated standard leg space and elbow space should be maintained between seats.
  8. Information / Communication
  1. Inside space wherever possible in the buses should be utilised to communicate messages to commuter, specially seeking co-operation from them, to avail tickets, to give appropriate exchange and some socially relevant messages. Un-used space could be utilised for commercial advertisement.
  2. It is recommended to display ‘intimate us in case of rash driving’ signage, behind the Bus. This would help minimising rash driving by drivers, for the fear of being complained to authorities. Now-a-days this has been standard practice in reputed institutional buses, to enhance road and commuters safety.
  3. Electronic display of Route maps inside the buses with indication of present stop coupled with audio really help commuter
  1. Destination boards
  1. Should be distinct, broad and legible even from a distance.
  2. Display destination boards at all sides of the Bus, front, rear, right side and left side (entry) as well.
  3. LCD destination boards, which are clearly visible even during day, should be tried. This would help to add cosmetic value, to attract commuters and for easy handling from staff.
  1. Bus Doors
  1. To facilitate better crowd control inside the bus it’s recommended to follow ‘rear entry and front exit’ scheme, which is in practice in all cities in country. This scheme would automatically be implemented with other reforms like reserving left side seating for women and senior citizens and right seating for men, implementing Q-system and vending tickets in bus stops/stations.
  2. Pneumatic shutters/doors are good safety measures. This should be implemented in all buses and ensure that buses should not move unless the shutters are closed. Technological improvement should be made to facilitate ‘stop n open– close n move’ system and reduce failures.

6.5.2 At Bus stops/stations/main stations

  1. The time is ripened enough to look at Decentralised Bus Terminal concept.
  1. In bus stations such as BTM Layout, Domlur, Banashankari, etc., ‘Park and Ride’ scheme should be built and implemented to discourage personal transport for longer distances.
  2. These terminals help commuters to Park their personal vehicles, take grid or trunk routes and come back and drive back home.
  3. These terminals should house commercial shops, which not only help commuter to shop and ride back home, but also ensures financial viability of building.
  1. It is recommended to implement ground booking of tickets either through manual or through ticket vending machines. This will help burden on conductor and help to improve revenue.
  2. Automatic Ticket vending machines should be tried out first in AC buses. Based on the response, this can be extended to regular or Janapriyavahini Buses.
  3. Monitoring and ticket checks need to be conducted in the initial period of implementation, but later once commuters get used to system, it would be beneficial to both Corporation and commuters.
  4. Ban parking of any vehicles around 100 feet of bus stop either way, with the help of Police. Auto-rickshaws tend to occupy bus stops creating nuisance not allowing buses to park safely.
  5. Information, Education and Communication to commuter
  6. Information to public is the most neglected aspect of public transport management. IT initiatives such as Pubic Information Systems (PIS) can be implemented in Bus stops and stations. BMTC already implementing GPS based vehicle-tracking system, in which the real time location of buses/arrivals at stops along the route can be communicated through Real Time Passenger Information systems (RTPIS) to waiting commuters, through LCD panels. This would specially help at intersection points once Grid scheme is in place.
  7. At Majestic bus station increase the number of help desks.
  8. Setting up Information Kiosks at Majestic and major bus stands such as Domlur, BTM layout, Vijayanagar, Jayanagar, etc., would help commuters for quick and easy information accessibility.
  9. Massive LED/LCD panels set up in major stations with rolling information boost Public Relations with commuters.
  10. Route maps displayed on Bus station/stops help commuters
  11. A Bus Information guide to be made available with routes, stages, fares, time table and such commuter friendly information for a nominal cost and updated regularly.
  12. Re-introducing Queue system at bus stop and station is imminent. This can be implemented with the help of police and respective area depot managers.

6.5.3 On Road

  1. Task force recommends trying out pilot dedicated lane for Public transport. This would prioritise the BMTC buses, helps adhere to scheduled time and popularised the public transport mode. A pilot project should be implemented in one route wherever feasible, under BATF with co-operation from Police and BMP. Based on the results / opinion, decision could be made to expand it or not.
  2. Organised more Bus bays wherever possible in cooperation with BMP.
  3. On many roads Bus stops face each other on either side of road. This needs Bus stops re-arrangement by creating a minimum space of 100 feet between two stops on either side of road.
  4. Help identify and create more Bus shelters with BMP. Encourage current design, which is great and self-sustaining model.
  5. Task force also recommends providing Refuges (Pauses) in the centre of broad roads with or without median for pedestrian safety.
  6. Initiation of Transport Wardens (similar to Traffic Wardens / Shuchi Mitra’s) is a welcome measure. These honorary Transport Wardens help BMTC in educating commuters, drivers and other ancillary assistance.

It is also suggested that route maps be installed in every bus and every bus stop. In the bus, the route map could be that of the bus itself. In the bus stop, it could be for all the buses coming to that stop in addition to the total grid map of the city. This measure is essential for the grid route concept to succeed.

Every route must be published in a easy to use manner for all citizens. In the long run, it is suggested that the BMTC consider heavy investments in information technology to ensure that information is available to commuters easily.

6.5.4 Passenger monthly Bus passes
Validity of Identity card for the monthly pass holders should increased from present 1 year to a minimum of 5 years.

CCTF Report 3: Present Transport Situation

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3. THE PRESENT TRANSPORT SITUATION

The present bus system has to be seen in the context of the history of Bangalore and its development as a city. The original city has a clearly and visibly bifurcated development with a Cantonment area controlled by the British Raj and a Western area under the control of the erstwhile Maharaja of Mysore. Two centres developed with one around Shivaji Nagar and the second around what is today called K R Market or Kalasipalayam. Subsequently, the creation of the City Railway Station and the formation of the Bus Station led to a third centre within the city. The current bus system was designed to serve the needs of this original city layout. However, the urban sprawl that has been created through an almost relentless growth in the city from the 1960’s has resulted in the existing model of bus transport not being able to support the growing needs of the city.

 

  1981 2003 % change
Two- wheeler 125,600 1,304,691 939%
Cars 31,738 248,303 682%
Buses 5,090 25,244 396%
Autorickshaws 10,355 68,052 557%
Population 2,900,000 6,200,000 114%
Population data from Census, rest from Bangalore Traffic Police


The population of Bangalore has grown exponentially in the last twenty years on the back of what is described as the Information Technology (IT) boom. The dramatic increase in the number and the scale of IT has created growing opportunities especially for the increasing middle class. The flip side to the growing of the city has been the prolific growth in private vehicles. The class of vehicles that have grown substantially are the two wheelers growing almost 1000% in the past twenty years. In the same period, there has been no corresponding increase in road area thereby causing extreme congestion.

The responses to increasing levels of congestion in the city have included measures to increase the carrying capacity of the roads through the imposition of one-ways, widening of roads (through narrowing of footpaths) and construction of flyovers in order to alleviate congestion. While all these measures have resulted in some relief to commuters, the inability to have a systematic method to reduce private vehicles and encourage the use of public transport continues to cause increasing levels of congestion within the city. One ways are a temporary solution until the next crisis when the number of vehicles continues to increase in order to service the needs of areas. Flyovers that are being constructed are not always designed for public transport users resulting in bus users being further discouraged from their use. For example the lack of a bus stop on the existing Mysore Road flyover and also the proposed Hennur Road flyover means that many commuters who live or work alongside the flyover will be forced to walk additional distances in order to catch a bus. Innovations to increase bus usage might require retro-fitting of bus stops onto flyovers with pedestrian ramps for people to get to these bus stops.

 

Public transport currently is predominantly destination oriented to one of the three city centres which each city centre serving a different area. This causes most areas apart from those within the centre of the city to be connected with a very poor frequency of buses. This further discourages the use of public transport thereby increasing the number of private vehicles even more.

 

The BMTC buses have also been relegated to a lower rung in the hierarchy with the traffic police responding to higher congestion with restrictions on movements of BMTC buses and autorickshaws thereby penalising those using public transport while further (indirectly) promoting the use of private transport.
Present challenge – providing connectivity

 

In addition to the fact that most areas have a destination oriented bus system, the location of the area will usually determine the destination of the bus itself. There are about 140 terminating points or end points in the city. From each of these end points, buses are operated to the three Central points KBS, KRM and Shivajinagar (about 350 routes), and only a few routes (about 50) are operated from some points to other without touching any central point. In addition to the fact that most buses are destination oriented, all three terminuses do not provide an equal frequency of buses to all parts of the city. The northern and eastern parts of the city are serviced mainly by the Shivaji Nagar Bus Terminus. The south and south west by the K R Market Bus Terminus while the Kempe Gowda Bus Terminus serves the western and North Western parts of the city. This creates some strange anomalies during the use of the present bus system.
 
The original three city centres connected by the BMTC are generally well connected subject to the limitation given above. However, given this limitation, the result has generally been a public transport system that services people who’s main needs are based around the three central points. The beneficiaries of this system are government employees who’s offices are in the area of the city centre, students (generally of government schools and colleges in the area) and people coming in to the markets at either K R Market or Shivaji Nagar. Historically, the location of the bus stops also helped to service the medical needs of people visiting the city for a day. Typically, traders or farmers who have come in to sell their produce within the city. Vani Vilas Hospital, Victoria Hospital, Bowring Hospital and St. Johns Hospital among others are located very close to an important market and also a strategic bus terminus. The good connectivity of the city centre is shown in the figures below.
Diagrammatic representation of present system
 
Despite the BMTC operating nearly 3200 buses with a similar number of schedules covering 45,000 trips, completing around 7 lakh service kilometres per day is unable to increase its share of commuter traffic much beyond 50%. The remaining take private transport or walk to their place of work or study. This is partly a result of poor connectivity to any part apart from the three key destinations. In addition to the fact that this kind of system requires more buses, it causes an ‘under-utilisation’ of capacity everywhere except the extreme periphery of the city.

 

The information technology boom has created an additional set of challenges for the city. The increase in number of quasi legal chartered services to transport people to their places of work especially in the night has dramatically increased the number of Sports Utility Vehicles like Tata Sumo and Toyota Qualis. This fragmentation of transport needs further increases congestion within the city and at the same time many of these vehicles are emerging with a reputation for being ‘road bullys’. The relative affluence of the two wheeler driving class also means that ensuring that they do make a change to public transport will require better service levels and greater levels of comfort. This might call for the BMTC to further develop and differentiate its services with air conditioned and/ or express services to grab a larger pie of the commuting population.
Coverage of BMTC within City limits
In addition to the fact that connectivity to the centre of the city is good but poor everywhere else is the fact that different areas get serviced based on where it is relative to the central city bus terminus. Travel within the same zone (area serviced by a terminus as highlighted above) is relatively simple and is possible without much problem. However, if travel has to be made outside the zone, it can often involve taking up to three buses or involve an extraordinary amount of waiting time. The third bus is to travel between one of these terminuses. The result therefore is poor connectivity thereby causing many people to prefer private transport to the public bus.

 

Hence This Task Force is of the opinion that the key to improving commuter comfort is to improve connectivity as a first and necessary step.

 

When this step is taken in conjunction with a large number of other measures, it can help to increase the comfort of the passengers travelling on public transport beyond the 50% market share of public transport, which it has failed, to breach. It is also important that the BMTC set an external benchmarked target (like 60% commuter market share by 2006) or some other method in order to move in a specific measurable manner, which can act as a barometer of passenger comfort in Bangalore. This is radically different from the current system where success is measured through the number of buses operated or the financial viability of the Corporation.

 

The challenges facing the BMTC are many and the solutions cannot be seen as piecemeal. It has to be a part of an integrated transport package that results in a significantly better travelling experience for the commuter. It on the one hand requires the BMTC to improve services to take care of needs of people who currently use private transport. It also requires the Corporation to work together with other stakeholders like the Bangalore Mahanagara Pallike (BMP), the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and the Bangalore Traffic Police (BTP).

 

The Task Force suggests that a single transport agency be created with a transport policy statement to ensure that all issues with regard to land use, planning and transport are part of an integrated solution to improve the daily travelling experience of the commuting public. This Task Force is also of the opinion that public transport should be given priority over all other modes of transport.

 

This necessarily requires involving other stakeholders in a dialogue with the solution of the transport crisis as the objective rather than any other objective. Priority for public transport could be through a variety of means and a few of these are outlined in the report. Making a more efficient public transport system is a necessary carrot while other measures could include banning of all private vehicles on select roads during peak hours, higher parking charges, peak hour congestion charges and priority bus lanes.

 

CCTF Report 4: Transport Solutions Proposed

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4. TRANSPORT SOLUTIONS PROPOSED

There are many solutions that are proposed to the increasing levels of congestion within the central areas within the city and around the city. Though there are a few rumblings of how it is essential to make sure that all transport is integrated into a single system. Many different systems are being proposed and the bus will continue to have a vitally important role even if every new system does come into place (refer Appendix B. Importance of connectivity).

This section will go into each of the transport solutions that are proposed and BMTC responses that are required in order to ensure that they effectively tackle the transport problems that exist within the city. It is beyond the scope of this report to go into a comparison of financial viability of the various modes of transport that are proposed. However, we will attempt to outline a simple cost benefit analysis based on historical experiences in other cities.


4.1 The Metro Rail

The Metro Railway has been designed to alleviate the congestion in the central part of the city. It is under implementation by the Bangalore Metro Railway Corporation like the sister concern: the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation. Initially, it is proposed to have two lines totalling 33km with some part of it being underground and most of it being overground. The total investment for a North-South line and an East West line was in the range of Rs. 5,000 crores.

The advantage of a Metro railway is that it can carry upto 57,000 passenger per hour during peak hours.

proposed metro system
It therefore is a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system. In addition, it is a clean and comfortable mode of transport, which is supposed to transport people at speeds of upto 60kmph. The high cost of implementation of the Metro Railway is the main argument against it. Historically, there are very few (if any) Metro Railway systems that can operate without some form of state support. In Singapore, the capital cost of construction for the Metro was waived when operations started, in Hong Kong the investment in property subsidises the loss making railway business while in most of Europe there is direct state support to keep the metro railways running. In addition, most metro railway systems are put in place before the creation of urban sprawl the way it has happened in Bangalore. This allows for growth to take place along the railways lines unlike what is proposed where the railway is ‘inserted’ into an already congested city. Given this reality, the requirement then would be to ensure that the Metro railway is well connected to other modes of transport. Even after the Metro Railway is formed, connectivity to it will continue to be crucial in ensuring that people have access to the system.

 

The task force calls for an alignment of the Metro Railway so that existing bus terminuses like SBT, Malleswaram Bus Terminus and Indira Nagar depot are integrated seamlessly with the Metro.


4.2 Commuter Railway System

The Commuter Railway system aims to use the existing rail infrastructure to provide a mass rapid transit option using the existing railway tracks. It will however involve some investment, mostly to lay additional tracks alongside the existing ones and signalling with expenses for the purchase of locomotives and coaches. The direction of the commuter railway is similar to that of the Metro Railways with it being separated by a distance of around one kilometre from the other at most points.

Creating a CRS is a fairly inexpensive method to leverage existing infrastructure to service the needs of the commuting public.

The Commuter Railway System
The total cost of the commuter railways is documented to be in the range of Rs.1,200 crore. However, like with the Metro Railway connectivity remains the single most important factor to ensure that it can help alleviate commuter comfort.

 

The task force calls for a commencement of negotiation with Indian Railways to ensure that all existing train stations allow access to BMTC buses where possible to pick up passengers as a matter of routine.

 

This could include special areas in the Bangalore Cantonment Railway Station as the creation of one ways have moved the bus stop away from immediately outside the station. In addition, it calls for the beginning of services to all railway stations where it is feasible like Hebbal, Malleswaram, Banswadi and Byappanahalli among other train stations.


4.3 Bus Services

The Task Force have accepted the need for a more comprehensive and better public transport model. The Bus plays a crucial role in this model as it provides connectivity to the last mile even for those using the railway system: be it the commuter railway or the metro railway. The bus system must be tightly integrated with the MRT system and where possible should function like an MRT.


4.3.1 Destination oriented bus system

The existing model of bus transport is a destination oriented bus system, with the city having three hubs in KRM, SBT and KBS. As highlighted earlier in this report, it has functioned well while the city still had three distinct city centres. The present system can continue to operate and be profitable but it is unlikely to increase commuter market share much beyond 50% due to the growing decentralisation of the city. The under-capacity of the system would remain at the present level but would increase in absolute numbers. Therefore, there would be an increase in the number of two wheelers, SUV’s, taxis and auto-rickshaws. Public Transport is unlikely to be a preferred mode of transport if it does not provide access to all areas based on a system of buses. Modifications to this destination oriented model were also proposed through the identification of key points on the periphery of the city. All the key points would be connected to every other key point through a system of buses while feeder services would service the areas beyond or from the key points. This involves the creation of a multiple hub and spoke model, which is more effective than what is at present but concern remains on some issues on this model. It is proposed that it be studied and incorporated into a future bus system where possible.


4.3.2 Grid System of Buses

The grid system of buses is one that aims to fix some of the weaknesses of a destination oriented bus system as being followed currently. The first proposal to launch a grid system of buses came from the BMTC itself. In the report ‘Metro Bus Concept for Bangalore City, Revised Approach’ twenty-seven routes are outlined in a grid system. A detailed discussion on the benefits of the grid system is given in Section 5. Details of the system, the logic of operation, the logistics and other details are outlined in further section.


currently no higher resolution image available.

CCTF Report 5: The Grid System of Buses

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5. THE METRO BUS SYSTEM (GRID SYSTEM OF BUSES)

The key recommendation of this Task Force is that there needs to be better connectivity among various parts of the city. Buses play a very important role in urban transport, at very least providing last mile connectivity for all passengers. The choice of the public transport system will play a crucial role in the development of the city. As highlighted in earlier reports of the BMTC, the choice that Bangalore has is one between an organised public transport system and one where public transport becomes highly de-regulated and fragmented.
 

 A feasibility study has shown that Bangalore would benefit greatly from the implementation of a Grid system. It has also shown that such a system can be realistically introduced, at least from technical and economical viewpoints. Grid concept of transportation supports Mr. Parameshwaran’s model as well. It is a synchronised metro and trunk route system. Hence what is required to implement is not money – the investments are rather reasonable – but factors like political will, coordinated effort, popular support and enforcement will play an important role. The undertaking of such a system would also provide the necessary feedback and experiences for successful continued reforms.


The key recommendation of this task force is for the implementation of a grid system of buses in order to improve connectivity to all parts of Bangalore. Improved connectivity within the bus system and also between the different modes of transport will help to increase the market share of the BMTC of passenger trips.

5.1 Features of a Grid System of Buses
The Grid System of Buses is designed for implementation in radial cities much like in Bangalore. A very similar system is followed in Paris and the route map of the system there is attached with this report (refer Appendix H). The Grid system divides a radial city into grids (or blocks), which are served by north- south, east- west and diagonal bus routes. This ensures that all parts of the city are well connected through a spider web of linked bus services. Much like a spider’s web, the grid system will facilitate connections on parallels (as highlighted above) in the city and also along concentric circles depending on the size of the city.

Diagrammatic representation of GRID Scheme


The Grid System of Buses has to be implemented with an excellent feeder bus system that ensures that a substantial majority of commuters do not have to walk more than 500m from their houses to catch a bus. The Grid System however will have to function in a complex with existing systems till such time there is no defined need of having a central cityterminus system. This is because the three terminals are located at the centre of economic activity of Bangalore based on the fact that these areas historically did provide the best economic and trading opportunities. However, over a period of time, it will be necessary to re-adjust routes going to the centre of the city without adversely affecting connectivity.

While recognising the need for a Grid System of Buses, this Task Force also recognises that it is no panacea for all that ills the transport sector in the city. This system will be effective only subject to many conditions that will help ensure that connectivity is better through all areas in Bangalore. The implementation of a Grid system has to be simultaneous with a massive publicity campaign to educate people on the system and how it will benefit them. At the same time, it is crucial that detailed maps are made available on details of every route and every service with details on feeder services also. Route maps should be ubiquitous in their presence at ALL bus stops, inside all buses and in a BMTC published time table published every year like the Indian Railways time tables.

It is also important that all routes have to come into implementation at the same time. Introducing some routes while ignoring others will not help increase market share. At the same time, a massive training exercise must be undertaken among all staff of the BMTC especially those who come in contact with commuters: conductors and drivers. The success of the grid system will rest squarely on the enthusiastic support given to it by this large group of employees. It is also important they recognise the need of a new system and recognise that though it might be slightly more difficult to navigate, is a system that will benefit all commuters.

5.1.1 Advantages of a Grid System
The grid system of buses has a large number of advantages in a radial city. The spider-web that is formed through a grid system connects two points in the city through the shortest possible route possible. In case there is no direct route possible, an individual can make a single change on the bus in order to use two clear straight-line routes to get to their final destination. Though this does not always trace the shortest route, when compared to the hub and spoke model, it on most cases traces the shortest route between two points. The only major exception to this rule would be when the route is through one of the three city centres. However, given the coverage anomaly of the three different bus stations, this is again subject to the caveat that it applies only when the two points are in the same zone.

The main advantage of a Grid System is that it provides better connectivity than a hub and spoke model that has been used till date.

Advantages

  • better connectivity
  • less congestion in central bus stands
  • better travel times
  • connectivity for larger number of people…


Advantages for BMTC

  • better fleet utilisation
  • less number of routes… therefore less confusion


5.1.2 Disadvantages of a Grid System
In the absence of destination oriented model, a commuter may have to make a minimum of one change over. Additional fare to be shelled out could be one more disadvantages of this system.

5.2 Action plan for Bangalore Grid Scheme
Praja Admin Note: Information not available.

5.3 Comparison with other system of buses

5.3.1 Hub and Spoke Model
The current system of buses in Bangalore is a destination dominated Hub and Spoke Model with three hubs in the city centre. The three hubs are connected to various parts of the city and beyond through a destination based bus system. All users are therefore expected to make changes only at one of the three major bus terminals. This has the advantage that the method is simple and that people can easily go to one of the three interchanges and catch a connecting bus from the interchange.

This system worked well when most of the commerce and business activity was concentrated in these three areas. However, the limitations of a destination based bus system and the lack of a serious alternative transport system has meant that the city of Bangalore has evolved as a multiple centre town with each of these centres now acting as mini-hubs on their own. Together with the increase of population, these mini-hubs have effectively grown to a size not dissimilar to that of the major hubs approximately ten or fifteen years ago.

The creation of multiple centres has meant that the hub and spoke model now services mainly those people who have their offices around the three centres. The people that are serviced well using this method are mainly government offices, schools and colleges in that area and employees of private establishments in the city centre. While most of the city has been growing at a rapid pace, the BMTC has maintained a steady market share in passenger trips through servicing this clientele that has also grown thanks to the greater demands in those inner city areas. Unlike other cities in the country where public transport has fallen by the wayside, the BMTC has managed to retain its market share through the years through retention of the existing system.

However, the limitation of the Hub and Spoke Model is that it has not allowed people apart from the core constituencies highlighted earlier to use public transport. Even areas that are near the city centres are sometimes not connected due to the anomaly that buses in a particular zone do not normally cross over into another zone. This was related to the fact that buses were operated out of a particular depot and crossing into another zone would make the bus move into a different depot area, which was generally not encouraged.

In addition, the Hub and Spoke Model has created a very large number of routes (over 2,000) with just over 3,000 buses. This has meant that the frequency of bus services to most areas is poor especially those on the fringes of the city.

However, as these services converge into the city (at a distance of around 4-5 km from one of the terminals), the frequency of can be as high as one every thirty seconds. This also increases congestion within the city centre as all buses are routed to converge on a particular destination. Inevitably, this increases travel time as buses are crowding out the existing road infrastructure in the city centre.

5.3.2 Modified Hub and Spoke Model
The Modified Hub and Spoke Model is a variation of the hub and spoke model. Presented by Mr. Parameswaran, it identifies ten key points at the fringes of the city creating direct bus services from all these key points to every other key point. And at the same time, feeder services to get people to these key points.

The advantages of the system are similar to the Hub and Spoke Model. However, it has the weaknesses of the earlier system as well especially with the fleet requirements being quite large and therefore difficult to implement.

Traffic/Transport Issues & CTTP-2007

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There is deep concern about unmanageable volumes of traffic, the deteriorating road discipline & difficulties in commuting, all calling for very urgent interventions. The CTTP report has recognized these deficiencies & has generally attempted to halt further deterioration, but does not seem to have gone far enough by making recommendations to reverse this trend & to bring about orderliness. The road development policies followed so far have been overly accommodating to individual motor vehicles & non-protective of public transport. There has been no approach taken with regard to the allocation of road space between competing types of users & the emphasis on increasing road capacity for private motorized vehicles has only benefited & encouraged car & two-wheeler based urban development to critical levels. The losers of this have been pedestrians, bicyclists & public transport vehicles (BMTC) – these account for over 50% of all users. Possible long-term solutions are being attempted here for the various issues. Click on the links below to read more.

CTTP Review – Further Comments & Inputs

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Hi Suhas, went through your assessment of the CTTP & the discussions that followed – various comments & many relevant, valid points have surfaced.

There are a few issues I would like to fill in :

1) Re. analysis of different MRTS options, their workability vis-à-vis Bangalore city -----

You are probably aware that many earlier studies had been made & recommendations for different types of mass transit systems were considered & debated. I had also mentioned this in parts on various posts in the past. I am including them all together again & making a new post since the CTTP-2007 report does not quote nor make references to them though Ch.6.6 has some general criteria for system selection & 6.7 summarizes the corridors with recommended systems. As you correctly indicated, a summary of past studies is relevant & clarifies system selections better, & should have been included for reference.

Click here for the summary:

http://bangalore.praja.in/blog/naveen/2008/10/27/bangalore-mass-transit-summary-past-study-reports

2) You mention that the report is not complete, & suggestions were open–ended, with no estimates on the impact on traffic & transportation statistics upon implementation – I am not entirely sure what you referred to here ----

I think the future growth scenarios with the effects, as summarized in three incremental steps are quite substantial to visualize what the outcomes would be following each action. ( The three scenarios are termed Scenario 1, 2 & 3 in this report, but in previous study reports, they were called “Do Nothing”, “Do Minimum”, & “Do Something” ).

My concern here is that even with the recommended Scenario-3, where several Mass Transit options are in place, the no. of daily trips by cars & 2-wheelers still show increases by 2025 – there are no recommendations to limit this & thus, this area has not been sufficiently addressed in the report. The only way this can be addressed is to enforce several more traffic restraining measures & very strict compliance to discourage private vehicle use – I wonder how they plan to achieve this. The other option is perhaps to include many more mass-transit additions (over & above what has already been recommended), which would really complicate the city’s core areas.

3) Suburban rail (Commuter rail) has been mentioned in some detail in Ch.7.5, recommending 10 routes totaling 204.0 km. However, this is generally not for commuters who live & travel within the city, but for commuters who live outside & travel to & from the city.

CRS would not be useful for someone wanting to commute from say, Jayanagar to Shivajinagar, or say from Koramangala to Rajajinagar – he would use the Metro or Mono as available, which cuts through the city on shorter route/s & in quicker time. Travel circumferentially on ring road or PRR for such commutes would increase travel time, obviously.

4) About developing surface rail systems around the periphery :

Along ORR, this is impossible due to all round development, in fact road-widening on the western part of ORR has been ruled out due to this & Monorail has been recommended, instead of the cheaper BRT due to narrower road width.

The PRR is being built with provisions for BRT, & also for rail tracks by way of a 12m central median (should rail tracks be necessary at some later stage). The planning of the PRR seems in order since BRT tracks will be positioned on curbside, just outside the main 4-lane carriageways each side. There are 2-lane service roads on each side that are planned on curbside of the bus-ways. Thus, the road is being customized with a focus on BRT, with curbside operations (as opposed to median operations that are usually more suitable on existing roads) & with easy access for local commuters.

I am not sure if planning & running surface Metro-rail on PRR right from the beginning is a good idea. As BRT is the most convenient, least expensive, & one which can be easily scaled up /down or withdrawn without wastage as & when required, the CTTP has recommended this & it is being followed up by BDA. Maintenance is also economical & easy. If a network of electric wires were installed, we could have trolley buses (as they are called in Europe /Russia) running with silent electric motors & cutting back on emissions, too. This should be the ideal choice. Well planned BRT systems have carrying capacities nearly the same as Metro rail (the Bogota system, Transmilano has 40,000 phpdt).

The Delhi /Pune BRT fiascos have more to do with insufficient thought, poor planning & maybe, also incorrect choice of corridors to run the service, first up. Such errors, common by many planners, does not necessarily imply that it is not suitable for India. In fact, it is an excellent low-cost solution for India – cost-efficient systems are much needed to assist the poor. The BRT concept has been ridiculed & made a casualty by the media & car lobbies. What is lacking is a process to customize the system to suit our needs. If BRT corridors can be designed without any traffic signal synchronization with other traffic, the chances for it to succeed are far higher as our road discipline & traffic signal systems are poor /unreliable when compared to those abroad. For this, busways must be physically separated to prevent intrusion, & must have exclusive passages through the signaled intersections by overhead ramps or underpasses. In Ahmadabad, these features are being planned along some lengths of the BRT corridor & we will probably see the 2nd BRT success in India here, after Indore.

In general, costs for rail systems are far higher & when this is added to the fact that investments have to stay committed for single-valued outcomes with little or no re-use for tracks /coaches, signals & other rail infrastructure (should it be unsuccessful), the whole exercise makes it unattractive for planners as financial risks are too great.

About the failure of MRTS, Chennai please click below link :

http://praja.in/blog/naveen/2008/04/01/urban-rail-chennai-experience

You mentioned that suburban rails have a good track record in India – this is only true for Mumbai. Kolkata, Chennai & Hyderabad have seen failures & are just about managing to stay afloat. For that matter, even the Metro rail systems (Delhi & Kolkata) have not fared well so far.

5) Re. Average speed for Metro – this is estimated by BMRC at 32km per hour (maximum speed 80 km/hr). For BRT, average speeds are about 22-25km per hour on prioritized & exclusive routes (estimates from BRTs elsewhere, such as Bogota – this is lesser than Metro due to more frequent stops). No forecast estimates have been made for speed of private vehicles movement, probably because this becomes less important. Metro ridership estimates are on the BMRC website (10.2 lakhs in 2011 & 16.1 lakhs per day in 2021) – there had been a separate study by RITES for Metro previously. Maximum load /unload stations would be Majestic, City Railway station, Vijayanagar & Toll gate, as estimated by BMRC & reported in the press some time back.

6) The airport rail link, if & when planned will be a dedicated express (hi-speed) service exclusively for the airport, inclusive of city check-in facilities. Thus, it would involve additional infrastructure such as security scanners for baggage & airline check-in facilities at two stations (MG Rd & Hebbal). At Yelahanka, only hand baggage will be allowed as baggage check-in facilities will not be made available. The train has only four stations along it’s track, & all commuters will be seated, with sufficient space to store luggage, unlike city Metro where most would be standing. This service is therefore distinct & quite different from the city Metro service. Funding for this through private means should also be easier since business is more or less assured.

However, with current air passenger volumes around 10 million, this dedicated train does not make any sense, & volumes must cross some 25 million before such a service is needed. It is good that plans are afoot for this now – If & when we require it, we already have a backup plan ready, for once ! Traveling by taxi around PRR will increase time /costs enormously (PRR is some 116km long, thus one half would be nearly 60km !). Instead, travel by Hi-speed airport link & transfer to taxi /autorickhshaw or car will be much more efficient, as it is elsewhere in most cities.

7) I thought that the extension of Metro to PRR along Kanakapura road was basically to connect the IT hubs in the south east & EC to the parts that lie to it’s west & north through NICE & PRR & then Metro. Though, at present this may look unnecessary, with time, it might need a second look. Already, an extension till Jarganahalli (near Metro Cash & Carry) has been announced. Thus, in a few years, when further growth takes place, we may again see a further extension, till PRR.

After providing BETL to EC along Hosur road, it is somewhat unlikely that a Metro line will be planned along Hosur road. EC may be linked by Metro from the western side, via Bannerghatta road.

8) About Monorail – actually, they did not make sense to me too, earlier since they had been primarily designed for zoos & amusement parks. Now, since there are many private manufacturers who might offer good deals, such as bearing all installation & maintenance costs for fixed periods, Monorails may be worth a fresh look with BOOT options. In this context, it makes sense to also pursue this option & use it if required, as funding options are better.

9) As you have rightly mentioned elsewhere, I found a lot of variation in cost/s for Metro-rail, Light-rail or Monorail. These variations, I presume are probably due to varying costs of land acquisition, the type of soil (depth of the foundation piers, tunneling difficulties, etc.) & due to the varying prices between different manufacturers – the European ones are the most expensive followed by the Japanese, then American /Canadian & the lowest are Korean /Malaysian companies. Further, rolling stock makers were all from overseas initially for DMRC & they had imported coaches from S.Korea, but for phase-2, they have now placed an order with BEML. So, costs may have come down, which is a positive development.

CTTP review comments

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Comments on RITES proposal, Suhas Kulhalli.

General background

Structuring of report is good. Conceptually clear flow of thinking. Starts with a good background of Bangalore. Then gives a background of the study itself. What is the data collected and how it is collected is dealt in Chapter 3. Using this data to create a model for travel and transport is discussed in Chapter 4. The next chapter gives a general background on the guiding principles for transport planning. Then (in Ch 6) is discussed on how to extrapolate the data to do an analysis of future demand. Based on the strategy and the future demand developed with the help of the modeling, a travel and transportation plan is proposed, which involves, Metro rail, LRT, BRT among others is presented in Ch 7. The next chapter(8) discussed the importance of seamless integration of the various modes. Then the cost estimates, how to generate the money, and how to phase the transport network is discussed in CH 9. The last chapter talks about institutional development that is required to run the city effectively.


Two biggest lacunae, no serious analysis of different MRTS options, their workability vis-à-vis Bangalore city. The second is the report is not complete. That is, the suggestions are open-ended. The loop should have been closed, by estimating the impact on the traffic and transportation statistics of implementing the proposals. More in the detailed comments below.

Data Collection (Ch 3)

In general, data collection has been good. Can be used for other studies as well

In chp 4 it is mentioned that there is not much information of trip attraction points, such as work places, colleges etc. This could be a very important exercise and data collected on this basis, especially since most of the trips are for work or education basis. At least to find the major hotspots in Bangalore and identify the daily trips to/from that conglomerate. For eg: Electronic city, ITPL, Airport, Majestic, Peenya Industrial area are obvious high I/O points. This data should be relatively easier to collect and use in their modeling.

Modelling(Ch 4)

Model should have been validated on previous data. Ie, if similar analysis was carried in 2001 or the RITES in 1994 and similar modeling was done, how accurate has it been in estimating the traffic today. Based on that the accuracy of the forecast could have been estimated.

Strategy for transport development (Ch 5)

Talks about street design but needs to be more comprehensive. Aspects mentioned includes space for bus lanes, bicycle and pedestrians, para transit passengers to mass transport facility. I believe street design should also incorporate space for hawkers, which would make the city more economically inclusive. Bus-stops, street lights, parking, forestation (tree-lining), turning lanes are some of the other things that should be added.

Future demand extrapolation (Ch 6)

The desire line diagrams as well the peak hour diagrams are not readable. It comes across as blotch of colour. Some suggestions for improving them would be - Spread the diagrams across multiple sheets. They could be segregated by point of origin or by quantum of traffic.

Transport mode alternatives (Separate chapter required)

Not much info from an engineering perspective on the various MRT options, their cost, their speeds, quality of service etc. A thorough study of the mass transport alternatives, their relative advantages and disadvantages is not part of the study. Suburban rail, or rail at grade is not mentioned at all, and no reason why this has been dropped has been given.

This is very critical and obvious to an extent. How could one give proposals without understanding the pros and cons of each in depth ?

My pet peeve – Does not talk sufficiently on cost effectiveness other than mention BRT. Laying surface lines, avoiding commute through central areas by laying rail tracks in the periphery is not mentioned. BRT is the lowest cost, however the next best thing would be a suburban or metro system at grade but with ROW (right of way). Talks about diverting through traffic on PRR. But in the same light, if we could divert people traffic through circular rail routes and not have them commute through the centre would help, both reduce commute time as well reduce the load on the centre.

Traffic and transportation plan (Ch 7)

The suggestions are open-ended, ie the report doesn’t talk about what to expect once the proposal has been implemented. Such as, what would be the percentage of ridership on the Metro at completion of each phase ? What would be the ridership along each route ? How much would use Public Transport , (updation of table 3.7/ Fig 3.8)? How would the density of road traffic compare (update Table 3.1, 3.2 etc)? What would be the average speed (speed and delay study - Table 3.16)comparison between now and once these suggestions are implemented. Average commute time if the transport network is utilized. None of these are addressed, as the study missed this crucial point altogether.

Regarding the plan itself - West Bangalore seems to have a lot of monorail and east has none, but seems to have a lot of BRT. This could result in imbalance, specially if BRT does not work as well.

Specific Suggestions:

1. Convert the Hebbal to J.P. Nagar (Bannerghatta Road) along the eastern portion of outer ring road also to Monorail/LRT. This way the LRT corridor would be a complete circle along outer ring road.

Currently, proposal is to have Mono/LRT along eastern section and BRT along western section.

Efficacy of BRT in Indian context is a serious question. How would the buses on the BRT corridor be free flowing. Would they be signal free ? How would that be achieved without grade separation ?

Compared with Monorail/LRT which has grade separation and would thus be extremely predictable and quick, BRT would be mixed with the heavy regular traffic with all the turns, signals and highly heterogeneous and non-compliant traffic which is characteristic of Bangalore. As I mentioned, this has to be proven in the Indian context.

Usage of a Mass transport depends heavily on convenience and even perceived convenience. Having to change modes, and especially to Bus would be a serious hindrance to increasing usage. Even for the agency laying the Monorail/LRT, having access to the high density tech corridor along the outer ring road would greatly improve their financial viability.

Given the above, strongly advised to have a circular monorail/LRT corridor along the entire outer ring road.

2. Convert the BRT corridor along the PRR (peripheral ring road) to a ‘at grade’ suburban rail system.

As mentioned, any at grade rail system would be very cheap and has potential of much higher passenger throughput than a BRT. A BRT would saturate at 15,000 to 20,000 phpdt whereas a heavy suburban system can go far beyond. The convienience of a rail, is perceived much better. Also, suburban rail systems have been hugely successful in India. The key is to incorporate the suburban system in the planning stage, before significant densification has happened and this would make it extremely cost effective. Actually, the 1977 document also proposes a ring railway.

This circular suburban rail would be hitting significant trip attraction points of Bangalore, such as Electronic City, ITPL, the Bangalore International Airport , Peenya Industrial area, and Kengeri satellite town. Even the desire line diagram (Fig 3.5), shows considerable traffic between these points. It would reduce the traffic congestion inside Bangalore city. Also, this would thus help alleviate the current hot problem of Airport connectivityJ. It has been observed that people are willing to switch personal transport for rail, but very rarely for Bus. This was borne out even in the recent Times of India survey. Converting to a high quality at grade Metro or suburban rail is thus imperitave.

This should also be taken with immediate effect, as at a lower cost, its potential benefits are significant. Also there is a huge opportunity cost, if this is delayed.

3. Cancel the Metro corridor from Yelahanka via Nagvara

Metro is extremely expensive. None of the data justify two Metro corridors so close to each other. (Devanhalli Airport to MG road and Yelahanka to MG Road). The Airport to MG Road corridor can also take the traffic of Yelahanka/ Nagvara.

In this context, the high speed Airport rail link is really a no-no. While being extremely expensive, the amount of Airport traffic does not justify it. Assuming 12 million passengers annually, that would be 1400 phpdt. A number of passengers, especially international travelers, prefer taking a taxi. In addition, this high speed link only drops them to MG Road and not to the final destination. How much would it help the IT folks working in ITPL or Electronic City for eg:? Would this be an alternative to a cab along the PRR or ORR ?

Instead, one could run special airport trains on a regular METRO corridor

Note : This suggestion is to consolidate the two METROS in the NORTH (Bangalore Airport and Yelanhanka till MG Road). The M.G. Road to Electronic city is useful and needs to continue to exist.

4. Push out the Kanakapura Rd extension of the METRO

The desire line Fig 3.5, as well as Table 3.3 do not show very heavy traffic movement through Kanakapura road. Traffic is much higher on the Hosur Road, Tumkur road and Bellary Road sections. From these charts, as well as our experience in Bangalore, we know the congestion of Hosur Road through to Electronic city. Thus the Electronic City MG Road should be taken up as a priority or the JP Nagar should be extended to Electronic City.

The Kanakapura rd extension could be converted to Monorail.

5. Completing the interconnects, creating a grid to have good coverage across the city.

If the above are carried out, and some of the corridors may need to be extended to hit the suburban ring railway, we will have a grid of Mass Transit which ensures a good coverage across the city. The usage of Mass Transit increases exponentially with coverage.

Mass Transport Grid

The Magadi Road Monorail/LRT can be converted to Metro, so that the 4 intersections are more evenly placed.

This is the basic structure. Over this, other lines would be present (not shown) such as the Phase I of the network between Peenya and RV Terminal which would be intersecting the Monorail/LRT corridor. In this way, any new line should intersect one of these corridors, and that would automatically give access for that line to the whole city.

[Did some minor formatting change, did hide the email address to prevent spam and promoted to front page - {blr_editor}]

Part I: BRTS

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Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS)
Earlier (1999), a feasibility study for BRTS had identified a promising network of 20 corridors for bus routes comprising twin central rings intersected by 8 radial routes, with assistance from SIDA, Sweden. A pilot project of 12kms from Jayanagar to Shivajinagar with a combination of exclusive lanes with priority of passage at signals & construction of rapid transit lines was planned but never materialized & was abandoned without any attempt. There is no mention of this in the CTTP-2007 report, either. If this had commenced then, we might have seen it progress to some extent & at least, public opinion about the value of such quicker means of public travel would have been recognized.

The CTTP-2007 report has now identified 14 new BRT corridors (totaling 291.5 kms), mostly outside CBDs. The recent urban road infrastructure oriented BBMP budget again seems to focus on ‘improving connectivity’ for private vehicles without any attention to stem the rot & pay fuller attention to improving public transport & try BRT options. Also, the ongoing installation of ‘magic boxes’ of narrow width again seem to cater to & encourage private vehicle use. Such solutions might provide temporary relief, but will surely turn into obstacles as motorization levels increase with the present approach. Several Indian cities such as Ahmedabad, Pune & Delhi have already begun experimenting BRT options, but sadly, Bangalore, with the worst possible road & traffic conditions, is yet to commence trying BRT options.

Public transport services (BMTC) have been at the mercy of unrestrained competition & dominance by individual motor vehicles & are fighting a losing battle with passenger volumes steadily falling. The long-held biases in favor of private vehicles urgently need to be undone & public transport (BRTS /BMTC) needs to be given on–street priority at all stages, wherever possible, to make them efficient & better alternatives than individual motor vehicles.

A possible way to commence such options now, for a start is to provide priority of passage through the magic boxes for only public transport & essential services, such as BMTC buses, Vajra Volvos for airport, Suvarna services, etc. & for emergency use such as ambulances, traffic police activities, street maintenance, etc. since space is limited & crowding will be avoided through these narrow underpasses. Roads over drains, if built & elevated roads could also be considered with exclusive lanes for public transport. In congested areas, suitable narrower roads could be converted for passage of only buses, whilst allowing only private vehicles belonging to residents within that lane through boom /barrier controls. Once these have been stabilized, dedicated lanes can be allocated on wider surface roads. By then, hopefully, public opinion will favor these developments & users will increase, with a reduction in private vehicle use. Various types of buses can be operated, all enjoying priority of passage at signals & on exclusive lanes. High quality bus services need to be provided to be car-competitive & comfort levels improved to sway quality conscious commuters – this may be the only solution for the city’s traffic woes as buses are the ‘Workhorses’ of the transport system, & this may remain so even after Metro-rail & other systems are in place.


Part I: Monorail

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Monorail
About 60 kms of Monorail /Light rail has been recommended in the CTTP report on various potentially high-growth corridors (Western portion of ORR & Bannerghatta road) in the CTTP report.

An article by Lloyd Wright published in ITDP magazine highlights that Monorail systems suffer from significant operational and financial difficulties, & performance levels have rarely lived up to the image. The reality is that Monorails have failed to match promises. Excluding amusement parks and zoos, there are currently only 13 Monorail systems in operation in the world (Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Seattle, Sydney, Qiongquing, Osaka, Tokyo, Tama, Hiroshima, Naha, Kokura, Chiba City & Kuala Lumpur). None of these existing systems have actual rider-ship levels greater than 5,000 passengers per hour per direction, & most of them outside Japan are facing financial problems. In Japan, Monorails have been financially viable because ticket pricing is set very high, & is still affordable due to very high incomes.

A new Monorail system by Scomi claims a capacity of 106 passengers per car. A 6–coach vehicle will thus be able to carry 636 passengers, & with headway of 3 minutes, the capacity would be 12,720 passengers per hour. This is still lesser than 1/3rd the capacity of a Metro system & less than ½ that of a Light rail system. For costs at $12–40 million per km (Rs.50–160 crores per km), the capacity is on the low side when compared to a Metro system & this implies that ticket pricing will need to be higher than Metro-rail on commercial considerations. Thus, the value of this system to the middle & lower income groups is questionable as it might not be cost-efficient for people with limited resources & may not match up to economics of scale, particularly in India with very low ticket pricing. If subsidies or rider-ship guarantees are being considered to private parties who may meet costs for installing the system, then again, the cost to the city (& tax-payers) may be on the high side. In any case, Monorail technology is yet to be tested in Indian conditions with very low ticket pricing, when compared to monorail systems overseas. Thus, there appear to be financial risks & capacity concerns with these systems.

If commuters are channeled to use public mass transits instead of private vehicles (as needs to be done), there is the possibility that capacities with Monorail may fall short of the city’s requirements along the planned corridors at about 2025, or may be even earlier with unforeseen induced growth with improvements in transportation networks & increased FSI. All indicators point to rapid urbanization & high growth cities, like Bangalore will obviously see very large expansion with job creation & outsiders pouring into them from all parts of the country, as before. The presumption that ‘capacities would suffice’ has already been tested & has repeatedly failed with growth rates exceeding projections each time – capacities of widened roads, flyovers & the airport/s have been falling short within a few years. Surely, the city cannot afford such errors with hugely expensive mass transit projects & provisions for capacity expansion must be in place.

Compared to Monorail, if Metro-rail or Light rail is used along the same corridors, with an initial capacity about the same as Monorail by reducing rolling stock & increasing headway times to about 10 minutes, installation costs may be around the same or lesser than Monorail since all these corridors allow for elevated sections. This has the advantage of capacity increases speedily & economically as & when required in the future by merely adding rolling stock & reducing headway times, & could be a financially viable permanent solution to transport problems along these high growth routes.

Given these facts, Monorail may not really be justified, particularly with dubious records of performance & implementation elsewhere in the world.

Part I: Airport Rail Link - The Monorail Option

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Airport Rail Link – the Monorail Option
The Airport-City rail link has been a much visited topic, but nothing seems to have been finalized, so far. The central government had recognized mass transit systems as vital for larger cities’ needs & had previously offered assistance to the tune of 30% (similar to Metro-rail systems), which is a small contribution – 70% still has to be met by state government & BIAL, including loans & debts. Negotiations always seem to have ended in deadlock as agreements over revenue sharing are uncertain with changing stands by the government/s involved. It appears that the central government has now changed its stand & is willing to provide more participation as this is a vital sector that can have far reaching consequences for the country’s economy.

Given that this is a necessity & business is assured with higher levels of ticket pricing, the Monorail option could be used here. Monorail makers generally meet installation costs, & with newer, high capacity systems being developed, this can be more attractive since higher fare levels will mean that there may never be a subsidy burden. High speeds may not be possible however - if the ride takes about 35 minutes instead of 20 minutes, users would certainly prefer this to an indefinite & uncertain wait for the high speed rail, if ever it materializes. A high speed rail is also hugely expensive & may never be able to recover its costs, let alone make any sort of profits for its modernization. Assuming that the maximum traffic handled by the airport is of the order of 50 million at its maximum in the future, the monorail would still be able to handle this load at about 6-7,000 passengers per hour.

For the present level of traffic (about 11-12 million per year or about 30–35,000 per day), a rail based system may not be urgent, but traffic volumes are bound to grow, & hence the need to work out possible options in due time.


Part I: Commuter Rail System

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Commuter Rail Services (CRS)
There has been frequent & repeated mention of CRS on existing rail tracks in several previous study reports (since 1981), but with no follow up action so far. The CTTP-2007 report has recommended an increase in the CRS network to 204km in three phases. It is not clear if this is being seriously pursued with the Railways. Some land acquisition is also involved, & there are many questions as to which body will build & operate the CRS network, & also the type of rolling stock & service /quality levels, ticket pricing, etc.

The CTTP report has not recommended a CRS for Dodballapur or Devanahalli though tracks exist from Beniganahalli, cutting thro’ the upper north-eastern quadrant outside ORR, via Yelahanka. That part of the city is also developing & the CRS along this route will help commuters along Dodballapur road & for those bound towards Devanahalli.

The Mass Transit system operating in Copenhagen (Denmark) has the facility to carry commuters’ bicycles in the train. Such a facility would be a significant benefit to the commuter as he can ride his bicycle on both sides of his journey & many suburbanites would welcome this, the climate in the city being conducive to bicycling. This may be worth investing in, for a start on CRS since CRS is expected to cater to economically weaker, long distance travelers, who will look for quick & cost effective mobility options upon reaching their destinations. This would also promote non-motorized vehicles. CRS stations need to be designed for handling easy entry /exits for commuters with bicycles & some bicycling infrastructure should also be in place within the city to make this successful.



Part II: Non-Motorised User Facilities

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Pedestrian Facilities
Excerpts from various sections of the CTTP report are as follows :
3.13.1.9: There is high pedestrian traffic in core area and some other areas in Bangalore. Footpath facilities are generally not adequate and their condition is deteriorating. Therefore up gradation of their facilities is very important.
5.5.8 (Preferred Strategy for Transport Development): Special facilities for pedestrians within the entire network specially in the core areas; Pedestrianization of selected shopping streets in side the core area going to be served by Underground sections of Metro; Provision of pedestrian sky walks, under passes, footpaths and other road furniture along the roads where necessary.
7.9: Recommends as many as 78 roads within ORR & 54 roads outside ORR for improvements & widening.
7.11.2.2 (Foot paths): Recommends a width of 2.0m for sidewalks for about 350 kms of city roads.

The welfare of pedestrians, particularly mobility–impaired pedestrians such as old people, small children, pregnant women, injured, those on wheel chairs, etc. has seriously been compromised all along in planning road widening to accommodate more vehicles & to increase the speed of the flow of traffic, leaving meager, broken down sidewalks.

As a result, pedestrian casualties & deaths due to improper facilities have been mounting. Serious steps need to be taken & a policy planned to modify all roads to provide properly leveled continuous pedestrian side-walks of 2.0m width as recommended in the CTTP report, even if vehicle carriageways have to be narrowed.

Pedestrian zones have been recommended at Gandhinagar–Chickpet, Brigade road & Commercial street. The more dense City market area & surroundings have not been addressed, though this is more pressing & urgent. Shivajinagar & surroundings have also been ignored. Pedestrian facilities in these areas, as also at Jayanagar shopping complex area & around Malleshwaram circle area need to be properly addressed & some restraints are required for reducing private vehicles around these activity centers.

Bicycle Facilities
Excerpts from various sections of the CTTP report are as follows :
3.13.1.11: Share of cycle traffic has declined over the years. This mode of transport needs to be promoted by providing cycle tracks along the roads.
5.1.2 (National Urban Transport Policy recommendations): Encourage greater use of public transport and non- motorized modes by offering Central financial assistance for this purpose.
7.11.1: Their use in Bangalore is not significant but still this needs to be encouraged on environmental considerations. Provision for safer and better section of road or cycle track is the best way to keep them on roads. This is necessitated more on roads in the periphery of city and in many areas in BMA. In CBD some side roads and lanes can be exclusively reserved for cyclists and pedestrians in peak periods.

Although there is recognition that non-motorized traffic needs to be promoted, Section 7.11.1 is vague & appears to accord low priority with insufficient thrust on road space allocation for providing physically separated & protected lanes for bicycles on existing roads. As has been seen in the city, increasing the width of roads to cope with the scorching pace of motorization without providing protected bicycle lanes has resulted in motor vehicles pushing off the bicycles. Without a continuous network of secure infrastructure, people will not risk bicycle travel, & perhaps this is why there are fewer & fewer bicycle users in Bangalore. Without users, investment in infrastructure for cycling may appear wasteful. Despite this, cycling infrastructure cannot be neglected as bicycles are a more civilized, pollution-free alternative for commuting & encouraging bicycle travel has the potential to replace a sizable proportion of the existing motorized traffic whilst reducing air pollution. For these reasons, they cannot continue to remain disadvantaged & uncared, & the position needs to be improved on the street for bicyclists. The lack of higher priority for dedicated bicycle tracks or bicycle & pedestrian–only roads in the city in road improvements is unfair & actually supplements further growth of motorized private vehicles that increase consumption of road space & worsens street congestion. The excessive priority favoring private motorized vehicles is evident here too. Available road space has to be managed, taking bicyclists also into consideration.

Allocating road space or some roads exclusively for bicycles & pedestrians may counter the strong pro-growth forces & motor vehicle owners; however, road and street design standards have to be bicycle-friendly to conform with international practices for energy conservation & care for the environment, & more particularly, for Indian conditions since cost effective mobility options would be made available for a sizable proportion of the economically weaker population. If bicycling infrastructure is in place as in many cities worldwide, the negative stigma & close mindedness in this country that views bicycling as only for the poorer classes will also be tempered & bicyclists will gain more acceptance as part of mainstream traffic. On street enforcement may initially be problematic due to widespread indiscipline & the excessive no. of motor vehicles, & bicycle use may take some time to catch on, but it has to be commenced at some point. For a start, the wider arterial roads could be upgraded with bicycle lanes & some of the narrower streets can be made off-limits for motor vehicles, whilst permitting bicycles & pedestrians only. With several mass transits being introduced, the opportunity may soon be available to push this through along with other necessary measures, such as traffic restraints.

Some Quotes about the bicycle :

HG Wells, Scientist: "Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race".

Iris Murdoch, Author: "The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart".

Earl Blumenauer, Rep. US Congress, 1948: "Let's have a moment of silence for every American stuck in traffic on their way to a health club to ride a stationary bicycle".

Elizabeth West, Author: "When man invented the bicycle, he reached the peak of his attainments. Here was a machine of precision & balance for the convenience of man. And unlike subsequent inventions, the more he used it, the fitter his body became. Here, for once, was a product of man's brain that was entirely beneficial to those who used it, & of no harm or irritation, to others. Progress should have stopped when man invented the bicycle".

Part II: Traffic Restraining Measures

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Traffic restraining measures
CTTP Section 7.14.1 (Reducing Private Vehicle Use) states “There are two ways to restrain the growth of private vehicles on road: either by pricing policy or by providing better level of service on public transport”, & recommends the following, amongst other measures : Parking facilities provided /planned in side the CRR should only be for Short term parking with high hourly charges.
Congestion Charges be imposed on slab-scale from private vehicles entering first the ORR and then the CRR.

The excessive growth in private vehicles in the city has resulted in serious health & safety problems. Bangalore is now being referred to as a ‘Car dependent’ city. This growth in vehicle population is due to many factors including the absence of tolls for bridges & flyovers, the prevalent undercharging for road use, uncontrolled & free parking, etc. There are no policies in place that involve any use of traffic restraining measures, save for some prohibitions against trucks & goods vehicles on some roads at certain hours. Thus, there are no disincentives whatsoever to restrain motor vehicle use. The social harm & costs for using motor vehicles & road space have also never been gauged.

The world over, it has been demonstrated in many cities that providing capital intensive forms of comfortable off-street mass transport (such as Metro /Monorail or Light rail) does not automatically result in a reduction of private vehicles. Several traffic restraining tools still need to be used to divert private vehicle users to take up public modes of commuting, however politically difficult & inconvenient this might be, & generally based on some calculus that results in lower price, shorter travel time, comfort, convenience, etc. that makes public transport more attractive.

It is clear from the CTTP report (Table 6.3) that even if all recommended mass transit routes, etc. are developed, it would still result in the share of daily trips by cars & two-wheelers to increase from 2006 levels of 4.2 & 18.4 lakhs to 7.0 & 20.6 lakhs by 2025 due to increase in the city’s population & the corresponding increase in the no. of daily trips, although in percentage terms, they would drop to 5.5 & 16.2% from 7.5 & 32.8% respectively. A part of this increase will have to be absorbed with only the present road inventory within CBDs /ORR merely by augmentation of existing roads as creation of additional roads will not be possible within CBDs /ORR (the elevated CRR appears to have been abandoned). This implies that traffic congestion will worsen unless traffic restraints are enforced to bring down the no. of road vehicles.

On street priority to public transport, if enforced will serve as an effective traffic restraint & encourage public transport use. If bicycle /pedestrian facilities are to be upgraded, road space for motorized vehicles may have to be reduced, & this could be another positive restraint. In addition to the existing vehicle taxation, if fuel taxation is introduced /increased, it may have better potential to serve as road use fees & is capable of being used as an effective instrument for restraining traffic. Tolls & congestion /cordon pricing (as recommended in the CTTP report & which has been successful in many cities worldwide) need to be considered very seriously. Measures such as much higher & variable parking fees within ORR /CBDs also need to be focused on. Funds raised through these measures could be useful & can be invested for street improvement programs in a closed loop.

The objective should obviously be to sway & push all groups of commuters to take up public transport for their daily commutes & use private vehicles generally only to reach a bus stop or rail station, or for the ‘weekend family outing’, etc. based on much higher costs & longer travel time for such private trips. If these goals are set, pursued & achieved, it would make capital hungry mass transit systems to operate without subsidies by economics of scale. This is perhaps yet another reason why traffic restraints are a necessity – mass transits involve investments amounting to billions of dollars & the outcomes have to be productive with large passenger volumes & substantial revenues to meet operating costs, expansions /modernization & for debt servicing whilst minimizing financial risks & to improve efficiency & competitiveness of the city. The Laissez Faire approach being followed with no traffic regulation or restraint will not yield any of these desirable results. Trains will be running with passenger volumes much below projections & well below designed capacities with meager revenues, such as the MRTS in Chennai, or the Delhi & Kolkata Metros, necessitating government subsidies – whilst the local governments have continued to argue that they have fulfilled their obligations by providing transport, & it’s the public that has to do the rest.

Whilst the transition to a stifled, discipline–imposing approach from the present unrestrained road supply–oriented sort of development can be a formidable task, it is also clear that there are no choices but to gradually enforce traffic restraints as & when better quality public transport alternatives are made available. It will never be possible to end traffic congestion by widening roads or building new ones – the city cannot ‘build’ its way out of the problem – additional road construction without traffic restraint mechanisms has only resulted in even more traffic congestion – this is generally true worldwide.

Lastly, the city now no longer needs to appear competitive & business friendly, at least as far as restraining traffic is concerned. Business investments are flowing into the city as usual, & will probably improve if congestion is dealt with some harsh measures & reduced successfully – Singapore is an example for this. Efficient, time-saving public transport is the key to address congestion problems, even at the expense of private vehicles – this is obvious & is being demanded now by most business heads. Urban experts, such as Professor Badami, have emphasized the same, time & again in many forums.

Part III: South East CBD areas not connected

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South East CBD areas not connected.
The attached Sketch “CTTP–No MRTS within SE CBD” indicates that the very large area marked by a red outline – the South-Eastern quadrant of the inner core area within CRR that has important CBD points such as JC Rd (105,000 PCUs), KH Rd (96,000 PCUs), Lalbagh Rd (61,000 PCUs), Corporation /Hudson Circle & Richmond Circle does not have convenient Mass transit within easy reach. Very large nos. of commuters travel to activity centers around these areas daily & school going children /staff to various schools & offices arriving by private vehicles choke up Richmond /Residency roads during school times. The only TTMC at Shantinagar may not attract these commuters due to the inconvenience of long distances, transfer to buses & the time delay involved.

A possible way to address this problem is to extend the Monorail /Light rail route (Kathriguppe to National College) past National college to pass through Sajjan-Rao circle, Minerva, JC road, Corporation, Hudson circle, RRM road, Richmond circle & Residency road to terminate at Rex cinema & have an interchange with the proposed NE–SE Metro route (Phase-2). This routing had been proposed earlier for ELRTS, which had since been abandoned. At sometime in the future, loads may become heavy during peak hours on the E–W line as it is the only line planned to connect the two N–S lines & the extension will also provide another much needed connection between the two N–S lines through the core area.





Part III: ITPL and surrounding areas not covered

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Dense areas leading up to ITPL & surroundings not covered
The recommended Metro transit corridor (in Phase-2) to Whitefield is shown passing along the existing Airport road straight east towards Varthur, thence northwards towards Whitefield Commuter railway station. Thus, the more developed areas in Whitefield, where most tech companies, businesses & high-rise residences are situated, are not covered. It may be far more functional if this route could turn left at Karunashraya & pass through Kundalahalli cross, turn right opposite Graphite India & pass through KIADB area, ITPL & Kadugodi before aligning with Whitefield road. There are no direct mass-transit routes otherwise recommended to these points in the CTTP, & a TTMC proposed at ITPL may not help as commuters would need to interchange modes. Quality seeking professionals, who are sensitive to traffic delays, detest inconveniences such as transfers, any time penalty that usually cannot be avoided when changing modes & who generally use private vehicles, commute daily to these areas, & will also start preferring the Metro with the convenience of this realignment & direct connectivity. An additional rapid bus corridor can be arranged from Marathalli /Karunashraya to Whitefield CR station via the broad Varthur road to fill the gap there as a result of this re-alignment, if volumes justify the need.