In an article on Citizen Matters, titled "Bus Rapid Transport for Bangalore, today or tomorrow", Mr. Mohammad Mohsin, commissioner of the BMLTA has invited citizen feedback on BRTS in Bangalore. I sent him a private message via the CM website to come post his query on Praja for thoughtful (and an earful) of responses.
The article gives some general description of BRTS and then towards the end talks briefly of BRTS in Bangalore. I am posting this here for those interested to pick this topic up and run with it. If Mr. Mohsin is interested in feedback/interaction from the public, I am sure we have people here more than happy to talk.
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the required feedback is pretty much captured in this post..
Most of the points in the feedback are pretty much captured in the document in this post -
http://www.praja.in/en/bl...
The JNURM funds that they are pouring into the TTMCs are an absolute waste without figuring out how to integrate them seamlessly with the BRTS. And BRTS itself will not work magic, it has to be well thought out by integrating/meshing it with the Metro at convenient points and integrate it with office & residential complexes in suitable ways. All points which I have basically outlined in that document a long time back. Difficult to achieve? Yes. Impossible?..well NO. It is very much possible if done right and if there is political will. Indian cities do not have a way out other than having BRTS complementing metro rail just because of the lack of space and exploding vehicular population.
Feedback on BRTS
Hello Sanjayv,
Most of us know that the city has a very diffuse, complicated road network, with many narrow streets, frequent intersections, etc.
Thus, a conventional BRT with twin lanes on the road surface might not be possible within ORR on most streets, & streets within ORR are the ones on which faster, right of way public transport is necessary. Going elevated has it's own demerits with heavy disruptions, similar to the ongoing Metro construction not to mention the heavy costs involved. Thus, elevated structures can be considered only on certain road sections, but not everywhere within ORR.
A further point is that BRT for the city, if planned must integrate with Metro with quick transfer facilities, & must generally be designed as a feeder service.
Considering all this, a presentation had been made earlier in 2008 to the then BBMP chief, Dr.Subramanya - click here for the item coverage on praja.
The presentation can also be accessed here.
I think I will forward this to Mr. Mohsin since he has solicited feedback from the public - if you have an email id for him, please let me know.
Thanks Naveen
Thanks for posting this information Naveen and welcome back. I don't have Mr. Mohsin's email address, but I did post a link of this discussion on Citizen Matters and invited him to come and take a look.
Badly need Bus Lane or HOV Lane
Bangalore badly needs Bus Lane or atleast High Occupancy Vehicle lane. ORR between Silkboard and Hebbal should be designed for Bus or High Occupancy Vehicle Lane as we discussed in congestion charging thread in Praja.
This would atleast promote car pooling reducing fossil fuel burn and importantly congestion of single occupancy cars, especially SUVs and MUVs.
If we do not do congestion charging, atleast we should incorporate peenalizing for congesting.
vasanth - HOV lanes
Vasanth,
The concept of HOV lanes for private vehicles will not work in Bangalore or any Indian city. It would be an impossible task when it comes to enforcement of who gets to use the HOV lanes unless each vehicle is stopped at a checkpoint/tollway before a vehicle enters a HOV lane that is physically separated from other lanes (basically an impractical solution).
The only other option that will work is physically separated bus only lanes like they have done in Ahmedabad. Essentially this would be a VHOV (Very High occupancy vehicle) lane...ideally with on and off ramps directly connecting bus terminals/ttmcs.
Not a true BRT ?
One of the points in Mr. Mohsin's proposal is
"All public transport buses to use BRT corridor."
This makes it more of a separate bus lane (like the Delhi project) and not a pure BRT system (like Ahmedabad). Cheaper to implement perhaps, but less effective.
Making a comeback
Trams are making a comeback in newer more mass transport friendly forms. I am not surprised Gujrat is leading the way. It is possible to run tram-trains on the dedicated tracks being laid for BRTS. Hope BMLTA can pilot this on PPP mode.