[sustran] bus lanes

[Ananthakrishnan]

Chennai (Madras), India, has had a bus lane on a small stretch of its major
roadway, Mount Road (Anna Salai) for over five years now, but this system
stretching over about 3 km now faces threat.

Police have suggested doing away with it, because it does not have the kind
of traffic that the adjacent car lane does. Rising urban prosperity and a
declining bus network have led to pressure that cars be given more space.

It has not helped the cause of commuters using the buses, that cars are used
by those in authority and in influential positions, be it politicians,
bureaucrats, businessmen or even senior journalists. If you travel by bus,
you are just one of the multitude of struggling Indians.

The most amazing statement that has been cited in support of the idea to do
away with the dedicated bus lane comes from the city development authority
(Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority) : that nowhere in the world is
a lane made available for buses, at the cost of other road users.

Should Asians go through the development cycle and learn at enormous cost,
that the answer to mobility in big cities can primarily be only public modes
?

Any interesting experiences ? Would help in writing a critical piece for my
newspaper.


G.Ananthakrishnan, Chennai-based journalist can be reached at Tel: + 91 44
8413942 , Fax: + 91 44 8415395.