[sustran] Eight corridors identified for BRTS in chennai

[Vinay Baindur]

among big cities in India is Bangalore different in decision making
regarding the mobility of the majority
While the BMTC the bus transport co makes it costlier for the poor to access
mobility it is quite powerful and now has another 1000 buses likely to be
added on
but only one BRT proposed on the outer ring road. So buses and commuters are
being made to play second fiddle to the Metro/ Mono and privat car circus on
the roads. This does not make for sustainable access to poor people
and therefore needs a big lobby and other cities seem to have planned along
those lines which Bangalore has been reluctant
to do

Vinay Baindur





Eight corridors identified for BRTS Ajai Sreevatsan
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T+<http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Chennai/article2301584.ece?textsize=large&test=1>
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 [image: The stretch between Pallavaram and St.Thomas Mount on GST Road is
one of the eight corridors that are in line for a Bus Rapid Transit System.
Photo: A.Muralitharan]
 The HIndu The stretch between Pallavaram and St.Thomas Mount on GST Road is
one of the eight corridors that are in line for a Bus Rapid Transit System.
Photo: A.Muralitharan

Dedicated bus lanes on stretches of GST Road and Rajiv Gandhi Salai
recommended

A report commissioned by the Transport Department to evolve a ‘comprehensive
bus mobility plan' for the city has strongly recommended the creation of
dedicated bus lanes on stretches of Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road and
Rajiv Gandhi Salai.

A senior official of Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) said that
about eight corridors have been identified where building a Bus Rapid
Transit System (BRTS) is feasible.

Phase-I of the plan envisages a BRT network traversing the Rajiv Gandhi
Salai, Thoraipakkam-Pallavaram Radial Road and the Grand Southern Trunk
Road, where it would stretch up to St. Thomas Mount. The network would
resemble the lower half of the alphabet ‘A'. It would be about 50 to 60 km
length.

The report prepared by the Ahmedabad-based Institute for Transportation and
Development Policy (ITDP) observes that the average speed of MTC buses has
dropped to just 6 kmph during rush hour.

Cars and two wheelers are taking too much of road space, slowing public
transport buses to a crawl. For example, on Rajiv Gandhi Salai, though
private vehicles move less than a third of the passenger volume that flows
through the road, they take up 64 per cent of the road space.

To reverse the trend in favour of public transport buses, the report
proposes a system modelled after the Ahmedabad BRT, with air-conditioned
buses plying on dedicated lanes on either side of the median.

ITDP Director Shreya Gadepalli says that buses are crucial since they
transport such large numbers of people. “Many areas in the western, southern
and northern parts of the city are ideal for BRT corridors. There is already
high demand for existing bus services and roads are wide enough,” she says.

Transport Secretary Md. Nasimuddin said that the report is being studied and
a final plan will be prepared after taking practical considerations into
account. “The proposal has to be concretised and the financial details are
being worked out in coordination with the MTC.”

The CMDA's Chennai Comprehensive Transportation Study envisages 84-km of BRT
in the city by 2026.

Keywords: Bus Rapid Transit
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Printable version | Jul 30, 2011 9:40:45 PM |
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Chennai/article2301584.ece