[sustran] Why was the BRTS plan for Bengaluru Outer Ring Road killed?

[Vinay Baindur]

http://m.bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/why-was-the-brts-plan-for-outer-ring-road-killed


Governance <http://m.bangalore.citizenmatters.in/Governance> •  Urban
Planning <http://m.bangalore.citizenmatters.in/Urban%20Planning> •  Metro
<http://m.bangalore.citizenmatters.in/Metro> •  Infrastructure
<http://m.bangalore.citizenmatters.in/Infrastructure> •  Roads and Transport
<http://m.bangalore.citizenmatters.in/Roads%20and%20Transport>
METRO ON ORR
Why was the BRTS plan for Outer Ring Road killed?
A recent meeting of various stakeholder groups arrived at a decision in
favour of the Metro project on ORR. Akshatha M looks at the various
deliberations that went on behind the scenes.

By Akshatha M <http://m.bangalore.citizenmatters.in/author/akshatha-m> , 23
Sep 2016 , Citizen Matters

During the cabinet meeting last week, the State government decided to give
a green signal to the metro rail project on Outer Ring Road (ORR), pushing
aside the long pending ambitious Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) project;
hopes of citizens who were rooting for BRTS or multimodal transport options
<http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/bangalore-transport-multiple-agencies-problems-bengaluru>
were
dashed.

Though the proposal to introduce BRTS on the Outer Ring Road was hanging in
balance for quite sometime, the plan to lay a metro line on the busy
stretch has eliminated the possibility of BRTS. So why did BRTS, which was
first conceptualised in 2012 and had a Detailed Project Report (DPR) seeing
a lot of effort going into it, fail to hold its ground against the metro
plan? Here is a quick look into how the decision unfolded.

The government on its part has cited inadequate road width as the reason
for dropping the BRTS. But surprisingly the decision came in less than 24
hours of organising a meeting of various stakeholders to discuss the pros
and cons of BRTS and Metro on ORR. The meeting held on September 12th was
jointly organised by the Bangalore Political Action Committee (BPAC) and
World Research Institute (WRI) and was supported by the state government.

Viaduct of the Namma Metro in Rajaji Nagar. Pic: Ramnath Bhat (Wikimedia
Commons)

Those who were present at the meeting say that it was just a formality to
hear out both points of view. The government had decided to go ahead with
the Metro even before the meeting was held. In fact, in his opening remarks
at the meeting, Mahendra Jain, Additional Chief Secretary to the Urban
Development Department (UDD) had made it quite clear that the ORR needs
metro and not BRTS.

While Jain, BMRCL Managing Director Pradeep Singh Kharola and R K Mishra
from the Bengaluru Blue Print Action Group batted for the metro line, DULT
(Directorate of Urban Land Transport) Commissioner (now transferred) V
Manjula and a representative from WRI, India spoke in support of BRTS.
Public transport expert Paulo Sergio Custodio, who was part of the
discussion, spoke in for BRTS.

“Taking into consideration the capital cost and execution time, BRTS is a
preferred solution. The government can recover the money invested in this
project in less than 10 years,” Sergio had said
<http://www.deccanherald.com/content/570101/metro-brts-outer-ring-road.html> in
a panel discussion on the topic.

BPAC President abd BBPAG member Kiran Mazumdar Shaw who had been supporting
the BRTS <https://twitter.com/kiranshaw/status/767661671817019392> with her
tweets and media statements, changed her stand
<https://twitter.com/kiranshaw/status/776240590132432896> and voted for
Metro. This change in position was after her two-hour field visit to ORR
<https://twitter.com/kiranshaw/status/772694515605868544>accompanied by
Metro officials.
The rise of the Metro

The first indications about BRTS not becoming a reality came about a few
months ago. Then Minister for Bengaluru Development K J George had hinted
at chances of the BRTS plan being dropped. In an event organised by WRI in
July 2016, the Minister had said “BRTS was delayed as BMRCL (Bangalore
Metro Rail Corporation Ltd) may require the stretch for its expansion. We
will soon take a decision on whether the stretch needs metro rail or bus
lanes.”

However, Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT), unlike BMRCL, was
ready with the DPR for the project. While BMRCL MD has said that the DPR
for a metro line on ORR will be ready only by October 22nd, DULT had the
proposal for BRTS ready as early as in 2014.

EMBARQ India, part of WRI, had prepared a concept plan for Bangalore BRTS
way back in 2012. Later, it drafted the DPR for DULT in July 2014. It had
estimated the cost at Rs 1,000 crore and the project was planned to be
completed in 18 months. The BRTS DPR had estimated the system’s
Passengers-Per-Hour-Per-Direction (PPHPD) capacity during peak hour at
12,000. The Metro meanwhile has estimated it at 40,000 PPHPD (going by what
the BMRCL MD said in the meeting), a figure which many are wary about.

Though the Metro would be an expensive project compared to the BRTS, BMRCL
officials have succeeded in convincing the government about the “innovative
financial approach” that they are looking at. When this reporter last spoke
to BMRCL MD Pradeep Kharola, he had said
<http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/will-metro-come-to-orr-and-when>,
“we are trying to do innovative methods of financing for the project,”
without divulging the details.

However, during the recent September meeting, the idea behind innovative
financing was revealed. Those representing MNCs along the ORR who were
present in the meeting assured that the companies would help to raise Rs
2,500 crore for the metro project.

However one question that is being asked is, "These MNCs are tenants and
not landowners. Will their headquarters be okay to spend crores of rupees
from their pockets for an infrastructure project which will not bring them
financial return?”.

To this, Outer Ring Road Companies Association (ORRCA) Honorary President
Poornaprajna Gudibanda says the companies and developers on ORR want to
help raise Rs 2,000 crore for the project, but the modalities have not been
finalised yet. “Corporates and developers on ORR are interested to fund the
proposed metro project. Who funds and how, is all in discussion stage,” he
says.

UDD ACS Mahendra Jain who has been keen on the Metro project told *Citizen
Matters* that BRTS could be a good option if it’s built on new roads. “But
to do a retrofitting job on the existing roads to introduce BRTS is not a
workable model at all,” he said.

“If BRTS has to be done, it has to be done for the entire city, not just on
one stretch. And the same holds good for the Metro too. The pros and cons
of each were discussed at length in various meetings and finally we decided
that the Metro is a good option,” he said.
‘Let there be an integrated approach’

Urban expert and Bengaluru Blue Print Action Group (BBPAG) member V
Ravichandar says, if money is not an issue for the government and if the IT
firms along the ORR are ready to wait for another 6-7 years for the metro
to be completed, then metro rail seems to be a good option considering the
long term view.

“But the immediate need is to upgrade roads and footpaths and reimagine the
service roads on ORR,” he says.

Pawan Mulukutla, Manager (Urban Transport) at World Research Institute,
India, too shares similar views. He says the concerned departments should
first address the basic road infrastructure issues on ORR. “They should
redo the footpath and improve walkability. The Metro may start, but it will
not fix all the issues that the ORR is facing. It is important to move from
the narrow concept of infrastructure to an inclusive and integrated
system,” he says.

Further he asks, given that the metro will be introduced in another 7-8
years, is it possible to have a short term plan for the next 2-3 years, to
address the immediate issues on the stretch?
Akshatha M <http://m.bangalore.citizenmatters.in/author/akshatha-m>
Akshatha M is a Staff Journalist at Citizen Matters. She tweets at @akshata1
<https://twitter.com/akshata1>.