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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thanks Bina - </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I was in Mumbai for two weeks in Feb/March, and
another four weeks in Aug/Sept. But most of my meetings were in the first
visit.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>And now I have looked up the notes of my meeting
with MMRDA (P K Murthy), they don't say anything about cross-over median bus
lanes! However, someone I met in Mumbai definitely floated the
idea.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I note all you say. So BRT is definitely
going to happen on the WEH? What are the other corridors in phase I? I would be
very intersted to know more - are there any consultation documents
around?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I have to say that my initial reaction to the WEH
proposal is a bit tepid. How will the BRT journey times compare with suburban
rail - and how is the market expected to be segmented between rail and
BRT? OK, rail is grossly over-crowded - but are there good reasons to put
BRT into a corridor already well served by rail?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Whether WEH is the place or not, I'm sure there are
places in Mumbai that merit BRT. But what Mumbai also needs is the next rung
down the ladder - comprehensive bus prorities for "regular" bus routes (not
to mention getting on with SATIS). I am a bit worried that the powers that be
are seduced by the Big Project of BRT (which on all past experience will take a
lot longer than planned), rather than get on with the host of small schemes
needed to ensure that using public transport, cycling and walking are made much
more attractive - so avoiding Mumbai getting even more grid-locked as more
people can afford to choose their mode of transport.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Regards, Alan</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>-- <BR>Alan Howes, Perthshire,
Scotland</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=binac@rediffmail.com href="mailto:binac@rediffmail.com">Bina C.
Balakrishnan</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=Alan.Howes@cbuchanan.co.uk
href="mailto:Alan.Howes@cbuchanan.co.uk">Alan Howes</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A
title=sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org
href="mailto:sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org">Global 'South' Sustainable
Transport</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, March 17, 2007 8:37
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [sustran] Re: (NEWS) Mumbai's
BRTS project turns into a joke!</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><BR> Alan,<BR><BR>MTSU is a little know office, and may
not have been in existence <BR>when you were in Mumbai - when was that? It
stands for Mumbai <BR>Transformation Support Unit, and deals with a lot more
than just <BR>transportation. It covers all aspects of the city - I deal with
<BR>the transportation part.<BR><BR>We are looking at with - flow bus lanes,
but are looking at <BR>placing orders for buses with doors on the right for
the BRT <BR>routes. The rest will continue to be used for the other routes, at
<BR>least until the BRT can become city wide. The suggestion of <BR>swapping
lanes was not made by the MMRDA, altho they were very <BR>much a part of the
Core Group. We shall certainly look into it, <BR>altho I am personally not in
favour of it. Thats because the bus <BR>speeds will be compromised, and given
the fact that the Western <BR>Express Highway has about 17 flyovers along its
length, the bus <BR>stations will have to be placed carefully in the valleys
of the <BR>successive flyovers - ie between the down grade of one and the up-
<BR>grade of the other. I think it is obvious that the safety of the
<BR>system will be compromised if we have the buses weaving just as <BR>they
come down the slope of the flyover.<BR><BR>As regards the gap being used by
other traffic - we hope to have <BR>these lanes fully segregated, so that wont
happen anyway. And the <BR>MMRDA have a large number of pedestrian subways in
place also <BR>along the WEH. But I do agree with you - pedestrians do have a
<BR>VERY raw deal in Mumbai. We're working on it at the MTSU - we just
<BR>need a little time.<BR><BR>Regards,<BR><BR>Bina<BR><BR><BR>On Fri, 16 Mar
2007 Alan Howes wrote :<BR>>My problem is that having spent six weeks in
Mumbai last year, <BR>>while I mastered reasonably well the transport
issues and the <BR>>geography, I still have not got all these institutions
and <BR>>acronyms sorted out! What is the MTSU? I would guess Mumbai
or <BR>>Maharashtra Transport Studies Unit - but knowing the name does
<BR>>not tell me what it is or what it represents. Would anyone like
<BR>>to volunteer to put a glossary of Maharashtra transport acronyms
<BR>>on a website somewhere?<BR>><BR>>Anyway, it's obvious that
judgement of "responsible reporting" is <BR>>something of a subjective
matter - but I did wonder whether Raj <BR>>could tell his right from his
left. My understanding is that all <BR>>proposed Mumbai bus lanes
will be on divided highways - when Raj <BR>>wrote about lanes in the
"middle of the road" I really did not <BR>>know whether he meant the middle
of the carriageway or next to <BR>>the median (and did "right" mean on the
wrong side?).<BR>><BR>>Anyway, my understanding of the MMRDA proposals
is as explained <BR>>in Bina's post. The problem, however, with with-flow
bus lanes <BR>>placed immediately to the left of the median is that,
assuming <BR>>bus stops are on the median, the bus doors are on the wrong
side <BR>>(an expensive problem to fix). MMRDA explained to me an ingenious
<BR>>proposal for overcoming this - at the stops the buses would swap
<BR>>sides, crossing the median through a gap immediately before and
<BR>>after the stop. This sounds perfectly feasible to me - the only
<BR>>potential problem I foresee is that the necessary gaps will be
<BR>>used (illegally) by other traffic, or even pedestrians (who get a
<BR>>pretty raw deal in terms of getting across the road).<BR>><BR>>I
would be interested to know if this proposal is still being
<BR>>pursued.<BR>><BR>>But I have to say that I will be very
pleasantly surprised if a <BR>>significant amount of properly-designed,
properly-enforced bus <BR>>lanes are in operation in Mumbai by the end of
2007.<BR>><BR>>Regards, Alan<BR>><BR>>--<BR>>Alan
Howes<BR>>Associate Transport Planner<BR>>Colin Buchanan<BR>>4 St
Colme Street<BR>>Edinburgh EH3
6AA<BR>>Scotland<BR>>email: <A
href="mailto:alan.howes@cbuchanan.co.uk">alan.howes@cbuchanan.co.uk</A><BR>>tel:
(0)131 226 4693
(switchboard)<BR>>
(0)7952 464335 (mobile)<BR>>fax: (0)131 220
0232<BR>>www: <A
href="http://www.cbuchanan.co.uk/">http://www.cbuchanan.co.uk/</A><BR>><BR>><BR>>-----Original
Message-----<BR>> From:
<BR>>sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc.org
<BR>>[mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc.org]
<BR>>On Behalf Of Bina C. Balakrishnan<BR>>Sent: 16 March 2007
08:00<BR>>To: Global 'South' Sustainable Transport<BR>>Cc: Rajendra
A(Hindustan Times)<BR>>Subject: [sustran] Re: (NEWS) Mumbai's BRTS project
turns into a <BR>>joke!<BR>><BR>><BR>>I am surprised and frankly
disappointed at Rajendra's reporting: <BR>>I always thought you were one of
the more responsible <BR>>reporters.<BR>>The following response has been
approved by the Core Working <BR>>Group, of which I am also a member, and
is being posted as a <BR>>collective reply. Left to myself, I should have
responded with a <BR>>little more bite!<BR>><BR>><BR>>"Let's start
with the Core Group: As Coordinator of the Core <BR>>Working Group (CWG) on
BRTS for Mumbai, we at the MTSU have <BR>>already submitted our report to
the Government of Maharashtra- as <BR>>long back as the 6th of February
2007. The CWG is formed of one <BR>>officer from all the directly concerned
departments, as you have <BR>>said, to ensure better co-ordination between
them. (For the <BR>>benefit of our international readers, Mumbai has about
17 <BR>>different agencies dealing with transportation- and this is all
<BR>>aspects of transportation.) The Core Working Group, however, has
<BR>>only 7 members, including representatives from
NGOs.<BR>><BR>>The CWG Report was formally presented on the 6th of
February, <BR>>2007, to all the departments in the presence of the
Principal <BR>>Secretary, Transport, and this was accepted by the
Government of <BR>>Maharashtra right there. At the same meeting, we were
asked to <BR>>draw up the Terms of Reference for the Consultants to be
<BR>>appointed by the MMRDA to carry out the Feasibility Study for
<BR>>BRTS. The study will examine the feasibility of a city wide BRTS,
<BR>>with priority on the corridors that we have identified for phase
<BR>>I. These Terms of Reference have also been finalized, and
<BR>>submitted to the MMRDA. The CWG will continue to monitor the
<BR>>progress of the project, as well as the work of the
<BR>>consultants.<BR>><BR>>The whole process of appointing a CWG and
going thru a pre- <BR>>feasibility study and recommending a Feasibility
Study was to <BR>>avoid the mistakes made by the BEST when they arbitrarily
<BR>>introduced a dedicated bus lane between CST (formerly called
<BR>>Victoria Terminus) and Churchgate, and which failed because of
<BR>>various reasons- primarily lack of adequate
planning.<BR>><BR>>Prior to the formation of the CWG, the Government did
have a <BR>>proposal to start a Dedicated Bus Lane between Thane and Dadar,
<BR>>with a pilot section between Dadar and Sion. In this section, the
<BR>>BEST have about 45 routes operating, and there would have been no
<BR>>question of the lane being under-utilised and therefore being
<BR>>over-run by other traffic. Moreover, we had already identified
<BR>>and verified supplementary networks to accommodate any spillover
<BR>>traffic on this route. It was in this context that the BEST had
<BR>>their buses painted, but before it could be implemented, the
<BR>>Election Code of Conduct time bar came into force, and the
<BR>>project had to be temporarily shelved.<BR>><BR>>Regarding the
concerned BRTS lane - you are all confused. The CWG <BR>>has recommended
the median lanes - ie the lanes alongside the <BR>>median - to capitalize
on the available infrastructure, and <BR>>reduce delays from other traffic.
This will enable the BRT buses <BR>>to use all the flyovers, and improve
their operating speeds. <BR>>Also, the median width can be used to
accommodate the bus <BR>>stations. Bus lanes on the LEFT will definitely be
affected by <BR>>parked vehicles. (Where did the right lane come into the
picture? <BR>>We drive on the left side of the road, right?) However, the
scope <BR>>of work for the consultants includes examining the feasibility
of <BR>>using either the median or the kerb-side lane for the BRTS.
<BR>>Additionally, another aspect we are working on at the MTSU is
<BR>>removal of all parking on all arterial roads - so the
<BR>>interference from parked cars will not a problem: but the direct
<BR>>access to private properties along all roads in Mumbai will
<BR>>definitely be a major problem if the kerb-side lane is used. But,
<BR>>as I said - the Consultant is expected to look into all these
<BR>>aspects, and recommend the best option.<BR>>As the Principal
Secretary, Transport has said, "Hopefully, by <BR>>the end of the
year."<BR>><BR>>End of formal reply.<BR>><BR>>My apologies for
being so dense - but what is the joke?<BR>><BR>>Bina C.
Balakrishnan<BR>>Consultant<BR>>Transportation Planning &
Engineering<BR>>Mumbai, India<BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>>On Mon, 12 Mar
2007 Rajendra A(Hindustan Times) wrote :<BR>> >Mumbai's BRTS project
turns into a joke!<BR>> ><BR>>
>http://www.hindustantimes.in/news/181_1949087,000600010004.htm<BR> <BR>>Éf>
><BR>> >Rajendra Aklekar<BR>> ><BR>> >Mumbai, March 11,
2007<BR>> ><BR>> >Mumbai's Bus Rapid Transit System or simply the
dedicated bus <BR>>lanes'<BR>> >project turned into a joke.<BR>>
>The BEST General Manager is ready with his fleet of buses, got
<BR>>them<BR>> >painted in devoted colours, a special fare structure
and <BR>>timetable has<BR>> >been set, more fleet of international
brand of buses ordered <BR>>and<BR>> >comprehensive plans drawn to
run them on these hi-speed <BR>>corridors. But<BR>> >there's no road
to run these buses and kick off the plan!<BR>> ><BR>> >The state
transport ministry has appointed a "core group" to <BR>>look to<BR>>
>the project and study its aspects. The group will submit a <BR>>report,
the<BR>> >government will then consider it, after which a decision will
<BR>>be taken.<BR>> >Simply speaking, it's stuck in red tape and
won't kick off <BR>>before 2008<BR>> >or even later.<BR>>
><BR>> >This is not all. The latest problem is a dispute between the
<BR>>core group<BR>> >officials and the MMRDA as to where should the
bus lane be. <BR>>While the<BR>> >MMRDA wants the lanes to be on the
left, state government <BR>>officials<BR>> >want it on the right side
of the roads. With no decision on the <BR>>issue,<BR>> >the matter is
now hanging fire.<BR>> ><BR>> >To the specific question when will
buses start running on the <BR>>BRTS<BR>> >project principal
secretary<BR>> >(transport) GS Gill told HT, "By the end of this
calendar <BR>>year...<BR>> >hopefully."<BR>> ><BR>>
>Asked about the lane problem, a senior MMRDA official, on the
<BR>>condition<BR>> >of anonymity, said bus lanes on the left would
be helpful as <BR>>they would<BR>> >not slow down buses.<BR>>
>"If lanes are built in the<BR>> >right, they would be obstructed by
parked vehicles and hawkers, <BR>>but in<BR>> >left, there would not
be any such problem. We will, however, <BR>>have to<BR>> >invest in
infrastructure to build stops." There's another group <BR>>of<BR>>
>experts who are proposing that the bus lanes should be in the
<BR>>middle of<BR>> >the road for higher speeds.<BR>> ><BR>>
>Pushed by the Central Ministry of Urban Transport and with a
<BR>>promise<BR>> >that the project would be eligible for funding
under Jawaharlal <BR>>Nehru<BR>> >National Urban Renewal Mission, a
number of cities woke up to <BR>>the<BR>> >reality of BRTS last year,
a globally accepted mode of urban <BR>>mass<BR>> >transit in crowded
areas. Pune was the first city in <BR>>Maharashtra to<BR>> >kick off
the BRTS in November.<BR>> ><BR>> >Mumbai's BEST too drew plans in
the middle of last year, got <BR>>test-run<BR>> >done, placed an
order for 20 hi-end Kinglong brand of buses for <BR>>its<BR>>
>project and also converted 20 of its existing Star Bus fleet of
<BR>>buses.<BR>> >It was decided that these hi-end fast buses would
run between <BR>>Thane and<BR>> >Dadar for four hours in morning and
evening each, segregated <BR>> from<BR>> >existing traffic by spring
posts.<BR>> ><BR>> >But officials woke up to reality after they
found the buses <BR>>simply<BR>> >would jam all traffic during the
peak hours and it would be <BR>>difficult<BR>> >to stop other
vehicles from coming in these bus lanes.<BR>> >State officials said that
actual project had been delayed for <BR>>the<BR>> >benefit of the
city. The core group has been formed so that <BR>>there is<BR>>
>better planning and co-ordination between the state
<BR>>government,<BR>> >transport department and all the agencies
concerned to ensure <BR>>better<BR>> >planning for the
project.<BR>> ><BR>> >The core group set up by the All India
Institute of Local <BR>>Self<BR>> >Government (AIILSG), will decide
the terms of reference, after <BR>>which<BR>> >the MMRDA will issue
the bids and appoint the consultants. The <BR>>core<BR>> >group
consists of officials from the MMRDA, BEST, AIILSG and <BR>>the
BMC,<BR>> >among others. "My buses are ready. The moment I get a green
<BR>>signal from<BR>> >the government, I shall run them," says BEST
general manager <BR>>Uttam<BR>> >Khobragade. But the green signal, it
seems, may take a few more <BR>>years.<BR>> ><BR>> >Email
author: <A
href="mailto:rajendra.aklekar@hindustantimes.com">rajendra.aklekar@hindustantimes.com</A><BR>>
><BR>> ><BR>> >---<BR>> >Rajendra Aklekar<BR>>
>Transport Correspondent<BR>> >Hindustan Times<BR>> >HT Media
Limited<BR>> >Mumbai Edition<BR>> >--<BR>> >140-4752, Nehru
Nagar<BR>> >Mumbai, 400024<BR>> ><BR>> >Mobile: +91 9892 190
761<BR>> >Office: 66539200<BR>> >Fax: 66539250/60<BR>>
>---<BR>> ><BR>> ><BR>> ><BR>>
>_______________________________________________________________________<BR>>
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>================================================================<BR>>
>SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of
<BR>>people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus
<BR>>on developing countries (the 'Global
South').<BR>><BR>><BR>>Bina C.
Balakrishnan<BR>>Consultant<BR>>Transportation Planning &
Engineering<BR>>Mumbai, India<BR>>e-mail: <A
href="mailto:binac@rediffmail.com">binac@rediffmail.com</A><BR>>Mobile :
+91 98926 41341<BR>>Home : +91 22 23630572<BR>>Skype :
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