BRTS Ride

 19 Jan.2014 Sunday morning.We were on the last leg of our visit to India and just to have a little change Dr.V.K.Arora MS and me decided to travel my BRTS (Indore Bus Rapid Transport System aka Ahilya Path)Travelling by bus is considered downmarket in the Indian society but many people do not understand the pleasure of travelling with common citizens in the manner they travel. There is a myth that the poor people are uncivilized, non trustworthy or always dirty. It is not so. I have frequently travelled by Bus in Ahmedabad, by metro in Delhi and always found that common folks are just like anyone else with same emotions as we have.The Indore BRTS became  operational on 10 May (my birthdate) 2014 and right now it runs on the AB road corridor covering about 11.7 kms.The Indore BRTS project was started in 2007 and is a  joint venture between Govt.of India, the MP Govt. and the World Bank . The Govt of India parrticipates through JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission). A UK company SERCO won the contract of operation and maintenance from Atal Indore City Transport Service Ltd a joint project between Indore Municipal Corporation and Madhya Pradesh Govt.The project when completed will cover 106 kms or more  of Indore Urban conglomeration and at present the cost is shown around 130 crores.When completed the total cost is likely to be much more as happens with delayed projects in this country.

( Picture above shows Dr. Arora buying ticket at Shalimar Township Bus station,Indore)

SERCO operates and manages about 16 Buses now but would increase to 50 buses later as the length of the coverage of routes expands. These are low floor air condition buses running at an average speed of 26 kms per hour. The existing buses run on GPS enabled Intelligent Transit System,(ITS)  and has also other features like advance signal system, surveillance through CCTV cameras etc. The other significant features are:

*alignment in the center of the road..avoiding curbside delays.

*off-board fare collection reducing tension of the driver and the conductor.

*boarding platform level with the bus floor.

*Bus priority at intersections. 

The bus has separate  boarding gate for ladies  and some seats reserved for female passengers. The maximum fare is Rs.19.00 per passenger from one end to the other. At present about 70,000 passengers use these services everyday. The passenger usage is likely to increase as  more routes are added. Besides Indore the BRTS is now running in Delhi,Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Pune and is under construction in number of other cities in India.

The first BRT was started in CURITIBE Brazil in 1974.

(Picture courtesy Wiki)

In Asia the first BRTS was started in Jakarta Indonesia  in June 2007. Right now this system is operative in about 166 cities in the world carrying 27 million commuters everyday. 

In India the BRTS of Ahmedabad is considered to be most successful, with Indore not lagging behind. The Metrobus of Lahore (Pakistan) which operates 64 Buses on 28.7 km long route is considered to be a popular and successful model  carrying 160,000 passengers daily. Perhaps Pakistan Railways has not been doing well and this could add to success of Metrobus.

It is a moot point whether BRTS in India has alleviated the traffic snarls and reduced the commuting time of the people. My travel in Metro rail and BRT in India has shown that those who do not own cars or two wheelers use this form of travel besides women and senior citizens. At some places the dedicated road to BRT has added to the delays in certain areas like in Delhi where the traffic congestion becomes too acute on the side roads. BRT is also not helpful for people who have to go to various places during the day, sometimes adding to their cost of travel, like a friend in Ahmedabad who has to take auto at four places in order to travel by BRT.

Continued usage would show how successful has been this system in India that is Bharat.