Bus-laning goes offtrack

Bus-laning goes offtrack
The bus-laning system on Bellary Road is beset with numerous problems.
Deccan Herald

The newly-introduced dedicated lanes for buses on Bellary Road has not exactly been a success story. There is considerable violation of lane discipline, with cars and two-wheelers using the lanes meant only for buses -- demarcated by yellow lines -- along the national highway.

A week after the 11-feet-wide lanes were introduced on an experimental basis on the stretch from Cauvery theatre to Hebbal, traffic experts found that the response has not been encouraging as the road is narrow in several stretches.

Said Prof M N Srihari, traffic expert and advisor to the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) on its integrated traffic management plan, “left with little option, two-wheelers even use the footpaths to get ahead at narrow stretches. This is particularly evident at the Cauvery theatre junction itself, where cars use the bus lane and two-wheelers use the pavement as vehicles going from Mekhri Circle towards Guttahalli have no space to contend with an exclusive lane for buses alone.”

Though traffic wardens have been posted at regular intervals to steer buses to maintain lane discipline and other vehicles away from these lanes, motorists continue to use bus lanes when traffic is not heavy. There is no penalty against this either, as both the traffic police and BMTC officials say there is no bar against other vehicles using these lanes when traffic is low.

According to Prof Srihari, this is not the right approach as enforcement is possible only when the lanes are left alone by other motorists. “Dedicated lanes are possible only in roads with at least six lanes, where one lane on either side can be left exclusive for buses. For instance, on one-way roads like Seshadri Road, Nrupathunga Road and KG Road, bus-laning is the practical solution -- and it will increase the speed of buses, which is the main objective of the move. On these roads, a bus plies every 40 seconds and dedicated lanes can effectively serve the bus commuters. How is it possible on roads with lots of bottlenecks, where traffic meets junctions? Sometimes, the demarcation disappears, as lanes are only partially established,” said Prof Srihari.

Asked about the feedback from motorists, DCP (Traffic, East) M A Saleem said that the bus-laning was only on an experimental basis. “We’ll have to observe the response for about 15 days, before deciding whether to go ahead with enforcing the lane-rule. Bellary Road was chosen for the experiment as this road has a compound wall running along one side of the road almost completely. We will review the rules soon. Perhaps we may levy a penalty -- like the usual traffic rule violation fines -- on motorists who violate the lane. We’ll decide that after a review,” he said.

Though the lanes are demarcated ‘Buses Only,’ drivers of private buses have understood this as being reserved for BMTC buses. At junctions like Ganganagar, private buses keen on following the rule, stop in the middle of the road, away from the yellow lane -- and commuters get off and aboard from the middle of the road too!

Incidentally, the BMTC has conducted feasibility studies on 27 trunk routes for bus-laning, before trying out Bellary Road first. Asked about the response, BMTC officials said that it was only involved in implementing the project; it was the City police’s onus to enforce it.