Now, a way to keep City buses at bay

Now, a way to keep City buses at bay
Deccan Herald

The bus bays are planned on Bellary Road, Hosur Road, Mahakavi Kuvempu Road and Airport Road, where traffic flow is heavy and slow during peak hours.

After a delay of over two years, Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) has now taken up construction of bus bays (a designated place to stop buses off main roads) to ensure smooth and unhindered flow of traffic on busy roads.

BMP has recently floated tenders for the construction of 49 bus bays under four packages across the City. The project is expected to be completed in three months, and it is estimated to cost Rs 80 lakh. “Once the project is completed, there won’t be any traffic blocks on the selected roads due to stopping of buses,” BMP Technical Advisor Jaiprasad told Deccan Herald.

Under the project, a separate lane (in the form of curve) will be laid just off the main road exclusively for Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses to stop. Besides, a bus shelter will be put up in these places for the convenience of the travelling public. “These bus stands will be brightly lit so that people feel safe to sit inside during evening hours,” he explained.

The bus bays are planned to be constructed mainly on Bellary Road, Hosur Road, Mahakavi Kuvempu Road and Airport Road, where traffic flow is heavy and slow during peak hours. All locations for construction of bus bays are identified in coordination with Traffic Police and the BMTC, officials said.

As per the original plan, BMP had proposed to construct 135 bus bays for congested roads. The project is a part of the integrated traffic management plan. But it failed to take off, (seven bus bays constructed on busy Bangalore-Mysore Road last year under the pilot project is an exception).

Official sources said that non-availability of land along the selected main roads had, for long, been a stumbling block. Owing to this problem, BMP was forced to cut down the number of bays under the pilot project from 10 to seven. Though there are service roads along these main roads, BMP has not been able to make use of them as they have been encroached upon, sources added.

“We have managed to find the required land for 49 bays now. The remaining 79 bus bays will be taken up as and when we get the land,” officials said.

Tie-up for improvement

This apart, BMP has plans to upgrade the existing old bus stands with private sector participation. It is contemplating tying up with private firms to upgrade them under Build-Own-Operate-Transfer basis. “Private firms will be allowed to put up advertisements if they take up upgradation work. Presently, we are holding talks with software firms and ad agencies,” officials said.