Is BRT a cool alternative?

Is BRT a cool alternative?
Vijay Times

With rising income and easy availability of automobile loans, more and more people prefer to have personal transport to commute.

Can the metro rail alone meet the challenges posed by the burgeoning number of private vehicles? This raises a much-debated question whether the absence of a fast and reliable public transport system has led to an explosion in the number of private vehicles. Limited capacity of roads with high pollution levels has finally prompted the government to go in for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system on a 38 km stretch of road between Central Silk Board and Hebbal on a pilot project basis to supplement the metro rail in high traffic density corridors.

Described as a perfect answer to make public transport a cool choice and curb the growth of personal vehicles, the BRT also known as High Capacity Bus System has already made in-roads in New Delhi, Pune and Ahmedabad.

Conceptualised almost two years ago by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation to influence change in travel behaviour patterns through grid-based systems, the BRT traffic, experts opine, will be successful if the bus lanes do not have any intersections.

Two of the proven BRT successes are the Trans Millenio in Bogota, the Colombian capital and Curitiba in Brazil. Per hour, about 40,000 passengers use BRT to commute in Curitiba. A certain degree of infrastructural and design innovation is required to achieve this goal. A single dedicated lane Bus Rapit Transit System (BRTS) is known to carry 20,000 passengers per hour per direction. A second lane at bus stops for overtaking has shown to double the system capacity.

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The JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission) is likely to fund the project. The cost per km would be approximately Rs 10 crore if a separate corridor is constructed, otherwise, it would be onetenth of the cost if modifications are planned on the existing outer ring road . Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) India have been asked to prepare a detailed project report.

BMTC MD Upendra Tripathy said, "The BRT could revolutionise the way public transport in perceived by those accustomed to commuting in cars. Apart from making travel by buses faster, we would want to encourage the use of mass transport so as to meet the capacity of 60 lakh daily bus commuters by 2015. Today about 56 to 60 percent of Bangaloreans depend on public transport. BMTC would definitely want this to increase. A core BRT once functional will be supported by 27 grid routes" Jan Vandoven, Head of business (South Asia) Volvo buses, said: "The BRT is easier to implement than a metro. Its implementation will take just 9 months and five per cent of investment costs as compared to a Metro. "The administration should strictly ensure zero interference of other vehicles in the dedicated bus lanes. The buses should be reliable and affordable. The passengers should be given regular relevant traffic information." Prof M N Srihari, traffic expert said, "For BRT to be a success, BMTC should keep certain things in mind such as not allowing vehicle parking on the stretch. There should minimum of 2-3 lanes wherein different kinds of vehicles can navigate easily." Though Delhi model of BRT is ideal, Bangalore should follow the Pune model as that citys roads resemble ours in size.

Srinidhi Anantaraman, an urban traffic solutions provider said, "The advantages of BRT should be very visible to the common public. Apart from the buses being attractive, the authorities should ensure a good travelling experience. When people will notice that public transport is given more preference and is quicker, they will automatically switch to public transport."


Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system involves physical segregation of lanes on an designated road which is restricted only to movement of buses preventing intrusion of other vehicles such as four and two-wheelers.

4 Two Wheelers: 20,09,081

4 Light Motor Vehicles: 4,34,428

4 Auto-rickshaws: 89,289

4 Heavy Transport Vehicles: 75,125

4 Heavy Goods Vehicles: 99,397

4 Others: 71,704

4 Dedicated high capacity buses on an identified corridor with physical separation from other traffic lanes.

4 Running 7 to 10 high capacity buses on these corridors.

4 Modern bus stops, bus ticketing and rider information systems.

4 Integrated common ticketing system across different modes such as metro rail.

4 Introduction of advanced, high-speed low floor buses with cleaner fuels.

4 All feeder services to be coordinated including movement of pedestrians.

4 Sky-walks and state-of-art bus shelters and bays on BRT