29.12.17

Chennai BRTS likely to roll out by 2019

If everything goes according to plan, Chennai will have a BRTS in place by 2019 to ease traffic congestion, said an official from the Pallavan Transport Consultancy Services. He was speaking at a public hearing called to seek the views of resident welfare associations on the proposal.

Under the BRTS, exclusive corridors will be created along the central portion of the road to operate state-of-the-art buses. The corridors will have subways or underpasses through which commuters can reach either side of the road.

Seven such corridors have been identified in the city: Koyambedu-Poonamallee, Koyambedu-Ambattur, Koyambedu-Madhavaram, Saidapet-Siruseri, Saidapet-Mahindra WorldCity, Thoraipakkam-Chromepet and Koyambedu-Saidapet.

The founder of Urban Voices, Kumar Manish, who is also an urban transport consultant, said Ahmedabad pioneered the BRTS which was introduced in 2009. The system has received national and international awards for its innovation. BRTS offers commuters an alternative to taking crowded municipal transport bus services and driving private vehicles on roads choked with traffic. The system in Ahmedabad, which includes air-conditioned buses, has expanded to 89 km from the initial 12-km pilot project and carries an average of 1.5 lakh passengers per day.

Reduced travel time, reduced waiting time due to more services and feeder services to the rail network are some of the advantages of the BRTS. It also helps fight air pollution by offering private vehicle users a viable alternative, resulting in fewer vehicles on the road.

Also known as the ‘metro on roads’, BRTS costs a fraction of what the metro charges and is all about prioritising public transport users and giving them dignity.

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