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Monday Musings: Effective scheme on paper, derails in execution
The original plan envisaged the setting up of over 112 km of BRTS routes criss-crossing the city. But as of today after 15 years and multiple efforts later, only a handful have been built and those put in place raises questions on the effectiveness of the scheme
When lawmakers pushed for Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in Pune way back in 2006, it looked like a dream project that would improve commuting experience for citizens. Pune then was represented by Congress MP Suresh Kalamadi, a staunch advocate of this scheme, who had brought the then Urban Development minister Jaipal Reddy to inaugurate the project in the city.
Pune along with Ahmedabad were among few cities that were to develop these stretches, initially on pilot basis. To convince, the citizens, several promises were made.
We were told that dedicated corridors will drastically bring down the congestion on the road. Commuters riding both private and public vehicles, they said, will reach desired destination within time as their travel time will reduce drastically. So, a claim was made, more people will shun private transport and instead start using buses. The environmentalists were taken on board as the project assured reduction in pollution.
In a way it was presented as panacea for city’s growing traffic problems. Not everything they said was lie. In Reddy’s words during the launch of this scheme, “BRTS was low cost public transport providing comforts of Metro rail.”
To provide Punekars with a reliable medium of public transport, the scheme promised the construction and layout of dedicated bus corridors along with new air-conditioned buses and high-end terminals and stations.
In its pilot phase, the project partly operationalised a high capacity bus system on two corridors, the Swargate–Hadapsar (East-West) stretch of 10.2 km, and the Swargate–Katraj (North‐South) Corridor of 5.8 km. This involved the widening of roads and the layout of municipal services such as water supply and electricity along the routes covered.
For the initially four to five years, buses plying through BRT Satara-Swargate route registered higher footfall compared to regular non-BRTS routes. This route, compared to Swargate–Hadapsar stretch successfully marked an increase in number of passengers on the bus routes, along with increased frequency of buses and an overall efficiency in fuel consumption and driving conditions.
Soon, the initial days of euphoria was replaced with something that could only be termed as “grim”.
Much to the dismay of commuters, the project soon began facing major roadblocks in the initial phase itself. It did not change the way Punekars commute. The bus frequency came down on these stretches.
As the time passed, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) lost its interest even as the civic body continued spending crores of rupees to expand the new routes when previously developed ones were marred with several issues. In most stretches, private vehicles began to intrude from these dedicated corridors. These vehicles were rarely penalised though they increased the risk of accidents.
The Civic body used more than ₹1000 crores it received from Centre under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) while it poured in same amount from its kitty.
The original plan envisaged the setting up of over 112 km of BRTS routes criss-crossing the city. But as of today after 15 years and multiple efforts later, only a handful have been built and those put in place raises questions on the effectiveness of this scheme.
In absence of complete network, lack of level-boarding facilities, no boom barriers or alternate arrangement to prohibit private vehicles intruding into dedicated corridors, problems galore these stretches. So much that their utility is now being questioned by Pune Police after city has been witness to long traffic snarls amid overall commuting time has grown multiple times and the overall frustration level has grown.
If there is list of case studies for good schemes badly executed, Pune’s BRTS may top the chart.
