BRT sans bus lane in the middle

The government has also decided to do away with the kerb-stone dividers to segregate bus lane from the motor vehicle lane, HT reports.

After a lot of criticism and failed experiments, the Delhi government on Tuesday decided to do away with the BRT system in its present form. In a high level meeting, the government decided to try a new model with the bus lane shifted to the sides of the corridor and car lane in the middle.

HT Image

The new system will be “experimented” on an 8.8 kilometre stretch between Moolchand Hospital and Delhi Gate. The existing 5.8 kilometre stretch from Ambedkar Nagar to Moolchand, however, will continue to have the bus corridor as it is.

The government has also decided to do away with the kerb-stone dividers to segregate bus lane from the motor vehicle lane. The divider will be replaced with painted lines and the responsibility to ensure lane driving will be on the traffic police, a senior government official said.

The decisions, said officials, have been taken following complaints regarding security risks and confusion on the existing BRT stretch. Imported from Bogota, the BRT model, with a bus lane in the middle, created a lot of confusion and chaos on road.

HT also highlighted how buses plying in the central lane caused problems for pedestrians especially children and the elderly. Schoolchildren found it difficult crossing the road every time to board their buses.

While the brains behind the BRT, IIT Delhi’s Geetam Tiwari, was unavailable for comments and Prof Dinesh Mohan refused to comment.

“We have been emphasising that the concept of BRT can be successful only on low-to-medium density traffic,” said Professor PK Sarkar, Head of Transportation, School of Planning and Architecture.