Shorn of its halo, BRT works better for cars

It was built to provide smooth and quick passage to buses four years ago. On Monday, however, it was the private cars and two-wheelers that had the hey day on 5.8 kilometre Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor between Ambedkar Nagar and Moolchand Hospital while buses struggled for space amid heavy traffic along the stretch. Passes the peak traffic test

It was built to provide smooth and quick passage to buses four years ago. On Monday, however, it was the private cars and two-wheelers that had the hey day on 5.8 kilometre Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor between Ambedkar Nagar and Moolchand Hospital while buses struggled for space amid heavy traffic along the stretch.

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On day three of the trial run of mixed vehicular usage on BRT corridor, the scientists of Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) - the agency mandated by the Delhi high court to study traffic pattern on this corridor - said the scrapping of dedicated bus lanes have yielded better results for car users as the waiting time at traffic intersections reduced by almost 50%.

The separate traffic signals for bus lanes have also been scrapped for five days, starting Saturday, which has also made the traffic movement smoother, the scientists claim.

"We have removed the phased traffic signals at all intersection along this corridor. This gives more time to all modes of traffic. The green signal time for light motor vehicles, which was earlier 30-40 seconds at Chirag Dilli intersection has now gone up to 80-90 seconds," said a senior CRRI scientist.

"The delay time has also gone down by 40-50%. We have also started fuel consumption study and we will soon have its results too," the scientist added.

On Tuesday, said a senior CRRI scientist, the agency will install global positioning system on various modes of transport including bicycles and buses to ascertain the impact of the experiment on these two modes of transport, which are otherwise given a priority on BRT corridor. The results of the study will be submitted to the high court on Tuesday itself.

"We have to submit our interim report to the court on Tuesday, as the next date of court hearing is Wednesday. But our comprehensive study report will only be ready by mid June," a CRRI scientist said.

Though the trial run with mixed vehicular traffic on BRT corridor started on Saturday, Monday, being the first day of the week was expected to be the litmus test. Bus commuters faced little problem but car users did not face the usual hassle.