The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Metro Bus project to come up in phases

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 16, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Metro Bus project to come up in phases

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, JUNE 15. After a year of deliberations and delays, the Metro Bus project for Bangalore now seems all set to take off.

Following a pilot study with positive prognosis, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) plans to implement the Metro Bus project in phases to cover almost the entire city. While the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) is to help in forming dedicated bus lanes, which the plan will need, the BMTC is going ahead with a feasibility report. The civil works required may cost nearly Rs. 9 crore, and 27 grid routes will be involved, the BMTC has indicated. The objective of the Metro Bus project is to provide frequent bus services, making use of dedicated lanes to reduce travel time, and giving the buses priority at traffic junctions. The BMTC has carried out trial runs from J.P. Nagar 6th Phase to Hebbal, with 23 stops and a travel time of a little over two hours. Further trials are to be held on 12 other routes shortly. The trial runs with limited stops and reduced running time involved synchronisation with traffic signals along the route. The commuter feedback is said to be positive.

The dedicated Metro Bus lanes are to be demarcated with specially designed kerbstones; other vehicles are not allowed to use these bus lanes. The bus lanes are to be formed along existing city roads, covering a total distance of 685 km on the north-south and east-west diagonal routes.

The Metro Bus saga began in June 2003 with the then Transport Minister announcing trial runs. The initial proposal was to operate 25 Volvo buses along the Outer Ring Road, from end to end and with 20 different routes in other directions. The BMTC was then planning to accept an offer from the Sweden International Development Agency to provide a soft loan of Rs. 32 crore to buy the buses which are made by the Swedish company with a plant near Bangalore. The BMP was then to identify the roads which could have dedicated bus lanes.

With the then Union Government restricting aid from overseas agencies, the Karnataka Government was unable to help the BMTC obtain the loan from Sweden. The Metro Bus project then got stalled indefinitely.

The revived Metro Bus plan will have another positive fallout for bus commuters. To support the Metro Bus system, a number of new bus stops have to be built.

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