The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : 72-km rapid transit system to be in place soon

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

72-km rapid transit system to be in place soon

Staff Reporter

BBMP joins hands with BDA for 25 light BRT grid routes

WARM WELCOME: Minister for Transport N. Cheluvarayaswamy greeting Jan Vandooren, Vice-President and Head, Volvo Buses South Asia, at a seminar in Bangalore on Monday. Principal Secretary, Transport, D. Thangaraj (left) and Senior Urban Specialist, World Bank, New Delhi, Hubertnove Jesserand (centre), are seen. — Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

BANGALORE: Transport Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy on Monday said that people could be reasonably sure of stress-free commuting in Bangalore. "This, I am sure, will also improve (reduce) blood pressure of people both waiting at home and outside," he said.

He was addressing a seminar on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) operating buses on dedicated lanes here. He said Bangalore Development Authority would implement a circular BRT of 72 km in two phases on the outer ring road soon. Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had joined hands with Bangalore Development Authority to introduce 25 light BRT grid routes that will connect areas within this circle. Metro rail and bus routes would be integrated and there would be an automatic fare collection system also.

Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) has promised to make all future ring roads BRT-compliant. The latest comprehensive development plan (CDP) proposes truck terminals on all ring roads so that 60 per cent of the vehicles did not enter the city. Bus terminals similar to those in Coimbatore and Chennai were being planned at all major entrances so that inter-city buses need not come into the city centre. With such infrastructure in place, everyone would be able to use public transport, obviating the need for cars within the city. "Bangalore is really looking up," said the Minister who regretted that cyclists had been "thrown out" of the roads occupied by car users. Buses, which carry 50 per cent of people, used only eight per cent of the road space. Pedestrians could not walk freely, he added.

Special school

The Minister said Bangalore would soon have a special institute that will prepare infrastructure plans of the city. It will be modelled on the Delhi's National School of Planning and Architecture and Ahmedabad's Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology University. Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is giving a corpus fund of Rs. 15 crore for the institute. It would be the nerve centre for planning and expansion and guide civil servants and the political executive on how to plan the city.

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