The newly introduced bus rapid transit (BRT) system on a single 11-km stretch in Delhi has had a baptism by fire and just about survived. Although five corridors are planned as a first step, it is quite uncertain if the idea will eventually live and grow in practice. So those who feel that a key route to better cities is to have dedicated bus lanes to make bus travel more attractive and popular, see a long hard struggle ahead of themselves.

Quick-fix solutions and then U-turns. That's what the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) corridor story is turning out to be. And if you can't get your act together, despite some fancy PR work, shoot the messenger. Officials have been coming up with a wide range of solutions to the BRT mess

Even as the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor continues to test the patience of commuters, the blame game between agencies in charge of the project continues, this time over traffic signals at intersections. While DIMTS has reportedly lodged a complaint with the CM's office over the lack of cooperation from the Delhi Traffic Police, after the fiasco during Saturday's power cut, the traffic police has cleared its stand as far as signals on the corridor are concerned.

Even as the Delhi government is trying to make its beleaguered dream project bus rapid transit (BRT) project to work without causing chaos, Dinesh Mohan, professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and the brain behind the project has suggested to the Planning Commission to stall the expansion of the Delhi Metro Rail Project and replace it with BRT.

Rites

The controversy over the BRT corridor has also generated a lot of curiosity about the system. With the issue failing to die down, several government officials dealing with the project claim they have been receiving calls inquiring about the system. Some of the questions flying their way are: "How does the system work? What are its benefits?

The BRT in Beijing was opened in December 2005 and was an instant success, way beyond official predictions about its ridership. The predictions had said that by 2007, a total of 1.5 lakh people would be using the system per day. The figure for the 10km route touched 1.3 lakh on the third day. The system has 17 bus stations across eight residential areas with a total population of about 2 lakh. The CM might hope for similar luck with the system back home when she returns.

With a hand up in the air, a motley juggernaut of cars, bikes, autos, cycles and handcarts on the busy Chirag Dilli crossing comes to a halt. Heads turn expectantly towards the hand for the go signal. In minutes, another wave of hand, and the traffic is snaking furiously ahead.

Facing flak at home over the BRT fiasco, chief minister Sheila Dikshit is now looking eastwards for inspiration. Dikshit, along with four city government officials, is all set to fly to Beijing later this month and officials say a trip to the Beijing BRT to see how it is working may be on the cards. The official purpose of the visit, though, is to see the preparations for the Olympic Games.

The September 2008 deadline for launching phase-1 of the BRTS is unlikely to be met as bidding for the bus services will be conducted afresh. Although officials are still confident that the bus services would be launched by the end of 2008, in the first stretch from RTO to Pirana, they will be racing against time to achieve that.