The commuters in the core city will not be able to enjoy the much-awaited Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) as it will cover only surrounding municipalities and not the core city. Inadequate road width, presence of numerous religious structures in carriage way, several steep curves and lack of other technical requirements have forced the government to abandon the BRTS project in core city. Another main reason for the BRTS project going to surrounding municipalities is fear of a major public outcry. A large number of private properties would be affected to create exclusive and dedicated carriage way for the project. The government has already taken a substantial number of private properties for widening of roads in core city and it does not want to invite public wrath by going for land acquisition again. The GHMC additional commissioner (transportation and traffic), Mr N.V.S. Reddy, told this correspondent that though some parts of core city would also be covered under the BRTS, the project lines would mainly run through the surrounding municipalities. The BRTS envisages high capacity and customer-friendly buses, with line segregation and central alignment for the movement of buses flanked by pedestrian and other vehicular corridors on the roads. There is high scope for widening of roads in surrounding municipalities. Not many properties would be affected and a major public transport infrastructure can be created before the density of population goes up in municipalities, another official said.

Beijing has not done enough to control cars The Beijing city government is constantly evolving strategies to guarantee cleaner air in Beijing. "We have to take all possible measures

Beijing is implementing strict measures to improve air quality, a commitment it took on as host of the 2008 Olympic Games. But a boom in automobile numbers could put paid to its plans. Delhi faces the same challenge with the Commonwealth Games slated for

Transit planning in the United States has tended toward viewing BRT as an analogue to light rail transit, with similar operating patterns. This model, referred to as "Light Rail Lite,' is compared to international best practices, which have often favored the development of a grade-separated bus infrastructure ("Quickways') that in turn supports a varied mix of all-stops, express, and branching services. This model, dubbed the Quickway model, evolved out of the practical necessity of cities to meet ambitious ridership or mode split targets.

A positive fallout of the unveiling of the Nano, a low-cost (US$2,500) car by Tata Motors, is that it has re-ignited the debate about urban transport in India.

If you have been stuck in those endless traffic jams in Gurgaon you may have wondered what the problem is. Three young men, sachin, Sumit and Satish have the answer: Gurgaon has no public transportation plan. The three have filed right to information (RTI) applications wanting to now what the plan is and drawn a blank.

IF you have been stuck in those endless traffic jams in Gurgaon you may have wondered what the problem is. Three young men, sachin, Sumit and Satish have the answer: Gurgaon has no public transportation plan. The three have filed right to information (RTI) applications wanting to now what the plan is and drawn a blank. They have met senior officials, including, most recently, the Deputy Commissioner of Gurgaon, and come away without a clear answer. With its skyscrapers, shopping malls and plush offices, Gurgaon is often described as India

Several cities are now implementing bus rapid transit system (BRTS) as a measure to reduce traffic congestion and cater to increasing populations. Jaipur is making a pioneering effort in this regard by developing a bus system to cover 138 km of road length with an investment of Rs 7.83 billion on an innovative public-private partnership model.

There is still no clear vision among planners, policymakers and transport experts about what will make Indian cities better places to live in as far as mobility and access are concerned. The prevailing mythology is that construction of metro rail systems will somehow solve the problems of the future.

For many years, India lagged behind the rest of the world in the field of urban public transport. This changed with the formation of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (DMRC) in 1995, with the mandate to build a Metro system in the Indian capital New Delhi. The project has provided significant environmental and social benefits to the city.

Pages