To revamp the transport scenario ahead of the Commonwealth Games in 2010, the Delhi Government will introduce 10,000 new buses -- including modern low-floor ones -- within two years and as many as 20 per cent of them would be air-conditioned to bring more personal vehicle users on to the public transport network, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said on Tuesday. Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of Asiad Village Community Centre, Ms. Dikshit said Delhi would also become self-sufficient in power by 2010. The foundation stone of the gas-based 1,500 MW power plant at Bawana would be laid by the Prime Minister on March 24, she announced. Pointing out that consumption of power had been increasing by 9 per cent to 10 per cent per annum, she said efforts were being made to increase availability of power. Claiming that power theft had declined from 52 per cent to 28 per cent, Ms. Dikshit also stressed the need for power and water conservation to meet the rising demand. The Chief Minister also made a note of the water crisis in the Capital, saying while the Government had worked hard to get the Sonia Vihar water treatment plant commissioned, it had been facing difficulty in getting raw water for it from the neighbouring States.

The recent excise reduction on bus chassis could not have come at a more opportune time for the AMTS. Especially when AMTS has decided to introduce 200 new CNG buses by replacing an equal number of CNG mini buses that ply on city roads. The average cost of a bus works out to be Rs 18-19 lakh while its chassis alone costs around Rs 14.2 lakh. A four per cent drop in excise would mean the costs working out to be a drop of Rs 72,000-76,000 per bus. This would mean an excise reduction of Rs 1.52 crore for the 200 new buses. "The announcement came at the most appropriate time as AMTS was planning to replace 200 odd CNG mini buses. Almost 68 mini buses have already been asked to stop plying. The excise reduction would benefit the operators as they have to meet the capital costs. The total benefit works out to be Rs 1.52 crore for 200 buses,' says a senior AMC official.

Cut In Excise Duty On Bus Chassis In The Budget Will Bring In More Buses, Better Facilities Paul John | TNN If you felt suffocated driving to office, with a sea of cars and twowheelers around you, breathe easy. The "green push' in the Union Budget

This report summarizes the activities associated with the FTA Mission to India conducted in September 2007. The mission provided the U.S. delegation with the opportunity to meet with senior Indian transportation officials, and to gain first-hand knowledge of India's current plans for transportation infrastructure improvements. The tour was also designed to identify any lessons learned for the U.S. transit industry, particularly in relation to the implementation and operation of Bus Rapid Transit systems, and to identify opportunities for U.S.

Government of NCT of Delhi had identified high capacity buss system (HSBS) as the appropriate road-based public transport system for Delhi. High capacity bus systems were to run on a dedicated lane, which was to be carved out of the existing road network in Delhi. These dedicated lanes are referred to as the Bus Rapid Transport Corridor (BRTC).

Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, has a transport master plan that provides alternative scenarios for the City

High capacity bus corridors that promise to put the Indian Capital's public transport system in league with world-class cities like Beijing and Taipei will be thrown open to the public in June this year. Also called bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor, the first such pathway on the 14.5-km long Ambedkar Nagar-Delhi Gate stretch will be made operational by June 2008. The corridor is a set of roads elevated to form a pathway for high capacity bus systems. With BRT, the city will join cities like Beijing, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Bogot

On January 10, the day Ratan Tata launched his much-awaited cheapest car in the world, one of the TV channels aired a panel discussion, mostly featuring auto industry experts. With the exception of Sunita Narain, head of the Centre for Science and Environment, nobody even remotely acknowledged the enormity of the daily travel crisis. If Nano sales take off in a big way, the roads may even get completely clogged. The Nano is a cost and engineering marvel, and a well meaning entrepreneurial endeavour. But the promise of individual mobility will end in collective gridlock. The pro-Nano panelists uttered the usual platitudes about the crying need for more infrastructure. Undoubtedly, a lot more roads are needed. But building more roads by itself will never solve the problem. Cars will expand to fill up the available space, the automobile version of Parkinson's Law. In Los Angeles, despite frequently building ten-lane highways, officials predict that travel times will double by 2020. Besides, the legal and other costs to building roads in cities in India are huge

Mumbaiites will finally be able to board their first Metro Rail train by July 2010, according to Mumbai Metro One Private Ltd (MMOPL) Director K P Maheshwari who made a presentation before Chief Secretary Johny Joseph last week. "In the presentation, Maheshwari said that by November-December 2009, the tests and trials of the trains will begin and in July 2010 Mumbaiites will see a Metro train running,' said a senior government official unwilling to be named. In an interview to Newsline last week, Maheshwari had said: "Mumbaiites will see a Metro train running in July 2010, we hope.' Some senior officials of the MMRDA, which is 26 per cent stake holder in MMOPL, are, however, not so sure. "I don't think it (Metro) will start by July 2010, but October 2010 cannot be ruled out,' an MMRDA official said. MMOPL is building the first corridor

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.

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