Surat gets Best City Bus Services Award of Government of India for attracting 87% of private vehicles and auto rickshaw users

Surat Municipal Corporation has been chosen for the 'Best City Bus Services Award' by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for succeeding in attracting 87% of the private vehicle and auto rickshaw users to use city buses. Mysuru's Public Bicycle Sharing has won the 'Best Non-Motorised Transport' Award while Kochi (Kerala) has been chosen for the 'Best Urban Transport Initiative' Award for completing its Metro Rail Project in a quick time besides integrating the metro with other modes of transport.

H-TRIMS of Hyderabad, the Traffic Integraged Management initiative has been chosen for the 'Commendable Initiative Award' under 'Best Intelligent Transport Project' category. Chittor has been chosen for the 'Commendable Initiative Award' for the city police's initiative for improving road safety.

Surat city with a population of about 45 lakhs was heavily dependent on three wheelers and private vehicles till 2014 when Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) and city buses were made operational. At present, 275 city buses are operational in the city on 28 routes with fares ranging from a minimum of Rs.4.00 to a maximum of Rs.22. With 95% of arrivals and departures on time, 87% of those using private vehicles and auto rickshaws have now shifted to city buses minimizing environmental and social adversity issues. Single ticketing system, Integration of city buses with feeder systems, Intelligent Transit Management are in place.

The tourism city of Mysure launched its Public Bicycle Sharing in June this year with 425 bicycles and 45 docking stations. More than 6,400 members have been registered till last month. Fares are as low as Rs.5.00 for up to two hours of use. PBS resulted in improved last mile connectivity besides converting short distance vehicular trips to cycle trips, which are eco-friendly.

Fastest constructed Metro Rail Project of Kochi has been chosen as the 'Best City in Urban Transport Initiative' category for its innovative features including implementation in integration with Water Transport. Kochi Metro also introduced 'Rupay' based transit card.

Hyderabad has about 39 lakh registered vehicles on its roads with 600 more added every day and vehicle density of 723/km, the second highest in the country but traffic management was being done with 20 year old signal network which do not function if power supply stopped. H-TRIMS was introduced in 2012 to provide round the clock, no break in service signalling at all the 221 junctions and remotely controlled. H-TRIMS also enables automatic adjustment of signal timings based on traffic flows, pedestrian controlled signals and SMS based alerts to the citizens. This initiative brought down waiting time at traffic junctions by over 33%. H-TRIMS initiative has been commended under the 'Best Intelligent Tran[port System' category. Pune has won the Best Performer Award in this category.

Chittor in Andhra Pradesh, the district headquarters has won the 'Commendable Initiative' Award for the initiative of the City Police aimed at reducing the accidents and fatalities. Under this Education, Engineering and Enforcement initiative, Community Police Officers and students are roped in for creating awareness about road accidents and measures to be taken to prevent the same. Over 1.76 lakh drivers and riders have been administered oath, speed breakers and rumble strips erected to regulate speeds and 259 road side villages have been sensitised. Chittore police introduced 'no helmet-no petrol' policy for two wheelers. Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, has won the Best Performer Award in this category.

Other Award Winners are:

Madhya Pradesh: Commendable Urban Mass Transit Initiative for implementing Cluster Based Bus

Transit System

Bhopal : Commendable Initiative for introducing Public Bicycle Sharing

Noida and Greater Noida: Commendable City Bus Service Project initiative

Andaman : Commendable Initiative for introducing Special Bus Services for women

Lucknow Metro Rail Project : Commendable Urban Mass Transit Initiative

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs announces these awards to promote Best Practices in Urban Transport and are presented at the annual Urban Mobility India Conference.

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