Surat wins central govt award for best city bus services

The Surat Municipal Corporation has won a central government award for operating the 'best city bus services', according to an official release here today.
The corporation has bagged the award for attracting 87 per cent of private vehicle and auto-rickshaw users to its buses, the Union housing and urban affairs ministry said in the release.
Mysuru's public bicycle-sharing initiative has won the 'Best Non-Motorised Transport' award, while Kochi in 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, the release said.

The awards were announced by the ministry on the concluding day of a three-day Urban Mobility Conference cum-Exhibition in Hyderabad.
The housing and urban affairs ministry announces these awards to promote the best practices in urban transport and these are presented at the annual conference.
Noida and Greater Noida In Uttar Pradesh bagged the award for 'Commendable City Bus Service Project' initiative.

The traffic management system -- H-TRIMS -- of Hyderabad has been chosen for the 'Commendable Initiative Award' under 'Best Intelligent Transport Project' category, the release said.
Chittor has been chosen for the 'Commendable Initiative Award' for the city police's initiative for improving road safety.

Gujarat's Surat, 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, the release said.
With 275 city buses now operational in the city on 28 routes, 87 per cent of those using private vehicles and auto- rickshaws have now shifted to city buses minimising environmental and social adversity issues, it added.
Other cities that won awards are Bhopal (Commendable Initiative for introducing Public Bicycle Sharing), Andaman (Commendable Initiative for introducing Special Bus Services for women), and Lucknow (Commendable Urban Mass Transit Initiative for its Metro Rail Project).

Madhya Pradesh bagged an award for 'Commendable Urban Mass Transit Initiative' for implementing cluster-based bus transit system, it added.