It's mini BRTS for Vadodara. Adapting to its shorter and more congested old city areas, the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) is planning a shorter version of the bus rapid transport system (BRTS) in certain parts of the city.
A detailed project report (DPR) for BRT system has been prepared by the Centre of Excellence in Urban Transport (CoE-UT) at Center for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) University. According to Shivanand Swamy, associate director of CEPT University, the Vadodara BRTS project is likely to see shorter buses of 9 metres length as against the standard 12 metres long high floor buses meant for BRTS.
The DPR has been hence submitted to the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM).
"The old or crowded city areas like Nyay Mandir and RC Dutt road do not have much scope for a dedicated corridor of BRTS buses. Hence, unlike other cities, for the first time we are planning a mixture of standard BRTS buses on dedicated corridor on wider roads and smaller mini or midi buses of shorter length that will ply in along with mixed traffic," said Shailesh Mistry, city engineer at VMC.
To be set up at an estimated project cost of Rs 350 crore for the first phase which is expected to be completed within 2-2 and a half years since DPR approval. "We have submitted the DPR for the first phase of the Vadodara BRTS project to the JnNURM and are awaiting the DPR approval. Once approved, we will begin work on the first phase," said Mistry.
Currently, the city's mobility needs are being addressed by a private city bus operator. These buses ply only on limited routes, catering to a low percentage of four per cent or 100,000 passengers per day of the total motorized trips.
As per a study prepared by CEPT, Vadodara has been facing mobility concerns and need to prepare a transit and traffic improvement plan for enhancing mobility in the city.
"As a step, shifting to greener modes of travel like public transport, walking, bicycling etc is being promoted in the transport sector and related infrastructure developments. Vadodara Mahanagar Seva Sadan (VMSS) is considering introduction of Mass Transit system and other complimentary measures to improve mobility in Vadodara," the study stated.
Apparently, there has been a remarkable 8.5 per cent growth rate increase in private motorisation, specially exhibiting an alarming percentage share of two-wheelers at 76 per cent of total registered vehicles. "This gradual shift to private vehicles is of growing concern and sustainable solutions are sought as part of a long term visioning for the city development," the study further stated.
The DPR has suggested a BRTS network of 22 km is proposed in phase one, which includes a north south connection from Fatehgunj to the industrial estate of Makarpura in the south and an east west connection from Akota to Waghodia road. On the other hand, phase two would be implemented on the ring road, and would include dense residential areas, airport and upcoming commercial areas.
Typical to any BRTS project, the DPR has also suggested development of BRTS feeder services to enable transfers from trunk services. Feeder service will typically be of short lengths of 6-10 km and will offer the last mile connectivity. However, feeder buses are likely to run in mixed traffic with no segregation whereas physical integration will happen at terminals only. Bus stations will be on the left hand side except at terminals, ticketing will be on board through smart cards or paper ticketing.
