Bus rapid transit system could cut down the traffic woes for Chennai commuters

C Shivakumar

Ahmedabad:

Help is on way for lakhs of bus commuters in the city, who are struggling to reach their destination on time due to traffic congestion, with the transport department mulling at the feasibility of implementing the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in Chennai.

The BRT system, which has been successfully implemented in Ahmedabad, could be a role model for Chennai, says regional director of The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy Shreya Gadepalli, whose global non-profit organization was asked to conduct the feasibility study by the transport department.

The bus rapid transit system is a dedicated bus lane for passenger services. These bus lanes in Ahmedabad are sealed only for the public transport and other vehicles are not allowed to use the lane with an exception being the ambulance services. This makes the public transport more efficient in the city forcing people, who were using two-wheelers and cars, to switch over to this system to avoid the traffic jam.

Surprisingly, the feasibility study on Chennai had identified six corridors in the 80 km stretch for dedicated bus lanes for BRT system under the first phase. These include Poonamallee - CMBT (14 km), Ambattur-Thirumangalam (7.7km), CMBT-Madhavaram (12.4km), Siruseri-Saidapet (24.8 km), Tambaram-Airport (10.5), GST Road junction-Thoraipakkam (10.6).

The total cost of implementing phase 1 of Chennai BRT is Rs 1110 crores, says Shreya. She says the feasibility study has sought initial allocation of Rs 30 crore for creation of the special purpose vehicle, hiring detailed design consultants and public outreach.

Shreya feels the north network, which includes Poonamallee - CMBT (14 km), Ambattur-Thirumangalam (7.7km), CMBT-Madhavaram (12.4km), could be tried initially. This could help link the metro rail station in Thirumangalam also

She says the BRT network proposed is designed to complement, not compete with Chennai’s upcoming, rail-based services. The project should be immediately taken up to connect the metro rail and monorail systems to other parts of the city. Further, some of the high demand corridors should be well served by a rapid transit system.

She says that BRT is key to realizing the dreams of Vision 2023 which emphasises on the need for mass rapid transit (MRT) systems like metro, monorail and bus rapid transit (BRT) besides  “integrated multimodal urban transport including mass transit systems for faster mobility in cities.”

Corridor                                   Km        Passengers per hour per dir                    Maduravoyal - CMBT            14.0              3,300

Ambattur - Thirumangalam      7.7              9,200

CMBT - Madhavaram            12.4              3,100