The Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited (AJL) will soon be inaugurating the first stretch of the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in the city.
The Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited (AJL) will soon be inaugurating the first stretch of the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in the city.
The first stretch of the Rs 900-crore project extends from the RTO to Chandranagar. Amdavadis are eagerly awaiting the launch of the BRTS but few people have a good knowledge of the different features of the system and the facilities it offers. In a special series beginning today, DNA introduces you to the different features and facilities of the system.
BRTS corridor: The fenced-off lanes running through the middle of the main roads of the city will be exclusively for BRTS buses. The original roads themselves have been widened on both sides to create enough space for non-BRTS traffic.
The corridor, each 7.5 metre in width, running through the middle of the original roads will be a ‘No Entry’ zone for other vehicles, private and public.
Make sure you don’t enter these lanes separated from the roads on their sides by 3.5 feet-high yellow and green metal grilles. A BRT warden will stand at the crossroads and in the corridor to make sure private vehicles don’t get in.
Trespassers may have to pay a hefty fine.
‘Mixed’ vehicular traffic lane: About 9.25 metres of space on either side of the BRTS corridor would be open to vehicles other than BRTS buses. Private vehicles, AMTS buses and other vehicles such as school buses will use these lanes. The ‘mixed’ vehicular traffic lanes will be up to 12 meters wide near traffic signals and busy junctions. You should, therefore, be careful at the crossroads and at the main traffic junctions as speeding here could be dangerous.
Cycle track: A 2-metre lane has been set aside for bicycle riders. There will be 12 km of bicycle lane from the RTO to the Shivaranjani crossroads.
Pedestrian space: For the first time in Gujarat, space along the roads has been set aside for pedestrians. A two- to three-metre-wide lane for pedestrians will run beside the bicycle tracks.
The idea behind having dedicated space for pedestrians is to reduce the number of accidents in which walkers are the main victims.
Parking strip: The idea behind introducing special parking strips along the BRTS corridor is to stop people from parking vehicles wherever they like. Moreover, the strip will be very useful for people who want to use the BRTS buses as a ‘connecting’ mode of transport.
As the service would run only on the main roads in the beginning, a commuter living in, say, the Satellite area can drive to the Nehrunagar BRTS bus station, park his two-wheeler in the parking strip and hop onto a BRTS bus to reach RTO.
The strips would also go a long way towards resolving the parking problems of many places. In the first phase of the BRTS, parking strips would be provided along busy roads such as that between Shivranjani crossroads and the RTO and between Nehru Nagar and the Anjali crossroads.
What AJL expects from you:
Use correct lane
Do not enter BRTS bus corridor
Observe stop line at junctions, signals
Access bus stops via zebra crossings
Keep bicycle tracks & pedestrian lanes clear
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