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Dedicated bus lanes: A solution without a timeline?

MMRDA proposed dedicated bus lanes below the elevated Metro network, which also runs on some portions of the highways.

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Among the solutions that are tossed around to make the BEST bust service more effective is that of "right of way" of dedicated lane for buses. However, the solution largely has been on paper and where it has been implemented, authorities have had to scrap it considering the more instant problems they created when pilot tests for long term solutions were being tried out.

The pilot project at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) failed after spending nearly Rs 2 crore in a few months in 2016. The barricading for bus lanes were removed due to traffic congestion that it created after a lane got reduced for the rest of traffic even though it improved BEST's efficiency.

Transport experts say that the plan for dedicated bus lanes has been on paper since a decade. It was first mooted in a report by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority in 2008. The plan seemed practical to transport experts considering the current width of the major arterial roads like that of Western and Eastern Express Highways, which could spare a lane for busses.

MMRDA proposed dedicated bus lanes below the elevated Metro network, which also runs on some portions of the highways. Currently almost 200-km-long Metro network is under construction that includes areas like that of western and eastern suburbs along with south Mumbai.

Its study report read: "To cater for the future travel demand, there is a need for capacity augmentation by extending suburban railway system, supplementing with Metro system, exclusive bus lanes on major highway corridors."
Dedicated bus lanes were proposed in 2008 running below metro corridors to justify investments in a Metro network. When MMRDA implemented one in its own backyard, increasing complaints from offices in BKC along with starting of construction work on Metro corridor led for scrapping of it.

Around 2 lakh commuters travel daily to BKC with over 20,000 vehicles daily entering and exiting the area. AV Shenoy, transport expert and member of Mumbai Vikas Samiti says, "Dedicated bus lanes is one of the plan that was thought of in 2008 and by 2016 more than 100-km-long network of bus lanes was to be ready but today we do not any of have it. It seems to be done more out of criticism they get for not trying out other solutions."

Shenoy said that instead of doubling a service by providing an alternate parallel route, the authorities could study effective feeder routes. However, some others experts said that instead of coming out with a study that comes up after 10 years, the solution should be for now.

Sudhir Badami, transport expert, said that our constitution gives equity (one dedicated space to masses in comparison to space by private vehicles) to everyone, and that BRTS in city is something that is need of the hour. "We are talking about having BRTS in future but the time is now, even if we say that Metro works are ongoing in the city. I can say planning can be done in such a way when it comes to having BRTS, that it can be very much practical to have it in a city like Mumbai," he said.

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