Senior programme director of Institute of Transportation and Development Policy, Shreya Gadepalli, said on Saturday there has to be a dedicated unit to plan, implement and manage the bus rapid transit system in Pune.
Senior programme director of Institute of Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), Shreya Gadepalli, said on Saturday there has to be a dedicated unit to plan, implement and manage the bus rapid transit system (BRTS) in the city to make it successful.
Gadepalli was speaking to media persons while making a presentation on the BRTS in the city. Standing committee chairman of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), Ganesh Bidkar, was present on the occasion.
ITDP is an international organisation engaged in sustainable and equitable transportation. It is presently advising the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) on the BRTS. It has done extensive study of the BRTS pilot project on Katraj-Hadapsar route.
Gadepalli said the corridors for the BRTS have to be closed ones for it to qualify as a BRTS.
Her comments on forming a separate entity for the BRTS either as a public company or a department of the transport utility have gained importance on the background of a similar comment by municipal commissioner, Mahesh Zagade, recently.
She said the PMC, PMPML and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) have to collectively take a decision on the BRTS. However, there has to be a separate unit of capable staff to manage the BRTS effectively.
She said the BRTS exists only with dedicated lanes for buses. In Pune city, the roads are already widened for the BRTS. Only medians would be required on these roads for preparing closed lanes for the buses. The expenditure would be minuscule compared to the total project cost. “It requires a tough political decision for closed lanes,” she said.
Out of the total 118-km long route on which the BRTS is planned, the civic body has proposed ‘mixed BRTS’ on 67 km or 57% of the route.
The mixed BRTS means there would not be a dedicated lane for buses and other vehicles would also be allowed to enter the lane.
A meeting of the board of directors (BoD) of the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) was held recently on the issue of mismanagement of the BRTS.
The transport utility was given an ultimatum till Monday to furnish a concrete plan for its effective management. The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has proposed to introduce BRTS on more than 25 routes with a total length of 118 km.
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