Work on ‘mixed route’ BRTS begins

Municipal commissioner Mahesh Pathak said on Wednesday that work on the bus rapid transit system (BRTS) project on mixed route — without a dedicated bus route — over 61 km in the city has started.

The deadline for implementation of the BRTS project is March 2012 and work is expected to be completed by then.
He told reporters that introducing the BRTS project on 47 km routes in the city, where there would be a dedicated route for buses, is an issue.

In this case, the project would be implemented initially on wider roads.He said for the 61 km routes where there would be a ‘mixed route’, the work order has been issued and the work has started.

The pilot BRTS project was launched in the city in 2006 on the Katraj-Hadapsar route.

At present, PMPML is managing the project. Politicians and  activists have been criticising the the project’s poor management.

The PMC has planned to implement the BRTS project on about 100km routes in the city.

It has proposed to have BRTS on mixed route on narrow roads — where there would not be a dedicated lane for BRTS buses, but the lanes marked would be available for other vehicles also.