The city of Karnavati, was founded by Gurjar king, Karna Dev [father of the great Siddharaj Jaisingh], in about 1100’s. Later, when the Solanki dynesty’s rule ended and the great Gurjar Desh was won over by the Muslim king, Ahmedshah, he founded the city of Ahmedabad in 1411, which was a walled city, on the eastern bank of the river Sabarmati.
Now,
Ahmedabad is the seventh largest metropolis in India and the largest in Gujarat.
It is estimated that by 2031, the city will accommodate 10 million people. The present spread of 466 sq. kms. is expected to reach 1200 sq. kms. The growth is largely dependant on accessibility and a focused development of infrastructure. The Ahmedabad-Mumbai Golden Corridor is an important development axis in Western India. It has seven major roadways, one expressway and five rail networks. A new corridor between Ahmedabad and Pune has recently emerged, connecting the city to four metropolois such as Vadodara, Surat, Mumbai and Pune.
Ahmedabad’s transportation system is predominantly dependent on roadway system. Public transport mainly constitutes the city-run buses [AMTS] and privately run shared and non shared autorikshaws. Buses constitute 15% of the total commute while bicycles account for 18%.
State run buses [GSRTC] bring a sizable number of commuters from cities, towns and villages across the state and everyday approximately 2,00,000 [two way passengers] arrive at the central business district. All most 33% of people use public transport.
The biggest question that growing cities are facing today is how to deal with the immense criss-cross movement of people. Ordinarily, public transport buses weave in and out of the mixed traffic on the roads. This causes problems to both, the passengers in terms of alighting and disembarking as well as other traffic causing delays and traffic congestion.
The Bus Rapid Transit System [BRTS] is a concept that details out of a dedicated traffic lane for the movement of public transport buses. In a BRT system, since the vehicles travel in exclusive lanes, they avoid the congestion on the road. At the same time, other motorized traffic is benefitted due to shifting of buses to dedicated lanes. There is a provision of segregated right-of-way infrastructure, quality buses, rapid and frequent bus operation and easy boarding, alighting and transfer. The concept of BRTS is to encourage more people on the public transit system which, with high quality service is easily feasible. BRTS is a system being adopted by many countries across the world as a comprehensive system that is relatively low on capital costs. Curitiba, Bogota in Columbia, Maxico city , Jakarta, Beijing, Sao Paulo are some of the cities where BRTS has been successfully been implemented. In Buggota, Columbia there is no railway and the entire transport service is based on BRTS.
In India, BRTS has been adopted in several cities like Pune, Delhi, Indore etc. but it’s been most successful in Ahmedabad. As part of the vision, of ‘Accessible Ahmedabad’, BRTS is officially called ‘Janmarg’- a route for people, the name presented by the Hon. C.M. Shri Narendra Modiji.
Ahmedabad BRTS is based on equitable sharing of road space and an inclusiveness that encourages all segments and groups to board the bus. Data analysis reveal that almost 17% use bicycle and 37% of the people still walk. Hence, the BRTS design included giving priority to creating cycle tracks and adequate sidewalks as the part of the Right of Way.
The Govt. of Gujarat, had declared the year 2005, as ‘the year of urban development’ [Shaheri Vikas Varsh] During this particular year, the urban development dept. undertook various initiatives to resolve urban issues such as traffic congestion. The Gujarat Govt. [GIDB], Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation [AMC] and Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority jointly drafted a comprehensive urban mobility plan keeping in mind, the implementation of BRTS. CEPT University was assigned the work of the preparation of a detailed project report [DPR] for the implementation of BRTS in Ahmedabad. In meanwhile, the Govt. of India, announced the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission [JNNURM] for urban development and the AMC submitted its proposal to the Govt. of India. which was first of its kind. As approved by the ministry of Urban Development, the AMC has implemented the BRTS project in phases. The BRTS project was approved in November 2006 and the work commenced in 2007. The first stretch of phase 1, from RTO to Pirana, a distance of 12.5 km. was dedicated for the people on 14th October 2009. The Janmarg would be covering the span of 88.8 km. of network, through the city, connecting the central areas as well as industrial and residential areas as well as institutional areas. The project being developed with an estimated cost of Rs. 1000 crores, which received support from JnNURM. The share of central, state and local government is in the ratio of 35:15:50.
For the first three months, the travel was free of cost. The total expenditure per day, for the running of first phase is 31 lakhs per day. 10 lakhs people travel through it everyday and there are 950 buses in implication.
The road section accommodates an exclusive bus lane segregated from mixed traffic by a railing with a landscaped curb. Signals are provided at all crossovers to aid pedestrian movement. A special cadet force has been trained to direct the traffic at the BRTS junctions. The special split flyovers have been designed to allow the bus to move in the designated buslane, which is particularly important at critical traffic intersections to keep the bus accessible for passengers. Overall, five depots and workshops are planned with each depot on an average holding 50-60 buses initially and expanding to 80-1—buses finally. Each location would be handed over to the private operator, who would provide day time parking facilities to other operators as part of mutual understanding. The workshop would consist of state of art facilities with at least 10 maintanance pits, washing and cleaning yards and siesel/CNG stations. The depot locations are stationed at Ranip, Chandoda, Iscon Circle, Naroda.
The Silver Grey and Orange buses plying the bus way are specially designed for Janmarg operation. They have..
1.High Floor-900mm above road level.
2.Flat Floor-easy for people to move about, especially when crowded and for wheelchair.
3.Clean Euro-3, diesel fuel- environment friendly.
4.Pneumetic suspension-smooth ride.
5.Automated Doors-1.96m wide centrally placed, handles large crowds moving in and out.
6.Seating capacity-36 people and Standing Capacity-50 people. Ensures more standing space.
7.Rods and Handles-to hold while standing.
8.Large Glass Windows- good view and light.
9.Wheelchair Space- for physically challenged.
10. Fire Fighting System.
It also includes,
1. Automated vehicle tracking system.
2. LED display.
3. Ticket Validation.
4. Passenger Information System [PIS]- Announcement made via speakers about bus stop.
Recently, The BRTS service of Ahmedabad was awarded with an international decoration by the USA Govt.’s Transport Research Board with a Sustainable Transport Award-2010. The award was received by the Municiple Commissioner of Ahmedabad, Shri I.P. Gautam and standing committee chairman Shri Asit Vora. Shri Gautam explained about the exclusive transportation facilities of developed Ahmedabad and the provision of three months free ride experience provided to the people, was highly praised by the World Bank Officials. AMC has generated the BRTS in Ahmedabad after learning about the causes that failed the same project in Delhi and Pune. AMC also pland to propagate the concept of Green Ahmedbad, through this project.
Hon. C.M. Shri Modiji, along with two of his ministers took a surprise ride and enjoyed the experience immensely.
Vande Gujarat.
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