Though work on the Metro Rail project has already commenced in the city, former Mayor of Bogota, Enrique Penalosa, said that a Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) could cater to larger number of passengers.
Speaking at an interactive session on people-centric urban transport held at the Anna University here on Friday, Mr. Penalosa said that most metro rail projects were highly expensive and only sought to cater to sections of the public who patronised private transport. They were not mass transport systems. Batting for the Bus Rapid Transit System and Dedicated Bus Lane Systems, he said such schemes could ensure speedier transit and reduce congestion on city roads as it could replace cars and two-wheelers.
He stressed that building high-speed transport corridors and highways had not solved the traffic problem of any city. “In cities such as Boston, highways built at the cost of several billions of dollars, are being demolished now as residents find that they create more traffic jams and reduce road space for other purposes.”
As President of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), an international organisation promoting environment-friendly transportation, Mr. Penalosa is advocating governments of developing countries to introduce BRTS and popularising non-motorised forms of transport such as cycling for affordable and sustainable transportation in cities. “Transportation policy must address how to reduce private vehicle use in any city,” he said.
Vikram Kapur, member secretary of the Chennai Metropolitan Transport Authority, made a presentation on the transport projects lined up for the city, in which he referred to the upcoming Metro Rail project as the future lifeline of the city. He spoke of developing radial transportation corridors in the city as the future course of action to improve transportation in the city.
In a presentation, Shreya Gaddepalli of ITDP showed how the BRTS system had already gained popularity in Ahmedabad.
Keywords: BRTS, Metro, Bogota, Enrique Penalosa
Comments:
No. It is definitely not. From my experience, living in Toronto Bus Rapid Transit stinks. It does not remove gridlock and pollutes. Metro Rail is the way to go. Even in Toronto they are planning to expand the Metro by spending lots of money.
The ex-mayor of Bogota should tell the current mayors of New York City, Mexico City, and Montreal that Metro Rail is not 'mass transport' -- they'll be very interested to hear this, I'm sure.
Here in Seattle, the city (and the state) are spending billions to control the flow of traffic by building more roads and local train system but the traffic in the streets is only getting worse. There are no simple solutions to these complex problems in major cities around the world. And Chennai is no exeption. It is important to expand job opportunities in rural areas so people don't have to move to big cities in search of work.
Ultimately Bus Rapid Transit Systems are still on-road transit - they still need road space. I doubt very much many of Chennai's Roads are bus-worthy for regular frequency services, leave alone high frequency ones - The stretch of Ramakrishna Mutt Road from Mandaveli Bus Terminus to Mylapore Tank springs to mind. You could run high frequency services on Mount Road and maybe Kamaraj Salai - this could be done simply by enforcing the bus lane that already exists (though no one respects it). But it isn't a long term solution - The buses themselves still pollute, unlike the Metro (though you have to ask questions about where the electricity comes from). Every city needs transport solutions tailored to it - BRTS may have worked in Bogota but that automatically does not mean it will work in Chennai. They're cities with similar populations but Chennai is much denser - BRTS would never work beyond a few corridors and restricting mass transit to a few corridors defeats the purpose altogether. You need to provide the car driver a full-route public transport option. It is good to see Anna University hosting such a conference. Urban Mass Transport often gets lost in Indian public debate; India is in danger of becoming a car-oriented society (if it isn't already). Dynesh Vijayaraghavan, Edinburgh
It is a scam. In Colombia, the BRT systems are one of the greatest deception, congestion, insecurity, long wait in stations, corruption, BRT is a polluting agent in the city.