BRT

In the recent past i have often traveled the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit route and found myself cursing the system. Damn those IIT'ians, (I believed they designed the system), what a super disaster. As i traveled in my comfortable car, stuck in a jam, looking at the empty road next to me, allocated to buses i was amazed at the stupidity of the designer and the government. I would further get angry at the lack of the governments desire to undo the terrible mistake. I don't know how many of you reading this blog, echo the same thoughts, but i have this uncanny felling that most will agree.

A few days ago i got a little educated. Rather late in life, but better late than never, and here's what I learnt..

Of the total land of Delhi, 26% comprises of roads. 13% of Delhi's population travels by car. 90% of all traffic on the roads are cars. So essentially 13% of the population occupies 90% of Delhi's roads and we are already facing jams. Now add a 1000 cars to Delhi everyday, do the math and you realize that soon there wont be any roads left for the cars!

Those of us who have traveled even a bit should chew on facts like Central London, where parking is dearer than the price of a movie ticket, or congestion tax, or Singapore where you cannot purchase a car till such time someone sells one, or Japan where you need a certificate from the police that you have a parking area before you can purchase a car, and you'll realize where we are headed.

Look at it this way - 13% of Delhi's population travels by car, 40% by bus, 10% uses cycles, 20% walks, remaining is on two wheelers. I fall in the little, insignificant category that travels by car and cant think beyond the lifestyle of that category. Essentially our transport policy is working for the benefit and convenience of 13% of the population, which is the largest single source of vehicular pollution in the city? what about the 60% that travels by bus or is too poor and must walk?

Well someone did have the brains to work around this. Someone thought of the future and tried to prevent this chaos. Hence the BRT... an ongoing attempt. Create the Metro, the BRT, make linkages, so that you can get off the Metro and take a bus and vice-versa. The attempt is ongoing to increase the fleet of buses, to make smart buses, air conditioned buses, so that when we do condescend to use public transport, we find it easy, we find it convenient. It's a long process, difficult process, money and time-consuming process but a futuristic effort. Try thinking about it before you curse it again. Take a bus on the BRT and then see how you feel, you might just find yourself laughing at the car owners below you. Well, the people who take the bus are 40% of the city's population and sooner or later we're bound to fall into that category because frankly speaking we have no choice.

The BRT came a bit late to Delhi, when the roads had to be snatched from car owners and given to the buses but in Ahmedabad, a wiser city that did not wait for congested The BRT came a bit late to Delhi, when the roads had to be snatched from car owners and given to the buses but in Ahmedabad, a wiser city that did not wait for congested traffic to swamp it, the BRT is a success story.