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Abstract: A sustainable transport system should bagged for successful implementation of Bus Rapid
provide mobility and accessibility to every urban Transit (BRT) system. This Paper examines the
neighbourhood in a safe, sound and environment- impact of BRT System on Ahmadabad’s transport
friendly way of transport. There is increase in the use sector and the changes that can be brought about by
of personal transport in the urban area. The rapid introduction of BRT System in other cities. BRTS
growth in the number of motor vehicles has resulted Ahmadabad has improved access for local riders and
in severe traffic congestion and air pollution in many advanced public transportation systems while
cities of the country. reducing the environmental impacts of transportation.
One of the most important technical innovations in Moving people quickly, at a low cost, with reduced
the transportation field has nothing to do with vehicle greenhouse gases and air pollutants helps cities
technology or alternative fuels. Rather, they involve grappling with rapid growth, congestion and
the way bus services are operated and infrastructure environmental concerns.
is used to optimize their speed, comfort, and capacity.
The U.S. Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has Keywords: Bus Rapid Transit, Janmarg, Sustainable
helped to popularize a term for such measures: Bus Transport, Advanced Public Transportation Systems.
Rapid Transit, or BRT.
Bus rapid transit (BRT) is a term applied to a variety
I. INTRODUCTION
of public transportation systems using buses to
provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary Most of the million plus cities are faced with serious
bus line. The goal of these systems is to approach the problem of congestion and pollution; they are looking
service quality of rail transit while still enjoying the for cost effective, efficient and sustainable means of
cost savings and flexibility of bus transit. public transport solutions. BRTS are increasingly
Ahmadabad has become the first city in South Asia to being recognized as
receive award for sustainable transport system. It has
46 Jaiswal et al / OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development 04: 11 (2012)
amongst most effective solution for providing a cost exclusive busways or HOV lanes with other vehicles,
effective and high quality public transport service in and improving bus service on city arterial streets.
urban areas for both the developed and the Bus Rapid Transit on busways or HOV lanes is
developing world. sometimes characterized by the addition of extensive
Bus Rapid Transit involves coordinated park and ride facilities along with entrance and exit
improvements in a transit system’s infrastructure, access for these lanes. Bus Rapid Transit systems
equipment, operations, and technology that give using arterial streets may include lanes reserved for
preferential treatment to buses on urban roadways. the exclusive use of buses and street enhancements
Bus Rapid Transit encompasses a variety of that speed buses and improve service, BRT, FTA
approaches, including high capacity buses using report [1]. When public transit service is frequent and
reliable, more people use it in place of their cars. The
Jaiswal et al / OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development 04: 11 (2012) 47
Janmarg Report [4]. Excessive manpower, stagnant provision of public transport on a gross contract
and aged fleet, poor maintenance, large overheads, model (kilometre scheme). Since the AMTS was not
non‐responsive operations plan became the sources of able to meet the increasing demand of the fleet as
inefficiency. The organization started to lose heavily. well as increasing deficit, the private operators were
Fleet availability became uncertain forcing reduction asked to run the buses in 2005. As on Feb 2008, there
in operations. Average daily ridership came down to are 538 buses operated by private operators and 484
325,378 in the year 2004. by AMTS taking the total fleet to 1022. Daily
As a restructuring policy, to improve transit service, passengers (daily boarding) have gone up to 936,886.
AMC invited private operators to participate in
50 Jaiswal et al / OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development 04: 11 (2012)
This is a clear indication of latent demand waiting to Initially, trial runs started in the RTO to Pirana BRT
be serviced. corridor which is around 12 kms long to help
passengers understand its system and its applications
2.1 How relevant is BRT for Ahmadabad and no fares were collected. It was also to help the
drivers for safe and comfortable ride and proper
a) Ahmadabad has a well developed ring‐radial
manoeuvring and docking at bus stations. It was to
structure, high density development and dispersed
check the physical aspects and allow scope for
travel pattern.
rectifications before the system comes into operation.
b) No Single mode is adequate to meet with the
These trail runs would help us get a public feedback
mobility needs in cities
and opinions.
c) Improvements in existing bus system alone are not A new GIS road network was created since the city
adequate to bring about significant modal shifts.
boundaries have expanded since it was coded the last
time. All modelling work carried out to estimate
2.2 Specifications and Route Selection demand on BRT network of Phase 1 and 2 was done
Specifications on this new GIS road network using data collected
through surveys as mentioned in the earlier section.
a) Closed system –trunk and feeder services
Thematically, the BRT network chosen for Phase 1 is
b) Central bus lanes
fairly accurate. But a good operations plan needs to
c) Median bus stops
assess the demand location by location on this
d) Closed’ bus shelters network to structure a good routing plan with bus
e) Distance based fare –smart cards
frequencies. EMME3, industry leading software for
f) Integrated ticketing system –Trunk, feeder and
transit modelling has been employed.
AMTS
g) Automatic vehicle tracking system The operations plan developed not only provides
route structure for BRT operations but also the
Route Selection
rationalised routing plan for AMTS operations. This
a) Connectivity of important origin and destinations is necessary so that the two systems complement each
b) Existing bus patronage and pattern of movement other rather than compete with each other.
c) Catalyst for area development ‐low income, low Transit demand estimation would involve estimation
accessibility zones (old walled city) of change in demand from the current users under
d) Availability of right of way to build infrastructure various operating conditions, estimating shifts from
e) Formation of strong network for flexible route transit‐like (shared auto) services, estimating shifts
operations from intermediary transit and personalised modes,
f) Overall impact of transit on city generated traffic due to quality improvements in
g) Connect ‘busy places’ but avoid ‘busy roads’ transit. In terms of routes following three types of
routes are structured to operate transit services:
The BRT phases proposed now is with the basic aim
to link the major institutional and industrial pockets 1. BRT Trunk Routes
of Ahmadabad. This would help people to shift to the 2. Complementary Routes (AMTS)
public transit from their private modes for their work
3. BRT Feeder Routes
and education trips. The first 2 phases are aimed at
providing better connectivity inside the city and the Scenarios have been developed with and without fare
third phase is aimed at connecting Gandhi Nagar and integration. Based on an assessment of the existing
GIFT city to Ahmadabad. The first two phases are in routes and travel desires, alternate set of BRT trunk
operation now and the third phase is under routes, BRT feeder routes and Complimentary routes
construction. have been analysed. Of this following set has been
adopted. In this set there are 10 BRT trunk routes, 21
2.3 ‘Janmarg’ Route Plans BRT Feeder and 60 complimentary services have
Both the phases of BRT are so designed, that they been identified for operation.
don’t overlap the areas in which AMTS service is
provided. Janmarg has also proper feeder systems 2.4 Business Model
which feed people for the running of BRT system. Any business model would have to take into
Orange coloured buses act as feeders for the BRT consideration the two basic costs involved in the
services. The AMSTS, BRTS and Feeder Network is project. The two basic costs involved are:
shown in the map Figure 8. a) Installation Costs
b) Running Costs
Jaiswal et al / OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development 04: 11 (2012) 51
Table 1 : Per Km Installation Cost of Various Systems around the World (in million USD)
internet websites, and from some of the organizations commercial to institutional can be identified. The
concerned with BRTS such as RITES, CEPT and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is
CRRI etc. located along the corridor. The corridor further ahead
has again commercial activities with Fun republic,
3.1 Corridor Characteristics
Big Bazaar and Iskcon Temple as major attractions.
3.1.1 Corridor 1: RTO to Chandkheda Land prices on this road are amongst the highest in
This corridor starts from Ranip junction near RTO Ahmadabad and this area has emerged as a preferred
and extends up to Chandkheda. The ROW for this destination for big malls, hotels and restaurants and
stretch is clear with no major encroachments. There multiplexes.
is one existing four lane ROB that climbs over the
railway line. After the railway line, the ROW is 60 m The other side of the Sarkhej Gandhinagar highway is
till Chandkheda. abutted by open plots and scattered residences. At the
end of the road is Bopal. Bopal is a thriving satellite
The corridor is an upcoming residential suburb of Ahmedabad and will add demand to the
neighbourhood. Major activities along the corridor corridor. The area is one of the fastest developing
are residential in nature including the O.N.G.C. residential areas. The RoW varies along the corridor.
Township at Chandkheda. The Torrent power house The average RoW till S.G. Highway is about 40m.
is located near the R.T.O. junction. About 1.5 km off RoW from Iskcon to Bopal is 60 m along the whole
the corridor is the Sardar Patel stadium at Motera. length. This corridor acts as a radial feeding into the
The corridor is gradually developing as residential corridor from phase 1 at Shivranjini. Looking at the
hub on par with the more affluent western suburbs of overall network, it forms a major east west link that
Ahmadabad. The area behind the Torrent plant is a will cut across the city and link the suburbs of
dense low and middle income residential western Ahmedabad with the educational and
neighbourhood. Small commercial developments are commercial areas of central Ahmedabad before
gradually coming up along the edge of the road due continuing onto major transport hubs in the walled
to its upcoming demand. city and ending at the industrial suburb of Odhav in
This corridor acts as an extension of the RTO to eastern Ahmadabad.
Pirana corridor of phase 1 and improves the
3.1.4 Corridor IV: Nehru Nagar Gulbai
connectivity to the northern suburbs of Ahmedabad.
Tekra/University CG Road Law Garden Ellis
3.1.2 Corridor II: AEC Junction - S G Highway Bridge Geeta Mandir
(Sola)
This corridor starts from near the Nehru nagar and
This corridor starting from AEC Junction leading to continues to the University (500M away) and ends at
S.G. Highway has residential and mixed land use. Geeta Mandir, which is a major intercity bus
The whole length of about 3.1 km has middle income terminal. The length of this corridor is 6.2 km with
and lower middle income group residential varying land use pattern with major commercial and
development. A park, petrol pump and other such recreational destinations like C.G.Road and Law
small facilities are also found along the corridor. garden. This corridor cuts across the central areas of
ROW along the corridor is 24 m. The stretch acts as a the city and eventually connects to the phase 1
major connection to S.G. Highway and the Sola corridor at Nehru Nagar and Geeta Mandir junctions.
village. Both S.G. Highway and Sola are emerging as The corridor connects the University area consisting
a major activity zones. This corridor connects to the of major institutions like Physical Research
RTO to Pirana corridor of phase 1 at AEC junction laboratory, Gujarat university, CEPT University, MG
and will act as a major contributor to the trunk Science College, LM Pharmacy, LD college of Arts
network identified in phase 1. In future, this corridor and L.D. college of engineering and technology. The
can connect across the SG highway upto the Sardar Gulbai tekra stretch has a major low income
Patel ring road at Science City. residential zone followed by C.G.Road, which is a
major commercial hub. Further ahead Law garden is
3.1.3 Corridor III: Shivranjini- Iskcon -Bopal a major recreational and commercial hub. As we
The stretch of about 6.5 km has a variety of activities. cross the Ellis Bridge and enter the old city mixed
The stretch can be divided into two parts taking land land use can be found along the length. Thus this
use into consideration. Commercial activities are seen corridor links all the varying major destinations of the
along the corridor from Shivranjini to Jodhpur cross city like C.G. Road, Law Garden and old city and
roads. Star India Bazaar is a major attraction along finally connects to the major S.T Terminal of Geeta
this edge. Further ahead, going till Ramdev cross mandir.
roads gradual change in the land use from
54 Jaiswal et al / OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development 04: 11 (2012)
This corridor connects the educational area and then Traffic Impact
to the Geeta mandir which is part of phase 1. From a) Change in capacity utilization of bus lanes and
then on, this corridor connects the Kalupur and non‐bus lanes.
further east to the Soni ni chawl and Odhav. The b) Change in speed ‐for all modes
ROW between Ellis Bridge and Geeta mandir has
recently being widened entire corridor has clear Operational Impact
ROW. a) Exclusive lane for buses
Name of Corridor Pre BRTS AVG POST BRTS AVG Remark (total increase
SPEED (KM/Hr) SPEED (KM/Hr) in KM/Hr )
CORRIDOR - I 27 32.5 5.5
CORRIDOR - II 12.5 16 3.5
CORRIDOR - III 22.5 29 6.5
CORRIDOR - IV 12.5 17 4.5
CORRIDOR - V 16 26 10
The above increase in speed is remarkable for the cities like Ahmadabad.
Figure 14: Showing increase in speed Pre BRT and Post BRT
Jaiswal et al / OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development 04: 11 (2012) 57
Figure 15: Figure showing the comparative analysis of both the years for Corridor-I
Figure 16: Figure showing the comparative analysis of both the years for Corridor-II
Jaiswal et al / OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development 04: 11 (2012) 59
Figure 17: Figure showing the comparative analysis of both the years for Corridor-III
Figure 18: Figure showing the comparative analysis of both the years for Corridor-IV
Figure 19: Figure showing the comparative analysis of both the years for Corridor-V
60 Jaiswal et al / OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development 04: 11 (2012)
Figure 20: Figure showing graphics showing the access mode and Egress mode of users
Janmarg, Ahmadabad is a very sustainable system as Ahmadabad an accessible and competitive city.
the route selection is takes the passengers to a very Given this multi‐dimensional nature of the project,
close proximity to their work place or home. This is anticipated impacts are numerous, some measurable
shown with the help of the graph Figure 20. and some qualitative in nature. Significant benefits to
road users are anticipated due to improvements as
6. CONCLUSIONS
mentioned below.
Bus Rapid Transit Plan for Ahmadabad is a The BRT project in Ahmadabad includes
multifaceted project which integrates landuse and up‐gradation of 217 kms of road network from the
transport, various forms of public transport services present partially developed divided / undivided
as well as other motorized and non‐motorized modes carriageway, open for mixed traffic to a fully
through various physical, operational and policy designed street with:
interventions to achieve the objective of making
Jaiswal et al / OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development 04: 11 (2012) 61
a) Physically segregated road space for buses, factors towards this are: segregated traffic, improved
bicycles, pedestrians and for mixed traffic, road surface quality, better lighting, junction
b) Adequate lighting and other roadway operational improvements (some elevated and others better
infrastructure, regulated) and shifting a part of heavy traffic to outer
c) Road user amenities such as toilets, kiosks, ring road (through proposed ‘Toll’ for through traffic
telephone, etc., and the proposed Goods Terminal Act). Further, in
d) Space for parking to be operated as paid parking Phase‐II BRT plan, roads have been chosen such that
facility. negative impact on current user groups and abutting
The benefits are in the form of of savings in vehicle activities is minimum.
operating costs and travel time savings. In addition,
following benefits are also expected. Reduction in Accidents: Some of the BRT corridors
are presently highly accident prone. With traffic
Increased Public Transit Patronage: Under the segregation, exclusive pedestrian and bicycle
‘Regular bus operations’ the quality of bus services facilities, better illumination, effective regulation,
tends to deteriorate after certain level of operations. training and public education, accidents on these
The operating costs tend to increase and with roads are likely to come down by 75 to 90%.
deterioration in quality, the patronage dwindles. As a
result only the ‘captive riders’ are likely to continue Improved Air Quality: BRT benefits in terms of air
using buses. The market situation is also such that the quality improvements are anticipated due to shift
proportion of the ‘captive riders’ is on the decline. from personalized and more polluting three wheelers
This is because of improved economic wellbeing of to buses, cleaner fuel choice, and promotion of
the people and easy availability of loans for procuring non‐motorized mobility with facility integration for
personalized vehicles. Low levels of patronage also bicycles and pedestrians and overall travel reduction
mean high losses which discourages investments in through land development intensification around
procurement of buses pushing the whole system into BRT corridors.
a low level equilibrium trap. Only way out to make
urban transport sustainable is to make the system Operations Efficiency: Efficiency in operations is
attractive by qualitatively upgrading the services to anticipated due to private sector investments in bus
match the technology advancements in the procurement and operations. Thus overall traffic
personalized mode. Possible improvements without management in the city is likely to improve.
BRT treatment would be limited and less likely to In view of the analysis carried out, the conclusions
yield any significant benefit in the long run. The can be summarized into the following points:
BRT, a rapid, safe, reliable, flexible, quality service a) Due to BRT being implemented congestion
with its own identity would have the ability to decreased on the BRT corridor as private vehicles are
provide quality service which is close to (in the long shifting towards the public transport mode.
run better than) the services offered by the b) Due to segregation of the lanes, the traffic is being
personalized modes at a much lower cost. Hence managed well.
achieving higher transit patronage is feasible under c) Road capacity utilization anywhere on the corridor
BRT conditions as mentioned in ‘Urban Transport for the Motorized vehicle lanes was a bit higher than
for Growing Citie’s Geetam Tiwari [6]. the acceptable limit but has decreased significantly
from pre to post BRT situations.
Efficient Public Transit Operations: Efficiency d) There is an increase in average speed along all the
improvements in bus operations under BRTS arise corridors.
due to time savings and rationalized operations. They e) There has been primarily a shift of people using 2
are: wheelers to BRT. There is only a very slight change
a. Increased vehicle utilization (Increase in speed, of 4 wheeler users to BRT.
rapid boarding & alighting, reduced turnaround time) f) The Fatal as well as the other accident statistics
b. Reduced manpower cost (Off‐board ticketing and have gone down after the implementation of BRT.
improved manpower efficiency because of fast g) The number of deaths due to these accidents has
service/speed) also gone down.
c. Reduced operating costs (Fuel efficiency, less idle h) There is also a slight decrease in the composition
time, less wear and tear, longer Life of the bus) of the pollutants along all the corridors.
i) The above conclusions states application of BRT
Efficient Mixed Personalized Transit Operations: Corridor on this Phase has been successful.
BRTS will also improve operating conditions for
personalized vehicles. The various contributing
62 Jaiswal et al / OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development 04: 11 (2012)