Busbay plan trials a success (at Ranade Inst. bus stop on FC road)

[Prashant Inamdar]

 

 

Dear All,

Subject : Busbay plan

 

This is to inform about successful trials of busbay plan at Ranade Institute bus stop on FC road.

 

It is a common sight that buses do not halt adjacent to curbside bus stops but on the road itself. This causes considerable inconvenience and serious safety problems for commuters boarding the bus or getting down. Traffic on road is also obstructed. We had submitted a proposal with layout drawings to PMC and Traffic Police for creating a busbay on main roads with roadside parking. During discussions we had proposed that the plan be tried out at a prominent location where serious problems are being faced and had suggested Ranade Institute bus stop of Fergusson College road.  We are pleased to inform that the busbay plan trials have begun on 12th July morning with the cooperation and active participation of all agencies concerned - Traffic Police, PMPML, PMC - and have yielded good results as under -

 

Earlier scenario -

1) Buses halting on road as clear access to bus stop not available

2) Parking adjacent to bus stop

3) Driver indiscipline with buses moving in lanes away from bus stop

4) Commuters standing on the road for boarding the bus

5) Commuters getting down on the road and walking to the road side

6) Highly unsafe condtions for commuters as traffic moving close by

7) Buses halting on road obstructing traffic flow

 

With busbay plan -

1) Clear access to buses up to bus stop

2) Bus exit from busbay is smooth without interfering with the main traffic flow.

3) Parking not possible in the vicinity of bus stop due to physical barrier in parking bay

4) Better driver discipline as buses have to compulsarily move in the left half of the road to access the busbay

5) Better commuter discipline and safety as commuters do not have to wait on road and required to stand at the bus stop

6) Buses dock very close to the bus stop making boarding very convenient and safe even for senior citizens

7) Buses halting in the bus bay leave a clean carriageway

8) Smooth flow of traffic irrespective of bus movement in the bus bay

(Preferably there should be 2-wheeler parking prior to busbay)

 

Attaching concept plan for busbay and some pictures (before trials and during trails).

 

It is for the first time that a segregated bus bay has been created on normal road without any change in bus stop position or existing carriageway lanes. Physical separators (barricades) have been so placed before and after the bus stop that not only has a busbay been created but any parking in the busbay  zone is also not possible. Thus area in the bus approach and exit path remains free of waiting rickshaws or other vehicles which used to obstruct access to bus stop. Even if any rickshaw or vehicle does halt in the busbay, it has to exit immediately when bus aligns for entering the busbay. Frequency of buses being very high, vehicles do not have opportunity to wait in the busbay area. The entire busbay length including entry path, bus stop and exit  path is 50 metres. Two buses can comfortably halt at the bus stop with one entering and another leaving. Thus total four buses can be in the busbay area at the same time which is quite sufficient for smooth bus movement even during peak periods. Prominent busbay signage and permanent bollards now need to be installed in place of barricades to demarcate the busbay. 

 

We have actively participated in the design and implementation of the busbay plan and have been observing the trials for the past four days. In our opinion the busbay plan has been a success. We consider it a good example of  team work by citizen group, Traffic Police, PMPML and PMC. 

 

We have requested that the model be replicated at major bus stops on arterial roads and progressively thereafter for other bus stops.

 

Regards

Prashant Inamdar

Convenor

Pedestrians FIRST

[SVK]

This is good. Should be implemented at many other stops in Pune.

[ashok datar]

thanks Prashant 

It is v good. We have suggested something similar in Mumbai but they are afraid

but it is a sound design and concept . 

and before going into BRTS , it is important that we should have some sense of order on the roads for buses, cars and rikshaws and passengers

very good idea 

we will definitely use it 

ashok datar

On Mon, Jul 16, 2012 at 1:36 PM, SVK <svkonl...@gmail.com> wrote:

This is good. Should be implemented at many other stops in Pune.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PTTF" group.
To post to this group, send email to ptt...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to pttfgen+u...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/pttfgen?hl=en.

--
Ashok R.Datar
Mumbai Environmental Social Network

20 Madhavi, Makarand Society, S.V.S.Marg, Mahim-400 016
98676 65107/0222 444 9212 see our website : www.mesn.org

 I hear, then I forget.  I see, then I remember. I do, then I understand.

[Amit Paranjape]

Prashant,

I saw this first hand yesterday at FC Road. Looked great!

Amit

--

[Anil Risbud]

Dear Prashant,

Very ingenious! An absolutely low-cost and effective experiment!!

In this design, there is no need to "reduce" width of the footpath like in a classical bus bay design (anyway, there isn't much width to talk about at this place!). Effectively, what you have achieved, is to systematically carve out a longer piece of the "parking pie" on either side of the bus stop, using only the road markings and mobile separators - without the need for any permanent construction (at least in a prototype).

Once the prototype is proved to be working, further improvements could be undertaken (e.g. permanent flexible bars in place of separators to prevent possibility of theft or a forced shifting of the separators.)

Caution: As far as I understand, this design will work only where there is an existing parking lane on either side of the bus-stop.

best regards,

Anil Risbud

On Mon, Jul 16, 2012 at 11:53 AM, Prashant Inamdar <prashan...@vsnl.net> wrote:

--

[Prashant Inamdar]

 

 

Yes you are right, the design is primarily for roads with curbside parking. Some of the car parking area is reclaimed for busbay, in the present case parking slot for 3 cars on each side. Thus the immense gain for hundreds of buses, thousands of bus commuters as also for traffic has been achieved by reducing parking for six carsonly.  

 

It could be possible to adopt the design even for road without parking but subject to feasibility on case to case basis.

 

Regards

Prashant Inamdar

[Prashant Inamdar]

 

 

Yes the plan is working well and we have got very positive feedback both from Traffic Police and PMPML. Intend to replicate it at some other critical locations.

 

Regards

Prashant Inamdar

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Amit Paranjape

To: ptt...@googlegroups.com

[Sujit Patwardhan]

16 July 2012

Great work Prashant,

Actually the PMPML should be doing such arrangements for better movement of buses but as we know they are severely handicapped by their own problems and the other authorities like PMC and the State Govt are content to let the Public Transport continue going downhill.

Such a shame for a city described even by the Govt as the cultural capital of Maharashtra. So much for the way say one thing and do nothing  to improve our essential service.

--

Sujit

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PTTF" group.
To post to this group, send email to ptt...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to pttfgen+u...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/pttfgen?hl=en.

--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

- J. Krishnamurti

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sujit Patwardhan
patwardh...@gmail.com
su...@parisar.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yamuna, ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007, India
Tel: +91 20 25537955
Cell: +91 98220 26627
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blog: http://motif.posterous.com/

Parisar: www.parisar.org
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Jayant Joshi]

Does this model work well WITHOUT the presence of PMC or PTP staff at such bus stops? That is something that should be observed.

[Harshad Abhyankar]

A query:  Do the cops remove the barricades and put them back every day?  Because barricade-based improvements, esp when cops/ PMC staff has to spend some manpower every day (by design) have never sustained in Pune - the Laxmi Rd ped plaza is an example.

Of course, I will be glad if they do what they are doing tirelessly, till people get in the habit :)

regards,

- Harshad.

---

From: Prashant Inamdar <prashan...@vsnl.net>
To: PTTF General <ptt...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Monday, 16 July 2012 9:11 PM
Subject: Re: [pttfgen:4035] Busbay plan trials a success (at Ranade Inst. bus stop on FC road)

[Dr Adhiraj Joglekar]

This initiative is helpful first step, but as Harshad points out, it
has to become rooted in the psyche and become a habit. The barriers
ought to be present mentally with minimal physical grade separation
(these metal barriers are a serious hazard) - usually this is done by
applying red tarmac to bays and bus lanes.

The other thing which we on this group understand but not the lot out
there is that this design can't be scaled to all roads because the
width is insufficient. There is a common fantasy that in the West
every bus stop has a bus bay and this allows rest of the traffic to
flow smoothly - the extension of this in India is - buses should not
be used on roads where a bus bay can't be introduced and the attitude
is ''do what you want, just don't let the bus obstruct me when I am
behind it (i.e. we serve the motorised vehicles). Thus, unless this
leads to next logical step of introducing bus lanes the exercise will
have limited value on enhancing PT per se, as by it self, the
impression is that the red box has been kicked out of my way.

A

[Jayant Joshi]

Instead of creating bus bays, if the bus stop is pulled ahead into the "parking lane", the bus will not have to pull in and out, passengers won't have to move forward to be able to see the incoming bus from a distance, parking - autorickshaws specifically - can be allowed almost to the edge of the bus stop and the footpath / cycle track remains unobstructed. All it does it take away about 2 cars worth of parking (assuming the bus stop will cater to two buses simultaneously - exactly the number that is being proposed in the new BRT designs). In fact, if the parking boxes are painted according to rules, no parking is taken away as there is already 15m supposedly free on either side of the bus stop. No barricades are needed. The only downside - if it can be called that - is that private vehicles have to wait behind the stopped bus. But that is probably a good thing and can almost give a quasi-bus-lane without demarcating. And in any case, it isn't any worse than today.

- Jayant

[Prashant Inamdar]

 

Only the two barricades placed at the edge of  yellow box to segregate the bus bay from carriageway are removed at night and replaced in the morning. This is done by PMPML staff presently deployed at the stop. Barricades in the parking bay are not removed.

 

- Prashant

[Prashant Inamdar]

 

 

We had proposed this solution (bus stop in parking bay) long back and a few bus stops had also been shifted accordingly. Even in the concept dwg for present busbay plan it is stated in the 'Notes' that recommended location of bus stop is in the parking bay.

However after observing trials of the busbay plan on FC road, we are of the opinion that this plan would work better (than bus stop in parking bay) on congested roads with high bus frequency. Footpath needs to be sufficiently wide in this case as bus shelter will be on footpath.

 

- Prashant

----- Original Message -----

From: Jayant Joshi

To: ptt...@googlegroups.com