Fwd: Rapid Bus - A practical approach

[Kanishka Lahiri]

Forwarding a detailed proposal from one Capt. Naveen Chandra. We should try to bring him on board since this is a step towards concrete alternatives that we have talked about, but not developed by ourselves.

Kanishka.

Dear Sir/s,
 
I am resident in Bangalore (Bengaluru) & have been watching the city's traffic growth & the response from our local authorities over several years, in fact decades now.
 
The usual routine response has been to cut down trees, widen roads & build gigantic flyovers & underpasses. The latest is to build elevated roads, following Bangkok & Delhi's examples. This cannot continue & must be stopped at some stage & better solutions thought of.
 
Taking away road space that has already been allocated for traffic flow patterns is difficult, politically & socially as it effects commuting for a very large section of the populace, whose livelihoods depend on their travel. Also, since their established pattern of travel would be disrupted, enforcement will be difficult & perhaps this is why it has created unrest in Delhi. The only successful example for BRT in India is Indore, but the city is relatively small with very low levels of motorization, & where travel patterns were predominantly by bicycle & transport had been a problem, all along.
 
Delhi BRT's problems has been a wakeup call for all Indian cities since all of them have similar problems - narrow roads with no scope for widening, unruly & increasing traffic, high resistance to change - all making it very difficult to accept the BRT theory.
 
However, I believe in the idea very strongly & have recognized this as the answer for the country's transport requirements in the future since this is a highly cost effective method to move people quickly within urban areas.
 
Our city corporation has been building narrow underpasses quickly with pre-cast elements - I think this may just be the answer to make BRT systems work.
 
After some thinking, visits to various city locations & studying various roads & maps, I have prepared a presentation (attached) that attempts to address concerns & might just work.
 
I would be much obliged if you could please review it & revert with any comments.
 
Thanking You, & With Kind regards,
Capt.Naveen Chandra

---

WL Messenger : Stay connected to friends and family with the New Windows Live Messenger. Get it now. Try it now!