Ahmedabad BRTS

Janmarg

Bus, station and corridor
Overview
Owner AMC, AUDA, Government of Gujarat
Locale Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Transit type Bus rapid transit
Number of lines 13 (February 2015)[1]
Number of stations 150 (Stations + cabins) [2][3]
Daily ridership 1,32,000 (December 2015)[4]
Chief executive Gautam Shah (Director), Mayor of Ahmedabad

D. Thara (Chairman), Municipal Commissioner of AMC
Headquarters Ground Floor, Dr. Ramanbhai Patel Bhavan, West Zone Office, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, Usmanpura, Ahmedabad
Website Ahmedabad BRTS
Operation
Began operation 14 October 2009
Operator(s) Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited (AJL)
Number of vehicles 220 diesel buses[5]
Technical
System length 89 kilometres (55 mi) (December 2015)[4]

Janmarg, also known as Ahmedabad BRTS, is a bus rapid transit in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It is operated by Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited, a subsidiary of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and others. It is designed by CEPT University.[6][7] It was inaugurated in October 2009. The network expanded to 89 kilometres (55 mi) by December 2015 with daily ridership of 1,32,000 passengers.[4] BRTS won several nation and international awards for design, implementation and operation. It was criticized for failing to increase the number of public transport users in the city.

Etymology

Janmarg means the people's way in Hindi.[8]

History

Ahmedabad has a population of more than 6.3 million and an extended population of 7.2 million. It is the sixth largest city and seventh largest metropolitan area of India. Keeping in the view of increasing population and need of expansion of public transport, the bus rapid transport system was envisioned.

In 2005, the feasibility study reports were prepared by the state project development agency, Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board, and later by CEPT University. The study was headed by H. M. Shivanand Swamy; an economist, urban planner and associate director of CEPT. The project has been sanctioned by the Ministry of Urban Development under JNNURM program in 2005.[7][9]

Technical procedures was started in 2006.[9] CEPT designed the detailed system after detailed analysis.[7][10] Based on an analysis of the socio-economic factors, travel demand patterns, road network characteristics, metro plan and existing Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS) route network, a network of roads covering about 155 kilometers in length was identified for developing the BRTS.[7] The trial run started in July 2009. The first corridor connecting Pirana to RTO Junction was opened to public on 14 October 2009 by the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi.[7] Second half of the first phase of the BRTS was inaugurated on 25 December 2009. It was stretched up to Kankaria Lake later to cater eastern part of the city.[11] The network expanded to 89 km by December 2015 at the total cost of ₹ 1200 crore.[12] The third phase of the project includes Shivranjani-APMC, Jashodanagar-Hathijan, Sola-Science City, Narol-Aslali and Akhbarnagar-Gota Crossroads stretches was approved in 2013 and is underconstruction.[13] Dedicated buses for women were introduced in January 2016.[14]

In future, BRTS will be integrated with Ahmedabad Metro.[7] Underconstruction Gujarat International Finance Tec-City will be accessible through this multimodal mix of Rapid Transport Systems.[7]

Several cities are constructing and planning BRTS based on model of Ahmedabad such as Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Amritsar and Bhubaneswar.[7][15]

Routes

Network Map (August 2015)

Following are the 13 currently operational routes serving 126 BRTS stations and cabins at extended routes:

  1. RTO to Maninagar
  2. Science City Approach to Odhav Ring Road
  3. Maninagar to Ghuma Gam
  4. Zundal Circle to Commerce Six Road
  5. Vasna to Naroda Gam
  6. Narol to Naroda Gam
  7. Iskcon to Naroda Gam
  8. RTO Circular
  9. RTO Anti-circular
  10. Townhall to Odhav Ring Road
  11. RTO to Hatkeshwar
  12. Sola Bhagvat to Maninagar
  13. Vishwakarma College to Narol


Operation

Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited (AJL), the parent company which governs BRTS operations in Ahmedabad, was constituted as a Special Purpose Vehicle by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority and Government of Gujarat. AJL introduced Automated fare collection system through smart cards for commuters.[7]

It has a mixed fleet of air conditioned and non-air conditioned buses. It has 220 Euro III and Euro IV-compliant diesel buses.[16] Parts for the buses are provided by Tata Motors. These buses are built by Chartered Speed locally according to specifications.

The system runs on Integrated Transportation Management System (IMTS) which includes Advanced Vehicle Tracking System (AVLS), Fleet Management System (FMS), Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS), Passenger Information System (PIS), Passenger announcement (PA), and Vehicle Scheduling and Dispatching (VSD). These technologies are provided by the Spanish company GMV Innovating Solutions since 2010.

Recognition

Ahmedabad BRTS was showcased at 2012 United Nations Climate Change Conference as a 'lighthouse project' as part of the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Momentum for Change Initiative.[8][17]

Awards

Criticism

BRTS failed to increase the number of public transport users in Ahmedabad. Before launch of BRTS, in 2009, the number of public transport users (users of AMTS) was 8 to 8.5 lakh. After six years of operation, in January 2016, it is found that the number of public transport users (combined users of BRTS and AMTS) dropped to 7.5 lakh. During the same period, the number of private vehicles in the city increased by 54%, up from 18.2 lakh to 25.10 lakh. Only 18% of the total population of the city uses public transport.[4][12]

In 2011, 42 km network of BRTS had daily average passenger traffic of 1.2 lakh which increased only marginally to 1.32 lakh in 2016 despite expansion of network to 89 km.[12]

In 2015, AJL spent ₹ 98 crore on operation incurring loss of ₹ 35 crore. In 2015, there are 213 buses with AJL. 80% of them are air conditioned diesel buses which has average of 1.5 km per litre of diesel resulting in increase in air pollution. Air conditioned buses can not be run on CNG and they are meant to attract more passengers.[12][21] Dedicated BRTS corridors causes traffic jams at several places.[22][23][24]

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Janmarg Routes". CEPT. Janmarg Ltd.-AMC. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
  2. ↑ http://deshgujarat.com/2014/12/24/amts-to-use-brts-lane-on-two-stretches-cm-to-dedicate-new-brts-corridors-routes-buses-bus-stations-tomorrow/
  3. ↑ "Modi opens two new BRTS routes". DeshGujarat (Ahmedabad). DeshGujarat.Com. December 25, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "City's BRTS didn't enhance public transport usage". The Times of India. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  5. ↑ "Bus services opting for diesel over cleaner CNG". The Times of India. 21 December 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "About-Ahmedabad Janmarg Ltd". Ahmedabad BRTS. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Ahmedabad BRTS:Urban Transport Initiatives in India: Best Practices in PPP" (PDF). National Institute of Urban Affairs. 2010. pp. 18–48. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  8. 1 2 "Ahmedabad, Bus Rapid Transit system, Janmarg". United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  9. 1 2 "Ahmedabad kicks off 500-cr integrated BRTS". One India News. May 4, 2006. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Ahmedabad BRTS is the best, says expert". Ahmedabad Mirror. Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. August 1, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  11. ↑ Dutta, Vishal (2013-05-19). "BRTS: Lessons Delhi can learn from Ahmedabad's transport system". The Economics Times. p. 1. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
  12. 1 2 3 4 John, Paul (1 January 2016). "In era of BRTS, users of public transport shrink". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  13. ↑ Yagnik, Bharat (20 September 2013). "Budget cleared for 3rd phase of Ahmedabad's BRTS project". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  14. ↑ India (7 January 2016). "Women BRTS buses on five routes from Jan 8". The Indian Express. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  15. ↑ "Amritsar to copy Ahmedabad BRTS model".
  16. ↑ John, Paul (6 January 2016). "Clean fuel BRTS dream stolen by toxic diesel". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  17. ↑ Goswami, Urmi (November 15, 2012). "UN Climate Change Negotiations 2012: Ahmedabad's Bus Rapid Transit System to be showcased by United Nations". The Economic Times. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  18. ↑ "Ahmedabad, India Wins 2010 Sustainable Transport Award". PRN Newswire. January 10, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  19. ↑ "Developed Ahmedabad impresses World Bank". Daily News and Analysis (Ahmedabad). DNA. Jan 21, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Ahmedabad Janmarg BRTS brings honour to Gujarat". Daily News and Analysis (Ahmedabad). DNA. December 4, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  21. ↑ John, Paul (4 January 2016). "Citizens choke in BRTS lanes". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  22. ↑ Rajput, Vipul (4 April 2015). "BRTS gridlocks Walled City roads". Ahmedabad Mirror. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  23. ↑ John, Paul (3 January 2016). "City rivals larger Delhi in BRTS jams". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  24. ↑ Tewari, Ankur (30 September 2014). "Chinese expert finds flaws in Ahmedabad BRTS". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 January 2016.

External links

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