BHUBANESWAR: In a first, the state capital will get priority bus lanes to improve urban mobility and enhance public transport efficiency as the Comprehensive Region Urban Transport (CRUT), managing Ama Bus service has decided to pilot the ‘Bus Priority Lane’ initiative on two key stretches of the city.
During a high-level meeting at Kharavela Bhawan recently, additional chief secretary of the Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) department Usha Padhee said the two corridors identified by CRUT in coordination with traffic police and the Works department are Biju Patnaik International Airport to Nandankanan (covering 18 km) and Vani Vihar to Sishu Bhawan (5 km).
The Airport-Nandankanan corridor, that connects major administrative, educational, commercial and healthcare destinations, covers 34 bus stops and caters to an average daily ridership of around 9,000 to 10,000 passengers across major routes, while the Vani Vihar-Sishu Bhawan corridor traverses important commercial and transit locations, including Master Canteen, Rajmahal, Ram Mandir and the Bhubaneswar Railway Station area and covers 15 bus stops, catering to approximately 5,000 to 6,500 passengers daily.
“The bus priority lane initiative seeks to address traffic congestion, improve the reliability and predictability of public transport and make more efficient use of available road space by giving priority to public buses, school buses and emergency and essential services,” Padhee said.
CRUT officials said that currently the traffic congestion results in an estimated loss of 1,200 to 1,500 bus trips every month, accounting for nearly 16 per cent trip loss due to traffic-related cancellations, besides causing significant variations in bus travel time.
“By reallocating appropriate kerb-side road space for priority movement, the pilot initiative is expected to achieve a 10 to 20 per cent reduction in bus travel time and a 15 to 25 per cent improvement in average bus speeds, along with improved road safety,” the officials said.
The agency has planned to develop the two corridors in the next three months following detailed traffic surveys, corridor-level design, lane markings, signage, improvement of Bus Queue Shelters, traffic signal optimisation and identification of designated pick-up and drop-off points for three-wheelers and cabs. This will be followed by a three to six month pilot phase, during which operational performance will be closely monitored and real-time data collected through Intelligent Transportation Management Systems.
An official from CRUT said school buses, heavy vehicles and emergency vehicles such ambulances and fire tenders will also have access to the priority lanes. However, unauthorised entry of other private vehicles and illegal parking will attract auto-generated e-challans. Provision of CCTV monitoring and on-ground enforcement will be made for this purpose. Awareness drives will also be taken up prior to the implementation.
