Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) - India - Mumbai

BEST passengers see red over smartcard renewal

2010-10-08T19:17:00.000+05:30

With reference to Mumbai mirror story below. I would like to add that why Government/ civic and other servants work for the betterment of the people.

Is BEST manager living in fantasy land of his own doesn’t he know that majority of Mumbaikars who work in private companies and travel by these bus their offices start by 9.30 a.m and they cannot go late like government employees.

BEST passengers see red over smartcard renewal

Mumbai: Several passengers who have monthly/quarterly passes (smartcards) are finding it difficult to get their cards renewed at the BEST depots because of ‘inconvenient’ timings.

Said Sion resident R Sridhar who is a frequent passenger, “After the BEST introduced paper passes recently, it started opening counters at the 25 bus depots from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm. Previously, when bus passes were being renewed by Kaizen company, the private counters were open from 8 am to 8 pm at the BEST chowkies and also at other locations near our residence. But this has now been discontinued.’’

So, office-goers find it difficult to get their passes renewed as there are long queues in the morning and the counter shuts by 4.30 pm. Most return home only by 6.30-7 pm.

“I went to the depot and returned twice as there was a long queue. You cannot waste an entire day on making a bus pass,’’ said one Laxman Moorthy.

Many Thane passengers have to pay toll charges (Rs 30 one way) to come to the Mulund depot for renewal of passes. “I had to make three trips to renew my pass for the AC Kinglong bus—from Thane to south Mumbai,’’ said a passenger who takes the bus from Teen Haath Naka.

A senior BEST official said that the Kaizen contract was cancelled and that is why the BEST staffers themselves were renewing passes for passengers. “As it is our own staff, we have fixed a timing for them and cannot change it unless there are instructions from our boss (general manager),’’ he said. BEST general manager Om Prakash Gupta was unavailable for comment.

“BEST can solve the problem by giving overtime allowance to its staff and keeping the counters open till 8 pm. It will be a great relief for passengers,’’ Sridhar added.

Volvos BEST option to phase out King Longs?

2010-10-08T19:05:00.000+05:30

Mumbai:If the Shiv Sena-controlled BEST committee has its way, King Long buses may be sidelined and will be replaced with AC Volvo buses on longdistance routes. But BEST general manager Om Prakash Gupta rubbished the plan to either ground these buses or replace them.

Fifty new Volvos were expected to join the BEST fleet this month and another 200 might in a few months, said an official of the BEST committee. Its chairperson Sanjay Potnis told TOI that they planned to replace the King Longs with Volvos as they were more “efficient with better speed as well as safety features and break down less frequently”. “I am not satisfied with the performance of our King Longs that ply on the north-south corridors. Unable to bear the load on flyovers, they cannot maintain good speed,” Potnis said. He, however, added that BEST owned 270 King Longs and they could not be discarded. “We may ply them on cross-corridors and other routes, while Volvos can operate on the north-south fast-track routes,” he said. The cross-corridors are the east-west links like Sion-Mahim and Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Road.

A BEST committee member from the Congress, however, is not keen on the “phasingout” plan of King Longs. “The transport body has already spent a lot on King Longs. I don’t think there is any problem with these luxury buses that are popular on the fasttrack routes.” he claimed. But GM Gupta said new Volvos would be deployed on fasttrack corridors soon. “We are also taking in Mercedes Benz buses for long-distance routes,” he added.

LUXURY FLEET

KING LONGS

270 buses

AC VOLVOS

50 buses ( 200 more to be bought soon)

MERCEDES BENZ

1 bus (on 30 -day trial basis, more to be procured)

BEST has stopped renewing smartcards’

2010-08-18T15:34:00.000+05:30

ON THE CARDS

Smartcards are currently being renewed in the following categories: Students up to Class X will have to pay Rs 90 for a month. Those in Class XI-XII will pay Rs 190 for monthly and Rs 570 for three-months Passes are being renewed for city (Rs 350 monthly charge and Rs 900 quarterly), suburbs (Rs 450 monthly and Rs 1,100 quarterly), Magic Card Holders (Rs 550 monthly and Rs 1,400 quarterly)

BEST commuters having ‘short-distance’ monthly and quarterly passes (smart cards) have been left in limbo as the transport body has not been renewing passes for the past two weeks.

Although the BEST recently began renewing smart cards for long-distance routes in non-AC and AC buses, those who travel daily on the feeder routes—from residential colonies to local railway stations—are the worst hit.

“It was economical to travel on a monthly pass from my residence on Film City Road to Goregaon station. But the BEST has stopped renewing our passes. We are now forced to buy tickets, which is proving to be expensive,’’ said Sudhakar Redkar, a regular passenger. Another commuter, Murali Krishnan, rues, “It seems they want to scrap the short-distance passes so we have no option but to purchase tickets at inflated rates,’’ he stated.

BEST general manager Om Prakash Gupta clarified that the move to stop renewing short-distance passes was “temporary.’’ “We have also stopped issuing new smart cards. But we plan to restart these services in a month,’’ he said.

Commuters are upset with the BEST’s decision to stop issuing new cards. MNS activist Chetan Pednekar said he has received complaints from around 50 passengers from the Parel area who wanted to buy new smartcards. “MNS legislator Bala Nandgaonkar met Gupta on Tuesday and has requested him to restart the service at the earliest,’’ he stated.

Sources said that the BEST was reportedly planning to blacklist Kaizen company, which had earlier issued these smart cards. It will now appoint a new company to provide a three-in-one machine, which will help conductors issue tickets, scan cards and renew cards on board. MNS activists have demanded that if the Kaizen contract is cancelled, the 350 daily wage workers who will be rendered jobless should be absorbed elsewhere.

AC buses to end taxi, auto torture at airport?

2010-08-09T19:17:00.000+05:30

BEST authorities have a plan to end the torture faced by passengers trying to board a taxi or an autorickshaw outside the Mumbai airport. They have proposed an airport-specific air-conditioned bus service connecting various parts of the city.

BEST General Manager Om Prakash Gupta said all possible options are being looked into to ease passengers’ woes outside the airport. The BEST top brass has already formally met their Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) counterparts to take the proposal forward. Gupta said, “There are two major issues involved in the project - parking space for the buses and enough number of passengers to sustain the service.”

To counter the second possibility - not getting enough passengers from the airport - BEST is trying to rope in all the stake holders, including various hotel associations that can promote BEST as an efficient and cheap mode of transport. “We are working on various surveys to understand traffic route mapping, number of passengers required and bus frequency for the project,” Gupta said. He said that BEST would like to start off with the Airport-Navi Mumbai route and Airport-Colaba route, which can be sustained.

Senior BEST officials said that the aim is to have a bus frequency of 30 minutes and a booking counter at the airport terminal.

A MIAL official confirmed the development saying, “We are in discussions with BEST on initiating dedicated bus services from airport to various parts of the city. Once the modalities are chalked out, we will provide them parking space and other facilities.”

However, Dinette Cherub, a taxi driver who regularly plies from the airport, said, “BEST should first aim to run proper services in the city and then think about airport. Everyone knows their lack of punctuality and nobody will even think of travelling in a BEST bus from the airport.”

Soon, BEST will start fast track bus services to Vashi

2010-08-09T19:13:00.000+05:30

Mumbai: The BEST now plans to connect the city with Navi Mumbai by introducing fast track bus services to Vashi.

“The buses will run on a fast track corridor between Colaba and Sion, and between Sion and Vashi,’’ BEST general manager Om Prakash Gupta told TOI on Tuesday. “While the Colaba-Sion corridor was launched on June 16, we will soon start the second corridor (to Vashi) on which buses will ply at a frequency just five minutes,’’ he stated.

Gupta assured that travelling from south Mumbai to Vashi will be comfortable, convenient and fast. For example, you can board a bus from south Mumbai to Sion, alight at the depot and get a connecting bus to Vashi within a minute. The fares will be as per Express rates, which is a minimum of Rs 4 and a maximum of Rs 17 on a particular corridor. Daily passes can be bought for Rs 40 while the monthly passes are priced at Rs 750, he stated. “If you wish to skip a crowded suburban train, then the best alternative would be to catch one of our fast track buses,’’ he said.

The purpose of introducing these buses was to provide a cheaper and faster public transport in comparison to the exorbitant auto and taxi fares. The fast track corridors already launched are the ones connecting Mantralaya to Mahim, Mahim to Mira Road, Colaba to Sion and Sion to Thane (Cadbury junction).

According to Gupta, the fast track service was a pre-cursor to Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) which the state government wants to introduce in the near future. “As per BRTS, you will be able to catch a bus every 30 seconds,’’ Gupta said.

The MMRDA is already liaisoning with BEST in this connection and there are plans to create dedicated bus lanes on the Eastern and Western Express Highways.

ZOOMING ACROSS

Existing Fast Track Corridors :

C1 : Mantralaya to Mahim

C2:Colaba to Sion

C-42:Sion to Thane

C-71:Mahim to Mira Road

To be launched in 2nd phase:

Sion-Vashi stretch on V N Purav Marg & Y B Chavan Marg Swami Vivekananda Road (Mahim to Dahisar) Western Link Road (Mahim to Dahisar) LBS Marg (Sion to Thane) R A Kidwai Marg (Colaba to Sion) Corridors in 3rd phase: Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road Aarey Road Sion to Mahim

Travel between Pune and Mumbai is all set to get more comfortable and financially viable.

2010-07-25T15:13:00.002+05:30

Pune: The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) will introduce an air-conditioned model of its flagship Asiad bus in a few months. According to MSRTC officials, to start with, the 39-seater AC buses will run on the Pune-Mumbai route.

The MSRTC can pride itself on being the first state road transport corporation in the country to introduce airconditioned buses in the lowcost category. The order for the first lot of buses had been placed, the officials added.

The cost of reconstructing each Asiad bus is about Rs 23.5 lakh. MSRTC officials are confident that the new service will draw more passengers towards state transport. Divisional controller of MSRTC Pune division, Shivaji Sonawane, said, “We are awaiting confirmation from headquarters.’’

The Pune-Mumbai route is busiest for the MSRTC. Besides, Asiad buses leave for Dadar from Pune station every 15 minutes with pick-up points at Aundh, Hinjewadi, Pimpri and Chinchwad.

More seats for women, sr citizens on BEST buses

2010-07-25T14:33:00.000+05:30

Mumbai: Here’s some good news for women and senior citizens travelling by BEST buses. The transport undertaking has increased reserved seats for women from the existing six seats to 12 seats per bus; senior citizens will now have not just two but four reserved seats. The new quotas will come into effect from August 1. The reservation for handicapped persons remains the same.

The reservation has been revised not just for the ordinary red buses, but also for the double-deckers and the airconditioned buses. In double-deckers, women will now have 10 reserved

seats—which means four additional seats—and “senior citizens & handicapped” will have three commonly reserved seats.

In the AC buses, women previously had only two reserved seats. This has now been increased to six, while senior citizens will get two seats which they will share with handicapped persons and two more seats reserved exclusively for them.

The reservation in midi buses was two for women, two for handicapped and one for senior citizen. It has now been increased to six for women, two for handicapped and three for senior citizens.

“There was a huge demand to reserve more seats for women and senior citizens. In fact, I was flooded with several letters and phone calls from Mumbaikars,’’ said BEST committee chairperson Sanjay Potnis.

Bowing to public demand, the BEST management decided to increase the reserved seats quota. BEST general manage Om Prakash Gupta said, “We respect all senior citizens and women who travel by our buses daily. We want to ensure that their travel is less cumbersome and that they dont have to go standing.”

King wrong: Big headache for BEST as AC buses go bust

2010-07-25T14:28:00.000+05:30

The BEST’s air-conditioned Kinglong buses, which had rolled into Mumbai surrounded by equal measures of celebration and controversy three years ago, have hit a rather large speedbump. With passengers complaining incessantly about constant breakdowns, and technical snags on the Chinese-made buses becoming increasingly routine, authorities have decided to stall the procurement of 38 new buses.

“I have taken a decision that no more Kinglong buses will be inducted in our fleet until maintenance issues on all the current fleet is resolved,” BEST General Manager Om Prakash Gupta told Mumbai Mirror. “Of the 50 additional buses that were to be procured, 12 have already been approved but rest all have been put on hold.”

COMMON COMPLAINTS

The most common complaints with these buses are that they frequently break down, that they slow down on flyovers, that AC water drips on passengers, and that the TV programmes are outdated and repetitive.

“In the last two weeks, thrice there were problems with the bus I took,” said Sanjay Bhat, who works in a private firm at Worli and takes the Mira Road-Worli A-70 Express from Dahisar. “On two of those occasions, we had to vacate the bus in the middle of the road during heavy rains. The other time, there was smoke all around, which was really scary.”

Bhat added that he had lodged several complaints on the toll free number and bus depots.

Sources in BEST said that at least 30 of the 270-strong Kinglong fleet were out of commission waiting for repairs and that 10 of them were not on the roads as their glass had been broken. “These buses have been a concern, especially the older ones which did not have automatic transmission. On an average, one bus develops a snag every two days. Maintenance is a big issue,” said a senior official from BEST.

Ravi Raja, Congress councillor and BEST committee member said the administration would take it up as a priority. “If people are complaining it means there is some issue. The administration should ensure that passengers who are paying higher amounts and using these services do not suffer.”

Ref: Times of India
Virat A Singh mirrorfeedback@indiatimes.com

Vayu Vajra Airport Service MAP

2010-07-17T13:53:00.000+05:30

Vayu Vajra Airport Service Time Table

2010-07-17T13:41:00.000+05:30

Route No.	Origin	BIAL	Leaving Origin	Leaving BIAL
BIAS-4	HAL Main Gate	BIAL	0600 0700 0730 0800 0830 0900 1000 1030 1100 1130 1200 1300 1400 1430 1500 1530 1600 1630 1700 1800 1900 1930 2000 2030 2100 2200 2300 2400 0100 0300 0400 0430 0500 0530	0600 0630 0700 0800 0830 0900 0930 1000 1030 1100 1200 1230 1300 1330 1400 1500 1600 1630 1700 1730 1800 1830 1900 2000 2030 2100 2130 2200 2230 2300 2400 0100 0200 0300 0500 0530
BIAS-5	J.P.Nagara 6th Phase	BIAL	0400 0450 0520 0600 0640 0700 0720 0800 0840 0920 1000 1035 1115 1235 1410 1445 1525 1545 1605 1645 1725 1840 1920 2000 2020 2040 2200 2300 0035	0515 0555 0635 0715 0805 0845 0905 0925 1005 1045 1125 1210 1240 1320 1440 1650 1730 1750 1810 1850 1955 2040 2125 2205 2225 2245 2410 2455
BIAS-6	Kadugodi Bus Station	BIAL	0600 0700 0800 0900 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1640 1740 1840 2050 2140 2240 2340	0440 0540 0640 0820 0920 1020 1120 1220 1420 1520 1620 1720 1830 1930 2030 2130 2320
BIAS-7	H.S.R. Layout (BDA Complex)	BIAL	0430 0825 0620 0710 0820 0920 1020 1120 1220 1320 1420 1520 1620 1720 1810 1920 2040 2140 2230 2330	0610 0710 0810 0910 1020 1120 1220 1320 1420 1520 1610 1710 1810 1910 2020 2120 2240 2330 2410 0130
BIAS-7A	H.S.R. Layout (BDA Complex)	BIAL	0640 0740 0850 0950 1350 1450 1550 1650 1750 1910 1950	0830 0930 1050 1150 1550 1650 1750 1845 1950 2110 2150
BIAS-8	Electronic City	BIAL	0505 0550 0630 0730 0855 1010 1105 1220 1305 1350 1515 1600 1645 1745 1830 1915 2015 2130 2230 0200 0300	0400 0600 0715 0800 0840 0925 1010 1055 1135 1240 1355 1705 1745 1820 1845 1935 2015 2100 2145 2230 2315 2355
BIAS-8A	Kuvempu Nagar (BTM Layout)	BIAL	063 0710 0810 0845 1150 1215 1345 1545 1645 1955 2010 2050	0530 0900 0930 1030 1115 1425 1500 1640 1805 1905 2200 2335
BIAS-9	Majestic/ KBS	BIAL	0600 0630 0700 0730 0850 0900 0920 0950 1000 1015 1045 1300 1315 1250 1325 1355 1425 1450 1715 1740 1600 1615 1830 1900 1925 1955 2025 2050 2150 2300 2340 2410 0105 0330 0355	0620 0645 0755 0820 0840 0850 0920 0950 1015 1045 1105 1200 1230 1300 1325 1340 1355 1425 1435 1450 1520 1550 1705 1725 1735 1800 1830 1900 1925 1955 2025 2050 2120 2315 0020 0105 0135 0230 0330 0425 0455 0520 0550
BIAS-10	MCTC Bus Station	BIAL	0645 0745 1130 1700	0900 1000 1330 1900 2000
BIAS-11	Chikkalasandra Bus Stand	BIAL	0330 0430 0520 0600 0705 0800 0900 1000 1050 1155 1300 1400 1500 1620 1655 1750 1850 2000 2120 2240	0520 0635 0750 0830 0935 1030 1125 1220 1300 1425 1520 1620 1720 1830 1930 2030 2130 2210 2330 2445
BIAS-12	Kuvempu Nagara (BTM Layout)	BIAL	0430 0510 0545 0620 0645 0740 0820 0900 0940 1240 1310 1345 1415 1505 1625 1705 1745 1805 1840 1940 2100	0615 0655 0735 0825 0850 0945 1040 1105 1145 1500 1540 1600 1635 1710 1830 1920 2015 2035 2055 2145 2305

Last Updated on :Sunday, 27 Jun 2010 09:50:57 PM

Vajra - Inter City

2010-07-17T13:33:00.000+05:30

Vajra services are premium services of BMTC that provide high comfort in order to attract people from using personalized mode of transport. The service is operated by deploying Volvo based buses that are Air-conditioned, Euro-III conforming with kneeling mechanism, collapsible exit floor and room for wheel-chair.

These services are hard to miss as they red in colour and operate on almost all localities, including arterial and ring roads, of Bangalore.

V 2
Kempegowda Bus Station J.P.Nagara 6th Phase Corporation,Lalbagh Main Gate,Jayanagara 4th Block

V2K
Kempegowda Bus Station Kalyani Magnum JP Nagar Corporation,Vijaya College, Jayanagara 4thBlock,JN 24th Main/ 9th Cross

V JPV-10
Kempegowda Bus Station Avalahalli BDA Park Cottonpet Hospital, Chamrajpet, Nagendra Block,

V-25M
kuvempu nagar(btm) Basweshwar nagar KBS,.Malleshwaram.Modi hospital

V 45-G
Kempegowda Bus Station BSK 3rd Stg 3rd Phase Cottonpet Hospital, Chamrajpet, Hoskerehalli Cross,

V 195
Chandra Layout Shivajinagara Bus Stn K.R.Circle, KBS, Vijayanagara.

V 201-G
Jeevanbhimanagar Banashankari Bus Station BTM Layout, Koramangala, Srinivagilu,Indiranagar 100' road, Chinamaya Hospital.

V 201-R
Srinagara C.V.Raman Nagara Banashankari 3rd Stage, Kuvempu Nagara(BTM),Domlur

V 210-A
Kempegowda Bus Station ISRO Layout Corporation, K.R.Market, Mahilaseva Samaja,M.M.Industries, Kumaraswamy Layout,

V 210-NB
Kempegowda Bus Station Uttarahalli Corporatoin,Mahila Samaj,MM Industries,Banashankari BDA Complex,Chikkalasandra Arli Mara.

V-225CA
Kempegowda Bus Station B.G.Health City Mysore Road, Rajarajeshwari Nagar

V250-I
Kempegowda Bus Station Chikkabanavara Central Talkies, Mallehwaram, Yeshwanthpura,Jalahalli Cross,

V 258-C
Kempegowda Bus Station Nelamnagala Central Talkies, Yeshwanthpura,Dasarahalli,Makali, Binnamangala.

V 276
Kempegowda Bus Station Vidyaranyapura Central Talkies, Devasandra, Nanjappa Circle,

V 276-G
Vidyaranyapura Electronic City Sadashivanagara Police Station, Maharani's College, Cauvery Bhavan,

V 285-M
Kempegowda Bus Station Doddaballapura Military Dairy Farm, Yelahanka NES Office,Ambedkar Vidya Mandira,

V 319-C
Kempegowda Bus Station Kadugodi Bus Station Bangalore Club, K.R.Puram Rly.Stn, Hoodi.

V 328-M
Kempegowda Bus Station Gunjur Domlur,HAL Main Gate, Kundalahalli,Varthur

V 331-A
Shivajinagara Bus Station Kadugodi Bus Station Manipal Hospital, Graphite India Ltd, Hope Farm,

V 333-P
Kempegowda Bus Station ITPL Corporation, Military Accounts, HAL Main Gate,

V 333R
Maharanis College,Corporation,Domlur HAL Main Gate

V 333-T
Nagarabhavi BDA ComplexMarathhalli Bridge HAL Kalyanamantapa, Marathhalli,

333-Z
KBS, Mayo Hall Manipal Hospital, Marathahalli bridge, Sathyasai Hospital

V 335-E
Kempegowda Bus Station Kadugodi Bus Station Mayohall, Manipal Hospital, AECS Layout,ITPL.

V 335EA
YESHWANTPURA ITPL Swastik, KR Circle,corporation

V-335-T
Basaveshwarnagara bus stand ITPL KBS, Mayohall manipal Hospital,

V 356-C
Kempegowda Bus Station Electronic City Wilson Garden Police Station, Madiwala,Bommanahalli, Electronic City,

For more routes get in touch with me. There are total 59 routes out of which 27 routes i have mentioned above.

Vayu Vajra Route List

2010-07-17T13:16:00.000+05:30

Vayu Vajra Airport Service

2010-07-17T13:06:00.000+05:30

Volvo based Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) Services, also known as Vayu Vajra, offer high-end air-conditioned comfort to passengers in an effort to wean them away from personalized modes of travel. The service is available round the clock, providing seamless connectivity between important areas of the city and BIAL. Refer map below for vayu Vajra operations

New Feature:

Vayu Vajra can be used to travel in the city on special fares until Hebbal. The stops are limited, and the service is express.

Vayu Vajra Pass Information: Passes are available at BIAL BMTC KIOSK and KBS (Majestic)

Avail travel on all BMTC services with Vayu Vajra Monthly Gold Pass @ Rs 2650/-

Bangalore - Airport shuttle Service

2010-07-17T13:03:00.000+05:30

Last week i was in bangalore and was amazed to see this Airport shuttle service. I took bus from Jayanagar bus stand and the charge was Rs 180.

The airport shuttle service connects various locations in the city with the airport. This service provided by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) ensures a comfortable travel by an air-conditioned Volvo bus at reasonable rates. Non air-conditioned services are also available at lower rates.

The service connects the airport with the city at a frequency of 30 minutes approximately.

For more and latest information on BMTC Volvo service to our airport,plesae refer the below mentioned webpage: http://www.bmtcinfo.com/

Green Bus

2010-07-06T13:23:00.000+05:30

MUMBAI: The BEST on Sunday launched eight new AC `green' buses to cater to an upmarket clientele of executives and managers travelling from the suburbs to south Mumbai daily. The objective is to dissuade them from keeping their cars off the road. The buses will ply on two fast-track routes-one from from Gorai depot in Borivli to Colaba and the other from Gorai to BKC. The TOI had first reported this on June 25.

The `green' buses were flagged off at a function organised at Gorai depot in Borivli on Sunday. The function was attended by Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam- who had proposed the `green' bus service for corporates-and actor Jackie Shroff. "Citizens staying in north Mumbai must patronise the green bus service. This will help reduce air pollution in the western suburbs,'' said Nirupam.

BEST general manager Om Prakash Gupta said that the `green' buses will help in reducing air pollution and traffic congestion in the city. "They will have limited stops and will ply over all the flyovers on the Western Express Highway,'' he said.

The BEST also plans to introduce Wi-fi connectivity, tea-coffee vending machines, TV sets with GPS and GPRS. They also plan to make magazines and newspapers available on the bus.

Check out the shortest addresses

2010-07-05T21:19:00.000+05:30

Kandla Port Builders Behind Unique Guj Town Codes

Adipur-Gandhidham: Remembering addresses is a piece of cake at the Sindhi resettlement township in Adipur. All it comprises is a few alphabets and numbers. No wonder residents claim to have the shortest addresses in the country.

Addresses like SDR69, SDX50, CBX56, TRS69, SBD4 are common here. And, people here look for each other’s houses by these codes, which for an outsider will appear strange. But, the code is simple for residents as they denote the type of house, the locality and house numbers.

And, in case you are thinking that such addresses were decided upon on someone’s whims and fancies then you will be wrong. The master plan for twin towns of the Adipur-Gandhidham was prepared by an Italian architect Mario Baccheocci in 1949, but the unique addresses were suggested by a group of German engineers and planners, who lived in the township while building the Kandla port.

The houses are again classified as “Do-wali” (Rs 2 rent), “Che-wali” (Rs 6 rent), “Duswali” (Rs 10 rent). “The founder of Adipur-Gandhidham, Bhai Pratap, had distributed these houses with specific rents. The houses in Gandhidham are arranged in sectors. Here in Adipur, we have wards each assigned a number instead of sectors. Today, these addresses are simple to understand and can help you navigate the area,” says Bhai Pratap Maitri Mandal member, Ramesh Vaswani.

Sindhu Resettlement Corporation (SRC) chairman Nirmala Gajwani says, “When Adipur-Gandhidham towns were founded, no Sindhi families were willing to live here. The place had snakes and other poisonous creatures. Bhai Pratap paid 50 paise for killing snakes and 25 paise for scorpions,” Gajwani says.

“There have been very few changes in the master plan of Gandhidham and Adipur. Regulations restricting heights of buildings, access to civic amenities, proximity to schools and hospitals, direction of roads, use of hollow bricks in construction of houses to withstand earthquakes have been incorporated in the planning of the towns,’’ says Mohan Sajnani, general manager of the SRC.

KEEPING IT BRIEF: The Sindhi resettlement township in Gujarat’s Adipur boasts of a unique house address. Each house has been given a number, which denotes the type of house and the locality

Paul John TNN

BEST incurs Rs 40-cr loss yearly with AC buses

2010-07-05T21:16:00.000+05:30

Mumbai: Air-conditioned BEST buses—including the much-hyped King Longs—are running into losses to the tune of Rs 40 crore yearly. The undertaking, however, has not proposed any hike in the fare of AC buses.

This was revealed on Friday during a BEST committee meeting. The meeting was called to discuss a proposal to allot 12 King Longs to Cambatta Aviation, which would use BEST’s AC buses for ground handling services of Jet Airways.

According to the proposal, which was cleared in the meeting, BEST management would lease the buses to Cambatta for a monthly rental of Rs 1.84 lakh each. The management has refused to provide BEST drivers and said that the firm handle operational costs and deploy private drivers.

Congress corporator and committee member Ravi Raja raised objections to the proposal. “BEST is not a travel agency. Why should it provide buses to the aviation company? We can train our drivers and seek police permission so that they can be allowed to ply buses at airport,” said Raja.

BEST general manager Om Prakash Gupta said that there was nothing wrong in Cambatta recruiting its own drivers. “Cambatta has agreed to bear costs of minor maintenance and repair. The contract also states that buses will not ply more than 75 kms daily,” said Gupta. “In future, we may consider deploying our drivers,’’ he said.

Committee member Nitin Salagare also objected to the proposal, saying the move would not fetch significant revenue.

Sena’s committee member Sunil Ganacharya presented a revenue chart for AC buses. “Every AC bus fetches an average revenue of Rs 5,246 daily. The cost of running the service, however, goes up to Rs 9,420 per bus,” he said. This means a loss of Rs 4,174 per bus daily or nearly Rs 40 crore annually (BEST has 270 AC buses).

Source:Somit Sen I TNN

Chavan puts BRTS plans on the fast track

2010-06-06T17:14:00.000+05:30

Mumbai: With chief minister Ashok Chavan now pushing for the Rs 1,313-crore Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), the city seems to be one step closer towards implementing the ambitious plan. According to officials, Chavan wants the system, which has been successfully launched in several cities across the globe, set up in Mumbai as soon as possible.

“The plans, which were put on the back-burner, have been revived by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) whose officials are working hard to implement it swiftly in the city. They will get cracking by first creating special lanes on the Western and Eastern Express Highway as well as the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road,’’ a source said.

MMRDA additional commissioner S Srinivas has been appointed the head of a special committee that will oversee the implementation of the project. The panel will have representatives from the PWD, BMC, BEST and the traffic police .

According to Srinivas, they have discussed the issue at length and will first go in for lane separation on the two highways and the JVLR. “We are planning to construct special subways at junctions for the buses to be able to take turns at intersections and ply on the special lanes. This is going to be our long-term goal. Currently, we are discussing ways of separating the traffic on the road so that one lane on either side can be ear-marked only for buses. Even bus stops on the highways will have to be changed,’’ he said.

“Vehicles like ambulances and fire-brigade trucks may be allowed to use the special lanes. We might also allow school buses to use the route,’’ he added.

“Setting up the system on JVLR will be easier as compared to the two highways,” an official said.

Running successfully in the US, Australia and many countries of Latin America, the project involves drawing up special lanes on roads which allow rapid movement of buses capable of carrying from 15,000 to 40,000 passengers per hour in either direction. The system has been tried out in cities like Delhi and Ahmedabad as well.

Ashley D’Mello

TNN

Chavan puts BRTS plans on the fast track

2010-05-26T17:46:00.002+05:30

With chief minister Ashok Chavan now pushing for the Rs 1,313-crore Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), the city seems to be one step closer towards implementing the ambitious plan. According to officials, Chavan wants the system, which has been successfully launched in several cities across the globe, set up in Mumbai as soon as possible.

“The plans, which were put on the back-burner, have been revived by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) whose officials are working hard to implement it swiftly in the city. They will get cracking by first creating special lanes on the Western and Eastern Express Highway as well as the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road,’’ a source said.

MMRDA additional commissioner S Srinivas has been appointed the head of a special committee that will oversee the implementation of the project. The panel will have representatives from the PWD, BMC, BEST and the traffic police .

According to Srinivas, they have discussed the issue at length and will first go in for lane separation on the two highways and the JVLR. “We are planning to construct special subways at junctions for the buses to be able to take turns at intersections and ply on the special lanes. This is going to be our long-term goal. Currently, we are discussing ways of separating the traffic on the road so that one lane on either side can be ear-marked only for buses. Even bus stops on the highways will have to be changed,’’ he said.

“Vehicles like ambulances and fire-brigade trucks may be allowed to use the special lanes. We might also allow school buses to use the route,’’ he added.

“Setting up the system on JVLR will be easier as compared to the two highways,” an official said.

Running successfully in the US, Australia and many countries of Latin America, the project involves drawing up special lanes on roads which allow rapid movement of buses capable of carrying from 15,000 to 40,000 passengers per hour in either direction. The system has been tried out in cities like Delhi and Ahmedabad as well.

Source: Mumbai Mirror

Call to speed up BRTS works- VIJAYAWADA

2010-05-04T18:33:00.000+05:30

Call to speed up BRTS works

VIJAYAWADA, April 27: The municipal commissioner, Mr G. Ravi Babu, has instructed the engineering and town planning officials to take steps to immediately vacate the residents in Machavaram Down area to speed up the construction of the Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) project in the city.

Mr Ravi Babu noticed some houses were not vacated for widening of the proposed BRTS road in Machavaram.

Stating that the BRTS project needs wide roads with greenery, he asked the civic officials to hold talks with the APSPDCL officials to remove the electric poles and cables to clear the way for construction of the road.

Mr Ravi Babu asked the officials to arrange central lighting and dividers from BRTS road to Alluri Sitaramaraju Bridge

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/vijayawada/call-speed-brts-works-919

Travel by BRTS from RTO to Maninagar

2010-05-04T18:30:00.000+05:30

The AJL officials say that with this, a total of 26 km of BRTS route will be operational from Wednesday.

Commuters will get direct BRTS connectivity from RTO to Maninagar railway station and Narol Chokdi.

Extension from Pushpkunj circle to Maninagar railway station is around 5 km while the stretch from Dani Limda to Narol is 3 km. Also, 36 buses will be used in the BRTS including four buses on standby for emergencies.

Bus fare from RTO to Maninagar railway station has been fixed at Rs15 and for RTO to Narol it will be Rs14. At present around 25,000 passengers use the BRTS daily and its total income per day is Rs1.15 lakh.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_from-today-travel-by-brts-from-rto-to-maninagar_1376514

Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) inaugurated BRTS

2010-05-04T18:29:00.000+05:30

Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) inaugurated BRTS route works between Simada and Sarthana costing Rs 34.72 crore and another between Dumas Resort and Kharwarnagar worth Rs 86.70 crore.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/City/Surat/SMC-on-inauguration-spree-launches-29-projects/articleshow/5881188.cms

Fate of Jaipur Metro project

2010-05-04T18:26:00.000+05:30

Interestingly, while government has shown an obsession for the Metro project, it is dragging its feet over Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) on which over Rs 64 crore have already been spent and buses have also been purchased for the under-construction dedicated roads. Moreover, the unfinished BRTS constructions have become a major hurdle in the smooth traffic movement and cause jams at regular intervals. The government has shown no signs of completing the BRTS even though the central urban department has been pitching for the same.

Gehlot government has gone on a overdrive to take up the metro project as survey for the project commenced in June 2009 and even before the feasibility study was officially submitted. Interestingly, in August last year, government announced that work on Jaipur metro will commence by March 2010 and the metro will be made operational by 2013. The Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation Limited (JMRC) was constituted in October 2009.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/City/Jaipur/Fate-of-Jaipur-Metro-project/articleshow/5884740.cms

BRTS route study not conducted yet, say Traffic cops

2010-05-04T18:23:00.000+05:30

Ahmedabad Traffic Police are yet to take any precautionary step despite occurrence of several accidents on BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System) route at the Helmet Crossroads in Ahmedabad.

In February, a team of the Ahmedabad Traffic Police had planned to undertake a survey of the BRTS routes and bring out the study report.DCP Traffic M M Anarwala, when contacted, said the study has not been done yet.

Besides, the Traffic police had planned to increase the number of personnel on the BRTS routes and especially at the intersection points.

As part of this initiative, more than 15 former servicemen trained as traffic cops were deployed on the 16-km BRTS corridor.
DCP D H Parmar, who handles the additional charge of Traffic, said, “We have increased the number of the personnel on BRTS routes and have also deployed homeguards at many junctions. Special care is taken of the junctions where the traffic is heavy.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/brts-route-study-not-conducted-yet-say-traffic-cops/614784/

BRTS had failed in Mumbai and other cities of India.

2009-10-15T19:31:00.001+05:30

BRTS is introduced worldwide for two reasons. First there should be a fast and confortable medium of transport and second reason it will make people in cars switch to BRTS which will decrease the traffic on road.

But whats happening is totally reverse.The BRTS authorities fee that BRTS will enable the common man to whiz across like wealthy persons while travelling in the city and on the other hand they want people travelling in car to use BRTS.

The reason anyone uses car is first is the comfort and second is speed in travel. Is BRTS in MUMBAI and other states offering that. The answer is NO.

The current BRTS has too many stops, which adds to the delay.Currently there is a conductor to issue tickets and even short distance people take the ride and make the bus crowded. Like a person will catch a bus at Kandivali and get down at Goregaon.

This should be stopped. First step should be increase in BRTS fare for ticket holder and say minimum fare of Rs 45. This will help the overcrowding of the BRTS and there should be preference to pass holders.

During peak hours like 7:15 am to 10 a.m and 6 pm to 9 om there should be seperate BRTS buses only for pass holders and it should not allow anyone in between, only getting down must be allowed at selected stops.

Increase the monthly fare to Rs 3000, which means less crowd, a car traveller will not like someone pushing him with his bag when he is sitting on seat, or some one trying to seequeze or making noise , singing songs etc. Costly means decent crowd.

People travel in car for comfort, ac,quite environment and no botheration of disturabance from irratting people.

BRTS should be like a first class comparntment, other buses like II or third class.

Best can also tie up with MERU and Mega cab, to get people picked up from their home and dropped daily to bus depot / home only at Rs 1500 per month. Minimum should be 5 kms radius from the home to depot.

So if you calculate Rs 3000 (Monthly pass) + Rs 500 (parking charges) + Rs 1500 (Cab charges) the total comes to RS 5000. That is nothing for car owners as, when he uses his car he spends more. The Petrol cost is around Rs 6000 p.m from Dahishar to Nariman point, Rs 4500 p.m from Thane to Nariman point, Parking charges in Nariman point is Rs 1000 p.m. Driver Salary is around Rs 7000 + overtime etc. So the total monthly expense for petrol cars comes around Rs 14,000 p.m.

So if the BRTS can provide the same confort as car. Then i am sure that all car owners will switch to BRTS and leave their cars at home.

Also BRTS authorities can Deploy mini buses to get people to the BRTS staring point or depots from major localities.

Think with all those cars gone off the road and parking places, How much space will be there on roads and then there will be less traffic jam on the road. So no need for special lanes for BRTS.

Create a multistorey parking places on Thane / Dahishar/Backbay/ Nariman Point-Mantralaya/Sion/ Bandra Best bus depot so that people can come and park their cars and catch BRTS. Charge Rs 500 pm in the pass only for parking. This way BEST will earn additional income.

Also if they make pass compulsory in BRTS this will give them huge amount of money even before the bus hits roads. They have to arrange to Online refiiling of the pass instead of current practise of goining to selected bus depots for refill. Also refill by phone and voucher.

If BRTS is used the way it is being used now for common men, it will start running in losses and for the BRTS authorities it will be difficult to recover the operating cost and maintaneance. The BRTS future will be like the RED Ac bus of BEST which are in pathetic condition today.

Also regrading dedicated lanes for BRTS in Mumbai and other cities. You cannot expect this to work when there is no sense of traffic. Will a auto rickshaw driver keep a whole lane to his right vacant while he is stuck in a jam.The answer is NO.Our politician need to get a reality check and work with ideas that are grounded in the dirt and reality of our streets and work through the minds of the average man on the street.

So BRTS authorities wake up before its too late.