Gurugram bus service a positive development but can be improved, says transport expert

Colombian transport expert Dario Hidalgo said that the frequency of the city bus service must be increased, fares lowered and access provided to all areas of the city. However, he also appreciated the launch of a public transport service for the city.

Hidalgo, the director of integrated transport with the World Resources Institute’s Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, visited Gurugram on Tuesday to trial the Gurugaman bus service, which launched on September 2.

Hidalgo, who travelled in a bus from Huda City Centre to Subash Chowk and back, said, “On the whole, I think it is an extremely positive development for a developing city such as Gurugram, which has so far lacked such a facility,” he said. Hidalgo has spent over 25 years studying mobility issues in developing countries such as India, Mexico, Turkey and Brazil, and will be using his observations for a presentation at Niti Aayog’s Global Mobility Summit in New Delhi later this week.

While rains lashed the city in the afternoon and led to waterlogging of key junctions, Hidalgo said that the frequency of the service was 15-25 minutes, during the non-peak hours.

“While this is not very good, it is close to the promised cycle time of 18 minutes. The promised interval of nine minutes between buses during the peak hours might be hard to achieve,” he said.

Hidalgo said that the manner of rolling out the service, route by route, in batches, is not ideal. “A bus system must provide access across a network. This will take some to develop in Gurugram,” he said.

The build quality of the buses, however, is impressive and modern, he observed, with low floors, ample seating and standing capacity. “The bus queue shelters are also well built. They are visible, well illuminated, provide shelter from the rain and can be monetised through advertising,” he said.

However, he said that the system would face competition from the informal sector and modes of intermediate public transport, until it could establish itself and reduce the pricing.

Hidalgo said that the main roads on which the buses operate are not easily traversable, making last-mile connectivity a problem for commuters. He pointed out that poorly built pavements, motorcycles parked in front of bus stops, irregular stoppage of buses and a high density of bus stops in close proximity to one another, are likely to make it harder for drivers to abide by their schedule.

At key locations such as Subash Chowk and Huda City Centre, the proximity of the bus shelters could also have been closer to the interchange points. “These are teething problems which are to be expected,” Hidalgo said.

Hidalgo advised the GMCBL to learn from the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation. “They are constantly innovating and making evidence-based adjustments to their operations. When you provide the same service without innovation, you end up like the BEST service in Mumbai, which is struggling and is likely to be privatised,” he said, adding that it is crucial for the administration to view the project as a service first and business, second.

“The risk of privatisation includes fewer incentives to riders and more for operators. This undermines the fundamental purpose of public transport,” he said.

Anil Sharma, manager (administration), GMCBL, agreed with most of the observations. “We have received the same response from others as well. From tomorrow, the buses will ply below the Subash Chowk flyover, instead of on it, to make it easier for passengers alighting at the junction to access the buses. We have also noted concerns among commuters of higher ticket prices. We will take a decision on this later,” Sharma said.

Chander Shekar Khare, chief executive officer, GMCBL, said that the points would be considered seriously.

Tuesday also marked the first time that the Gurugram Metropolitan City Bus Limited’s entire fleet of 23 buses (with an additional two on standby) was rolled out, to accommodate the increased passenger volume after the weekend and a public holiday.

First Published: Sep 05, 2018 07:24 IST