No more intrusions: BRTS to get faster

Have you ever travelled on a BRTS bus and got stuck due to traffic inside the dedicated corridor due to private vehicles? The scenario is set to change, as BRTS bus stations across the city will soon have gates with radio frequency identification (RFID). These gates will allow only BRTS buses and RFID-tagged vehicles to pass through, obstructing private vehicular movement in the corridor.

Announcing the new system, Ahmedabad municipal commissioner Vijay Nehra said, “A lot of people drive in the BRTS lane, which defeats the entire design principle of the rapid transport system. BRTS has been predicated on the assumption that the bus movement will happen faster.

The time taken to cover the distance between points A and B has to be lesser while travelling on a (BRTS) bus than in a private vehicle. That is how you shift people to public transport. But because of people driving in BRTS lane, this objective is not fully achieved.”

As per the new system, the RFIDequipped gate will open when the BRTS bus arrives and close immediately after it leaves. There will be at least two gates at one station and they will be installed wherever there is an intersection after the BRTS station. Ambulances, police vehicles and ST buses will be provided with RFID tags for easy access to the corridor in case of emergency.

Nehra added, “The traditional approach had been to deploy security personnel to stop violators and issue e-memos, but under the Smart City project, we have thought of a technology-based initiative where we will use RFID gates. This will lead to greater discipline in the BRTS corridor and also huge savings in terms of the security staff that we deploy.”

Rakesh Shankar, DyMC, Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited and Smart City, said, “This will reduce a lot of problems and increase the overall safety of passengers and commuters. We will achieve zero tolerance. It will be a smooth ride for the BRTS bus. Manual intervention in the form of security guards will be removed. Also, people getting into the corridor will be forced to move out and the nuisance after operations hours in the form of racing will also stop.”

In the first phase, which is expected to be completed by August-end, over 40 BRTS stations on the route of Tilakbaug to Sarangpur, Narol to Naroda, Visat to Zundal and Sola Cross road to Science City will be covered. The cost of this project is approximately Rs 5 crore.

Last year, as part of a pilot project, RFID gate was installed at L Colony BRTS bus station. There are 163 BRTS bus stations.

Lauding the initiative, Jenil Pothiwala, a student and regular BRTS commuter, said “During peak hours and in the city area, there is a lot of other vehicular movement in the BRTS lane as well, because of which our travel time increases. The only thing that AMC and citizens will have to take care of is that the gates do not get damaged.”