At the same time as public transport advocates have been campaigning for devoted bus lanes throughout town, the Hebbal-Silk Board Tunnel Street undertaking in Bengaluru has come below the scanner for allegedly dropping such a lane in a bid to enhance visitors move.
Mobility specialists in addition to Opposition BJP leaders have identified that the ultimate Detailed Challenge Report (DPR) of the 16.75-km twin tube tunnel highway undertaking seems to have dropped the devoted bus lane talked about within the draft DPR.
Criticising the Congress-led Karnataka authorities on the difficulty on Monday, Bangalore Central MP and BJP chief PC Mohan stated, “Tunnel highway closing DPR quietly drops bus lanes, as soon as once more making it clear that the tunnel is just for these wealthy individuals who can afford ₹660 toll, not for the widespread Bengalurean. On one hand, they speak of free bus rides; on the opposite, they erase bus infrastructure itself,” he posted on X.
“What number of Bengalureans can really afford ₹660 a day? That’s practically ₹20,000 a month simply to make use of this tunnel. This isn’t public infrastructure however a personal expressway for the privileged, funded by taxpayers. It’s a discriminatory, exclusionary, and anti–public transport transfer,” Mohan added.
In response to web page 195 within the closing DPR, a diagram exhibiting the ‘lane open minimize part’ of the tunnel highway signifies three lanes, together with two driving lanes (for vehicles) and one emergency lane (for emergency autos) within the twin tube tunnels. Nonetheless, within the draft DPR of the undertaking, on web page 171, the diagram exhibits two lanes (for vehicles) and one other lane for buses/emergency automobile providers.
Diagram exhibiting devoted bus lane within the tunnel highway undertaking within the draft DPR
A devoted bus precedence lane has been a long-pending demand of public transport fans in Bengaluru. The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Company (BMTC) launched a bus precedence lane (BPL) in November 2019 as a part of a pilot section that aimed to cut back visitors congestion and improve the effectivity of public transport. It additionally aimed to chop down journey time on BMTC buses from 70 minutes to 50-55 minutes, saving shut to twenty minutes for commuters alongside Outer Ring Street (ORR).
Diagram exhibiting the elimination of devoted bus lane within the tunnel highway undertaking within the closing DPR
Proposal for bi-articulated trolleybuses
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Additional, the draft DPR additionally mentions the proposal of bi-articulated trolleybuses – an electrical bus that operates by drawing energy from overhead wires utilizing two trolley poles, permitting it to maneuver with out the necessity for conventional gas sources, like diesel. Nonetheless, the report doesn’t make clear who operates these trolley buses and whether or not BMTC was consulted earlier than the choice was proposed. Curiously, the bi-articulated trolleybuses usually are not a part of the ultimate DPR.
Chatting with The Indian Categorical, B S Prahallad, technical director of Bengaluru Good Infrastructure Restricted (B-SMILE), stated public transport will likely be prioritised below the tunnel highway undertaking. “A devoted bus lane infrastructure is a part of the plan. Nonetheless, we’ll nonetheless conduct a couple of research, together with visitors evaluation, to design and finalise the bus lane within the tunnel highway undertaking.”
Satya Arikutharam, an city mobility skilled, stated there appears to be no readability in any respect relating to the scope of the tunnel highway undertaking. “The draft DPR had proposed an electrical trolley bus-based system which the ultimate DPR has dropped. A patently unhealthy proposal has now change into worse. The DPR has quite a few flaws and is unreliable and unviable. It’s a pricey distraction that hurts Bengaluru’s public transport-based sustainable mobility objectives,” he stated.
Arikutharam identified that within the draft DPR, “the extent of service was acknowledged as D (that means extra congestion) with a devoted bus lane and offering solely two lanes for vehicles. Now, within the closing DPR, by dropping the devoted bus lane from the design, all three lanes may be occupied by vehicles, which can enhance the extent of service to B (that means much less congestion). I urge the federal government to drop the car-only tunnel highway proposal and concentrate on finishing the Metro and suburban rail community.”