ITDP India

Promoting sustainable and equitable transportation worldwide

Connecting the Dots of Delhi’s Public Transport System

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A case for improving Delhi’s last-mile connectivity

Delhi—yeh sheher nahi, mehfil hai— a nostalgia bestowed upon Delhiites, from savouring the aromas of gully food, to being enchanted by the mehfil on old streets, and sometimes combined with a feeling of impending chaos. What happens when this chaos threatens the very existence of Delhi’s mehfil? Are we ready for ‘yeh Delhi sheher nahi, parking garage hai’? 

As difficult it may be to let go of the age-old nostalgia of streets imagined as mehfils (gathering spaces for sharing poetry or classical music), the reality is that Delhi is clogged with cars! This is despite the city operating India’s “best-run mass rapid transit system” – the Delhi Metro. It’s vast network of over 340 kms helps 26 lakh people commute every day in the National Capital Region (NCR). While the system is classified as one of the largest in the world, it caters to less than 10 percent of NCR. Personal motor vehicles continue to rule the roost. 

On the other hand, Delhi’s bus system is completely omitted from the public transport equation. Based on the existing demand and the burgeoning population, Delhi is short of over 6,000 buses – which means, Delhi needs to double its existing fleet strength. Efforts to bridge the gap in the supply of buses is the need of the hour. Lack of efficient public transport systems and the absence of last-mile connectivity has fuelled the insatious demand for personal motor vehicles. Let us now look at the issue of ‘last-mile’ connectivity. 

Last-mile connectivity—how people actually get to and from the stations, particularly the Metro—has been a matter of concern among Delhi commuters. Issues surrounding the safety, convenience, and comfort to reach a station from a workplace or home, and vice-versa, has been the talk of the town for a few years now, yet neglected. 

Privately run CNG autos, e-rickshaws, Gramin Sewa, and the Phat Phat Sewa have stepped in to provide last-mile connectivity, in the interim. While these systems have the stamp of legality by the State government and have managed to satisfy a portion of the mobility demand, they are largely unorganised and unregulated. The debate of whether they are a resource or a nuisance, continues. 

Delhi is reported to have one lakh e-rickshaws, of which a mere 35,000 are registered, and over a lakh CNG autos. Filling the last-mile connectivity gap comes at a cost of traffic snarls and safety concerns among its citizens. Areas around metro stations have become the new choke points given the lack of integration with formal public transport, haphazard parking on main roads, and an overall lack of traffic and parking management.

Traffic jam of autos outside metro station in Delhi (Credit: Aaj Ki Awaaz)

It may be time for Delhi to shift focus from its archaic approach to connect the dots of its public transit system – bring home the mini-bus. When it comes to bus-based transit, let’s face it, this underdog of transit is by far one of the most efficient, affordable, and convenient modes of transport. Just one mini-bus can replace five rickshaws, or in other words, the bus can move more people in fewer vehicles in a compact amount of road space. 

The mini-bus can provide the best option to improve last-mile connectivity. With better technology, services, and integration with the metro, the bus can unclog streets in Delhi, especially those around metro stations. So what does that mean for rickshaw drivers – are their livelihoods at risk? A successful transition should ensure that rickshaw drivers are formally employed into the system. 

For Delhi to transition towards a people-friendly city rather than a personal motor vehicle garage, it needs to improve accessibility, affordability, and frequency of public transit as well. Cities like Pune have taken the initial steps of assessing public transit system gaps through the People Near Transit (PNT) tool, prepared with technical assistance from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) India programme. Pune has endorsed the PNT tool to further improve its public transit reach to reduce dependency on personal motor vehicles – a similar issue that Delhi has been tackling for over a decade. Delhi can use the PNT tool to reshape its public transport to serve maximum and pollute minimum.

For far too long, cities have ignored what is arguably the most affordable and flexible public transit option, the humble mini-bus. In the name of last-mile connectivity, rickshaws have filled the gap and where unavailable, cars have taken over. In the case of Delhi, where the city can no longer afford to squeeze more cars onto its roads, the bus can provide mobility to the maximum number of people in a compact amount of road space. Delhi should champion a publicly-run mini-bus system to solve its last-mile connectivity woe; after all, a successful bus-system has never failed to move a city.

Written by Kashmira Dubash

Technical Direction: Vishnu Mohanakumar

Street Vending: Need or Nuisance?

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Be it Chandni Chowk in Delhi or Pondy Bazaar in Chennai, our busiest streets are lined with rows of vibrant street shops selling everything under the sun from flowers, fruits, and vegetables to shoes, clothes, and gadgets. Street vendors are a constant presence in our cities, but are often seen as a nuisance, encroachers on public space. They suffer harassment at the hands of authorities, paying bribes under the constant threat of being evicted from their spots. We need to look at their role in our cities and find efficient and humane systems to include and integrate them rather than removing them unceremoniously from our streets.

A busy Indian Bazaar (Credit: LIFE Archive)

Historically, bazaars and street shops have defined commerce and shopping in India with their colourful displays, variety of goods and their bustling crowds.  Even today, we all remember walking and stopping by stalls and tarpaulin sheets filled with a variety of wares catching our eye. We enjoy the feeling of satisfaction when we spot bargains and end up buying three pairs of things we didn’t even know we needed at a price we didn’t think possible. Street vendors bring life to our streets, giving us a chance to stop in the middle of our busy lives and look around. They also ensure that there are “eyes on the street”, their presence making people feel safer and more comfortable being on the streets. 

Street vendors form a crucial link in the informal economies that run our cities. On the buyer’s side, they provide essential goods to people at affordable prices and convenient places. On the other side, they ensure the livelihoods of a large number of workers, who work in local small-scale industries that manufacture these goods. 

Despite their historical significance and economic contributions, street vending remained illegal in independent India for almost sixty years until 2014, when it was legalised by the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act. Many people still regard vendors as a public nuisance and as encroachers causing traffic problems. Authorities see them as illegal groups, and often harass them to pay bribes for their spots with the constant threat of eviction. Resident associations see them as eyesores in an otherwise “modern” city. As a result, vendors face a great difficulty with obtaining licenses, unstable earnings, and a constant fear of harassment.

When street vending spontaneously starts in areas, it is not without its issues that need to be addressed. In places which are hubs of street vending activity, there is a lack of safe and sufficient pedestrian space, forcing people to walk in traffic. We need to prevent overcrowding and unsanitary conditions in public spaces. The response from city authorities have been to conduct eviction and demolition drives to erase even traces of their presence from cities. But should the solution be to completely ban a vital activity and displace people without viable alternatives? 

In 2004, the National Policy on Urban Street Vendors stated a need to recognise the role of street vendors in the economy and protect them from harassment, calling for a move from prohibition to regulation. The Act of 2014 specifies that Town Vending Committees (TVCs) must be established to carry out surveys of vendors, ensure that all existing vendors are accommodated in vending zones, and issue certificates of vending. 

City civic bodies are required to design a Vending Management Plan informed by periodic surveys, certification of vendors, and designation of special vending and no-vending zones in the city. This framework can be implemented to effectively plan areas where vending can happen and reduce the issues that result from unregulated vending. The sad reality is that while extensive city-wide plans are required in all our cities, very few cities have started designing and implementing any such plan.   

While the overall result is a city-wide plan, it has to be created as a series of local area plans. This is primarily because vendors already exist and cannot be displaced too far off from their current locations, and different streets in a region will have different capacities for vending zones. This can be assessed only at the neighbourhood level.

Bhubaneshwar was one of the first cities in India to come up with a plan working with stakeholders, vendors and the authorities. Between 2007 and 2011, the plan created 54 vending zones with 2600 permanent kiosks through a public, private and community partnership model. In February this year, Agra implemented a vending zone plan with 46 spots in the city. According to the plan, the zones will have drinking water facilities, street lights, pavements, parking space, dustbins and seating for visitors. 

However, there is a long way to go. Bhubaneshwar, for example, needed a total of 180 vending zones to accomodate all 22000 vendors in the city. Most other cities have not even started the process of engaging with street vendors.

A street food vendor’s mobile stall

We can learn from these cities and design inclusive and integrated cities. Imagine our cities with streets filled with people, walking along a variety of shops, and safe and vibrant communities in every public space. Implemented well, the policies we already have in place can ensure that street vendors find their place in our cities, making better cities for them and for all of us.

Written by Keshav Suryanarayanan

Edited by Kashmira Dubash

Rethinking decision making through collaborative community planning

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The French philosopher and sociologist Henri Lefebvre interpreted space as an entity that is not static, but one that is alive and dynamically shaped through the interaction of people with it. He stressed on the importance of the production of space through these social relations over merely treating space as an object. We, however, live in a world which largely follows the technocratic planning principles for managing these spaces, rather than  embracing the relations that form them. 

Through understanding the relationship between people and their surrounding environment inherent to every space, the cities can ensure a demand-driven approach to solution making, where decisions are largely tailor-made than mass produced to the context. This will ensure a multidisciplinary approach to solution making, where there is open knowledge sharing and a collaborative work of different stakeholders. An intervention will thus have more credibility when it is shaped through a participatory approach involving all participants who have a stake in it. 

The case of transformation along Sringeri Mutt Road

An interesting example of how the participatory deliberation of the people can shape spaces they live in was observed in the case of the tactical urbanism intervention along the Sringeri Mutt Road, facilitated  by ITDP India Programme in Chennai. The quick and cost-effective initiative that was largely community driven, was aimed at enhancing the road and personal safety of the neighborhood, primarily women and children.

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Deepening Democracy: Innovations in Empowered Participatory Governance by A. Fung and O. Wright  highlights three key principles of Empowered Deliberative Democracy which seem to be strongly embraced in this case.

The first principle speaks of ‘practical orientation’ of having a specific focus on tangible problems, which helps solve it through the next two principles. With abandoned vehicles and unauthorized parking lining the stretch along the canal, the dead spaces had become a breeding hub for anti-social activities.   The tangible problems in this case were identified as the need to enhance road and personal safety for the street users in the neighborhood.

The second principle is about ‘bottom up participation’ which calls for including people directly affected by the problems, to serve as a channel for experts and citizens to work together. The direct involvement helps in increasing efficiency, trust, and accountability. The ITDP India Programme was able to measure the root cause of the concerns through initiating dialogues with the different stakeholders in the neighborhood. Those who faced the brunt were frequent users of the street, which were the local residents and the students and teachers of the neighboring school. The different layers of the problem were gradually unwrapped through site visits and discussions with these users

The third principle on ‘deliberative solution generation’ involves joint planning and problem solving through a process of deliberation. The participants hear out each other’s concerns and work together towards developing a solution through discussions than heated arguments.The fresh lease of life that the space witnessed was due to the efforts of the Chennai Traffic Police, Greater Chennai Corporation, civic action groups like Thiruveedhi Amman Koil Street Residents Association (TAKSRA) and Karam Korpom, Chennai High School (Mandaveli) and the ITDP India Programme.


Sketch by the author on the case of Sringeri Mutt Road based on the principles of Empowered Deliberative Democracy

This case showed alternate approaches to transformations that a city can witness, where deciphering the needs and solutions is a joint process with the people involved, than a top-down approach.

Moving towards a systemic change

The intervention on the ground, its success and the interest it has lit amongst the city officials to scale- up, draws parallels to stage model of social innovation discussed by Robin Murray, Geoff Mulgan and Julie Grice.

Source: Stages of Social Innovation from ‘Social Innovation Regimes An Exploratory Framework to measure Social Innovation’ Castro Spila, Javier & Luna, Álvaro & Unceta, Alfonso (2016)

The tactical urbanism solution as a prototype addressed the poor social conditions that prevailed. The smiles that it achieved in bringing to the faces of the children and other users have reflected the triumph of the approach and the city is pushing towards scaling up these quick, low cost and community driven interventions to other areas. 

Pugalis and Giddings in their work on ‘The renewed right to urban life’ extends on the Lefebvrian philosophy which values the coproduction of space. They bring up the concept and importance of ‘little victories’, small wins that add up to create strong ripples capable of bringing a systemic change.  A systemic change involves the gradual reshaping of mindsets that have been accustomed to a set machinery and distribution of power. These steps to scale up the interventions, however reflect the possibility of bringing a systemic change that values the collaborative approach to decision making, by prioritizing the needs of the most vulnerable users. The interest of the city to facilitate this decentralized approach, indirectly shapes this into a coordinated decentralized system, taking the best of both systems.

As a country that has shaped through over seventy years of democratic politics, there is an inherent need to see citizenship as something that is as dynamic as a space itself. Urbanist Luigi Maza speaks of the dual nature of citizenship, one that is not just a bundle of rights and obligations, but a dynamic social process of the citizens contributing to the production of spaces, redesigning its rules and obligations. As the city  adopts new ways of decision making, the citizens also have to start thinking outside the walls of the homes they have built and see the entire city as their home and contribute towards improving it. After all, as Jane Jacobs rightly put it, ‘Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody’.

Written by AV Venugopal

Edited by Kashmira Dubash


The invisible cyclists of Erode

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An infographic story

Designed by Aishwarya Soni
Conceptualized by Venugopal AV and Aishwarya Soni
Survey and research by Naveenaa Munuswamy , Santhosh Loganaathan , Sruti Venkatakrishnan   

This exercise is carried out by ITDP India Programme, in way of a grant agreement with GIZ Smart-SUT.

To ensure people near transit, Pune needs to improve transit near people

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In Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, 96% of residents live within a 500m walkable distance of a bus network. But, as per Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) schedules, one-third of these residents don’t have access to buses which are available frequently – every five minutes. Therefore, a lowly 12% of the trips made in the region are via bus transit.

Though a five-minute wait seems ideal, this figure is an aggregation of areas with high bus availability and low ridership and of localities with low bus availability and high ridership.

This begs the question, what good are extensive transit systems which can’t ensure accessibility and high frequency. These are some of the key arguments the People near Transit (PNT) report, prepared by the ITDP India Programme, raises with regard to access to public transit and surging personal motor vehicle dependency in the Pune Metropolitan Region.

From time immemorial, cities have been built upon transit. Be it citadels built around trading routes to present-day cities with interwoven networks connecting residents to their place of work, education, leisure, etc. Hence, transit and accessibility to these systems remain central to the development of societies.

Indian cities have been growing at a tremendous scale. This growth poses many urban transportation challenges and though tottering, public transit has stood its ground as an indispensable public utility. But as the automobile industry’s clout grows, more motor vehicles, of various kinds, offer “freedom” at the cost of congested roads and choked cities.

Whereas, accessible, affordable, and frequent public transit offers a guarantee for mobility, which also furthers the economic and social mobilisation of citizens.

Basically, the PNT analysis measures how well a city provides transit access to its residents. The USP of the analysis is that it works on secondary sources to formulate the assessment. Quite handy for Indian cities, as most lack primary data on transport operations and functions.

To start off, PNT requires basic data like ward boundaries and their population to establish demand. Next, details regarding the routes, schedule, and station placements of various modes — such as bus and rail — help ascertain accessibility and frequency of these modes. These data points, in a digitised GIS format, find accessibility levels of public transit and identify gaps in the system.

Image credit : Flickr

In the last two decades, the Pune urban agglomeration, including Pimpri-Chinchwad, has witnessed a steep economic and population growth. The IT (information technology) boom orchestrated a massive migration to Pune city. This advent doubled its population, but it pales in comparison to the city’s vehicle population — which grew by 700% in the period.

Adding to the congestion is the issue of urban sprawl. A symptom of urbanisation, urban sprawl is when cities grow unplanned towards their peripheries. It is estimated to cost Indian cities close to $1.8 trillion per year by 2050. Presently in Pune, this outward sprawl forces 48% of its trips to be longer than 5km. And in situations where public transit isn’t readily accessible or frequent, many residents — of areas like Shivane, Pirangut, Wagholi, etc., — are forced to use two-wheelers to commute.  

Many high-density areas like Dhanori, Kalyani Nagar, Warje-bypass, Pradhikaran, Talwade, etc., fall under the category of transit deserts. These are sections which do not have access to frequent transit — a public transit available every five minute — within a 500 m walking distance. Here’s where the “ideal five-minute wait-time for a bus” takes a hit, as accessibility (or lack thereof) to public transit trumps the former.

At the onset of this piece, we spoke about how mobility is key for the economic and social mobility of citizens. Now, interlay the situation of the lack of accessibility with the need of the people residing in transit deserts. There are breadwinners who struggle for hours in transit to reach work and back; caregivers whose daily regimes pivot around that one over-crowded bus and missing which throws the day into a chaotic convulsion of catching up; and then children whose means to education literally hangs on the footboards of these overcrowded buses.

In Pune region, work trips account for half of the total trips. As per the PNT report, only 62% of employment centers have access to frequent public transit. Key employment areas near Mundhwa and Bhekrai Nagar are transit deserts. While 40% of school-children don’t have access to frequent transit services to their schools.

Transit interventions best work when they take into account the needs of every citizen. Despite being capital-intensive, the much-anticipated Metro Rail project, running through the twin cities, will be accessible to only 10% of people within a 500m walking distance. Even with the Rainbow BRT (existing and upcoming), rapid transit is accessible to only 25% of people.

Now, with 23% of low-income sections not having access to frequent transit, investing in rapid transit projects with high-cost and low returns (or ridership) is a self-inflicted “catch-22”. Neither is the Metro accessible nor would it be affordable to a vast majority of the public. As for the BRT, the lack of fleet expansion and network limitations bottle up the system’s potential.   

The PNT analysis has some concrete and well-versed answers to the twin cities’ dilemma of improving public transit that works to serve all. These are:

  • In sections with low access to public transit, specific corridors can be introduced to intersect high-density areas and high-frequency corridors. Subsequently, PMPML needs to rationalise routes to ensure accessibility to frequent buses is uniform across the board.
  • Running smaller feeder services, in transit-deprived sections, ensure residents have access to the PMPML bus network. By extension, it also helps curtail the dependence on personal motor vehicles.
  • BRT and PMPML high-frequency routes could potentially facilitate multi-modal integration by connecting to the Metro — hence improving the latters’ ridership. In fact, fare integration would ensure footfall as these transfers would be affordable.
  • Densification under transit-oriented development (TOD) will help more residents get access to existing corridors in the future.
  • Low density areas in TOD zone need local area plans (LAPs) to ‘infill’ them with densities. Similarly, high density areas in TOD zones need LAPs to improve street network and public spaces.
  • By adopting PNT as a tool in preparing and revising the development plan and identifying mass transit corridors, cities can ensure better integration of land use with transport needs for the future.

The PNT report provides a thorough glimpse into the current capacities of public transit operations in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. At the same time, the analysis can pave the way for interventions that can maximise the density of city layouts, accessibility, and frequency of public transit; while minimising urban sprawl, transit deserts. To conclude, PNT is an instrument for change that holds the potential to shape public transit that serves maximum and pollutes minimum.

Written by Rohit James

Edited by Kashmira Dubash

Some paint, few brushes, kids young & old: Sringeri Mutt Road’s tale of transformation

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With a spring in their step and a song in their heart, elated school children walk along a vibrant walkway and cross over the new zebra crossing to reach their school. Thanks to the efforts of the Chennai Traffic Police, Greater Chennai Corporation, civic action groups Thiruveedhi Amman Koil Street Residents Association (TAKSRA) and Karam Korpom, Chennai High School (Mandaveli), and ITDP India Programme, Sringeri Mutt Road in Chennai has been given a fresh lease of life.The quick tactical urbanism intervention, using temporary measures such as paints and traffic cones, has helped reclaim the street for pedestrians, especially the children who use this street to access the seven schools in the neighbourhood, providing them with a safe and lively walking experience.

The menace that was

The school authorities further shared that a majority of the students walk to school. However, the adjoining footpath is uneven and dotted with obstructions that force pedestrians to spill over onto the road and into the swarm of motorists, putting them at even further risk.

Even the residents echoed much of the same concerns regarding safety. With abandoned vehicles and unauthorised parking lining the stretch along the canal, the dead space had become a breeding hub for anti-social activities. A survey among the street users, conducted by the ITDP India Programme, indicated that two out of three users felt unsafe to walk down the Sringeri Mutt Road after sunset.

Tired of living in the fear of using their own street, resident associations came forward to kindle a new approach to driving change.

Community-driven transformation

The transformation brought about by TAKSRA along with ‘Karam Korpom – Stop Abusing Public Spaces’, a group that reclaims public spaces through art, displays the power of community-driven initiatives. Their work has inspired neighbouring groups and other communities in Chennai to take up the mantle for reclaiming their streets. The makeover of Sringeri Mutt Road is yet another instance of residents rolling up their sleeves to revive a desolate area into a vibrant community space.

Turning over a new leaf

In the first step towards Sringeri Mutt Road’s makeover, abandoned vehicles were towed off by the Chennai Traffic Police. To liven the dead space, the walls on both sides were given a fresh coat of paint. Following which, students, volunteers, and even excited traffic officials were given paint cans and brushes to let their imaginations run wild on these blank canvases. Next, a quick, impromptu tactical urbanism intervention was conducted.

Within a matter of days, the stretch that once instilled fear was transformed into a safe and colourful walkway. Post-intervention surveys show that over 90% of the users now feel safer in using the street.

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Looking forward

Tamil Nadu has constantly hit the headlines for the dubious distinction of leading the country’s road fatality figures. In 2017 itself, the state recorded an abhorrent 3,500 pedestrian deaths in traffic accidents. The traffic police, therefore, is resolute in taking steps towards improving road safety for all users – most importantly, children. Measures like tactical urbanism interventions are significant in helping the cause and hence, public support for such movements are imperative for scaling this up successfully to more areas.

The case of the Sringeri Mutt Road makeover is an encouraging example of citizens shaping their public spaces and doing their bit to make streets safer. These small-scale initiatives feed into the ongoing work of creating a city-wide network of streets that facilitate safe walking and cycling for all. With over 1,500 anganwadis in the city, the Chennai Corporation envisions to improve the mobility to all anganwadis and schools, thereby making a leap towards child-friendly cities.

Let’s hope that the transformation witnessed along Sringeri Mutt Road sets the ball rolling for more community-driven initiatives. Such quick, low-cost, and scalable interventions are bound to catalyze long-term changes across the city.

Written by: Aishwarya Soni; A V Venugopal

Edited by: Nashwa Naushad; Rohit James

Video Credits : Santhosh Loganaathan, Aishwarya Soni and TD Achuthan




Understanding the BRT Standard and if Hubballi-Dharwad can strike Gold

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When the Hubballi-Dharwad bus-rapid transit system (HDBRTS) began its trial run in October 2018, it offered a great sense of relief and excitement to commuters in the twin cities. Another group which welcomed the launch was of transport experts and enthusiasts, who had been anticipating the launch with bated breaths.

The 22-km project, which extends high-quality transit services between Hubballi and Dharwad, saw a four-year delay due to various reasons. Now months after the system’s trial run, doubts are being slowly put to rest as the HDBRTS inches closer to the coveted ‘Gold’ ranking — conferred as per the BRT Standard.

The BRT Standard and why it matters

BRT systems help in the fight to reduce transport-sector emissions and offer affordable, comfortable and convenient transit to all. The BRT Standard, an expert-reviewed scorecard, was developed to create a common definition of BRT. Considered a magnum opus in BRT design, the Standard is an evaluation tool based on international best practices. It looks to ensure corridors can uniformly deliver world-class passenger experiences.

Start with the Basics

As cities rush to develop bus-based rapid transit systems, many remain unaware of the characteristics of BRT corridors and how it can match metro systems. Hence, it is essential to get the basics right and then add features to improve the system’s high-quality. Here are the five basics that are fundamentals to a BRT system:

  1. Dedicated right-of-way – A dedicated right-of-way ensures buses can move quickly and unimpeded by congestion.
  2. Busway alignment – The busway is best located in the central section of the carriageway where conflicts with other traffic is minimal, especially from turning vehicles, on-street parking, property entrances, street vendors, etc.
  3. Off-board fare collection – Off-board fare collection improves reliability and reduces dwell time at station. The system can employ either ‘barrier-controlled’ or ‘proof of payment’ to collect fares.
  4. Intersection treatments – Since free-flowing bus movement is essential, intersection priority is a must. Improved signal phasing for the bus-only lanes ensures better bus movements.
  5. Platform-level boarding – Having the bus station platform level with the bus floor is key in reducing boarding and alighting times per passenger. It even ensures accessibility for all.

Beyond Basics: how BRTs can strike gold

The BRT Standard establishes best practices and features cities and systems which are exemplary in bus-rapid transit. The intention is to guide other cities and help them create their own identity and push the standards. So how does a city set the benchmark beyond just creating a basic BRT system? Here are supplemental elements which can help set a mark:

  • Service matters, a lot

Like any service system, what matters the most is the BRT system’s ability to serve people. Hence, factors evaluated are based on how well it meets the demand, efficiency of service, and the extensive coverage it offers. Passengers can be served best when the system offers multiple routes within and beyond the corridor(s); has in place services such as express and limited stops; creates control center(s) to ensure smooth sailing; serves high-demand areas; and has extended hours of operations.  

  • Infrastructure which last longer, ensure sustainability

At the heart of it, BRT networks are infrastructure development projects which are weighed by how they stand the test of time. Add to it, operational efficacy and sustainability. BRT systems which look to improve mobility and decrease carbon footing use buses with minimised emissions; build smart infrastructure such as median stations to serve buses on either side and overtaking lanes to reduce dwell time and emission at stations; build and maintain roads which have extended lifespan.  

  • Stations, where comfort meets efficiency

Comfort, safety and efficiency ensure rapid transit systems (BRT included) are in high demand among the public. Stations can guarantee safety with well-lit, transparent structures with additional measures such as sliding doors and also being wide enough to accommodate passengers. The same goes for buses, with the addition of providing more doors to ease boarding and deboarding.  

Seating sections in Pune’s Rainbow BRT ensure a comfortable dwell time
  • Communication for a seamless experience

Studies show that customer satisfaction is linked to knowing when the next bus will arrive. Giving customers information, through passenger information systems (PIS), is critical to a high quality of service and a positive overall experience. That along with branding enables more footfall and awareness of the facilities and the system’s capabilities. A BRT system which has its communication game on board would have more passengers aboard.  

The Guangzhou BRT, China, has real-time passenger information systems
Source: ITDP Flickr
  • Complete BRT’s offer universal access, transit integration

The most important factor of a public transit system is universal accessibility. And then how it furthers that experience by way of integration with other sustainable transit means. BRT systems must complement universal access with integration to pedestrian and cycle infrastructure and other rapid transit forms.

Pedestrian crossing at the Guangzhou BRT in China
Source: ITDP Flickr

Why Hubbali-Dharward BRT is making the right noise

Though Indian BRT networks have not fared as well as their international counterparts, the system has a chance at redemption with the Hubballi-Dharwad BRT. Still on a trial run, HDBRTS has been working its way across the twin cities and through people’s travel needs in a phased manner.


  • Getting the basics right

The project includes segregated bus ways with stations in the median; accessible and comfortable bus stations with level boarding and external ticketing by way of automated fare gates, smart card, and QR code; two kinds of control centres, one which monitors the operations and the other for traffic management to ensure intersection priority.

  • Expansion through integration a priority

The system’s initial priority is to ensure route rationalisation. They aim to achieve this by creating a strong network of feeder and trunk bus services. In fact, every bus plying in tandem with the system will be GPS-fitted, to provide real-time information that extends beyond the system and eases integration.

  • Hit the ground running

Within six months of the trial run, HDBRTS is recording footfalls of around 70,000 passengers daily with 100 operational buses – operating till midnight. This figure is only bound to increase as the full strength of the system is reported to be 400 air-conditioned buses.   

HDBRTS is recording 70,000 passengers during its trial run phase

These factors along with the high-quality pedestrian infrastructure and universal accessibility are putting the HDBRTS on the world map. It even makes sense for other fast-growing Indian cities to draw inspiration from and use the BRT system to tackle their transit demands. It makes the case that though the system hasn’t succeeded as expected in India, there is enough cause and reason to tweak it to the BRT Standard.

To get more information on the ITDP BRT Standard, please click here.

Written by : Rohit James

Edited by : Kashmira Medhora Dubash

Read more on these series-

Part One: Far from global standards, here’s what went wrong with Delhi BRT




Far from global standards, here’s what went wrong with Delhi BRT

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Ferrying over 35 million passengers daily in cities across the world, the bus-rapid transit (BRT) system has proven to be the balm for urban commute woes. Yet, its mention in the Indian transport circles evokes a lingering hangover of the system’s massive failure in Delhi.

Why Delhi chose to go the BRT way

By 2004, the Delhi population was caught in the upswing of urban migration and public transport woes — with the “Killer Blueline” buses on a rampage. It was also when experts had assembled to conceive the Delhi BRT system. A high-quality bus-based transit system, it aimed to deliver fast, comfortable, and affordable services at metro-level capacities.

Worldover successful BRT systems were set up with segregated lanes, stations typically aligned to the center of the road, off-board fare collection, and fast and frequent operations. The Delhi BRT network, however, met some but overlooked most of these benchmarks. This disregard and ensuing public outcry led to its failure and demise.

Here’s a look at what went wrong and why the discourse surrounding the Delhi BRT needs a tone check.

Losing face: media and public outcry

One of the point of contention against the Delhi BRT, among Delhi commuters, was the soaring travel time. But it was found that commute hours for BRT users saw a significant drop of 40%. The project affected motorists and it is these voices that rang louder in echo chambers created by media outlets.

This was followed by court cases which sought entry of cars to the bus-only lanes, contesting the value of “wealth creators” with that of bus users. In 2012, the Delhi High Court quashed the plea, quoting Bogota Mayor Enrique Peñalosa, “A developed country is not one where the poor own cars. It is one where the rich use public transport.”

The verdict wasn’t enough to calm the clamour for scrapping the initiative. The case offered insight to how misinformed media reports were able to pushback on a “basic” BRT setup, while throttling bus transit.    

From BRT bus-only lane to free-for-all lane

To begin with, there were never dedicated BRT buses for the BRT bus lanes. So low-floor buses were brought in haphazardly to fill in this void. After resolving the initial confusion regarding the operation of the lanes, they were thrown open to buses of all sizes, utility, and forms. This led to congestion and bus bunching, as many of these poorly maintained buses would either breakdown or stall the low-floor “BRT buses”.

Even so, the Delhi BRT managed to carry 12,000 passengers per hour per direction, albeit at a grinding speed of 13 km/hr. An indication that the transit system was doing its job but lane congestion was clearly hindering its performance.

Commuters struggled without level boarding  

One of the key USP of BRT transit is accessibility to all commuters — especially children, caregivers, the elderly, and the disabled. And the Delhi BRT missed the mark as it overlooked level boarding. Therefore, the network witnessed commuters struggling to board or alight buses.

Simply put, level boarding requires the bus station platforms and the floors of the bus fleet designed to match their height. This allows seamless movement and accessibility to commuters. In Delhi’s case the lack of dedicated BRT buses exacerbated the problem.

Anything but free-flowing

What does a city get when it builds an entire transport network on the premise of free-flowing transit, but ignores the free-flowing bit. The Delhi BRT it is! The system which was dedicated to prioritise and facilitate bus movement did anything but that.

With six-phase intersections, traffic management along the 6 km stretch was never worked out to improve bus movement. And this failure was evident as junctions lay witnessed to buses piling up by the dozen and commuters caught in the chaos of boarding or deboarding on the carriageways itself.

Stepchild treatment: Delhi Metro over BRT     

Among Delhi BRT critics an analysis would sound incomplete without drawing comparison with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). A world-renowned and efficient transit system, the Delhi Metro has been catering to the needs of many a daily passengers. How many you ask? Around 23 lakh in 2019. Now, compare that to Delhi’s 40 lakh bus ridership — which has been wavering off-late given its state of neglect — and investing in a bus-based transit system seems a plausible move.

The Delhi Metro is doing a good job because of the autonomy and funding it receives. Whereas in Delhi BRT’s case, there wasn’t even a unified body to overlook the gamut of functions. This led to various obstacles, the most evident being lane enforcement. The BRT  lanes were pretty much a free-for-all, with private vehicles and buses of all kinds fighting out in the meleè.

Now, let’s look at the disparity in cost. The 6 km Ambedkar Nagar to Moolchand (Delhi) BRT stretch, which included the BRT and walking and cycling infrastructure, cost about Rs 200 crore to build and a further Rs 150 crore to dismantle the bus lane. While the metro rail costs the exchequer Rs 550 crore per km for underground and Rs 250 crore per km for the elevated line.

Image source: The Hindu

Limited scope for a limited corridor

Planned as a four-corridor project, the Delhi BRT was caught in a limbo pretty early on. The initial 18 km stretch, from Ambedkar Nagar to Delhi Gate, was launched on a trial run of 5.8 km on April 2008. And that’s all that was left of it when the system was dismantled.

The limitation of the Delhi BRT’s potential can be directly attributed to the limitation in expanding the corridors and the network. Though bus speeds improved within the pilot stretch, they would sink as soon as buses would get out of the network into mixed traffic.

Lack of public acceptance due to lack of outreach

One of the key observations from the Delhi BRT debacle is that the public doesn’t take to rapid transit networks like ducks to water. The Delhi BRT severely lacked in public outreach and the system utilisation was affected due to this dearth.

The BRT in Delhi was introduced to challenge conventional bus commute, which barely offered comfort and convenience. Yet, little to no information about this transformation and usage of the system was disseminated among the general public, most importantly bus users. So naturally what ensued was chaos on the BRT stations and lanes.

With Delhi planning to revisit the BRT project, though elevated, these above points along with global benchmarks needs to be part of the conversation. The city has a chance to rewrite its transport history and revitalise a transit system which is time-tested and continues to serve a majority of its people.

In the second blog, of this three-part BRT series, we talk about the basics of getting BRT right and how Hubbali-Dharwad could be close to the gold standard.

Written by : Rohit James

Edited by : Kashmira Medhora Dubash

Banner Image source : DNA INDIA