but PMC to go ahead with 27 more routes across 101 km

PUNE: The pilot BRTS project may be under scanner, but the Pune Municipal Corporation has decided to go ahead with a plan to implement it on 27 routes covering a distance of 101 kilometers.

"The tender process has been completed and soon the proposal will be tabled at the standing committee for approval," said Vinay Deshpande, officer on special duty (JNNURM projects), on Thursday.

Learning from experiences of the past, the PMC has made certain changes for new routes. "Wherever there is enough road width, the PMC plans to have dedicated bus lanes. On roads where the width is less, the buses will move in mixed traffic," he said.

Another change is that there would be no overtaking lanes at bus stops. In the pilot BRTS, because of the provision for an overtaking lane, the road space used by buses was more. As a result, the road space for private vehicles was reduced. The third change is that bus stops have been designed to suit buses. So, there will be level boarding facilities, bus stops facing each other will be separated by some distance to avoid congestion, no bus stops near busy traffic junctions, safe pedestrian crossings and pedestrian refuge at each junction.

The work on BRTS for the first phase has already been delayed by a year. The PMC started the tender process last year, but the controversy over right hand side opening doors for buses resulted in a delay. While the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has planned to have BRTS with bus stops on right side, it had demanded that the buses should have doors opening on the right side. However, in Pune, it has now been resolved that the BRTS would have bus stops at the left side only. According to Deshpande, work on the BRTS on the 27 routes is expected to be completed within a year's time. "We have already completed the road widening work. Hence, implementing the BRTS on the remaining routes will be possible within a year," he said. The PMC will spend over Rs 100 crore for the purpose.