Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Revolutionizing urban transport


Ahmedabad’s Bus Rapid Transport System ‘Janmarg’ a wonderful case study of revolutionizing urban transport.


Literally meaning ‘way of the people’, Janmarg has established itself as a 
transport system that carries the citizens of Ahmedabad in safety, comfort
that too in the quickest way possible. Janmarg gives top priority to 
buses, pedestrians and non-motorized transport and this is achieved by 
segregating it from the rest of the motorized traffic. While buses run
on dedicated lanes at the Centre of the road, cyclists get their own dedicated
 track and pedestrians get wide footpaths. The supporting infrastructure from
 bus stations, Janmarg control centre to the workshops have been put
 in place with latest technology to make our travel as hassle free as possible.
Ahmedabad’s BRTS has the following special features that have truly made 
it a cut above the rest:
    • Over 60 buses with GPS enabled facility with 2 way voice days and Passenger Information System as well as e-ticketing system.
    • Extensive application of Intelligent Transport System (ITS).
    • Low floor buses with large central doors of both sides. Accessible to persons with special needs.
    • Bus Stations with the latest technology.
    • Option of a Janmarg Travel Card that saves the commuter the need to stand in long lines and buy tickets.
Mr. Modi understood that Ahmedabad, being India’s seventh largest city and the largest
city in Gujarat with a population of over 5 million people urgently required a transport
system that is effective, efficient and can complement the pace of development Gujarat
has been going through over the past decade. Almost all leading international financial
centres from London, Paris, New York have mass transit infrastructure in place and
this is exactly what Modi is seeking to achieve for Ahmedabad for which Janmarg
is only the grand beginning.
The transit system has done Gujarat extremely proud by winning several awards
at the national and international level. In 2009 itself, the year when it was launched Janmarg was awarded the prize for ‘the best MRT project’ in the country.
 In 2010 it won the prestigious Sustainable Transport Award from the Transportation Research Board in Washington.
In 2011 It was awarded National Award for ‘Excellence in the category of the best ITS project’
from the Government of India and in 2012 when Ahmedabad won the special mention in the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize, Janmarg was one of the 3 projects listed as pioneering feats towards the city’s urban regeneration.
Janmarg has drawn praise from far and wide. Just recently a team of corporators from
Pimpri-Chinchwad were in Ahmedabad to know about how the system works and even
the PMC has spoken on replicating the Ahmedabad model for their city. In a time when 
this form of urban transport has not been very successful in other parts of India, Janmarg 
serves as a classic case study of how to revolutionize urban transport and take it to 
the next level for maximum public good.

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