Ahmedabad BRTS

Ahmedabad BRTS

The Ahmedabad Bus Rapid Transit System is a rapid transit system established in Ahmedabad in 2009. Primarily created to reduce traffic congestion, the system has been widely regarded as the best BRT model to be followed not just in the country but around the world. The network expanded to 89 kilometers by December 2017 with daily ridership of 349, 000 passenger and spans over 14 lines covering 150 stations.

There have been much analysis done on the success story of the Ahmedabad BRTS and these have resulted in the following factors:

·      Pre-boarding fare collection and fare verification

·      Low-emission vehicle technologies.

·      System management through a centralised control centre, utilising ITS applications such as automatic vehicle location

·      Clear route maps, signage, and / or real-time information displays that are visibly placed within stations and / or vehicles

·      Low-cost infrastructure elements that can increase the speed and reliability of bus service include bus turnouts, bus boarding islands, and curb realignments

·      Buses successfully avoiding congestion without the need for long sections of dedicated bus lanes

Apart from this, Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited (AJL) has also proved to be a technological-savvy operator as they have incorporated intelligent transit system (ITS) features within the BRTS. Hopefully, this would continue to alleviate the problems in the metro city.

(Image Credits: Business Line)