Bollards marking bus priority lane on Outer Ring Road being removed

The 25,000 fibre-reinforced bollards protecting the exclusive bus lanes on both sides of the Outer Ring Road are being removed to make way for mixed traffic but authorities insist that the Bus Priority Lane remains.

The decision to get rid of barricades erected two years ago was taken at a recent discussion citing increased bottlenecks and accidents on the 19-kilometre stretch.

The responsibility of removing the bollards has been given to the BMRCL, which is also tasked with the upkeep of the ORR where it is currently building the Silk Board-KR Puram metro line. The BMRCL has also been directed to store the bollards and reinstall them after the metro construction is completed.

Also Read: Don't disturb the bus lanes

The instructions were given by Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar during the meeting he chaired with senior officials of the BMRCL, the BBMP, the traffic police and the Directorate of Urban Land Transport.

“Space for mixed traffic was reduced to two-lane on the main carriageway and just one-and-a-half lanes in some places after the metro work began. There was no lane to overtake vehicles and this resulted in traffic bottlenecks,” BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said. “Hence, a collective decision has been taken to remove the physical separation. The Bus Priority Lane will remain. All vehicles with full occupancy will be allowed to use the bus lane.”

Hailed as an important decision to make public transport attractive, the Bus Priority Lane was poorly enforced. Though the bollards were meant to keep the lane free for buses, they did not prevent private vehicles from straying in. The project lost its sheen after the main carriageway was further constricted to make way for metro construction.

Amid growing demands to remove the bollards with more employees returning to work, sources said the death of a biker on March 23 expedited the decision. Officials also said the bollards were causing more non-fatal accidents.

Srinivas Alavilli from the NGO Janaagraha called the decision to remove the bollards unfortunate. “The Bus Priority Lane was a progressive move and absolutely critical for our city. I hope the traffic police enforce rules to ensure the purpose of the bus lane, to get buses to reach faster,” he said. “The companies on ORR have a moral responsibility to encourage employees to use the bus at least twice a week.”

Clement Jayakumar, Secretary of the Mahadevapura task force on mobility, dubbed the Bus Priority Lane a “fantastic but poorly implemented" idea.

“The fibre bollards were a wrong choice of barricading. Extremely slow execution, poor quality of work and Covid-related disruptions were the last nail in the coffin."

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