Bus priority lanes to return to ORR tech corridor

Bengaluru: Bus priority lanes (BPLs) are set to return to a key stretch of Bengaluru's Outer Ring Road (ORR) between November and January. 

The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) also plans to expand similar lanes to other high-density roads across the city. 

BMTC Managing Director Ramachandran R announced on Thursday that the corporation was working to relaunch the BPL between KR Puram and Silk Board Junction. 

The initiative will likely reduce bus travel time by at least 20 minutes. 

"We will meet with all the stakeholders, including BMRCL, BBMP, DULT and the Bengaluru Traffic Police, to discuss how to go about the bus priority lane on the ORR. We have already written letters to all stakeholders," Ramachandran told DH. 

The 17-km ORR stretch, home to numerous tech parks, is notorious for traffic jams, especially during rush hours. 

The BPL was halted in 2022 due to metro construction, which occupied a chunk of the space in the middle. Other vehicles also used the lane, damaging the fibre-reinforced bollards installed to protect it. 

BMRCL Managing Director M Maheshwar Rao said most metro construction on Phase 2A (Silk Board-KR Puram) had been completed, except at three stations. Rao, who is also the BBMP chief commissioner, assured full support to restore the lane. 

Ramachandran made it clear that it would not be a repeat of the old BPL. 

"Now that the metro construction has happened, the landscape has changed. The road planning has to be reworked and the bus priority lane has to be redesigned," he added. 

The BMTC will also carry out a bus survey in the interim. "The data we have from when the bus priority lanes were launched five years back doesn't hold good anymore. The city is dynamic, so we will need to study it again. Based on our findings, we will decide where else bus priority lanes are needed in the city. There are some junctions that need it," he explained. 

Currently, over 300 BMTC buses operate along the ORR — one of the popular routes being the 500D between Silk Board and Hebbal. 

GT Prabhakara Reddy, Chief Traffic Manager (Operations), BMTC, said that the bus lane had brought down travel time of BMTC buses by 15 minutes, helped reduce fuel consumption and increased passenger count by 4-5%. 

"The movement of buses is extremely slow in that neighbourhood due to heavy traffic. If the priority lane is brought back now and used only by buses, we predict that it will help reduce travel time by a minimum of 20 minutes. There is also increasing demand for buses there," he said. 

Sahil Bagla, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic East), believes making public transport accessible and efficient is the need of the hour. "We haven't yet been intimated about bus priority lanes making a comeback. But focusing on public transport is definitely important to ease traffic congestion in the area," he said. 

Vinay Sreenivasa, a member of Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike, welcomed the move. He hoped that the BBMP would support the BMTC this time around and there will be bus priority lanes across the city. 

"The traffic police must strictly ensure private vehicles don’t use the lane, this used to be a major problem. The BMTC must talk to commuters before bringing back the lanes so past mistakes aren’t repeated," he said. 

Highlights - Easing bus travelBPS to come up between KR Puram & Silk Board Junction Length of stretch 17 kmWill likely reduce bus travel time by at least 20 mtsRoute is home to tech parks, notorious for traffic jamsBPL halted in 2022 due to metro construction300-plus BMTC buses operate along the ORR

Cut-off box - IT parks should use public buses: Police chief  To tackle the traffic problem along the ORR major IT parks need to turn towards bus transport Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh said. "Taking the example of the Volvo buses plying to and from the airport which are doing exceptionally well we can work towards deploying buses on popular routes leading to the tech parks. Even if 10-20% of the commuters on the ORR use it it'll greatly help." he told DH.