Ahmedabad BRT Update

Posted: 01 Jul 2007

Related to: Ahmedabad BRT, Developing High-Quality, Low-Cost Mass Transit, India
Contributed by: Shreya Gadepalli, ITDP

Development of Ahmedabad’s bus rapid transit system continues apace; national Ministry of Urban Development sponsors workshops on best practices.

Planning for Ahmedabad’s Bus Rapid Transit system started in mid-2005, and remains on schedule to start operations by mid-2008. With the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) responsible for implementing the system, construction started on a pilot corridor of 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) earlier this year and tenders have been awarded for construction of segregated corridors totaling an additional 25 kilometers (15.5 miles), which should start this month. Infrastructure has been carefully designed to make access convenient for everyone, including physically challenged individuals.

Work is also underway to create a service plan for BRT operations. Along with restructuring the existing bus services provided by Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS), the effort would help create an integrated public transit service. Operational efficiency of AMTS, which deteriorated dramatically during the last decade, would be improved through a route rationalization exercise and improved utilization of the current bus fleet. The AMC is also in the process of forming a special purpose vehicle, or agency, for BRT operations management.

CEPT University is the lead consultant to the AMC on the BRT project, which has partial financial support from the national Ministry of Urban Development of India, under JNNURM, and the Government of Gujarat. ITDP, which spearheaded the initial efforts to promote BRT in Ahmedabad through multiple workshops in 2004, has been providing ongoing technical support in planning and design as an advisor since August 2005. Lea Associates South Asia (LASA), which provided engineering support to CEPT University on this project, has been appointed as project management consultant for the construction of the segregated BRT corridors.