Ahmedabad BRTS

[dhim100]

Thanks Wallst. It seems like you are on roll.

[niknak]

AMAAAZING Pics!

[GJ10]

BRTS Trial-Run by May End

Ahmedabad: Your wait, to see the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) buses in silver grey and orange shades hitting Ahmedabad roads, is close to over.

The Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited (AJL) has geared up to start trial runs for the bus operators anytime after May 20. Meanwhile, the AJL officials are also preparing to choose a funky colour combination from three proposed colours -- grey, blue and orange -- for the drivers' and the conductors' uniform.

The trial run will be done on a 3-4 km stretch, where majority of bus stations and corridor work is completed, said an AJL source.

"The trial run will be conducted primarily to see if the civil work poses any problem for the drivers while the bus runs on the route. It also aims to train drivers in parking the bus in a right way near the bus stand because unlike in other buses, the BRTS bus's entrance door will be levelled with the station platform. This apart, maintaining speed on corridor would also be explained," said a source close to development.

The operator of the BRTS buses has suggested at least one-week training before the service is made available to the citizens. The training will also include speed governing, traffic management at busy cross roads and opening of the entrance door which will be in driver's control.

"For the trial, we are planning to take the stretch that runs from Nehrunagar to Pirana. This is because the stretch is almost ready with bus stations and clean corridor for the trial run," added the source.

Meanwhile, the AJL officials are also trying to finalise other details like uniform for drivers and conductors. A source said that three colours -- grey, orange and blue -- have been proposed. The AJL is expected to take the final decision within a week. "To match the funky colour of the bus, we have proposed a combination of grey and orange. Grey trouser with lining or plain orange shirt or T shirt. We have also proposed costumes with different designs for both full-sleeve and half-sleeve shirts. Also, to maintain uniformity, we have proposed full-sleeve and half-sleeve sweaters of the same colour for winters," added the source.

If everything goes as planned, the AJL will launch the much-awaited BRTS buses by mid-June.

Although Im not a massive fan of BRTS in general, its still exciting to see it nearing completion!

[dhim100]

"Combination of grey and orange"...They must be out of their mind.

[Babji]

Originally Posted by GJ10

BRTS Trial-Run by May End

BRTS trial run by May-end

If everything goes as planned, the AJL will launch the much-awaited BRTS buses by mid-June.

cool

[bialterminal]

Originally Posted by manbil777

Just to clear up a couple of misconceptions.

The specialized low floor NABI made CNG bus running in the LA BRT will cost significantly more than 27 lakh (or even 50 lakh) if imported to India -- even if it is locally made (try about a hundred lakh).

The NABI buses run in LA cost upwards of 600,000 USD (slightly more than half a million dollars). So if imported at that selling price (assuming 0 import duty) it will cost close to Rs. 28 crores a piece at the current exchange rate of around Rs 48 a dollar. Even if a steep discount is offered..let's say 50%..even then the economics of import don't work out at Rs. 14 crores a piece. If those buses are manufactured locally in India they would cost a fraction of that (a crore or 2 a piece at the most).

[vvr]

Originally Posted by bialterminal

The NABI buses run in LA cost upwards of 600,000 USD (slightly more than half a million dollars). So if imported at that selling price (assuming 0 import duty) it will cost close to Rs. 28 crores a piece at the current exchange rate of around Rs 48 a dollar. Even if a steep discount is offered..let's say 50%..even then the economics of import don't work out at Rs. 14 crores a piece. If those buses are manufactured locally in India they would cost a fraction of that (a crore or 2 a piece at the most).

BT, minor math error. 600K US$ is ~ INR 2.8Cr.

[viedumonde]

Being an Amdavadi, I suppose running this BRTS along the Inner Ring Road is a bad idea. Most amdavadis use the radial roads (the roads which connect the old city and the financial district to the residential suburbs).

Moreover, this ring road, once all the flyovers are constructed, will become the semi-expressway, but only for the vehicles. As for the BRTS buses are concerned, they have to stop at every crossroads, and not to mention, stations also.
So I'd rather take my bike (most amdavadis own one, at least) and zoom through the Ring Road, rather than taking a non A/c bus.

And at many places, the traditional routes that the people used to take are blocked thanks to BRTS. So there is a cold war between the authorities and people. The people break the fences and dividers, so that they don't have to drive an extra km.

And the placement of some bus stops is nowhere near people live. Like the Memnagar stop, the GMDC stop (that's in the middle of nowhere), IIM stop, Shivranjani stop etc..

They should seriously think of a metro on radial routes.

[qwertyasd]

Originally Posted by vvr

BT, minor math error. 600K US$ is ~ INR 2.8Cr.

looks like a major math error.

[sammyk]

Originally Posted by qwertyasd

looks like a major math error.

Quite the bargain eh? Will they still cost 1/10th of that if built locally?

[viedumonde]

Hi ppl,
I've made this map of Ahmedabad metro which I've been working on since years now. Is there any way to send it to Modi?

[bhargavsura]

Originally Posted by viedumonde

Hi ppl,
I've made this map of Ahmedabad metro which I've been working on since years now. Is there any way to send it to Modi?

Yes there is. Go to www.narendramodi.in and send the link there. Try that.

[GJ10]

BRTS Buses to cut Carbon, make Green Cash for AMC

Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited (AJL), the AMC company that handles the operations of the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), plans to use its CNG buses to accelerate the accumulation of carbon credits, making a profit while cutting emissions.

AJL officials said that the deployment of CNG buses; the flyovers in the BRTS corridor that will ease traffic volume; and private-vehicle owners who switch to public transport, will contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions.

In fact, even the AMTS will also contribute to the city's carbon credit account because it has decided to get 400 CNG-run buses with JNNURM funds, within a month.

The municipal commissioner and the chairman of AJL, IP Gautam, confirmed that the AJL would trade for carbon credits once the bus service was launched. The AJL and Gujarat Urban Development Corporation (GUDC) are developing a detailed plan to encash carbon credits.

"The majority of the buses in the BRTS will be run on CNG," Gautam said. "Switching over to CNG-run buses will reduce the pollution levels in Ahmedabad. Flyovers will also help in reducing carbon emission because there will be no traffic junctions to stall traffic."

Bogota, the capital of Colombia, on whose mass-transit system the BRTS is modelled, also earns carbon credits. However, the amount that can be earned from the Ahmedabad BRTS is yet to be determined.

"GUDC has invited bids to rope in a consultant to chalk out further details," an insider said. "The consultant will prepare basic data for the GUDC."

He also said the amount earned could also depend on the success of BRTS in the city.

As for CNG-buses, the AMC has decided to run EURO III diesel vehicles in the first 12.5 km stretch, from RTO to Pirana, when the operations begin next month. But the AMC has assured the urban development department of the central government as well as the Bhurelal committee that it would roll out CNG buses when it spreads to other parts of the city.

[viedumonde]

Switching over to CNG-run buses will reduce the pollution levels in Ahmedabad

But all the buses and auto-ricks are already CNG Here. And the pollution is a lot less than what it used to be 10 yrs ago.

[superdesi2100]

Originally Posted by viedumonde

But all the buses and auto-ricks are already CNG Here. And the pollution is a lot less than what it used to be 10 yrs ago.

You gotta be kidding me. 10 years ago, you could not breathe in any part of the city at 6:00pm. Your eyes would be bloody red if you spent even 10 minutes in Jamalpur area in peak hours. You could not drive behind any auto - they all were running on kerosene.

You go out there today - you don't need a mask, you can easily breathe and there are no itchy, runny eyes. There has been a HUGE reduction in pollution levels in Ahmedabad.

[viedumonde]

Originally Posted by superdesi2100

You gotta be kidding me. 10 years ago, you could not breathe in any part of the city at 6:00pm. Your eyes would be bloody red if you spent even 10 minutes in Jamalpur area in peak hours. You could not drive behind any auto - they all were running on kerosene.

You go out there today - you don't need a mask, you can easily breathe and there are no itchy, runny eyes. There has been a HUGE reduction in pollution levels in Ahmedabad.

That's EXACTLY what I said.
I remember going to ratanpole and Manekchowk with my family at 5 in the evening, and till 8, I dehydrated because of my runny eyes.

But all the buses and auto-ricks are already CNG Here. And the pollution is a lot less than what it used to be 10 yrs ago.

[viedumonde]

Wait for BRTS gets longer

13 Jun 2009, 0056 hrs IST, Himanshu Kaushik & Paul John, TNN

AHMEDABAD: Those keen to board the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) buses will have to wait at least till August. Earlier, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) had set June 15 as deadline to roll out the BRTS buses on the 12.5-km stretch from RTO to Pirana.

However, according to officials, the deadline will not be met. Reasons: some BRTS roads are yet to be properly laid out, construction of many bus stands is yet to be completed and railings installed along the BRTS track are also not in place.

AMC had decided to kick off the BRTS by May end but this dedadline was revised to June 15 as the governing body of BRTS and bus manufacturers were entangled in a bitter price war. In the last one-and-a-half years, the BRTS's launching date was changed more than five times.

It was in February this year that the Union urban development ministry under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission okayed a rolling stock fund' for Ahmedabad or stimulus fund for procuring 480 buses. The approval committee announced June 30 as the deadline for bus manufacturers to meet it.

In 2008, there was utter confusion whether diesel or CNG-operated buses will ply on BRTS route. Besides, the project was badly hit when the Gujarat Contractors' Association (GCA) went on strike last year.

Utpal Padiya, deputy municipal commissioner and in charge of BRTS, said, "The work of laying the railings and dividers will still take a months' time. The delay in meeting the deadlines was because the corporation recently got possession of the road between the bridges. The construction of these bridges have been completed and hence the construction of the bus stations have begun now." He said the corporation has set no deadline to start the BRTS.

Roadblocks all the way

The tenders for operations and maintenance of BRTS were first announced in early March 2008. But later, the date for submission was extended, after some bus manufacturers demanded time for meeting technical specifications. BRTS tenders hit a roadblock as the final bidding process at AMC remained inconclusive. Reason out of six operators, only three could quote operation cost rates as they were not in the know of the bus cost. Later, the tenders were cancelled as the operation cost quoted by the bidders was quite high.

[viedumonde]

No takers for phase II of BRTS

AHMEDABAD: The second phase of the BRTS will also get further delayed as there

are no takers for it. The work for the second phase was to
begin from April 2009. Now,
it will begin only after the monsoon, officials said.

The plan for second phase of BRTS was cleared by the standing committee members of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) in April 2008.

The Ahmedabad Janmarg Limted (AJL), the governing body for BRTS, has been displaying advertisements countrywide calling for developers and contractors to put in place its phase II network. This network consists of seven stretches which includes RTO-Chandkheda, AEC-Sola, Shivranjini-Bopal, Nehrunagar-Astodia gate, Soni-ni-chali-Odhav, Kalupur railway station-Naroda and Shah Alam-Soni-ni-chali. The second phase is believed to be one of the most complex networks, especially the Kalupur-Naroda stretch,which will see an elevated BRTS corridor.

Officials said it was only recently that two companies Agarwal & Backbon and Roman Tarmate & Ranjit have evinced interest in taking up phase II of BRTS.

Officials said they were surprised as companies like IRB and Roman Tarmate which are involved in the first phase of BRTS did not bid for the second phase when the tenders were floated.

[viedumonde]

First of all, sorry for the bad quality. The photos were taken at the wrong time with a wrong camera (my phone)

This is the IIM cross station.


It seems far from completion.


I think only the first station was made well because it had to be showcased. The quality of the other stations is troll.


How can they keep something like this unfinished??


These small saplings were put beside the station. Looks like greenery is in pipeline.


That's a common sight throughout the BRTS. Every month, the government refurbishes the hurdle, and within 2 days, people destroy that hurdle.

[Illusionist]

Originally Posted by viedumonde

First of all, sorry for the bad quality. The photos were taken at the wrong time with a wrong camera (my phone)


That's a common sight throughout the BRTS. Every month, the government refurbishes the hurdle, and within 2 days, people destroy that hurdle.

nice pics mate.

only in India you can have a traffic standstill at a illegal median break.
may be they should assign a traffic havaldar at that place