Controversial bus corridor in Delhi to stay

  • 26/04/2008

  • Hindu (New Delhi)

Claiming an "improvement' in the traffic situation on the 5.6-km Ambedkar Nagar-Moolchand section of the controversial new Bus Rapid Transport corridor following some fine-tuning of the signalling system, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Saturday announced several new measures to reduce the travel time for private vehicles through the corridor. "The measures will show results in about three weeks,' she said, making it clear that for now the corridor is here to stay. At the end of a high-level review meeting on the corridor held at her residence, the Chief Minister told The Hindu that "pedestrians, cyclists and bus users are very happy with the corridor as it has provided them with dedicated lanes to move in with safety'. As for the users of cars and other private vehicles who have been full of complaints about endless traffic jams all through this past week, she said efforts are being made to reduce the travel time for them as well. "A reality check in the past two days has shown that the travel time in the corridor is already down to about 30 to 35 minutes. We are now trying to bring it down to the acceptable level of 20 to 25 minutes. For this, the signalling system is being re-calibrated to provide a cycle of less than three minutes which is operational at present,' the Chief Minister said. "The re-calibration is expected to be completed in a week,' she added. While Blueline buses would not be allowed to ply in the corridor from May 1, the Delhi Government has now also decided not to allow any commercial goods vehicles in the corridor during daytime. "These vehicles would only be allowed in the corridor at night,' said Ms. Dikshit.