A. Srivathsan The debate on the Bus Rapid Transit System has been acrimonious, ranging from utter dismissal of the project to informed suggestions to revise the design. No urban development project in the recent past has received so much attention as the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in Delhi. In April 2008, a dedicated 5.8-km bus lane was introduced as a pilot project. Two lanes at the centre of the road, one each way, were earmarked exclusively for buses to ensure uninterrupted flow. Of the remaining three lanes each way, two are meant for cars and two-wheelers and the last one is divided between pavement and cycle-users. Opinions on the new system are split along the lines of what mode of transport one uses. While bus-users are relieved, and enjoy the comfort of the much-improved system, car-users who go through a long wait at traffic signals are not happy. The debates have been acrimonious ranging from utter dismissal of the project to informed suggestions for revising the design. Delhi's experiment with BRT has become nationally important as about 10 cities, which have opted for BRTS, eagerly await the results of the debate. Delhi is one of the mega cities in the world that is grappling with transportation. Its population is estimated to reach 23 million by 2021 and the transport demand is expected to increase from about 14 million (2001) to 28 million passenger trips (2021). Of these, 25 million would be motorised trips. Despite the alarming numbers and the fact that buses perform 60 per cent of the trips, the investment in public transport has been poor. Between 2005 and 2007, about two lakh cars were added to the city, while only 5,000 more buses joined the fleet. In spite of having a large network of roads, about 21 per cent of the city area, Delhi is infamous for its congestion, road accidents and pollution. In 2002, the Delhi government set up a committee on sustainable transport. It recommended that mass transport be given priority. Fourteen road corridors were identified for priority bus lanes and five of them earmarked for the first phase. After a detailed study, the 19-km stretch between Ambedkar Nagar and ISBT was taken up first for implementation. The Delhi Integrated Multi Modal Transit System (DIMTS) was established to implement this corridor. The RITES was the project management consultant and the Transportation Research & Injury Prevention Programme (TRIPP) of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, provided the design. When the design was approved in 2005, the project was reduced to a 14-km stretch. The construction commenced in 2006 and the corridor was subsequently curtailed to a 5.8-km trial phase. BRTS has been in use since April 2008. The initial reports of the trial run focussed on the chaos on roads. The media were hostile and car-users found it unacceptable. There was a hue and cry over the safety of the design, and demands were made for rejection of the project. However, the government did not decide to shelve it and recently announced that it was taking a re-look at the design, including possibilities of radical changes to the alignment. Travelling in BRTS helps one realise its advantages better. The new buses are comfortable and the drive along the 5.8 km is smooth and quick. Nihar Singh, who has been driving for 29 years and operates on route 522, is immensely pleased with the quality of buses