HoneY
MaaPeya Da LaaDLa
NEW DELHI: ‘‘Aaj to jam diwas hai,'' yelled cyclist Jan Mohammad as he pedalled past a choc-a-bloc Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor at Sheikh Sarai on Monday morning. As expected, Day 2 of BRT trials was a continuation of the first day's chaos between Ambedkar Nagar and Moolchand as scores of commuters got caught in nightmarish traffic jams on their way to work.
With the volume of traffic having increased manifold on Monday, the BRT system collapsed under the heavy rush of vehicles, and jams seemed to be the order of the day at all intersections. The average travel time taken to cross 5-odd kms of the corridor increased to an hour and 10 mins during Monday's rush hour, as compared to 30 mins on Sunday.
Every inch of BRT — except the bus lanes — was choked with traffic. And just about everyone using it was unhappy, be it bus commuters who couldn't find buses, cars and two-wheeler drivers who were stuck in jams, cyclists complaining about their lane being taken over by bikes or pedestrians left with no place to go.
The build-up of traffic began as early as 8 am and there were queues of vehicles waiting in the Motor Vehicle (MV) lanes at all the signals. ‘‘This is one of the worst jams that I have ever got stuck in. It has taken me over an hour just to get to Chirag Dilli from Pushp Vihar and have already crossed three green signals in the queue. Wonder how much longer it will take,'' said Supreet Singh, a manager with an MNC.
As cars and autorickshaws waited, most bikers took the easy way out by zipping past on the cycle tracks. Cyclists in turn usurped the footpaths. ‘‘I am finding it impossible to drive here. The car is just not moving forward, and every time I approach a bus stop, pedestrians are all over the road,'' said U S Monga, a businessman.
Monday's situation was what the traffic police had feared when the corridor was being conceptualised and was repeatedly highlighted by TOI. The fears expressed by traffic experts came true on Day 2, when constricted road space for all traffic except buses resulted in acute congestion. Even the bus lanes were crowded as numerous school buses, chartered buses and mini buses joined the DTC and Blueline fleet.
Despite heavy presence of traffic policemen, transport department enforcement staff, DIMTS officials and traffic marshals, the problem of discipline seen on Sunday persisted. In desperate attempts to get out of the mess, vehicles were seen hopping over dividers to enter the bus lane. Even cyclists were racing ahead of speeding buses to get past unending waits at traffic signals. The traffic police refrained from prosecution for another day.
The worst hit was the Chirag Dilli crossing, from where jams stretched right upto Ambedkar Nagar crossing during the morning rush hour. On the other side of the crossing too, towards GK, there were vehicles stuck till far. ‘‘I waited at the Chirag Dilli crossing for 25 minutes and got my turn to cross over during the fourth green signal. The crossing has never taken so long, not even when it was being constructed,'' said Sumant Wahi, a resident of GK-2.
A large pothole which had emerged in the middle of the corridor at the foot of the GK flyover held up traffic till Moolchand in the morning. By afternoon, the pothole had been filled up, but the long line of vehicles at the GK-Siri Fort intersection forced several motorists on the GK flyover to go back wrong side. This led to further congestion at the foot of the flyover, as those headed towards GK stood head-on with returning vehicles.
Buses ran packed to capacity with commuters hanging from footboards. All the training imparted to drivers seemed futile on ground as hardly any bus stopped at bus stops to align the doors with the gaps in the grill. Through the corridor, they stopped at undesignated stops and people were dangerously boarding and alighting from moving buses.
A Blueline broke down ahead of Chirag Dilli crossing, causing a jam in the afternoon. ‘‘The bus stood in the middle of the lane and the rest of the traffic behind got stalled. In no time, drivers started taking their vehicles over the concrete medians into the lane meant for other traffic,'' said Malini Sood, a resident of Alaknanda.
Even as posters on bus stops read: ‘‘The future is finally here'', road experts urged the government to rethink plans. Said SP Singh of Indian Federation for Transportation Research and Training (IFTRT): ‘‘The government can't create a BRT corridor by forcing all others to leave the road. Regular road users of the stretch have already started deserting it as it is the only way out. If the idea is to bring down congestion like this, it doesn't indicate the success of BRT. The entire community can't be made to suffer for the whims of a handful of people. Public money can't be wasted on projects like these — seeing the fate of the pilot corridor, the others being planned should immediately be put on hold.''
With the volume of traffic having increased manifold on Monday, the BRT system collapsed under the heavy rush of vehicles, and jams seemed to be the order of the day at all intersections. The average travel time taken to cross 5-odd kms of the corridor increased to an hour and 10 mins during Monday's rush hour, as compared to 30 mins on Sunday.
Every inch of BRT — except the bus lanes — was choked with traffic. And just about everyone using it was unhappy, be it bus commuters who couldn't find buses, cars and two-wheeler drivers who were stuck in jams, cyclists complaining about their lane being taken over by bikes or pedestrians left with no place to go.
The build-up of traffic began as early as 8 am and there were queues of vehicles waiting in the Motor Vehicle (MV) lanes at all the signals. ‘‘This is one of the worst jams that I have ever got stuck in. It has taken me over an hour just to get to Chirag Dilli from Pushp Vihar and have already crossed three green signals in the queue. Wonder how much longer it will take,'' said Supreet Singh, a manager with an MNC.
As cars and autorickshaws waited, most bikers took the easy way out by zipping past on the cycle tracks. Cyclists in turn usurped the footpaths. ‘‘I am finding it impossible to drive here. The car is just not moving forward, and every time I approach a bus stop, pedestrians are all over the road,'' said U S Monga, a businessman.
Monday's situation was what the traffic police had feared when the corridor was being conceptualised and was repeatedly highlighted by TOI. The fears expressed by traffic experts came true on Day 2, when constricted road space for all traffic except buses resulted in acute congestion. Even the bus lanes were crowded as numerous school buses, chartered buses and mini buses joined the DTC and Blueline fleet.
Despite heavy presence of traffic policemen, transport department enforcement staff, DIMTS officials and traffic marshals, the problem of discipline seen on Sunday persisted. In desperate attempts to get out of the mess, vehicles were seen hopping over dividers to enter the bus lane. Even cyclists were racing ahead of speeding buses to get past unending waits at traffic signals. The traffic police refrained from prosecution for another day.
The worst hit was the Chirag Dilli crossing, from where jams stretched right upto Ambedkar Nagar crossing during the morning rush hour. On the other side of the crossing too, towards GK, there were vehicles stuck till far. ‘‘I waited at the Chirag Dilli crossing for 25 minutes and got my turn to cross over during the fourth green signal. The crossing has never taken so long, not even when it was being constructed,'' said Sumant Wahi, a resident of GK-2.
A large pothole which had emerged in the middle of the corridor at the foot of the GK flyover held up traffic till Moolchand in the morning. By afternoon, the pothole had been filled up, but the long line of vehicles at the GK-Siri Fort intersection forced several motorists on the GK flyover to go back wrong side. This led to further congestion at the foot of the flyover, as those headed towards GK stood head-on with returning vehicles.
Buses ran packed to capacity with commuters hanging from footboards. All the training imparted to drivers seemed futile on ground as hardly any bus stopped at bus stops to align the doors with the gaps in the grill. Through the corridor, they stopped at undesignated stops and people were dangerously boarding and alighting from moving buses.
A Blueline broke down ahead of Chirag Dilli crossing, causing a jam in the afternoon. ‘‘The bus stood in the middle of the lane and the rest of the traffic behind got stalled. In no time, drivers started taking their vehicles over the concrete medians into the lane meant for other traffic,'' said Malini Sood, a resident of Alaknanda.
Even as posters on bus stops read: ‘‘The future is finally here'', road experts urged the government to rethink plans. Said SP Singh of Indian Federation for Transportation Research and Training (IFTRT): ‘‘The government can't create a BRT corridor by forcing all others to leave the road. Regular road users of the stretch have already started deserting it as it is the only way out. If the idea is to bring down congestion like this, it doesn't indicate the success of BRT. The entire community can't be made to suffer for the whims of a handful of people. Public money can't be wasted on projects like these — seeing the fate of the pilot corridor, the others being planned should immediately be put on hold.''
