Bus priority lanes and signals are back in the limelight after being on the back-burner for several years because of a lack of support from civic agencies. The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has started a poll on Twitter inviting public opinion on the necessity of bus lanes.
The poll went live around 5 p.m. on Wednesday and will end on Thursday. It had received more than 200 votes in two hours with a majority, around 65%, saying that it is an urgent necessity.
The BMTC have been proposing bus priority lanes from as far back as 2003. In 2011, a pilot was proposed on Old Airport Road, but faced opposition from several quarters, including the Bangalore Traffic Police who insist it would be next to impossible to keep the lanes free of other traffic.
However, with over 6,000 buses transporting 52 lakh passengers every day, the BMTC feels that the project would be beneficial to those who use public transport. “We are waiting to see the poll results. We are yet to take a decision on whether to present the findings to the government,” said Ekroop Caur, Managing Director, BMTC.
Last year, BMTC had suggested 12 roads for the project. However, it failed to take off.
In March this year, when Nrupatunga Road was closed for repairs, the traffic police provided a dedicated bus lane on Sheshadri Road which enabled around 400 buses to pass in one hour.
Armed with such encouraging indicators, BMTC is making a fresh attempt to generate interest in the proposal. The poll can be found on the @BMTC_Bengaluru handle on Twitter.
