Commuters and office-goers working in tech parks on the Outer Ring Road will have to wait another fortnight for full-fledged operations on the bus priority lane to begin. The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), with support from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palik and other agencies, had been conducting a trial run on the stretch between Silk Board and Tin Factory with the aim of launching regular operations on November 1.
However, BMTC Managing Director C. Shikha said that launch of regular operations has been postponed. “Due to rains, the BBMP could not complete infrastructure work for the priority lane. It has assured us that work will be completed by November 15,” she said.
The ambitious project, which will be expanded to other parts of the city if it’s successful in ORR, requires the coordination of multiple agencies such as the BBMP, DULT and the traffic police. The BBMP is installing bollards, signages and other infrastructure on the 17-km route.
Trial runs will continue till mid-November. “The Corporation has deployed 50 people to make sure that our buses stick to the left lane. We have installed 70 cameras on buses to help us identify motorists who violate the rules and use the lane. In future, we will submit the footage and photos to the traffic police so that action can be initiated against them,” Ms. Shikha added.
Civic Commissioner B.H. Anil Kumar tweeted on Thursday that the trial run will be inaugurated on November 1. “The BBMP has created bus lanes to ease traffic congestion. Bus lanes have been marked out on ORR. I request the public to use BMTC buses and help ease congestion,” he said.
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