Delhi government to study bus corridor report by July 23

New Delhi -  The Delhi High Court Wednesday gave time till July 23 to the state government to analyse a Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) report that criticised the bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor for traffic congestion.

The 5.8 km stretch of BRT corridor - between Moolchand and Ambedkar Nagar in south Delhi - was introduced in 2008 and designed on the model of Bogota city in Colombia to make bus and bicycle travel safer and faster, and encourage travel that did not involve cars.

Senior Advocate K.T.S. Tulsi, appearing for the Delhi transport department, sought time from the court till July 23 and said: "We seek time to examine the report of the CRRI. We will file our affidavit on the basis of the report."

A division bench of Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw posted the matter for July 23.

Tulsi earlier said: "This court's order will have an impact on the nationwide BRT projects."

The CRRI in its report, prepared after trial runs on the corridor, suggested that "NO BRT" option yielded better benefits for this corridor with the given traffic conditions.

"The result of the experimental trial run reiterated the fact that the allowing of other vehicles to ply on the earmarked lane for buses yielded better benefits for all the road users as compared to the BRT situation," said the report submitted July 16.

"The value of fuel loss due to continuation of BRT corridor was calculated by taking the difference between normal BRT operations and the trial run. It came around Rs.2.48 crore per annum. This estimated monetary loss is for cars alone and when other vehicles are considered, the loss could be much higher," said the report.

During the trial run, the report said, fuel loss due to traffic congestion reduced by 32 percent in case of petrol vehicles, while for diesel vehicles it went down by 46 percent.

While hearing a petition by NGO Nyayabhoomi, the court earlier asked the CRRI to conduct trial runs on the corridor.