Bengaluru: The launch of the bus priority lane on the Outer Ring Road has been postponed by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to November 15.
It can be recalled that BBMP commissioner B H Anil Kumar had announced that the ambitious project would be launched on November 1. They had identified a 30-km high traffic density corridor for this project.
As per a report by TOI, the commissioner explained that the frequent rains have been hindering the work, resulting in the delay of the roll-out.
“Our staff could not complete the work because of the rains. The lane marking and bollard fixing works are pending. Some of the bollards were damaged in hit and run cases and the traffic police are yet to notify it as a bus priority lane in order to book violators who enter the same,” he said, as reported by TOI.
To overcome the ineffectiveness of the bollards, the civic body is holding discussions with experts to find a better option to demarcate the bus priority lane.
As per the plan, the bus priority lane will be on the extreme left of the existing roads and will serve as a relief for techies that work along the route. The BMTC even branded some “priority” buses as ‘NimBus’ (English: Your Bus).
So far, the BBMP has installed bollards for about 5 kms of the proposed 30-km strectch. Once the dedicated lane is rolled out, the BMTC buses will be able to move at speeds of an expected 20 kmph as opposed to the current 7-10 kmph. This is expected to lead to an increase in ridership by 1 lakh passengers.
