MMRDA plans bus lanes on Western express highway

Even after a pilot project by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) — to have dedicated bus lanes in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) — failed miserably, the development authority now plans to have dedicated bus lanes on Western Urban Road (Western express highway,) but only after the Dahisar East-Andheri East Metro-7 corridor is made operational.

MMRDA had to withdraw the bus lanes at BKC after receiving complaints about traffic congestion. The agency has now contended that by introducing an alternative mode of public transport, like the Metro-7, on Western Urban Road, it can reserve one lane of the road for buses. This is to allow faster movement of public transport buses and encourage more and more commuters to ditch private vehicles and opt instead for buses or Metro. Pravin Darade, additional metropolitan commissioner, said, "We plan to have dedicated bus lanes." 

These lanes will be parallel to the alignment of all the Metro corridors we are constructing. For now, we can mark the bus lanes at Western Urban Road, as the Metro-7 corridor will become operational by 2019."
MMRDA officials have also cited that bus lanes contributed to the increase in complaints of traffic congestion in BKC.

They claimed that an internal study by Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking suggested that having dedicated lanes will improve the frequency of buses, which would in turn help the cash-strapped BES increase its ridership and subsequently its financial health.

Darade added, "The idea is that buses, which are a mode of mass public transport, should move faster. At BKC, we have removed the dedicated lanes, but will introduce them after the DN Nagar-BKC-Mandale Metro-2B is made operational. Once we give commuters the option of Metro and buses, by introducing dedicated bus lanes, I think the rush of private vehicles will ease."

MMRDA officials said they are studying all the possible proposed Metro alignments where the development authority can have bus lanes. Western Urban Road is more feasible than Link Road, where the construction of the Dahisar-DN Nagar Metro-2A corridor is ongoing.

The concept of bus lanes near Metro corridors has also been put forth in the recently passed Metro Rail Policy that recommends considering the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), which entails dedicated bus lanes.

Western Urban Road connects the international and domestic airports and has thousands of vehicles plying on it everyday. MMRDA is the agency responsible for maintaining Western Urban Road after it was handed over to it by the Public Works Department in April. The move was prompted by a Supreme Court ruling that banned the sale of alcohol within 500 metres of state and national highways.