Saturday, Jun 15, 2013, 7:56 IST | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA
Akin to the situation on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, the Eastern Freeway
was largely devoid of vehicles on the day following its inauguration.
Transport experts are of the view that the solution to this is plying
more public transport buses on the stretch.
On Thursday, the Mumbai traffic police released an order banning the entry of all kinds of heavy vehicles, as well as two and three-wheelers on the latest road network. Even handcarts and bullock carts have been banned. In other words, Rs971.53 crore has been spent only for the benefit of private cars and public buses.
The road was opened to motorists at 11.45am, and the first user, Abhishek Chopra, reached Panjarpol in 17 minutes. However, even at 4pm, there were hardly any vehicles using Mumbai’s latest landmark.
Transport analyst Ashok Datar explained, “As the Freeway is now ready, maximum number of buses should be plied on it. The traffic should be bus oriented.” He added that the authorities should levy a toll charge on private vehicles using the Freeway, while public buses should be exempted from paying toll charges as an attempt to make mass transport successful. Sudhir Badami, another transport expert, added, “Buses are being used for short distance travel and only 20% of the commuters prefer this mode for longer distance.”
There are nine entry and exit points on the entire 13.59 kms of Freeway some of them are still not ready, therefore, experts say all the ramps should get ready at the earliest, it will only help optimise the usage of the Freeway as more buses will be able to use it.
Badami, using rough estimates, proved how usage of the Freeway can be increased by allowing Bus Rapid Transit System on it. “If buses from various locations in Mumbai going on the eastern side of the city use the Freeway and each of these buses are spaced at an interval of a minute, then 60,000 Passenger Car Units (PCUs) can be achieved.”
The current estimate of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) stands at 24,000 PCUs daily.
The BEST is yet to decide how many services it will be running on the Freeway.
Therefore, traffic congestion in Mumbai will only increase by adding newer road networks that benefits only the car owners.
Fate of mumbai’s big-ticket project
The Bandra-Worli Sea Link, which was built at a cost of Rs1,634-crore, has seen a 16% drop in traffic in four years.
One reason for the low traffic could be the toll, which, at Rs50 one way and Rs75 for a ‘return’, is considered by many to be on high.
Another, obviously, is the traffic jams at either end of the sea link, which would nullify the entire point of using the bridge.
On Thursday, the Mumbai traffic police released an order banning the entry of all kinds of heavy vehicles, as well as two and three-wheelers on the latest road network. Even handcarts and bullock carts have been banned. In other words, Rs971.53 crore has been spent only for the benefit of private cars and public buses.
The road was opened to motorists at 11.45am, and the first user, Abhishek Chopra, reached Panjarpol in 17 minutes. However, even at 4pm, there were hardly any vehicles using Mumbai’s latest landmark.
Transport analyst Ashok Datar explained, “As the Freeway is now ready, maximum number of buses should be plied on it. The traffic should be bus oriented.” He added that the authorities should levy a toll charge on private vehicles using the Freeway, while public buses should be exempted from paying toll charges as an attempt to make mass transport successful. Sudhir Badami, another transport expert, added, “Buses are being used for short distance travel and only 20% of the commuters prefer this mode for longer distance.”
There are nine entry and exit points on the entire 13.59 kms of Freeway some of them are still not ready, therefore, experts say all the ramps should get ready at the earliest, it will only help optimise the usage of the Freeway as more buses will be able to use it.
Badami, using rough estimates, proved how usage of the Freeway can be increased by allowing Bus Rapid Transit System on it. “If buses from various locations in Mumbai going on the eastern side of the city use the Freeway and each of these buses are spaced at an interval of a minute, then 60,000 Passenger Car Units (PCUs) can be achieved.”
The current estimate of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) stands at 24,000 PCUs daily.
The BEST is yet to decide how many services it will be running on the Freeway.
Therefore, traffic congestion in Mumbai will only increase by adding newer road networks that benefits only the car owners.
Fate of mumbai’s big-ticket project
The Bandra-Worli Sea Link, which was built at a cost of Rs1,634-crore, has seen a 16% drop in traffic in four years.
One reason for the low traffic could be the toll, which, at Rs50 one way and Rs75 for a ‘return’, is considered by many to be on high.
Another, obviously, is the traffic jams at either end of the sea link, which would nullify the entire point of using the bridge.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/1848202/report-run-more-buses-for-public-on-freeway-experts
