Mumbai: Dedicated bus lane pitched as low-cost solution to Metro 1 congestion

With Mumbai Metro Blue Line 1 continuing to buckle under peakhour crowding and commuters demanding six coach trains transport experts have proposed a simple lowcost alternative a dedicated bus lane along the 48 km Andheri EastSaki Naka corridorIn a detailed proposal sent to transport economist Ashok Datar researcher Shubham Padave has suggested carving out a redpainted CCTVmonitored busonly lane on the arterial stretch which already sees highfrequency BEST and NMMT servicesBacking the idea Datar wrote ldquoThis is a very useful tactical bus lane proposal Metro 1 suffers because it cannot expand from four to six coaches despite carrying more ridership than 2A 7 and the Aqua Line combined A painted bus lane needs no bollards no major expense People already recognise its value where parts of the road function as a de facto bus corridor If BMC and traffic police permit the markings it will greatly benefit commuters and improve bus ridershiprdquoWhy this corridorLive bus tracking from the Chalo app on November 24 showed dense bus presence at Saki Naka Junction and Chakala even during the afternoon The road has three lanes on each side making it geometrically feasible to dedicate the extreme left lane to buses and emergency vehiclesThe route links major hubs mdash Andheri railway station the airport corporate zones Marol Fire Station and several Metro stations mdash making it one of Mumbairsquos busiest eastndashwest connectorsHow it would workPhase 1 proposes a continuous bus lane from Andheri Station East to Saki Naka Phase 2 extends it to Chakala and SEEPZ Village CCTVbased monitoring would automatically flag nonbus vehicles reducing the need for onground enforcementThe current BEST travel time on the corridor is 35 to 40 minutes during rush hour The proposal estimates this could drop to 15 to 20 minutes with a segregated lane Nighttime images of packed Route 332 buses taken around 1130 pm and 1220 am highlight how demand continues well past peak hoursGlobal style solutionThe plan mirrors international practices where quick paintbased transit lanes have been deployed as inexpensive mobility boosters With BESTrsquos expanding AC fleet and robust digital tracking already in place experts say this corridor is ideal for a pilotlsquoBus lanersquo that already existsBetween the Western Express Highway and Chakala buses are allowed to travel in both directions even though the stretch is oneway This longstanding exception has effectively created an unmarked twoway bus lane strengthening the case for formalising the systemOfficial SpeakBEST officials said the proposal cannot be implemented by the undertaking alone ldquoThere are many factors to consider parking consultation with residents road width future projects and overall traffic growth Decisions like these require joint meetings with BMC traffic police and other bodiesrdquo a senior official said