Ahmedabad Bus Rapid Transit System

Janmarg, also known as Ahmedabad BRTS, is a bus rapid transit system in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It is operated by Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited, a subsidiary of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and others. It is designed by CEPT University. It was inaugurated in October 2009. The network expanded to 89 km by December 2017 and 160 km by March 2023; with daily ridership of 3,49,000 passengers. BRTS won several nation and international awards for design, implementation and operation. It was rated Silver on BRT Standard in 2013.

History
Ahmedabad has a population of more than 6.3 million and an extended population of 7.2 million. It is the sixth largest city and seventh largest metropolitan area of India. The bus rapid transport system was created to serve a growing population.

In 2005, feasibility study reports were prepared by the state project development agency, Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board, and later by CEPT University. The study was headed by H. M. Shivanand Swamy; an economist, urban planner and associate director of CEPT. The project was sanctioned by the Ministry of Urban Development under JNNURM program in 2005.

Technical procedures were started in 2006. CEPT designed the system after detailed analysis. Based on an analysis of the socio-economic factors, travel demand patterns, road network characteristics, the metro plan and the existing Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS) route network, a network of roads covering about 155 kilometres in length was identified for developing the BRTS.

The system is named Janmarg, which means the people's way in Gujarati. Trial running started in July 2009. The first corridor connecting Pirana to RTO Junction was opened to public on 14 October 2009 by then the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi. The second half of the first phase of the BRTS was inaugurated on 25 December 2009. It was extended to Kankaria Lake later, to cater to the eastern part of the city, and from Shivranjani to Iskcon Temple on 15 September 2012. On 28 September 2012, it expanded from Soni ni Chali to Odhav. The network expanded to 89 km by December 2015 at the total cost of ₹ 1200 crore. The third phase of the project includes the Shivranjani-APMC, Jashodanagar-Hathijan, Sola-Science City, Narol-Aslali and Akhbarnagar-Gota Crossroads stretches. It was approved in 2013 and is under construction. Dedicated buses for women were introduced in January 2016.

In future, BRTS will be integrated with the Ahmedabad Metro, which is under construction. The Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, also under construction, will be accessible through this multimodal mix of rapid transport systems.

Several cities are constructing and planning BRTS based on the model of Ahmedabad such as Bangalore, Mumbai, Amritsar and Bhubaneswar.

Routes
, following are the currently operational routes; 14 in both directions, 2 Shuttles (For Airport) and two in circular direction; serving 162 BRTS stations and cabins at extended routes.

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Corridors
Given the expected travel demand on each corridor, BRTS solutions are structured.The operations plan developed not only provides route structure for BRT operations but also the rationalised routing plan for AMTS operations. This is necessary so that the two systems compliment each other rather than compete with each other. In terms of routes following three types of routes are structured to operate transit services - BRTS Trunk Routes, Complementary Routes (AMTS)and BRTS Feeder Routes.

Corridors are as follows:

--->==Operation== Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited (AJL), the parent company which governs BRTS operations in Ahmedabad, was constituted as a Special Purpose Vehicle by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority and Government of Gujarat. AJL introduced Automated fare collection system through smart cards for commuters.

It has a mixed fleet of air conditioned and non-air conditioned buses. It has 220 Euro III and Euro IV-compliant diesel buses. Parts for the buses are provided by Tata Motors. These buses are built by Chartered Speed locally according to specifications.

The system runs on Integrated Transportation Management System (IMTS) which includes Advanced Vehicle Tracking System (AVLS), Fleet Management System (FMS), Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS), Passenger Information System (PIS), Passenger announcement (PA), and Vehicle Scheduling and Dispatching (VSD). These technologies are provided by the consortium of Vayam Technologies and GMV Innovating Solutions since 2010. As a part of Intelligent Transit Management System (ITMS), an app based and QR code powered ticketing system was introduced in June 2017.

Inclusive Environment
Ahmedabad BRTS is enabled with audio and visual aid wherein announcements regarding the upcoming station as well as where and how to change buses are announced. The station names also appear on a digital panel inside the bus in 2 languages (English and Gujarati).

There is tactile paving along the floor of the bus stations to assist visually impaired passengers. BRTS also provides concessions on ticket fares for differently-abled people. Numerous poles are also installed inside the buses for extra support.

Scope for Improvement
Despite the construction of ramps at the entry of each station, wheelchairs cannot be easily facilitated in BRTS. There is a gap between the bus and the station which not only makes it challenging for wheelchair users but also hazardous especially for children, senior citizens, and visually impaired people. A ramp needs to be deployed from the bus to the station to ensure there are no gaps between them.

With some of the older buses being in use, the air conditioning of certain buses do not function well. Since the windows are fixed, this may cause suffocation in the bus, as it gets more crowded For cases such as these, the windows should be able to open, under the control of the bus driver.

In spite of the various facilities for announcements and displays of stations, there are technical glitches due to which they become inoperative. They need to be checked for repairs periodically.

Recognition
Ahmedabad BRTS was rated Silver on BRT Standard in 2013. It was showcased at 2012 United Nations Climate Change Conference as a 'lighthouse project' as part of the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Momentum for Change Initiative.

Awards

 * National Award for "Award for Excellence in the category of Best IMTS Project – 2011" from Government of India
 * International Award for "Sustainable Transport Award – 2010" at Washington DC, United States.
 * National Award for "Best Mass Transit Rapid System Project - 2009" from Government of India.
 * International Award for "Outstanding Innovations in Public Transportation – 2010" from UITP, Germany
 * National Award for "Best Innovation Project Towards Improvement in Urban Mobility in the City of Ahmedabad through New Technological Innovations in Janmarg BRTS – 2010" from Government of India.
 * International Award for Design – "Daring Ambition Award and Knowledge and Research Award – 2011" at 59th UITP World Congress, Dubai.
 * UITP India Political Commitment Award at 60th UITP World Congress, Geneva on 27 May 2013
 * Markenomy Awards 2013 for " Best Urban Infra Mass Transport Project" from Falcom Media at Mumbai

Criticism
BRTS failed to increase the number of public transport users in Ahmedabad. Before launch of BRTS, in 2009, the number of public transport users (users of AMTS) was 8 to 8.5 lakh. After six years of operation, in January 2016, it is found that the number of public transport users (combined users of BRTS and AMTS) dropped to 7.5 lakh. During the same period, the number of private vehicles in the city increased by 54%, up from 18.2 lakh to 25.10 lakh. Only 18% of the total population of the city uses public transport.

In 2011, 42 km network of BRTS had daily average passenger traffic of 1.2 lakh which increased only marginally to 1.32 lakh in 2016 despite expansion of network to 89 km.

In 2015, Ahmedabad Jammarg Limited spent ₹ 98 crore on operation incurring loss of ₹ 35 crore. In 2015, there are 213 buses with AJL. 80% of them are air conditioned diesel buses which has average of 1.5 km per litre of diesel resulting in increase in air pollution. Air conditioned buses can not be run on CNG and they are meant to attract more passengers. Dedicated BRTS corridors causes traffic jams at several places especially in Old Ahmedabad. As of June 2017, 186 out of 250 Buses are air conditioned. It incurred loss of inr 2650000000 in period of 2019 to 2021.

Accidents
Between 2016 and 2019, there were 22 fatal BRTS accidents. On 22 November 2019, two brothers, Nayan Ram and Jayesh Ram were crushed to death by a BRTS incident at Panjarapol cross road, Ambawadi.