The Ahmedabad Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), run by the Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited (AJL), has had a minimal impact in bringing down use of private vehicles, a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)-promoted study has found.
As per the study, while only 12% of BRTS commuters shifted from private vehicles, over 45% have shifted from an alternative public transport mode like the local Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Services (AMTS). Moreover, while private vehicles have been rising 10-12% year-on-year, monthly ridership on BRTS has more or less remained stagnant at 130,000-132,000 since the last two years.
“After the project replaced their routes in the municipal bus service and shared auto rickshaws, some 47% of public transport users shifted to the BRTS, and another 13% of users shifted from the intermediate public transport of shared or full-fare autorickshaw. Only 12% of commuters have shifted from private motor vehicles,” the study observed, while noting that only 42% of the users were taking the BRTS system for more than 21 days in a month. This meant that the BRTS is still to find sustained ridership in Ahmedabad.
Currently, there are about 2.51 million people use private vehicles in Ahmedabad.
The study observed that the BRTS had been unable to reach low-income groups even as it mainly served the middle-income groups, most of which were captive public transport users commuting longer distances.
Offering a rationale, a senior AJL official said that despite several fresh initiatives being rolled out by the body to push for more shift in commuters from private vehicles to BRTS, the price-sensitive traits among citizens has led to such a slow shift. “Everyday almost 600 new private vehicles get added in the city. Moreover, commuters here are very price-sensitive. Any dip in fuel prices gets reciprocated in form of rise in private vehicle usage and vice versa. However, we are working on more initiatives to reverse the trend,” the official added.
Hence, while initiatives such as ladies special BRTS buses and discounts on usage of smart cards for BRTS travel have been introduced, AJL is considering more such efforts.
For instance, to encourage more number of private vehicle users to opt for BRTS, the body is mulling on offering free parking facilities to private vehicle commuters who furnish BRTS tickets.
Further, the survey of 1,040 BRTS users in Ahmedabad showed that the sex ratio of the working population amongst the users was just 226, indicating that working women did not use this system much as compared to working men.
“Of the total users, just 13.7% belong to household with incomes of up to Rs 5,000 (less than 100 US$). 62.2% of users had monthly household incomes of more than Rs 10,000 (about 200 US$). This is in spite of the fact that a large number of low-income group housing and slums fall within a 500-metre radius, or walking distance, from the BRTS network,” the survey found.
Meanwhile, the average ridership in Ahmedabad BRTS continues to be a cause of concern. The average daily BRTS ridership in Ahmedabad has risen from 25,000 in 2009 and 50,000 in 2010 to a peak of 135,000 in 2011, before dipping to 125,000 in 2013. As on December 2015, the same has grown to 132,000 passengers per day.
