BRT: A traffic nightmare

Amitabh Shukla

New Delhi, April 23

Driving on the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor for the first time after lane segregation was put into place was one of the most nightmarish experience as a driver for me. It reminded me of a “traffic martial law” – traffic assistants, police personnel and others posted on the entire stretch as if owning a motor car had become a crime overnight and there was need to “discipline” the owners badly.

I drove till the Moolchand flyover from ITO without any problem and soon descended from the Andrewsganj flyover to the BRT corridor at 12.58 pm sharp in what is called “off-peak” hours. Here, I was stuck. I looked around but it looked like an endless stream of vehicles from where no way seemed out. I thought, it could be due to the crossing and Red Light at the G.K. – Siri Fort Road intersection. Twenty-five minutes later and after crossing the intersection, there was no end of the jam.

In the afternoon heat when the temperature was close to 40 degrees, tempers ran high. The fellow drivers on the unfortunate stretch were cursing all those who were responsible for creating the biggest man made mess in the national Capital. Some of them were using unprintable words for the authorities and described them as “Nero” – when Rome was burning, he was playing the lyre.

As a journalist, I had a simple reason – to drive the stretch and write the experience. I continued but hardly moved. In the stretch between Moolchand and Chiragh Dilli, I hardly managed to put the second gear. In the small stretch, I saw a breakdown of three cars mainly due to overheating. Seeing the fate of the breakdown, I switched off my AC to prevent my car from overheating. It was continuously pressing of the brake and clutch of the car. The small stretch must have taken a heavy toll of the clutch wire of my car. I could not even turn off the engine of the car to give it some respite.

Meanwhile, the Bus lane was practically empty as if a curfew had been imposed. There was hardly any bus and those which were plying, only had the driver and conductors who were rushing to the depots at a break neck speed. Passengers of some other buses seemed to be smiling at the plight of the motorists in the adjacent lane. Here, I envied the bus drivers and the passengers.

The lane meant for cycles hardly had any. It was occupied by the two-wheelers. As for pedestrians, there were none on the road in the afternoon. Some daredevil drivers tried to cross the lane and jumped into the bus lane. They were lucky.

I managed to cross the Chiragh Dilli Flyover after 55 minutes of fretting, fuming and getting fried in the summer heat. I saw the watch, it was 1.53 pm sharp. It took another ten minutes to cross the Press Enclave intersection after which it was normal traffic till Ambedkar Nagar.

Returning after an hour, the traffic was normal till the Press Enclave intersection. After then at the Chiragh Dilli flyover, it was jam for at least a km. I took the lane meant the cycles as there was no fine being imposed and some of the motorists were using it in any case. When one of the drivers of a van in the cycle lane tried to jump in the normal traffic lane, he hit a car owner leading to heated argument. Unmindful, I continued at the speed of a tortoise. Here too, I took 25 minutes to cross the Chiragh Dilli intersection after which the flow was normal. I looked at the other side of the road – the drivers here were in a similar jam which I had experienced sometime ago.

Post Script: Imagine the plight of those who traveled in the peak hours. Also imagine what would happen once the entire stretch becomes operational.

(2008)