From snail’s pace to 40 kmph

MUMBAI, JUNE 22: For every bus that has been put to a slight difficulty, 10 medium size four-wheelers have been able to increase their sp...

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MUMBAI, JUNE 22: For every bus that has been put to a slight difficulty, 10 medium size four-wheelers have been able to increase their speed from just 15 km an hour to nearly 40. This has been the logic behind the introduction of the bus lane between Dadar TT and Sion hospital, which has proved to be a mixed success so far.

“The scheme has been a success, it will be even better once the public understands the procedures completely,” said traffic police constable K J Dhadge who is posted at Maheshwari Udyan, Matunga, one of the major junctions along the route.

According to him, the main problem with the scheme has been the lack of parking space in the area. Traditionally the residents of the area have been using the road to park their vehicles at night.

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But with the scheme starting from 9 am, these residents find their vehicles being picked up by cranes and plonked on the footpaths or in the by-lanes. “Even that is illegal, but given the circumstances, that’s the best we can do,” said constable Prakash Bhogale.

Between 9 am and 12 pm, the left lane on Ambedkar Road between LTMG Hospital at Sion and Dadar TT is devoted to BEST bus traffic and between 6 pm and 9 pm the lane for north-bound traffic is reserved for the buses. During these periods, the lane is demarcated by the use of cones and the presence of nearly 50 traffic constables and 20 BEST inspectors.

The traffic police claim that the speed of traffic on the road has increased since the introduction of the scheme. “Earlier, a lot of time was lost when buses cut lanes to get to the stops. This has been cut down drastically,” said Bhogale.

However, the BEST drivers, who thought they would enjoy monopoly over a lane, have been in for a tough time. Now the buses are forced to move in a queue along the lane and once a bus stops, all the buses behind it have to slow down. “It would have been easier if we were allowed to cut lanes,” said a driver.

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Parking problems have turned the residents against the scheme. Most of the residents in the area have cars or two-wheelers, which face the traffic cops’ ire every morning. “But with parking space in our building being virtually non-existent, where else can we park the cars?” asked an exasperated Jagruti Shah, a resident of Matunga.

Parking is the bone of contention between the traffic police and the taximen too. When the scheme was first introduced a few months ago, the taximen staged a morcha and nipped the move in the bud. But this time, meetings were held with the union before the introduction of the scheme. “We are cooperating with the police because the scheme is an experimental one, we will oppose it if it is made permanent,” threatened A L Quadros, general secretary of the Bombay Taximen’s Union.