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Seoul Metropolitan Government , which operates a 70-km BRTS network, will offer expert guidance to MMRDA, consultants
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EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
THE financial capital, grappling with its urban transport dilemmas, has found a “guide” in the form of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which will now assist various implementing agencies in Mumbai to complete the city’s much-delayed Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS).
“The Seoul Metropolitan Government would be guiding the implementing agency in the BRTS project under the CityNet programme, an Asia-Pacific regional network of local authorities,” said R Ramana, senior transport planner with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Au thority (MMRDA) after a presentation by Dr Kim Gyeng-Chul, director, Department of Urban Transit for Seoul Metropolitan Government, on encouraging public transport usage in congested cities like Mumbai. Dr Gyeng-Chul, a widely acknowledged authority on Bus Rapid Transit Systems, offered insights on how Seoul realised the need to implement a public transport project that included bus rapid transit. He said there are now over 70 kilometres of BRT network in the city, and over 190 km of BRTS in the pipeline. “In 2000, there were 51 units of CNG buses that increased to 1,020 in 2002. And now we’re projecting 8,179 buses by 2010 for use in the BRT network,” he said. “In Seoul, only the governor and vice-governor travel in their cars. Other government officers take public transport.” Dr Gyeng-Chul also had some recommendations on reducing Mumbai’s congestion, including higher parking charges. According to UPS Madan, project director of the Mumbai Transformation Support Unit of the All India Institute of Local Self Govern ment (AIILSG), the city’s BRTS project will get a nudge forward with expert guidance from Seoul. So far, the consultant for the two phases of BRTS has being appointed by the MMRDA. “The consultants will decide on the lane, designs of the stations, etc,” he said. “There are lessons to be learnt from what Seoul has done over the years,” Madan added. “Our priority should be pedestrians and not cars. Another thing to be adopted is the integration of transit systems, which needs to be learnt from Seoul,” he said. THE financial capital, grappling with its urban transport dilemmas, has found a “guide” in the form of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which will now assist various implementing agencies in Mumbai to com- plete the city’s much-delayed Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS). “The Seoul Metropolitan Government would be guiding the implementing agency in the BRTS project under the CityNet pro- gramme, an Asia-Pacific re- gional network of local au- thorities,” said R Ramana, senior transport planner with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Au- thority (MMRDA) after a presentation by Dr Kim Gyeng-Chul, director, De- partment of Urban Transit for Seoul Metropolitan Gov- ernment, on encouraging public transport usage in congested cities like Mumbai. Dr Gyeng-Chul, a widely acknowledged authority on Bus Rapid Transit Systems, offered insights on how Seoul realised the need to implement a public transport project that included bus rapid transit. He said there are now over 70 kilometres of BRT net- work in the city, and over 190 km of BRTS in the pipeline. “In 2000, there were 51 units of CNG buses that in- creased to 1,020 in 2002. And now we’re projecting 8,179 buses by 2010 for use in the BRT network,” he said. “In Seoul, only the gover- nor and vice-governor travel in their cars. Other govern- ment officers take public transport.” Dr Gyeng-Chul also had some recommendations on reducing Mumbai’s conges- tion, including higher park- ing charges. According to UPS Madan, project director of the Mum- bai Transformation Support Unit of the All India Insti- tute of Local Self Govern- ment (AIILSG), the city’s BRTS project will get a nudge forward with expert guidance from Seoul. So far, the consultant for the two phases of BRTS has being appointed by the MMRDA. “The consultants will de- cide on the lane, designs of the stations, etc,” he said. “There are lessons to be learnt from what Seoul has done over the years,” Madan added. “Our priority should be pedestrians and not cars. Another thing to be adopted is the integration of transit systems, which needs to be learnt from Seoul,” he said.
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