The Department of Urban Land Transport (DULT) has published a draft of the Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) for Bengaluru Metropolitan Area. The document has brought back the controversial Elevated Corridor project (road-over-road), 92 km of which has been proposed at the cost of Rs 18,480 crore.

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The CMP itself is necessitated by the centre’s Metro Policy which clearly states that funding for the Metro would require cities to develop a comprehensive mobility plan.

Here is a summary of the proposals in this plan.

Many of the new three-phase CMP project proposals are there in the earlier plans proposed in 2011 and 2015, with some of them at different stages of implementation. Like the Metro rail, suburban rail system, Bus priority corridors, bus fleet augmentation and peripheral ring road.

Oft-heard concepts such as transit-oriented development, Metrolite project, multi-modal mobility fare system, congestion fees, pay-and-park system appear in the second and third phases of the old and new draft plans.

Some key projects defined Transit-oriented development: The idea of concentrating development around public transit corridors (such as Metro) so that travel becomes easier for the people especially the office-goers. A separate draft TOD policy , which was published in January for public comments , had set goals of achieving a 70% share of public transport in motorized trips and 60% of the city population living within intense TOD zone.

Metrolite project: The passenger capacity in the Metrolite option is around a third of Metro’s. The per kilometre cost of Metrolite is Rs 180 crore compared to the Metro’s Rs 300 crore.

Multi Modal mobility fare system: The CMP envisages a National Common Mobility Card for public transport operators, intermediate para-transit operators, and parking stations in the city

Congestion fee: Towards discouraging use of private vehicles in the CBD and other high-traffic density areas, the plan proposes to charge a fee on private vehicles at peak hours.

Pay-and-park: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike will collect a fee for parking spaces on designated public roads.

Previous attempts at mobility plans

In the past, the government had come up with reports such as the Comprehensive Traffic and Transportation Plan for Bengaluru City (2011) and the Comprehensive Traffic and Transportation Study for Bengaluru Metropolitan Region (2015).

While the 2011 report talks about bus rapid transit system (BRTS), commuter rail to the suburbs, and densification of corridors along the stretch of mass transport system, the 2015 report drew plans for 341 km of mass transit corridors, 231 km BRTS and development of intermodal stations. Most of these proposals still remain on the paper. For instance, the BRTS, planned on the Outer Ring Road from Silk Board Junction to KR Puram, was scrapped in favour of the Metro. There is a bus priority lane currently in place in this section.

Cost and timeline

The new plan, prepared by the consultancy firm Infrastructure Development Corporation Karnataka (iDeCK), gives a glimpse of what the government intends to do over the next 15 years.

Share your comments and suggestions by 5th January 2020 The CMP 2019 is open for public feedback for 30 days from 6th December. The 226-page document is available on the websites of the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL). Click here for the document.

The CMP also chalks out six ways of raising funds – budgetary allocations from the state and centre, parking fees, congestion fees, PPP and so on. It also proposes the formation of a Bengaluru Mobility Management Authority (BMMA) with a legislative mandate to monitor its implementation.

The first phase, to be implemented between 2020 and 2022, costs Rs 35,835 crore. The second phase, estimated to cost Rs 69,110 crore, is to be taken up between 2023 and 2027. Implementation of the third phase will be between 2028 and 2035 at a whopping Rs 1.25 lakh crore price tag.

What is the current state of various transport projects?

Metro:

While 42.3 km of the Metro is up and running, its second phase is a work in progress. This includes extensions to Whitefield from Baiyappanahalli, Mysuru Road to Pattanagere, Yelachenahalli to Anjanapura on Kanakapura Road, the Electronics City line, Nagasandra to Bangalore International Exhibition Centre and the Gottigere-Nagavara lines.

The BMRCL moved the KR Puram to Bengaluru International Airport (35 km) proposal from the Phase-3 to Phase 2(B) in order to hasten its implementation. Similarly the 18-km KR Puram to Silk Board line was also moved from Phase 3 to Phase 2(A). However, tenders have not been floated for the construction of these two lines.

Metro’s Phase 3, proposed to increase the network by over 100 km, is still in the planning stage.

Suburban rail:

The Rs 18,000 crore suburban rail project was cleared by the state government (earlier this year) and the Railway Board (recently).

Bus priority lane:

The first bus priority lane, of 18 km on the Outer Ring Road, from Silk Board Junction to KR Puram, commenced recently.

Peripheral Ring Road:

The state government allocated Rs 1000 crore in its 2019-20 budget towards this long-awaited project. While around 800 acres of land is required for the project, the acquisition process is yet to commence. Initial surveys for acquisition are underway.

Fund allocation in CMP for major projects (in crores):

Phase 1

Metro rail: 58 km ₹ 15,950 Widening of roads: 50 km ₹ 5,000 Suburban rail – dedicated track: 25 km ₹ 3,450 Peripheral Ring Road (PRR): 20 km ₹ 3,080 Bus fleet augmentation: 2000 nos ₹ 3,000 Major junction/Section capacity augmentation: 3 nos ₹ 1,800

Phase 2

Transit Oriented Development: 160 km ₹16,000 Suburban rail – dedicated track: 62 km ₹8,556 Metro rail: 30 km ₹8,250 Widening of roads: 70 km ₹7,000 Bus fleet augmentation: 3500 nos ₹5,250 Elevated corridor (EW-01): 25 km ₹5,250 Peripheral ring road (PRR): 25 km ₹3,850 Metrolite elevated: 13 km ₹2,340 Corridor improvements: 54 km ₹1,620 Bus depots/terminals: 40 nos ₹1,600 Depots/terminals: 20 nos ₹1,600 Parking infrastructure: 30 nos ₹1,500 Intermodal transit hubs: 15 nos ₹1,125

Phase 3