TimesView That the much-hyped bus priority lane has all but vanished is a grim reminder of how mere enthusiasm is no substitute to perseverance. Setbacks are nothing new in ambitious civic initiatives, but more important is the lessons one learns. Thankfully, the agencies involved are determined to persist with the endeavor. They will hopefully pay more attention to the immediate needs: Strict enforcement and demarcation of lanes.

BENGALURU: The city’s first bus priority lane on Outer Ring Road appears to have all but vanished. With poor enforcement by traffic police and absence of a physical barricade along the busy stretch, buses are getting priority on the lane as a matter of exception and not as a rule.The ambitious project was rolled out by agencies like BBMP, BMTC , traffic police and the directorate of urban land on November 15. But in just about two months, the yellow marking demarcating the lane has faded away on several sections.Though BBMP had promised deployment of marshals on the stretch, hardly anyone is seen, prompting activists and experts to demand stringent action against violators.The road’s extreme left is reserved for BMTC buses on the 12-km ORR corridor between KR Puram and Iblur. Earlier, the bus lane was to run for 20km between SV Road near Byappanahalli and Central Silk Board Junction, but the 12-km stretch was implemented on a pilot basis.BBMP commissioner BH Anil Kumar said they will soon put up plastic bollards along the stretch. “We are planning to extend the bus priority lane till Byappanahalli. We are closely monitoring progress of the project and it will not fail,” he asserted.However, BBMP had earlier put up both plastic and metal bollards on ORR. While plastic bollards were damaged in an accident, metal bollards were removed after it was found that they could pose danger to two-wheelers at night. In December last year, a survey conducted by BMTC had revealed that the speed of buses had improved during both peak and non-peak hours, thanks to the lane project.“The average travel time in the corridor has reduced after the bus priority lane. The biggest improvement is seen during evening peak hours. Travel time has reduced by 60% from Tin Factory to Silk Board and in the opposite direction by 33%,” the report said, adding: “The ridership on ORR has seen a consistent increasing trend since its launch.”At the #NimbusExpress Bus Yatra, held to promote bus priority lanes, BMTC managing director C Shikha had said their daily ridership had increased by 12,000 and journey time had come down by 16 minutes during peak hours.Srinivas Alavilli from Citizens for Bengaluru, which has been backing the project for a long time said, “There is huge support from the public for this project to succeed but government agencies appear to have disappointed us. Installation of bollards has been delayed and enforcement against violators has been poor.”“There is a big scope to further increase the speed and ridership on ORR,” a BMTC official admitted.Those violating bus lane are fined Rs 500 for the first offence and Rs 1,000 for subsequent violations.Traffic police teams of KR Puram, HAL, HSR Layout and Madiwala are responsible for enforcement. BMTC is also recording violations by motorists. However, traffic police have slapped fine only on a few motorists and most violate rules with impunity. Joint commissioner of police, traffic, BR Ravikanthe Gowda was unavailable for comment despite repeated efforts.