Reinventing Transport

Could it really be that the Delhi BRT pilot is actually popular? You would certainly not know it from reading the Times of India. However, an early survey (reported in early May) suggested that even in its supposedly disastrous first week, the system had a very high approval rating among key groups - bus users and bus drivers. Even car users didn't dislike it in such huge numbers as certain newspapers have implied or assumed. This report on an opinion poll by NDTV is a bit out of date and by now the unrelenting bad press may have swayed opinion against the system. But I want to highlight its stark contrast with the highly negative impression presented by much of the media. BRT corridor: The great Delhi divide NDTV Correspondent Thursday, May 1, 2008 (New Delhi) It's one of the most controversial infrastructure projects in the country but for all those who said that the Delhi Bus Corridor system was an out and out failure, here is a reality check. A poll conducted by NDTV show...

{Update: this blog now has a more recent - 22 April- posting on Delhi's BRT } A backlash against BRT has been hitting Delhi. Delhi's BRT, or High Capacity Bus System (HCBS) as it is often known in India, has been facing a barrage of vitriolic newspaper attacks. These have included quite vicious assaults on the credibility of IIT Delhi academics, Dinesh Mohan and Geetam Tiwari, who have championed and helped design the system (if you follow the link, click on 'urban transport') . Anti-BRT headlines have included: 'Experts' order serial rape of Delhi roads (in the Pioneer) Will somebody wake up to stop this HCBS madness? (Pioneer) Buses Hog Space, Cars Squeezed Out (Times of India, Nov 16, 2007) Unfortunately, it appears that these and similar attacks have now drawn a political response. Yesterday, the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit, was reported (somewhat triumphantly by the Times of India) to have halted further BRT development beyond the initial co...