RESERVED BUS-LANE SYSTEM--A CASE STUDY OF DELHI

Bus lanes in Delhi, introduced under the mixed traffic conditions existing there, have not proved beneficial to much of the traffic and have been difficult to enforce. After reserved lanes were introduced in 1969, their benefit steadily declined because of the encroachment of slow-moving traffic and this type of transportation system management (TSM) was discontinued in 1981. While bus lanes should give significant travel time advantage to buses and bus riders, the mixture of traffic and failure to establish bus priority at intersections achieved no increase in efficiency for buses. Delhi bus lanes produced no better lane discipline and violation was the rule rather the exception; bus drivers found driving conditions in other lanes more attractive. No conclusions on accident rates were developed but there were indications that safety was actually decreased with bus lanes. While high-occupancy lanes have been beneficial in many developed nations, the wide diversity of speeds at which vehicles operate on Indian streets and roads have rendered this traffic management concept ineffective in Delhi.