Defying Media Spin, Poll Shows Public Support for Delhi BRT

delhi_brt_graph2.jpg 

A couple of weeks ago we wrote about how the new bus rapid transit system in Delhi, India was taking a drubbing from local media. Despite the fact that buses were packed with commuters following the launch of the pilot program, newspaper and TV reporters were quick to proclaim it a failure. But a recent poll gives Delhi BRT high marks — and not only from those using it. The City Fix reports:

An independent commuter survey conducted by Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment found that commuters overwhelmingly support the new BRT system in Delhi. For some, the result may be surprising after the initial operational glitches and media blitz declaring the new bus corridor a disaster. While there are several things that should be improved with the new system, as with any project, the outpouring of support for the new bus corridor suggests that it would be both a strategic and political mistake to scrap the project.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Bus Rapid Transit Under Fire in Delhi, India

|
As a new class of automobile owners floods the streets of India with cheap cars, the city of Delhi is trying to stem the tide with a new Bus Rapid Transit program. Unfortunately, along with the cars has come the requisite sense of entitlement and modal prejudice, as EMBARQ reports: This last week Delhi began […]

Streetfilms: BRT and Bikes on LA’s Orange Line

|
Who would have thought that one of the best Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems in the U.S. would be in its most sprawling city? In October 2005, the Los Angeles County Metro Authority (or Metro) debuted a new 14-mile BRT system in the San Fernando Valley using a former rail right-of-way. Unlike many "rapid" bus […]
STREETSBLOG USA

American BRT: A Rapid Bus Network Expands in Las Vegas

|
Last month the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy released its report, “Recapturing Global Leadership in Bus Rapid Transit” [PDF], which proposed a LEED-like rating system for bus rapid transit projects and laid out a strategy for American cities to build systems as good as the world’s best BRT. While more than 20 American bus […]