Monitoring the Performance of Exclusive Bus Lanes in Chennai

A bus lane is a lane which is provide only for operating buses and used to avoid traffic congestion.
The current bus transit system in Chennai, known as MTC (METROPOLITAN TRANSPORT
CORPORATION), is accommodating about 4 million transport units sufficient to accompany
increasing number of passengers. Buses have to share the lane with other vehicles, which affects
their capacity, speed, reliability, and quality of service. Due to traffic congestions, travel during peak
hours in Metropolitan cities has become unattractive. An attempt has been made in this paper to
provide lanes only for operation of buses. Three arterial roads connecting Kelambakkam to
Sholinganallur, Chennai central to Tambaram, Vandaloor zoo to Tambaram were selected for the
study. Traffic volume survey was conducted in these areas. Painted lanes are not much effective and
lanes separated by barriers serve the purpose. Based upon the survey conducted and analysis made,
suggestions are proposed for the exclusive bus lanes for the selected area where traffic congestion is
more during peak hours. It also improves the service quality for the welfare of the passengers. Road
safety also will be taken care effectively.