BRTS popular in Rajkot

The recently introduced Bus Rapid Transit Service (BRTS) in Rajkot has received a good response from commuters with an average of 2800 commuters using the service every day. The service is being offered for free for the first three months by the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC). At present the BRT buses are being run on a 10.7km pilot stretch. The project is being implemented in three corridors ? blue, green and red corridors ? and would have a total length of 63.5km covering an area of about 104.86sq km. The pilot stretch is a part of the 29km long blue corridor. The second phase of the blue corridor will cover a stretch of 9.16km while the third phase will cover 9.14km. The next two corridors ? Green and Red will be constructed at a later stage. A fleet of 157 buses ? 70 blue, 62 red and 25 green ? is expected to run on the three corridors. The state government plans to run state-of-the-art buses for the BRT service with features such as power steering, modern engines and GPS-based control and communication systems. The buses would run on CNG or would be powered by a combination of electric power and CNG.