BRTS canal road stretch ready, to open on April 20

SURAT: Canal corridor, one more stretch of Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), would become operational in the city from April 20, three years after the work started for it.
At least 19 buses would operate on this 20-km stretch from Dumas Resort to Sarthana Jakatnaka at an interval of every 8 minutes. This second part of phase I of BRTS would have 34 bus stops and pass through four of the seven municipal zones of the city.At present 12 buses ply on 10 km BRTS route from Udhana Darwaja to Sachin on Udhana –Navsari Road. More than 3,500 people have been travelling on this route daily since it became functional on January 26, 2014.
Surat is set to become the second city after Ahmedabad to have BRTS operation stretching to over 25 km of distance. BRTS buses cover 87 km of road network in Ahmedabad. Surat plans to bring 100 km of city roads under BRTS operation.
"We expect over 10,000 people to travel daily through canal corridor," said Jatin Shah, city engineer and BRTS project incharge.
Surat Municipal Corporation spent around Rs 204 crore to build this stretch which passes through Varacha, Limbayat, Udhna and Athwa zones of the city where mostly people from lower and lower–middle class live.
At present, people from Athwa, Umra and Udhna areas have single access of Ring Road to go to railway station and towards National Highway No 8. Now people can get access to the National Highway through this stretch by making use of the public transport system.
"This stretch will help ease the traffic movement on the Ring Road particularly on Magdalla- Udhna road," a SMC officer said.
"A final decision on tariff and discounts would be taken next week. We are sure that the second phase of BRTS would be ready by August 15," Mayor Niranjan Janjmera said.
Surat also has a city bus service. Around 80,000 people travel in 87 buses that ply under this service. Surat has a population of nearly 50 lakh people and a road network of 1,900 kms. The city also has around 24 lakh private vehicles.