BRTS crisis: Even 7 years after launch, Metro bus service yet to be streamlined

Charanjit Singh Teja

Amritsar, August 14

At a time when city residents were waiting for the expansion of Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) routes to include the international airport and Attari check-post and also demanding feeding routes, the bus service had to be suspended. It came as a setback for the residents that even seven years after its inauguration, the service could not be streamlined and was far from being self-dependent.

The government had proposed to initiate the bus service on feeder routes to link the entire city roads with the 35 kilometre BRTS corridor. Now, there is no connectivity of BRTS with Majitha Road, Fathegarh Churian Road, Ajnala Road, Ram Tirath Road, Tarn Taran Road and Sultanwind Canal Road. There is no direct connection of BRTS route with the Walled City and Golden Temple.

In 2021, the BRTS authorities started operating the Metro bus between Gheo Mandi (near Golden Temple) and Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International

Airport but the extension plans were shelved due to political intervention. The new route had increased the ridership, but private operators opposed the move.

The residents were demanding that BRTS service be started from Amritsar to Attari so that tourist can attend the retreat ceremony. “Tourists from all over India visit the city and attend the retreat ceremony at the Indo-Pak border. The bus service for Attari can boost the revenue of BRTS. The airport route should also be resumed. The government should make efforts to make the BRTS self-sustainable. There is great potential in the BRTS project and the government can earn from this if it is managed properly,” said Naresh Johar, an activist and regular passenger of BRTS.