Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, announced on Friday (9 September) that his ministry would soon undertake a technical study to develop skybus system in Bengaluru.

He emphasised that the city's congestion could be relieved only by installing a mass rapid transit system (MRTS).

After the two-day 'Manthan' conference held in the country's information technology capital, Gadkari addressed the issues posed by the growth in the number of vehicles and the infrastructure improvements required to relieve traffic congestion.

"I've suggested to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai that skybus can be a good option in Bengaluru. It can seat up to 200 people and run above roads and in the air. We'll ask an international consultant to prepare a preliminary report in three months, which will be submitted to the Chief Minister. We'll then take the proposal forward," an Economic Times report quoted Gadkari as saying.

The primary distinction between a skybus and metro is that the former travels above the roads on an elevated track with the carriages suspended below at around 100km/h speed.

The minister stated that international organisations like Doppelmayr of Austria and Puma of France would probably be approached to conduct the study.

Gadkari recommended that the state government makes use of trolley buses, which are powered by overhead wires.

Trolley buses can seat 88 people and cost just Rs 50 to 60 lakh (per bus), in contrast to battery-powered e-buses. For the people, it's affordable, he remarked.

Gadkari stated his ministry would develop two or three-tier flyovers to help the state government relieve traffic congestion in the state capital, claiming that extending the national highways (NHs) within the city boundaries was not feasible because of the high cost of land acquisition.

"We will not acquire land within the city. Instead, we will build three-storey flyovers on the existing road, which can accommodate two road flyovers and a metro line. However, this is a solution for NH roads, not state or city roads," he explained.

The Bengaluru satellite ring road, a 288-km project that will cost Rs 17,000 crore, the 262-km Chennai greenfield expressway, the 20,000-km Bengaluru-Kadapa-Vijayawada Highway, and other significant projects are being planned, the minister added.

Mass Rapid Transit System

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