<p>The elevated corridor is not only unsustainable but will prove to be a hurdle for real solutions, says a new study on the controversial project which is being given a new lease of life by the BJP government.</p>.<p>Instead what Bengaluru needs is a metro rail corridor, said Professor Ashish Verma of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), quoting from a research paper published by scholars Harsha Vajjarapu and Hemanthini Allirani under his guidance.</p>.<p>The study — which has since won the Springer-Best paper award by IIT Roorkee — uses traffic data from the government documents, including the feasibility report for the project itself, to disprove the notion that such projects reduce congestion.</p>.<p>This data is projected to 2020 and 2030 under three different scenarios, which includes the existing transport infrastructure, a hypothetical elevated road corridor and a hypothetical metro-rail corridor on the same route.</p>.<p><strong>Travelling Time</strong></p>.<p>The study notes that the corridor would reduce the total travel time by an average of 8% if built in 2020, an unrealistic deadline.</p>.<p>By 2030, the benefit of reduction in travel time will slip to 5.3% and the downward slide will soon move to negative.</p>.<p>Whereas a metro corridor on the same route would reduce total travel time by at least 40%, and the benefit will only increase in the coming years when the increasing number of vehicles clog the roads, no matter how wide the carriageway is.</p>.<p>The 92.2-km road project did not win favourable scores on the environmental front either. The project would only reduce CO2 emission by 8% per capita in the next ten years.</p>.<p>This is about a third of the level of per capita CO2 reduction that could be achieved by a metro rail corridor, which stands at 29% this year and 26% by 2030.</p>.<p><strong>Pollution impact</strong></p>.<p>The study also predicts that the road corridor would increase particle matter (PM) pollution by 7% this year and up to 11% in 2030, whereas a metro rail corridor would see a reduction of PM pollution by 20% to 23% in the same ten-year period compared to current levels.</p>.<p>“The solutions are very clear. Proposals like inner ring metro line are more viable, long lasting and sustainable alternatives than the elevated corridor project,” Verma told DH.</p>
<p>The elevated corridor is not only unsustainable but will prove to be a hurdle for real solutions, says a new study on the controversial project which is being given a new lease of life by the BJP government.</p>.<p>Instead what Bengaluru needs is a metro rail corridor, said Professor Ashish Verma of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), quoting from a research paper published by scholars Harsha Vajjarapu and Hemanthini Allirani under his guidance.</p>.<p>The study — which has since won the Springer-Best paper award by IIT Roorkee — uses traffic data from the government documents, including the feasibility report for the project itself, to disprove the notion that such projects reduce congestion.</p>.<p>This data is projected to 2020 and 2030 under three different scenarios, which includes the existing transport infrastructure, a hypothetical elevated road corridor and a hypothetical metro-rail corridor on the same route.</p>.<p><strong>Travelling Time</strong></p>.<p>The study notes that the corridor would reduce the total travel time by an average of 8% if built in 2020, an unrealistic deadline.</p>.<p>By 2030, the benefit of reduction in travel time will slip to 5.3% and the downward slide will soon move to negative.</p>.<p>Whereas a metro corridor on the same route would reduce total travel time by at least 40%, and the benefit will only increase in the coming years when the increasing number of vehicles clog the roads, no matter how wide the carriageway is.</p>.<p>The 92.2-km road project did not win favourable scores on the environmental front either. The project would only reduce CO2 emission by 8% per capita in the next ten years.</p>.<p>This is about a third of the level of per capita CO2 reduction that could be achieved by a metro rail corridor, which stands at 29% this year and 26% by 2030.</p>.<p><strong>Pollution impact</strong></p>.<p>The study also predicts that the road corridor would increase particle matter (PM) pollution by 7% this year and up to 11% in 2030, whereas a metro rail corridor would see a reduction of PM pollution by 20% to 23% in the same ten-year period compared to current levels.</p>.<p>“The solutions are very clear. Proposals like inner ring metro line are more viable, long lasting and sustainable alternatives than the elevated corridor project,” Verma told DH.</p>