Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has decided to adopt the Singapore model of integrated transport system (ITS). The system will have multi-modal transit hubs which can be connected through buses, trains, mono rail and Hyderabad Metro Rail. The system will facilitate seamless travel, enhance business linkages, and maximise the socio-economic benefits for citizens.
The project would become an extension for Asia's biggest Inter City Bus Terminal (ICBT) project that has been designed to connect HMR and to cater to inter-state bus services.
According to the Comprehensive Transportation Study (CTS) conducted for the metropolitan region, Hyderabad requires six bus terminals in the next two years and 26 by 2041. The study proposed bus stations at Miyapur, Medchal, ECIL Crossroads, Dundigal, Ibrahimpatnam, Vanasthalipuram, Uppal and Shamshabad.
With the rapid development in the city, private vehicles on road have been increasing at an alarming pace with every passing day. Citing this, a five-member team comprising municipal administration and urban development principal secretary Arvind Kumar, HMDA commissioner T. Chiranjeevulu and others visited Singapore to study the public transport system in the city state.
A senior HMDA official said the authority has decided to multiple transit hubs in and around the city. He said the five-floor transit hub will have multi-modal transport facilities such as buses, MMTS, metro rail and now HMDA is also planning mono rail. He said that the transit hubs will have commercial complexes, malls, hospitals, convention centres, theatres and other facilities. The ITS will provide one-stop transport solution. The official said that each floor in the transit hub will have a mode of public transport. The top floor will be connected through Metro Rail and the ground floor with MMTS, floors in between will be allowed for buses and commercial establishments.
“If there is a gap of 1 km to 2 km between a bus terminal and Metro Rail, it would be connected through mono rail. One of the key aspects of the project is that every mode of public transport will be connected to Shamshabad airport,” he said.
The HMDA official said that the government has proposed to make changes in the CTS and ICBT in order to maximise the public transport and minimise private vehicles. He said that a transit hub will be required for every 50,000 passengers. He said that the HMDA has already prepared draft proposal for the project and after making suitable changes the final draft will be submitted to the state government.
