A slew of changes have been suggested to the Indian Institute of Technology (I.I.T.), Delhi and Ministry of Tourism, Government of Delhi, for its Bus Rapid Transit system. The proposed changes aim to provide a passenger-friendly transport system for all.

I.I.T.- Delhi's, Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme and RITES have been entrusted the task of planning and designing the system.

The suggestions come from Samarthya Centre for Promotion of Barrier Free Environment for Disabled People which did the access audit for the ultra-low floor buses. They include: auditory signals at traffic intersections for visually impaired people and tiles and textural clues of the kind that have been deployed on the Delhi Metro system, along with Braille signs on steel plates near the sitting arrangement of the bus shelters.

At the bus shelters, dynamic display of information about the buses, routes and fares has been suggested, as well as kerb cuts near the intersections and ramps for easy movement from the road to the pavement and vice-versa.

Samarthya’s Sanjeev Sachdev noted that involvement of user groups was essential to make the system user-friendly. Other suggestions from the Delhi-based NGO include making the shelters bright and in two-colour contrast such as red and yellow for better visibility. All buses and bus shelters should be 380 milimetre high to allow easy access into the vehicles. The bus shelters should be located 300 to 500 metres of each other so that people do not have to travel long distances by other modes.