11 September 2012 | Mumbai: Over 40 people attended a meeting convened by the Mumbai Transformation Support Unit (MTSU) and EMBARQ India, to discuss the way forward for a possible bus rapid transit (BRT) system in the city of Mumbai. The meeting was attended by AK Jain, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Maharashtra, BC Khatua, Director, MTSU, Manu Kumar Srivastav, Principal Secretary, Urban Development-I, SK Sharma, Principal Secretary, Transportation, VN More, Transportation Commissioner, OP Gupta, GM, BEST, Aseem Gupta, Additional Commissioner – Eastern Suburbs, MCGM, Anand Mahindra, Chief Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra, DM Binnar, Transportation Engineer, MMRDA, and other stakeholders in the transportation sector.

There was a presentation from EMBARQ by Dario Hidalgo, Director, Research and Practice, who focused on how megacities around the world have used BRT to supplement their transportation needs, and used it to complement other multi-modal operations. Madhav Pai, Director, EMBARQ India, and Pawan Mulukutla, Project Manager - Urban Transport, EMBARQ India, presented the key elements of successful BRT systems, and discussed the vision for a suburban BRT system in Mumbai. Various aspects of planning, design, and operational considerations for the BRT were discussed. EMBARQ India also presented findings from a preliminary study on the JVLR corridor in north Mumbai that connects the western and eastern suburbs of Jogeshwari and Vikhroli.

This meeting marked the beginning of an ongoing conversation on implementing a high capacity bus based transit system in the city of Mumbai. Moving forward, a detailed study will be undertaken, and a concept plan put together towards assessing the feasibility of the project.