ASSIGNMENT

Project Management

BAMM 7

Submitted By:

Haris Saleem (BAMM-S18-001)

Shumile Mir (BAMM-S18-002)

Muhammad Usman (BAMM-S18-005)

Yasir Baloch (BAMM-S18-015)

Rana Nouman (BAMM-S18-043)

Submitted to: Sir Hammad

 Topic: Metro Bus Lahore

Introduction

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system is introduced first time in Lahore, Pakistan. If

it is successful, there is a chance that people would likely to demand for such

other convenient mass transit systems. This research aims to study system

performance elements like service frequency, safety, product capacity,

productivity and utilization and qualitative aspects of level of service of which

mainly contribute to the success of any mass transit system. Information

collected from surveys and interviews is statistically analyzed to evaluate

performance elements and service quality of BRT. Findings of analysis

provide elements like utilization, productivity and reliability of system and

consequently, evaluation of system performance is assessed.

Keywords: urban transport; public transport; Metrobus Lahore; bus rapid

transit Lahore; system performance.

Metrobus or BRT (Bus Rapid Transit System) has been introduced in Lahore

on a 27 km section of Ferozpur Road corridor. BRT corridor has total 27

numbers of stations. Average station to station distance is 1.04 km. The

terminal stations are Shahdra, in the North west side and Gajumata, in the

South-East side. Terminal to terminal time is 63 minutes. The average daily

ridership of BRT is 125,000 supported by 64 buses.

Modal shares of public transport are on the decline in most developing

countries like Pakistan. This leads to increase in traffic congestion, bad effect

on economy, air and noise pollution and consequently the overall situation

gets alarming. Therefore, to make public transport service attractive, and to

increase its modal shares, public transport services not only have to be

planned, operated and marketed well, they also need to be measured and be

kept track of on a regular basis. Performance measures are widely used in

transportation planning with different names like sustainable transportation

indicators.

This research aims to study system performance elements like service

frequency, safety, product capacity, productivity, utilization and qualitative

aspects of service quality which mainly contribute to success of any mass

transit system. This success is basically an increase in overall acceptability

which results in increased ridership. Reflecting in these facts we see that

better is system performance, more will be ridership and thus more is modal

share.
Evaluation will be followed by analysis of user survey, primary and secondary

data. Surveys are consumed to assess service quality while system

performance is based on readings observed and written in data sheet in bus

operation and data ridership data from Metrobus authority.

More than 400 performance indicators are used in transit industry today. Each

indicator is accessed based on its performance category (starting availability,

service delivery, community impact, travel time, safety and security,

maintained and construction, and economic/financial viability), its data

collection needs, and its potential strengths and weakness for particular

applications (TCRP, 2010).

For instance, we will focus on above described parameters/indicators only.

Expected Outcomes of evaluation are listed below:

Frequency gives us measure of provision of service in a specific time interval.

It shows the scheduled and delivered service. It will assess the temporal

availability of service.

Safety will let us know about accident rate and severity of accidents. This will

tell us how much Metrobus Lahore is reliable with respect to Safety point of

view for users and on at grade crossings (junctions).

Line Capacity gives knowledge of how much maximum numbers of

passengers can be carried by Metrobus Lahore past a point during one hour

under certain fix conditions like frequency, operational speed and bus single

bus capacity.

Product Capacity is product of line capacity and operational speed. It is

measure of efficiency or performance.

Productivity gives review of how many passengers are being transported by

Metrobus Lahore in service hours. It will lead us to get an idea about how

much expenditures are being balanced by revenue generated from

passengers. If productivity increases, it will ultimately result in cost saving and

increase in service.

Utilization will give comparison between different modes by describing

number of passengers moved. This parameter is applicable to derive other

performance measures which are common to all modes of transportation.

The results obtained by this study can be utilized for overall assessment of

system performance of Metrobus Lahore. This evaluation can be used to set

targets with improved system performance and level of service. Possible

deficiencies can be pointed out and steps can be taken to enhance these

parameters to improve overall system performance. Hence, it will attract

riders, and consequently modal share of Metrobus Lahore can be increased.

Scope

Open spaces have significant importance in the life of the settlements. The

areas with high green coverage rate have ecological and environmental

importance. These green spaces can improve the urban climate, abate the

urban heat- island effect by their ecological-balancer function and reduce

environmental damages. Through their social importance, the open spaces

can help the residents in adjust into the healthy lifestyle. By their aesthetic

importance, they determine the characteristic of the settlements, ameliorating

the built-up character of the cities. In order to have a thorough understanding

of the problem, the project of Metro Bus, Lahore is selected as a case study

area by comparing before and after and impacts of construction projects. The

way to accomplish the research objectives, answering the research queries

and how we perform the entire research can be termed as the research

methodology. Research methodology plays vital role in answering and

achieving the desired research questions. The step wise direction to complete

the project within the specified time is searched out through a particular

methodology adopted. Quantitative and qualitative analysis are the main

parameters of the research work which includes the literature review, surveys

conducted from the field and may also include the scientific approach. The

desired information and data is gathered through consultation of primary and

secondary sources. Different activities performed in this manner are framed

out against the methods or the techniques with the prescribed time limit. The

analysis is being done by using the collected data and information against

different test in order to obtain the desired conclusions. In the rounds of the

analysis done and comparison of information different recommendations and

curative policy measure are suggested to the concerned authorities.

 Time Period and Estimated Cost

Construction project started in March 2012 and buses entered service in

February 2013. The system, which was constructed by the Traffic Engineering

and Planning Agency (TEPA), a subsidiary of the Lahore Development

Authority (LDA) at a cost Rs 29.65 billion. The system was built on the build–

operate–transfer basis via the collaboration between the Punjab and the

Turkish government.

Analysis

Data is required for evaluation of system performance and service quality. For

service quality, it is important to get opinion of transit users. Thus, we take

information from surveys. Data from Metrobus Authority, Lahore is also

acquired. Reference of previous studies will also be taken. For User Survey of

this research, sample size of 300 is taken. Team conducting the survey

visited four Metrobus Stations and conducted surveys on specified days.

Survey

As far as system performance is concerned, constraints that define system

performance are obtained primarily from observations at stations and buses

and secondarily from Metrobus authority. For this evaluation, surveys and

previous studies will also be used. Data is used and by simple equations,

elements showing system performance are calculated. For primary data

collection, data sheets are used.

Evaluation of System Performance

Metrobus Lahore has been most frequent mass transit system in Pakistan yet.

The hours of service are 16, from 6am to 10pm. Peak hours starts from 7am

to 10am and from 4pm to 8pm. The frequency of buses changes from 20

buses per hour during off-peak hours to 27 buses per hour in peak hours. In

off-peak hours, the time headway is 3 minutes. The manner of departure from

terminals in peak hours is such that one bus departs followed by the other

after one time headway. And after 3 minutes (time headway) of these two, a

convoy of two buses is departed to cater the demand of peak hours.

Service Frequency Details

Off-Peak hours Frequency 20 buses/hr
Peak hours Frequency 27 buses/hr
Total Two way Bus Trips (Monday- 717

Saturday)
 Two way Bus Trips (Sunday) 737
Time Headway 3 minutes
Average Trip Time 63 minutes
Speed Details
Maximum Speed 45 km/hr
Commercial speed 26 km/hr
Intersection Speed 25 km/hr
Dwell Time 20 seconds
Maximum Dwell Time 30 seconds

The maximum travel time from terminal to terminal is 63 minutes which is

most of the times achieved but in peak hours or even in off-peak hours, when

peaking takes place at stations, dwell time is increased. And on junctions, bus

has to stop or slow down. In both of the above stated cases, more time is

consumed. The given travel time of 63 minutes has to be achieved. But for

the compensation of extra time, lost on stations and junctions is met with

increase in speed.
 Safety

Accident rate is 0.4 accidents per 100,000km travelled. There were total 24

accidents occurred between 10-Feb-2013 to 1-Dec-2013. There were total 6

injuries and 1 death.

No. Date Time Intersection Accident Death Injured

s
1 18-2-2013 N/A Gulab Devi Bike and Metrobus 1 No
2 27-3-2013 7:48 AM Azadi Suzuki and No No

Intersection Metrobus
3 3-4-2013 10:06 Gulab Devi 2 Bikes No 3

AM Persons
4 11-5-2013 11:36 Gulab Devi Honda City and No No

AM Metrobus
5 13-5-2013 12:15 Timber LTC-19 and No No

PM Intersection Metrobus
6 5-6-2013 5:00 PM Gulab Devi Auto Rikshaw No No
7 5-6-2013 9:15 AM Qainchi M-29 and Bike No No
8 9-7-2013 3:00 AM Timber Mazda and signal No No

Intersection Poles
9 10-7-2013 4:08 PM Gulab Devi Metro(M-36) and No 1

Bike Person
10 11-7-2013 3:00 AM Timber Mazda and Fence No No

Intersection
11 23-7-2013 4:05 PM Qainchi Car and Metro (M- No No
 11)
12 14-8-2013 12:30 Kalma Bike and Metrobus No No

PM (M-28)
13 15-8-2013 7:07 AM Qainchi Toyota heace & No No

Signals

pole
14 16-8-2013 2:10 AM Azadi Padestrian and M- No 1

Intersection 25 Person
15 23-8-2013 10:00 Qainchi Bolan and M-26 No No

AM
16 14-9-2013 9:30 PM Nishtar Truck and Pole No No
18 4-10-2013 7:19 AM Nishtar Auto Rikshaw and No Yes

Bick
19 29-10- 4:55 PM Nishtar Truck and Signal No No

2013 head
20 2-11-2013 12:12 Chungi Padestrian and No 1

PM Metrobus Person
21 6-11-2013 9:00 AM Nishter Traffic light and No 0

Mazda

truck
22 9-11-2013 6:00 PM Kalma Motor Cycle and M- No 0

11
23 29-11- 8:30 PM Timber Metrobus and No 0

2013 Intersection Signal

24 11-12- 4:38 PM Nishtar Truck and Signal No 0
2013 Intersection head
 Line capacity

Line capacity represents the capacity of system under specified operational

parameters like frequency, capacity and occupancy.

Line Capacity (peak hour) = 4320 persons/hr 1

Line Capacity (off-peak hour) = 3200 persons/hr 1

On average day, running of Metrobus system, passengers transported per

hour per direction are 3906. This is between peak hour line capacity and off-

peak hour line capacity

Productivity and Utilization

Productivity of Metrobus Lahore comes out to 12 persons/hour. This lies in

the range of minimum acceptable standard for productivity (TCRP Synthesis

of Transit Practice 10).

Ridership of Metrobus Lahore is 125,000 on average. And average

occupancy is 1.06 per bus. Since average occupancy is 1.06, we assume that

bus is always reaching to its capacity limits. Total Number of kilometers

traveled by passengers are calculated by multiplication of total trips multiply

by trip length. Total 19359 km is covered by the transit vehicles on an

average day.

Reliability

From the results obtained from analysis of metro bus user surveys it is

concluded that 87% respondents strongly agree on the fact that their bus is

on time. In contrast to this there is only 1% of the respondents who have

strongly disagreed with this. This is further analyzed that the people who are

disagreeing have been found to travel even less than a week and their might

be a chance of some unexpected delay during these trips.

From these results, it is clear that Metrobus Lahore is reliable.

Transit Availability

Average of occupancy of buses is 1.06. 70.6% of people surveyed say that

they do not get seat to sit in the bus. While availability of seat is important for

87.6% of respondents.

Time required by majority of respondents to reach stations is about 5 to 15

minutes by various modes. This is somewhat acceptable.

Service is provided for 16 hours and its frequency is 20 in off-peak hours and
27 peak hours. 82% strongly agree and 11.3% respondents agree somewhat

with the statement that they usually had to wait short to catch the bus. 86.3%

of respondents agree to statement that their bus is on time while 8.3% agrees

to somewhat to this statement.

56% of respondents strongly agree to the statement that the schedule is

available and 27.7% of respondents agree somewhat to this. Passengers get

information about time by announcements at station for each and every

coming bus automatically.

Signs have been provided at stations. 81.3% strongly agree to the statement

that the signs were helpful at stations and 14% somewhat agreed. 84%

strongly agree to the statement that they found their station/platform easily

and 14% somewhat agreed to this statement.

Transit Quality

Passenger load factor calculated is 0.98. About 30% of respondents agree to

the statement that they found seat to sit in the bus while 70% disagreed to the

statement. Unavailability of seat in bus is main issue for users. 87.3% of

respondents consider seat availability in bus an important thing.

If we come to assess passenger amenities provided at stops. 91.3% of

respondents agree to the statement that the shelter at station protects them
from sun and rain. 98.3% of respondents agree to the statement that station

and bus areas are clean. 87% of respondents agree to the statement that

they found place to sit at station. 95% of respondents agree to the statement

that stations are well lit at night. Water cooler has been provided at stops

while Public Washrooms are also available.

The reliability in term of high frequency and adherence to the schedule is

highly acceptable.

Announcements of arrival buses are the only way through which information

is delivered.

to passengers at stations. 87.7% finds this statement true that schedule is

available at stations while 95.3% of people agree to statement that bus

reaches to station with respect to schedule. It is to better to mention that

respondents consider announcement a kind of schedule.

According to previous studies, More than 62% of respondents used to pay

fare more than 40 rupees2. Our survey shows that 84.3% of respondents find

fare of Metrobus Lahore is good while 61% of respondents find fare of

previous mode bad.

As far as safety and security is concerned, 77.3% of respondents strongly

agree to statement that they feel safe at day time at station while 64.3% of

respondents strongly agree to statement that they feel safe at night.

Roundabout, 64.7% of respondents think that they will get help in case of

emergency. 64% of respondents strongly agree to the statement that they feel

safer in presence of security guards.

Previous research shows that a survey of 629 sample size was conducted,

and following trend of people satisfaction regarding level of service was

assessed.
 Was the project successful/ failure and why?

A Greatest Successful Project In The History Of Pakistan. The

noise of traffic is inescapable wherever in Lahore you go. A city of

over 10 million and one of the largest in the country. It was a

matter of great achievement when the first modern public mass-

transit system was launched in the city in February 2013. It was

widely publicized that the project had been completed in a record

time of 11 months and is a valuable addition to the civic life of the

citizens of Lahore. Although the project itself was no less

remarkable, the extent of media coverage of the launch and the

presence of dignitaries was surprising.

Recommendation

Metro Bus Transit (MBT) is highly innovative and advanced

transportation technology. Due to rapid urbanization in city

Lahore, construction of MBT was considered as top priority

technology to balance the demand. It was built during 2012 to

2013 from Gajjumata to Shahdara area consisting of 27 stations.

The main objective of the study was to evaluate environmental

and social impacts of MBT before and after its construction, and

willingness to use of people. Study was conducted via interview of

500 respondents during and after the construction of MBT. These

respondents were users, contractors, residents and non-residents

along the corridors of MBT. Mostly, male users were more

frequent due to the higher seats availability to them in bus that

caused gender inequality. MBT has influenced the livelihood of

many people in a positive way such as it created jobs, as

respondents were expecting. Only lower socio-economic

respondents shifted their mode of transportation from own

vehicles to MBT. Most of the respondents mentioned the time

efficiency of the MBT helped them reach their destinations earlier

than riding a conventional bus service. It has reduced traffic

congestion, air pollution, noise pollution, and road accidents to

some extent. Majority of the respondents also showed willingness

toward the improvements in other projects such as electricity

supply, education, healthcare facility and other basic needs.

Respondents expressed high willingness to use MBT rather than

the conventional public transport and satisfied from its impacts.

However, more amendments and improvements should be

proposed for enhancing the efficiency of Metro Bus Transit. ©

2016, University of the Philippines Los Banos. All rights reserved.

Conclusion

Metro Bus Transit was a new project in Pakistan that has

revolutionized transport sector. Overall, it was good for the people

of Lahore to travel within the city. It was beneficial for lower class

people, who had less income and low living standards. Its quality

and fare were better than conventional bus system that’s why

most people preferred to ride it. People were very hopeful for

MBT so their views remained same to some extent before and

after implementation. MBT gave benefits to many people and

provided secure way of transportation. It increased traffic safety

by reducing the frequency of traffic incidents, injuries and deaths.

It helped in reducing the traffic jam due to its separate track from

mixed traditional traffic. It improved environmental condition and

health of respondents by reducing air and noise pollution. It was

time efficient and cost effective. After getting people’s opinions

and analysis of observations, people showed high willingness to

use rather than basic mode of public transport and were satisfied

from its impacts in this growing period of urbanization. But

citizens of Lahore need improvement in other projects also, such

as power supply, education and health facilities. It made a

pathway to build various modernized transportation projects not

within Lahore but also targeted different major cities.