Hubballi-Dharwad BRTS (also known as HDBRTS and Chigari) is a bus rapid transit system built to serve the twin cities of Hubballi and Dharwad. HDBRTS is funded by joint collaboration of the World Bank, the Government of Karnataka, NWKRTC, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MHUA).
The trial run of HDBRTS was started on 2nd October 2018 and it was officially inaugurated by honorable Vice President of India Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu on 2nd February 2020. The total cost of the project was around ₹980 Crores.
HDBRTS Corridor
The length of the HDBRTS Corridor is around 22.5kms. HDBRTS Corridor is 35m wide in city limits (6 lane road – 4 lanes for mixed traffic + 2 lanes for BRTS) and 44m wide outside city limits (8 lane road – 4 lanes for mixed traffic + 4 lanes for BRTS)
There are 2 two lane BRT Flyovers (Prerna College to Unkal Village and Unkal Village to Unkal Lake) and 1 three lane BRT Flyover (APMC to Navanagar) constructed along the corridor. 1.32 Kilometres long Rail Over Bridge(ROB) is under construction at Navalur.
The BRTS corridor includes Segregated Bus Lanes, Access-Controlled bus stations, Off-board ticketing through Smart Cards and Bar-Coded paper tickets, Intelligent Transport System(ITS), and is operated by BRT standard buses from Volvo UD.
HDBRTS – Types of Services and Routes
Types of Services:
- Express service with Limited Stops (Route 100 series).
- Regular service with all stops (Route 200 and 201 series).
- Feeder services.
Routes:
- 100D – Old Bus Stand Hubballi to Dharwad BRTS Terminal (Stops at Hosur Cross, KIMS, Navanagar, and SDM Medical College only).
- 200A – CBT Hubballi to Dharwad BRTS Terminal (All stops).
- 200D – Old Bus Stand Hubballi to Dharwad BRTS Terminal (All stops).
- 201B – Railway Station Hubballi to Dharwad New Bus Stand (All Stops).
- 201D – Old Bus Stand Hubballi to Dharwad New Bus Stand (All stops).
At present HDBRTS is operating 2 feeder routes viz Navalur to Lakkamanahalli and HDBRTS Interchange Hosur to Old Bus Stand Hubballi. More feeder routes are expected to start soon. And HDBRTS has plans to connect Hubballi Airport with Dharwad.
HDBRTS – Stations and Infrastructure
- Foot Over Bridges(FOB) are constructed at 6 stations (HDBRTS Interchange, Prerana College, Unkal Lake, Navanagar, Isckon Temple, and SDM Medical Hospital) and one FOB is under construction at KLE Technological University. Ramps have been provided at almost all the FOBs to facilitate the Pedestrian Movement. Elevators have also been provided for easy access to elderly people.
- Entry to BRTS stops is Access- Controlled. Off-board ticketing facility is available through Smart Cards and QR Coded Paper Tickets. Commuter needs to tap the Smart Card or Scan the QR Coded ticket to enter stop.
- Intelligent Transportation System(ITS) display shows the exact schedule of Arrival and Departure of BRT buses.
- Doors are sensor-controlled and they open automatically when the bus arrives.
HDBRTS – Fleet of Buses and its Features
- HDBRTS operates 100 standard 12m BRT buses by Volvo UD. 25 Electric buses will also be part of the HDBRTS fleet (Make is yet to be decided).
- LED Display Board inside the bus will display Current and Next Station information for Passengers and also announce via Loudspeaker.
HDBRTS – Awards
In 2019, HDBRTS bagged the Union Government’s Best Urban Mass Transit project’ Award of Excellence. HD-BRTS had put behind 10 metro services and 9 BRTS services across India, including Bengaluru Metro, Chennai Metro, Ahmedabad BRTS, and others to win this award.
An eight-member committee constituted by Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs scrutinised projects from across India and based on the findings the panel declared HD-BRTS as the best Transit Project in the country.