Ahmedabad’s two-year-old bus rapid transit (BRT) system, known as Janmarg, earned one more national award during the fourth annual Urban Mobility India (UMI) conference held in New Delhi. India’s Ministry of Urban Development recognized Janmarg as the “Best Intelligent Transport System Project.” The Janmarg BRT has won six national and international awards in the system’s first two years of operation.

The award was conferred on the basis of integration of the Janmarg buses and control room through GPS to gain information on speed of the buses and stoppage time of buses at stations. Janmarg will also implement a smart card system for fare collection soon.

The Ministry of Urban Development gives various categories of “Best Practice” awards to urban transport systems. Janmarg had applied in two categories, including Best Public Private Partnership and Best Intelligent Transport System Project.

Five years in the making, the Janmarg BRT system opened on October 14, 2009 after three months of free trial run in the city. At present, the Janmarg network covers more than 45 km and carries more than 140,000 passengers per day. ITDP worked with the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and CEPT University during the planning and implementation phases of the project, providing technical assistance and advisory support.

National and international awards for Janmarg:
1. Best Mass Rapid Transit System from the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, 2010
2. Sustainable Transport Award, 2010
3. Outstanding innovation in Public Transport from the International Transport Forum and International Association of Public Transport, 2010
4. New Technological Innovations from the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India 2010
5. Daring Ambition Award and Knowledge and Research Award from the International Association of Public Transport, 2011
6. Best Intelligent Transport System from the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India 2011