For the past one year, commuting on roads near Paldi AMTS bus stop, Jodhpur cross roads and Geetamandir required almost F1 grade driving skills. Heavy traffic congestion after 9pm, mainly because of private luxury buses were the commuters' worst nightmare on these roads.
An earlier notification issued in 2009 by Traffic police allowed these buses to ply on the city roads between 9am and 9pm. As soon as it struck 9 in the night, these heavy-duty vehicles swarmed out off their stands and occupied the roads, mainly on Ashram road, Raipur, Paldi, Jodhpur and Shivranjani area, obstructing regular vehicles by blocking the roads with their massive sizes.
Taking a serious note of the extreme traffic congestion and commuters' woes, the Commissioner of Police issued a new notification on May 19, extending the limit from 9pm to 11 in the night. The morning limit was also lifted up from 9am to 8 am.
Thus, heavy vehicles, including private buses have been barred from entering in the city between 8am to 11pm, making way for other regular commuters.
As an exception, the notification has allowed these buses to ply only in some designated roads of the city between 1pm to 4pm during afternoon. These routes include the road from Iskcon temple to Memnagar via Shiranjani and IIMA, and another route from Iskcon temple to Paldi via Shyamal, Jivraj crossroads and Vasna.
The notification specifically asked the bus owners and drivers to park their vehicles at designated parking plots, and not on the roads. They are also required to provide the list of such plots and acquire permission from traffic department to use these parking plots to pick up or drop the passengers.
Such drastic steps by city cops have been welcomed by vexed commuters, who have been suffering since long, particularly at Paldi, Shivranjani and Jodhpur. According to these people, they are thus saving crucial time while traveling from old city to their homes.
"Earlier the limit of 9pm was ineffective, as that was the time when Ashram road saw massive traffic turnout. To add to our woes, these buses occupied the road, leaving no space for us. Now, I save almost 20 minutes and also 'valuable' petrol!" said Jaymin Vaghela, a resident of Bopal whose office is located at Ashram road.
Similarly, commuters near Jodhpur are also happy with the decision. "The road has become narrower due to ongoing BRTS work. These buses used to further narrow the space by parking on the road at their stand at Jodhpur. I am relieved to see open roads after the notification," said Amrish Prajapti, a marketing executive.
After the notification, many bus operators have shifted their base from Paldi or Jodhpur to SG Highway. The shift is now causing trouble for commuters of service roads, as the buses are parked on the service roads. "We will not allow such activity in our city limits and will take stringent steps to ensure that the bus owners are following the rules," a senior traffic cop asserted.

source : DNA