Starting with a comprehensive report in 2007, and even earlier, several proposals have been made to implement Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) in Bangalore. There is lack of clarity on status of these proposals, and many government agencies themselves are not sure if BRTS will be an effective solution for Bangalore.

Recommendations in CTTP, 2007

A transport survey carried out in 2007, referred to as CTTP, recommended Bangalore

Bangalore

Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...

 BRTS, with 14 routes totaling 282 km. CTTP recommended following routes :

• Hebbal to Bannerghatta Road along eastern crescent of outer ring road (33.0 km)
• Benniganahalli (ORR) to PRR along old Madras Road (7.0 km)
• From ORR to Hosur Rd along Hi-tech Corridor (8.0 km)
• Hosur Road to Tumkur Road along PRR (western part) (41.0 km)
• Tumkur Road-PRR Junction to Hosur Road along PRR via Tirumanahalli, Old Madras Road, Whitefield (76.0 km)
• Along Core Ring Road (30.0 km)
• Vidyaranyapura to Nagavarapalya via Hebbal, Jayamahal Road, Queens Road, M.G. Road, Ulsoor, Indranagar, CV Raman Nagar (29.0 km)
• Kengeri Satellite Town to J.P. Nagar along Uttarahalli Road, Kodipur (13.0 km)
• Banashankari III stage to Banashankari VI stage Ext. along Ittumadu Road, Turahalli, Thalaghattapura (6.0 km)
• Domlur Ext. to Koramangala along inner ring road (5.0 km)
• PRR (Mulur) to Maruti Nagar (up to Hitech corridor) along Sarjapur Road (7.0 km)
• Peenya to PRR along Tumkur Road (6.0 km)
• Old Madras Road near Indiranagar to ORR near Banaswadi along Baiyyappanahalli Road -Banaswadi Road (5.5 km)
• Hebbal to Devanahalli Airport along Bellary Road (25.0 km)
• Total 282 km

Other proposals

There have also been other proposals for BRTS routes, some of these talk of new routes, and some overlap with CTTP recommendations.

Radial Corridors

In 2009, on recommendation from Agenda for Bangalore Infrastructure Development (ABIDe), City of Bangalore started investments to enhance 12 radial corridors for land based public transport. A distinctly branded bus service called Big10 was started by BMTC as part of the project. There are proposals to consider some of these corridors for BRTS.

Ring Roads

CTTP and few other proposals have talked of implementing BRTS on two large ring roads in Bangalore. BRTS was considered by BDA for Outer Ring Road, but the road has instead been taken for conversion to a signal free corridor. BRTS has also been talked about for the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR). However, since PRR itself is still in design and planning stage, there has not been much progress regarding BRTS

Status, issues and opposition

Some local public transport observers and citizens feel that most road corridors are too narrow for developing dedicated lanes for BRTS. Further, enforcement of traffic is generally seen to be weak, and many doubt if the city will be able to enforce dedicate lanes. Last, many feel that city is not mature yet to accept dedicated lanes, and private vehicle users may not like the proposal.

However, many feel that despite public statements of support for the concept, BRTS implementations have not made big progress due to lack of clear ownership between BMTC

Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation is a government agency that operates the public transport bus service in Bangalore, India.-History:...

, BBMP, BDA

Bangalore Development Authority

The Bangalore Development Authority of Bangalore, India, is a governmental organization that oversees planning and development of infrastructure, provision of development-related sites and services, and the housing needs of underprivileged citizens in Bangalore.BDA was created on January 6, 1976...

 and City Traffic Police.

Current status, CTTP or Ring Road recommendations

The State Government has not taken up all recommendations from CTTP. BDA has been working on parts of the proposal since 2008. More recently, in early 2010, BDA had started on a detailed project report to implement BRTS on the eastern loop Outer Ring Road.

Bus Priority System

To work over the perceptions against BRTS, Praja Bangalore

Praja Bangalore

Praja Bangalore is a unique group of citizens who take active interest in urban civic issues concerning Bangalore. Unlike the traditional Activist groups and NGOs in India, members of this non-profit group interact largely via Internet based Social media tools....

, a citizen advocacy group is pushing for Bus Priority System, wherein there would be dedicated lanes, specialized signals, underpasses for the buses only at the critical choke points on critical radial corridors. Bangalore could move towards full fledged BRTS once the benefits of Bus Priority help work over the negative perceptions.