Surat: A company was given contract by Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) to install automatic swing gates to check private vehicles from entering the lanes meant for Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) buses. This company had given a demonstration of the automatic swing gates to the SMC authorities 14 months ago, but is yet to begin work. One of the reasons the BRTS looks shoddy is this. The company has also not set up bus tracking system for the city bus services.Nearly 50 vehicles are daily caught and fined for passing through the BRTS lanes. Absence of automatic swing gates also allows stray cattle on to the BRTS lanes in Kapodra, Kamrej and Vesu. The automatic swing gates would open only for BRTS buses, SMC emergency vehicles and police jeeps.Trials of automatic swing gates were held 14 months ago subsequent to which the company was given the contract. The company was supposed to install 17 automatic swing gates at different places to check people and vehicles from moving on to the BRTS lanes.Special commissioner for smart city project M Nagrajan said, "The work is in progress. The automatic swing gates will be installed after monsoon."SMC officials said the bus tracking system would also be set for the city buses shortly."These might be comparatively small things but are significant cogs in a large machine. The BRTS project looks shoddy in the absence of automatic swing gates and bus tracking system. We are trying our best to see that people don't lose their trust in the mass transport system," an officer of SMC said.

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