Fort Management Plan – Implementation of Fort Pheri

This project has been initiated under the Fort Management Plan.

The Urban Design Research Institute has been engaged deeply with the Fort area and in collaboration with the Federation of Residents Trust (FORT) has prepared the Fort Management Plan (FMP). One of the aspects of this plan is traffic, transport and the promotion of public transport services in the Fort area.

As part of the Fort Management Plan UDRI implemented in December 2011 in conjunction with the BEST, the Fort Pheri buses scheme which undertakes a circular pre-determined route in the business district of South Mumbai. The 24 low floor Star buses follow a circular route that covers CST, Ballard Estate, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Regal, Mantralaya, Vidhan Bhavan, Marine Drive, Churchgate and D.N. Road. The Star buses have a fold down ramp for wheelchair accessibility and the seating is configured to allow for a larger number of standing passengers who will use this bus as a hop on and hop off service. The low floor bus also makes it easier for the elderly and disabled. The buses were hand painted, reviving an almost lost craftsmanship.

The buses were meant to operate at a 4 minute frequency in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions and currently provide about 16000 commuters transport at a very nominal price. This amounts to approximately 10 million, and counting, commuters who have benefited up to now and significantly helped de-congest the roads.