Fast buses may appear in Tbilisi

Fast buses moving on separate lines may appear in Tbilisi soon, a man working for a developmental plan for the city has told the Georgian media.

Marab Bolkvadze is one of the leaders of the group working on the plan, and he says that the buses will not have to obey traffic lights.

“Separate lines will be set up in order for other cars not to be able to use them. Everybody will be obliged to give way to these buses. The so-called ‘fast buses’ will be ones that are larger, because they can transport more people. In the future, when the city has more funds, we can use these lines for tramways as well,” he said.

Only three routes are defined for the fast buses so far:

Didi Digomi – Marshal Gelovani Avenue – Saburtalo – Vake – Liberty Square – Ortachala Auto Market

2. Gldani – Tsereteli Avenue – Aghmashenebeli Avenue – Rike Territory

3. Avchala highway – Railway Station – Avlabari – Airport Highway

Introducing the buses is not a bad idea at all; however, there are some issues that must be taken into account.

The special lines have already been painted in some parts of the city only for buses, but man drivers have used them for parking.

Thus, initially, the local government must inform people about the meaning of the lines and settle the city's severe parking problem.

Also, drivers of public transport vehicles in the capital city quite often violate traffic rules themselves.

If in the future the drivers of the ‘fast busses' are given the right to ignore traffic lights, they may cause accidents, especially when both passengers and drivers in the county ignore such rules.

To address the problem, the patrol police must be intolerant of traffic violations, without exceptions.

All in all, before introducing any innovations, city planners must consider all the pros and cons of their ideas and learn how timely the product is, as very good proposals may sometimes cause negative consequences.