Ahmedabad has a population of more than 6.3 million and an extended population of 7.2 million. It is the
sixth largest city and
seventh largest metropolitan area of India. The
bus rapid transport system was created to serve a growing population. In 2005, feasibility study reports were prepared by the state project development agency, Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board, and later by
CEPT University. The study was headed by H. M. Shivanand Swamy; an economist, urban planner and associate director of CEPT. The project was sanctioned by the
Ministry of Urban Development under
JNNURM program in 2005. CEPT designed the system after detailed analysis. Based on an analysis of the socio-economic factors, travel demand patterns, road network characteristics, the metro plan and the existing
Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS) route network, a network of roads covering about 155 kilometres in length was identified for developing the BRTS. The second half of the first phase of the BRTS was inaugurated on 25 December 2009. It was extended to
Kankaria Lake later, to cater to the eastern part of the city, and from Shivranjani to Iskcon Temple on 15 September 2012. On 28 September 2012, it expanded from Soni ni Chali to Odhav. The network expanded to 89 km by December 2015 at the total cost of 1200 crore. The third phase of the project includes the Shivranjani-APMC, Jashodanagar-Hathijan, Sola-Science City, Narol-Aslali and Akhbarnagar-Gota Crossroads stretches. It was approved in 2013 and is under construction. Dedicated buses for women were introduced in January 2016. In future, BRTS will be integrated with the
Ahmedabad Metro, which is under construction. == Routes==