E-buses set to roll in, but can pedestrians walk safely?

Bhopal: State capital prepares to roll out its first fleet of 100 electric buses by mid-2026 under the PM e-Bus Sewa scheme, transport experts are warning that the city cannot ignore a more basic obligation – ensuring pedestrians actually enjoy their legal right of way on its streets.Union govt has cleared 100 e-buses for Bhopal in the first phase, with 95 more proposed later, positioning the capital as a flagship for Madhya Pradesh's electric transition. Charging depots are nearing completion, and officials say the new services will act as clean feeders to the recently inaugurated metro network.But on the ground, walking to and from bus stops remains risky. Electric buses are a positive and long-pending move for Bhopal, but technology by itself will not make our streets safer. Unless we redesign intersections, slow down traffic around bus stops, rigorously enforce pedestrians' right of way at crossings and ensure last-mile connectivity to those stops, people will feel unsafe on foot, said road safety expert and MANIT department of architecture and planning, assistant professor, Rahul Tiwari."We are committed to enhancing Bhopal's ease of living by ensuring citizens can walk without worry. With cleaner AQI from our e-bus rollout, quality paver blocks on footpaths and strict measures to protect pedestrian right of way, we will allocate road space effectively to prioritise safe walking access to every bus stop and crossing," said BMC commissioner Sanskriti Jain.A 2025 report — after dismantling of ‘dedicated' BRTS corridor—city conditions found that only a minority of Bhopal's roads have usable footpaths, many of them broken or encroached, forcing people to walk in live traffic. Safe crossings are also scarce, with fewer than two in ten locations offering marked pedestrian crossings, and even there, drivers routinely ignore zebra markings.This reality sits uneasily with India's Rules of the Road Regulations, 1989, which state that pedestrians have the right of way at uncontrolled crossings. Courts have reinforced this principle, holding that drivers must recognise the "first right" of pedestrians on the road, even when people cross away from zebra lines.Field studies at busy junctions like Nehru Nagar and Mata Mandir show hundreds of pedestrians an hour navigating faded zebras without pedestrian signals, while vehicles – including buses – pass at speeds above 25–45 km/h. Researchers have urged speed enforcement and redesign of crossings before higher-frequency e-bus services increase traffic flows .