AHMEDABAD: While the real estate in Ahmedabad is desperately in need of an adrenalin shot to jive back to action, a recent presentation on the BRTS corridor and realty development along it by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) claims that there has been a significant rise of realty rates along BRTS corridor since 2007. Based on the government Jantri rates (basic minimum prices fixed for the land by government), the study has compared the latest 2011 rates with those of 2007 rates and has also taken into account the density of households along the BRTS corridor. To start with, if one takes into account the total area of Ahmedabad, which is 469 sq km, then the average population density of the city works out to be 136 persons per hectare (ppha), while the density along the BRTS corridor is 299 ppha. AMC study says there are an additional 20,065 buildings that have come up in the city, mostly in the vicinity of the BRTS corridor since work began on the corridor in 2006. There is a 7.4% increase over the number of properties registered till 2006. The study also reflects the fact that Sarangpur, Soni ni Chali, Odhav and Naroda in the eastern part of the city have gained significantly because of the BRTS corridor. A better accessibility across the river to the eastern side has raised land Jantri rates from Rs 10,000 per sq m to Rs 20,000 per sq m in the last five years. The number of residential societies coming up along the 500 metre buffer zone is anywhere between 125 to 150 residential properties per hectare. This is significant as many commuters who take BRTS buses go to commercial areas. In posh western areas, Jantri rates have jumped from 60 to 185% land after the BRTS service started in 2009, claims the AMC study. "It's the number of the commercial properties that have come up along the BRTS corridor that will be significant for the corridor in future. We expect the BRTS to fuel what we call a transit-oriented development. Today on an average, around 2,000 to 3,000 households are getting developed along each radial of the BRTS," said a senior AMC official. The official added, "With the growing popularity of the transport medium , BRTS is contributing towards reducing traffic on roads. As per our calculation a BRTS bus occupies 90 sq m and moves 180 people, while in the regular mixed traffic lanes, with various types of cars and scooters only 168 people move after their vehicles occupy 550 sq m. One can see the road space that is occupied by vehicles in the mixed traffic lanes that normally leads to congestion. Increasing road widths can't be an answer to solving traffic problems as new vehicles get added to these expanded roads."