Vladimir Filonov / MT

Ten major arteries will be getting designated bus lanes to stimulate people into using public transportation.

Moscow officials have compiled a list of streets that will feature bus lanes. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has many times said the traffic jam problem needs to be solved not only with new roads and junctions, but also by stimulating people to leave their cars at home and use public transportation.

To relieve congestion, the mayor plans to develop mass transit. The idea is for people to reach their destinations faster on public transportation than in their cars. Initial measures include developing public transportation, the road network and parking areas; improving truck transportation flow; creating a single system for managing road traffic flow; and introducing separate lanes for public transportation.

In the next two months, officials will develop proposals to introduce a minimum of 10 separate lanes for public transportation, according to a decree posted on the transportation and communications department's web site.

A few bus lanes are already in use, including an experimental portion of Volokolamskoye Shosse from metro Tushinskaya to the Moscow Ring Road, or MKAD. Bus flow there has accelerated 7 percent; loss of trips due to congestion from other transport means has declined 7.5 percent; the number of trips delayed due to congestion has fallen 43 percent; and the total duration of delays has dropped 59 percent.

There also has been a bus lane from metro Kolomenskaya to Kashirskoye Shosse since Jan. 3. As a result, Prospekt Andropova's inbound lane is now running at 25 kilometers per hour, and the outbound lane at 22 kilometers per hour — up 65 percent and 41 percent, respectively. This has improved performance on some 13 bus routes. The bus routes are to be completely set up by 2012.