Fascinating article from a Bangalore group on the need for integrated transport. In Goa, this is just left to happen by itself, and is an issue not even discussed. Transport chaos (and inadequacy) in Goa is increasingly becoming obvious. An issue waiting to be taken up. FN
>From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wed Mar 30 13:56:33 2005 An article on integrated transport system written by Swati Ramanathan co-founder, Janaagraha and published in The Times of India on 27th Mar 05, 2005 is attached for your information. Do e-mail feedback to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ____________________________________________ BLUEPRINT FOR THE CITY INTEGRATED TRANSPORT: THE NETWORKED CITY Swati Ramanathan Traffic conditions in recent times have dramatically altered Bangalore's image from a dream city to a daytime nightmare. We have over 20 lakh vehicles, with 780 additions daily. Yet, over 60% of the population is dependent on the bus system. Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has 3700 buses running on 400 routes and making 52,423 trips per day, and there is still more demand. Putting in place an integrated public transport system is critical for Bangalore for three reasons: First, public transport is the primary means of connectivity for 60% of the population, which cannot afford private transport. Lack of access cuts people from employment opportunities, services like education and health. Second, those who own private vehicles must have incentives to use public transport instead. Public transport is environmentally friendly, energy efficient and promotes a healthier urban lifestyle. If done credibly, it will bring predictability and productivity to people's time. Third, it replaces the current erroneous practices of focusing solely on flyovers, and road widening. Bangalore's economic momentum is pushing the city's boundaries rapidly. A traffic study by IIIE, along the Tumkur, Hosur, Bannerghetta and Mysore roads, shows that the traffic on these roads has doubled in the last five years and now exceeds road capacity. However, increasing the number of lanes will only increase the number of cars. Financial resources are precious, which means choices have to be made; a balanced prioritisation towards integrated public transport systems is needed. In such a scenario, the Metro Rail proposal for Bangalore has found official sanction, as the panacea to our paralyzed productivity. A mass rapid system is undeniably the need of the hour. However, before we rush ahead, let us examine public transport from an integrated perspective. What defines a successful integrated public transport system? SEVEN critical parameters are required: comprehensive connectivity; convenience; affordability; frequency; reliability; safety, and aesthetics. Bangalore's Metro Rail proposal needs to be viewed through this framework. Let us assume high quality aesthetics, reliability, frequency and safety, and focus on the remaining 3 factors: Affordability The metro rail in Bangalore, is planned to cover 36 running kilometers at Rs. 6000 crores, a 50% jump over the initial estimate of Rs. 4000 crores. Unlike Delhi and Calcutta, which were funded through central grants, Bangalore Metro will be raising debt. BMRTL estimates 800 building demolitions to make way for the metro. Owners of land will need to be fairly compensated. More financial information is needed: how will ticket fares be sufficient to repay the loans, what happens if ridership volumes are not as per projections, or if project delays increase the costs? Learning from experiences of other cities is important, especially Delhi (see case study). The metro system in Beijing takes only 11% of the public transport volume. Curitiba and Bogota are successfully using rapid bus systems at a cost that is 5-10% that of the metro and provides greater connectivity around the city. Japan is investing in monorails at 25% cost compared to the metrorail. Comprehensive Connectivity Currently, the metro rail services the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike area alone. Much of Bangalore's growth will be in the surrounding eight municipalities. We need to understand how the metro rail connects these growth areas. Similarly, what is the rapid transit access to the Devanahalli international airport, as in most international cities? Utilizing existing rail network is both logical and cost saving. The railways already have infrastructure along five radials from the city centre. How has this been factored into the overall transport design? What about connection with the KSRTC/BMTC bus depot network? A framework of efficient connections between different modes of transport needs to be articulated. Convenience Is the logic of the route to service the densest parts of the city? Connecting residential areas to employment centers, main markets, exit points of the city, etc? The proposed route runs 36 km through 22 of the 100 wards. Hence, few homes and work places are going to be walking distance from the metro rail station. How will the metro overcome this disincentive for use? Are parking facilities for private vehicles planned at major stops? A final critical point is the revision to the Comprehensive Development Plan of greater Bangalore that is undertaken every ten years. The latest revision is to be unveiled to the public any day now. It is imperative that the revision integrates the plans for public transport, since it will dramatically define Land Use and Zoning and issues of density. Without this our CDP will continue to be an irrelevant paper exercise. Careful deliberation on an integrated public transport plan now, will save us possibly making a costly mistake. One that will inconvenience us intolerably in the present and haunt us permanently in the future. 3 CASE STUDIES OF TRANSPORT SYSTEMS Curitiba In 1974, the city created a road hierarchy as well as a land control system. Five different types of bus services serve 8 different kinds of lines according to the various demands on designated roads. A small bus circulates in areas of lower demand, the up to 270 passenger-carrying bi-articulated buses on the main arteries. Bus services are centrally reimbursed by the kilometer instead of the total of passengers carried. Urban growth was channelled into desired areas where transport access was sufficient. Transport policies are directly linked to land-use strategies. The lay-out of the streets was seldom altered. A co-ordinated growth of the city was achieved by combining land-use and infrastructure planning. Interchange stations were placed in proximity to busy areas. The approach followed in Curitiba is a cost-effective transport network without installing expensive train systems. By transforming the already-existing bus system into an efficient mode of transportation, the city solved a great part of its traffic problems and without public subsidy. Paris The Paris transport system is based around four main modes of transport: the metro, the Réseau Express Régional (RER) commuter railway and the bus. The public transport system in Paris is governed by the Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP). The RATP also runs buses from the two airports, Orly and Charles de Gaulle, to various points in the city of Paris. All three modes of transport use the same ticketing system so the basic RATP ticket covers the entire metro system, RER and the bus. Some of the suburban lines for the Paris / Ile-de-France region are run by the French national railway company (Societe Nationale des Chemin de Fer), SNCF. The metro is the second largest in Europe and has recently completed a new, fully automated line running from east to west across the city. The whole of the so-called METEOR line has cost more than a ?1 billion. Delhi Metro Rail Commissioned to carry 21.8 lakh passengers per day for 63 km of phase 1.28 km built so far in 7 years, used by 1.5 lakh passengers per day. PRO, Anuj Dayal attributed low usage to lack of feeder services to and from metro stations. Built under pressure of Railway Department as a broad guage which has a turning radius of 210 metres, instead of standard guage. Original cost estimates overshot by multiples. Currently, 63 kms expected to to cost 12,000 crores. Heavily subsidized through public land sale and power subsidies. Recent sale of 30 acres of land for 600 crores, to pay for operations & maintenance. Sheila Dixit quoted in February 2005 in a national daily remarking that the monorail is a cheaper, quicker, space saving and more modern alternative for public transport. ______________________________________________________________________________ The writer is co-founder of Janaagraha and has been involved in issues of urban planning. She can be contacted at [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____ _/ ____\____ Frederick Noronha * Freelance Journalist * Goa \ __\/ \ India T +91.832.2409490 M +919822 122436 | | | | \ http://fn.swiki.net http://goabooks.swiki.net |__| |___| / http://www.bytesforall.net http://www.bytesforall.org \/ ----------------------------------------------------- Sign up for low-volume, high-quality news summaries and updates from Goa at http://newsfromgoa.swiki.net * It's free and volunteer-driven.