making urban travel easier

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ANNIVERS

ARY

ISSUE

218 BUSINESS TODAY January 6 2013

Making UrbanTravel Easier

Indiasurbantran-sport story is certainly one

of hope. In the last five

years or so there has been a

huge surge of interest

across cities in urban trans-

port solutions, largely due

to the success of the Delhi Metro.

Though the Kolkata Metro has existed

for around 20 years, it never gener-

ated the kind of excitement the Delhione has. Cities currently implement-

ing metro projects (or expanding exist-

ing lines) include Mumbai, Ahme-

dabad, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata,

Jaipur and Bangalore.

It is reported that there are 19 cit-

ies currently working on project re-

ports for urban solutions. Ludhianas

report is said to be ready.

Customised Solutions

for India

In the popular imagination, the metrois the answer to all transport prob-

lems. But metros need to meet certain

criteria to be successful. They are

capital intensive and can only be effec-

tive solutions for cities with large

populations, where people have the

ability to pay and ensure a high den-

sity of commuter traffic.

Not all Indian towns can sustain a

metro. There is a view that for a metro

to be a viable option, the city con-

cerned should have a popu-

lation of at least five million

along with high commuter

traffic.

There is a whole range

of urban transport solu-

tions possible for a country

like India. Positive change

can be brought about by improving

the quality and efficiency of public bus

transport systems, making them of the

kind one sees in western cities wherebuses arrive on time and have digi-

tised displays; there can be bus rapid

transit systems (BRTS)with dedicated

corridors; electric tramways; electric

trolley buses; monorails; light rail

systems. Then there could be metro

rails of different intensities. Along

with mainline solutions there can be

a range of eco-friendly feeder systems.

There are also green solutions, such as

implemented in some cities of Europe,

which have cycling tracks all over.

One system feeds into another, whichdetermines the efficacy of the overall

urban transport solution.

In Gurgaon, for instance, there is

a Rapid Metro coming up, which

feeds into the Delhi Metro. There are

electric rickshaws in New Delhi.

There should be a combination of

urban trunk routes and a feeder sys-

tem. The feeder system has been a

historic weak spot in Indian

urban transport solutions.

VINAYAK CHATTERJEE


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The author is Chairman, Feedback Infrastructure

ANNIVERS

ARY

ISSUE

220 BUSINESS TODAY January 6 2013

What the country requires is a mapping of the

top 100 cities from the smallest to the largest.

Then technical choices need to be made. Urban transport

choices have to be tailored to the specific needs of

each city.

Also, for an urban transport solution to be effective

and efficient it has to keep place with urbanization.

One characteristic of urbanisation has been growth

of satellite towns; we need solutions to enable movement

of people from these periph-

eral towns to their main work

centres. So while looking at

urban transport solutions,

one should not only look

within the city but also at theconnecting urban nodes.

Given the rate at which India

is growing there will have to

be more and more satellite

towns, from which people

commute to the main centre

and go back, what in the

United States are known as

sleeper towns.

A plan for a Regional

Rapid Transport System

(RRTS)has been approved in

principle for the NationalCapital Region. Three lines

have been approved under

RRTS at an estimated cost of

`72,000 crore. They will run

between Delhi and Sonepat/

Panipat, Delhi and Alwar, and

Delhi and Meerut, via

Ghaziabad. These will be com-

muter trains like the metro,

but they will not be under the

Delhi Metro or the Railways.

The urban ministry and the

respective state governments

will coordinate to run them.

Entrepreneurship and InnovationOther innovations are taking place too. There has been a

mushrooming of radio taxis. In Gurgaon, there are radio

tuk-tuks (autorickshaws which can be called on the mo-

bile). BRTSis also catching on, especially in cities with

long, wide carriageways such as Ahmedabad and Indore.

BRTSdid not work effectively in Delhi, because of

space constraints and location challenges. But it has

succeeded in cities across the world with wide carriage-

ways. In Delhi, BRTSwas squeezed into a cramped cor-

ridor. Space for the BRTSwas squeezed out by restricting

car movement.

Indian cities are ideal for a wide range of urban trans-

port solutions. For example, a city like Chandigarh would

be ideal for an electric trolley-bus service or an electric

tram service. It has the space, it has long carriageways

and no shortage of power. A

city like Chandigarh requires

lighter solutions than a metro.

Money Trail

India will see a surge in in-vestments in the urban trans-

port solution space in the

next five years. Around

`15,000 crore, for in-

stance, is being invested

in the Hyderabad metro.

If 10 cities need to have

similar metros, it means an

investment of `150,000

crore. With other towns and

cities implementing other

solutions, the investment po-

tential would be around`300,000 crore.

There are two points of

view of how such massive

funds can be raised. E.

Sreedharan, who built the

Delhi Metro, believes metros

should be funded by public

expenditure alone, with loans

being raised from the World

Bank and other sources.

There is also a view in the

government that private cap-

ital should be used wherever

possible. Hyderabad Metro is a classic case it is the first

metro project in the public-private partnership mode,

being built by Larsen & Toubro. I believe both ap-

proaches will co-exist in coming years.

The two big challenges that remain are those of land

acquisition in dense urban corridors and approvals from

railway systems. But things are moving faster as com-

pared to yesteryears.~

(As told to Shweta Punj)

One characteristic ofurbanisation has been

growth of satellite towns;we need solutions toenable movement of

people from theseperipheral towns to their

main work centres

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