Futuristic city needs smart public transport

SK Khosla

The Chandigarh Administration has been making plans and proposals in a piecemeal fashion to check the traffic woes in City Beautiful, but hardly does anything concrete. Several instances are there when many dignitaries have paid lip service to riding bicycles on specific occasions, just for publicity. The Metro project has almost been scrapped after spending money of the tax payers.

Over the years, nobody has thought of giving a re-look to the transport system. With an area of 114 sq km, Chandigarh has witnessed a rapid growth in the number of motor vehicles. The furious pace of motorisation had led to severe traffic congestion and air pollution, adversely impacting the well-being of people, the energy security of the city and the economic efficiency.

Policies to deal with these problems have aimed at improving our public transport system in the belief that this will enable people to shift from using personal vehicles. Public transport uses less road space, consumes less fuel and emits fewer pollutants. Under the existing system, congestion and pollution are only getting worse in the city. It is therefore essential to look at where we have gone wrong.

Undoubtedly, people who can afford cars are unwilling to compromise. If public transport could offer them conveniences, commuting choices might shift. After all, no one likes to drive on crowded streets and struggle to park at crowded destinations.

The emerging slew of shared mobility options ride providers become important. In this small city that offers such services on small and medium sized-buses, these are even more attractive as they offer convenience and are cost-effective. It is the right time to modify regulations to ensure they operate in a safe and equitable manner.

Technology has given us new services not possible earlier. They are serving a public purpose and people are taking to them in a big way. They have the potential to ease congestion and air quality challenges. The rules must, therefore take into account technology-based services for larger benefit.

Under this piquant situation, the only viable and best alternative is to strengthen the public transport system to a large scale as this will help reduce congestion. But the question is who will bell the cat? Officers of the UT Administration come here for a fixed period. They hardly take any interest in the development of the city. Projects such as educity, medicity and theme park even of Metro were envisaged with fanfare, but rejected. It would be in the fitness of things if the personnel sitting at the helm should take a practical lead. The Adviser to the Administrator should take a lead and start using bus to commute to the office.

To accomplish this herculean task, the UT Administration should purchase at least 500 buses in one go (even taking soft loan from any public financial institution), including AC ones to start from V-5 roads across the city with hassle-free service and should be put in fixed places to bring an alarming change. All officers need to be directed to make use of this public transport (bus service) daily. For official duties, vehicles should be available to every officer on requisition.

People need to be made aware to make use of public transport at affordable rates and at intervals of not more than five-minute duration. In the morning and evening, this frequency may be increased.

To manage this system effectively and efficiently, further measures are also needed. These can include:

• Protecting pedestrians by giving them preference to cross the road.
• Issuing one regular ticket for a day at an affordable rate.
• Installing alarm bells in an advanced stage of technology.
• Providing the best kind of cleanliness.
• Wi-Fi facility may be provided in the buses.
• Adhering to efficiency in time.
• Observing of self-discipline by the commuters.
• Studying the feasibility of making cycle tracks available on the existing roads or repairing those already constructed.
• Displaying time-table of all incoming andoutgoing buses.
• Instead of outsourcing, providing regular staff to operate the buses is the basic need.

By implementing these, people will need to shell out less for a public transport that is also reliable, ensures less accidents, less pollution, traffic management, increase in employment opportunities and saving of petroleum products. What else do we need for a futuristic city.

(The writer is Secretary, Chetna Manch, Chandigarh)