Urban transport in a jam

Sushma Ramachandran

THE shiny new car models being launched in the Auto Expo seem to indicate that India is a country with endless smooth highways and city roads that make driving pleasant in a personal vehicle. The fact is that the highway network is limited, though undoubtedly growing by the day, and driving in most Indian cities is a nightmare due to unending traffic jams and unregulated movement of vehicles. The question is, if the situation is so bad, why is there such a huge demand for passenger cars? The simple answer is the abysmal state of public transport. Anyone who has the means would prefer to travel by their own vehicle rather than go through the gauntlet of roughing it out through the mass transport system. The notable exception has been Mumbai where both the urban train system and an efficient bus network have enabled the movement of the working classes from distant suburbs to the congested centre of the city. Even here, the suburban train system is beginning to feel the strain of a growing population, and other options like a metro are on the way.

This is not to say that there are negatives to a thriving automobile industry. The setting up of manufacturing plants by the multinational auto majors is one of the more successful ‘Make in India’ stories even though it came well before the term was coined by the NDA. The entry of Suzuki initially was followed later in the post- liberalisation period by Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Ford and General Motors. The preferred option of selling built-up cars to this country was not possible owing to stringent curbs on imports. The net result of what has always been considered the regressive policy of quantitative restrictions on imports has been the development of a full-fledged auto and auto ancillary industry, with higher indigenisation leading to lower costs and better competitiveness. Maruti Suzuki led the way by creating an entire auto ancillary industry devoted to supplying components for its cars. This pattern was followed by others, ensuring the creation of a vibrant automobile industry with a large capacity for providing employment in linked sectors like components, repair and servicing.

Having said this, one must point out that the same approach should have been taken to lure manufacturers of commercial vehicles for use in public transport. It is inexplicable how successive governments encouraged foreign investors to set up large car plants but made little effort to lure bus manufacturers to create the same kind of production capacities for buses. Some foreign players have entered the fray with considerable success like Volvo while others like Scania are also setting up plants. But their capacity is not enough as yet to meet the country’s demand. As a result, the bulk of city bus production continues to be provided by the Tatas and Ashok Leyland who have been the major producers for decades. In fact, it seems as if liberalisation has bypassed the bus production segment as there has been no change in the scenario even after economic reforms in 1991.

Demand for buses has far outstripped capacity. No wonder then, the Delhi Government is having a tough time trying to buy more buses to meet the needs of the growing city. One of the problems is that the manufacturers till recently have only been making bus chassis and the body is built by other agencies. The concept of a fully built bus came to the country only with the advent of Volvo. Owing to demand for modern buses by state transport undertakings, the major suppliers have entered into collaborations with foreign companies in recent years. 

Strangely enough, even though it is a truism that buses carry many people and therefore should be encouraged as the best form of mass transport, policy makers have not paid enough attention to this less glamorous segment of the automobile industry. The resulting shortfall of buses on city roads has led to a host of related problems. First, buses are overcrowded, creating serious safety hazards for passengers. Second, anyone who can afford to do so avoids bus transport and opts for a personal vehicle, either a two-wheeler or a four-wheeler. Third, this creates huge congestion and leads to higher pollution levels. Thus despite the fact that Delhi’s buses are all using CNG, the pollution levels continue to rise owing to the preference for personalised transport. The metro in Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai is a saving grace but even here the lack of last mile connectivity forces many citizens to opt for their own vehicles. 

The situation in Delhi is mirrored in other big cities. Smaller cities have even more problems owing to extremely poor local bus networks. To add to the problem is the poor quality of buses being provided to the citizens, especially the tendency to have stairs at a height which are difficult to access by women, the elderly and the disabled. In this respect, the southern states have created better infrastructure at least for inter-city travel. Both state transport and private players have been allowed to operate and have been providing safe and comfortable travel options as well as a wide variety of routes. 

The solution to the shortfall in public transport networks lies largely in a change in the policy which has been skewed in favour of personal vehicles. The Auto Expo, or the Delhi Motor Show as it is now called, is a glamorous event with a host of snazzy new car models being launched, but higher car sales will only mean more clogged roads in cities. It is high time the government takes concerted action to improve the state of public transport in the country. This has to be done with a package of measures including incentives for investors to set up modern bus production plants, making tariffs cheaper for consumers and creating mass transport systems like the metro in major cities. Unless this is done with a pioneering zeal, the urban transport scenario in this country will continue to be in dire straits.