On a 12 hr average working hours a day most of us spend approximately 3hours or more in traffic in most of the tier 1 cities in India. Our local governments are trying to address this issue broadly,however the results are remarkably in Vain. Sunita Narain, director general of CSE India has rightly pointed out several factors in her latest blog 'Temporary Solution,Permanent Jam'. Factors that temporary solve the issue,leaving room for permanent failure define the characteristic of most of the measures that Government is engaging now.
A Comparative Case Study(2012)
According to a News Published in DNA paper couple of months back,the city of Pune has now more than 23 lakh vehicles as compared to Mumbai which has 21 lakh vehicles.Interestingly Mumbai has a population of around 1.25 Crores while Pune has just over 55lakh. More so, while Mumbai has around 5000 Buses along with the network of Local trains,Pune has just around 1500 Buses for the whole population.According to Pune regional transport office, nearly 775 New vehicles are added each day,adding to the traffic woes in Pune. General Public state Poor Public transport as the Main reason because of which people are forced to use Private vehicles.
A CLASSIC Deadlock Isn't it !!
Possible Solutions
Well !! Most of the points made below are long term Solutions and Corrective actions that Local action bodies,Public-Private partners and Government should implement.
1. CAP the Number of Vehicles Added every year
A Harsh method but a MUST method. The ever increasing number of Vehicles added per year should be capped at a manageable level. More so,Easy LOANS available for vehicles must be regularised,meaning higher Interest rates must be charged to Individuals who purchase subsequent vehicles after one. Local Governing bodies can provide incentives to Public and Private Banks to account for such action. Message is clear here,unnecessary increase in Vehicular population MUST be Deterred.
2.Incentives for Using Public Transport
Increasing the existing capacity of Public transport is not much helpful. However, the existing facilities must be improved such as increasing the number of Green Buses,Better connectivity within city through Trams and Rails and so on. Tax reduction schemes by Employers and Local Governing bodies must be promoted for individuals using Public Transport on regular basis. No CAR or Personal Vehicle days must be organized in Cities in order to Promote Public Transport too.
3. Build Self Sufficient Housing Societies
Aim is to curb Short Distance Travels within the city. New Housing societies Must have ATM or E Banking outlets, Recognized and Registered Kindergarten for young toddlers,Shopping and Marketing facilities and so on. Also, work from Home culture and increased usage of IT facilities for Daily requirements must be promoted. More so, various Public and Privatecompanies can Tie Up with Infrastructure Building companies for creating such Self sufficient Housing Societies or Estates within the vicinity.
4. Promote Congestion Pricing
The whole point is do deter People from using the City Centre during the peak hours. Inspired by the success of London Congestion Charge this method helps in evenly distributing traffic and regulating the flow of vehicles in the city centre. Real Time Congestion Monitoring Devices and Systems have to be used. A recent report on Stockholm traffic monitoring states approximately 18% reduction of traffic during the rush hours at the city centre.
5. Build Self Sufficient 'Sub Cities' within Cities
Pune Chinchwad Municipality in tie up with JnNURM has in part implemented this methodology. The Pune Chinchwad area is now a Sub City, a self sufficient one, within the City of Pune. People staying in this area do not have to travel to the city centre of Pune Municipality on a daily basis. Such an initiative has become successful because of explicit Political Will and Innovative Public Private partnership. My post on 21st Century Urban City Planning explicitly states the types and design of New age Super cities. Urban planners now have to consider the city demographics to make such Self Sufficient Sub Cities.
As responsible citizens we have to rise also above the typical Indian Society pressure of 'Creating' a Status Symbol and Owing more and more things.Deliberate Consumerism is not going to Boom the general Economy but is going to Bane the Ecology too. Also, we have to Advocate our next generation about the importance of Environment and Sustainability,thereby promoting the usage of Environmentally friendly transportation.
We have to remember that Simple Living = Sustainable Living = Healthy Earth.
