Urgent Need To Save Our Cities From Congestion And Paralysis

Urbanisation is now synonymous with economic growth, innovation and prosperity. While India’s urbanisation (35%) is low compared to other G-20 countries, our cities are growing fast. Private ownership of motor vehicles is, similarly, rising, given the relatively higher per capita income in cities.

The biggest daily problems of any city dweller today are almost certainly road congestion and traffic paralysis. Endless man-hours are lost. Pollution is rising, and commuters are increasingly frustrated and helpless. Take the city of Bengaluru, for instance. Thirty years ago, one could schedule four or five different engagements in a day; today, one is likely to be late for just the second meeting if it is in a different corner of the city! The absence of a reliable, high-quality public transport system compels the use of private motor vehicles. While about 60% of the motor vehicles are two-wheelers, the number of cars too is increasing rapidly. Bengaluru now has 12m motor vehicles for a 12m population, 100 vehicles for 100 people. The ratios for Hyderabad (73), Pune (68), Ahmedabad (52) and Chennai (52) are also very high and increasing. Cities with better public transport have lower ratios—Mumbai (27) and Delhi (27). Globally, London (29), Tokyo (22), Shanghai (18), and Singapore (14) have relatively low ownership of personal automobiles despite prosperity. Clearly, the quality of public transport is critical in reducing vehicle population and minimising congestion and pollution.

Some of the best cities in the world have high-quality public transport—with last-mile connectivity, adequate frequency and reliability, and therefore, high utilisation. In London, public transport accounts for 108 rides per 100 people in a day. Singapore (122), Tokyo (64), and New York City (59) demonstrate the efficacy, reliability and convenience of public transport. Additionally, these cities are friendly to pedestrians and bicycles. In London, for instance, active transport (walking and cycling) accounts for 30.3% of total movement, while public transport and private transport (car, motorcycle, and taxi) account for 32.8% and 36.8%, respectively.

The lessons are clear. Wider roads and bigger flyovers are all necessary and welcome, but they only give short-term relief. Excessive reliance on private transport, catalysed by such projects, is bound to worsen traffic paralysis and pollution. Most of our cities face these challenges, significantly diminishing productivity and quality of life. The only viable solution is a reliable, integrated, efficient and multi-modal public transport system.

Two glaring problems emerge even in current investments in public transport systems. First, economy and efficiency are compromised for senseless high-cost vanity projects. For instance, Hyderabad has an excellent 8-lane, 158-km Outer Ring Road (ORR). Instead of designing a quality bus service on ORR, the current plan is to build a very high-cost metro rail (Rs 200-400 cr/km length) parallel to the ORR! Similarly, instead of fully utilising existing road infrastructure through a reliable bus service linked to the metro rail, a new metro is proposed to the airport! Second, there is no seamless integration of various modes of public transport. Metro rail, bus transport, and suburban rail—all function in splendid isolation. Instead of making life better for commuters, they often compete mindlessly, undercutting each other. As a result, there is no last-mile connectivity, and where connectivity exists, there is no coordination or predictable and timely intermodal transfer. Commuters, therefore, prefer private transport, adding to cost, traffic paralysis and pollution.

The transport agencies, metro or road, are losing money too. Despite investing Rs 24,000 crores, The Hyderabad Metro is now finding it difficult to invest an additional Rs 300 crores to buy more coaches to increase capacity, even when there is overcrowding! Governments eager to spend astronomical sums on vanity projects do not have the will to subsidise public transport. Road transport services are typically earning only 60% of the costs. A full-cost recovery by raising tariffs and subsidies is critical for their survival. Subsidies in public transport are justified, as high dependence on private transport will lead to congestion, pollution and a foreign exchange drain for imported fuel, eventually depressing growth.

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Transport for London (TfL), functioning under the Greater London Authority, is a model worth emulating. TfL, a single authority, controls all modes of public transport—buses, underground rail, overground rail networks, dockyard rail, and trams—with complete integration. The citizen buys Oyster cards or simply taps a credit/debit card for using any transport. This universal, interoperable ticketing and a single authority controlling and coordinating all modes of transport are critical for success. Commuters are empowered with precise and real-time scheduling. Dubai has an NOL card, which works across metros, buses, trams, parking and ferry systems. Innovation made India's UPI a world champion. We can easily adapt the best practices in the urban transport sector, provided the metro rail, railways and state RTC come together and create one unified, autonomous authority.

A few other low-hanging fruits to ease the pain of commuters are strict traffic regulation, enforcement of penalties, sensible parking norms and multi-level parking infrastructures with digital payment, mandatory footpaths, signage and crossings for pedestrians, promotion of bicycle use and cycle lanes and congestion pricing to discourage movement of private vehicles during peak hours or in congested areas. Improving urban transport is eminently feasible and necessary. Citizens in cities are vexed with traffic snarls and will support a well-designed, integrated programme. Cities create wealth; any investment in public transport will yield high returns. All we need are political will and administrative skills to save our cities.

The author is the founder of Lok Satta movement and Foundation for Democratic Reforms. Email: drjploksatta@gmail.com / Twitter @jp_loksatta