[sustran] Assistance Requested-Cincinnati Light Rail Project

[kisan mehta]

 Dear Colleagues,

It is interesting to learn about the hot fight for a light
 rail line in an automobile centred country. We do not
have  any data that can help the fight however we wish the
promoters of  sustainable transit a great sucess.

We in Mumbai are faced with a serious threat. Our
 authorities have developed Mumbai Urban Transport Project
 (MUTP) with active World Bank support.  In a city of 11.91
 million residents (Census of India 2001) where public
 transport and motor cars account for 88%  and 7% journeys
 respectively the Bank has extended multimillion dollar loan
 for supporting motorisation and denigrating public transport.
 Six and eight lane link roads without pavements would pass
 through crowded areas. State-of-art Computerised Traffic
 Signal System would be instaled on pavementless roads where
 flyovers and elevated roads have been recently built for
 exclusive use by motor cars.

 The Bank has not proposed levying of toll on vehicles so
 common man not owning motorised vehicles will be required
to pay back the loan. Road accident rate is very high with pedestrians
forming 95% of the victims (Bank observation).
Traffic control is conspicuous by total absence. Not a single
road or lane is closed to personal cars but many roads and all
flyovers are closed to public buses.

 This is what the poor countries have to accept to avail the
 Bank loan.  The Bank swears by sustainability and poverty
 reduction! Best wishes.
>
 Kisan Mehta  and Priya Salvi
Save Bombay Committee
620 Jame Jamshed Road, Dadar East,
Mumbai 400 014 India
Tel:  00 91 22 414 9688
Fax: 00 91 22 415 5536