[sustran] Re: Automobility or Accessibility (bangalore)

[Alan Howes]

In other words, Bangalore is going the way Mumbai already has!
 
Alan
 

  
--
Alan Howes
Associate Transport Planner
Colin Buchanan 
4 St Colme Street
Edinburgh      EH3 6AA
Scotland
email:  alan.howes at cbuchanan.co.uk <mailto:alan.howes at cbuchanan.co.uk> 
tel:      (0)131 226 4693 (switchboard)
           (0)7952 464335  (mobile)
fax:     (0)131 220 0232
www: http:/www.cbuchanan.co.uk/
_______________________________
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. Unless you are the named addressee, or authorised to receive it for the addressee, you may not copy or use it, or disclose it to anyone else. If you have received this email in error please contact the sender by replying to this email.
Any views expressed by an individual within this email which do not constitute or record professional advice relating to the business of Colin Buchanan, do not necessarily reflect the views of the company. Any professional advice or opinion contained within this email is subject to our terms and conditions of business.
We have taken precautions to minimise the risk of transmitting software viruses. We cannot accept liability for any loss or damage caused by software viruses.
_______________________________


 

________________________________

From: sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk at list.jca.apc.org [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk at list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf Of Sujit Patwardhan
Sent: 15 March 2006 05:40
To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport
Subject: [sustran] Re: Automobility or Accessibility


15 March 2006


Today Bangalore city's bus sytem is the most efficient, reliable and profitable in the whole country but with the number of auto vehicles growing at cancerour rate in the city and auto centric infrastructure carried out by the administration (road widening, more roads, and flyovers) in the last few years it is unlikely that the pubic transport buses will be able to maintain their high performance levels for many more years. 

This is because infrastructure policies do not (yet) recognize that unless the city gives priority to public transport, all the expensive investments in roads and flyovers will come to nought. Going by the needs of the MAJORITY the city needs better pedestrain facilities, cycle tracks and public transport infrastructure which means BUS LANES and NOT flyovers. It also means TDM measures so that people are encouraged to shift to public transport and made to pay more realistic costs if they want to persist using personal vehicles. 

As far as I'm aware, this is not on the city's agenda at the moment. Just buying a few Volvo buses is not going to do much for improving the condition of public transport. And now that the city has committed itself to the hugely expensive Metro it is difficult to imagine where the money will come from for above measures (bus lanes, pedestrian facilities and cycle tracks).


On 3/15/06, Vittal Kumar A. <vittalkumar_a at yahoo.com> wrote: 

	Hi,
	 
	I agree with Todd, 
	Here is an example for initiative to attact such segment of commuters. Bangalore increasingly adding personalized cars for office commuting with reduced road space. Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) the state owned transport corporation introducing innovative approaches for different commuter segments with varied costs/services. Refer to the link 
	 
	http://www.thehindu.com/2006/02/18/stories/2006021822070300.htm 
	http://www.hindu.com/2006/03/05/stories/2006030520370300.htm 
	 
	regards,
	Vittal
	
	Todd Alexander Litman <litman at vtpi.org> wrote:

		
		I think that this reflects fundamental differences in how transportation is defined. In many situations people assume that 'transportation' means motor vehicle travel, and so the best way to improve transportation is to improve roads and parking facilities. But that approach incurs huge costs and reduces other forms of mobility and accessibility, if it displaces public transit and nonmotorized travel, or leads to sprawl. The problem that we face is that transport planners often only consider direct, short-term impacts (improved motor vehicle travel) and overlook secondary impacts (reduced accessibility over the long term), and public officials tend to be among the group that benefits most from automobile travel. These issues are discussed in my paper "Measuring Transportation: Traffic, Mobility and Accessibility" ( http://www.vtpi.org/measure.pdf ).
		
		I think that the best way to counter this is to show that expanding urban roads and parking facilities is very costly, and other solutions are better overall. I think it is important to show that public transit can be an elite service, that can attract wealthy commuters out of their cars, if a city provides a variety of services, from cheap and basic to premium and luxury) and gives public transit and nonmotorized travel priority in traffic, land use, and pricing. This is the only way that urban transportation systems can really work efficiently, and fortunately some of the world's greatest cities (London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Stockholm, Rome) are now implementing these measures, which provides examples that we can cite. However, I realize it is difficult to persuade people that the future consists of less rather than more automobile traffic. 
		
		
		Best wishes,
		-Todd Litman
		
		
		At 01:05 AM 3/14/2006, you wrote:
		

			Dear Alok, Anant, Arul and others,
			
			I feel that the statement Alok posed "It is highly unlikely that car 
			users in Chennai can be made to shift immediately to public transport" 
			to some extent is valid but as I said in my earlier mail if there is 
			political will and consensus there will always be a success. In 
			Singapore, there is multi storey parking but as mentioned it serves as a 
			Park-and-Ride for their BRT and MRT facility and a multi-storey parking 
			would be apt for a small country like Singapore. But still having car 
			restrictive policies and measures make Singapore a pioneer in Asia. 
			Restricting car might not hurt the rich but the change comes in the 
			neo-owners of the cars or the prospective owners. Then there is the 
			modal shift going to other means which also include para transit. If a 
			city can develop good bus and train interactions like some places in 
			Chennai there can be a very less development of para transit. A BRT 
			would be an apt so lution for Chennai and interactions with BRT would be 
			very helpful like there can be a BRT, Bus, Train.
			
			So investing on parking provision will not be a good idea. As from my 
			understanding of Todd Litmans publications, as long as a city provides a 
			safe way and room for cars there will always be an increase in their 
			number and in the future this might lead to an utter traffic chaos. I 
			see it everyday here in Bangkok. Bangkok first in the early days had a 
			good and waterway network, followed by a good bus and tram network and 
			was the second city in Asia after Japan (sometime in the 1887)...but 
			today it is utter chaos and many of us here will agree to that....If 
			chennai does not hope to become a Bangkok of India it would be wise to 
			opt for a Transit and Non-motorised options and not for the flyovers and 
			more cars.
			
			Sunny
			
			Dear Alan, Regina, Carlos and Lloyd, 
			
			As Lloyd and Carlos suggested shifting to cycle rickshaws wo uld be a 
			wise option but it has to be noted that cycle rickshaws can provide 
			service for short trips which can also be done by a walk and a bicycle 
			trip. Encouraging more NMT and introducing the idea of shared space in 
			come junctions of Mumbai would be a very nice option, car drivers should 
			notice that they are not the only users of the road but also the road 
			serves for several other modes. Implementing BRT would be a better 
			option as it takes the space from the car users and gives it to the 
			disadvantaged. BRT has a proven record of reducing crime rates and Lloyd 
			and Carlos are the best persons who can talk more on this. Cities like 
			Bogotá and Curitiba have experienced this and encouraging pedestrian 
			areas also is a strategy for reducing car dependency. Even in Mumbai 
			increasing parking space will not be an option. At first it can be 
			implemented area-wise and then extended. Glasgow is a good example for 
			this, a city that changed from a notorious state to a pleasant.
			
			Changing the look of rickshaws will be a very good idea. This has been 
			implemented in many places of Europe and in Japan there has been a 
			hybrid rickshaw which can run both on a battery and pedal power. On the 
			other hand they can even generate income among the lower class of the 
			society


		Sincerely,
		Todd Alexander Litman
		Victoria Transport Policy Institute ( www.vtpi.org <http://www.vtpi.org/> )
		litman at vtpi.org
		Phone & Fax 250-360-1560
		1250 Rudlin Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, CANADA 
		"Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"
		 
		


		================================================================
		SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). Because of the history of the list, the main focus is on urban transport policy in Asia.

	
	

	

________________________________

	Relax. Yahoo! Mail virus scanning <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail_us/taglines/virusall/*http://communications.yahoo.com/features.php?page=221>  helps detect nasty viruses! 

	




	================================================================
	SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). Because of the history of the list, the main focus is on urban transport policy in Asia. 
	
	
	




-- 

------------------------------------------------------
Sujit Patwardhan
sujit at vsnl.com
sujitjp at gmail.com

"Yamuna", 
ICS Colony, 
Ganeshkhind Road,
Pune 411 007
Tel: 25537955
-----------------------------------------------------
Proprietor:
Mudra
------------------------------------------------------ 
Hon. Secretary:
Parisar
------------------------------------------------------
Founder Member: 
PTTF 
(Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum)
------------------------------------------------------ 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20060320/7ebceffa/attachment-0001.html