[sustran] Re: BRTS in Delhi

[bruun at seas.upenn.edu]

Sujit:

What is the ridership of the Metro and how many kilometers are open now?

Eric Bruun


Quoting Sujit Patwardhan <sujitjp at gmail.com>:

> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Sujit Patwardhan <sujitjp at gmail.com>
> Date: Fri, Apr 25, 2008 at 1:08 PM
> Subject: Re: [pttfgen:1409] BRTS in Delhi
> To: pttfgen at googlegroups.com
>
>
> 25 April 2008
>
>
> BRT in Delhi
> =========
>
> Yes problems galore and I've been following the reports in the media
> including the CNN IBN that Ashok Datar was to appear on, but didn't for some
> reason.
>
> My take on all this is as follows:
>
> Deterioration in traffic has been an ongoing process in many Asian cities
> for the last 3 decades or more. Like the frog sitting in a beaker of water
> being slowly heated it has not had an occasion to "explode". Metro was taken
> up and executed brilliantly by Mr. E Sridharan, with attention to the
> minutest detail and a free hand guaranteeing "no interference" from
> politicians. On top of that every lapse and overshooting of budgets as well
> as abysmally poor ridership compared to the projected figures was pardoned
> by a supportive Govt and compensated from additional funds made available
> without delay and cloaked in secrecy.
>
> *Delhi Metro project is a marketing triumph that fills every Indian's chest
> with pride*. However, how much travel-coverage (as Public Transport) the
> very expensive Metro will be able to provide is a big question mark. There
> is also the real possibility that the amount spent on the Metro represents
> lost opportunity for other investments - like libraries and cultural
> centres, gardens, public spaces and other amenities needed by the city. *But
> in the final analysis we should accept that the Metro is pubic transport and
> hence we must support it* unlike the eight lane highways, flyovers,
> multistory car parks and other infrastructures being *routinely provided by
> the city as subsidy to ever growing number of car and 2 wheeler owners at
> the cost of other more efficient modes of travel.*
>
> BRT unlike the Metro has to deal with the existing conditions on our roads.
> Of indiscipline, rampant irregularities, encroachments, poor engineering,
> lack of understanding about the rights of pedestrians, cyclists and non
> personal auto users. So if the road surface is poor BRT is blamed, if
> drivers are indisciplined  BRT is blamed, if a car stalls in the MV lane and
> clogs up the traffic it is perceived as a problem caused by the BRT. If the
> BRT lanes look empty (as indeed they will - considering each bus carries
> many more people), it is seen as  waste of an expensive resource -- although
> not many of these critics complained much all these years about the *wasteful
> use of resources when low occupancy cars filled up these very roads* - well
> before BRT appeared on the scene.
>
> So it is clear that BRT planning should have been rooted in outreach and
> marketing it as a concept that will improve mobility (of people as against
> just near-empty personal vehicles),  will greatly improve access for people
> who are today helpless captive users of uncomfortable and outdated buses, it
> will provide an option to those who are forced to use personal transport,
> not necessarily out of choice but compulsion, and as benefits of a growing
> BRT network becomes visible and better, more comfortable and even A/C buses
> start plying on the BRT corridors, the higher middle class and even the rich
> will have no problem patronizing this mode for purely rational reasons of
> getting a faster, more punctual, comfortable and stress-free mode of travel.
>
>
> This indeed is the situation in many cities in Europe and while we have no
> qualms about importing western concepts  (English medium education, wearing
> suits and tie however uncomfortable they may be in our weather, listening to
> western music, eating the big Mac (ughhh) and even importing Cheerleaders
> for our newly formed Cricket Series) why do we suddenly start protesting
> when our capital city tries to copy a Western/ Latin American idea of
> excellent bus system/BRT calling it a foreign concept??????
>
> The need is to publicise wider benefits of public transport and to reach the
> *majority *of citizens who are users/potential users of *bus based public
> transport, cycling and walking* in the city. (It is they who will benefit
> most from a good BRT)
>
> It is this huge majority of commuters who will have the opportunity of
> breaking free from the shackles of our present horrendous conditions of
> urban traffic.
>
> So let's not worry too much about the high pitched screams coming from the
> pampered lot of car users (and to some extent from two wheelers) protesting
> against dedicated BRT lanes taking away *their* road space, and let's reach
> the gagged-majority who have been at the receiving end of the stick ever
> since our cities became car-dominated *and if necessary bring them on the
> roads to block the MV lanes and put the personal cars in their place.
>
> *Does this sound extreme? Not when contrasted with the obscene arrogant rant
> coming from Mr Chandan Mitra -  representing the car lobby/media/politician
> clique on the recent CNN IBN TV report about the mess accompanying the BRT
> trials in Delhi.
>
> --
> Sujit
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, Apr 25, 2008 at 10:35 AM, Abhay Patil <abhay.patil at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Looks like BRTS in Delhi has reached a flash point.  From the visuals (CNN
>> IBN, newspapers) it looks like Delhi's implementation is no better than
>> Pune.  Empty BRTS lanes, sloppy junctions, ordinary bus stops and so on.  I
>> don't know what went amiss in the capital.  Sheila Dixit has promised that
>> she would make an all out effort to remove the glitches in a few weeks.
>> Most important - she has said that she would not hesitate to drop the
>> project if they are unable to get their act together right away.
>>
>> On a positive note - everybody is looking at BRTS now.  On a negative note
>> - it is appears to be quite a tall order to fix it.  Given the ugly traffic
>> jams and vociferousness of folks like journalist MP Chandan Mitra - it is
>> quite likely that the baby would be thrown out with the bath water! And,
>> that would have serious repercussions on BRTS in other cities.  I can not
>> imagine the cacophony that would ensue once that happens...
>>
>> -Abhay
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
> --
> ------------------------------------------------------
> Sujit Patwardhan
> sujitjp at gmail.com
>
> "Yamuna",
> ICS Colony,
> Ganeshkhind Road,
> Pune 411 007
> India
> Tel: +91 20 25537955
> Cell: +91 98220 26627
> -----------------------------------------------------
> Hon. Secretary:
> Parisar
> www.parisar.org
> ------------------------------------------------------
> Founder Member:
> PTTF
> (Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum)
> www.pttf.net
> ------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
> --
> ------------------------------------------------------
> Sujit Patwardhan
> sujitjp at gmail.com
>
> "Yamuna",
> ICS Colony,
> Ganeshkhind Road,
> Pune 411 007
> India
> Tel: +91 20 25537955
> Cell: +91 98220 26627
> -----------------------------------------------------
> Hon. Secretary:
> Parisar
> www.parisar.org
> ------------------------------------------------------
> Founder Member:
> PTTF
> (Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum)
> www.pttf.net
> ------------------------------------------------------
> --------------------------------------------------------
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