[sustran] Re: Taxi modes better regulation? (question prompted by Delhi Auto-Rickshaw strike)

Karthik Rao Cavale krc12353 at gmail.com
Sat Apr 10 07:50:36 JST 2010


Connecting this thread to the Litman article on World Streets (
http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2010/04/vancouver-olympics-lessons-for.html),
it becomes apparent that major events can influence cities differently.

Vancouver chose to implement policies that cut transportation demand to make
up for the influx of visitors. Delhi chooses policies that promote personal
vehicles instead.

I believe one of the few legacies of the Asian Games in 1982 in Delhi is a
flyover on Ring Road near Lajpat Nagar and Andrews Ganj. At this rate, we
must hope Delhi never wins an Olympics bid.

On Fri, Apr 9, 2010 at 12:26 AM, Jains <alok.priyanka at gmail.com> wrote:

> Begs the question what is "good impression"? An inane attempt to imitate or
> to make an iconic attempt. Ms Dixit would have to be God to attempt
> cultural
> change in six months' time.
>
> Micro-finance and owner-operator arrangement combined with good regulation
> is the way to go. Auto-rickshaws in smaller Indian cities can be taken as a
> good example. I use them often and there are couple of guys who also
> operate
> "on-demand" services (thanks to the mobile phones).
>
> Regards
> Alok
>
> On Fri, Apr 9, 2010 at 9:25 AM, Madhav Badami, Prof. <
> madhav.g.badami at mcgill.ca> wrote:
>
> > Paul et al,
> >
> > The auto-rickshaw sector does need to be regulated, for the sake of the
> > poor operators as well as the passengers, as well as the public at large,
> > but the motivation for banning them or limiting their numbers, is suspect
> --
> > I fear it has more to do with sprucing up the city in preparation for the
> > Commonwealth circus that's shortly coming to town (and that autorickshaws
> > and cycle-rickshaws don’t quite fit the image that the authorities want
> to
> > project to foreign visitors) than any real concern about their negative
> > impacts in terms of, for example, congestion or air pollution (and after
> > all, in Delhi, they all run on CNG, supposedly a "clean" fuel). See the
> > Guardian story (
> >
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/18/delhi-plans-ban-autorickshaws
> ),
> > in which the Chief Minister’s views are described as follows:
> >
> > "Dikshit has repeatedly said that making Delhi a world-class city is a
> key
> > aim. The city has already tried to limit the number of cycle rickshaws.
> But
> > Delhi's high court ruled last month that capping their numbers was
> illegal.
> >
> > The defenders of the motorised versions point out that, as the vehicles
> run
> > on compressed natural gas, their contribution to air pollution in the
> city
> > is minimal compared with cars. Others argue that rickshaws fulfil an
> > essential function in ferrying people short distances to metro stations
> or
> > bus stops.
> >
> > Dikshit has another Delhi icon in her sights: the famous brusqueness of
> the
> > capital's inhabitants. She hopes to bring about a major "cultural change"
> > before Delhi hosts the Commonwealth games this autumn.
> >
> > "We have to do some things that are extremely basic like keeping the city
> > clean, giving our citizens the culture of politeness and sharing and
> caring
> > for each other, so that the world goes back with an impression that they
> > have been to a truly civilized city," she said." (End of quote)
> >
> > By the way, the urban poor in Delhi are sadly also paying a very high
> > price, all in the interests of “the world go(ing) back with an impression
> > that they have been to a truly civilized city”:
> >
> > http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?262987
> >
> >
> >
> http://www.indianexpress.com/news/hc-slams-mcd-for-razing-slums-in-games-runup/572302/
> >
> >
> >
> http://www.thesamosa.co.uk/index.php/news-and-features/politics-and-policy/295-in-the-name-of-the-games.html
> >
> > Madhav
> >
> > ************************************************************************
> >
> > "As for the future, your task is not to foresee, but to enable it." --
> > Antoine de Saint-Exupery
> >
> > Madhav G. Badami, PhD
> > School of Urban Planning and McGill School of Environment
> > Associate Director of Graduate Affairs, McGill School of Environment
> > McGill University
> >
> > Macdonald-Harrington Building
> > 815 Sherbrooke Street West
> > Montreal, QC, H3A 2K6, Canada
> >
> > Phone: 514-398-3183 (Work)
> > Fax: 514-398-8376; 514-398-1643
> > URLs: www.mcgill.ca/urbanplanning
> > www.mcgill.ca/mse
> > e-mail: madhav.badami at mcgill.ca
> >
> > ________________________________________
> > From: sustran-discuss-bounces+madhav.g.badami=mcgill.ca at list.jca.apc.org
> [sustran-discuss-bounces+madhav.g.badami=
> > mcgill.ca at list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf Of Paul Barter [
> > paulbarter at nus.edu.sg]
> > Sent: 08 April 2010 20:20
> > To: sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org
> > Subject: [sustran] Taxi modes better regulation? (question prompted by
> > Delhi    Auto-Rickshaw strike)
> >
> > Delhi's auto-rickshaws have been out on strike this week and there has
> been
> > some very informative coverage.
> >
> >
> http://thecityfix.com/a-day-without-auto-rickshaws-inconvenience-intimidation-and-corruption/
> >    http://kafila.org/2010/04/02/the-truth-behind-the-strike/
> >    http://www.indianexpress.com/news/autometers-for-the-people/594330/4
> >
> > These items highlight the fact that the auto-rickshaw industry in Delhi
> is
> > dominated by a 'financier mafia', while drivers remain extremely poor and
> > powerless. The unions are also dominated by the financiers.  The call to
> ban
> > auto-rickshaws by Delhi's Chief Minister is not helpful perhaps. But
> > something clearly needs to change. These insights have been highlighted
> by
> > work by Simon Harding, who is interning with Delhi’s AMAN Trust.
> >
> > QUESTION: Does anyone know how Delhi could do better? What reformed
> > regulatory framework for auto-rickshaws in Delhi could do better for
> > drivers, for customers and for the city as a whole?
> >
> > This relates to the wider question of how to regulate/organise taxi-like
> > modes (including conventional taxis) to make them more part of the
> solution.
> >  Here on sustran-discuss a few weeks back there was discussion of their
> > potential and role as 'shared cars' that offer mobility without locking
> > people into vehicle ownership (under the theme 'they are called taxis').
> But
> > taxi-like modes will not be viewed positively in many places until they
> > actually work better.
> >
> > Paul
> >
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