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

[Sudhir]

Dear Prof Badami and all,

It would be good if you look at Kathmandu - Nepal in 2009 planned to remove
three-wheelers running on liquefied petroleum gas from the Kathmandu Valley
citing problems in traffic management.

The reasons cited were

1.    Three-wheelers run slowly compared to other vehicles creating problems
in traffic management.

2.    Lack of spare parts in the domestic market,

3.    misuse of cooking gas,

4.    increase in pollution and

5.    increased accident rates

There are an estimated only 860 tempos in the valley out of which 430 are
running. Kathmandu Valley is the only place where LPG-run three-wheelers are
in use. The government is planning to add more diesel fueled micro-buses
with 14-16 seats in the roads of Kathmandu Valley to replace 430 Gas tempos.
The authorities believed that the new initiative will also help reduce
environmental pollution in the valley !!!

Several NGO’s opposed the move suggesting that the air quality would further
deteriorate and removing three wheelers that too obly 860 would not reduce
congestion.

Its interesting to look at Delhi's case as there were plans of running
electric vehicles including cars and RTV's to replace autos .. i wonder
where people will get electricity from? there are already 2-3 hours rolling
blackout every day?

Sudhir

On 9 April 2010 11:55, 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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