[sustran] Re: Is carsharing irrelevant for the Global South?

[Karthik Rao Cavale]

As for the ubiquitousness of vehicle-sharing in India, I have a personal
story to share. I lived in Navi Mumbai for six months before coming to the
United States for my Masters in Urban Planning. While I was there, I used to
learn vocal music from a great Indian classical musician called Ustad
Fariduddin Dagar <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zia_Fariddudin_Dagar>. His
Gurukul (traditionally, a place where students would go to stay with their
Gurus) was five kilometers away from the last station in the Mumbai suburban
railway system on the harbour line - Panvel. This
Gurukul<http://www.dagar.org/index.htm>was on the road to Palaspe,
still only a village, and the house itself was
in the middle of nowhere. The only way of commuting to his house was to take
a share-rickshaw that ferried people from Palaspe to Panvel station and
back.

So, every Sunday, I would wake up at 5 am so that I can reach before 8 am to
do my *riyaaz* in my Guru's presence (8 am was quite late in the day by the
standards of Indian Classical Music). From my house in Kharghar, I would
wait for a bus (or I would hire a three-wheeler if I were feeling rich that
day) to the train station. Then I would take the train to Panvel, after
which I would have to wait, often for half an hour, for the share-rickshaw
to fill up with passengers. By the time it was filled up, the auto would
look something like
this<http://www.thehindu.com/2009/12/28/images/2009122857850301.jpg>.
(And I've attached a map of my trip that can be opened on Google Earth) It
was a 16 km trip, but it would take me about two hours to complete.

Because I was male, and young, I would almost always have to share the front
seat with the driver. It was perhaps a little more thigh-contact than what I
had bargained for, and one did stand the risk of falling off when the
rickshaw made a steep turn. But I always tried to think in terms of systemic
failures, rather than in terms of personal grievances. I was not exactly
poor, and this was a discretionary trip (and I am ashamed to say that I did
forego this trip very often, risking my Guru's disapproval). But I tried to
think of others for whom the daily trip from Palaspe to Panvel was not a
discretionary trip and who were not as comfortably placed as I was.

The bus ride from my house to the station cost me 5 Rs. (10 cents) The train
ticket would be about 5 Rs. more, and the share auto would charge 7 Rs. for
a ride to the point where I got off. A total of 34 Rs for a round trip. If I
took an auto from home to the train station, I would spend 25 Rs. extra.
Additionally, if I took a "personal" auto from the Panvel station to my
Guru's house, I would spend 43 Rs. more. So, in total, even though I would
travel from Panvel to Kharghar by train, I would end up spending 170 Rs. I
was not poor, but even I couldn't afford that much money for one round trip.

So what am I saying?

The point I am trying to make is that Palaspe might never get sufficiently
populated to get train connectivity. But there is still going to be a great
deal of demand for shared vehicles which act as a feeder service to Panvel.
That demand already exists, and even though policymakers don't like the idea
of allowing vehicles that should ideally be off the roads because of their
emission-ratings,  that too with such a large number of passengers, one has
to think in terms of creating alternatives for them. We need to think
multi-modal. And we need to be creating solutions for places outside the
inner city, because mobility is a really large issue in the outer suburbs
and this barely gets addressed in sustainable transport circles, because we
continue obsessed with the inner cities.

I hope my story wasn't a drag.

karthik

On Thu, Mar 25, 2010 at 8:08 AM, Sarath Guttikunda <sguttikunda at gmail.com>wrote:

> to the car-less list.
>
> I do not own a car and use the autorickshaws, bus, or rent-a-car, depending
> on how many meetings I have and the accessibility of transport at various
> locations. This saves me time from looking for parking, sitting behind the
> wheel in congestion cursing the driver ahead of me, honking non-stop in
> hope
> that the sound energy will some how transform the congested roads to lift
> the cars into the air, and gives me time to read the papers.
>
> Then, there was a statement last week by the Delhi Chief Minister, to ban
> the Autorickshaws.
>
> Is this good for promoting car-sharing?
>
> Yes, the autorickshaw drivers can be annoying and at times, hard to bargain
> with. Nevertheless, once in the routine and have an idea of the distances
> and prices, one learns to bargains.
>
> I am not talking from the perspective of the drivers and their incomes, but
> from the mobility perspective. Yes, the autorickshaws move slower than the
> regular-new-model-cars-and-suvs. But, they move people as much as the cars.
> Without providing an adequate alternative, like at least doubling of the
> public transport system, this is a sorry move.
>
> Same goes for the car-sharing or taxis in the city. Too few.
>
> Even after the metro becomes operational in Delhi, the role of
> autorickshaws
> will garner a more prominent role in shuttling passengers between stations
> to the residential and commercial neighborhoods. For example, take a look
> at
> the two wheeler service in Bangkok at the sky train stations. Even, in
> Mumbai, the concept of the shared taxis at the subway stations. An
> effective
> service for the public, especially for the short trips, and an integrated
> multi-modal transport system.
>
> With regards,
> Sarath
>
> --
> Sarath Guttikunda
> New Delhi, India
> Phone: +91 9891 315 946
> @ http://www.urbanemissions.info
> @ http://www.dri.edu/People/Sarath.Guttikunda/
>
>
> On Thu, Mar 25, 2010 at 5:03 PM, Jains <alok.priyanka at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Interesting point, Madhav.
> >
> > I have recently moved to India after living for 15 years in Hong Kong and
> > enjoying a very good public transport system.
> >
> > In my quest to live car-less (which I must admit is not very easy in
> > Mumbai), I am a regular user of rent-a-car system that you mention below.
> > They are usually quite reliable. With phone numbers of a few of such
> > providers stored in my phone, I have always managed to arrange one or the
> > other. Has it prevented me to purchase a car? So far, yes. But when one
> > looks at the public transport alternatives available, it is not very
> > difficult for anybody who can afford to get convinced to purchase a car
> and
> > use it regularly.
> >
> > Regards
> > Alok Jain
> >
> > On Thu, Mar 25, 2010 at 3:57 PM, Madhav Pai <MPai at wri.org> wrote:
> >
> > > A form of car sharing in India very prevalent.
> > >
> > > In most cities you can rent a car/with a driver (half day:4 hours),
> full
> > > day: 8-12 hours, few days even a few months). The cars are available in
> > > all sizes small sedans to mini vans. The rates are pretty much fixed
> > > across the country. It usually starts at 4 Hours, 40 Kms is 400 Rs (10
> > > USD) for a low small sedan.
> > >
> > > Car ownership may vary between from one car (owner/driver) to a few
> > > thousand cars.
> > > There is also an increasing number of fleet managers. That take these
> > > cars from individual owners/drivers, use technology elements (GPS
> > > tracking), call center etc and make them available to
> offices/companies.
> > >
> > >
> > > Would you call this car sharing?
> > >
> > > It would be interesting to study if the availability of these cars
> > > - prevent people from buying cars
> > > - do they end up buying smaller cars for city use and renting these
> > > bigger cars for long trips
> > > - what percentage of car use in our cities are these shared cars?
> > > - if one these large companies could transform themselves into
> > > membership based car sharing entities.
> > >
> > >
> > > Sincerely;
> > > Madhav Pai
> > > Technical Director
> > > EMBARQ - India
> > >
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: sustran-discuss-bounces+mpai=wri.org at list.jca.apc.org
> > > [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+mpai <sustran-discuss-bounces%2Bmpai><sustran-discuss-bounces%2Bmpai><sustran-discuss-bounces%2Bmpai>=
> > > wri.org at list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf
> > > Of Eric Britton
> > > Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 2:05 PM
> > > To: Sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org
> > > Subject: [sustran] Is carsharing irrelevant for the Global South?
> > >
> > > Is carsharing irrelevant for the Global South?
> > >
> > > Should be transportation planners and policymakers working in cities
> the
> > > developing world be taking the time to follow developments in other
> > > places so that they are fully informed about planning and policy
> matters
> > > as necessary for ensuring successful carsharing in their cities and
> > > countries.
> > >
> > > We think they should. We (I guess that means me, but not really since I
> > > know I am not alone in this)  firmly believe that carsharing is a
> > > practical transportation alternative that is relevant for  just about
> > > every place in the world where there are people who need to have access
> > > to cars (and vans and trucks). It is not only a proven low carbon way
> to
> > > have access to and use cars, but it makes economic sense for most
> > > people, and (when it works
> > > properly) is a lot more convenient to boot.
> > >
> > > So please keep up on carshare developments world wide and bear it in
> > > mind that carsharing is "the last nail in the coffin of old mobility".
> > >
> > > Eric Britton
> > >
> > > For the World Carshare Consortium at  <http://www.worldcarshare.com>
> > > www.worldcarshare.com
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Note: New Paris tel. +331 7550 3788 . Kindly change your records.
> > >
> > > World Streets  .   <http://www.worldstreets.org/> www.worldstreets.org
> > > Open Edition: www.open.worldstreets.org 8/10, rue Jospeh Bara  .
>  Paris
> > > 75006 France
> > > +331 7550 3788  .   <mailto:eric.britton at newmobility.org>
> > > eric.britton at newmobility.org  .  Skype newmobility
> > > New Mobility Partnerships   .  <http://www.partners.newmobility.org>
> > > www.partners.newmobility.org
> > > 9440 Readcrest Drive  .   Los Angeles, CA 90210
> > > +1 213 984 1277 .   <mailto:fekbritton at gmail.org> fekbritton at gmail.org.
> > > Skype ericbritton
> > >
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> > > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing
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> > > (the 'Global South').
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> > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries
> > (the 'Global South').
> >
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> equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries
> (the 'Global South').
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