[sustran] Delhi Metro - A Transport Planner's Perspective

[eric britton]

I wonder about this Walter. 

 

What if the idea of a Metro/BRT link is used as a tactic, fool's bait to get
the metro built? Makes sense as a business strategy for the winners, since
the money coming to the metro project will way outweigh the BRT share. So in
such a case we would be getting ourselves used for a greater bad.

 

For now in most parts of the world, at least in places where there is
hyper-limited  money around to fund mobility improvements, don't we have to
wave the red flag for every metro project that raises its ugly head?

 

Or do I have this wrong?

 

Once again and as we have been reminded recently. Gandhi's: "Doing more, for
less, for more." Is the only way to go.

 

Eric Britton

 

 

-----Original Message-----
On Behalf Of Walter Hook
Sent: Sunday, 09 January, 2011 17:27
To: ashok datar
Cc: NewMobilityCafe at yahoogroups.com; sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org
Subject: [sustran] Re: Delhi Metro - A Transport Planner's Perspective

 

interesting discussion.  could the money have been more wisely spent?

probably.  was or is it likely?  not very.  we've had recent good

experiences w/ some of the metro corps around India being quite open to

developing integrated metro/BRT systems and I think this approach is showing

some promise.

 

On Sun, Jan 9, 2011 at 12:46 AM, ashok datar <datar.ashok at gmail.com> wrote:

 

> Yes, Delhi is best compared with Beijing. Besides, in Indian context, it
is

> important that we must identify cost /benefit in a more comprehensive

> manner

> for alternative mass transportation projects and such an analysis should

> consider the external economies such as effects on environment, low carbon

> life style, affordability to a majority of population and whether it leads

> to a switch from cars to public transportation.

> from these angles, BRTS will come far superior than metro in  most cases

> ashok datar

> 

> 

> On Sun, Jan 9, 2011 at 4:39 AM, V. Setty Pendakur <

> pendakur at interchange.ubc.ca> wrote:

> 

> > A realistic comparison would be Shanghai and Beijing.  Washington, DC

> does

> > not have the same catchment area population and neither are car
ownership

> > rates comparable.

> >

> > Delhi Metro, like several other places, is an empire unto itself and
they

> > can afford to get concerned about major issues such as land use or

> > solvency.

> > --

> >

> > Best wishes; Setty

> >

> > Dr. V. Setty Pendakur

> > Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia

> > Honorary Professor, China National Academy of Sciences

> > Senior Counselor, The State Council of the PRC

> > President, Pacific Policy & Planning Associates

> > 1099 Marinaside Crescent, Vancouver, BC

> > Canada V6Z 2Z3

> > T: 1-604-263-3576; M:1-604-374-3575

> > Fax: 1-604-263-6493

> >

> >

> >

> > From: <bruun at seas.upenn.edu>

> > Date: Sat, 08 Jan 2011 17:48:20 -0500

> > To: <sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org>, <NewMobilityCafe at yahoogroups.com

> >

> > Subject: [sustran] Re: Delhi Metro - A Transport Planner's Perspective

> >

> >

> > If a 180 km long network is carrying 1.6 million per day, this can

> > hardly be called a failure. This is over double what the Washington DC

> > regional metro network of the same length carries, and it is crush

> > loaded in parts of the network at rush hours.

> >

> > I am not surprised that the DMRC doesn't cooperate with other

> > organizations. This is always potentially a problem when one creates a

> > new private corporation. But keep in mind that without creating a new

> > corporation it would never have been built. The existing government

> > bureaucracies were incapable of building anything in a timely fashion.

> > So the solution is to restructure the organizational relationships and

> > build different contractual and organizational structures, not throw

> > out the concept of building high capacity systems.

> >

> > Yes, the overhead rights-of-way can be intrusive, but would it be

> > better to build motorways in the sky instead? This is the real choice,

> > not feeding starving Indians. If we were to wait in the US until all

> > poverty was gone before we built decent PT, we would still be waiting.

> > If you can show me a case where the REAL choice is between better

> > healthcare, food, or education instead of better transport, I will

> > agree that the PT should be postponed.

> >

> > Eric Bruun

> >

> >