[sustran] Fixing India's transport troubles

[Vinay Baindur]

*Fixing India's transport troubles *


*Date:25/08/2010* *URL:
http://www.thehindu.com/2010/08/25/stories/2010082553711200.htm*
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Opinion <http://www.thehindu.com/2010/08/25/05hdline.htm> - Editorials

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India that aspires to be an economic superpower is visibly in need of a
transport policy that is in tune with the times. The constitution of a high
level Transport Policy Development Committee, headed by the former deputy
governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Rakesh Mohan, reflects this. The last
time a comprehensive view of transport was taken at the national level was
in 1980 when the B.D. Pande committee submitted its report. Much has
happened since then. India's economic transformation from a near-closed
economy to a fast liberaliser led to a significant stepping up of economic
activity, particularly by the private sector, and resulted in higher
individual spending capacity. While the former meant increased flow of goods
and services, calling for better freight facilities, the latter translated
into both higher purchasing power for personal transportation modes and
higher effective demand for better public transport. Liberalisation has also
spawned its own huge inequities. A fresh policy has to factor in the harsh
reality that the overwhelming majority, in the region of 800 million
Indians, live in poverty. This calls for a more active state role as a
provider of subsidised transport and as an effective regulator, particularly
since the trend is to move towards a system that facilitates private
players.

The terms of reference of the Rakesh Mohan committee are wide: they range
from “assessing the transport requirements for the next two decades” to
“assessing the investment requirements” of the sector. Although there are
several issues that jostle for attention, there is an urgent need to develop
a comprehensive policy for road transport as this mode carries 87 per cent
of India's passengers, moves 60 per cent of its freight, and is in serious
disarray. Efficient inter-State, intra-city, and rural transport systems
will reduce losses, improve connectivity, and open up more economic
opportunities. The most shocking lapse of state policy is the decline of
public transport. *As a Parliamentary Standing Committee rightly pointed
out, the decline of buses in the total fleet of vehicles from 11 per cent in
1951 to a paltry 1.1 per cent in 2004 h*as meant an increase in personalised
transport. This leads to avoidable economic losses due to higher fuel
expenditure, apart from widening inequalities. The retrogressive trend needs
urgent reversal. A policy that accords primacy of space to an affordable,
efficient, and integrated public transport system will be key to fixing
India's transport troubles.