From kaye.patdu at cai-asia.org Wed Sep 5 02:56:29 2012 From: kaye.patdu at cai-asia.org (Kaye Patdu) Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2012 01:56:29 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Career Opportunity at CAI-Asia: Global Programs and Partnership (GPP) External Evaluator Message-ID: Dear Colleagues The CAI-Asia Center is looking for *Global Programs and Partnership (GPP) External* *Evaluator*. Please see enclosed Terms of Reference. Quoting reference application "External Evaluator GPP" on subject line, applicants should email their application letter and current CV (as Word attachments) to Ms. Gianina Panopio (center@cai-asia.org), no later than *13 September 20**12, 5:00 pm, Manila time*. Only short listed candidates will be contacted. For further information on the position you may contact Ms. May Ajero (may.ajero@cai-asia.org). Applicants are requested to state the reasons for their interest in the position, relevant details of qualifications and experience, and contact details for three referees. For more information: http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/opportunities Kind Regards Kaye -- *Kaye Patdu, Air Quality Specialist* *Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities Center (CAI-Asia)* *Unit 3505 Robinsons Equitable Tower, ADB Avenue, Pasig City 1605 PHILIPPINES Tel +632 395 2843 l Fax +632 395 2846 l kaye.patdu@cai-asia.org l SkypeID kaye.patdu www.cleanairinitiative.org | www.facebook.com/cai.asia Please consider the environment before printing this email. * From sutp at sutp.org Fri Sep 7 02:35:54 2012 From: sutp at sutp.org (sutp at sutp.org) Date: Thu, 06 Sep 2012 17:35:54 +0000 Subject: [sustran] GIZ-SUTP Newsletter Issue 04/12 - July-August, 2012 Message-ID: Dear All, Please find the attached document containing GIZ-SUTP Newsletter for the month of July-August, 2012. Best Wishes, SUTP-Team -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: NL-SUTP-JUL-AUG-12.pdf Type: application/octet-stream Size: 401677 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20120906/70734a87/NL-SUTP-JUL-AUG-12-0001.bin From alok.priyanka at gmail.com Sat Sep 8 11:39:05 2012 From: alok.priyanka at gmail.com (Alok Jain) Date: Sat, 8 Sep 2012 08:09:05 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Unplanned mixing on BRT feeds chaos Message-ID: I have the CRRI study report now. If anybody needs, pls contact me separately on email. Regards Alok Jain LONG QUEUES Unplanned mixing on BRT feeds chaos Transport Dept Leaves Out CRRI?s Measures Rumu Banerjee TNN New Delhi: The transport department has taken the Delhi high court?s order for mixed traffic on the Ambedkar Nagar-Moolchand bus rapid transit corridor quite literally. Traffic on the corridor has degenerated into chaos in the past month as the department has been allowing traffic to mix without implementing any of the measures that were in place during the trial run by CRRI. Neither the signal phasing, which was an important part of the experimental run, nor the segregation of vehicles based on direction of traffic, is in place at the corridor. The result: vehicles move in all lanes, there are long queues at intersections during peak hours and traffic rules are violated rampantly. Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of Madangir Village, said, ?Travelling on the BRT has become a nightmare. I have to allot an extra hour to my journey either way to reach any place.? While journeys have become longer, it?s especially hard for the school buses that travel on the road. Pritha Goswami, a resident of Pushp Vihar, said, ?My daughter takes the bus from Sheikh Sarai nowadays as the school bus doesn?t stop at my colony anymore because of the excess traffic.? During the trial run by CRRI, however, the mixed traffic had been successful, said Kumar. ?The traffic movement was smooth then, and travel time had gone down.? None of the measures that were in place then have been implemented by the transport department now. During the trial, CRRI had changed the signal cycle at important intersections like Chirag Dilli. There were five signal cycle changes ? four for motorized vehicles and one for non-motorised vehicles and pedestrians ? reflecting the volume of traffic on the road. More importantly, the lanes had been demarcated for directional traffic. So vehicles turning left or headed straight plied on the left carriageway while the right turning vehicles travelled in the dedicated bus lane. To correspond to the directional movement of buses, some of the bus stops were relocated to the kerb side. The CRRI report adds: ?At Chirag Dilli intersection, one additional lane was marked for right turning traffic from Sheikh Sarai to Nehru Place. Similarly, one additional right turning traffic lane was provided at Sheikh Sarai intersection for right turning traffic from Chirag Delhi to Saket during the trial run.? Also, clear signage had been put up, which added to better movement of traffic. Reacting to a TOI story published on Tuesday, DIMTS admitted that it was only assisting in the operation of the traffic signal and monitoring the corridor through its OCC (operational control centre). However, itmaintained it was not in-charge of BRT anymore. FREE-FOR-ALL: Neither the signal phasing, nor the segregation of traffic based on direction is in place From yanivbin at gmail.com Sat Sep 8 15:41:37 2012 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Sat, 8 Sep 2012 12:11:37 +0530 Subject: [sustran] India's Cities Risk Repeating America's Congestion Mistakes In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2012/09/battle-bangalores-soul-comes-down-its-streets/3186/ India's Cities Risk Repeating America's Congestion Mistakes Proposed expansions of dozens of major arteries in Bangalore are threatening the Indian city's way of life. - MARK BERGEN - SEP 07, 2012 - 5 COMMENTS [image: India's Cities Risk Repeating America's Congestion Mistakes]Reuters - - - - inShare 1 - Share - Print - Share on emailEmail BANGALORE, India ? Fifty feet below Sankey Road, a two-lane street that hugs a small lake in northern Bangalore, lays a thin residential avenue. A line of trees hovers over it, so the hum of traffic above is barely noticeable. One night last year, another sound definitely was. "The house started shaking and that?s when we realized," recalls an elderly resident who spoke with me through a translator. She walks me to the spot where city workers arrived unannounced to uproot the trees that shield her home from traffic noise. Then she shows me where they returned to mark, with red X?s, where the new Sankey Road would extend. *Photos by Mark Bergen* Behind her home is a trio of small temples, where locals come throughout the day to pray. Just down the road is another, larger temple. And beside that, yet another. When the new lanes arrive, each of these structures will suddenly sit right next to Sankey Road, or be uprooted as well. These sacred streets are colliding with something also sacrosanct in Bangalore: a shorter commute. This neighborhood, Malleshwaram, is known for its concentration of Hindu temples. Throughout India, it?s not unusual for religious sites to sit right next to homes and stores, intertwined with secular life. But now these sacred streets are colliding with something also sacrosanct in Bangalore: a shorter commute. Roughly 4 million vehicles live in this city. Often, it feels as if they are all on the road at once. One recent study, from the Indian Institute of Science, claims that congestion costs the city around $3 million every day. For each resident, an hour in traffic chips away nearly a tenth of the average Bangalorean?s daily wage. In response, the city government has coalesced around a single tactic: to ease traffic on the roads, they will add more road. Across the city, as in dozens of other Indian metropolises, official plans are underway to dig into streets like Sankey Road and widen them. "The question really is whether it actually decongests the city," says Leo Saldanha, director of the Environmental Support Group, an advocacy organization here that has been combating the measures. "It doesn?t." With incomes ticking up, India?s cities are now experiencing the automobile revolution the U.S. went through 60 years ago. And they may be repeating the same transit fallacies, explains Dr. Ashish Verma, the author of the IISc study and head of the Transportation Research Group of India. His work supports findings elsewhere that adding lanes does little to reduce traffic. Some streets scheduled for widening, Verma says, were expanded just five years before. "That means there?s something wrong with the planning," he tells me. ? ? ? ? ? Despite the evidence, the city is sticking to its strategy. Last December, a regional courtapproved the expansion of Sankey Road, one of more than 200 planned citywide. In response, several groups of property owners have formed in opposition to widening projects. It is, in a way, India?s version of NIMBY?a cabal of relatively wealthy homeowners preventing projects in their area. Saldanha, who is working to organize the disparate groups, tries to push back against this instinct. When homeowners alone stand against the projects, he asks, "what happens to the street vendors?" *Commuters are seen on a busy commercial street in Bangalore. Photo by Reuters* The innumerable hawkers that pepper Bangalore?s streets are often the first to be displaced. They?re also an integral part of the street life advocates are trying to preserve. "With the possible exception of the railroad, streets capture more about India than any other setting," anthropologist Arjun Appadurai wrote in "Street Culture," his 1987 essay for* The India Magazine*. "On its streets, India eats, works, sleeps, moves, celebrates and worships." For those opposed to widening, the concern is whittling street life down to a single concept: India drives. ? ? ? ? ? At stake for some is the very definition of the city. Another stretch on the widening docket is Avenue Road, a historic commercial boulevard cutting through the city?s center. "You destroy Avenue Road," Saldanha says, "you destroy the soul of Bangalore." Talk to most long-time residents here, and they?ll fondly reminisce about a time when the streets in Bangalore, still known as the "Garden City," were quieter and tree-lined. The issue has even become political. At a June press conference, where city officials announced their road expansion plans, opposition leaders ticked off the number of trees lost to recent city projects. Last summer, when the city began removals along Sankey Road, several people were arrested in protest. The removal auction was done covertly and illegally, claims Meenakshi Bharath, a gynecologist in the neighborhood who filed a lawsuit against the expansion. On its streets, India eats, works, sleeps, moves, celebrates and worships. The resistance seems to be working. Of the 216 roads pegged for widening in Bangalore, only 20 construction spots have broken ground, according to city officials. In part, the public opposition is responsible. Mainly, though, the city is just too broke. Patil, who like some Indians goes by one name, lives and works on the street next to Sankey Road. He shows me the portion set for removal in the building that is his home and his office, where he works for Communist Party of India. He believes the heavy traffic requires a fix. "They should do it in a proper way," he says of the widening, "with proper compensation." For the time being, Sankey Road construction is stalled, wrapped up less by strong opposition than empty coffers. Residents opposed to the projects are getting an edge from the same forces keeping Bangalore from investing in other infrastructure needs. The city cannot afford to compensate people like Patil for his property. Nor can it pay for the costly overhauls of widening, explains Bharath, the neighborhood activist. ?If they did have the funding, they would go through with it,? she says. Keywords: Bangalore , Trarfic , congestion , Traffic Engineering From patwardhan.sujit at gmail.com Sat Sep 8 16:52:45 2012 From: patwardhan.sujit at gmail.com (Sujit Patwardhan) Date: Sat, 8 Sep 2012 13:22:45 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Unplanned mixing on BRT feeds chaos In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: 8 September 2012 The CRRI study report will become a historical document (for all the wrong reasons), which may be the only reason for anyone wanting to read it. The Honourable High Court Judges should now manage the Frankenstein they have helped to create. I hope their cars get stuck for several hours in this mess. DIMTS have taken the correct stand. Handling mixed traffic in the BRT lane is like trying to fill a bucket full of holes and why should DIMTS try and sort out the chaos when their views were rejected by the Court? Sometimes it takes a bitter pill to cure a disease. Hopefully those clamouring for allowing personal vehicles in the BRT lanes will see this kind of "free for all" doesn't work, and traffic is bad for everyone - for the BRT buses of course, but also for cars and other modes. -- Sujit On Sat, Sep 8, 2012 at 8:09 AM, Alok Jain wrote: > I have the CRRI study report now. If anybody needs, pls contact me > separately on email. > > Regards > Alok Jain > > LONG QUEUES > Unplanned mixing on BRT feeds chaos > Transport Dept Leaves Out CRRI?s Measures > Rumu Banerjee TNN > > New Delhi: The transport department has taken the Delhi high court?s order > for mixed traffic on the Ambedkar Nagar-Moolchand bus rapid transit > corridor quite literally. Traffic on the corridor has degenerated into > chaos in the past month as the department has been allowing traffic to mix > without implementing any of the measures that were in place during the > trial run by CRRI. > Neither the signal phasing, which was an important part of the > experimental run, nor the segregation of vehicles based on direction of > traffic, is in place at the corridor. The result: vehicles move in all > lanes, there are long queues at intersections during peak hours and traffic > rules are violated rampantly. Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of Madangir > Village, said, ?Travelling on the BRT has become a nightmare. I have to > allot an extra hour to my journey either way to reach any place.? While > journeys have become longer, it?s especially hard for the school buses that > travel on the road. Pritha Goswami, a resident of Pushp Vihar, said, ?My > daughter takes the bus from Sheikh Sarai nowadays as the school bus doesn?t > stop at my colony anymore because of the excess traffic.? > During the trial run by CRRI, however, the mixed traffic had been > successful, said Kumar. ?The traffic movement was smooth then, and travel > time had gone > down.? None of the measures that were in place then have been implemented > by the transport department now. During the trial, CRRI had changed the > signal cycle at important intersections like Chirag Dilli. There were five > signal cycle changes ? four for motorized vehicles and one for > non-motorised vehicles and pedestrians ? reflecting the volume of traffic > on the road. More importantly, the lanes had been demarcated for > directional traffic. So vehicles turning left or headed straight plied on > the left carriageway while the right turning vehicles travelled in the > dedicated bus lane. To correspond to the directional movement of buses, > some of the bus stops were relocated to the kerb side. > The CRRI report adds: ?At Chirag Dilli intersection, one additional > lane was marked for right turning traffic from Sheikh Sarai to Nehru Place. > Similarly, one additional right turning traffic lane was provided at Sheikh > Sarai intersection for right turning traffic from Chirag Delhi to Saket > during the trial run.? Also, clear signage had been put up, which added to > better movement of traffic. > Reacting to a TOI story published on Tuesday, DIMTS admitted that it > was only assisting in the operation of the traffic signal and monitoring > the corridor through its OCC (operational control centre). However, > itmaintained it was not in-charge of BRT anymore. > > > FREE-FOR-ALL: Neither the signal phasing, nor the segregation of traffic > based on direction is in place > -------------------------------------------------------- > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > (the 'Global South'). > -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *It's no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. * - J. Krishnamurti ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sujit Patwardhan patwardhan.sujit@gmail.com sujit@parisar.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yamuna, ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007, India Tel: +91 20 25537955 Cell: +91 98220 26627 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blog: http://motif.posterous.com/ Parisar: www.parisar.org --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From yanivbin at gmail.com Sun Sep 9 13:16:45 2012 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2012 09:46:45 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Asia BRTS meet ends In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Asia-BRTS-meet-ends/articleshow/16317023.cms *Asia BRTS meet ends* TNN | Sep 9, 2012, 02.00AM IST Union Urban Development Secretary|Latin American BRTS Association|India BRTS Association|Edition|Asia BRTS Association|Asia BRTS 0 AHMEDABAD: The three-day Asia BRTS conference ended on Saturday. However, two important bureaucrats - Union urban development secretary Sudhir Krishna and officer on special duty (urban transport) SK Lohia - left Ahmedabad early on Saturday morning to attend an urgent Prime Minister's meeting in Delhi. The review work of JNNURM projects in various cities, which was to happen in the presence of the urban secretary, was cancelled. The conference culminated with 14 cities signing a treaty to form an India BRTS association. The treaty will be sent to the Union urban development ministry for approval, according to municipal commissioner Guruprasad Mohapatra. The consortium will act as a pressure group to secure better deals in bus procurement, spare parts and other allied purchases. The conference also pledged to form anAsia BRTS association on the lines of the Latin American BRTS association. "We want the Asia association to meet once every two years mainly for knowledge sharing," says Mohapatra. The Ahmedabad edition of the Asia BRTS conference was the first such event in India. From alok.priyanka at gmail.com Sun Sep 9 15:30:10 2012 From: alok.priyanka at gmail.com (Alok Jain) Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2012 12:00:10 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Unplanned mixing on BRT feeds chaos In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I wish the real world actually behaved like this and we could keep undoing this things. Latest calls are to rip apart BRT infrastructure from the road to make it a "normal" road. Possibly some flyovers will be coming next to ease the traffic? Thankfully Delhi Government has so far stuck to their guns and steadfastly supported BRT. Something commendable for a public agency. Regards Alok PS: Those requesting the CRRI report must have received by now. If not, give me a nudge again. On 08-Sep-2012, at 1:22 PM, Sujit Patwardhan wrote: > 8 September 2012 > > > > The CRRI study report will become a historical document (for all the wrong reasons), which may be the only reason for anyone wanting to read it. > > The Honourable High Court Judges should now manage the Frankenstein they have helped to create. I hope their cars get stuck for several hours in this mess. > > DIMTS have taken the correct stand. Handling mixed traffic in the BRT lane is like trying to fill a bucket full of holes and why should DIMTS try and sort out the chaos when their views were rejected by the Court? > > Sometimes it takes a bitter pill to cure a disease. Hopefully those clamouring for allowing personal vehicles in the BRT lanes will see this kind of "free for all" doesn't work, and traffic is bad for everyone - for the BRT buses of course, but also for cars and other modes. > > -- > Sujit > > > > > On Sat, Sep 8, 2012 at 8:09 AM, Alok Jain wrote: > I have the CRRI study report now. If anybody needs, pls contact me separately on email. > > Regards > Alok Jain > > LONG QUEUES > Unplanned mixing on BRT feeds chaos > Transport Dept Leaves Out CRRI?s Measures > Rumu Banerjee TNN > > New Delhi: The transport department has taken the Delhi high court?s order for mixed traffic on the Ambedkar Nagar-Moolchand bus rapid transit corridor quite literally. Traffic on the corridor has degenerated into chaos in the past month as the department has been allowing traffic to mix without implementing any of the measures that were in place during the trial run by CRRI. > Neither the signal phasing, which was an important part of the experimental run, nor the segregation of vehicles based on direction of traffic, is in place at the corridor. The result: vehicles move in all lanes, there are long queues at intersections during peak hours and traffic rules are violated rampantly. Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of Madangir Village, said, ?Travelling on the BRT has become a nightmare. I have to allot an extra hour to my journey either way to reach any place.? While journeys have become longer, it?s especially hard for the school buses that travel on the road. Pritha Goswami, a resident of Pushp Vihar, said, ?My daughter takes the bus from Sheikh Sarai nowadays as the school bus doesn?t stop at my colony anymore because of the excess traffic.? > During the trial run by CRRI, however, the mixed traffic had been successful, said Kumar. ?The traffic movement was smooth then, and travel time had gone > down.? None of the measures that were in place then have been implemented by the transport department now. During the trial, CRRI had changed the signal cycle at important intersections like Chirag Dilli. There were five signal cycle changes ? four for motorized vehicles and one for non-motorised vehicles and pedestrians ? reflecting the volume of traffic on the road. More importantly, the lanes had been demarcated for directional traffic. So vehicles turning left or headed straight plied on the left carriageway while the right turning vehicles travelled in the dedicated bus lane. To correspond to the directional movement of buses, some of the bus stops were relocated to the kerb side. > The CRRI report adds: ?At Chirag Dilli intersection, one additional lane was marked for right turning traffic from Sheikh Sarai to Nehru Place. Similarly, one additional right turning traffic lane was provided at Sheikh Sarai intersection for right turning traffic from Chirag Delhi to Saket during the trial run.? Also, clear signage had been put up, which added to better movement of traffic. > Reacting to a TOI story published on Tuesday, DIMTS admitted that it was only assisting in the operation of the traffic signal and monitoring the corridor through its OCC (operational control centre). However, itmaintained it was not in-charge of BRT anymore. > > > FREE-FOR-ALL: Neither the signal phasing, nor the segregation of traffic based on direction is in place > -------------------------------------------------------- > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). > > > > -- > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > It's no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. > > - J. Krishnamurti > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Sujit Patwardhan > patwardhan.sujit@gmail.com > sujit@parisar.org > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Yamuna, ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007, India > Tel: +91 20 25537955 > Cell: +91 98220 26627 > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Blog: http://motif.posterous.com/ > Parisar: www.parisar.org > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > From yanivbin at gmail.com Sun Sep 9 22:44:32 2012 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2012 19:14:32 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Mumbai cartoon : A monument to unnecessary infrastructure Message-ID: http://www.theurbanvision.com/blogs/?p=1003 Mumbai : A monument to unnecessary infrastructure From alok.priyanka at gmail.com Tue Sep 11 14:57:19 2012 From: alok.priyanka at gmail.com (Alok Jain) Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2012 11:27:19 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Some sense prevails in case of Delhi BRT Message-ID: POSER FOR GOVT Can BRT stay with changes,asks HC TIMESNEWSNETWORK New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Monday asked the Delhi government to respond by Tuesday if the Ambedkar Nagar-Moolchand bus rapid transit corridor could be continued with some changes. The new bench hearing the case identified problem areas with the controversial corridor and asked the government if it can make changes on it.Observing that the BRT concept and design is not bad,a division bench of Justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Manmohan Singh said,Let us find a mechanism to remove the problem to save BRT. While examining the Central Road Research Institutes (CRRI) survey report criticizing the corridor,the bench said,There is no defect in design but sudden surge of traffic in the middle of the stretch brings a bad name to the entire project. During the hearing,a senior CRRI official,who headed the team that prepared the report,explained to the bench about the procedure the expert body had adopted while conducting the trial run on BRT.After perusing the road map and the data submitted by the road research institute,the bench heard the final argument for more than four hours and said the problem lies with the stretch from Sheikh Sarai to Chirag Dilli,which is only 900m out of the total 5.8km operational stretch. The bench said a heavy traffic comes from the Saket side joining the corridor at Sheikh Sarai,and from the Chirag Dilli point,the cars and buses divert to different routes.The court asked the government to find if the buses of route Nos 534 (Anand Vihar-Mehrauli ) and 534A (Anand Vihar-IGI airport ) and some chartered buses could be re-routed to decongest the corridor.Agreeing to the CCRI suggestion that rerouting some buses could solve the problem,HC asked the transport department to convene a meeting and inform it about the outcome by Tuesday. The bench,however,dismissed another suggestion that the bus lanes and stops,which are in the middle of the corridor,can be shifted 100m away.If BRT has to remain,bus lanes can not be shifted as it will create chaos. it said,asking the government to explore possibility if slip roads could be made to divert the traffic from the Saket side.The court will hear the case again on Tuesday. From yanivbin at gmail.com Wed Sep 12 01:37:26 2012 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2012 22:07:26 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Auto companies seek government help to push demand In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Handholding for car sales from the govt ? you may well hear of this only in India! and including Buses as LCVs just to make it look OK no, no one calls it a bailout not surprising and if the handlholding happens now then sales for the festival season will pick up slowdown or no slowdown which is what the federation is looking for Vinay http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Auto-companies-seek-government-help-to-push-demand/articleshow/16346483.cms? Auto companies seek government help to push demandPankaj Doval, TNN | Sep 11, 2012, 07.33AM IST NEW DELHI: Amid slowdown, the car industry is demanding a revival package that includes a cut in excise duty and resumption of government purchases. Industry lobby groupSociety of Indian Automobile Manufacturers(Siam) said sales have been difficult across various segments of auto industry and thus a handholding is required from the government to boost volumes and lift sentiments. "Times are difficult and we need support. Car sales are under pressure, two-wheeler sales have gone down and medium-and heavy-duty commercial vehicle volumes are down. The industry needs urgent help to come out of this situation," Sugato Sen, senior director at Siam, told TOI here. Sen added that the industry requires a stimulus package similar to the one extended in 2008-09 when the global economies, including India, were in a turmoil, following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the US. An immediate step could be lowering of excise duty on vehicles, which had gone up in the Budget in March. The budget had upped the excise duty on small cars and two-wheelers by 2%, while the big cars and SUVs had seen the duty go up by 5%. Sen also said the government should reverse its decision of clamping a ban on purchase of vehicles for its various wings as well as senior officers. "Central government purchases formed a crucial part of the overall sales. The purchases were done for top officials, apart from various departments and ministries, government hotels, PSUs, defence and para-military wings etc. These should be revived." He said the overall sentiments are poor at the moment. "If such measures are not taken now, it may be difficult for the car companies to carry out operations. It is difficult to generate demand as interest rates and petrol prices continue to be high at a time when the customer sentiment is low." Sen also said the government should come out with the second phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme to promote sales of buses across cities. "The commercial vehicle industry is also facing the pinch and a special focus is required to generate demand." From datar.ashok at gmail.com Wed Sep 12 02:52:01 2012 From: datar.ashok at gmail.com (ashok datar) Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2012 23:22:01 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Auto companies seek government help to push demand In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: even thinking of providing concessions to automobiles in India as most of them end up in cities becoming second and third car within a family and now mostly diesel so as to increase the subsidy burden ( not to speak higher congestion and pollution ) it is akin to provide subsidy for supporting the sales of whiskey and cigarettes ashok datar On Tue, Sep 11, 2012 at 10:07 PM, Vinay Baindur wrote: > Handholding for car sales from the govt ? you may well hear of this only in > India! > and including Buses as LCVs just to make it look OK > no, no one calls it a bailout not surprising > and if the handlholding happens now then sales for the festival season will > pick up slowdown or no slowdown which is what the federation is looking for > Vinay > > > > http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Auto-companies-seek-government-help-to-push-demand/articleshow/16346483.cms > ? > > Auto companies seek government help to push demandPankaj > Doval< > http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toireporter/author-Pankaj-Doval.cms>, > TNN | Sep 11, 2012, 07.33AM IST > > > > NEW DELHI: Amid slowdown, the car industry is demanding a revival package > that includes a cut in excise > duty and > resumption of government purchases. Industry lobby groupSociety of Indian > Automobile Manufacturers< > http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Society-of-Indian-Automobile-Manufacturers > >(Siam) > said sales have been difficult across various segments of auto industry and > thus a handholding is required from the government to boost volumes and > lift sentiments. > > "Times are difficult and we need support. Car sales are under pressure, > two-wheeler sales have gone down and medium-and heavy-duty commercial > vehicle volumes are down. The industry needs urgent help to come out of > this situation," Sugato Sen, senior director at Siam, told TOI here. Sen > added that the industry requires a stimulus package similar to the one > extended in 2008-09 when the global economies, including India, were in a > turmoil, following the collapse of Lehman > Brothers in > the US. An immediate step could be lowering of excise duty on vehicles, > which had gone up in the Budget in March. The budget had upped the excise > duty on small cars and two-wheelers by 2%, while the big cars and SUVs had > seen the duty go up by 5%. > > Sen also said the government should reverse its decision of clamping a ban > on purchase of vehicles for its various wings as well as senior officers. > "Central government purchases formed a crucial part of the overall sales. > The purchases were done for top officials, apart from various departments > and ministries, government > hotels, > PSUs, defence and para-military wings etc. These should be revived." > > He said the overall sentiments are poor at the moment. "If such measures > are not taken now, it may be difficult for the car companies to carry out > operations. It is difficult to generate demand as interest > rates and > petrol prices continue to be high at a time when the customer sentiment is > low." > > Sen also said the government should come out with the second phase of > the Jawaharlal > Nehru National > Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme to promote sales of buses across > cities. "The commercial vehicle industry is also facing the pinch and a > special focus is required to generate demand." > -------------------------------------------------------- > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > (the 'Global South'). > -- Ashok R.Datar Mumbai Environmental Social Network 20 Madhavi, Makarand Society, S.V.S.Marg, Mahim-400 016 98676 65107/0222 444 9212 see our website : www.mesn.org * I hear, then I forget. I see, then I remember. I do, then I understand.* From litman at vtpi.org Wed Sep 12 12:44:06 2012 From: litman at vtpi.org (Todd Alexander Litman) Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2012 20:44:06 -0700 Subject: [sustran] VTPI News - Summer 2012 Message-ID: <039401cd90a7$b7db8e90$2792abb0$@org> ----------- VTPI NEWS ----------- Victoria Transport Policy Institute "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" ------------------------------------- Summer 2012 Vol. 12, No. 3 ----------------------------------- The Victoria Transport Policy Institute is an independent research organization dedicated to developing innovative solutions to transportation problems. The VTPI website (http://www.vtpi.org ) has many resources addressing a wide range of transport planning and policy issues. VTPI also provides consulting services. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NEW VTPI DOCUMENTS ==================== "Local Funding Options for Public Transportation" (http://www.vtpi.org/tranfund.pdf ) This paper, submitted for presentation at the TRB Annual Meeting, describes the results of a study that evaluated potential local funding options to help finance public transit improvements. It evaluates seventeen options according to eight criteria, a somewhat larger set of options and more systematic evaluation than most previous studies of this type. Each option has disadvantages and constraints. As a result, the overall conclusion of this study is that a variety of funding options should be used to help finance the local share of public transit improvements to insure stability and distribute costs broadly. "Safer Than You Think! Revising the Transit Safety Narrative" (http://www.vtpi.org/safer.pdf ) Public transportation is a safe form of travel. Total per capita traffic casualties tend to decline as public transit travel increases in a community. However, many people have the misimpression that transit is dangerous, and so are reluctant to use it or support transit service expansion in their communities. Various factors contribute to this excessive and irrational fear, including conventional traffic safety messages, heavy media coverage of transit-related crashes and crimes, and the nature of public transit, which requires travel with strangers in confined spaces. There is much that public transit agencies can do to change the narrative to emphasize the overall safety of public transit travel, to improve passengers? sense of security, and to provide better guidance concerning how passengers and communities can enhance public transport safety and security. "Smart Congestion Relief: Comprehensive Analysis Of Traffic Congestion Costs and Congestion Reduction Benefits" (http://www.vtpi.org/cong_relief.pdf ) This report critically evaluates the methods used to measure traffic congestion impacts, and applies a more comprehensive evaluation framework to various congestion reduction strategies. Current evaluation methods tend to exaggerate congestion costs and roadway expansion benefits, and underestimate the overall long-term impacts and benefits of pricing reforms, public transit improvements and land use policy reforms. The results indicate that more comprehensive evaluation can help identify more efficient and equitable congestion reduction solutions. * * * * * UPDATED DOCUMENTS ================= Below are recently updated VTPI documents. ?If Health Matters: Integrating Public Health Objectives in Transportation Planning? (http://www.vtpi.org/health.pdf) This report investigates various ways that transportation planning decisions affect public health, and how planning practices can better incorporate public health objectives. Conventional planning tends to consider some public health impacts, particularly traffic accident risks and pollution emissions measured per vehicle-kilometer, but generally ignores the additional accidents and pollution emissions caused by increased vehicle mileage, and health problems resulting from less active transport (reduced walking and cycling activity). This tends to undervalue strategies that reduce total vehicle travel and increase transport system diversity. This study identifies various ?win-win? strategies that help improve public health and achieve other planning objectives. * * * * * PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE =================== ?Changing North American Vehicle-Travel Price Sensitivities: Implications For Transport And Energy Policy? ( http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2012.06.010), published in ?Transport Policy?. There is a growing interest in transportation pricing reforms to help achieve various policy objectives including reduced traffic congestion, accidents and pollution emissions. Their effectiveness is affected by the price sensitivity of vehicle fuel consumption and travel, measured as elasticities (percentage change in consumption caused by a percentage change in price). Lower elasticities imply that price reforms are relatively ineffective at achieving objectives, high prices significantly harm consumers, and rebound effects are small so strategies that increase vehicle fuel efficiency are relatively effective at conserving fuel. Higher elasticities imply that price reforms are relatively effective, consumers can respond relatively easily, and rebound effects are relatively large. Some studies found that US price elasticities declined during the last quarter of the Twentieth Century but recent evidence suggests that vehicle travel has since become more price sensitive. This article examines evidence of changing vehicle fuel and travel elasticities, and discusses policy implications. This article is based on the longer report, "Changing Vehicle Travel Price Sensitivities: The Rebounding Rebound Effect" (http://www.vtpi.org/VMT_Elasticities.pdf ). "Reducing Carbon Emissions through TDM Strategies - A Review of International Examples" for Transportation Demand Management in Beijing (http://tdm-beijing.org/files/International_Review_Executive_Summary.pdf ) for Transport Demand Management in Beijing ? Emission Reduction in Urban Transport (http://www.tdm-beijing.org ). This report discusses promising TDM options for Chinese cities. It describes international examples of effective transport policy reforms including London, Singapore, New York, Berlin, Seoul, San Francisco and others. "Transforming Urban Mobility In Mexico: Towards Accessible Cities Less Reliant on Cars" Institute for Transportation and Development Policy" (http://mexico.itdp.org/wp-content/uploads/Transforming-Urban-Mobility-in-Me xico.pdf ). This study was conducted by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy M?xico with support from the British Embassy in Mexico and the UK Prosperity Fund. It hopes to promote the development of sustainable cities and thereby increase quality of life for its inhabitants. "Regional Transit Local Funding Options - Draft Technical Analysis" (http://www.crd.bc.ca/regionalplanning/transportation/documents/CRD_LocalTra nsitFundingOptionsReport_18June2012-web.pdf ) This report describes the results of a study commissioned by the Victoria Regional Transit Commission to identify and evaluate potential local funding options to help finance major public transit improvements in the Capital Regional District. This research included literature reviews, public surveys and focus groups, and analysis. "Transport, The Environment And Public Health: Classic Papers On Non-Motorised Travel" ( http://www.e-elgar.com/bookentry_main.lasso?currency=US&id=14642) This book edited by Stephen P. Greaves and Jan Garrard includes Todd Litman?s report, "The Economic Value of Walkability" (http://www.vtpi.org/walkability.pdf ). "What's It Worth? Comprehensive Evaluation of Bicycling Benefits" (http://www.vtpi.org/velocity2012.pdf ), presentation at the VeloCity Conference in Vancouver. "What solutions to curb congestion in emerging countries? ? Comments" ( http://ecomobility.tv/forums/topic/what-solutions-to-curb-congestion-in-emer ging-countries?replies=2#post-426 ) Recent Planetizen Blogs ( http://www.planetizen.com/blog/2394 ): 'Be Careful With Statistics' (http://www.planetizen.com/node/58169 ) 'Land-Use Regulation, Income Inequality and Smart Growth' (http://www.planetizen.com/node/57754 ) 'The Ecological Value of Lawns' (http://www.planetizen.com/node/57354 ) 'New Understanding of Traffic Congestion' (http://www.planetizen.com/node/57017 ) Let?s be friends. Todd Litman regularly posts on his Facebook page ( http://www.facebook.com/todd.litman). Befriend him now! * * * * * BEEN THERE, DONE THAT ======================== VeloVillage Conference presentation (http://www.scribd.com/doc/99751654/Win-Win-Strategies-for-Healthier-Communi ties ) and video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB1ZIr650G0&feature=youtu.be ). USEFUL RESOURCES ================= "Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities" (http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/167122.aspx ) Chapter 16 of TCRP Report 95 of "Traveler Response to Transportation System Changes." This 500-plus page report discusses the transportation and health impacts that result from various types of non-motorized transportation improvements and programs, including sidewalks, bicycle boulevards, regional path and bikeway systems and marketing. Impacts are quantified to the extent possible, and the report includes extensive references, photos and a set of PowerPoint slides. "Collection of Cycle Concepts" (http://www.cycling-embassy.dk/2012/05/10/cycle-concepts2012 ). This attractive book by the Cycling Embassy of Denmark provides extensive information on how to improve cycling. "TR News" (http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/167474.aspx ) May-June issue is devoted walking and cycling issues "Best Design Practices for Walking and Bicycling in Michigan" (www.michigan.gov/documents/mdot/MDOT_Research_Report_RC1572_Part6_387521_7. pdf ). This report provides guidance in the design of nonmotorized improvements that have been shown to reduce crashes. A summary matrix is provided that provides a general comparison of the potential crash reduction, potential mobility impacts, and cost of each best practice. "Valuation Of Travel Time Savings In Bicycle Trips" (http://www.vti.se/en/publications/valuation-of-travel-time-savings-in-bicyc le-trips ). This study indicates that many people value walking or cycling for enjoyment and exercise and so will choose these modes even if they take longer than driving. "2010 Bike Commuting Data" ( http://www.bikeleague.org/news/acs2010.php ) uses data from the 70 U.S. cities largest cities to show that communities which have improved bicycling conditions have experienced increased bicycle transportation. "Creating Walkable and Bikeable Communities: A User Guide to Developing Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plans" (http://www.ibpi.usp.pdx.edu/media/IBPI%20Master%20Plan%20Handbook%20FINAL%2 0(7.27.12).pdf ) by Portland State University?s Center for Transportation Studies is designed to help communities strategically plan for bicycle and pedestrian transportation. "Urban Bikeway Design Guide" (http://www.c4cguide.org ) by the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) is a toolkit for designing safer streets for bicyclists published. "Good For Busine$$ - The Benefits Of Making Streets More Walking And Cycling Friendly" (http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/GoodforBusinessFI NAL_Nov.pdf ). This discussion paper by Rodney Tolley explores the benefits to retailers, residents and councils of improving walking and cycling conditions, based on international case studies. "Complete Streets: Policy Analysis 2011" (http://www.completestreets.org/webdocs/resources/cs-policyanalysis.pdf ) summarizes more than 350 complete streets policies approved by communities across the United States and identifies best practices. "Local Policies And Practices That Support Safe Pedestrian Environments; A Synthesis Of Highway Practice" (http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_syn_436.pdf ) describes the regulatory, administrative, and financial tools used to provide safe pedestrian environments. "Bicycle Road Safety Audit Guidelines and Prompt Lists" ( http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/tools_solve/fhwasa12018/fhwasa12018.pdf ) by the Federal Highway Administration Office of Safety provides information on principles of the safety of cyclists and potential issues affecting cyclists. "Amenity or Necessity? Street Standards as Parking Policy" (http://transweb.sjsu.edu/PDFs/research/1001-2-street-standards-street-width -parking-policy-investigation.pdf ) concludes that requiring wide residential streets to provide on-street parking is not justified for safety, nor by consumer demands since many households would not choose to pay for parking if it were unbundled, and so represents a hidden subsidy of automobile ownership and use. "SF Better Streets" (http://www.sfbetterstreets.org ) provides information for residents on how to improve street designs and maintenance. "Operations Benefit/Cost Analysis Desk Reference" (www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop12028/fhwahop12028.pdf ) by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration includes basic background information on benefit/cost analysis, including basic terminology and concepts, intended to support the needs of practitioners just getting started with B/C analysis, who may be unfamiliar with the general process. "Walkability Workbook" ( http://www.walklive.org/project/walkability-workbook) is a set of documents and slideshows that provide everything needed to organize community walkability workshops and conducting walkability audits, developed by the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute. "Better Urban Mobility in Developing Countries: Problems, Solutions and Good Practices" (http://www.uitp.org/publications/brochures/Dev-Countries-uk.pdf ) This brochure, provides concrete solutions and good practices for more efficient transportation management in developing countries. "World?s Largest Development Banks pledge $175 Billion for the Creation of More Sustainable Transport" (http://www.itdp.org/news/worlds-largest-development-banks-pledge-175-billio n-for-the-creation-of-mor ) provides good news for anybody who wants to see more efficient and equitable transport systems in developing countries. Thanks to efforts by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), the eight largest development banks have pledged $175 Billon to support more sustainable transport worldwide. "International Fuel Prices 2010/2011" (http://www.giz.de/Themen/en/dokumente/giz-en-IFP2010.pdf ) by www.giz.de/fuelprices , provides an overview of the retail prices of gasoline and diesel in over 170 countries. "ITDP: End Fossil Fuel Subsidies, Promote Sustainable Development" (http://www.itdp.org/news/end-fossil-fuel-subsidies-promote-sustainable-deve lopment and http://priceofoil.org/fossil-fuel-subsidies/international ) and "Implementing Energy Subsidy Reforms : An Overview Of The Key Issues" (http://go.worldbank.org/5QBSGWMK60 ) discuss how and why to reduce government subsidies of gasoline and diesel fuels. "IMF: Environmental Tax Reform: Principles from Theory and Practice to Date" (http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=26049.0 ) by the International Monetary Fund recommends a system of upstream taxes on fossil fuels, combined with refunds for downstream emissions capture, to internalize costs and reduce carbon and local pollution emissions. "How Much Do Drivers Pay For A Quicker Commute? New Evidence Suggests That It's Less Than We Think" (http://daily.sightline.org/2012/08/01/how-much-do-drivers-pay-for-a-quicker -commute ), the latest column in the Sightline Institute's, "Dude: Where Are My Cars?" (http://daily.sightline.org/blog_series/dude-where-are-my-cars) indicates that even modest tolls tend to significantly reduce vehicle trips. This is consistent with my study, "Changing Vehicle Travel Price Sensitivities: The Rebounding Rebound Effect" (http://www.vtpi.org/VMT_Elasticities.pdf ). "Traffic Forecasts Ignoring Induced Demand: a Shaky Fundament for Cost-Benefit Analyses" (http://www.ejtir.tbm.tudelft.nl/issues/2012_03/pdf/2012_03_02.pdf ). shows that ignoring induced vehicle traffic significantly affects cost-benefit results. "TOD 205 - Families and Transit-Oriented Development: Creating Complete Communities for All" (http://reconnectingamerica.org/assets/PDFs/20120620TODandFamiliesfinal.pdf ). "Methodology for Determining the Economic Development Impacts of Transit Projects" (http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp_w56.pdf ) investigates the productivity increases associated with agglomeration economies, economies of scale and density, caused by transit improvements. "Residential On-Site Carsharing And Off-Street Parking Policy" (http://transweb.sjsu.edu/PDFs/research/1001-1-residential-carsharing-offstr eet-parking-policy-san-francisco.pdf ) identifies factors that affect the success of on-site carsharing. "Contemporary Approaches to Parking Pricing: A Primer" (http://www.parking.org/media/129582/fhwa%20parking%20pricing%20primer.pdf ) by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, discusses advances in parking pricing policy, parking technology, and strategies for gaining public acceptance for parking policy reforms. ?Impact of Parking Supply and Demand Management on Central Business District (CBD) Traffic Congestion, Transit Performance and Sustainable Land Use (http://www.dot.state.fl.us/research-center/Completed_Proj/Summary_TE/FDOT_B DK77_977-07_rpt.pdf ) This Florida Department of Transportation report evaluates various parking management strategies suitable for reducing parking problems in large city central business districts. "Urban Traffic Calming and Health: A Literature Review" (http://www.ncchpp.ca/175/publications.ccnpps?id_article=686 ) examines traffic calming effects on collisions, air quality, noise, and active transportation. "Sustainable Transport, Mobility Management and Travel Plans" (http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9780754679394 ) by Professor Marcus Enoch analyzes travel plans from various perspectives and offers specific recommendations for policy reforms and program implementation. "Evaluating The Fiscal Impacts Of Development, Part I - Final Report and User?s Manual" (http://www.costofsprawl.org/Evaluating-Fiscal-Impacts-of-Development-Part-I .pdf ) describes the New Hampshire Cost of Sprawl Impact Model which evaluates the financial impact on local governments related to new development and ways to reduce costs through smart growth policies. * * * * * Please let us know if you have comments or questions about any information in this newsletter, or if you would like to be removed from our email list. And please pass this newsletter on to others who may find it useful. Sincerely, Todd Litman Victoria Transport Policy Institute ( www.vtpi.org) litman@vtpi.org facebook.com/todd.litman Phone & Fax 250-360-1560 1250 Rudlin Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, CANADA ?Efficiency - Equity - Clarity? From alok.priyanka at gmail.com Wed Sep 12 22:00:19 2012 From: alok.priyanka at gmail.com (Alok Jain) Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2012 18:30:19 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Some sense prevails in case of Delhi BRT In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: More on the issue today... HC orders buses back in reserved lane Other Vehicles Barred From Dedicated Lane, Signalling To Change For Simultaneous Right Turn TIMES NEWS NETWORK New Delhi: This weekend, the Ambedkar Nagar-Moolchand Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor will go back to its original state, at least for now. Delhi High Court on Tuesday gave a direction that the traffic flow on the corridor should ?revert? to what it was before being altered by a previous order. This means that the central dedicated lane will once again be reserved for buses and emergency vehicles, and other traffic won?t be allowed to enter it. Revoking the court?s earlier interim orders of May 30 and July 5, which had thrown open the bus lanes to all vehicles, a bench of Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Manmohan Singh ordered the buses back into their reserved lanes. ?We direct that till the writ petition is decided, the traffic flow would revert to its movement / flow as per the BRT Corridor Traffic Flow System, meaning thereby the traffic which was flowing before its flow was altered under interim orders passed and to give effect to the same i.e. restoring status quo ante,? the bench said, asking the Delhi transport department to implement the order by September 15. The court also asked for a change in the signalling system to allow buses and cars to simultaneously move in the right direction at the intersections, a measure that was agreed upon by the counsel for both parties. ?The signalling pattern will be changed to simultaneously permit cars and buses to move in the right direction at the intersections and the traffic marshals, as also the traffic policemen, to put in their best, as the non-bus traffic reaches the crossings, to ensure as far as possible that cars which have to take a turn in the right direction keep towards the right side of their road segment,? it said. The court rejected the suggestion to allow motorized and non-motorized vehicles in the BRT corridor with proper signage and signals, observing that it would be ? impracticable? because of the ?indisciplined drivers of motor vehicles in Delhi?. The bench passed the order after the counsel for the parties agreed that the existing system of all motorised vehicles plying in bus lanes needed to be changed since this had only caused the traffic situation to worsen. It took on record the submission by the Delhi government that the revised traffic flow management would be widely publicized and the corridor will be managed by both traffic marshals and cops. ?We take on record the assurance made by counsel for the Delhi government that necessary signages would be put in place and wide publicity would be given for the revised traffic flow management and traffic marshals would be brought back as also adequate number of traffic policemen would be stationed, at least for the first few days, lest chaos reigns in the BRT corridor,? the court said, fixing September 21 as the next date of hearing. In its order, the court noted that even during the trial run conducted by the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), there was a ?considerable problem? in regulating the traffic at the intersection ?for the reason, although very small in number, the buses which were plying on the left kerb of the road, on reaching the crossing had to wait for the right turn signal and in this manner hindered the flow of traffic, for the reason the drivers of the vehicles behind would hardly know as to in which direction the bus would move,? the court said.The bench, was hearing a PIL filed by an NGO, Nyay Bhoomi, for scrapping the BRT project to ensure smooth traffic movement on the 5.8-km corridor. It is seeking plying of all types of vehicles in the bus lane on the ground that most of the time bus lanes remain free while the condition in the other lanes, meant for cars and other vehicles, remains chaotic and people get stuck in jams for hours. After conducting a trial run allowing mixed traffic to ply in the bus lanes in May, the CRRI had submitted its survey report criticising the BRT corridor. The Delhi government, however, had opposed the CRRI report. On 11-Sep-2012, at 11:27 AM, Alok Jain wrote: > POSER FOR GOVT > Can BRT stay with changes,asks HC > > TIMESNEWSNETWORK > > New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Monday asked the Delhi government to respond by Tuesday if the Ambedkar Nagar-Moolchand bus rapid transit corridor could be continued with some changes. > The new bench hearing the case identified problem areas with the controversial corridor and asked the government if it can make changes on it.Observing that the BRT concept and design is not bad,a division bench of Justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Manmohan Singh said,Let us find a mechanism to remove the problem to save BRT. > While examining the Central Road Research Institutes (CRRI) survey report criticizing the corridor,the bench said,There is no defect in design but sudden surge of traffic in the middle of the stretch brings a bad name to the entire project. > During the hearing,a senior CRRI official,who headed the team that prepared the report,explained to the bench about the procedure the expert body had adopted while conducting the trial run on BRT.After perusing the road map and the data submitted by the road research institute,the bench heard the final argument for more than four hours and said the problem lies with the stretch from Sheikh Sarai to Chirag Dilli,which is only 900m out of the total 5.8km operational stretch. > The bench said a heavy traffic comes from the Saket side joining the corridor at Sheikh Sarai,and from the Chirag Dilli point,the cars and buses divert to different routes.The court asked the government to find if the buses of route Nos 534 (Anand Vihar-Mehrauli ) and 534A (Anand Vihar-IGI airport ) and some chartered buses could be re-routed to decongest the corridor.Agreeing to the CCRI suggestion that rerouting some buses could solve the problem,HC asked the transport department to convene a meeting and inform it about the outcome by Tuesday. > The bench,however,dismissed another suggestion that the bus lanes and stops,which are in the middle of the corridor,can be shifted 100m away.If BRT has to remain,bus lanes can not be shifted as it will create chaos. it said,asking the government to explore possibility if slip roads could be made to divert the traffic from the Saket side.The court will hear the case again on Tuesday. From bayk_aksyon at yahoo.com Sat Sep 15 09:29:11 2012 From: bayk_aksyon at yahoo.com (Ramon Fernan) Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2012 17:29:11 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] Transportation Alternatives in New York City Message-ID: <1347668951.82653.YahooMailNeo@web163502.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Ok, it's an ad for Giro but also delivers TA's message of bike advocacy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52f6SccIkP0? ? Ram?n "My practice as a scientist is atheistic. That is to say, when I set up an experiment I assume that no god, angel or devil is going to interfere with its course; and this assumption has been justified by such success as I have achieved in my professional career. I should therefore be intellectually dishonest if I were not also atheistic in the affairs of the world." ??J.B.S. Haldane From yanivbin at gmail.com Sun Sep 16 02:21:07 2012 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2012 22:51:07 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Boxed In, in BangaloRe: Analyzing Sentiment on Indian Traffic Congestion Message-ID: http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=587&doc_id=250819&f_src=internetevolution_gnews Boxed In, in Bangalore: Analyzing Sentiment on Indian Traffic Congestion [image: Todd Watson] Written by *Todd Watson* 9/14/2012 Post a comment DISCUSS EMAIL THIS inShare We heard a number of discussions about the potential for social listening intelligence last week at the Smarter Commerce Global Summit in Orlando. This is an area I've been involved in within the IBM team for several years now, starting with some early explorations for how social data could be informative for our marketing efforts stretching all the way back to 2008. It's been exciting to watch this space evolve and mature, and with the advent of the IBM Social Sentiment index, we're starting to see very practical uses of social data for better understanding of, if not the wisdom, then certainly the perspectives, of the crowd. Yesterday, IBM held a Smarter Cities Forum in New Delhi, India, where we unveiled a new social sentiment capability to assist our customers in their Smarter Cities engagements. We also unveiled findings from the latest IBM Social Sentiment Index on traffic, which looked at public sentiment across India's largest cities -- Bangalore, New Delhi and Mumbai. With a population of more than 1.2 billion, India is projected to be the world's most populous country by 2025. By 2050, it is estimated that India's urban population will constitute nearly half of that country's total population, straining an already stressed infrastructure. The good news: Urbanization is an indicator of positive economic development. With improved urban planning, India can tackle urbanization challenges and increasing population to create a country that is poised for sustainable growth. *Boxed in, in Bangalore* If you've never experienced traffic in India, you can get a taste of the Sunday traffic in this video I shot during my first visit in June 2010. But the recent analysis of publically available social media showed that the worst congestion in India is primarily caused by accidents and bad weather (three out of four times) when looking at the three cities together. It also indicated some interesting variations among the three. For example, social conversation in Mumbai about stress around traffic is about half as high as Bangalore and New Delhi; references to the impact of rush hour on congestion in New Delhi are between five and seven times more negative than in Bangalore and Mumbai. With a wealth of online content and public commentary on social channels such as Twitter and Facebook, city officials need new ways to measure positive, neutral, and negative opinions shared by citizens regarding important city issues. IBM's advanced analytics and natural language processing technologies used to analyze large volumes of public social media data in order to assess and understand citizen opinions are now available to city governments around the world via new capabilities delivered with the IBM Intelligent Operations Center (IOC) for Smarter Cities . *Making cities smarter: the IBM Intelligent Operations Center* The IOC -- which combines IBM software and services to integrate city operations through a single dashboard view to help cities improve efficiency -- is now augmented with social media analytics capabilities that will help city officials make more informed decisions by looking at unfiltered citizen attitudes and actions, distinguishing between sincerity and sarcasm and even predicting trends as they surface online. Combining the knowledge that population will rapidly increase in Bangalore, New Delhi, and Mumbai in the coming years, with sentiment on commuters' preferred modes of transportation, could help these cities more accurately plan for needed investments in transportation infrastructure and its potential impact. City officials could also gauge where public awareness campaigns need to be administered to shift commuters to different modes of transport in order to alleviate growing traffic congestion. The IBM Social Sentiment Index on transportation in India's three largest cities surfaced several insights including: - *The top three factors impacting traffic congestion that citizens in each city talked about most online were diverse.* Delhites chattered about public transportation, weather, and the stress of commuting, while Bangaloreans show more concern for their overall driving experience, construction, and parking issues, and Mumbaikars are talking about private transport, accidents, and pollution more often. - *Conversation in Bangalore around parking is viewed three times more negatively than in the other cities.* Despite recent infrastructure improvements, less pollution, and a solid public transit system, Delhites are experiencing a far higher amount of stress (50 percent) than those in Mumbai (29 percent) or Bangalore (34 percent). Most likely, this can be explained by an uptick in rallies and weather events this year, as well as the recent power outage. - *Surprisingly, sentiment on the topic of construction was relatively positive in Bangalore and New Delhi, and positive and negative sentiment on infrastructure in each was relatively even.* Together, these may suggest that the transportation infrastructure improvements being made over the last two years in each city are beginning to positively impact citizens. - *Analysis shows that the relative negative sentiment for rush hour (35 percent) is one of the key drivers impacting traffic in New Delhi.* This may explain why citizens there talk about stress significantly more than commuters in Mumbai or Bangalore. By applying analytics capabilities to the area of social media sentiment, organizations are able to better understand public opinions, and city officials can gain additional insights in order to draw logical conclusions about where they should focus their attentions and resources. For example: - *Take Bangalore, the technology hub of India.* Understanding that most commuters prefer private transportation, despite negative sentiment around parking and construction, may indicate that city officials should consider if it makes sense to advocate for more commuters to use mass transit and invest in infrastructure that will keep up with demand as more companies locate there. - *Since Delhites indicate that public transportation is the preferred mode of transportation*, city officials could use this insight to study which areas have high ridership and less road traffic and then implement similar actions in highly congested areas. - *In Mumbai, negative sentiment around traffic and weather at the peak of monsoon season (August) generated 5.5 times more chatter than in November.* If the city could measure the fluctuation of public sentiment on these potential causes over time, combined with specific weather data like rainfall or temperature, it might be able to better prepare to divert traffic during monsoon season or determine areas where a public safety campaign is needed. "Like all rapidly growing cities across the world, there are infrastructure growing pains in many Indian cities," said Guru Banavar, vice president and chief technology officer, Smarter Cities, IBM. "However, when city officials can factor public sentiment -- positive, negative, or otherwise -- around city services like transportation, they can more quickly pinpoint and prioritize areas that are top of mind for their citizens. This could mean more targeted investment, improving a particular city service, more effective communication about a service that is offered, and even surfacing best-practices and successful efforts that could be applied to other zones of a city." *Methodology: IBM Cognos Consumer Insights and 168,000+ discussions* Public social media content was analyzed by IBM Cognos Consumer Insight, which assessed 168,330 online discussions from September 2011 to September 2012 across social platforms including Twitter, Facebook, blogs, forums, and news sources and derived 54,234 high-value snippets through a series of advanced filtration techniques for insight analysis. The IBM Social Sentiment Index helps companies tap into consumer desires and make more informed decisions by looking at unfiltered consumer attitudes and actions, distinguishing between sincerity and sarcasm, and even predicting trends. *About the IBM Social Sentiment Index* The IBM Social Sentiment Index uses advanced analytics and natural language processing technologies to analyze large volumes of social media data in order to assess public opinions. The Index can identify and measure positive, negative, and neutral sentiments shared in public forums such as Twitter, blogs, message boards, and other social media, and provide quick insights into consumer conversations about issues, products, and services. Representing a new form of market research, social sentiment analyses offer organizations new insights that can help them better understand and respond to consumer trends. For more information about IBM Business Analytics go here. You can also follow the conversation at #IBMIndex on Twitter. For more information about IBM Smarter Cities go here, and follow the conversation at #smartercities on Twitter. Channel: Developing world , Enterprise IT , Environment Tags: Analytics , Social Networking From alok.priyanka at gmail.com Sun Sep 16 10:37:51 2012 From: alok.priyanka at gmail.com (Priyanka Jain) Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2012 07:07:51 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Brakes on the billionth car Message-ID: blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ruminations/entry/brakes-on-the-billionth-car Alok Jain +91 9769686819 +852 97689080 Sent from my iPhone. Ignore typos. From carlosfpardo at gmail.com Mon Sep 17 23:32:38 2012 From: carlosfpardo at gmail.com (Carlosfelipe Pardo) Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2012 09:32:38 -0500 Subject: [sustran] open access to SUTP.org Message-ID: <50573486.2010805@gmail.com> I just wanted to send a short congratulations to SUTP.org staff for giving open access to all their documentation (it has always been free, but registration was needed). I am sure many of you are also happy to hear this. Below the full announcement: Open access at sutp.org Published on Monday, 17 September 2012 07:29|Print |Email While sutp.org has always been providing all information for free, we recognize that the registration process required until today has been a barrier for many potential users. This is why we have given green light for a major change on sutp.org: From today on all downloads are possible without registering. All existing registered sutp.org-users will continue to receive our regular SUTP newsletter, while their user profiles and data formerly required to log in for downloads will be deleted. This open access policy allows us to increase the outreach of SUTP and the convenience for our users. Don't hesitate to spread the message, and to invite your colleagues and friends to register for our SUTP newsletter to stay informed about our activities for more sustainable urban transport. If you face any difficulties or in case you have any further suggestions, please don't hesitate to contact us atsutp@sutp.org . From patwardhan.sujit at gmail.com Thu Sep 20 01:07:58 2012 From: patwardhan.sujit at gmail.com (Sujit Patwardhan) Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2012 21:37:58 +0530 Subject: [sustran] High court restores BRT lane to buses in Delhi- Down to Earth In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: 19 September 2012 At last some sanity in the High Court Case in Delhi. -- Sujit 'If the city decides to buy cars, buy cars, buy cars and buy more cars? a day will come when nothing will move. Should planners allow that to happen?' ** High court restores BRT lane to buses 1 Comments Author(s): Anumita Roychowdhury Date: Sep 11, 2012 *Segregated traffic movement to be in place till court pronounces final verdict on whether BRT corridor should be retained* [image: Image]Restoring sanity amid chaos, a division bench of the Delhi Court has issued an interim order in the ongoing public interest litigation relating to the Delhi BRT road corridor on Tuesday. It has issued an interim order, stating: ?till the time the writ petition is decided, the traffic flow would revert to its movement/flow as per the BRT corridor traffic flow system to restore the BRT corridor? by September 15?. Thus, the bench comprising Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Manmohan Singh, practically set aside the earlier interim order of the high court that had allowed other vehicles to ply on the dedicated bus corridor. 'If the city decides to buy cars, buy cars, buy cars and buy more cars? a day will come when nothing will move. Should planners allow that to happen?' The new order has taken on record the assurance given by K T S Tulsi, the government counsel, that necessary signages would be put in place and wide publicity would be given for the revised traffic flow management and that the traffic marshals would be brought back and adequate number of traffic police personnel would be stationed, at least for the first few days, lest chaos take over the BRT corridor. This will be implemented along with the changes in the signalling pattern to permit cars and buses to move in the right direction at the intersections. Traffic police and marshals will ensure cars which have to take a turn towards the right keep towards the right side of their road segment. *BRT a good concept, says court* The high court was hearing a petition filed by NGO Nyay Bhoomi, demanding smooth traffic movement and to opening up of the reserved lanes for buses to other vehicles. In fact, the bench has directed the petitioner to submit the ?sequential logic? and rationale for demanding scrapping/modification of BRT. The bench observed that public interest petitions are filed for the larger public good. *The court has upheld BRT as a good concept and a solution to the growing car mania and congestion in the city. ?If the city decides to buy cars, buy cars, buy cars and buy more cars? a day will come when nothing will move. Should planners allow that to happen?? asked the division bench. Good planners have seen where the city is destined to go and are taking remedial measures when there is time. Justice Nandrajog likened the situation to a spoilt child who might in the future accuse his own parents for not curing him or disciplining him when he was being bad. ?Swallow the bitter pill now if needed,? said the bench. One generation will have to sacrifice for the good of the others. This will require attitudinal change, they said.* The bench has made it clear that it is important to find a mechanism to remove the problem and save BRT. The concept is not bad and there is no defect in design, but sudden surge of traffic in the middle of the stretch brings a bad name to the entire project. The focus of the discussion was on the remedial measures for the 900 metre stretch near Chirag Dilli that has become a traffic bottleneck. Some of these remedial measures include modification in the traffic signal cycle, aligning movement of right turning buses and other motorised vehicles and a parallel road to take traffic directly from Saket to outer ring road. The report of the Central Road research Institute (CRRI) on the BRT corridor was under close scrutiny. The bench used its data to demonstrate how the current BRT has actually delivered on its own objectives of carrying more people. More than half of the commuters travelling on this corridor use buses. Moreover, bus ridership has increased. But more important as the bench has observed, half of those who have opted out of autos and taxis on this corridor because of congestion have opted for BRT. This is a powerful indicator of BRT?s impact as the users of autos and taxis are rich. *Petioner's claim trashed* *The argument put forth by CRRI and Nyay Bhoomi that during the trial run speed of the cars had increased by 18 per cent was trashed by the court. The bench observed, this is like saying if the speed has increased from 1 per cent to 2 per cent it is a jump of 100 per cent. In fact, the bench concluded that having BRT or not, makes marginal difference to the car users. * The hearing has outlined the problem clearly with a powerful message at this crucial time when the Delhi has to decide its future mobility options. Car numbers will grow with economic growth. But it is important to decide the sustainability indicators today. Can everyone have car and use it too, asked the bench. Already congestion is leading to road rage, causing perversion in society, and insanity is setting in. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *It's no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. * - J. Krishnamurti ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sujit Patwardhan patwardhan.sujit@gmail.com sujit@parisar.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yamuna, ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007, India Tel: +91 20 25537955 Cell: +91 98220 26627 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blog: http://motif.posterous.com/ Parisar: www.parisar.org --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 183667 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20120919/9caa2723/attachment-0001.jpe From anjali.mahendra at gmail.com Thu Sep 20 01:18:47 2012 From: anjali.mahendra at gmail.com (Anjali Mahendra) Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2012 12:18:47 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: High court restores BRT lane to buses in Delhi- Down to Earth In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Thank you, Sujit for sending this information about the Delhi BRT court case. This is very encouraging, and the comments below are real gems. :-) ?If the city decides to buy cars, buy cars, buy cars and buy more cars? a day will come when nothing will move. Should planners allow that to happen?? asked the division bench. Good planners have seen where the city is destined to go and are taking remedial measures when there is time. Justice Nandrajog likened the situation to a spoilt child who might in the future accuse his own parents for not curing him or disciplining him when he was being bad. ?Swallow the bitter pill now if needed,? said the bench. One generation will have to sacrifice for the good of the others. This will require attitudinal change, they said.* *The argument put forth by CRRI and Nyay Bhoomi that during the trial run speed of the cars had increased by 18 per cent was trashed by the court. The bench observed, this is like saying if the speed has increased from 1 per cent to 2 per cent it is a jump of 100 per cent. In fact, the bench concluded that having BRT or not, makes marginal difference to the car users. * Regards, Anjali On Wed, Sep 19, 2012 at 12:07 PM, Sujit Patwardhan < patwardhan.sujit@gmail.com> wrote: > 19 September 2012 > > > At last some sanity in the High Court Case in Delhi. > -- > Sujit > > > 'If the city decides to buy cars, > buy cars, buy cars and buy more cars? > a day will come when nothing will move. > Should planners allow that to happen?' > > ** > High court restores BRT lane to buses > 1 Comments > Author(s): Anumita Roychowdhury > Date: Sep 11, 2012 > > *Segregated traffic movement to be in place till court pronounces final > verdict on whether BRT corridor should be retained* > > [image: Image]Restoring sanity amid chaos, a division bench of the Delhi > Court has issued an interim order in the ongoing public interest litigation > relating to the Delhi BRT road corridor on Tuesday. It has issued an > interim order, stating: ?till the time the writ petition is decided, the > traffic flow would revert to its movement/flow as per the BRT corridor > traffic flow system to restore the BRT corridor? by September 15?. Thus, > the bench comprising Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Manmohan Singh, > practically set aside the earlier interim order of the high court that had > allowed other vehicles to ply on the dedicated bus corridor. > > 'If the city decides to buy cars, buy cars, buy cars and buy more cars? a > day will come when nothing will move. Should planners allow that to > happen?' > > The new order has taken on record the assurance given by K T S Tulsi, the > government counsel, that necessary signages would be put in place and wide > publicity would be given for the revised traffic flow management and that > the traffic marshals would be brought back and adequate number of traffic > police personnel would be stationed, at least for the first few days, lest > chaos take over the BRT corridor. This will be implemented along with the > changes in the signalling pattern to permit cars and buses to move in the > right direction at the intersections. Traffic police and marshals will > ensure cars which have to take a turn towards the right keep towards the > right side of their road segment. > > *BRT a good concept, says court* > > The high court was hearing a petition filed by NGO Nyay Bhoomi, demanding > smooth traffic movement and to opening up of the reserved lanes for buses > to other vehicles. In fact, the bench has directed the petitioner to submit > the ?sequential logic? and rationale for demanding scrapping/modification > of BRT. The bench observed that public interest petitions are filed for the > larger public good. > > *The court has upheld BRT as a good concept and a solution to the growing > car mania and congestion in the city. ?If the city decides to buy cars, buy > cars, buy cars and buy more cars? a day will come when nothing will move. > Should planners allow that to happen?? asked the division bench. Good > planners have seen where the city is destined to go and are taking remedial > measures when there is time. Justice Nandrajog likened the situation to a > spoilt child who might in the future accuse his own parents for not curing > him or disciplining him when he was being bad. ?Swallow the bitter pill now > if needed,? said the bench. One generation will have to sacrifice for the > good of the others. This will require attitudinal change, they said.* > > The bench has made it clear that it is important to find a mechanism to > remove the problem and save BRT. The concept is not bad and there is no > defect in design, but sudden surge of traffic in the middle of the stretch > brings a bad name to the entire project. The focus of the discussion was on > the remedial measures for the 900 metre stretch near Chirag Dilli that has > become a traffic bottleneck. Some of these remedial measures include > modification in the traffic signal cycle, aligning movement of right > turning buses and other motorised vehicles and a parallel road to take > traffic directly from Saket to outer ring road. > > The report of the Central Road research Institute (CRRI) on the BRT > corridor was under close scrutiny. The bench used its data to demonstrate > how the current BRT has actually delivered on its own objectives of > carrying more people. More than half of the commuters travelling on this > corridor use buses. Moreover, bus ridership has increased. But more > important as the bench has observed, half of those who have opted out of > autos and taxis on this corridor because of congestion have opted for BRT. > This is a powerful indicator of BRT?s impact as the users of autos and > taxis are rich. > > *Petioner's claim trashed* > > *The argument put forth by CRRI and Nyay Bhoomi that during the trial run > speed of the cars had increased by 18 per cent was trashed by the court. > The bench observed, this is like saying if the speed has increased from 1 > per cent to 2 per cent it is a jump of 100 per cent. In fact, the bench > concluded that having BRT or not, makes marginal difference to the car > users. * > > The hearing has outlined the problem clearly with a powerful message at > this crucial time when the Delhi has to decide its future mobility options. > Car numbers will grow with economic growth. But it is important to decide > the sustainability indicators today. Can everyone have car and use it too, > asked the bench. Already congestion is leading to road rage, causing > perversion in society, and insanity is setting in. > > > > -- > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > *It's no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick > society. > * > > - J. Krishnamurti > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Sujit Patwardhan > patwardhan.sujit@gmail.com > sujit@parisar.org > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Yamuna, ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007, India > Tel: +91 20 25537955 > Cell: +91 98220 26627 > > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Blog: http://motif.posterous.com/ > Parisar: www.parisar.org > > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > -------------------------------------------------------- > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > (the 'Global South'). >