[sustran] India relies mainly on buses for transportation, but they are being marginalised

[Vinay Baindur]

http://www.thehindu.com/data/india-relies-mainly-on-buses-for-transportation-but-they-are-being-marginalised/article8916992.ece



India relies mainly on buses for transportation, but they are being
marginalised

   - T. RAMACHANDRAN
   <http://www.thehindu.com/profile/author/t.-ramachandran/>



n

[image: Rural areas are poorly served by bus transport. File Photo: S. Siva
Saravanan]
The Hindu
Rural areas are poorly served by bus transport. File Photo: S. Siva
Saravanan
TOPICS
construction and property
<http://www.thehindu.com/tag/construction-and-property/770/>civic
infrastructure <http://www.thehindu.com/tag/civic-infrastructure/62808/>
Though most in both urban and rural areas primarily rely on buses for
travel, other kinds of vehicles, like two-wheelers and cars, dominate.

Buses (and trams) account for the bulk of the spending on travel in India,
a sample survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO)
has revealed; yet buses constitute only a small fraction of the total
number of vehicles on the roads. Though most people in both urban and rural
areas primarily rely on buses for travel, other kinds of vehicles, like
two-wheelers and cars, have come to overwhelmingly dominate the
transportation scene over the years.

Though the NSSO survey did not take into account the monthly per capita
expenses for travelling using the respondents' own vehicles, the percentage
share of buses is strikingly high in both urban and rural areas. This,
despite those living in urban areas spending a much larger amount on
transportation than those in rural areas.

The survey revealed that spending on transportation accounts for a large
share of the expenditure on services. The majority of households - 66 per
cent in rural and 62 percent in urban areas had incurred expenditure on bus
travel. But in terms of the budget share on bus transport, rural areas were
ahead with 68 per cent. The spending on buses was about 10 per cent less in
urban areas. The data covered travel expenses for a month. The survey on
‘Household Expenditure on Services and Durable Goods’ was conducted between
July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015. A total of 7,969 villages and 6,048 urban
blocks were surveyed.

Autorickshaws came next in terms of the spending priorities on
transportation, both in rural and urban areas. Nearly half of urban
households used autos compared to 38 per cent in rural areas.

Trains seemed to account for a very small fraction of expenditure,
particularly in rural areas. In urban areas it accounted for about 13 per
cent of the travel budget.

Air travel is primarily a luxury of the affluent living in urban areas, if
households are segmented in terms of the size of travel budget. It accounts
for 20 per cent of the budget in the uppermost 20 per cent segment in urban
areas.

When it comes to the mix of registered vehicles in the country the
percentage share of buses has declined over the decades, with two-wheelers
emerging as the dominant segment in the country. The share of buses
(including omni buses) as a percentage of the number of total registered
vehicles declined from 11.1 in 1951 to 1 in 2012.

The modes of transport that are receding into the background are often the
ones that need to be encouraged most. As a National Transport Development
Policy Committee Report (NTDPC), released in 2013, observed, "rising car
ownership and declining rates of walking and cycling have placed severe
pressure on urban roads. Municipal bus services are often in short supply
or entirely missing from urban areas where they are much needed. "

It described the the "current emphasis" on Metro Rail transit systems as
being "rather excessive," because they "typically cost much higher compared
to other modes such as city bus/bus rapid transit system". And rural areas
are poorly served by bus transport.

The bus fleets of private sector operators has outgrown those of State
Transport Undertakings several fold in recent years. But the bus fleets in
many urban areas has got a boost thanks to the Jwaharlal Nehru National
Urban Renewal Mission. The working group on urban transport for the NTDPC
Report had emphatically suggested organized city bus services in all state
capitals and cities with a population of one lakh and above.

Keywords: Public transport
<http://www.thehindu.com/data/india-relies-mainly-on-buses-for-transportation-but-they-are-being-marginalised/article8916992.ece#>
, Private transport
<http://www.thehindu.com/data/india-relies-mainly-on-buses-for-transportation-but-they-are-being-marginalised/article8916992.ece#>
, buses
<http://www.thehindu.com/data/india-relies-mainly-on-buses-for-transportation-but-they-are-being-marginalised/article8916992.ece#>