<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1528" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV dir=ltr align=left>In other words, Bangalore is going the way Mumbai already has!</DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left>Alan</DIV> <DIV> </DIV>   -- Alan Howes Associate Transport Planner Colin Buchanan 4 St Colme Street Edinburgh      EH3 6AA Scotland email:  <A href="mailto:alan.howes@cbuchanan.co.uk">alan.howes@cbuchanan.co.uk</A> tel:      (0)131 226 4693 (switchboard)            (0)7952 464335  (mobile) fax:     (0)131 220 0232 www: <A href="http:/www.cbuchanan.co.uk/">http:/www.cbuchanan.co.uk/</A> _______________________________ This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. 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We cannot accept liability for any loss or damage caused by software viruses. _______________________________ <DIV> </DIV> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left> <HR tabIndex=-1> From: sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc.org [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf Of Sujit Patwardhan Sent: 15 March 2006 05:40 To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport Subject: [sustran] Re: Automobility or Accessibility </DIV> <DIV></DIV>15 March 2006 Today Bangalore city's bus sytem is the most efficient, reliable and profitable in the whole country but with the number of auto vehicles growing at cancerour rate in the city and auto centric infrastructure carried out by the administration (road widening, more roads, and flyovers) in the last few years it is unlikely that the pubic transport buses will be able to maintain their high performance levels for many more years. This is because infrastructure policies do not (yet) recognize that unless the city gives priority to public transport, all the expensive investments in roads and flyovers will come to nought. Going by the needs of the MAJORITY the city needs better pedestrain facilities, cycle tracks and public transport infrastructure which means BUS LANES and NOT flyovers. It also means TDM measures so that people are encouraged to shift to public transport and made to pay more realistic costs if they want to persist using personal vehicles. As far as I'm aware, this is not on the city's agenda at the moment. Just buying a few Volvo buses is not going to do much for improving the condition of public transport. And now that the city has committed itself to the hugely expensive Metro it is difficult to imagine where the money will come from for above measures (bus lanes, pedestrian facilities and cycle tracks). <DIV>On 3/15/06, Vittal Kumar A. <<A href="mailto:vittalkumar_a@yahoo.com">vittalkumar_a@yahoo.com</A>> wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid"> <DIV>Hi,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I agree with Todd, </DIV> <DIV>Here is an example for initiative to attact such segment of commuters. Bangalore increasingly adding personalized cars for office commuting with reduced road space. Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) the state owned transport corporation introducing innovative approaches for different commuter segments with varied costs/services. Refer to the link </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><A href="http://www.thehindu.com/2006/02/18/stories/2006021822070300.htm">http://www.thehindu.com/2006/02/18/stories/2006021822070300.htm </A></DIV> <DIV><A href="http://www.hindu.com/2006/03/05/stories/2006030520370300.htm">http://www.hindu.com/2006/03/05/stories/2006030520370300.htm</A> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>regards,</DIV> <DIV>Vittal Todd Alexander Litman <<A href="mailto:litman@vtpi.org">litman@vtpi.org</A>> wrote:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid"> I think that this reflects fundamental differences in how transportation is defined. In many situations people assume that 'transportation' means motor vehicle travel, and so the best way to improve transportation is to improve roads and parking facilities. But that approach incurs huge costs and reduces other forms of mobility and accessibility, if it displaces public transit and nonmotorized travel, or leads to sprawl. The problem that we face is that transport planners often only consider direct, short-term impacts (improved motor vehicle travel) and overlook secondary impacts (reduced accessibility over the long term), and public officials tend to be among the group that benefits most from automobile travel. These issues are discussed in my paper "Measuring Transportation: Traffic, Mobility and Accessibility" ( <A href="http://www.vtpi.org/measure.pdf">http://www.vtpi.org/measure.pdf</A> ). I think that the best way to counter this is to show that expanding urban roads and parking facilities is very costly, and other solutions are better overall. I think it is important to show that public transit can be an elite service, that can attract wealthy commuters out of their cars, if a city provides a variety of services, from cheap and basic to premium and luxury) and gives public transit and nonmotorized travel priority in traffic, land use, and pricing. This is the only way that urban transportation systems can really work efficiently, and fortunately some of the world's greatest cities (London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Stockholm, Rome) are now implementing these measures, which provides examples that we can cite. However, I realize it is difficult to persuade people that the future consists of less rather than more automobile traffic. Best wishes, -Todd Litman At 01:05 AM 3/14/2006, you wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>Dear Alok, Anant, Arul and others, I feel that the statement Alok posed "It is highly unlikely that car users in Chennai can be made to shift immediately to public transport" to some extent is valid but as I said in my earlier mail if there is political will and consensus there will always be a success. In Singapore, there is multi storey parking but as mentioned it serves as a Park-and-Ride for their BRT and MRT facility and a multi-storey parking would be apt for a small country like Singapore. But still having car restrictive policies and measures make Singapore a pioneer in Asia. Restricting car might not hurt the rich but the change comes in the neo-owners of the cars or the prospective owners. Then there is the modal shift going to other means which also include para transit. If a city can develop good bus and train interactions like some places in Chennai there can be a very less development of para transit. A BRT would be an apt so lution for Chennai and interactions with BRT would be very helpful like there can be a BRT, Bus, Train. So investing on parking provision will not be a good idea. As from my understanding of Todd Litmans publications, as long as a city provides a safe way and room for cars there will always be an increase in their number and in the future this might lead to an utter traffic chaos. I see it everyday here in Bangkok. Bangkok first in the early days had a good and waterway network, followed by a good bus and tram network and was the second city in Asia after Japan (sometime in the 1887)...but today it is utter chaos and many of us here will agree to that....If chennai does not hope to become a Bangkok of India it would be wise to opt for a Transit and Non-motorised options and not for the flyovers and more cars. Sunny Dear Alan, Regina, Carlos and Lloyd, As Lloyd and Carlos suggested shifting to cycle rickshaws wo uld be a wise option but it has to be noted that cycle rickshaws can provide service for short trips which can also be done by a walk and a bicycle trip. Encouraging more NMT and introducing the idea of shared space in come junctions of Mumbai would be a very nice option, car drivers should notice that they are not the only users of the road but also the road serves for several other modes. Implementing BRT would be a better option as it takes the space from the car users and gives it to the disadvantaged. BRT has a proven record of reducing crime rates and Lloyd and Carlos are the best persons who can talk more on this. Cities like Bogot� and Curitiba have experienced this and encouraging pedestrian areas also is a strategy for reducing car dependency. Even in Mumbai increasing parking space will not be an option. At first it can be implemented area-wise and then extended. Glasgow is a good example for this, a city that changed from a notorious state to a pleasant. Changing the look of rickshaws will be a very good idea. This has been implemented in many places of Europe and in Japan there has been a hybrid rickshaw which can run both on a battery and pedal power. On the other hand they can even generate income among the lower class of the society</BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV> Sincerely, Todd Alexander Litman Victoria Transport Policy Institute (<A href="http://www.vtpi.org/"> www.vtpi.org</A>) <A href="mailto:litman@vtpi.org">litman@vtpi.org</A> Phone & Fax 250-360-1560 1250 Rudlin Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, CANADA "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"   </DIV> ================================================================ SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). Because of the history of the list, the main focus is on urban transport policy in Asia.</BLOCKQUOTE> <HR SIZE=1> Relax. Yahoo! Mail <A href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail_us/taglines/virusall/*http://communications.yahoo.com/features.php?page=221">virus scanning</A> helps detect nasty viruses! ================================================================ SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). Because of the history of the list, the main focus is on urban transport policy in Asia. </BLOCKQUOTE></DIV> -- ------------------------------------------------------ Sujit Patwardhan <A href="mailto:sujit@vsnl.com">sujit@vsnl.com</A> <A href="mailto:sujitjp@gmail.com">sujitjp@gmail.com</A> "Yamuna", ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007 Tel: 25537955 ----------------------------------------------------- Proprietor: Mudra ------------------------------------------------------ Hon. Secretary: Parisar ------------------------------------------------------ Founder Member: PTTF (Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum) ------------------------------------------------------ </BODY></HTML>