<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> <META NAME="Generator" CONTENT="MS Exchange Server version 5.5.2653.12"> <TITLE>Urban Transport in Mumbai</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> Hi - I'm new to this group and am mailing for the first time, so do forgive me if I break any protocol.  Eric Britton said >>Erp! I would be most eager to have comments on this article from last week's Indian Express. It sends shivers down by back (Wilbur Smith??), but what do I know, eh? I find it interesting that the Govt chose the very same people who'd advised Bombay in 1962. The implementations of M/S Smith's recommendations are still being carried out. Actually only one to be specific, viz. Bandra Worli Sea Link Project (BWSL). In fact, the BWSL has come under fire from environmentalists as well as architects (like Mr. Chandrashekhar Prabhu - a big critic of this project). Eric Britton - are your shivers to do with Wilbur Smith or with the idea of a transport study for cities? I'd appreciate your thoughts.  Alan Howes - Given your familiarity with Mumbai I'd also appreciate your thoughts on the BWSL as well as the grand designs that the Govt has for Mumbai's transport problems. In specific - the Metro (is Skybus a cheaper and better technology). Thanks all. Anupam Gupta (<A HREF="http://doesmumbaimatter.blogspot.com" TARGET="_blank">http://doesmumbaimatter.blogspot.com</A>) -----Original Message----- From: sustran-discuss-request@list.jca.apc.org [<A HREF="mailto:sustran-discuss-request@list.jca.apc.org">mailto:sustran-discuss-request@list.jca.apc.org</A>] Sent: 13 September, 2006 8:31 AM To: sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org Subject: Sustran-discuss Digest, Vol 37, Issue 10 Send Sustran-discuss mailing list submissions to         sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit         <A HREF="http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss" TARGET="_blank">http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss</A> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to         sustran-discuss-request@list.jca.apc.org You can reach the person managing the list at         sustran-discuss-owner@list.jca.apc.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Sustran-discuss digest..." ######################################################################## Sustran-discuss Mailing List Digest IMPORTANT NOTE: When replying please do not include the whole digest in your reply - just include the relevant part of the specific message that you are responding to. Many thanks. About this mailing list see:     <A HREF="http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss" TARGET="_blank">http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss</A> ######################################################################## Today's Topics:    1. Roads are only for Cars + Plan Bus Routes through Town       Centres (Su-Lin Chee)    2. Motorcycles in cities (Eric Britton)    3. Re: Busway Operation (Alan Howes)    4. Motorcycles in cities (Eric Britton)    5. To decongest 30 cities,   Urban Development Ministry asks       American firm for roadmap (Eric Britton)    6. Re: To decongest 30 cities,       Urban Development Ministry asks       American firm for roadmap (Alan Howes)    7. Motorcycles in cities (Eric Britton)    8. Re: Busway Operation (Gmenckhoff@worldbank.org) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 00:15:14 -0400 From: "Su-Lin Chee" <sulin@vectordesigns.org> Subject: [sustran] Roads are only for Cars + Plan Bus Routes through         Town    Centres To: msia-plan-transp@yahoogroups.com, <Sustran-discuss@jca.apc.org> Message-ID: <E1GMzg2-0006dX-3P@dime31.dizinc.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Dear all, I have just written 2 articles on 2 recent experiences and based on a recent public dialogue with RapidKL. Please do read what I have to say and comment if you will: - Roads Are Only for Cars <A HREF="http://transit.vectordesigns.org/index.php" TARGET="_blank">http://transit.vectordesigns.org/index.php</A>? option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=29 - Plan Bus Routes Through Town Centres: <A HREF="http://transit.vectordesigns.org/index.php" TARGET="_blank">http://transit.vectordesigns.org/index.php</A>? option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=27 Thanks!! Best wishes, Su-Lin Chee project manager klang valley public transportation information system vector designs www.vectordesigns.org 54a jalan kemuja bangsar utama 59000 kuala lumpur tel/fax +603.22826363 mobile +6016.2183363 ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 08:56:03 +0200 From: "Eric Britton" <eric.britton@ecoplan.org> Subject: [sustran] Motorcycles in cities To: <Sustran-discuss@jca.apc.org>, <LotsLessCars@yahoogroups.com> Message-ID: <036a01c6d638$865ad450$6501a8c0@Home> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Uganda Not fit for a queen Sep 7th 2006 | KAMPALA >From The Economist print edition <A HREF="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_SRJTNRQ" TARGET="_blank">http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_SRJTNRQ</A> The end of the road for Kampala's signature taxis   LONDON has black cabs, New York its yellow ones. Bangkok has tuk-tuks and Hanoi has rickshaws. In Kampala, the boda-boda motorcycle taxi is the Ugandan capital's defining symbol. In the 1960s, entrepreneurial cyclists found that travellers would pay a few shillings to have themselves and their goods transported across the no-man's-land between the borders of Uganda and Kenya. >From border to border, the boda-boda was born.  Please, your majesty, let us drive you around Since then the bikes have become motorised. For the locals, rates are fixed, but foreigners can expect to bargain hard and still pay far too much. But it is worth it: weaving between cars, dodging potholes and riding along the pavement to avoid Kampala's jams is as exhilarating as any fairground ride. And you arrive on time, if a bit dusty. But now boda-bodas are under threat-from the Commonwealth. To prepare for hosting next year's summit of the organisation in Uganda, the capital is having a makeover. A senior foreign-ministry official boasts that $300m has already been invested in ventures to spruce things up. Pitted roads are being relaid; smart new hotels will house an expected influx of 5,000 delegates. But the boda-boda is likely to be a casualty of this vast civic spring-clean. For the government says they have become a "menace and a problem to the city traffic" and wants them off the streets by January. The drivers-wont to lounge in packs on street corners, attired in a random assortment of jackets and helmets, dozing between fares and whistling at girls-say the government thinks they are too unkempt and anarchic for the image that Uganda is hoping to project. Bad news for Kampala's estimated 10,500 boda-boda drivers. They can earn up to $5 a day, whereas most rural workers earn less than a fifth of that. "This Commonwealth will throw us out," says one. "Please, you will pray for us!" he shouts as he speeds away, black smoke spewing from the exhaust of his invaluable bike of burden.   -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <A HREF="http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20060912/5edc2890/attachment-0001.html" TARGET="_blank">http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20060912/5edc2890/attachment-0001.html</A> -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 25754 bytes Desc: not available Url : <A HREF="http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20060912/5edc2890/attachment-0001.jpe" TARGET="_blank">http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20060912/5edc2890/attachment-0001.jpe</A> ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 09:08:43 +0100 From: "Alan Howes" <Alan.Howes@cbuchanan.co.uk> Subject: [sustran] Re: Busway Operation To: "Global 'South' Sustainable Transport"         <sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org> Message-ID:         <324DCD7680954F468CF306EE5404F00102930E3F@mail01.cbuchanan.co.uk> Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="iso-8859-1" Forwarding this post to transit-prof which amplifies re. Ottawa Transitway -- Alan Howes Associate Transport Planner Colin Buchanan 4 St Colme Street Edinburgh      EH3 6AA Scotland email:  alan.howes@cbuchanan.co.uk tel:      (0)131 226 4693 (switchboard)            (0)7952 464335  (mobile) fax:     (0)131 220 0232 www: <A HREF="http:/www.cbuchanan.co.uk/" TARGET="_blank">http:/www.cbuchanan.co.uk/</A> -----Original Message----- From: Transit-Prof@yahoogroups.com [<A HREF="mailto:Transit-Prof@yahoogroups.com">mailto:Transit-Prof@yahoogroups.com</A>] On Behalf Of Leech, Colin Sent: 12 September 2006 05:52 To: Transit-Prof@yahoogroups.com Cc: Peter Lutman; richmond@alum.mit.edu; whook@itdp.org Subject: RE: [Transit-Prof] RE: [sustran] Re: Busway Operation Hi everybody, (Alan or Jonathan: Feel free to repost my replies to sustran-discuss, if you wish. I'm not a member of that list.) And hello again, Jonathan. It's always interesting to see what part of the world you will pop up from. :-) As always, I speak only for myself, not officially for my employer. That said, my employer has one of the best-developed busway networks in the world, so we have lots of experience with these types of operations. Alan is correct that our critical capacity constraint is in the downtown core where buses operate in reserved lanes, but still have to content with traffic signals at cross streets and longer dwell times at stations due to high passenger volumes. We've still managed to pump through 180-200 buses/hour/direction with 9-10,000 passengers in the peak hour in the peak direction. Once on exclusive grade-separated r-o-w the capacity issues pretty much disappear unless station space is constrained at high volume locations. It has been postulated that grade-separating the downtown section could increase the capacity to 15-20,000 pphpd. If you need more capacity than that, perhaps you should be starting to look at heavy rail subway systems rather than busways or LRT. While the bus volumes are exceedingly high for a bus lane with online stops*, it's actually not overly busy when compared to normal arterial streets which can easily carry 600-800 vph per lane depending on how much green time the lane receives at major intersections of cross streets. At places where busway traffic crosses itself (eg. entrance and exit ramps, and island-platform stations where opposing traffic streams cross over each other to circulate "wrong way" around the island), we only have stop signs not traffic signals. Signals are only used where the busway crosses other city streets at grade. The flow of through traffic is not disrupted by vehicles entering and exiting the system, nor are vehicles entering/existing unduly delayed waiting for gaps in the traffic. We have entrance/exit possibilities at numerous locations along each Transitway corridor. * The bus lane in the Lincoln Tunnel leading from New Jersey into the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City carries bus volumes many times higher than this. However, it is a dedicated freeway lane that does not have online passenger stops. The buses are distributed to over 200 individual gates inside PABT. All of the buses we use are standard urban transit buses, both high floor (older buses) and low floor buses, with doors only on the right-hand side. There are also private companies which serve outlying towns and intercity buses (Greyhound) which use various sections of the busway using their standard intercity coaches. There are no specialty vehicles dedicated solely to service on the Transitway (busway). Off-board ticketing would help reduce dwell times for passengers at the critical downtown stops, and we have looked at this (but not yet implemented it). As it is, about 70% of monthly passengers use monthly passes and we do allow boarding by all doors on articulated buses with a Proof of Payment system and roving fare inspectors. All passengers must board by the front door on standard 40 foot/12 m buses although the high pass usage rate does help speed up boarding on these buses. I haven't calculated recently what percentage of the buses travelling through downtown are artics but at a guess it's probably in the 25-35% range during peak periods. One feature worth mentioning is that most stations have passing lanes so that express and deadheading (out of service) buses can pass vehicles that do pull in to stop at the station.  Lack of passing lanes would mean that the average speed of every vehicle becomes the same (lowest common denominator), whereas the average speed of our express buses is higher than the average speed of the mainline buses since the expresses typically don't stop at the smaller stations, and typically have shorter dwell times at outlying stations when they do stop for passengers. Another footnote is that the express routes do have a fare premium which discourages short-distance travel close to downtown, but even in corridors with regular fare routes the average speed does get raised by "leap frog" operation - i.e. the first bus of a platoon stops to pick up passengers, while subsequent buses in the platoon don't stop unless a passenger wishes to disembark. Looking at Walter's middle paragraph and doing  a little "reading between the lines", I am reminded of horror stories from deregulated environments such as the U.K. of private bus drivers racing down city streets in order to arrive at the next stop ahead of their competitor's bus. Conceivably these sorts of things could also happen on a busway. However, that would really be a "political" problem of who is allowed to use the busway and enforcing normal driving etiquette, rather than a technical issue.  Sometimes engineers wind up having to implement technical solutions (eg. closing the system entirely, or requiring buses to use a specific guidance system to access the busway) in order solve problems that are really inherently non-technical. Coming back to the OC Transpo example, the Transitway is private property which is owned by the City of Ottawa and City-owned buses (a.k.a. OC Transpo) operate on it. Other companies are allowed to operate on it, although their drivers do h  ave to undergo a bit of training. The training isn't a huge burden because standard traffic rules apply along the length of the Transitway. The only item that is out of the ordinary is the "wrong-way" circulation around island-platform stations, but even this can be pretty much explained through standard traffic signage, although it may catch a driver off-guard the first time he encounters it. Quoting Walter: > It is quite possible to design a busway with buses entering and > leaving the busway which has as high a capacity as a closed busway. As discussed above, I do not foresee the entrances and exits being the limiting factor in terms of the capacity of the facility. > However, it requires a bus with doors on both sides of the bus, I don't see why this would be a requirement, and I don't see any correlation between it and the issue of whether vehicles circulate both inside and outside the busway. > it requires still having off board ticket collection along the > corridor, (which implies some duplication of ticketing systems) and platform level boarding. Both of these items would certainly speed up service and increase the capacity of the system. They would be required only for systems with extremely high passenger volumes. > It also requires that the streets where the normal buses operate can > handle larger buses (if they are required). If you are using larger buses on the busway (eg. artics or double deckers), they may cause problems on small city streets in older cities. It hasn't been a major issue for us in the North American context. > By the way, no system like this has yet been designed, to my > knowledge, What you describe sounds suspiciously like Curitiba Brazil, unless I'm misreading something. See, among others: <A HREF="http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp90v1_cs/Curitiba.pdf" TARGET="_blank">http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp90v1_cs/Curitiba.pdf</A> > but we are working on just such a system in Guangzhou. Given where you're working, I'm wondering if you have passenger volumes that should really be handled by high capacity heavy rail rather than busways or LRT? Quoting Alan: > one of the merits of BRT is that it is a flexible concept, not "one > size fits all". Absolutely correct. Ottawa is at one end of the North American extreme - with exclusive r-o-w and nearly 100% grade separation of the original system outside of the downtown core (with subsequent extensions that aren't quite so "gold plated"). Quebec City is perhaps the other extreme, where their "Metrobus" service has done wonders to revitalize their system using only a bit of paint and a few signs to create reserved lanes on city streets (I'm not even sure if they have any significant traffic signal priority measures yet). In Curitiba they have on-street reserved lanes and double-articulated buses but also with levels of traffic signal priority unheard of in North America, and the specialized stations that improve boarding efficiency beyond the levels that we achieve here. > If you want max capacity then you need mega-buses that will have > problems on ordinary roads - but if you are prepared to sacrifice some > capacity then a mix of bus sizes is fine. One tradeoff being that you're probably running a feeder-linehaul service with the large vehicles dedicated to the busway, which then loses you one of the 'flexibility' advantages of being able to reduce transfers for passengers by using the same buses to circulate within neighbourhoods and then enter the busway. I would point out that in addition to this type of service, both Ottawa and Pittsburgh operate different types of mainline routes that operate along certain sections of the busway without necessarily travelling the full length of the busway (eg. in Ottawa routes 4, 118, and 101 (formerly 99), and the EBO line in Pittsburgh which operates along part of the East Busway but then exits to serve the Oakland area rather than continuing along the busway to downtown). All opinions are my own, not my employer's. -------------- Colin R. Leech - Transit Planner Planificateur du transport en commun OC Transpo - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 613-842-3636 ext./poste 2354 Colin.Leech@Ottawa.ca -----Original Message----- From: Transit-Prof@yahoogroups.com on behalf of Alan Howes Sent: Mon 2006-09-11 10:58 To: Global 'South' Sustainable Transport Cc: Transit-Prof@yahoogroups.com; Peter Lutman Subject: [Transit-Prof] RE: [sustran] Re: Busway Operation   Must have a look at that website, Walter - But is your statement that "it requires a bus with doors on both sides of the bus" based on the premise that buses captive to the system will have high floors and platform-level loading on the off-side, while the "intruders" will have low-level boarding on the nearside?  This is one way of doing it, but not the only way.  All buses could have low floors and nearside boarding - the Ottawa Transitway is not closed, and AFAIK the buses have doors on one side only.  (Not sure it has any captive buses though, and you may not consider it BRT.) In general, I see what you are driving at and agree - but one of the merits of BRT is that it is a flexible concept, not "one size fits all". If you want max capacity then you need mega-buses that will have problems on ordinary roads - but if you are prepared to sacrifice some capacity then a mix of bus sizes is fine. >From my [armchair] experience, I have concluded that the main >constraint on capacity is actually the stations, particularly in a CBD >or the like where large proportions of the pax on a bus are getting on >or off. Alan -- Alan Howes Associate Transport Planner Colin Buchanan 4 St Colme Street Edinburgh      EH3 6AA Scotland email:  alan.howes@cbuchanan.co.uk tel:      (0)131 226 4693 (switchboard)            (0)7952 464335  (mobile) fax:     (0)131 220 0232 www: <A HREF="http:/www.cbuchanan.co.uk/" TARGET="_blank">http:/www.cbuchanan.co.uk/</A> -----Original Message----- From: sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc.org [<A HREF="mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc">mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc</A>. org] On Behalf Of Walter Hook Sent: 11 September 2006 15:27 To: 'Global 'South' Sustainable Transport' Subject: [sustran] Re: Busway Operation Dear Jonathan, It is quite possible to design a busway with buses entering and leaving the busway which has as high a capacity as a closed busway.  However, it requires a bus with doors on both sides of the bus, it requires still having off board ticket collection along the corridor, (which implies some duplication of ticketing systems) and platform level boarding.  It also requires that the streets where the normal buses operate can handle larger buses (if they are required).  The problem is that this requires replacing a very large bus fleet, which is very expensive.  By the way, no system like this has yet been designed, to my knowledge, but we are working on just such a system in Guangzhou.   However, it is important that the system is 'closed' in the sense that not any bus can use the system, only buses conforming to a required technical specification and under a specific management authority.  By this definition, this is still a 'closed' system, even if the routes involve some that operate both on trunk lines and some in mixed traffic. If you need to see the details for calculating capacity, you can for now go to a non-linked part of the itdp web site, and check the to operations chapters, at www.itdp.org/brt_guide.html.  I hope to have the fully formatted new version up in a few weeks, but this will probably have the information you need. Walter -----Original Message----- From: sustran-discuss-bounces+whook=itdp.org@list.jca.apc.org [<A HREF="mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+whook=itdp.org@list.jca.apc.org">mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+whook=itdp.org@list.jca.apc.org</A>] On Behalf Of Jonathan E. D. Richmond Sent: Sunday, September 10, 2006 3:32 AM To: Sustran List Subject: [sustran] Busway Operation If anyone is an expert in busway implementation and operation and can help with the following question, could they please be in touch with me. The specific question I am trying to answer is "What is the difference in capacity and operational viability and efficiency of an open as against a closed busway." On an open busway, buses may enter and leave at various points. With a closed busway, buses are isolated on the busway itself, and do not enter or leave for distribution at teh residential or city centre end. Thanks! --Jonathan! ----- Jonathan Richmond Transport Adviser to the Government of Mauritius Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Land Transport and Shipping Level 4 New Government Centre Port Louis Mauritius 1 (617) 395-4360 (for voicemail) e-mail: richmond@alum.mit.edu <A HREF="http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/" TARGET="_blank">http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/</A> -------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via YAHOOGROUPS. Please go to <A HREF="http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss" TARGET="_blank">http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss</A> to join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like you can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. ================================================================ SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). -------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via YAHOOGROUPS. Please go to <A HREF="http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss" TARGET="_blank">http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss</A> to join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like you can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. ================================================================ SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 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We do not accept liability for any loss or damage caused by software viruses. ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 11:31:54 +0200 From: "Eric Britton" <eric.britton@ecoplan.org> Subject: [sustran] Motorcycles in cities To: "'Eric Bruun'" <ericbruun@earthlink.net>,   "'Global 'South'         Sustainable Transport'" <sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org> Message-ID: <046901c6d64e$49d24cf0$6501a8c0@Home> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Dear Eric Bruun and others,   I take your point Eric.  But still as an observer, what I am seeing here is in fact an entirely 'new phenomenon': its newness being a function of the explosive growth and performance of these vehicles in the traffic stream. I am by no means trying to suggest that we give up as you say modeling their performance with the planner's ample and absolutely vital technical toolkit. But no, I very much believe that in light of the evidence motorized two and three wheelers do need to be singled out for special attention given our significant ignorance and demonstrated inability to cope. To my mind we are right in the middle here of the politics of transport, behind which there must be a sound vision and understanding. Which by all indications is greatly lacking today.   Eric Britton   PS. As in all these exchanges Eric, I do not want me to be right. I want US to be right.         -----Original Message----- From: Eric Bruun [<A HREF="mailto:ericbruun@earthlink.net">mailto:ericbruun@earthlink.net</A>] Sent: Monday, September 11, 2006 11:23 PM To: eric.britton@ecoplan.org; Global 'South' Sustainable Transport Subject: Re: Motorcycles as separate studies   Eric Britton   I don't agree with the approach of segregating motorcycles from other urban transport issues, unless they have to do with technology or some specific aspect. Motorcycles should be analyzed as part of the transportation network. They have to be modeled along with autos, bicycles and public transport to see how mode choice and mode split are influenced by changes in circumstances. Historically they have been treated only as a safety problem not as a transportation mode. Eric Bruun     -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <A HREF="http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20060912/fb88e524/attachment-0001.html" TARGET="_blank">http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20060912/fb88e524/attachment-0001.html</A> ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 11:53:10 +0200 From: "Eric Britton" <eric.britton@ecoplan.org> Subject: [sustran] To decongest 30 cities,      Urban Development Ministry         asks American firm for roadmap To: <Sustran-discuss@jca.apc.org> Message-ID: <048c01c6d651$4251f400$6501a8c0@Home> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Erp! I would be most eager to have comments on this article from last week's Indian Express. It sends shivers down by back (Wilbur Smith??), but what do I know, eh?   Eric Britton   PS. When Sigmund Freud was trying to exit Vienna for England in the late thirties, the German officials insisted that he write a letter exonerating the SS from any bad behaviour in his case. His reply was very short, reading more or less: "Letter to anyone who might happen to require the good services of the SS. They are indeed very good at what they do."  (End rough quote)   To decongest 30 cities, Centre asks American firm for roadmap Maitreyee Handique - <A HREF="http://www.indianexpress.com/story/11223.html" TARGET="_blank">http://www.indianexpress.com/story/11223.html</A>   NEW DELHI, August 22: To decongest the traffic chaos and improve mobility in India's city roads, the Urban Development Ministry is initiating a study to develop an infrastructure model to ease traffic congestion. Wilbur Smith Associates Private Ltd (WSAPL), a subsidiary of the US-based traffic and transportation planning company, Wilbur Smith Associates, has been selected to conduct sample surveys in 30 cities, including metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata. The other cities, which were finalised yesterday, include Jaipur, Gangtok, Shimla, Ahmedabad and Surat. The report, which will be ready within a year, will cost Rs 1.32 crore. The company presented its inception report to the ministry this week. WSPL was selected among at least six bidders through a tender process four months ago, sources said. The study called Traffic Engineering & Transportation Planning will focus on creating an infrastructure model based on its research of different cities and suggest methods of traffic dispersal and creation of new corridors. The survey will become a base model for replicating in other cities in the future, sources said. The methodology will be based on traffic surveys, household interviews, as well as secondary data and sample interviews of more than 4,000 people in big cities. It will consider several parameters such as the shape of the city, population, the available public transport and per capita income. The study will also offer suggestions relating to public transportation requirement of cities. At present, dependence on public transport system in cities like Mumbai is over 70 per cent while in Delhi it's about 30-35 per cent. In Chennai, it's about 40 per cent whereas in towns like Kanpur it's as low as 5 per cent. The ministry had last conducted a study of India's traffic situation in 1998. This is the first time that the focus is being laid on infrastructure modelling to address the issue of traffic snarl-ups.   -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <A HREF="http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20060912/37ecb695/attachment-0001.html" TARGET="_blank">http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20060912/37ecb695/attachment-0001.html</A> ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 11:20:44 +0100 From: "Alan Howes" <Alan.Howes@cbuchanan.co.uk> Subject: [sustran] Re: To decongest 30 cities,  Urban Development         Ministry asks American firm for roadmap To: "Global 'South' Sustainable Transport"         <sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org> Message-ID:         <324DCD7680954F468CF306EE5404F00102930EDD@mail01.cbuchanan.co.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Eric says Erp, I say Aaagh! Shivery indeed.   I was just thinking on the plane back from Mumbai, the basic trouble with India wrt transport planning (and plenty other developing countries) is that it's done by engineers (and I speak as one of those) whose first reaction to a problem is "what can we build?" (which is where I part company!).   And this "infrastructure modelling" project seems to be exactly that. Instead of "how do we manage our way out of this problem?".  Which might include building something - but not necessarily.   And what is "traffic dispersal"?  Equals Urban Sprawl?  Does not sound like a TDM strategy.   Though I can't see 1.32 crore getting them far spread over 30 cities.   I hope WB is not paying for this.  Though of course, it could be an excellent study, badly reported ...   Alan   -- Alan Howes Associate Transport Planner Colin Buchanan 4 St Colme Street Edinburgh      EH3 6AA Scotland email:  alan.howes@cbuchanan.co.uk <<A HREF="mailto:alan.howes@cbuchanan.co.uk">mailto: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/" TARGET="_blank">http:/www.cbuchanan.co.uk/</A>   ________________________________ From: sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc.org [<A HREF="mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc">mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc</A>. org] On Behalf Of Eric Britton Sent: 12 September 2006 10:53 To: Sustran-discuss@jca.apc.org Subject: [sustran] To decongest 30 cities,Urban Development Ministry asks American firm for roadmap Erp! I would be most eager to have comments on this article from last week's Indian Express. It sends shivers down by back (Wilbur Smith??), but what do I know, eh?   Eric Britton   PS. When Sigmund Freud was trying to exit Vienna for England in the late thirties, the German officials insisted that he write a letter exonerating the SS from any bad behaviour in his case. His reply was very short, reading more or less: "Letter to anyone who might happen to require the good services of the SS. They are indeed very good at what they do."  (End rough quote)   To decongest 30 cities, Centre asks American firm for roadmap Maitreyee Handique - <A HREF="http://www.indianexpress.com/story/11223.html" TARGET="_blank">http://www.indianexpress.com/story/11223.html</A>   NEW DELHI, August 22: To decongest the traffic chaos and improve mobility in India's city roads, the Urban Development Ministry is initiating a study to develop an infrastructure model to ease traffic congestion. Wilbur Smith Associates Private Ltd (WSAPL), a subsidiary of the US-based traffic and transportation planning company, Wilbur Smith Associates, has been selected to conduct sample surveys in 30 cities, including metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata. The other cities, which were finalised yesterday, include Jaipur, Gangtok, Shimla, Ahmedabad and Surat. The report, which will be ready within a year, will cost Rs 1.32 crore. The company presented its inception report to the ministry this week. WSPL was selected among at least six bidders through a tender process four months ago, sources said. The study called Traffic Engineering & Transportation Planning will focus on creating an infrastructure model based on its research of different cities and suggest methods of traffic dispersal and creation of new corridors. The survey will become a base model for replicating in other cities in the future, sources said. The methodology will be based on traffic surveys, household interviews, as well as secondary data and sample interviews of more than 4,000 people in big cities. It will consider several parameters such as the shape of the city, population, the available public transport and per capita income. The study will also offer suggestions relating to public transportation requirement of cities. At present, dependence on public transport system in cities like Mumbai is over 70 per cent while in Delhi it's about 30-35 per cent. In Chennai, it's about 40 per cent whereas in towns like Kanpur it's as low as 5 per cent. The ministry had last conducted a study of India's traffic situation in 1998. This is the first time that the focus is being laid on infrastructure modelling to address the issue of traffic snarl-ups.   ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ DISCLAIMER This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to which they are addressed. Unless you are the named addressee, or authorised to receive it for the addressee, you may not copy or use it, or disclose it to anyone else. If you have received this email in error please contact the sender by replying to this email. Any views expressed by an individual within this email which do not constitute or record professional advice relating to the business of Colin Buchanan, do not necessarily reflect the views of the company. Any professional advice or opinion contained within this email is subject to our terms and conditions of business. We have taken precautions to minimise the risk of transmitting software viruses. We do not accept liability for any loss or damage caused by software viruses. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <A HREF="http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20060912/50baacc7/attachment-0001.html" TARGET="_blank">http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20060912/50baacc7/attachment-0001.html</A> ------------------------------ Message: 7 Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 14:07:59 +0200 From: "Eric Britton" <eric.britton@ecoplan.org> Subject: [sustran] Motorcycles in cities To: <Sustran-discuss@jca.apc.org>, <LotsLessCars@yahoogroups.com> Message-ID: <00a601c6d664$1899bcc0$6501a8c0@Home> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Eric:   These continuous-flow intersections of "global south" are food for thought.  What seems to make them work are dynamic pathways.  Please notice that whenever a rank of traffic forms, the continuous flow breaks down.  Columns of traffic, on the other hand, seems beneficial.  Looks like even a four-wheeled vehicle presents too much of a rank of traffic to permit continuous flow --  therefore, the preference for bicycles.   Some research needs to be done to determine if a master-mind is required to make the process work -- or whether just an individually- decided rule of behavior is sufficient.  I can see from the video that one individual rule of behavior is to avoid the formation of ranks.   There is probably also the detriment of a vehicle too long. Eight feet is probably too long.  (Three feet is probably too wide.) To increase capacity per vehicle, looks like the only way to go is up;  I would think no higher than six feet without some sort of retro-jet braking/accelerating system above the ground system.   To me , the question is :  "Can this continuous flow be reduced to technology?"   best wishes,   Howard Finch hhowderd@yahoo.com   -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <A HREF="http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20060912/30342623/attachment-0001.html" TARGET="_blank">http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20060912/30342623/attachment-0001.html</A> ------------------------------ Message: 8 Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 19:23:47 -0400 From: Gmenckhoff@worldbank.org Subject: [sustran] Re: Busway Operation To: whook@itdp.org Cc: Transit-Prof@yahoogroups.com,       Global 'South' Sustainable Transport         <sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org> Message-ID:         <OF845E8A97.239BC55E-ON852571E6.005F9D45-852571E7.0080855F@worldbank.org>         Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 This has been an interesting exchange on busway operations, especially (to me) this morning's contribution on Ottawa.    Perhaps it is worthwhile differentiating between the systems in North    America, Europe and Australia on one side, and those in developing countries    on the other.  With the latter, (a) passenger volumes are much higher, (b)    financial resources are more constrained, and (c) bus services are often    provided by private operators without strong Government control.  At this    stage, most developing-country experience comes from Latin America.  Here are    some observations from that Region regarding the "open" versus "closed"    operations.  In some cases, these complement the points already made by    Walter Hook.    Experience with traditional "open" busways in Brazil, Bogot? (pre-2000) and    Lima has demonstrated that it is difficult to control trunk-line operations    under an open system, with bunching of vehicles occurring along the busway,    which can severely reduce commercial speeds.  In the planning of most recent    BRTs, it was thus concluded that the transfer time penalty incurred under the    closed system would be more than offset by the higher commercial speed along    the busways.  Even in Santiago and S?o Paulo?s passa-r?pido system, which    operate under an open system, most trunk line buses terminate at outlying    terminals where passengers can transfer to local bus services (interestingly,    S?o Paulo has central busway platforms, and therefore had to install doors on    both sides of many buses; Santiago has all platforms on the right side).    In the Latin American context, restricting access to a limited number of bus    companies has been as much a technical as a political issue.  Without a    deliberate control on the number of buses, busways will congest just like    regular streets do when there are too many cars.  Bus bunching will    drastically affect commercial speeds and operating efficiency.  GPS-aided    operation would be impossible if bus access were not controlled.  There is    little doubt that the high speeds and passenger volumes observed in Latin    American BRTs (over 40,000 pphpd on a 2+2 lane busway in Bogot?, 14,000 -    20,000 pphpd on 1+1 lane busways in Bogot? and elsewhere) could not have been    reached with open systems.    I agree with Walter that some open operation makes sense, especially with    high-level platforms in the center of the busway, and normal operation in    regular streets.  As he and Alan say, this requires buses with high-level    doors on the left, and normal step-down doors on the right.  Such systems are    now being implemented in two Colombian cities, Cartagena and Bucaramanga.  In    both cases, some of the trunk-line buses will go beyond the busway to serve    corridors with a relatively low passenger demand.    As somebody said:  BRT is a flexible concept, not "one size fits all".    Gerhard                                                                                              "Walter Hook"                                                                   <whook@itdp.org>                                                                Sent by:                                                        To              sustran-discuss-bou         "'Global 'South' Sustainable                        nces+gmenckhoff=wor         Transport'"                                         ldbank.org@list.jca         <sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org>                  .apc.org                                                        cc                                          Transit-Prof@yahoogroups.com, 'Peter                                            Lutman' <lutman@globalnet.co.uk>                    09/11/2006 11:35 AM                                        Subject                                          [sustran] Re: Busway Operation                                                                                                       Please respond to                                                                Global 'South'                                                                    Sustainable                                                                      Transport                                                                  <sustran-discuss@li                                                               st.jca.apc.org>                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Your interpretation is correct. Of course, it depends... Many of the capacity constraint issues do not become problems until you are trying to reach capacity levels that developed country cities will rarely need to reach.  Low floor buses tend to hold fewer passengers because the wheel wells occupy a lot of space inside the bus.  The buses also tend to be more expensive.  These issues are not so important in first world cities like Ottawa.  What is the capacity in Ottawa? You can have pre-paid curb-side boarding stations like in Curitiba, and low platforms meeting low floor buses, but that means you need two stations instead of one for each station stop, which generally consumes more right of way or ends up with very narrow stations, and hence more difficulties in finding the right of way to put in a passing lane.  The lower platform height constitutes less of a barrier to illegal entry to the station.  It is only marginally more expensive to put doors on both sides of the bus, and the operational advantages of having the bus stop in the central median shared by both directions of traffic generally justify the additional bus expense, but of course there will be exceptions, like if the buses operate in mixed traffic only on one way streets, or conformity with ADA regs is an issue, etc. -----Original Message----- From: sustran-discuss-bounces+whook=itdp.org@list.jca.apc.org [<A HREF="mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+whook=itdp.org@list.jca.apc.org">mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+whook=itdp.org@list.jca.apc.org</A>] On Behalf Of Alan Howes Sent: Monday, September 11, 2006 10:59 AM To: Global 'South' Sustainable Transport Cc: Transit-Prof@yahoogroups.com; Peter Lutman Subject: [sustran] Re: Busway Operation Must have a look at that website, Walter - But is your statement that "it requires a bus with doors on both sides of the bus" based on the premise that buses captive to the system will have high floors and platform-level loading on the off-side, while the "intruders" will have low-level boarding on the nearside?  This is one way of doing it, but not the only way.  All buses could have low floors and nearside boarding - the Ottawa Transitway is not closed, and AFAIK the buses have doors on one side only.  (Not sure it has any captive buses though, and you may not consider it BRT.) In general, I see what you are driving at and agree - but one of the merits of BRT is that it is a flexible concept, not "one size fits all". If you want max capacity then you need mega-buses that will have problems on ordinary roads - but if you are prepared to sacrifice some capacity then a mix of bus sizes is fine. >From my [armchair] experience, I have concluded that the main >constraint on capacity is actually the stations, particularly in a CBD or the like where large proportions of the pax on a bus are getting on or off. Alan -- Alan Howes Associate Transport Planner Colin Buchanan 4 St Colme Street Edinburgh      EH3 6AA Scotland email:  alan.howes@cbuchanan.co.uk tel:      (0)131 226 4693 (switchboard)            (0)7952 464335  (mobile) fax:     (0)131 220 0232 www: <A HREF="http:/www.cbuchanan.co.uk/" TARGET="_blank">http:/www.cbuchanan.co.uk/</A> -----Original Message----- From: sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc.org [<A HREF="mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc">mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc</A>. org] On Behalf Of Walter Hook Sent: 11 September 2006 15:27 To: 'Global 'South' Sustainable Transport' Subject: [sustran] Re: Busway Operation Dear Jonathan, It is quite possible to design a busway with buses entering and leaving the busway which has as high a capacity as a closed busway.  However, it requires a bus with doors on both sides of the bus, it requires still having off board ticket collection along the corridor, (which implies some duplication of ticketing systems) and platform level boarding.  It also requires that the streets where the normal buses operate can handle larger buses (if they are required).  The problem is that this requires replacing a very large bus fleet, which is very expensive.  By the way, no system like this has yet been designed, to my knowledge, but we are working on just such a system in Guangzhou. However, it is important that the system is 'closed' in the sense that not any bus can use the system, only buses conforming to a required technical specification and under a specific management authority.  By this definition, this is still a 'closed' system, even if the routes involve some that operate both on trunk lines and some in mixed traffic. If you need to see the details for calculating capacity, you can for now go to a non-linked part of the itdp web site, and check the to operations chapters, at www.itdp.org/brt_guide.html.  I hope to have the fully formatted new version up in a few weeks, but this will probably have the information you need. Walter -----Original Message----- From: sustran-discuss-bounces+whook=itdp.org@list.jca.apc.org [<A HREF="mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+whook=itdp.org@list.jca.apc.org">mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+whook=itdp.org@list.jca.apc.org</A>] On Behalf Of Jonathan E. D. Richmond Sent: Sunday, September 10, 2006 3:32 AM To: Sustran List Subject: [sustran] Busway Operation If anyone is an expert in busway implementation and operation and can help with the following question, could they please be in touch with me. The specific question I am trying to answer is "What is the difference in capacity and operational viability and efficiency of an open as against a closed busway." On an open busway, buses may enter and leave at various points. With a closed busway, buses are isolated on the busway itself, and do not enter or leave for distribution at teh residential or city centre end. Thanks! --Jonathan! ----- Jonathan Richmond Transport Adviser to the Government of Mauritius Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Land Transport and Shipping Level 4 New Government Centre Port Louis Mauritius 1 (617) 395-4360 (for voicemail) e-mail: richmond@alum.mit.edu <A HREF="http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/" TARGET="_blank">http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/</A> -------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ ================================================================ SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). 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