[sustran] Re: Negative thoughts on metro in general (and on from there)

[Debi Goenka]

I have been reading with interest the debate on metros, and
I am surprised that no one has yet commented on the Bombay
suburban train system, which is more than a century old.
If it had to be built today, at today's prices,it would
perhaps never have got built.
Yet it is literally the lifeline of the city, with more than
4 million people using it every day. A breakdown in the
train services brings the city to a grinding halt.
The mimimum cost of the cheapest short distance ticket is
Rs.2. A monthly pass costs about 10 times the cost of a
single journey ticket for the same distance. 
And yet the suburban train network of Mumbai is still making
a profit!!
Costs of adding additional lines or building an underground
metro are prohibitive. Yet options exist for upgrading the
services - increase in frequencies, more coaches per train,
etc.
Simultaneously, the BEST, which runs the public bus service,
with over 3500 buses on the roads of Bombay, is also doing
an excellent job, and it also caters to a larger number of
passengers per day i.e. more than 4 million commuters. Yet
the BEST is operating at a major loss, and is only able to
survive because the transport wing is cross subsidised by
its income from electricity sales.
In the long run, it would make a lot more sense if the BEST
buses did not operate their long north-south routes (which
are parallel to the rail tracks) but instead act as feeders
to the railway stations, and also provide east west
connections, which are much needed.
The idea of introducing water transport is still in its
infancy, and despite many recent efforts, has not really
taken off. It is also quite expensive, compared to rail/road
transport.
Also, the trains do not cause any (local) pollution, whereas
the buses, which are reasonably well maintained, still do.
I don't really know if all this helps the debate, but I feel
that every city perhaps needs to evolve its own
transportation networks.
But the bottom line is that the pay back times may be very
high, and would thus require some form of government funding
to survive.
Cheers
Debi
-- 





Debi Goenka 					
Bombay Environmental Action Group
  
Mobile:  98200-86404
e-mail: debi.beag at softhome.net 



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