[sustran] BRT Presentation in Pune by Dario Hidalgo and O P Agarwal

[Sujit Patwardhan]

3 March 2008



As part of our continuing efforts to improve BRT in Pune,  we had organized
a presentation by Dario Hidalgo and OP Agarwal on 26 February 2008. Here is
a report on the programme:-
--
Sujit

www.janwani.org
www.parisar.org


*Janwani* and *Parisar* Urban Transport Group,

host a talk by Dario Hidalgo and O.P Agarwal



Salient points about the presentations

*O.P Agarwal*

*Mr. Agarwal holds a Master's Degree in Urban Planning from MIT. He was the
former Head of the Urban Transport Division, Ministry of. Urban Development,
Government of **India**. He was responsible for launching the National Urban
Transport Policy. He is now CEO of UMTC-ILFS (Urban Mass Transport
Corporation). *



§         Have to accept sustainable transport policy fundamentals to solve
urban traffic crisis

§         Flyovers don't solve traffic problems

§         Metro is expensive – 150 to 300 crores/km. Underground Metro
exceeds 300 crores!

§         The City Bus Network is the most critical component – it has to be
improved.

§         The 2-wheeler represents a tough challenge. It provides
transportation that is

·         Cheap

·         Incredibly convenient

·         Fast

§         Public Transport will need to work hard to beat it. The challenge
is to provide quality but at a competitive price. Subsidies are needed, but
they must be transparent.

§         *Access to* and *Egress from* Public Transport is overlooked and
crucial to increasing modal share



*Dario Hidalgo*

*Dario, a Colombian Civil Engineer, holds a Ph.D. in Transportation Planning
from the **Ohio** **State** **University**. Over the last 15 years he has
participated in several major transport projects as a consultant and a
government official. He was Deputy General Manager of TRANSMILENIO S.A.
during the implementation of the Bogotá's Bus Rapid Transit System Phase I
and the preparation and tendering of its second phase. As an international
transport consultant for international agencies and local governments he has
taken part in projects in **Argentina**, **Mexico**, **Peru**, **Chile**, **
Colombia**, **Ghana** and **Thailand**. He has also delivered training
courses on BRT Systems planning and implementation in **China**, **México**,
**India**, **South Africa** and **Colombia**. In addition, he has been a
graduate level lecturer in urban planning and, and is author of more than 30
academic articles, including a comprehensive review of bus systems in
developing countries.** **Among other responsibilities, Dario leads the
development of products and projects aimed to help solving urban transport
problems and identifying opportunities throughout EMBARQ's network. ***
The Mexico City story

§         200 km of Metro – runs well, but low quality service, overcrowding

§         Chaotic and poor quality private city bus service

§         BRT

·         20 km of closed system

·         Separate company formed for running BRT – works on PPP model. All
actual operations outsourced.

·         2.6 lakh passengers a day on the single BRT line

Bottom line – Mexico City also had a lot of teething problems – but with the
will and effort they managed to get a successful BRT corridor running.



*Some select questions from the audience*

*Vijay Lele*

Q: What is the plan for improvement? What is the role of Mr. Hidalgo and Mr.
Agarwal?

A: Here for the long run. Provide technical resources. (Hidalgo) Feel upbeat
about prospects and the attitude of officials and citizen groups so far.

*J. Krishnayya*

Q: Is the lack of technical resources a cause for concern? How will so many
projects be implemented? Are changes in curriculum needed?

A: (Agarwal) Engineers are available and good. Lack of transport planners is
a problem. Need non-engineering inputs too, like people from social
sciences.

Q2: The Indian/Asian situation is quite unique. The incredible heterogeneity
of modes (bullock carts, hand carts, cycles, rickshaws, 2-wheelers, cars
etc) poses a special challenge to planning.

A: Very much the case. Indian BRT designs are already reflecting this by
providing cycle tracks along all BRT corridors, spaces for vendors and
hawkers etc.



*Shirish Patel*

Q: Is there not a serious flaw in our planning processes?

A: Transport planners need to be a part of the city development planning.
This is a big problem. There is a need to move towards Transit Oriented
Development.



*Vivek Velankar/Jugal Rathi*

Q: Can the city be expected to make all this a reality? There is a serious
lack of standards when planning for cycle tracks and footpaths. Most
footpaths are non-walkable.

A: This is a problem in many cities, where due consideration is not given to
pedestrians and cyclists. It is important to create ample spaces both, not
based simply on demand, but because they are required, no matter how many
people actually walk or cycle.

*2 March 2008***


-- 
------------------------------------------------------
Sujit Patwardhan
sujit at vsnl.com
sujitjp at gmail.com

"Yamuna",
ICS Colony,
Ganeshkhind Road,
Pune 411 007
India
Tel: 25537955
-----------------------------------------------------
Hon. Secretary:
Parisar
www.parisar.org
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Founder Member:
PTTF
(Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum)
www.pttf.net
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