[sustran] Buses, first choice of many in Mumbai, Delhi

[Vinay Baindur]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Buses-first-choice-of-many-in-Mumbai-Delhi/articleshow/49763511.cms
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Buses, first choice of many in Mumbai, DelhiV Ayyappan
<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toireporter/author-V-Ayyappan-479240310.cms>
,TNN | Nov 13, 2015, 06.52 AM IST



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[image: Buses, first choice of many in Mumbai, Delhi]
(AFP photo)

Mumbai and Delhi have the largest number of people among cities in the
country who use buses and trains to commute to work, data from the 2011
Census shows. The reason is simple: both cities have a good network of
buses and trains.
Of the working population in Mumbai, around 41.15% of the people use buses
and trains to commute to their workplaces, while in Delhi it's 24.74%. In
comparison, in Chennai, 19.37% of the workers took buses, while only 3%
depended on trains to reach their work place. The share of public transport
in a city should ideally be 60%.

This is why the Union ministry of urban transport has been pushing for mass
rapid transit systems like metro rail and monorail in fast-growing urban
cen tres.

In Mumbai, trains claim a share of 24.75% of all working people, while the
share of buses is 16.4%.In Delhi, however, more people use buses because
the suburban network is not convenient for residents and many of them have
migrated to metro rail.

A senior railway official, who was involved in urban NOT AN EASY TRIP
transit system planning, said the share of public transport had increased
tremendously after metro rail extended its network across the national
capital region.

Indian cities have to do a lot to make their public transport sys tems
usable and reliable, especially by introducing intermodal connectivity so
that people can switch from one mode of transport to another with ease
during their trip from doorstep to workplace.

Binoy Mascarenhas of Embarq Mumbai, said, "Mumbai has a good track record
of people using public transport. Majority of the trips for work are on
public transport. Trains are the most popular while buses come second in
preference.Metro rail will also have a good impact in boosting public trans
port over the next 20 years when its entire network is ready."

The reason for change in volume of patronage varies from city to city-from
geography to poor capacity and poor connectivity . The choice of transport
system depends on the nature of the city . Mumbai's linear geography makes
trains the choice while that may not be the case with cities like Bengaluru
and Delhi.