Traffic, Congestion, City Planning and...the Nano
What do you think about traffic in India? I want to know.
As far as infrastructure is concerned, the next decade is going to determine the long term future of India. The number of vehicles on the roads is growing by orders of magnitude. According to statistics on the Bangalore Traffic Police website, in 1987 the IT capital of Bangalore had only 400,000 cars on the road. By 2005 there were more than 2 million. As India metropolises continue to grow the mileage of roadways doesn't even come close to keeping pace leading to traffic jams, and worse, gridlock.
Next year automakers are going to release 14 new car designs onto Indian roads. New players Volkswagen and Nissan are preparing for major releases while TATA motors has announced an ultra-cheap "people's car" that cost barely more than a motorcycle. I'm working on a story about the future of Indian cities--the plans to make things better, and the downfalls of quick development and I'd like to get people's opinion of what they think the future holds.
Also, does anyone know of any cutting edge initiatives in city planning, or civic management that are prepared to deal with the traffic influx? In your opinion, who are the biggest and brightest minds in the field?
Labels: city planning, India, TATA, traffic
posted by Scott Carney @ 10:06 AM
10 comments
10 Comments:
Apparently, there are plans to turn a few areas in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, into restricted zones. In restricted zones, cars will not be allowed entry unless they carry a minimum number of people (3/4). This forces people to carpool, and reduces congestion.
KL's traffic is nowhere as bad as Bangalore's, so maybe Bangalore should consider this same system, though I doubt they have the infrastructure to cope.
The first thing that needs to be done however, is to teach some civic sense to drivers and half the traffic woes will disappear. Anyone who has driven the streets of Indian cities will know what I mean.
Scott
"Cutting Edge Initiatives" has no meaning in India.
Any development scheme here is planned to take care of the issue only temp. There is no long term planning. Coupled with the time it takes to get a project executed, the project when completed seems to have been entirely misplaced.
The best example is whats happening in Bangalore about the underground rail. It has been 10-15 years in planning stage alone. When it is complete, it would be a job done too late.
If you are in Chennai, you might be aware of the Bridges, overpass that are half done, waiting . and when they are complete, they would not evem be able to handle 10% of the then traffic.
You should take a drive on the GST road from Tambaram, and then you will see how the word "world-class infrastructure" has no meaning.
Traffic schemes are notorious for failing all over the world. Look at the Big Dig in boston. 40 years and something like $40 billion over budget. But that's not to say nothing can be done. There's a company called Mapunity in Bangalore that is at least attempting some solutions with GIS. And the metro in Delhi seems to have helped things quite a bit.
But you are right to point out that a lot of construction projects are both ill-informed and far behind schedule. Half the fly-overs in Chennai don't make any sense. I doubt they make much of a difference, either.
Still, what do you think needs to happen to chance the present situation?
Also, does anyone know anyone planning to buy a Nano? I'd love to talk to someone like that.
* Politicians and Town-planners need to make sure encroachments are cleared. That would increase the road-space and also provide way for walking (T.Nagar, Pondy Bazaar etc)
* Illegal constructions, extensions need to be demolished (this is not happening in Chennai inspite of High-court order)
* There is required, a high level of co-ordination between Telephones, Electricity, Water department, so they dont digg up the roads and leave it as is (and man, they are quite fond of digging up newly laid roads)
* Traffic is always free flowing where the roads are well laid. (Tharamani Junction, TIDEL park are good examples)
* Better public transport (did you know that Chennai MTA is leasing out lot many of the the newly bought buses to the IT companies instead of plying them for the general public? (OMR, between 5-6:30PMm TCS/Accenture offices)
* Extend MRTS and add value to it (Daily unlimited passes, increased frequency)
* CMDA needs to spend atleast 5 hrs a week playing Simcity Rush hour :). They will get a better handle of how planning works. (seriously)
and yes, I think Nano would be in good demand (I am planning to buy one for my wife). But considering TATA's build quality, not sure how it would rate among the second wave of buyers
I'm at the beginning of a research project on bicycles in India, so I'm interested to see what you come up with. I'm mostly interested in historical (roughly pre-1970) issues, but most of the work that's been done is more recent. Geetam Tiwari has written a number of interesting popular and scholarly articles on bicycles, including a recent one in Tehelka. This may be a bit off topic for you, but Manu Goswami's superb book on nationalism, Producing India, has a very interesting chapter on the railroads.
Yes, the Nano has offered a lot of food for thought about the future of Indian cities.
I read this and thought you may be interested:
http://mutiny.in/2008/02/05/viewpoint-india-and-tata-nano/
you might want to look at the city bus initiative in indore, MP. The cutting edge part is that the buses are GPS equipped to enable real-time tracking. People at bus stops can know that the next bus is going to come in 5 mins or 15 mins! They are also planning to make some lanes on roads dedicated to city buses.
I think better public transportation is the only way to improve the traffic situation in India.
sorry.. here's the website: http://www.citybusindore.com/
Please visit www.vortexjunction.com which is a perfect solution in the future for cognestion caused by heavy traffic in intersections.
Low cost, GREEN and efficient!
Regards,
József
sIR,
aCTUALLY,i AM STILL AT A LOSS to understand,the need for toll fee on roads when the owners of cars have already paid road taxes.
Cant the govt maintain the road themselves or cantthey outsource it to private players,without getting additional money from people. i have travelled on US Toll-ways too,but still dont know,why people have to pay toll fees.
btw,
I am from chennai,and may i know, if i could be of any volunteery help at the Shakti center?
thanks,
Venkat
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