Comments on: So what was that fuss about?

By: Sunalini Kumar

Sunalini Kumar — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 05:34:35 +0000

Aha, so the CSE has a report by international transport specialist Dario Hidalgo on our BRT that may help to cut through some of the fuss:
“Hidalgo points out: “The focus in Delhi has to shift towards reducing average person delay rather than vehicle delay.” He has studied the ‘wait time’ for all types of motor vehicles at the Chirag Delhi intersection. The results indicate that the wait time for cars and two-wheelers is 96 per cent of the total wait time, and affects 32 per cent of the people moving through the corridor.

Compared to this, the wait time for a bus is only 4 per cent – but it affects a majority 68 per cent of the people as buses carry more. Therefore, future improvement in the management of the corridor should aim at increasing the throughput of people and not vehicles. The review shows that currently, while buses are just 2 per cent of all vehicles at the Chirag Delhi intersection during the morning peak hour, they move 55 per cent of the people. Cars and two-wheelers make up 75 per cent of the motorised fleet, but move merely 33 per cent of the people.

By: Buses, bad ideas and Bambi « Kafila

Buses, bad ideas and Bambi « Kafila — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 06:26:43 +0000

[...] Okay, so according to our author – the BRT is much much faster than its comparable non-BRT parallel stretch – but that is due to the fact that it always was so. So in that case, the BRT has not affected traffic flow, at least not by much. And even it has – it is still faster than alternative routes. Not only is it faster – it is also more convenient for 2/3rds of all commuters. So, to labour a point – WHAT WAS THE FUSS ABOUT? [...]

By: A war breaks out on Delhi roads! at Blogbharti

A war breaks out on Delhi roads! at Blogbharti — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 16:14:30 +0000

[...] First, Aman Sethi supports the BRTS. [...]

By: Dilip D'Souza

Dilip D'Souza — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:45:11 +0000

Thought-provoking, Aman. I've wondered often why the idea of dedicated lanes hasn't taken hold. Forgive me for offering you a couple of links to things I've written on this theme: Just Like America from 2002, and Ply over the flyover from 2006.

By: Cities, Cars and Buses: The Modern, the Ideological and the Urban « Kafila

Cities, Cars and Buses: The Modern, the Ideological and the Urban « Kafila — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 23:55:36 +0000

[...] is a response both to Aarti Sethi’s post on the BRT, as well as to Aman Sethi’s posts recently and this one earlier and as well as to some of the comments it [...]

By: On dealing with fuss-tration « Kafila

On dealing with fuss-tration « Kafila — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:39:50 +0000

[...] The wonderful thing about blogging, I am told, is that it allows everyone to publish their opinions. At times however, forgive me for saying this, I wonder if everyone should. My most recent reason for this harsh indictment of the blogging world, is based on this recent post titled “This is what the fuss is about (you twit)”. The title stems from a spot of witty wordplay on one of my recent posts. [...]

By: This is what all the fuss is about (you twit) « Voice From A 2.5-World Country

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 05:50:38 +0000

[...] October, 2008 · No Comments I came across this article, at a particulary despicable [...]

By: Of “Killer” Buses and Car Lobbies:The Coincidental Death of the BRT « Kafila

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:09:13 +0000

[...] by the elite press to jettison Delhi’s first mas transit bus system has been remarked upon and documented on Kafila. Today morning’s newspapers carries news of an accident in which 32-year old Poonam [...]

By: Aman

Aman — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:29:54 +0000

Dear Kanthi,

I am not sure of how you can move this campaign forward as I have little experience in organising campaigns. What i could suggests is that you isolate specific things that you would like to see done and then focus your energies on them.
For example, if there is a specific pedestrian crossing that has lead to a number of accidents – you could use that as a rallying point with the local authorities and MLA to fix that particular problem. Once you have got one thing done, you can move onto another similarly specific project. You might find that each successfully completed project shall result in more people joining your campaign.
I would advise against taking a purely judicial line on the issue. It might be counter productive to file a PIL.
Finally, a note of caution on encroachments: I would careful about demanding a removal of all encroachments. Roadside vendors are a crucial part of a city’s economy – providing critical services for large numbers of people. Hence the issue of footpath space is something that needs to be thought of.

Finally, it might be useful to also consider the case of those who are unable to walk. It might help if you can tie with a group that works with the differently abled -and perhaps conduct a campaign around making public spaces, footpaths, and bus shelters wheelchair friendly and safe for the visually impaired.

By: Kanthi Kannan

Kanthi Kannan — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:22:51 +0000

I am a resident of the city of Hyderabad. For the last three years I have been associated with a campaign, called the Right to Walk , urging relevant authorities in the city’s administration to provide footpaths on roads and manned pedestrian crossings to ensure pedestrian safety.
The core issues that the Right to Walk Foundation, is being established to address are:

1. Do the Citizens of India have a Right to Walk?
2. Whose Responsibility is it to Provide for and Maintain Footpaths?
3. What is the Mandatory Width and Height of Footpaths?
4. What are the Steps that the GHMC takes in Order to ensure that Encroachments, Littering and Urinating on Footpaths does not happen? (For example, does the GHMC take parking issues into account while issuing trade licenses?)
5. What are the Facilities Provided for Pedestrians to cross a Road?
6. What are the Facilities Provided for Commuters to use Public Transport?

In order to realize the vision of the foundation, the issue of footpaths cannot be viewed in isolation. The Public Transport System, other issues of pedestrian safety such as safety in crossing roads etc. also need to be brought into focus. We are trying to contact automobile giants to help us forward in this Campaign.

We understand and appreciate the fact that for the pollution levels to come down public transport usage has to be increased. For this to happen, the first step in transport, that is walking needs to be encouraged. In Hyd, either footpaths are missing or are completely encroached.

Can you help us in propelling the Campaign forward?

Regards
Kanthi Kannan

The Right to Walk Foundation
http://www.right2walk.com

By: Aman Sethi

Aman Sethi — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:39:03 +0000

An article by Dinesh Mohan in the EPW – he is quite clearly in the pro-bus camp – says that rail riderships across the world are actually dropping as cities change and become more decentralised. Rail systems are unable to adapt to a changing city – something that buses are more adept at.
Maybe the ring railway offers us lessons in this regard.

However the latest news suggests that the Northern Railways shall be providing a special feeder service along the sewa nagar, lajpat nagar routes for crowds surging to watch the 2010 games at JNS stadium.

By: Sunalini

Sunalini — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:17:33 +0000

I agree completely about the metro versus buses debate. About the skeletal structure idea, apparently the London Transport Authority finally woke up to the wisdom of this system. It used the money made with the famous congestion charge recently levied on private vehicles coming into central London to completely revive the bus system. It works beautifully now, with an extensive, efficient bus network and the load on the metro lessened. As most will know, the London metro had become a nightmare previously with the kind of load it was expected to bear.

In the case of Delhi, another very neglected solution as I read somewhere is the suburban rail network we have. Its quite extensive, includes very conveniently located stations and can actually be a very effective third arm of Delhi’s transport system.

By: Aman Sethi

Aman Sethi — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:15:44 +0000

My conversations with proponents of the BRTS did reveal a decided anti-metro stance; I think the issue does tend to become ideological at some point.

But it could be argued that atleast part of the metro’s success could be attributed to the TINA (there is no alternative) factor. Bus systems tend to be cheaper – and if air conditioned – then as comfortable. They are also more flexible and provide better point to point connectivity. Its supporters also say that bus stops can be operated for a fraction of the energy costs of the Metro.
As for construction costs, bus based systems cost about 10 crore per kilometer vs a whopping 200 crore per kilometre for underground train systems.

According to one transport researcher i spoke to, a metro doesnt travel at much greater speeds than buses – the speed attained is a function of the acceleration -which for a vehicle carrying standing people – cannot exceed a certain safety limit (i think 1m/s/s. So speeds are a function of stopping frequency.

Over the last few years, we have seen a moderation of both camps – with a consensus on what could be called the skeletal structure idea – where the metro provides the backbone and the buses provide the extensions.

By: Sunalini

Sunalini — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:07:02 +0000

Fantastic reading Aman. Somebody needs to say this in the mainstream media too. Just one comment about the term ‘the middle class’. I’ve been struggling with this term for some time since I wonder if it obfuscates more than it reveals. Who is the middle class? I know we all refer to it as a shorthand, and I broadly know who are being referred to. But what exactly is ‘middle’ about them? In a country like India, anybody who owns or even drives cars on a regular basis should probably be classified as upper class, including you and me. So is it the educated upper classes – the intelligentsia included – that we refer to as the middle class? My point simply is that the term ‘middle class’ may have come to exonerate and mask the enormous privilege that this class enjoys. It seems to defang the tiger, render it cute and bumbling, taking away the daily loot and plunder (private health, education, transport and employment) that this class enjoys. The term’s very elasticity (covering everybody from the government upper division clerk to Barkha Dutt, or film stars who often use this term to describe themselves) which we all find so useful and like I said, employ in our writing, may be blunting the critical edge of what we are saying. Also, we find ourselves in a curious situation wherein the upper upper class remains shadowy and outside the debate always, almost never becoming the target of our severest critique. You understand, these are as much questions I ask myself…

By: Aditya Nigam

Aditya Nigam — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 05:23:17 +0000

Great post Aman. I must say, many like me were also somewhat misled initially by the hysterical campaign by the Media. My overall sense was further reinforced by the disclosure that the research had been funded by Volvo and Tata, clearly interested parties in the game. This is something I am ambivalent about. The first inkling of a different possibilty came from my sister who is a journalist living in Saket and commutes by bus. She said her travel had become much easier and the time reduced from one and a half hours to about forty minutes. Your post actually puts the thing in perspective.
One small point however. There was a time when soem of us had in Delhi begun to think of urban planning and public transport issues (in 1997/98) and from that time on, the campaigners for the BRT concept positioned their alternative in opposition to the Metro. Metro-bashing was a favourite pastime and we all partook of it – led by some of these experts. Today, i think the same anti-Metro rhetoric cannot continue. It has greatly eased commuting in the city and not only for ‘elites’ as was being argued by our BRT campaigners.

By: RR

RR — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:50:39 +0000

A short comment on BRT and the media can be read at: http://www.7oclocklive.com/?p=17#more-17