Columnists
Challenges galore to urban transport system
In view of urbanisation becoming a complex affair, urban transport requires careful planning and a clear direction. Public education and an effective reduction of traffic violations is vital
With rapid urbanisation in India and most other countries, the provision of urban transport requires some careful planning and direction by which urban residents get access to satisfactory levels of mobility. It is also important that urban dwellers spend their productive hours in activities which add economic value and give them satisfaction as well as a sense of achievement.
Transport-related problems in our cities are a major determinant of adverse impacts on the quality of life, including unacceptable levels of exposure to air pollution. In fact, the efficiency of an urban area and living conditions of its population depend significantly on its infrastructure for mobility. As it is, families in urban areas are subjected to multiple forms of stress because of the time spent at work and in coping with daily chores, particularly in nuclear families. The time taken in commuting often for long durations only adds to occupational burdens that people carry home from their workplaces.
A recent article carried by CNN describes the unusually difficult conditions which exist in a city like Los Angeles (LA), where persons spend considerable time every day driving from one location to the other. Like most other metropolitan areas, LA has continued to grow, which adds distance and time to travel. In the article referred to, it was estimated that in LA, drivers spent an average of 102 hours in traffic during peak periods in 2017. As compared to this, the average time spent during peak hours in the same year was 91 hours in Moscow, 91 hours in New York City, 74 hours in London and 69 hours in Paris.
The provision of highways in LA does not help much either because these stretch across the five most congested segments of the city. LA’s congestion is a function of the generally poor public transport infrastructure and services. The result is that people have no choice but to travel by passenger cars. However, even in areas generally well-served by public transport, overall driving times are much greater than by car.
Urban transport challenges are complex and varied and depend on the layout of the city. Often, the larger the city, the greater its complexity. The productivity of an urban location is also highly dependent on the efficiency of its transport systems and its ability to move labour, consumers and freight between various points of origin and destination of transport. In cities which have ports, airports and railway yards within urban locations, the complexity of problems increases disproportionately.
In most cities, the supply side of transport infrastructure has generally not kept up with the demands for mobility. Motorisation has also expanded the demand for parking space, which creates land-use problems, particularly in central areas of cities. Hence, the problem of congestion is compounded further, because drivers are often looking for space for parking, which is often in short supply. Further, in several locations, traffic signals are often not synchronised, which also adds to congestion.
Several cities have geographical characteristics, which are predisposed to inbuilt transport problems. If we turn again to the example of LA, then the geographical layout of Los Angeles County had an area of 4,060 square miles and an estimated population of 10 million in 2016. As compared to this, New York City had an estimated population of 8.5 million in the same year but squeezed into roughly 300 square miles of land area. Among Indian cities, Delhi has a large geographical spread and the largest population of cars; consequently, the widespread problems of congestion are becoming increasingly worse. The traffic in Delhi also happens to be one of the worst in respect of people following traffic rules.
If we look at the data for car ownership and population in major cities, Los Angeles County, with a population of 10 million, has 7.8 million cars, Tokyo with a population of 9.3 million has 4.9 million cars, London with 8.6 million has 2.6 million cars, and Singapore with a population of 5.6 million has 0.6 million cars.
Once a city develops with a dominance of private transport, a change becomes extremely difficult. Often, adding road facilities does not solve the problem because adding highway space increases vehicle miles travelled. This is because with additional road facilities, the ‘induced travel’ by car goes up, because the time and cost of driving between two points goes down, which attracts more drivers on the expanded road infrastructure.
It is, therefore, essential that public transport and detailed transport planning precede increase in population and demand for mobility. Ideally, efficient transport patterns also involve greater mobility for pedestrians and bicycles. However, this requires consideration on the part of the public for pedestrians and bicycles in the actual design of infrastructure and facilities for these forms of transport. In many urban locations, a significant share of mobility is for generally short distances, which could easily be met by bicycles and pedestrian movement. But this requires a major attitudinal change on the part of the public. In many parts of India, for instance, zebra crossings, which require cars and motorised transport to stop for the convenience of pedestrians, such traffic courtesy is generally ignored by motorists.
What is needed in this country is not only the planning and creation of appropriate transport infrastructure but also public education and an effective reduction of traffic violations so that all types of passengers feel safe and are able to exercise their rights as citizens, whether they are car owners or pedestrians.
Also, in India’s case, what is critical is for major urban centres, and even smaller towns and cities, to create expertise on transport planning in urban habitats. In cities which are planned as green field projects, the very layout of facilities, including centres of employment and living spaces, need to be designed in a manner that keeps the demand for transportation in mind, and minimises road trips.
In those cities where large additions take place, through developments such as Dwarka in New Delhi, and several parts of Bengaluru, it is important that the transport aspect is treated as an integral part of the urban design. The benefits of specialised expertise for transport planning and urban facilities, in general, will bring about major efficiency gains and cost reductions. Even old cities like Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Zurich have employed outstanding expertise and political vision to revamp their transport systems for all-round benefits.
Significantly, consequent environmental benefits would also result in a higher quality of life. It is time that specialisation is created in critical areas such as urban transport design since India’s growing population is getting rapidly urbanised.
(The writer is former chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2002-15)
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