Ahmedabad: A recent Union government report reveals that while only 45.2% of Gujarat residents have access to high-capacity public transport like metro rail, trains and ferries within a one-kilometre radius of their homes, the state surpasses both Delhi and Maharashtra in terms of overall transport accessibility.
The Comprehensive Annual Modular Survey 2022-23, released in Oct by the National Sample Survey Office, shows that when including all forms of public transport (buses, taxis, and autorickshaws) within 500 metres of homes, Gujarat's accessibility rate rises to 97.6%, surpassing both Delhi (95.8%) and Maharashtra (93.4%).
Traffic management experts are, however, sceptical about the findings of the report that 45.2% of the state's population has access to high-capacity public transport. A member of the state traffic consultative committee said that the metro rail operates in only two sections of Ahmedabad and is yet to commence in other cities of the state.
"Although the Ahmedabad metro rail has been in operation for a while, the per day footfall is still low. Moreover, Kalupur, Maninagar and Sabarmati railway stations are not centrally located," he said. He added that although the metro rail authorities extended service timings from 10pm to 2am during Navratri, on average, just about 2,000 passengers in the city opt for metro rail every day.
Commenting on the higher percentage of the population which has access to public transport modes like autorickshaws, cabs and buses, the expert said, "People are hesitant to walk short distances and hence they opt for cabs or motorcycles."
An officer at the Regional Transport Office said that about one lakh shuttle autorickshaws ply in Ahmedabad alone.
"These rickshaws ply in almost all areas of the city and are readily available for people on the road outside their houses. This is one of the reasons why a very large section of the population in Gujarat gets services of autorickshaws within 500 metres of their houses," the officer said.
Access to public transport
- Only 45.2% of Gujarat's residents have access to high-capacity public transport like trains, metro rail service, ferries and the like.
- In contrast, 97.6% of the people have access to public transport within 500 metres of their residence when buses, autorickshaws and cabs are included
- 96.3% of residents in rural Gujarat have the availability of pucca roads within two kilometres of their residence.