Ashok R. Datar, Chairman, Mumbai Environmental Social Network (Urban Transportation Expert)
Q. How do you view the representation of private bus operators under the aegis of Mumbai Bus Malak Sanghatana and Bus Operators Confederation of India? A.
Each bus operator is not a very large entity. Some of them may be, but many are not. An association like the Mumbai Bus Malak Sanghatana and Bus Operators Confederation of India therefore becomes very important to communicate with an omnipresent structure like the government of India. With the proliferation of government rules and regulations, at times in an adhoc manner, there is a need for an alternative voice to address the issues of the bus industry. The private bus industry especially. The government needs to sharpen its perception of real world issues staring at private bus operators. A lot of lip service is given to public transport. It is necessary to understand, that it will play a crucial role in the coming decades for instance in environmental management.
Q. What in your opinion are the teething issues faced by public transportation in a congested territory like Mumbai Metropolitan Region? How do you look at multimodal transportation utilising private buses? A.
Mumbai Metropolitan Region is very congested. Land use attracts a great premium in the region. Our studies have revealed that buses occupy three times the space of a private vehicle and carry 20 times the number of occupants in comparison to passenger vehicles. This makes them fuel and space efficient.
As a result, they deserves more encouragement from the government. It is as a result of the study that I suggested an idea that only private cars should be levied a toll, and not public people carriers like buses. About preferential tax treatment, I find it very unusual that tax paid by buses is much higher than by private cars. Private cars pay a one-time tax of up to 12 per cent whereas a buses in its lifetime, pays much higher tax every quarter and on a per seat basis. This is tackled in a very bureaucratic and cumbersome manner. Taxed up to four times the tax bracket of the former, I fail to understand the negative tilt in the case of public transport. I am of the firm belief that industry must adopt self-regulation. The same must be encouraged by the government. Traffic police, for instance, has their own mechanism of detecting violations and ensuring compliance. It is a very primitive information system or management of the two. In my opinion, the payment mechanism of fines, unless it involves any criminal element, should be treated in a civil manner. Towing of people movers with passengers in them has been the case in recent times. It is inhuman in my opinion. The need of the hour is to encourage business through a more pro-industry like professional approach. It is tragic that a city like Mumbai doesn’t have access to private buses which operate five times more than the state undertaking buses from various cities. Like airports common to all airlines, the bus terminals must be opened up to private bus operators even if it means on an agreeable pay per use. The latter should be connected to public address systems in a bid to make the system more passenger friendly. It is not Government’s business to run buses prima facie. The government should overlook regulations therefore, and play the role of a facilitator. Let the industry with a competitive spirit flourish and offer the best possible service to customers. While there is no denying that regulations from the government are a must, the implementation mechanism is also very important. It should be taken up in an efficient and people friendly manner.
Q. The bone of contention at the Annual General Meet was clearly the disparity in terms of the government’s preferential treatment towards state transport undertakings over the private bus companies. What do you think is the issue? A.
It is a lack of understanding by the political establishment. To me it looks like a misconception of looking at public transport as good and private transport as bad in layman terms. It is not difficult to understand that buses are far more efficient if one takes into account the public transport as a sum total of all the buses given the limitation of space and emission regulations restricting emission of particulate matter through tailpipe emissions. For instance, instead of having four-lane highways, we could very well have three-lane highways
and encourage greater use of buses on them. Even with the quality of buses improving, it is a tragedy to see city roads congested with cars. In advanced countries like the USA, a 100-seater bus is operated by a single driver and offered to passengers at a very competitive price. Inter-city buses in such advanced countries are making a comeback, and for a reason. We should learn from such trends.
Q. The government has emphasised the use of alternate fuels and on electro-mobility in public transportation. Why has it failed to take off beyond the execution of pilot projects? A.
Both solutions are yet to reach a certain maturity level. Once it reaches a certain level of maturity in terms of creating a market pull, which could be the case in the next five to six years timespan, especially electric public mobility can be expected to take off. Cost is the biggest deterrent compared to conventional fossil fuel powered buses. Once BSVI emission norms are rolled out, the particulate matter emission of conventional diesel buses will reduce drastically. It will make them feasible. For electric buses to be a viable option, the cost per kilometre needs to be brought down. It is the lifetime costs that need to be brought down. Other alternate sources of energy like solar should be considered too. Battery recharging by operators using solar energy is an option that must be considered. A roadmap needs to be in place for the next decade therefore.
Q. To sum it up, how do you see integrated mobility and multi-modal transportation shaping up at the city level and as a whole? A.
Integrated mobility and multi-modal transportation involving CVs are absolutely vital. Buses have a big role to play because of railways’ limitation to reach everywhere. To cover the last mile, buses are crucial. In Mumbai for instance, the metro rail lines are far more than warranted. If you look at the nature of large investment involving metros, a comparison of Delhi metro rail with Mumbai metro rail helped to conclude that not many people were using the former in the first place as envisaged. When we are failing to invest in uplifting social and healthcare infrastructure among others, investments in metro rail should be the last thing on the state governments’ agenda. There is a need for a sensible road and rail mix, to begin with. Optimisation is the need of the hour. It has to be done in a transparent manner.
Q. Should the government look at Bus Rapid Transport system instead? A.
Bus Rapid Transport system is the most undermined solution. It has not been given the due credit. Our pilot project for decongesting western express highway, in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), set an unusual record of sorts. The pilot was successful, but ignored under the pretext of losing a road lane. Nobody thought on the lines that a single bus lane does work equivalent to sum total of three car lanes. The BKC pilot proved that a single lane could be used to run 150 buses, cutting down commute time from 40 minutes to 15 minutes. I still feel that having a BRT over the western express highway and eastern express highway in Mumbai is far better than to lay a metro line. A metro will cost Rs.6000 crore at least. A BRT project will cost an estimated Rs.100 crore. In terms of project execution timelines, the latter can commence in six months. Metro will take four year period instead. Also, too much cement and steel is harmful for the city. Multilevel transport across the city is certainly not the best way forward in my opinion. The need of the hour is to stay within the boundaries of what nature has to offer us.