Reshaping urban spaces needs practical solutions
The State and the private sector must have the capability to draw out and manage franchise contracts
The MOVE summit in Delhi brought together urban and transport policy makers, practitioners and industry from around the world for a discussion on India’s mobility challenges. The issues with urbanisation in India are well known, as are the solutions. Yet, we struggle to make a headway. Progress lies in finding practical solutions.
A brief recap on the challenge first. About a third of India lives in cities, far behind the global average of over half, but by 2050, that number is projected to double. That is a good thing. Cities exist because they offer opportunities for productivity and therefore wages. The job is to not hinder this unique growth opportunity by poor policy.
For long, the model of urbanisation was based on negligible infrastructure investment — build a road and the city grows around it. This model started failing as cities became bigger and denser but is still the dominant model despite at least 30 years of recognised failure. Attempts to patch up the problem by building flyovers have only increased traffic and congestion while breaking the urban fabric.
For the last 20 years, we have flipped to the other extreme with the most expensive model of urban development. Starting first with the standalone Kolkata Metro, this model really came to life in Delhi. Any city with a population of over 50 lakh justifies a metro-like transport system. But two problems remain. First, despite the enormous investment in metros, India has built only about 500 km and a similar number is under construction – that is about the same as London’s, and a fifth of Tokyo’s. At present rates of investment it will take decades before this model can really work. Second, metros are most effective when they allow land use to reshape around them, enabling high density development. Both Kolkata and Delhi have failed to take advantage of this and other Indian cities seem not to be learning either.
The answers, however, lie in finding more cost effective and scalable models. In cities dominated by metros — like London, Sao Paulo and Mexico City — buses still carry more people than the metros. In India, by contrast, buses remain neglected. Even cities with supposedly a good bus system, such as Mumbai and Chennai, have fleets a fraction of the size they need.
On-street infrastructure is nearly absent, so is policy support for bus prioritisation — granting buses privileged access to roads through bus lanes in recognition of their more efficient use of road space. Then we have the domination of the state transport undertakings or specially established companies, which have a high cost of operation, with little state support resulting in gradual shrinking of service at a time when we need rapid expansion.
India has a thriving private sector, one that should be called into service now with a franchised bus model. Where contracted bus services exist, the evidence shows that costs can be reduced by half. That would provide a franchised bus system the ability to be free of subsidy and become scalable. Several things are needed to make this model work. Start with capacity building: getting the capability within the state sector to set out and manage franchise contracts, and within the private sector to be able to respond. Network planning and the technology needed to run such a franchised system, in vehicle tracking, safety, communication and fare collection all need standardisation and the development of a national industry to build high quality products. This needs to be done once across the country and the Centre needs to step in.
The Centre can also grease the wheels, quite literally, by providing money for fixed infrastructure such as bus stops, bus stations and multimodal interchange facilities. For a fraction of the investment in metros we can contemplate the current 30,000 formal and 1,00,000 or so informal urban buses turn into 15 lakh or more buses. Between drivers, conductors, maintenance and servicing staff, 15 lakh buses will generate over 1 crore jobs as well, more than any other single idea going around.
By focusing on something practical, progress can be made. Here is the challenge for the next five years and an opportunity to reshape urban India.
FOR LONG, THE MODEL OF URBANISATION WAS BASED ON NEGLIGIBLE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT: BUILD A ROAD AND THE CITY GROWS AROUND IT. THIS MODEL STARTED FAILING AS CITIES BECAME BIGGER