Problem of cars, not rickshaws
Urban planning for mobility must focus on public transport
A12-member committee set up by a directive of the Delhi High Court has recommended that the number of e-rickshaws in Delhi should be limited. The recommendation is another attempt to decongest the busy roads of the capital. The principle is sound in theory: rickshaws are slow, they often block fast moving cars, and occupy precious space on the edges of roads. But, the idea becomes problematic when the number of cars on the roads, the population of the city that can afford to travel by private cars, and the issue of last-mile connectivity are taken into consideration.
Delhi has a population density of 20,000 people/km2, and car ownership of 131 cars per 1,000 people; 42% of all daily trips are made by public transport. Yet, the focus is on mobility only for those in the social strata that can afford cars. Too many schemes aimed at easing mobility in cities are targeted at making it easier for large numbers of cars to get around, instead of getting large numbers of citizens around the city. Transport systems such as the metro face the problem of getting commuters from their homes to the metro and from the metro to their offices. Transport means such as rickshaws are the bridge in such scenarios. Rickshaws are not why the roads in so many of our cities are clogged. The roads are clogged because cities, by and large, do not have reliable public transport systems and there are too many cars on the roads. The sign of a safe and efficiently run city is the use of public transport, not private vehicles by most of its residents.
The majority of the people in cities still use highly inadequate public transport systems including rickshaws and buses. Cutting down the number of these is not the answer to the congestion crisis. There is no cap on the number of cars that are allowed to ply on the roads, but regulating the number of rickshaws that are cheap and efficient for short distance travel seems to be the focus of our urban planning. This attitude must change. In order to make it easier to get around the city, urban planners must shift their focus to making public transport efficient enough to reduce the number of cars on the roads.