Transportation blues
abad, etc., and vice versa. Which makes it difficult to provide an efficient, comfortable and reliable service within the NCR. What we really need is a body that can look at the NCR as a whole and not as different cities falling in different states in close proximity,” adds Dr Minhas.
WRI India has also proposed something similar. “What Delhi really needs,” says Amit Bhatt of WRI, “is a Metropolitan Public Transport Department, which has a jurisdiction over the NCR and controls all the aspects of public transport, from Metro to buses to the making of pedestrian walkways and dedicated lanes for cyclists. Creating a new flyover or widening the roads is not an answer but making the existing infrastructure capable of managing the increasing load of traffic is.”
All the answers, however, aren’t going to come from the government and administrators. Urban development requires an active citizenry, just as it needs an efficient and willing government machinery. How can the residents of Delhi, in their personal capacity, contribute to the betterment of the city’s transportation web? One way is to encourage friends and family to use public transport as and when possible, and to lead by example.
The Gurgoan-based software firm Nagarro is doing a lot in this regard. “On 22 September 2015, a car-free day was organised here, and the entire company went carless. All our employees either used public transport of bicycles to come to work including our CEO,” says Megha Jha, the company’s spokesperson. “Since then we have implemented several policies to promote the use of public transport and bicycles. We have free and reserved parking for people who carpool, while we charge for parking on car-free days.”
Nagarro also has around 50 bicycles at their Gurgoan facility, and another 15 at their Jaipur office, which the employees can use free of charge to commute within and between their office complexes. “We also provide free pick-up and drop facility to the nearest metro station to our employees. And we have a lot of bus aggregators that help us provide a safe mode of transport to the employees,” Jha adds.
And it’s not just the corporate players who are beginning to wake up to the seriousness of this issue. One keeps coming across inspiring example of individuals who are trying to make a difference. The Mexican Ambassador to India, Melba Pria, uses an auto rickshaw to commute around the city, despite having a fleet of swanky cars and SUVs at her disposal.
“I wanted an original idea to promote my country among all sorts of Indian people,” Pria tells Guardian 20, “not just the ones that might attend our art exhibitions. Moreover, I was looking for ways to tackle the Delhi traffic and reduce my carbon footprint. I thought about it a lot while I was stuck in traffic. The auto has proved to be an efficient and compact vehicle. It runs on CNG so it is less polluting than a regular four-wheeler. I get concerned about the air quality, as although I may be profoundly Mexican, today Delhi is my community. Both Delhi and Mexico City, along with other major capitals of the world, share a geographic location that impacts the effect of air pollution on daily life. Mexico City has been implementing policies for better air quality for decades now and its experience has been linked to the expansion of the metro system and the creation of alternative transportation that can help ease the dependence on personal motorised vehicles. Indians must be aware that air pollution is a complex issue that requires long-term solutions and that improvement will require a huge amount of commitment from its citizens. However, the effort will be worth it because what we do now will determine our quality of life 20 years from now.” So if influential diplomats can do their bit for the climate, why can’t we the people?
The good news is that more Delhi’s public transport scene is set to be augmented further. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) plans to add another 100km to their existing Metro network across the NCR, meaning adding many more new riders to the already substantial ridership figure of 2.7 million a day. The point of contention here is the appeal that DMRC made for a long- overdue fare hike. “We are working non-stop towards providing the people of Delhi with a world class mode of travel. The metro has not revised its fare for the last seven years. Though we do have a committee now which will pass a ruling on the matter soon for our input costs have increased massively now,” says Anuj Dayal, spokesperson, DMRC.
Dayal adds: “We are making the Noida Metro for the Noida Metro Authority along with further increasing the length of the Rapid Metro in Gurgoan. So there is a lot going on to cater to the cities’ rising needs. All we need is for the people to realise the importance of a clean and pollution-free city.”
“What Delhi really needs is a Metropolitan Public Transport Department, which has a jurisdiction over the NCR and controls all the aspects of public transport, from Metro to buses to the making of pedestrian walkways and dedicated lanes for cyclists.”