PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN TRANSPORT
PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN TRANSPORT
*Ar Jit Kumar Gupta
*jit.kumar1944@gmail.com
INTRODUCTION
Cities and civilizations are synonymous because cities have existed as integral part of human history. Cities have historically scripted the growth of mankind right from his inception. As per the U N Habitat Report on State of the World Cities, 2008-09’, ‘Cities are perhaps one of humanity’s most complex creation, never finished, never definitive. They are like a journey that never ends. Their evolution is determined by their ascent into greatness or their descent into decline. They are the past, the present and the future’. Cities are great places because they are not only promoters and storehouse of ideas and inventions but are also major contributors to the national economy and global wealth besides generators of large employment.
India is urbanizing rapidly under the impact of industrial growth and spread of service sector. The pace of urbanization is picking up with more and more people making cities as their preferred place of residence and place of work. In India, cities are on move and are designated to play critical role in the growth and development of the country. As per Mckinsey Global Institute Report - India Urban Awakening: Building Inclusive Cities- Urban India by 2030 will house 590 million people (as against 377 million in 2011), which is twice the present US population. Cities will generate 70% GDP and 80% revenue of the country. Share of Urban India in new job creation will be of the order of 70% (170 million) which India, as a nation will generate. Cities will also create enormous wealth at the individual level with 91 million urban households joining the select band of middle class, more than four times the number of existing households ( 22 million). Number of metropolitan centres will rise to 68 (53 in 2011), which is twice the number of metropolises entire Europe has (35) . However, investment to the tune of $ 1.2 Trillion will be needed to meet projected infrastructure demand, whereas 700-900 million sqmts of residential/ commercial area will be needed annually- a new Chicago to be created -to meet the built area needs of the urban India. In addition, 2.5 billion sqmts of roads will have to be paved, which is 20 times the road network created in last decade. 7400km (350-400 km/year) of metro will be needed – 20 times created in last decade, to meet the transportation demand of cities by 2030.
In this scenario of rapid and massive urbanization, cities have been found to be major drivers of national economies using transportation to leverage their growth and development . Movement of both people and goods, has been observed to be a necessary and essential condition/component of development. Accordingly, traffic and transportation, as a sector, has been gaining high degree of currency because of its critical role in promoting economic development and social integration of a region and country. In addition to bridging the gap between demand and supply of goods and services and providing mobility for its citizens, transportation has been considered vital for leveraging employment, promoting industries besides contributing to prosperity of a nation. If cities are known as engines of economic growth, then transportation has rightly been called wheels of such engine.
Role of transportation has been assuming critical importance in the urban areas because of large concentration of population and activities leading to generation of high degree of traffic volume and traffic demand. With rapid growth of population, sprawling conurbation, scattered and unstructured physical expansion of urban centers in general and metropolitan centers in particular, traffic volumes have been multiplying and leapfrogging in these centers. The physical expansion of cities has led to increased distances between place of work, place of living, place of trade and commerce, place of leisure etc., placing large demand on transport network to ferry large number of people and goods across destinations.
Transportation scenario in India is highly complex and is marked by large number of dualities and contradictions. Despite low holding capacity of road network, numbers of both mechanized and non-mechanized vehicles are increasing rapidly. Despite lack of parking areas, more and more vehicles are being added into the cities occupying every available road space including all possible open spaces. In the process, cities are marked with high degree of vehicular congestion leading to long delays and raising the cost of business; extremely low vehicular speed; high degree of air pollution threatening the life /health of the people; large number of road accidents leading to loss of precious life and property and emission of large volume of greenhouse gasses and global warming. Instead of providing high degree of mobility and operational efficiency, urban transportation has emerged as the major roadblock and threat to the economy, environment and sustainability of majority of citie
Transportation, besides having environmental implication, is known to impact society in a large number of ways imposing social costs on individual , communities and cities. Social costs imposed by transport include road crashes, air pollution, physical inactivity, time taken away from the family while commuting and vulnerability to fuel price increases. Many of these negative impacts fall disproportionately on those social groups , who are unlikely to own and drive cars. Slowing the delivery of goods and services, traffic congestion invariably imposes enormous economic costs on residents, communities and cities by wasting their precious time.
According to World Resource Institute,’ Car-oriented cities have a number of costs for citizens’ health and well-being besides social costs. Up to 75% of urban air pollution is caused by motor vehicle fuel combustion, and in 2019, seven million premature deaths across nations were linked to outdoor air pollution. Numerous studies have also shown that sedentary, car-oriented lifestyles contribute to higher rates of diabetes, obesity, and other associated diseases With millions of precious man- hours lost in everyday travel, transportation is adversely impacting the productivity of human beings. In the process, travel and traffic blues are fast emerging as major threat to the effective and efficient functioning of the urban centers.
With Indian transportation scenario marked with large variety of heterogeneous travel modes, of varying speed and characteristics, operating in the urban centers and competing with each other for adequate space on already highly stressed road network, the problems of traffic and transportation are assuming alarming proportions. Majority of problems are concentrated in core areas of the cities, which house major urban activities besides large chunk of population. With limited space, inadequate road network and limited holding capacity, these areas are already under enormous stress, causing numerous operational and functional problems.
Considering the role and importance in overall economic and social growth, it becomes important that urban transportation, as a sector and as a essential human activity, is critically looked at and appropriately addressed with rational strategies put in place, on priority ,to make it safe, affordable, faster, comfortable, reliable, sustainable, effective and efficient. This would be valuable for improving accessibility to jobs, healthcare, education, recreation and other day to day needs of human beings. This would involve looking objectively at the entire mechanism of transportation. Since transportation is the product of rapid urbanization, fast expanding cities, increased travel demand, rising trip length, typologies of vehicles used , existing mobility network and defined land uses, accordingly it calls for making urban transportation integral part of urban planning, development and management process. In addition, it would also require re- defining our travel options, transport priorities and planning strategies in the urban sector, in order to rationalize the travel demand and traffic patterns.
Traditional transport planning aims to improve mobility, especially for vehicles, but have invariably failed to adequately consider and address wider impacts on human beings . Basic and essential purpose of transport is providing cost-effective and time -efficient access to; living, working, healthcare, amenities, infrastructure education, goods and services, friends and family. There exist proven techniques and technologies to improve access while simultaneously reducing environmental and social impacts, by rationally managing traffic congestion. Cities and authorities, which are able to adequately improve and address the sustainability, effectiveness and efficacy of their transport networks have defined and shown the roadmap for creating more vibrant, livable and sustainable cities. (Wikipedia)
INDIAN TRANSPORTATION SCENARIO
With rapid urbanization and industrialization, demand for transportation of goods and services is rising rapidly. Accordingly, freight industry is growing rapidly with annual growth rate placed at 8.5%. Transport, as a sector, also makes substantial contribution to the Indian economy. As per available statistics, overall contribution of transportation sector to the national GDP stood at 6.5% in 2012-13 as against 6.0 %in 2001. Major contribution came from the road transport whose share was placed at 4.9% (75%). Contribution of railways stood merely at 0.9% (14%) whereas rest of the modes accounted for only 0.7% (11%). Further, the entire increase in percentage share of transport to GDP between 2001-2013, has come from only road transport sector, whereas share of railways declined from 1.2% to 0.9%. During the same period, share of other modes of transportation also recorded steady decline. This clearly indicates the criticality of road transport in the Indian economy and urban growth. However, this also indicates the marginalization of the other means of transport, which need to be encouraged, promoted and appropriately leveraged, to promote speedier, cost-effective, safe and sustainable transportation of goods and services in the urban sector
Post-independence period has witnessed enormous production and addition of vehicles on the Indian roads . With India producing 26.36 million vehicles during 2019-20; number of registered vehicles recorded in the country were ofthe order of 295.8 million( March 31, 2020), as against the 89.6 million in 2006. Nine Indian states recorded registration of more than 10 million vehicles each with state of Maharashtra recording 30.22 million vehicles followed by State of Uttar Pradesh (2017) . Highest concentration of registered vehicles was found to be in mega urban centers of Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru . Delhi, among cities, alone accounted for 12 million registered vehicles in the year 2019. Large urban centres also recorded mismatch in the growth of population and number of registered vehicles. Six major metropolitan centers, where population increase was merely of the order of 1.9 times during last 2 decades , the number of motor vehicles went up by over 7.75 times during the same period. Besides increase in numbers, pattern of vehicle ownership has also undergone rapid change with personalized mode accounting for more than 80% of total vehicles. Maximum growth has been recorded in the category of two wheelers whose share went Northwards ,from 8.8%, in 1951 to 72.2% in 2006. During the same period, share of buses went Southwards, from 11.1% to merely 1.1%.
Considering the fact that India is fast emerging as the global manufacturing hub of automobile, Munich based Roland Berger Strategy Consultants Report estimated that, vehicle penetration in India will grow six folds in next fifteen years from 12 vehicles in 2010 to 72 vehicles per 1000 persons in 2025 as against 187 for China, 221 for Brazil and 388 for Russia. Vehicle market in India is expected to grow to 5 million units and two wheeler market will become 29.5 million units in the year 2020. With rising income and greater demand for mobility, the personalized mode of transport is likely to grow rapidly in number and importance in the coming years. Proliferation of the personalized mode of transport is likely to have serious implications in terms of traffic congestion, parking, safety, energy inefficiency and pollution. Strategies need to be evolved to reduce the ownership of personalized vehicles, promote public transport and other means of user/urban friendly transportation, to reduce vehicular congestion on the urban roads.
Rapid increase in number of vehicles has not only led to overcrowding and congestion, but has also made road travel in the Indian cities highly risky and unsafe for the road users, with number of accidents going up rapidly. As per data available, in the year 1981 number of accidents recorded were 1.6 lakh, 3.9 lakh in 2001 whereas in the year 2019, number of accidents went up to 4.8 lakh. However, during the said period, number of road related causalities increased from 28,400 in the year 1981 , over 80,000 in 2001 and 1.51 lakh in 2019. Looking at the entire context, after every 55 second, India roads witnessed an accident whereas every 3.5 minutes someone lost life in the road accident. .Road accidents has emerged as one the major cause of deaths in the country. The majority of causalities in terms of loss of life and injury were found to be among the cyclists, pedestrians and pavement dwellers, showing the vulnerability of these classes of road users. The transport related casualties are rapidly increasing in India making the travel highly unsafe and travelers highly vulnerable.
The Indian transport sector is marked with high degree of mismatch between the number of vehicles and available road capacity. The growth of vehicles and vehicular traffic has been observed to be much faster as compared to growth of capacity and road network. During 53 years (1951-2004), motor vehicle population recorded a CAGR growth close to 10.9% compared to 3.6% increase in total road length with National Highways recording merely an increase of 2.3%. This mismatch between vehicular growth and road capacity has led to high degree of congestion and capacity saturation, resulting in creation of numerous operational and environmental problems. However, with government focusing on the rapid growth of infrastructure, momentum of road construction has gained pace with length of national highways placed at 1,32,500 kms in 2019. Despite rapid increase in length of roads, urban India is still facing high degree of congestion, due to large production and influx of vehicles on the urban roads. Due to increasing vehicular congestion, motor vehicles are largely responsible for generating greenhouse gasses in terms of CO2 , promoting global warming on a large scale. As per recent study, cities produce 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions, largely from energy consumption by transportation and buildings. Thus, if we have to decarbonize the cities and make them eco-friendly, energy efficient and environmentally sustainable, we have to create innovative and state of art options for effective , efficient and eco-friendly urban transportation besides making buildings green.
Looking at the existing patterns of movement in urban areas, it can be clearly observed that Indian urban transportation scenario is largely dictated by road transportation; ever increasing individual vehicle ownership; low road capacity; poor road geometry; high degree of fuel inefficiency; large obsolete vehicular population; heterogeneous traffic; inefficient and inadequate public transportation; high degree of environmental pollution; low priority for traffic planning; poor traffic management; large mismatch between vehicle density and road capacity; absence of unified traffic regulatory authority; high rates of accidents etc. These peculiarities of urban transportation require innovative strategies to be put in place to address effectively the transportation issues and make urban transportation promoters of economic growth and urban productivity besides generator of environmental sustainability in the urban context. Adopting strategies and options based on shifting daily commute from cars to sustainable transport modes – like public transport, walking, and bicycling – incorporating physical activity into everyday commuting; can help improving, not only the health of residents and communities living in cities but also can usher an era of happiness in cities. Studies have found that if cities adopt mixed- land use for urban planning , promote mass transportation for urban mobility , and make city pedestrian friendly; the risk of obesity for its inhabitants and problems of congestion, mobility and pollution can be reduced to a large extent (Fischer).
SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT
The term sustainable transport had its origin and genesis , as a logical and natural corollary of the concept of sustainable development. Term sustainable transportation is invariably used to describe and define, modes of transport, and systems of transport planning, which are consistent with and supportive of the wider concerns of sustainability. There exist numerous definitions of the sustainable transport, and related terms sustainable transportation and sustainable mobility. However, European Union Council of Ministers of Transport, has defined sustainable transportation system in the most appropriate manner; as, the one that:
· Allows the basic access and development needs of individuals, companies and society to be met with safely and in a manner consistent with human and ecosystem health, and promotes equity within and between successive generations.
· Is affordable, operates fairly and efficiently, offers a choice of transport mode, and supports a competitive economy, as well as balanced regional development.
· Limits emissions and waste within the planet's ability to absorb them, uses renewable resources at or below their rates of generation, and uses non-renewable resources at or below the rates of development of renewable substitutes, while minimizing the impact on the use of land and the generation of noise.
Sustainability, in the larger context, is not only limited to movement of goods and services but also extends beyond the operational efficiency involving life-cycle assessment and cradle-to-cradle design emission and energy efficiency. (Wikipedia)
STRATEGIES
Considering large number of emerging threats and challenges posed, due to rapid and massive urbanization; large influx of vehicles on the urban roads; limitations imposed by lack of availability of adequate road and parking space; inefficient land market; low priority accorded to transport planning; lack of availability of adequate resources etc., urban transportation in India needs immediate review and rationalization. Strategies for rationalizing would have to be an innovative, combination and rational mix of preventive, curative and innovative options. It has to be based on a mix of both hard (infrastructure) and soft (planning) options. The strategies for traffic rationalization and management, in urban sector should essentially and logically , revolve around and focus on:
o Minimizing travel demand
o Minimizing trip length.
o Minimizing mechanized movement.
o Minimizing pollution.
o Minimizing number of vehicles on roads.
o Minimizing congestion.
o Creating multiple options for travel.
o Shifting people from individual vehicles to public transport.
o Promoting safe, comfortable and affordable travel
o Promoting sustainable transportation.
To achieve the above objectives, the options available would be:
o Redefining Urban Planning.
o Changing options for transport planning
o Planning for people and not for vehicles
o Promoting accessibility and minimizing mobility
o Redefining shape and size of cities
o Making cities compact
o Reordering priorities of modes of travel .
o Promoting pedestrianization.
o Promoting bicycles
o Making public transport more efficient.
o Equitable allocation of road space.
o Integrating public transport system
o Traffic Calming
o Road Pricing
o Promoting sustainable urban transport.
o Promoting innovations through R&D
o Leveraging state of art technologies
o Creating unified traffic and transportation Authority
o Involving communities
o Educating communities
Redefining Urban Planning
Transportation has been considered essentially as the product of the land use planning and accordingly it becomes critical that land use planning is carried out in a manner, which generates minimum traffic and minimum travel.It should also minimize the travel demand and reduce the trip length. Master Plans, which primarily define the urban land uses, should be used for integrating the land use and transportation. Considering the present chaotic urban transport scenario, options and patterns used for working out land use planning in the master plans need to be reviewed, revised and redefined with new options put in place to make urban mobility more effective and efficient. In this regard Transit Oriented Development (TOD) has been found to be of immense value in order to rationalize and reduce travel and to promote highly efficient living-working relationship in urban areas. In this pattern, a dedicated strip is reserved for high density development along the major transport corridors, where compatible land uses are permitted in terms of commercial, residential, institutional and other areas. Activities generating maximum volume of traffic are accordingly placed along the major transport arteries in order to facilitate/minimize travel.
In addition, Pure- land-use planning, which segregates the cities and put different human activities in defined containers in different parts of the city, has been observed to promote increased travel demand in cities, making people travel longer distances for living, working and approaching education and healthcare facilities. Accordingly, pure land use planning should be avoided. Mixed land use planning offers better options of providing majority of facilities in close vicinity, cutting down on the travel needs of the communities and making them self-contained and self-sufficient in basic needs.
Further in order to rationalize the travel, it would be critical to make transport planning integral part of the urban land use planning. In fact, entire land use planning should be based on the transport planning, if travel demands are to be rationalized. Transport plans should enable a city to evolve an urban form that suits the topography and best supports the key social and economic activities of the residents. Making transport plans integral part of land use plans/planning, would help in rationalizing the transportation within the urban centres. If future growth and development of any city is dictated and led by a pre-planned traffic network (rather than developing a transport system after uncontrolled urban sprawl has taken place), the city has better chance/sopportunities of serving its entire population and yet minimizing travel needs. Thus, the intent, content and approach to prepare master plans for urban areas need to be re-defined in order to make master plans supporters and promoters of rational transportation options. Master plans should also invariably address the issue of regional connectivity in order to rationalize both inter and intra-city traffic and save cities from the traffic blues.
Redefining shape and size of the city.
Travel in a city is closely linked to shape and size of the urban centre. It has been observed that there are shapes which promote larger travel and larger traffic, whereas there exist other shapes which minimize road network and make city more travel friendly. Accordingly, in order to rationalize the travel demand, it will be critical to look at the shape and size adopted for the city. Grid iron pattern should invariably be avoided because it promotes more travel and is highly unsuitable for an efficient mass transportation system .City of Chandigarh, known for its planned development, is facing major problems of traffic and transportation which has its genesis in the grid iron road pattern which has been used for its planning. However, wherever grid-iron pattern of road is used, it must be supplemented by a system of diagonal roads across the city, to cut down/shorten the distances within the city. Ring and radial road pattern offer better options for reducing travel demand. Inherent advantages of Linear Cities can also be thoughtfully explored for effectively managing the travel demand. Accordingly, while preparing the development plans/master plans, it would be important to look at the shape of the city being adopted to rationalize the traffic and transportation.
In addition, size of the city would also be critical. Larger the city, larger would be the trip length; accordingly, cities must be made small and compact in order to reduce travel demand and promote energy efficiency. Small and medium cities offer better and simpler options of managing the traffic and transportation within urban centers as compared to metropolitan centers. In case of larger cities, options of decentralization could be used to create self-contained communities for minimizing travel. Chengdu . a westernmost city of China, is following a new concept of city planning in which 80,000 residents will be living and working in a circle of half-square mile, where any location will not be more than 15 minutes’ walk. City has been designed to be a pedestrian city supported by efficient public transport system.
Making Cities Compact
Reducing travel and traffic within urban areas would largely depend upon the extent and footprints of the city. Low density and large sized plots invariably lead to poor utilization of land and increase the footprints of the city. Increased footprints result in increasing distances between different corners of the city which makes people travel more. In order to reduce and rationalize the travel, it will be important to look at the density pattern adopted for the city. Promoting higher residential densities will make the city more compact by housing large number of people within a small area. This pattern automatically reduces travel distances and promotes non-mechanized vehicles for commuting. Higher densities would involve; reducing plot sizes and changing pattern of city planning. It will also involve prescribing higher Floor Area Ratio and larger heights for buildings in order to create larger volume of built up area and optimum utilization of land, housing more people and activities in a smaller area. Promoting group housing instead of plotted development also helps in better utilization of land resource creating more dwelling units in the same area making cities more compact besides avoiding the land speculation. Higher densities not only reduce the travel needs but also the cost of services.
It is not only new cities to be developed which can be made more compact , existing cities also offer enormous opportunities of re-densification, provided their densities are re-defined and rationalized, with a proper policy framework put in place and appropriately supported by the additional infrastructure and services. Singapore increased the capacity of the city by scientifically identifying the plots which were underutilized and encouraged owners to promote high density development. New- York city encouraged refurbishment of existing housing units by either dividing larger plots into smaller units or adding studio apartments on the rooftops to create additional living space. Creating high density communities offer a distinct option for making cities compact, reduce mobility, improving environment, promoting better utilization of resources and allowing people to walk rather than use cars.
Re-ordering prioritization of travel modes.
Travelling options exercised by people have also led to creating traffic blues in the urban areas. Globally, it has been seen that passenger cars have dominated the travel preference and are responsible for 75% of passenger kilometers travelled whereas the average vehicle occupancy is close to one. Less than 10% passenger trips are performed by the public transport which has the highest carrying capacity. Walking and cycling is fast decreasing in cities. Less than 5% of passenger trips are being made by bicycle. Indian transportation scenario is no different. Major problem facing the Indian transportation is the highest priority being accorded to personalized vehicles, which occupy maximum available road space, have very low load capacity and cause maximum congestion and pollution. Accordingly, for rationalization transportation needs and travel demand, we have to reorder our planning priorities in city planning. Transport Planning must focus on and adopt the principle of people for people and not for vehicles. In addition, it should promote accessibility and not mobility. Accordingly, cities should be planned with highest preference/ priority given to pedestrians to be followed by cyclists. Public transportation should be accorded third priority whereas personalized vehicles should have the least priority. If the plans are prepared with this hierarchy, cities will have better options/chances of rationalizing its traffic demand and creating sustainable transportation. This would also help in making cities more eco-friendly besides least consumers of energy.
Promoting Pedestrianization
Despite the fact that pedestrian traffic constitutes considerable proportion of the city traffic, still it has the lowest priority in the transport planning. Accordingly, it will be critical that pedestrian traffic is appropriately catered to in the planning process in order to promote pedestrianization on a large scale. The most popular measure to attract people in urban areas to adopt walking, as the preferred mode of travel for shorter distances, would be, the creation of well-defined pedestrian zones and dedicated pedestrian ways. Most of the central crowded areas, having high degree of traffic congestion/limited road space, offer best option for creating such zones. Core areas and walled cities need to be pedestrianized with appropriate planning and design options. Vehicles in the core areas could be discouraged by introducing metered parking with high parking charges prescribed. However, these areas need to be linked with an effective and efficient public transport system for providing high degree of accessibility. Pedestrian zone is the best option for improving the travel conditions and promoting safety for pedestrians in urban areas .Further, linking the major nodes of the city with efficient public transport and planning for pedestrians will help in rationalizing the traffic in the city. In addition, walking has enormous health related advantages. Besides promoting sustainability and livability in cities and towns, walking is known to help individuals in terms of reduced body fat, reduced obesity and lower blood pressure. It may also take less time than one thinks to reach your destination. Studies have shown that most people underestimate time taken, related to car journeys and overestimate the time it will take to walk. The average walking pace is six kilometers per hour and if one walks, there is no need to find a car bay on arrival. In Paris 53% of trips are made by walking, 3% by bicycle, 34% by public transport, and only 10% by car; and Ile-de-France region, where walking remains the most popular way of transportation and in Amsterdam, where 28% of trips are made by walking, 31% by bicycle, 18% by public transport and only 23% by car. Unless inconvenient, walking creates win-win situation for the individuals , communities, cities, climate and environment
Promoting Bi-Cycle Traffic
After pedestrianization, most preferred mode of travel should be bicycle. Besides being economical, flexible and environment friendly, bicycles are essentially zero emission vehicles (ZEV). In addition, cycling is also recognized as one of the healthiest transport mode for travelling short distances. Despite having distinct advantages, bicycles have been neglected, by both transport planners and communities, as least preferred mode of transportation. Its enormous potential remains unexplored. As per the data available, cycling still has the largest share of urban transport, not only in India but even in developed countries. In China highest priority is given to bicycles by creating express cycle-ways and creating exclusive lanes dedicated to the cycle traffic. Cycle lanes form integral part of city road network including the major arterial roads, in order to facilitate safe movement of bicycles in the urban centres. Majority of car trips of less than 5 kms can be conveniently made by bicycles, which can go a long way in reducing traffic problems in the urban areas. Most of the developed countries are now promoting use of bi-cycles for shorter trips and trips undertaken for education and shopping. However, in order to promote bi-cycle it would require the creation of dense network of bi-cycle lanes in cities including, all the major road network; creating a ring road around the most congested areas; preferential positioning of cyclist at the crossing and junctions; declaring certain roads as bicycle street; allowing cycling in pedestrian zones; creating bicycle stations; supervised parking lots; integrating cycling with other systems of transportation and connecting with important destinations including; schools, offices, industries, leisure etc. Copenhagen city is known for its bicycling culture and supporting infrastructure. Over the years ,city has created 388 kms of cycling routes catering to 50% of the city trips. In order to make city bi-cycle friendly, Copenhagen is putting in place a unique traffic system by the name, Green Wave ,which would ensure that cyclists will never encounter a red light during travel. Corbusier, in the planning of Chandigarh redefined the system of 7Vs to include 8bc for catering to two wheelers traffic , peculiar to the new city. However, the same was not been put in place and Chandigarh is suffering from major traffic problems. However, under smart city mission, dedicated cycle lanes have been added in the city.Promoting bicycle traffic would require launching public campaigns on regular basis to involve communities and people to use bicycles. However, technology related to cycle would also require upgradation on regular basis besides making cycle affordable and efficient. Despite all limitations, bi-cycle offers the best option, as cost-effective non-polluting, safe and energy efficient mode of urban transportation, occupying minimum road/public space to solve majority of urban traffic ills. Cycling like walking, also makes users happy and healthy besides decarbonizing the city. It is said that switching, from car to bi-cycle, a weekly ten kilometer journey, will help burn 300 calories of energy each way, besides saving 300 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions, on annual basis. In addition, peak hours trip, up to 10 kms, can be performed faster by bike, as compared to other means of transport ,when measured door to door, taking a time span of 15-30 minutes.
Making Public Transport more efficient
Public transport holds the key to rationalization of traffic demand in the metropolises and mega cities. However, despite enormous potential, public transport remains largely a neglected area and least preferred mode of transportation. Unfortunately, in India public transport has been considered a mode of travel largely used by poor or who do not own any vehicles. This has led to keeping the fares, low, leading to large resources going as subsidy to keep the system going. This approach needs rationalization and re-look. Low allocation of resources has been one of the major factors for perpetual neglect of public transport in the urban areas. Vesting power with the local authorities to run the public transport has emerged as the major bottleneck in its rational growth due to lack of knowledge, understanding and expertise besides availability of adequate manpower, technical and financial resources.
Making public transport a preferred mode of travel would require re-definition of the entire gamut/approach and framework of public transportation including its planning, operation and management. Promoting public transport would require putting in place higher frequencies; improved regularity; better safety; higher comfort; more effective communication with users; provision of new buses/trains/LRT systems besides competitive and easily comprehensible fare levels; dedicated right of way; prioritization at traffic lights and integration with other modes of traffic etc. Identification of potential corridors for mass transportation would help in rationalizing the traffic demand in urban centres. Use of eco-friendly mass transportation vehicles using non-polluting fuels (CNG) can usher a new era of sustainable transport in the urban centres , making them free from major problems of vehicular pollution. In addition to providing an efficient, effective, affordable and cost- effective means of transportation, public transport has been found to be highly effective in reducing road congestion and air pollution and accordingly requires higher priority. Considering different categories of clients, different travel options must be offered to divert people using cars/two wheelers to public transport. Promoting public transport on large scale would also involve creation of state of art infrastructure including improved bus stations/terminals; improved passenger information system; use of intelligent transport systems for monitoring and control; affordable ticket pricing; e-ticketing; using single ticket for all modes of travel making any number of changes; carrying out maintenance during the night and introducing comfortable buses (air conditioned buses) etc.
Study recently made by Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), has revealed that Delhi Metro, having daily ridership of 27 lakhs, has helped in replacing 3.9 lakh vehicles off the Delhi roads in 2014 besides saving Rs 10,364 crores in terms of fuel, pollution and passenger’s time. In absolute terms, the annual reduction in fuel consumption has been recorded at 2.76 lakh tonnes, as against the corresponding figures of the year 2011, besides bringing down the travel time of commuters by 32 minutes. In addition to promoting operational efficiency and making Delhi cleaner and green, study furthers states that metro has made the city safer by reducing the number of fatal accidents.
Ahmadabad BRTS has already demonstrated its strength in solving the traffic problems of the metropolis. Delhi metro has already achieved the mark of moving 2.7 million passengers in a single day and is now gearing to reach 6 million mark, when all the phases will be completed. Mumbai sub-urban trains have proved to be lifeline of the city to keep it running even in all adverse conditions. To effectively solve the problems of traffic, Copenhagen has developed world class public transport system from where all residents will be living within a distance of 400 metres to minimize use of private cars,to promote public transport. City of Chicago is also extending its suburban railway network to ensure that 75% of the city residents should have houses within a walking distance by 2040, under ‘Go to 2040’ plan to rationalize travel within the city.
Electric vehicle technology holds enormous potential to reduce transport CO2 emissions, depending on the embodied energy of the vehicle and the source of the electricity. Sourcing energy from non-conventional sources or using batteries , can help achieve the objective of low carbon emissions by such vehicles. In countries, with a significant share of coal in their electricity production, adaptation of electric vehicles has only a limited climate benefit. The climate benefits vary substantially and depend on the vehicle size, electricity emissions, driving patterns, and even the weather.Nissan LEAF, electric car in UK, having two batteries and advanced technologies (in 2019 ), produced one third of the greenhouse gases than the average internal combustion car. Electrical Bus has proved the efficacy and efficiency of electrical vehicles to make the urban transport sustainable. Thus, public transport has enormous potential, which needs to be carefully and thoughtfully exploited, explored and managed, to solve majority of the traffic problems of urban areas.
Equitable Allocation of Road Space
Indian transportation scenario is distinctly marked with multiplicity of vehicles occupying , sharing and competing for the common road space. In the absence of any clear allocations, road space occupation is largely governed by first come first serve basis. With focus on vehicles, majority of road space is being occupied by personalized vehicles that outnumber the other vehicles. This leads to high degree of congestion because of low capacity of these vehicles and squeezing of other vehicles out of the road space. Bus carrying more than 50 people, requiring merely 2.5 times the road space that is occupied by a car carrying 2-3 people, has very limited space available to move on urban roads. Disproportionate space allocation has invariably led to higher travel times and imposing higher travel cost. Majority of the people suffering from this paradigm belong to lower income groups.
The existing trend needs to be rationalized and an appropriate mechanism of rational allocation of road space needs to be immediately put in place. The focus of the road space allocation has to be based on equity and the carrying capacity of the vehicles in order to rationalize the traffic and minimize the congestion. It has to be redefined with focus shifting from being vehicle centric to the people centric. Vehicles carrying large commuters should be allocated more space in order to ensure their speedier movement. Further based on equity, all the modes of transportation should be given priority in terms of their carrying capacity. This objective can be achieved by reserving lanes and corridors exclusively for public transport, non- motorized modes of travel, high occupancy vehicle lanes, pedestrians and bicycles, depending upon their share in the overall traffic. However, preferential allocation to public transport and cyclists will help in diverting more traffic to these modes from personalized vehicles; leading to higher degree of operational efficiency and better capacity utilization of existing road network besides promoting sustainable transportation. Many cities in the world have used, successfully and effectively , the mechanism of reserving stretches of roads exclusively for the use of public transport to reduce congestion, air pollution and improving efficiency of rapid bus transit system. Istanbul dedicated 42 kms of existing road lanes for the newly introduced Bus Rapid Transit System. This helped in two fold increase in speed of buses as compared to other vehicles. With buses arriving at 30-45 second interval providing continuous service, city was able to effectively and efficiently move 6,20,000 passengers a day.
Traffic Calming
Traffic Calming is another concept being followed in developed countries to minimize the hazards of traffic, promote quality of life in urban centres and eliminate environmental pollution. Major elements involved in the concept are redesigning of streets and roads for a reduced vehicular speed not exceeding 30 kmph; giving priority to public transport; promoting pedestrianization and bi-cycle traffic; enhancing the social quality and vitality of cities; allocating large road space to vehicles other than personalized mode of travel; creating large green areas as integral part of transportation network; management of car traffic through routing, parking management, signaling etc. ; surveillance and sanctions besides communication and participation by the public. Feedback received from the communities, where the system was made operational, has given distinct appreciation of the concept in terms of reduced noise & air pollution besides promoting increased road safely and improved quality of life in all residential areas.
Road Pricing
Road pricing is a new concept which has been used effectively to rationalize traffic, minimize congestion , promote public transport , minimize use of personalized modes of travel, safeguard environment, reduce pollution and generate resources. Singapore has used the road pricing mechanism effectively to tackle the problem of congestion on city roads. It has put in place a, ‘Unique Electronic Road Pricing System’, which makes road users to pay a variable congestion charge, according to the prevailing traffic conditions and distance travelled. It not only generates revenue for the city government but also encourages drivers to take less congested roads. Levy of charges has discouraged use of personalized cars , promoted preference for carpooling and use of public transport. The system generated a revenue of $ 125 million in 2010
Creating Unified Transport Authority
Indian transportation scenario at the local level is distinguished by existence of multiplicity of authorities with overlapping areas of operations in large urban centres and absence of such agencies in the smaller towns. Both have led to a scenario which is highly chaotic. Available agencies, where created, lack in capacity, competency, expertise and requite manpower to study , analyze , plan , develop and manage the entire gamut of inter and intra-city traffic, with the result urban transport is being managed by proxy. This calls for creating a dedicated and unified agency for managing traffic and transportation at the state and local levels, in order to holistically address the problems, issues and traffic blues. The agency must be equipped with appropriate level of manpower, having in-depth and adequate knowledge and experience of peculiarities of urban traffic and provide solutions to solve them. Research and Development should be made integral part traffic planning, in order to bring innovations in traffic management.
Involving Technologies
Technology can play major role in rationalizing and planning the urban traffic. Unfortunately potential of technology has been used to a limited extent in India to manage traffic. In developed countries technology has been extensively leveraged for monitoring, planning and designing the transportation policies, and programs and their implementation. In addition, it has been used effectively to monitor the traffic conditions prevailing in the city and its various parts , to minimize the problems of congestion and to ensure smooth flow of traffic. Use of IT has also helped in generating valuable data for framing realistic and rational short and long term policies and programs, based on ground realities. Many countries have used cameras at intersections to optimize the traffic lights and cut transit time while reducing air pollution and cost of tackling it. In London, transport operator, ‘Transport for London’ has shared its data to encourage the development of service oriented apps such as ,Bus I T London’, which suggests best bus route for any journey in the city depending upon users location. Road Pricing mechanism evolved by Singapore has its genesis in the I T technology. Thus IT needs to be extensively and innovatively used in rationalizing , planning and managing urban traffic
.Recognizing and incentivizing Sustainable Transportation
Recognizing and incentivizing all good practices which lead to promoting sustainable transportation, on the analogy followed by the Government of India, can help in faster learning and putting in practices simple and cost-effective options for promoting sustainable transport systems at the local level in various cities in the country. Such awards try to showcase the options which can be exercised at the local level, demonstrating the efficacy and efficiency of various components involved in sustainable transportation. The award is given in recognition of putting in place simple, cost-effective, user-friendly and efficient transport facilities at the local level in various states and Union Territories of India. Recently, Ministry for Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, has recognized and awarded city of Kochi in the state of Kerala , for putting in place the most Sustainable Transport System. The award has been given in recognition of the projects implemented including, Kochi Metro, Water Metro (Water Connectivity with the same experience as metro) and E-mobility; to enhance the transport facilities in the city of Kochi. The creation of the Kochi Open Mobility Network, which digitized and integrated various transport facilities, also helped to win the award
Evolving Good Practices
Considering the role and importance of sustainable transport in minimizing the global warming, climate change, decarbonizing and reducing carbon footprints, international agencies , cities and countries are trying to evolve appropriate strategies and finding valid options to rationalize mobility and making travel supportive of the environment and ecology besides minimizing pollution caused by use and burning of fossil fuel in the transport sector. Various countries /cities are making transportation more sustainable in both long-term and short-term, by using both positive and negative methods of traffic planning, development and management involving;
· Ensuring that transport policies evolved , programs implemented and investments made , help in preserving and promoting quality of life and supporting sustainable development of communities , cities and nations on sustained basis.
· Putting in place appropriate legal framework to mandate transport agencies to consider sustainability issues and climate change impacts, as integral part of transport planning and operations,
· Recognizing the need to link sustainability and transport policies, by making cities integral part of the global network- of- Climate Protection program
· Focusing on people, environment and climate, rather than on vehicles
· Promoting , ‘Avoid-Shift-Improve Approach’, through incentivizing behavioral change.
· Changing options of travel, shifting people from using personalized mode of transport to mass / public transportation, cycling, and walking
· Prohibiting using cars in well-defined zones to restrict the number of cars and discourage people from using personal modes of travel.
· Reducing the number of vehicular trips to lower greenhouse gases emission.
· Improving public transport, through larger coverage of urban area in order to provide more mobility and accessibility,
· Using new technologies to make public transportation more reliable, responsive, comfortable, cost-effective, operationally efficient and safe.
· Encouraging walking and biking through the provision of wider pedestrian pathways, bike share stations , locating parking lots far from the shopping center, limiting on -street parking, creating slower traffic lane in central commercial area.
· Increasing the cost of car ownership and gas through increased parking fees, tolls and taxes , encouraging people to drive more fuel efficient vehicles and using revenue generated, for improving public transportation and empowering poor communities.
· Making sustainable transportation integral part of urban planning, development and management processes and practices.
· Incentivizing pedestrianization, bi-cycling and public transportation by making cities user friendly, on the analogy of Paris, Ile-de-France region, and Amsterdam , where majority of trips are performed by walking, bi-cycling, public transportation and very few by cars.
· Promoting integrated public transportation system , on the analogy followed by City of Jakarta’, by creating longest bus rapid transit in the world, , reached a milestone of serving one million passengers on daily basis, using a mechanism of dedicated lanes, connecting with smaller vehicles, local buses, informal microbuses ,serving a larger region not accessible otherwise, off- board fare collection, reliable, fast and frequent operations, avoiding traffic congestion and long lines to pay fare
· Making sustainable transportation integral part of daily living and part of teaching and learning for promoting a culture of cycling following the examples of cities like Copenhagen where 62% of people commute to school or work by bicycle
· Leveraging decentralization, for creating self-contained and self-sufficient communities/neighborhoods/cities within larger city.
· Included sustainability as a key consideration in transport and land use planning, based on the examples of cities like Curitiba, Brazil; Bogota, Colombia; Portland, Oregon; and Vancouver, Canada.
· Creating green highways to minimize the impact of vehicular pollution and promote sustainable transportation.
· Generating resources for promoting sustainable transportation through relying on user’s pay; levying fuel taxes; capturing land values; improving capacity of cities to generate resources; incentivizing private investment and leading by examples.
· Minimizing human loss of life by focusing on road accidents and transport induced air pollution by making adequate provisions of road safety as mandated in the UN decade of Action on Road Safety.
Conclusion
Transport is known to occupy centerstage in many prevailing environmental, economic, physical and social developmental challenges, accounting for about 64% of global oil consumption, 27% of all energy use, and 23% of the world’s energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, more than 7 million people lost their lives in the year 2019, due to traffic accidents and transport-induced air pollution, of which share of developing countries has been placed at 92%. With number of personalized vehicles recording highest growth and exhaust from cars and buses emerging as the largest contributor to the greenhouse gas emissions & promoter of global warming, it becomes critical that road transport, as a sector is focused more critically and objectively, with efforts put in place and strategies evolved to make the road transportation, more rational and sustainable.
Challenges posed by transportation sector remain both daunting and formidable. To overcome these challenges, options would clearly hinge on and making urban transport, environment/user friendly, cost-effective , efficient and sustainable. Sustainable urban transport would essentially calls for; shifting the daily commute from cars to environment friendly transport modes like public transport, walking, and bicycling; minimizing use of personalized vehicles; promoting non- mechanized/ non-fuel based options for travel; using public transport with large capacity run essentials on non-polluting fuels /electricity ; using state of art technologies to make vehicles zero-emission by using alternate eco-friendly fuel; making cities more compact to limit the need of mechanized travel; using land use planning to rationalize the travel pattern etc. It would also involve; use of information technologies, as one of the key mechanisms, to reduce travel by using homes as offices, schools, libraries etc. Using options of high density development for making cities more compact can also be considered as a distinct option for minimizing travel demand of the city. However, creating sustainable urban transport would require a multi- pronged strategy, based on leveraging the advantages of all modes of travel, involving communities and stakeholders besides actively involving professionals engaged in urban/transport planning, development and management. Increased use of environment- friendly public transport systems and halting of urban sprawl in cities can substantially reduce emissions and make cities cleaner, greener and sustainable. Sustainable transport can help save nations lot of resources and money, reduce environmental footprints, minimize global warming & climate change and provide dividends in terms of improved individual health , to make this world more heathy, happy, sustainable place to live and work.
Studies made and reports published by UNO, has concluded that, transportation remains the major consumer of energy and generator of greenhouse gas emissions . Generating close to a quarter of energy-related global greenhouse gas emissions, with emissions projected to grow substantially and exponentially in the years to come, transport would be playing critical role in making this world sustainable. Accordingly, transportation and mobility have been reckoned to be central and critical to achieve sustainable development, improve urban air quality and health, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Sustainable transportation has also been recognized for its capacity to enhance economic growth and improve accessibility; achieve better integration of the economy while respecting the environment, improving social equity, ensuring health and resilience of cities, bonding urban-rural linkages and improving productivity of rural areas.
High Level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport (HLAG-ST), set up in the year 2104 by the UN Secretary General, representing all modes of transport including road, rail, aviation, marine, ferry, and urban public transport providers, has recommended the need for prioritizing sustainable transport and mobility across the globe. Report states that transport system has critical role to play in making cities and human settlements, safe, resilient and sustainable and calls for strengthening efforts to provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all including children, persons with disabilities , women and older people. It also places transport across several sectors, especially those related to food security, health, energy and economic growth, infrastructure,
Following the mandate given in the SDG11, calling for promoting an affordable and sustainable transport, globally all nations must immediately come out with an agenda and a vision based on carbon neutrality, on the pattern evolved by Hyundai Motor Company, which approaches and makes a call to all stakeholders, ‘ To make commitment to realize emissions-free mobility as a fundamental human right; doing the best things for humanity and society to lead towards a better and sustainable future; proactively promoting a paradigm shift towards electrification and creating a hydrogen based society for bringing sustainability. Stakeholders in general and corporate sector in particular ,must be made more active when responding to climate change, with a strong sense of responsibility and journey towards sustainability must continue for the sake of humanity and generations to come. Nations must move beyond mobility towards creating a sustainable future based on hydrogen fuel-cell technology by adopting an integrated approach’.
Besides meeting the sustainable development goals, sustainable transport is known for its distinct and numerous social and economic benefits for the communities, cities, environment and ecology. Studies made and analysis carried out by Low Emission Development Strategies Global Partnership (LEDS GP) has concluded that; Sustainable transport can help create large number of jobs; improve commuter safety through investment in bicycle lanes and pedestrian pathways; reduce use of fossil fuel on large scale; minimize adverse balance of trade; minimize pollution and congestion, making cities walkable; and spongy; saving cities from flooding; making access to employment and social opportunities more affordable and efficient besides decarbonizing cities and making urban settlements more livable and sustainable. Sustainable transportation also offers a practical opportunity and simple method of saving people's time, improving people’s health increasing household income and making cities great places for happy, healthy and more productive living besides making investment in sustainable transport, a 'win-win' option and opportunity for all stake holders.’ Decabonising, Carbon Neutrality and Zero-Carbon shall remain the agenda to redefine, promote and achieve the sustainable transportation in urban areas and to achieve the mandate/goals given in SDG11.
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- Note’; All images are sourced through google.com, which are gratefully and sincerely appreciated and acknowledged. They are used to illustration the text.
Author;
**Jit Kumar Gupta
Former Advisor, Town Planning Punjab Urban Development Authority
#344, Sector 40-A, Chandigarh-160036
mail- jit.kumar1944@gmail.com,