Commute

On 12th July, I boarded the last train from Thane station to Koparkhairane, where I live. The train was scheduled to reach at about 12:30 am. I travel regularly by local train, but I still avoid catching the last train. However, the nature of my freelancing work makes it unavoidable sometimes. The train stopped between stations, just after Ghansoli station for almost 20 minutes. It was well past midnight. Only one more woman was travelling in the compartment along with her child.  We waited patiently for the first 10 minutes, but when we saw no signs of the train moving, the…

Chennai’s bus operator Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) has a staggering 504 driver vacancies, 75 conductor vacancies and 246 technical positions unfilled as of May 2023, while the oldest bus in the fleet is an ancient 17.4 years, data obtained under the Right to Information Act shows. The MTC recently emerged shaken from prolonged litigation in the Madras High Court, as people with disabilities sought to assert their right to accessible buses under the law (Sec. 41 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and the Harmonised Guidelines of the Union government), and wanted the bus corporation to procure…

After being confined within the four walls of her house all her life, Neetu Mehta, finally ventured out on her own, six months ago. “Basic transport accessibility is the bare minimum anyone can ask for, in the pursuit of growth and equal opportunities,” says Neetu, who has been travelling by Mumbai’s local train in her wheelchair, with great difficulty and help from fellow commuters. A fever during her infancy had left her legs with irregular development, a condition that changed her life. The risks and uncertainties while using public transport to reach places, and the pressure of being a burden…

Dear  Smt. Manjula V, Commissioner, Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) Smt. G. Sathyavathi, Managing Director, Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC)  This is with reference to a webinar held by Citizen Matters, Bengaluru, on what makes commuters choose cars and bikes over buses and metro and how this can change. The webinar, titled ‘‘Why not public transport?’, was held on July 21, 2023.  The panellists included experts, Srinivas Alavilli, Fellow, Integrated Transport and Road Safety, World Resources Institute (WRI) India; Shreya Satish Mokhashi, Assistant Urban Planner at Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT); Jayenkumar Desai, Head of Strategy and Transformation…

Everyday, around 40 lakh passengers use the bus and about five lakh people travel by Namma Metro. Yet, there is some hesitancy, in Bengaluru, to choose buses and metro over cars and bikes. To understand why this is the case and how it can change, Citizen Matters, Bengaluru, organised a webinar 'Why not public transport?' The panellists included Srinivas Alavilli, Fellow, Integrated Transport and Road Safety, World Resources Institute (WRI) India; Shreya Satish Mokhashi, Assistant Urban Planner at Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT); Jayenkumar Desai, Head of Strategy and Transformation VMware Software India Pvt Ltd; and Lalithamba BV, a…

சிடிஸன் கன்சூமர் அண்ட் சிவிக் ஆக்ஷன் குரூப் (சிஏஜி) மூத்த ஆய்வாளரான சுமனா நாராயணன், 2003 ஆம் ஆண்டு சென்னையில் நான்கு சக்கர வாகனம் ஓட்டுவதற்கான உரிமம் பெற விரும்பியபோது, ​​ஓட்டுநர் தேர்வில் தேர்ச்சி பெற, அவர் சாலையில் குறைந்தது 300 மீட்டர் ஓட்ட வேண்டும். .  திருவான்மியூர் வட்டாரப் போக்குவரத்து அலுவலகம் (ஆர்டிஓ) பின்புறம் உள்ள குறுகலான தெருவில் காரை ஓட்டி, போக்குவரத்து சிக்னலில் காரை நிறுத்திவிட்டு, இடதுபுறம் திரும்பி, மேலும் 200 மீட்டர் தூரம் ஓட்டும்படி சுமனாவிடம் கூறப்பட்டது.  "என்னுடைய பெற்றோரின் தலைமுறையில், சென்னையில் ஓட்டுநர் உரிமம் பெறுவதற்கு வாகனம் நிறுத்துவதற்கு கூட அவர்கள் சோதனை செய்யப்பட்டனர்," என்று அவர் கூறுகிறார். இரண்டு தசாப்தங்களுக்குப் பிறகு, திருவான்மியூரில் ராம்* அதே ஆர்டிஓவில் ஓட்டுநர் சோதனைக்குச் சென்றபோது, ​​அவர் 100 மீட்டர் மட்டுமே ஓட்ட வேண்டியிருந்தது.  "இது ஒரு நேர் கோடாக இருந்தது. முந்தைய விண்ணப்பதாரரால் கார் இன்ஜின் ஏற்கனவே ஆன்…

“When I was looking through tweets of someone asking for suggestions on how to get to the airport for a midnight flight, I saw most comments suggesting they go early and wait at the airport. I found that ridiculous. Does one have to struggle so much for safety?” questions Bhuvana Rani. Today, Bhuvana is an advocate by day and a cab driver by night. She joined GoPink Cabs in 2016, and enjoys her job. “When people take our cabs, we see that their families are relieved since safety is ensured. Many solo passengers sleep peacefully throughout the ride and nothing…

“It is extremely stressful to cross the Guindy race course stretch to get on to the foot over bridge (FoB) from the Guindy bus stop and board the metro at the Guindy Metro station or an EMU, especially during peak traffic hours in the morning and evening,” says G Nandini, a college student, who uses buses and the Metro to travel to her college in Teynampet.  While the new foot over bridge was a welcome addition to the area that was meant to help pedestrians, the design falls short of serving its complete purpose. The new FoB inaugurated in January…

Bengaluru City Traffic Police, as reported by the media, has initiated steps to book those guilty of three major offences -- driving or riding against the flow of traffic, riding on the footpath, and wrongful parking under Section 283 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Although the news reports did not elicit much reaction from an apathetic public, the change in policy has the potential to harm citizens by inflicting devastating consequences for relatively minor infractions. What is Section 283? Section 283 deals with “doing any act, or by omitting to take order with any property in his possession or…

When the first rains lashed Mumbai in the last week of June, the Andheri subway was flooded, waterlogged and completely shut. This is the best alternative to the now-closed Gopal Krishna Gokhale bridge for East-West connectivity. Gokhale bridge closed last year after it was found to be structurally weak. "Difficulties have multiplied, because of the delay in construction of the Gokhale bridge. It creates havoc in Vile parle, Andheri and Jogeshwari because of the unending traffic snarls, says Vinod Cherian, a daily commuter.  The Gokhale bridge, which closed in November 2022, was supposed to open, at least partially by May…