Commute

வண்ணாரப்பேட்டை டெக்ஸ்டைல் பார்க்குக்குள் நுழையும் பகுதி - பரபரப்பான காலை, சாலையின் இருபுறமும் மின்னல் வேகத்தில் கடந்து செல்லும் வாகனங்கள், எதையோ தொலைத்துவிட்டு திரிவதை போல உம்மென்று ஹெட்செட்டில் மூழ்கியிருக்கும் மனிதர்கள் - இவற்றுக்கிடையே ஒரு தடவைக்கு வெறும் 30 நொடிகளை மட்டுமே வாய்ப்பாக அளித்திருக்கும் சிக்னல் விளக்கை பார்த்த படி சாலையை தன் கைகளாலேயே தவழ்ந்து கடக்கவேண்டும் என்கிற வரத்தோடு சாலையை கடக்க தயார் நிலையில் இருக்கும் ஒரு தவழும் மாற்றுத்திறனாளியை இன்று சந்தித்தேன். அவருடனான உரையாடலின் ஒரு பகுதி. வாழ்வாதாரம் தேடி அண்ணே ‘வணக்கம்’ என கூறி என்னை அறிமுகப்படுத்திக் கொண்டதுடன், என்ன வேலை செய்றீங்க? எங்கிருந்து வரீங்க? என அவருடனான எனது உரையாடலை தொடங்கினேன். நான் தீவுதிடல் பக்கத்துல இருக்குற திடீர் நகர் பகுதியில தான் பொறந்து வளந்தேன் தம்பி. நான் மட்டும் இல்ல எங்க தாத்தா காலத்துல இருந்து அங்கதான் இருந்தோம். சின்னவயசில இருந்தே இளம்பிள்ளை…

"Irrespective of them (Ola-Uber) increasing or decreasing the prices, our commission margin doesn't change, we haven't made any profit from the surged charges on these platforms," says 28-year-old AS Mantelingu, an auto driver with Snehajeevi Chalakara Sanghatane. Mantelingu's commission is dependent on the trip essayed from point A to point B, out of which the ride-hailing apps would take 25% of his earnings per trip. He gets money only for picking up and dropping commuters, not the surcharges imposed by the apps during peak hours or rainy days. Mantelingu complains of 'dead mileage', which is the cost of driving to…

On September 23 2022, a seven-year-old boy was killed when the battery of the Electric Vehicle (EV), which his father had kept for charging, exploded on him at their Vasai residence. While this unfortunate incident led to the loss of an innocent life, electric vehicle fires have been regularly reported in newspapers raising concerns about EV safety. Exact figures of EV vehicles (cars and bikes) catching fire or their batteries exploding are not available for Mumbai. Earlier, fire in a Tata Nexon EV at Vasai on June 23, 2022 had prompted the Union government to issue notices to all EV…

Kalyani, a fruit vendor in Anna Nagar, had often seen the rows of cycles stationed by the side of the road, which people would come, unlock and ride away on. She had heard that this was a public bike sharing facility available to citizens and was eager to try it out. It really would help her in her commute. But sadly, she had little help in figuring out how the whole system worked. "I was interested in trying it out," she says, "but there were no instructions in Tamil at the spots (docking stations) on how to access these bikes.…

The road accident, in which  former Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry and another passenger, Jehangir Pandole, were killed, was widely reported in the media as it involved a famous businessman. The car was travelling on the state highway in Maharashtra's Palghar district at high speed and hit a divider. The accident also severely injured the driver and the co-passenger in the front, but they survived because they were wearing seatbelts, while Cyrus Mistry and Jehangir Pandole weren’t. The importance of wearing seatbelts for rear seat passengers was highlighted in the news as it is a safety precaution that is either…

Chennai’s high ranking in the annual National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data on road accidents has been a cause for concern in recent years. The city has seen over 5000 road accidents in 2021. It stands second behind Delhi in terms of road accident fatalities.  What makes Chennai’s roads so unsafe? Is it poor road design? Lack of adherence to traffic rules? Is poor enforcement also a factor in the increasing number of road accidents? Citizen Matters organised a tweet chat with experts who weighed in on why Chennai’s roads have turned into a death trap and what can be…

Good mobility relies on a number of measures – urban planning, transportation planning and traffic flow control. This section explores various measures related to urban planning. This multi-part series examines the measures needed to sustain and improve urban mobility. For a detailed discussion on each measure, check the following guides: Part 1: Urban planning measures (this article) Part 2: Transportation planning measures  Part 3: Traffic control measures Also see: An action agenda for better mobility The article How to make Bengaluru traffic jams go away analyses these measures in the context of Bengaluru. Half the battle is won when a…

Chennai has seen the most number of road accidents in 2021. 5034 road accidents occurred in the city, as per the NCRB’s 2021 report, which was 9.1% of the total number of road accidents in 53 metropolitan cities.  Moreover, Chennai stands second in road accident fatalities, with 998 deaths, among the metro cities, following Delhi.  What else does the NCRB data say? Major reasons for road accident deaths include overspeeding and careless driving/overtaking. More men between the age of 30 and 45 have died in accidents in Chennai, compared to women and trans people. Drivers of two-wheelers suffered more road accidents,…

Everyone in Mumbai has an anecdote about their time on the road; a pothole on a speed breaker, complete journeys done in first gear, magically cleared roads at the arrival of a VIP, and so on. Some of these stories of frustration and rage poured out in the Twitter Spaces event, organised by Citizen Matters, “Stuck on the road: The causes and fixes to traffic in Mumbai.” Held on September 13th, Citizen Matters invited citizen groups, experts, researchers and concerned Mumbaikars to share their two cents on how to address congestion in the city. With panellists well versed in diagnosing and…

Mumbai's urban population is estimated at 12 million as per the available data. As the city continues to expand, more buildings crop up, and migration continues to increase. Increasing migration for better work opportunities has caused a spurt in commercial establishments. The city is connected by an extensive rail transportation system, with trains carrying 2.6 times more passengers than their capacity. Deaths and accidents are a daily occurrence in crowded trains as people have no option but to hang on the footboard of the train to reach their workplace. Traffic in Mumbai is unmanageable. Roads, including highways, freeways, smaller lanes…