Commute | Citizen Matters

What cities pushing for bicycle sharing must learn from Bhopal’s not-so-smart experiment

September 25, 2019 Shuriah Niazi

Two years back, Bhopal’s automated bicycle sharing programme was launched amid much fanfare as one of its smart city projects. However, the scheme has seen lukewarm response at best and the factors behind this need careful attention.

Can Mumbai metro or monorail save the day as monsoon submerges the suburban lines?

September 8, 2019 Jahanvi J

Thousands of crores have been spent on these two public transport projects, but as rains throw usual life out of gear, can they really provide effective alternatives or support to the Mumbai locals, the lifeline for commuters in the city?

Mitigating the curse of the car in Indian cities

September 2, 2019 Dattatraya T Devare

On one hand, there is a thirst for bigger and more expensive cars. On the other, there is the state’s inability to provide strong enough disincentives and efficient alternatives. Together these are destroying our cities and our communities slowly but steadily. What is the way out?

The gaps in public transport that are pushing people towards private vehicles

August 27, 2019 Dattatraya T Devare

Citizens look for mainly three factors when it comes to public transportation: efficiency, accessibility, and affordability. Sadly, Indian cities have been ignoring all three, leading to an explosion of private vehicles on our streets and all the associated problems.

Yeh dil maange more: Kolkata, New Town love their e-buses, but more needed for impact

August 22, 2019 Gurvinder Singh

40 electric buses planned for 11 routes in Kolkata were pressed into service earlier this year, while the satellite town of New Town has been successfully running 3 e-buses for more than one year. How have they been faring and what’s in the offing?

Delhi, Mumbai or Bengaluru, our cities treat pedestrians as second class citizens

August 21, 2019 Dattatraya T Devare

In 2018, pedestrians comprised more than 50% fatalities on Mumbai streets; the numbers for Delhi and Bangalore stood at 44% and 40%. Our streets have turned into a battlefield between cars and citizens, and citizens almost always lose.

Where cars are king and pedestrians their slaves

August 17, 2019 Dattatraya T Devare

Thanks to lack of political will and unfortunate US-style aspiration, we have arrived at a sad state of affairs as far as urban mobility is concerned. In this first of a four-part series, the author explains the latent inequality and hierarchy in our city streets.

Do we really need an airport in Noida at the cost of 63 wetlands?

August 7, 2019 Kanchan Srivastava

Over 63 wetlands and habitats of Sarus cranes, peacocks and blackbucks will be affected by the construction of the Noida International Greenfield Airport, just 70 km away from New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.

12 years and 1100 crores behind it, Pune BRTS fails to solve commuter woes

July 25, 2019 Ekta Joshi

Flawed design, poor implementation, and the near absence of a centralized authority has left the bus rapid transit system in shambles, with infrequent buses, shabby and ailing infrastructure, and road mishaps on these corridors being the norm.

Report card: How charged up are electric buses in Indian cities?

July 18, 2019 Revathi Siva Kumar

In June, the government called for proposals from state transport departments for deployment of 5,000 electric buses, to be supported under the FAME-II scheme; but how close are our cities to realising that vision?

Will Kochi’s new integrated transport system be more friendly towards people with disabilities?

July 6, 2019 Nelda Tomy

A recent survey undertaken as part of an academic project brought to light the woes of people with disabilities in Kochi when it came to commute. A look at what needs to be done to make the city transport system more inclusive

Seven action items that could make India’s electric mobility vision a reality

June 28, 2019 Pawan Mulukutla

The push from the government for electrification of mobility in our cities has been unmistakable, and several cities/states have started deploying EVs in public transport services. But to scale up the adoption of EVs across the board, some more action is needed on these fronts.

With just around 2.5 lakh passengers a day, is Hyderabad Metro failing the test?

June 14, 2019 Kolla Krishna Madhavi

The city’s largest infrastructure project ever, Hyderabad Metro was expected to carry about 17 lakh passengers per day by 2017. But with only two partly operational lines, slow expansion and poor last mile connectivity, the targets appear elusive and raise many questions about the project itself.

Lip service for women commuters: The tale of Dimapur’s ‘Pink Bus’

June 12, 2019 Ninglun Hanghal

Launched in 2018 with the express aim of facilitating safe and comfortable commute for women, the Pink bus services have neither lived up to their original promise, nor made any significant difference to the overall fleet of public bus transport.

Sustainable traffic solutions missing in campaign discourse as Bengaluru eyes one crore vehicles

April 15, 2019 Vimal Simha

As election discourse heats up, many political parties promise to make urban mobility, public transport key areas of focus. But do they walk the talk? What does the proposal for an elevated corridor in Bengaluru say about the search for sustainable mobility solutions?