Commute

Mumbaikars are demanding that the city, especially the suburban trains be opened up for all as numbers drop to 259 new cases as on 2 August.  Many delegations were taken to the government demanding more relaxations on commute, to save livlihoods and revitalize the economy.  On 2 August, the state government relaxed certain restrictions and extending working hours of all shops - essential and non-essential -  till 10PM in Mumbai. They also allowed private offices and sporting facilities excluding swimming, to be fully open. Salons, gyms were open earlier but their timings have been extended. However, the one demand the…

For the first time in the history of Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking is facing a huge shortage of buses. Once considered the pride of Mumbai and Asia’s best bus service, and often compared with London, it is now in poor shape. BEST bus passenger figures Back in 2004-05, BEST had 3,400 buses in its fleet and carried 45 lakh passengers every day. Priority was given to feeder routes catering to the nearest railway station, and long distance routes were fewer. Things went downhill from 2010, when the first fare hike happened. Subsequent fare hikes in…

In 2019, the Tamil Nadu government gave a serious push to green mobility, when the erstwhile Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami flagged off two electric buses in Chennai for a trial run. This was in fact the second attempt, after an earlier trial run conducted in July 2017, again with a trial test for an electric bus. In 2019, the buses, operated by Ashok Leyland, plied on two routes — Chennai Central to Thiruvanmiyur and Koyambedu to Broadway routes. The three-month trial was completed in late 2019. But since then, Chennaiites have not seen any major progress on the electric bus…

Looking at Chennai's roads, one would wonder if the roads in Indian cities are designed only for motorised vehicles. Two wheelers and four wheelers account for 90% of the total vehicle fleet pushing users of public transport, pedestrians and cyclists to the margins even though the majority of trips are made by them. The civic administration in Chennai woke up late to this issue. It began constructing footpaths in several parts of the city. And I decided to get a feel of these footpaths to see how comfortable it is to walk on them. What better place to experience than to…

India’s cities are dealing with an array of complex challenges that have arisen from growing rates of urbanisation, population, motorisation and wealth disparity. They have been consistently ranked as the world’s most congested and polluted cities, which has led to high annual traffic deaths and extremely dangerous levels of particulate matter, on top of lost economic potential. These circumstances, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, in all its calamity, have the effect of bringing to the fore the benefits that cycling can offer in terms of local economic recovery, healing mental and physical health, reinforcing social connections in our communities…

With Bengaluru becoming the most traffic-congested city in the world in 2020, mass transit is the key ingredient for a sustainable, low carbon footprint future and the only solution to decongest Bengaluru's roads. However, the perception that cost effective transport options are primarily for use by the economically weaker section of the society, is a big worry.  The extensive bus network of Bengaluru, with a fleet size of over 6775 buses, is the largest in India, and among the 20 largest in the world. Why then is it not leveraged as a solution to its traffic congestion? Even with the…

Pandemic or no pandemic, when it comes to urban mobility especially in cities like Bengaluru, the reality is that the private vehicle is here to stay, whether powered by petrol or electricity, and along with it, traffic jams. But even if public transport buses and Metros were running normally, is it possible to determine the factors that affect an individual's choice of a particular mode of transport? If such factors are identified, they could then be included in public decision-making. For example, if it is determined that distance to a transit station is the key factor in people using cars,…

In Part 1 of this series, we saw how BMTC's ridership is affected by the corporation's slashing of services post COVID. In this part, we explore how BMTC can sustain services in these difficult times, despite its severe losses. Across the world, public transport corporations are reeling under losses during COVID. There is hardly a corporation that is recovering without government support, say transport experts. Dr Ashish Verma, Associate Professor, Transportation Systems Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science, has been reviewing case studies on the topic from across the world. "The experience is similar everywhere. As long as there…

Afeena, a domestic worker, does not commute by BMTC bus anymore. Ever since COVID's onset, bus services to her workplace has reduced so much that she is forced to either walk nearly 4 km or hire an autorickshaw every day. The recent BMTC staff strike cut off public transport in the city, but even before this, many loyal BMTC commuters had been affected after the corporation reduced its services due to COVID-induced revenue losses. According to the data BMTC shared with this reporter, in March end (before the staff strike), BMTC was running only 5,320 buses out of its fleet…

For Santhana Selvan, an IT professional, cycling began as a part time hobby, just a few trips to nearby destinations to run errands. From those days to the beginning of April 2021, when he took over as the Bicycle Mayor of Hyderabad, it has been a long journey. One in which he has evolved from just another enthusiastic biker to one who feels deeply about the need to spread the culture and practice of cycling among a much larger section of people.  The challenges in a city like Hyderabad, where the conditions are not particularly amenable, are vast. But in…