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To an outsider Delhi might seem like a well-connected city with a metro that covers 160 stations, roads that cater to one crore registered vehicles, including 31 lakh cars and 5,500 DTC buses. However, a 2012 study by the Urban Development Ministry had found that:
Public transport is the lifeline for a city like Delhi with a population of 1.67 crore (as per the Census 2011) and the AAP government seems to have faltered on several fronts as far as the means of conveyance is concerned.
From 2015 to 2017, there appears to be a substantial decrease in the allocation of Budget for buses, be it low floor or those belonging to the cluster scheme (that includes plying of 1,650 buses belonging to private companies).
This trend is disturbing since Delhi, despite being the capital city, can’t boast of last-mile connectivity, with experts claiming that there are many ‘transit deserts’ (referring to areas with few options for travel) in the city’s outskirts, which are yet to be connected by public transport.
According to Srinivas Kodali, a researcher working on ‘Intelligent Transportation Systems and Cities,’ Delhi still needs more buses:
In November 2017, the Supreme Court had directed the Centre to formulate a plan and ensure that as many as 10,000 buses are procured by the end of 2018. The Court’s order came after a report by the EPCA (Environment Pollution Control Authority) had raised concerns in April last year about the quality of air in Delhi. It was suggested that focus should shift on boosting public transport so that the reliance on private cars is reduced.
Talking about the efforts of the Delhi government on this front, AAP spokesperson Ashutosh told The Quint:
Sources in the Delhi Transport Corporation, however, counter such notion, attributing the slow pace of procurement to stringent bidding procedure, they are of the view that “the AAP government has not procured any bus till date.”
A report by the Centre for Science and Environment (dated 23 November 2017) suggests that under the cluster scheme, in partnership with private players, a total of 203 buses were procured between 2015 to 2016. The question is if that number is sufficient for a city like Delhi.
Experts like Srinivas Kodali are skeptical about the AAP government achieving the target of 10,000 buses:
A PTI (Press Trust of India) report, dated 17 December 2017, suggests that the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) suffers a monthly loss of about Rs 9 crore. Inability of the buses to complete the scheduled 38,000 trips per day due to traffic jams was cited as the reason behind low operational efficiency.
Speaking to The Quint, former Managing Director of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Upendra Tripathy shared the success mantra that had transformed the BMTC into a profit-making venture during his stint between 2003 to 2008.
Elaborating on key changes introduced at the policy level, Upendra Tripathy said:
According to Tripathy, it’s the equation between various stakeholders – the state, Centre and the officials of the municipal transport corporations which will help in increasing the EPKM (Earning per km of a bus operation) in the long-run.
With a group of students protesting the Delhi Metro fare hike on 8 February, all doesn’t seem to be well with the ‘lifeline’ of the city. Despite Kejriwal requesting the Centre to reconsider the decision taken by the Fare Fixation Committee, Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Puri had said in October last year that doing so would be “legally untenable”.
Barring the legal issues, the double Metro fare revision that took place in 2017 have not gone down well with commuters in Delhi. While this adds to the burden of buses, experts feel the AAP government has not been able implement policies that can maximise revenue.
According to Dr PK Sarkar, Delhi should ideally have a central body, a Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) on the lines of Singapore, that can bring DTC and DMRC on a common platform and ensure greater coordination between various transport undertakings.
Unmindful of the need of the hour, Delhi government continues to blame the Centre for posing hurdles. Last week, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia lashed out at the Centre for not approving the state government’s request for electric buses.
While the AAP government may be way behind in achieving the target of 10,000 buses, Kejriwal-led government began the process of granting permits to 10,000 autorickshaws in November 2017, as was promised in the Budget last year. With autorickshaw drivers forming a substantial vote bank for the party, perhaps it’s not hard to understand why the government is leaving no stone unturned when it comes to appeasement even as public transport across the capital is in dire state.
As Delhi gasps for breath and environmentalists continue to raise the alarm, the AAP government has so far failed to present a roadmap for course correction.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)
Published: 11 Feb 2018,08:10 AM IST