Cleaning Capital’s Air: The Problem is Pollution, Not Congestion

Meena Agarwal offers a few suggestions to the government as it ensures that we are able to breathe safely in Delhi.

• Delhi’s air quality has reached dangerous levels.
  
• Experience from around the world indicates that adding to road capacity has never improved the congestion problem.
  
• Despite having a good metro, we just don’t seem to have enough buses to complement it.
  
• The odd-even number plate experiment in Delhi, with all its related issues, is a desperate measure.
  
• Key message from this initiative is that we must reduce the number of motor vehicles on our roads.
  

Delhi’s air quality has reached dangerous levels. The incidence of pulmonary diseases has gone up and the government is looking at desperate ways of easing the situation. The judiciary and the Green Tribunal have been taking a close look at things and trying to ensure that the Government does not slacken.

I am not an urban transport expert but I have had the benefit of listening to several intense conversations amongst global experts. Also, as a long term resident of this city, one who drives regularly, there are a few things I have come to believe. I am putting across a few suggestions that would merit consideration of the Government and the judicial system as they work hard to ensure we are able to breathe safely in the city.

De-Congesting Roads

First and foremost, let us recognise that the key problem we are battling just now is not congestion but pollution. While congestion may delay us on the roads by a few minutes (or even hours), pollution could ensure that we never reach our destinations. A recent draft report by the Ministry of Urban Development on its website for decongesting Delhi suggested addition of a huge network of new roads, expressways and underpasses to the city. But creating more road space would really be counter-productive.

Experience from around the world indicates that adding to road capacity has never improved the congestion problem. In fact, it leads to further pollution because more roads only mean more vehicles and more auto exhaust. Leading newspapers in Delhi have also written at length about the need to improve public transport and not build more roads in the city.

Improving State of Public Transport

We have invested a huge amount on the Delhi Metro which operates and covers over 200 kms. However, any potential metro-user must be able to access it safely and easily. Currently, access to the Delhi Metro requires wading through a mess of auto-rickshaws, cycle rickshaws and what not.

Across the world, access to such systems is smooth and easy. Whether it is the excellent signage in Beijing, the common fare card for the bus and metro in Seoul (so you do not have to pay a second time, let alone stand in a queue to buy a second ticket.), or the mini-bus in Washington, there are models we can borrow from other cities.

Last Mile Connectivity

In several cities there is direct access from office buildings or residential complexes directly to the metro station. Why have we not been able to do this with the Delhi metro? I know of several commuters who have tried using the metro and had to resort to cars/scooters due to lack of last mile connectivity.

Buses are an extremely important part of the public transport system since they expand it without the huge capital cost associated with metros. However, in Delhi we have only about 5000 of them whereas Beijing, with about the same population, has 25,000. So despite having a good metro, we just don’t seem to have enough buses to complement it.

Synchronising Modes of Transport

Then there is the task of ensuring that the metro and the bus work in a synchronised manner. Given that in Delhi, the smallest aspect of interface between Central Government and the State Government is fraught with strain, there is a clear need for a specialised, independent body to do that.

In Singapore, the Land Transport Authority does the synchronisation. In London, Transport for London does it. But in Delhi there no such entity. Multiple agencies function in isolation and do not coordinate.

Matters are further complicated by the fact that transport needs in Delhi cut across Haryana and UP as well.

Knee-Jerk Response

The National Capital Region Planning Board that is supposed to cater to a larger, regional jurisdiction does not seem to be in the picture. Planning seems to be only catering to the movements within Delhi whereas a sizeable portion of the travel is between Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad and Delhi. In the absence of a good system linking the suburbs with the main city, the usage of cars will only rise unabatedly.

Traffic during rush hours between Delhi and Gurgaon, despite the metro connectivity, is a testimony to this. The situation is equally bad when travelling to Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad.

We are only looking at knee-jerk responses when it comes to the ability to breathe in Delhi. The odd-even number plate experiment in Delhi, with all its related issues, is a desperate measure and even a modicum of success will bring some amount of relief to the capital. But the key message from this initiative is that we must reduce the number of motor vehicles on our roads and it is better to do so than to build more expressways and underpasses.

(The writer is a former bureaucrat)