Pay 300% more to park in ‘popular’ areas

Indian Express: "However, BMC's improvements committee chairman and BJP corporator Ram Barot said, "The rise in parking cost will probably push people to use public transport. This will reduce traffic in congested areas.""

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Urban transport should focus on moving people, not cars

The Times of India: ""There are some wrong notions that are being followed in highly urbanised cities where traffic and mobility planning are done from the point of view of vehicles instead of the people using it for walking or riding a cycle," said Enrique Penalosa, former mayor of Bogota while addressing the delegates at the seminar.

The experts from ITDP pointed out that road-widening and setting up additional parking space were not the proper solutions to decongest the city streets. Highlighting the case of Janmarg Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in Ahemdabad, a similar transport model was recommended from the ITDP panel at the seminar. They also added that it would also reduce the number of private cars plying on the city streets as more people would eventually start to opt for public transport.
"

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Poor #publictransit hurts women

Amritsar: Inefficient transport system adds to womens' woes. - Hindustan Times: "At present, the public transport system in the city is grossly inadequate and inefficient.

This underlines the need of a consistent and safe mode of transport, both for tourists and local residents.
Though proposals to launch a synchronised system of transport have been made in the past, these have failed to see the light of the day with the authorities concerned failing to implement them."

We need better public transport, not bicycle paths

Hindustan Times: "This is not say that we should not demand better conditions for bicycle users. However, given prevailing social attitudes, this cannot be the answer to environmental problems. What we need is better  — far better — public transport facilities, and, to cast a challenge to the bicycle-as-leisure brigade to use these and become genuinely involved in public life.

This, however, will require a great change in the way we think about social life."

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Coal supply problems in India show how fossil fuels require massive infrastructure

India and Coal Economy Collapse | The Energy Collective: "To understand the depth and extent of the Indian coal bubble you have to first understand the country's unique problem: Despite sitting on the world’s 5thlargest supply of coal it can't secure affordable coal supplies. That's because the country can't mine coal fast enough, and has failed to expand transportation infrastructure (largely railways) to move coal where it needs to be (the power plants). The resulting supply crunch is so acute that power plants operators and Coal India have fought for years over 'Fuel Supply Agreements' while scores of coal plant developers have moved to India's coastline to bypass domestic supply problems in favor of expensive imports. In sum, this supply crunch is structural, and it's not going away anytime soon."

Fossil fuels are only profitable with huge fixed asset investment in infrastructure to support them. This infrastructure locks us in to fossil fuel usage and creates a crash when they peak.

Global #climatechange punishes India. U.S. politicians still denying it.

(Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) phtograph shows Tropical Cyclone Phailin over the Bay of Bengal. Photo credit - AFP)

Bikas Das/Associated Press

NYTimes.com: "At least five people were killed in the coastal city of Gopalpur because of heavy rain and high winds before the storm made landfall, officials said. The storm was expected to drop up to 10 inches of rain over the next two days in some areas."

Bad #publictransit forces people to burn fossil-fuels in private vehicles

Salvation lies in mass transportation | Business: "In fact, the main reason behind the rise in the number of private vehicles such as bikes and cars in the Kathmandu valley is lack of good public transportation. Valley dwellers have no other option than to take the inefficient and uncomfortable service or buy a vehicle of their own. The government has also implemented a code of conduct for operation of public vehicles; however, it has not been effective."

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Fuel is rationed by price and power

Free fuel for mantris: At 700 litres a month, a Delhi babu burns Rs 52,000 - Firstpost: "Austerity is for the common people, not the high and mighty babus and ministers. Especially so, when it comes to fuel because nobody exactly knows for sure what the government’s fuel bill is."

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India, slammed by oil price, car dependency, seeking desperate measures

India oil minister slammed for plan to shut gas stations at night | Reuters: "Moily first floated the idea on Saturday, saying he was working on the details as part of a plan to save $25 billion from the oil import bill and strengthen the rupee.

"We are going through difficult times. We need to discipline ourselves. People will have to tighten their belt and some austerity measures have to be taken without affecting economic activity," he said in comments to the Indian Express newspaper.

In letters sent to the prime minister and the finance ministry, Moily proposed a series of measures, such as a $2.6 million public relations campaign, including "street theatre", to promote lower fuel usage."

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‘Bus Day’ to promote use of public transport

Deccan Chronicle: "Kochi: Kochi city witnessed another edition of Bus Day on Thursday as the district administration joined hands with the Vyttila Mobility Hub Society and the bus operators in an attempt to promote the use of public transport system.

The season ticket system for regular long distance bus travelers and seat reservation service was also launched during the inauguration function held at Vyttila Mobility Hub in Kochi on Thursday. The observance of bus day also saw 6,000 persons availing the free bus journey on Thursday."

Road-building may speed up traffic, but then where do you park?

'Better public transport only solution to traffic problem' - The Times of India: ""Parking is the single biggest reason for traffic jams in the city. As long as the authorities continue to provide parking spaces, the demand for it will keep increasing until a time when all the city's parks will be used for parking and future generations will have nowhere to play or walk," she said."

Solution to traffic congestion in Pune is public transport

Improve public transport to curb traffic congestion: ITDP - Pune - DNA: "Gadepalli said, “Just increase the rate of parking per hour in Pune by only Rs5 for two-wheeler and Rs10 for four-wheeler. The funds collected by increased rates should be used for the development of the area and improvement of public transport, with cleaner buses and better frequency.”

Gadepalli said, “Public sharing cycles should be encouraged in the city. A person can become the member and use it wherever he goes and park it in the designated lane which will help to improve the traffic system.”

Making wider roads or constructing flyovers will not help to curb the issue of traffic menace in the city. It can only be done once we encourage people to use public transport system. Only then we can have a good life for human beings, she said."

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Patna adds 60,000 cars every year to its roads

Patna needs strong public transport system: Experts - The Times of India: "Many short-term plans to clear the chock-a-block situation were proposed at the conference. "Road surface improvement, signalizing intersections, putting in place circulation plans such as one-way streets or vehicular segregation, traffic calming techniques, developing and barricading footpaths and foot overbridges and establishment of a single-window traffic management centre can cater to many problems," said Ishita Chauhan, an urban transport expert, Institute of Urban Transport, adding that a cost-effective and systemic public transport system was the need of the hour. "Since Patna is a longitudinal city, a one-kilometre radius zone on the arterial roads would cover the entire city," she said."

Cars have created a mess in Delhi, people desperately seeking solutions

After exploring several hopeless ideas for bringing private autos under control, the author finally ends with this paragraph.

Time for one car, one family rule in Delhi - Hindustan Times: "What is the single most important measure to clear the parking mess?
Unless public transport is not strengthened, people will continue to buy private vehicles and the problem of parking space will continue."

Cars destroying Kathmandu

Long road to nowhere | Opinion | Oped: "Although high-speed wide roads are essential physical infrastructure of cities, they are completely taken over by vehicles and people are pushed to narrow sidewalks. Under any circumstances, such roads should not penetrate settlements where roads are often the only public open space, which then becomes a stage for urban social life. Nevertheless, roads in dense neighborhoods have also been widened, which is likely to invite more traffic in the near future. This is a threat to lively outdoor street activities. A more prudent choice would have been to divert vehicular flow outside and preserve social life. After all, street culture is an indispensable part of urban life that brings people from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds together."

Auto fuel subsidy the cause of India economic collapse

Free of wheels: "A substantial proportion of India’s balance of payments deficit arises from its insatiable thirst for imported oil. Oil prices, which are largely determined by the government, are just about a third of what they are in Europe. The difference is not due to any difference in oil import prices; it is not the case that Arabs sell oil to their eastern neighbour any more cheaply than they do to Europeans. The low prices are entirely due to low taxes. If the Centre raised duties on liquid fuels, people would use public transport more and make fewer trips by car."

Cars choking Panaji

The Times of India: ""Every year, 8% more vehicles are added to the city's streets. The existing number of vehicles will double in the next 5-6 years, and the existing road infrastructure will not be able to accommodate the burden,""

Road safety: Getting out of the nightmare

Dhaka Tribune: ". In Bangladesh, there is no road discipline or control, the condition of roads are terrible and public transport is seriously lacking. The situation is so poor that it is quite embarrassing for Bangladeshis."

Pollution levels in Pune are "alarming"

Experts pin success of development plan on public transport access - The Times of India: "The city's Environment Status Report (ESR) for 2012-13 has said that the use of two- wheelers and cars to commute is on the and rise pollution levels in the city have reached alarming levels.
"

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"More focus on demand management" #itsthedemand Bangalore #publictransit

Petrol price hike opens doors for mass transit | Deccan Chronicle: "“From the mobility perspective, since there is much more focus today on demand management measures than supply centric (primarily road infrastructure based) measures, rise in petrol prices can be strategically used to disincentivize commuters to use personal vehicles and encourage them to use more sustainable modes of transport like public transport,” said Verma.

The focus therefore should be making mass transport more and more affordable. “Here it is very important to ensure that how rise in petrol and diesel prices does not lead to increase in public transport fares, which is a common strategy the public transport companies generally adopt to compensate the effect of fuel price rise."

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Cars choking Sri Lanka, #publictransit the solution

Better public transport key to reducing city traffic congestion, experts say | The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka: "Sri Lanka incurs a huge economic loss of around Rs. 40 billion annually due to road traffic congestion and air pollution with too many vehicles on a limited road network.

File pic by Hasitha Kulasekera shows city traffic on a week day

Unless the authorities take measures to modernise and improve public transport, the country cannot curb this massive, unproductive cost, noted University of Moratuwa transport and logistics management expert Amal S. Kumarage."

In India, people demand their "right to walk," as cars get unfair share of public space

At Chennai's transport hubs, a walk you’d rather forget - The Hindu: "Is achieving walkability a difficult goal? It would appear so in the context of people walking to bus termini, train stations and so on, because of the conflicts involved in apportioning public pathways for different uses. Yet, the real issue is the rising subsidy given to motorists by carving up the right of way, and depriving other classes of users of their fair share."

In Delhi, bad urban design leads to wasted energy and global warming

Centre for Science and Environment: "Badly designed cities promote wrong travel choices, leading to warming and pollution: CSE

The original design of Indian cities more compact – promoted walking and cycling. Growing sizes of cities and their bad design is leading to urban sprawl, increasing travel distances and time, leading to congestion, global warming and pollution

Detours caused by car-centric infrastructure like flyovers, signal-free corridors and foot overbridges can increase carbon emissions -- this is the result of conversion of small walkable trips to longer motorized trips

Investments in metro and buses can be wasted if access to public transport systems is not designed well  "

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400 new cars a day literally choking Delhi

Carless whisper: An idea we need to drive through - The Times of India: "400 cars are registered and enter the Delhi traffic stream every day. Mumbai and Bangalore have proportionately lesser numbers. Incidence of lung disease and asthma, linked directly to levels of air pollution, has seen a steady rise in most urban centres. Choked with cars, streets and sidewalks have rendered public facilities unusable. Vehicles parked on sidewalks, on hastily covered street drainage, on land usurped from public parks — the car brings despair to all forms of urban life, reducing possibilities of other forms of transport, affecting public health, and contributing to a new form of metallic squalor in the city. "

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Bangalore experts struggle with parking problem

The Times of India: "Bangalore is in dire need of a parking policy that will streamline traffic flow and free up roads."

The reason there is a parking problem is that the footprint of the private auto does not fit in cities. The more you "free up roads," the more that cars can come into the city, making things worse. Bottom line, cars take up too much room.

Instead of punishing car drivers and creating massive parking bureaucracy, why not make public transit buses fare-free and reduce the number of cars on the road.

Pune, choking on traffic, is adding 768 vehicles a day

Traffic trouble: Pune in top gear - Indian Express: In the period between April 1 and June 30, 2012, about 44,125 new vehicles were added to the vehicle population in Pune, of which 32,180 were two-wheelers and 10,187 were four-wheelers.

During the same period, 25,069 new vehicles were registered with the Pimpri-Chinchwad RTO office, including 18,110 two-wheelers and 4,972 four wheelers.

Massive transit-oriented-development plan for Hyderabad

The Times of India: ""Greater Hyderabad is a thickly populated city and plans should be for prepared with focus on transit-oriented development (TOD) with coordination between departments like GHMC, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority, Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB), Hyderabad Metro Rail, irrigation department, railways and AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC)," he added.

"The plan is to integrate public transport, create employment, improve greenery, protection and conserving lakes. The integrated plan will be ready in the next three months. As many studies were conducted on TOD in the city, there is no need for new studies as of now and the existing study reports can be utilized to prepare a plan," the chief secretary said."

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Loksatta urges govt to subsidise public transport

Loksatta members protesting in Shantinagar bus stand against BMTC bus fare hike

Bangalore News: "Members belonging to Loksatta political party on Saturday, 6 July 2013, protested against the hike in BMTC and KSRTC bus fares. They gathered at Shanthinagar bus stand and distributed pamphlets to bus commuters and the public."

5 years after peak $145 oil, India pays more today!

DNA: "India is paying more for oil today than what it did when Brent crude had touched an all-time high of $145 in 2008.

Blame the 51% decline in the currency.

On July 3, 2008, Rs 39.40 got a dollar. On July 1, 2013, it took Rs 59.52.

Now here’s the calculus on how India is paying more:
A barrel of crude on July 3, 2008, cost $145.66 x Rs 39.40 = Rs 5,739.

On Monday, it cost $102.16 x Rs 59.52 = Rs 6,080."

Climate change slams India

Incredible Flood Damage Across Northern India - Mark Byrnes - The Atlantic Cities: "A submerged statue of the Hindu Lord Shiva stands amid the flooded waters of river Ganges at Rishikesh in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand June 17, 2013. Early monsoon rains have swollen the Ganges, India's longest river, swept away houses, killed at least 60 people and left tens of thousands stranded, officials said on June 18, 2013. Picture taken June 17, 2013. (REUTERS/Stringer)"

Improved Bus System is Pune’s best (and only?) Public Transit option for the Short/Medium term

Amit Paranjape's Blog: "Pune is adding close to 1,000 vehicles every single day. That is nearly 400,000 vehicles per year on the already cramped Pune roads. And this number is increasing every single day. At the current rate of the growth of the city, I won’t be surprised if Pune starts adding 1,500 or 2,000 vehicles per day, before 2018. These are scary numbers, from the point of view of the city traffic.

...I believe that the right short and medium term (next 5-10 years) solution for efficient public transportation in Pune is an improved regular bus transit system. We need many more routes, with higher frequencies, and well maintained buses. We need mini-buses to enable good routes to crowded areas in the city center.  High frequency mini-buses are also needed because the relatively short distances that people cover can, otherwise, be done by private vehicles. The bus service needs to operate with well-designed point-to-point, circular and hub-and-spoke routes. We also need long range buses that have less stops for the longer routes (e.g. Deccan to Hinjavdi)."

Improved Bus System is Pune’s best (and only?) Public Transit option for the Short/Medium term

Amit Paranjape's Blog: "Pune is adding close to 1,000 vehicles every single day. That is nearly 400,000 vehicles per year on the already cramped Pune roads. And this number is increasing every single day. "

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Cars choking Delhi

Delhi choked by its car mania - Hindustan Times: "Frequent fights with neighbours over parking under that tree, constant haggling with parking attendants over a better spot and poor traffic situation has not deterred Delhiites from buying car after car or travelling in their newest hot wheels to buy milk from the nearby booth."

People in Lahore desperately want #publictransit

Sharifs hope to ride transit scheme to victory - The Globe and Mail: "Lahoris continue to pack the Turkish-operated bus service. A ticket is only 20 rupees, or about 20 cents. And it is the first-ever mass public transit project in a country where millions of people who cannot afford a car or motorcycle must endure lengthy daily commutes in the heat in a private network of decades-old fume-spewing buses, rickshaws, minivans and often on foot in order to get to work and back home.

“We have changed the way people think about travelling,” said Mr. Shah, a U.S.-educated and trained transport engineer in charge of the bus system. “A journey that took about 100 minutes now can be done in 62 minutes in an air-conditioned bus, very comfortably.”

The system was built for 40,000 riders, but has attracted 125,000 riders a day, Mr. Shah added."

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Will Pune turn into another Mumbai?

Draft Development Plan for Pune (old city limits) Published. Citizens must file Objections by 26 April 2013:

• Any vacant plot in the city grabbed by the PMC
• 4 FSI zone along the entire Metro corridor for half a kilometer on both sides – even if the Metro is never built!
• 3 FSI for Cluster development in the city – entire blocks bulldozed for erecting new buildings
• 4 FSI for 4-star and 5-star hotels and private hospitals
• Open/Recreational Spaces reduced
• River and Lakes to be paved over for more roads and housing complexes
• Hill Tops and Hill Slopes, Green Zones to be made into SEZs, IT Parks and Amusement Parks
• No provision for slums or Low Income Housing
• Arbitrary and ad hoc proposals without any supporting studies or surveys

More evidence of a split in corporate elite over oil

On Earth Day, company CEOs walk to work in Gurgaon | Vancouverdesi.com: "“This is a start which will set the ball rolling for larger agendas like reducing pollution, limiting traffic on the road and popularizing use of public transport,” said Deep Kalra, CEO, MakeMyTrip."

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Ludhiana-Bangalore cycling tour to promote public transport and cycling

Indian Express: " "I just want to see mentality of people of Ludhiana change. They need to realise the importance of public transport and eco-friendly transport like cycles," "

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The way out of the mess on road - The Hindu

The way out of the mess on road - The Hindu: "The public transport system is the most effective way of reducing the number of vehicles as well as emissions"

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Cars choking Kashmir

Commuter services in shambles - Kashmir Times: "The unregulated growth of the cities and small towns in Jammu and Kashmir has continued to add to the woes of the motorists in terms of parking slots. Unplanned growth of the towns and lack of efficient and credible public transport system is furthering adding to the woes of the commuters in various parts of the state. The two capital cities of Srinagar and Jammu are the worst affected so far as the parking slots for the car owners are concerned or the public transport services which are totally missing."

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Road accidents biggest health issue for youth in India

Medics advocate injure-free, safe driving | Vancouverdesi.com: "“Youth will have to be healthy to be productive, and the biggest problem facing Indian youth are road accidents and not any other health issues,” he said."

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Cars choking the economy in Bangalore

The Times of India: "Excessive use of private vehicles on available road space is inefficient use of precious urban land. "

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Road safety remains elusive in Bangladesh

Road safety remains elusive :: Financial Express :: Financial Newspaper of Bangladesh: "Road safety on the highways of Bangladesh, despite repeated public outcry, remains elusive with the deaths of hundreds of people in road accidents every year. More cars are being pressed into service on the roads every year, but the roads and highways are not increasing.
"

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Kathmandu students fighting public transport fare hikes

The Himalayan Times : Agitating students submit memo to govt head - Detail News : Nepal News Portal: "The students have been staging protests for the past few weeks demanding a rollback of the fare hike in public transport, announcement of FSU polls, action against black marketeers, implementation of agreements reached with student unions and others.
"

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Nepal needs cheaper, better bus service, not massive metro projects

The Himalayan Times : Public transportation - Detail News : Nepal News Portal: "Today Nepali people feel that public transport is for the poor. To ensure that people feel that public transport are for everyone and not only for the poor, the government should ensure safe, reliable, punctual, and cheaper bus services. If these conditions are met people would definitively shift from private to public transport gradually. Today, the Europeans park their cars at homes and use public transport to go to their workplace. The reliability, safety, and punctuality aspects are well maintained and using public transport is cheaper than using private vehicles. "

Gajurel is a traffic engineer, currently working as Transport and Traffic Consultant gajurelashish@gmail.com

Congestion fees are not enough. Cars choking India.

Congestion fee will free up roads, panel tells HC - The Times of India: "Congestion fees will not free up traffic on roads, as travel will not be easyone. There is no proper infrastructure development in India. Even in planned city like Singapore, with fees for using the roads, purchase tax on new vehicle is almost equivalent to the 80% cost of the vehicle, are unable to reduce the congestion at peak hours. The roads are broad with 8 lane traffic, with proper indication for destination, enroute congestion notification, minimum speed limit etc, the advance countries struggle to regulate the traffic. Let our planners pay attention to widen the roads to at least to have 3 lane traffic on each side of the road, with good and even surface, proper pedestrian walks, vehicle parking space, clear highways with out any shops by the side of the road. After implementing the above infrastructures let them talk about congestion fees."

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Pay more for petrol, diesel if you desire jam-free city roads, News - Mumbai - Pune Mirror,Pune Mirror

Pay more for petrol, diesel if you desire jam-free city roads, News - Mumbai - Pune Mirror,Pune Mirror: "The transport commissioner has proposed that the money generated from this radical suggestion be used to beef up the ailing public transport network. "

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Free public transport desperately needed in Bangalore to overcome the private auto

No key to this gridlock: "Further, he said that the bigger problem is the lack of a mass transit system.
“With Metro being a big disappointment, there needs to be a futuristic outlook on how to deal with the situation, which won’t subside,” he said."

Lahore Launches Pakistani First With New 'Metro Bus' System

Lahore Launches Pakistani First With New 'Metro Bus' System: "Pakistani authorities have launched a new "Metro Bus" system in the city of Lahore -- the first major urban public transportation scheme in the country.

The $300 million project was completed in collaboration with the Turkish company Al-Buraq."

'via Blog this'

As BP desperately tries to deny #peakoil, subsidy crunch already in progress

Indian Oil Gains After Being Allowed to Raise Diesel Prices - Bloomberg: "Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram is seeking to reduce spending on fuel subsidies as part of a plan to narrow the budget deficit to a two-year low of 5.1 percent of gross domestic product and avoid a ratings downgrade. The state refiners lost 738.2 billion rupees ($14 billion) from selling diesel below cost in the nine months ended Dec. 31, making up 59 percent of the total loss on fuel sales."

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No money for free public transport -- but plenty wasted on oil

Reuters | Photo By AMIT DAVE / Reuters

Two dead at Indian Oil Corp terminal fire - Yahoo! News: "India's Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Veerapa Moily, who visited the site, said the damage to Indian Oil could be as much as 450 million rupees ($8.16 million)."