ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846 Compulsion to Choice: How Can Public Transport in India Be Transformed? O P AGARWAL O P Agarwal ([email protected]) is CEO, World Resources Institute. Vol. 54, Issue No. 4, 26 Jan, 2019 Are public transport systems in India good enough to persuade personal motor vehicle users to use them? If not, what can be done to drive this shift? Mental stress, coupled with health and safety hazards, has become an everyday reality for urban dwellers. The tension of driving in severe congestion, breathing polluted air, and negotiating the increasing risk of road accidents has taken a toll on their well being. In the face of these problems, public policies around the world are emphasising a shift from the use of personal motor vehicles to the use of public transport. India’s National Urban Transport Policy of 2006, China’s State Council Office Directive 64 of December 2012, South Africa’s Public Transport Strategy, 2007, and Colombia’s National Urban Transport Program 2003, are some examples of public policies and programmes that encourage investment in public transport rather than in road widening. The rationale is that, on a per person basis, public transport occupies less road space and consumes less fuel compared to personal motor vehicles, thereby emitting lesser pollutants (Table 1). Table 1: Per Capita Space Occupied and Fuel Consumed by Different Vehicle Types Vehicle type Typical number of passengers Typical road space occupied (sq m) Typical fuel consumed (km/litre) Space occupied per passenger (sq m) Litres of Fuel consumed/ 1,000 passenger-kms Bus 40 30 4 0.75 6.25
Transcript
ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846
Compulsion to Choice: How Can Public Transport inIndia Be Transformed?O P AGARWAL
O P Agarwal ([email protected]) is CEO, World Resources Institute.Vol. 54, Issue No. 4, 26 Jan, 2019
Are public transport systems in India good enough to persuade personal motor vehicle usersto use them? If not, what can be done to drive this shift?
Mental stress, coupled with health and safety hazards, has become an everyday reality forurban dwellers. The tension of driving in severe congestion, breathing polluted air, andnegotiating the increasing risk of road accidents has taken a toll on their well being.
In the face of these problems, public policies around the world are emphasising a shift fromthe use of personal motor vehicles to the use of public transport. India’s National UrbanTransport Policy of 2006, China’s State Council Office Directive 64 of December 2012, SouthAfrica’s Public Transport Strategy, 2007, and Colombia’s National Urban TransportProgram 2003, are some examples of public policies and programmes that encourageinvestment in public transport rather than in road widening. The rationale is that, on a perperson basis, public transport occupies less road space and consumes less fuel compared topersonal motor vehicles, thereby emitting lesser pollutants (Table 1).
Table 1: Per Capita Space Occupied and Fuel Consumed by Different Vehicle Types
Car 1.5 4.8 16 3.2 41.7Motorbike 1 1.5 80 1 12.5Source: Author’s approximate calculations based on size and fuel efficiency mentioned on thecompany websites for Tata Bus, Maruti 800 car, and Honda Splendor motorbike.
However, for such a shift to take place, public transport systems must offer some of theconveniences that a personal motor vehicle offers. Therefore, the question that arises iswhether public transport systems, as they exist in India today, are good enough to persuadepersonal motor vehicle users to make shift to public transport? If not, what can be done todrive this shift? This article seeks to answer these questions.
Needs of Personal Motor Vehicle UsersPeople who use personal motor vehicles are essentially looking for the followingconveniences:
1. Door-to-door service, wherein they can move from their immediate point of origin to theirdestination without the need for transfers
2. On-demand availability, so that they can travel when they want to and are not constrainedby the fixed schedules of a public transport system
3. Comfortable rides that assure them a seat and do not require having to jostle with crowds
4. Not having to stand in queues to buy tickets for a bus, train or metro ride
5. Speedy travel
6. Personal safety and security
These commuters are also willing to pay a higher price for these comforts.
Unfortunately, public transport systems in India are unable to offer these conveniences.They have traditionally been perceived as a mode of transport to meet the travel needs ofpoorer sections of society, who cannot afford personal motor vehicles and yet requiremotorised transport to access jobs, education, and other services. Because affordability isthe primary focus for these services, they have often been of relatively poor quality. Theusers have no other option for meeting their travel needs and are willing to walk to a busstop, wait for an indefinite time to board a crowded bus that is slow and uncomfortable, aslong it gets them to their destination.
These services typically run along fixed routes, according to a timetable. They have fixedstops and predetermined fares. It is essential that public transport systems are redesignedto offer conveniences that are close to what personal vehicles do.
ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846
Emerging TrendsSeveral emerging trends have the potential to significantly transform the way people willmove around in the years to come. Advances in information technology have enabled theemergence of transportation services that allow rides on a taxi or a bus to be booked andinformation on the fare to be paid made available upfront. As a result, one does not have towait to flag a taxi on the streets or worry about the driver taking one for a ride all over thecity. Often these services also enable a person to share the ride with another passenger and,thereby pay less.
Faced with the increasing difficulty of driving on congested streets and finding parking attheir destinations, commuters are taking to these app-based services in a big way. Similarapp-based services are now being offered on mini buses as well. These services offer severalof the features that personal motor vehicle users desire and would be willing to shift to.Because such services have the potential for meeting the travel demand with fewer vehicles,they are good for any city's administration as they save on the need for parking space, andallow valuable urban land to be allocated for competing demands. Unfortunately, ourregulatory systems have not changed with the times and current provisions tend to look atthese services with suspicion. These regulations need to be modified.
Way Forward Some initiatives that can help make public transport systems desirable and enable a shiftaway from personal motor vehicle use have been highlighted below.
Increase the capacity of bus services: The available capacity of public bus services hastended to be lower than required. As a result, buses are infrequent and unable to serve allparts of a city. Unfortunately, there is no scientific benchmark of how many buses a cityshould have, as it often depends on the shape of the city and how it is organised. Existenceof alternative forms of public transport, such as metro rail systems, will also have an impacton the need for buses. However, a comparison across many cities indicates that around500–700 buses per million people might be a reasonable number (Figure 1). Incidentally,data also shows that, except for Bengaluru, the current capacity in most Indian cities isinadequate.
ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846
It is, therefore, essential that the number of buses be increased in most cities in India.Public funds may not be sufficient to meet these needs. However, the private sector couldbe tapped to operate premium services, for quality-conscious commuters, without the needfor public subsidy. This would not only add to the capacity of the public bus system but alsoinduct the kinds of services that would be attractive to personal motor vehicle users. This isclearly a win–win situation.
Unfortunately, regulatory constraints are a barrier to this. The current regulationscharacterise public transport systems in two ways. The first type refers to stage carriagesthat carry passengers along a route and pick up or drop them at specific stops along thatroute. The second is contract carriages that are hired by a clearly identifiable group andcarry passengers from one point to another, without pick ups or drop offs at intermediatestops.
Several emerging forms of public transport such as Shuttl and ZipGo that can offer valuableand attractive alternatives to personal motor vehicle users do not fall under either of thesecategories. Hence, they face legal barriers in functioning, even though they are the need ofthe day. Such services need to become legitimate and in fact, be encouraged.
People undertake trips for various reasons. For each of these trips, they may prefer differenttypes of transport. For example, when travelling with luggage, they might choose a vehiclethat accommodates their bags and allows pick ups and drops closer to their points of originand destination. While travelling alone, they may choose to share a ride. For long trips, theymay want assured seats and faster commuting time. For short rides, they would like easieraccess without having to take the stairs, or use an escalator or walk to an undergroundsubway.
To make public transport attractive, it is important that a variety of services exist. Different
ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846
services may charge different fares, but should be available. Again, the private sector,driven by profit and on the lookout for good business opportunities, is best placed to sensethese needs and offer a range of service types. Regulation needs to accommodate thisvariety and not be limited to only a few choices.
Increasing speed: A big concern with public transport is that it is slow, thanks to the bulkyvehicle size that makes it difficult to negotiate traffic as deftly as smaller automobiles, andthe multiple halts it makes to pick up and drop passengers. Vehicle designs that allowquicker boarding and alighting, and road designs that provide a dedicated right-of-way forpublic transport have been introduced in different parts of the world and need to beemulated in India as well.
Multimodal Integration: Most large cities have multiple modes of public transport.Among the fixed route, fixed schedule services, metro rail and bus systems are mostcommon. Taxi services as well as auto- and cycle- rickshaws that ply on shorter routes arealso common.
Multimodal integration allows a transfer between different modes of transport to becomeeasy and hassle-free. It plays an important role in promoting the use of public transport, asa commuter’s travel choices are made on the basis of their relative convenience for theentire trip, and not just a segment of that trip.
A lack of such integration is an important reason for the comparatively low ridership onseveral metro rail systems in India, compared to those in other countries, despite its highpopulation and relatively lower per capita income (Table 2).
Table 2: Ridership on Some Indian and International Metro Rail Systems
Metro Route lengthAverage dailyridership (inthousands)
Mexico 226 4,600 20,353Hong Kong 175 4,400 25,143Paris 205 4,200 20,487Source: Data for Indian systems compiled from respective metro websites and for internationalsystems from Duddu (2014).
Multimodal integration is critical for the high cost metro systems in India to justify theinvestments made in them.
Unfortunately, multimodal integration suffers from the barrier of fragmented governance.Different components of the transport system are managed by different entities that do notnecessarily coordinate well. For example, in Delhi, the metro system is owned and operatedby the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the bus systems are managed by the DelhiTransport Corporation (DTC) and the Delhi Integrated Multi Modal Transport System(DIMTS), the suburban rail is managed by the Indian Railways and the para-transit system isregulated by the transport department directly. Further, land use and parking facilities arethe responsibility of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and enforcement rests with thepolice.
Improved coordination and integration will be possible only if a single agency plans,monitors and finances the entire public transport network, ideally through structured
contracts with private operators.[1] India has so far not been able to establish such anagency. Several global examples, such as Transport for London, the Land TransportAuthority in Singapore, and TransLink in Vancouver, provide a clue to how this can be done(Agarwal and Kumar 2013).
The industry structure is also a barrier to good integration. Major public transport systemsowned and operated by state-owned authorities are not only high-cost ventures, but oftenlack customer focus. It is important to recognise that the public sector has a responsibilityto make public transport systems available, but it is not necessary for them to also operatesuch systems. Private operators, on the other hand, would be more efficient in operating theservices, but are guided by their profit motive in determining where they offer services.Emerging trends around the world are leveraging the relative strengths of the public andprivate sectors in modifying the industry structure to one where a public agency determinesthe services required and contracts them from private operators, through structuredcontracts, with novel compensation mechanisms that offer a subsidy on loss-making routes
and charges a premium on profit-making routes.[2]
Another barrier to good integration is the lack of open data systems. Integrated systemsneed to share each other’s operating data to enable better information for operators as wellas passengers. However, the reluctance to share data as well as the lack of platforms onwhich such data can be shared has been a barrier and needs to be removed by making itmandatory for all operators to adhere to an open data protocol.
ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846
Financing: Traditionally, user fees or fares have been the main source of revenue for publictransport. Often, they might also receive subsidies from the public budget. However, whenthe requirement of subsidies exceeds the availability of the public budget, exploringalternative sources becomes necessary.
In such a situation, bringing about an improvement in quality, especially if more expensivebuses are introduced, will mean an increase in costs. If these costs are recovered throughuser fees, then the services will become unaffordable to the poor. Balancing the qualitywhile ensuring affordability is a tightrope walk.
Innovative ways of financing, where fares are not the only source of revenue, but non-userbeneficiaries are made to pay some portion of the costs, is a way of getting around thischallenge. It is being increasingly recognised that users are not the only beneficiaries ofpublic transport. There are non-user beneficiaries who do not contribute to the services,but benefit from them. Hence, they should pay for them. For example, France levies atransport tax on all employers. This is a percentage of the wage bill of the company. Therationale is that employers benefit from public transport by being able to secure labour fortheir economic ventures. Another example is of landvalue capture, a way of securing someof the property value gains that people owning property in the vicinity of public transportfacilities enjoy.
Levying non-user beneficiary taxes is today being identified as an important way of findingresources to improve public transport without increasing fares. Other alternatives includecommercial exploitation of property at public transport terminals and depots and using therevenues earned to meet a portion on the costs, offering differentiated quality services,wherein premium services function on the principle of full-cost recovery from fares andbasic services are subsidised from the public budget, and so on.
Summing Up Systems of shared, connected, electric, and autonomous mobility enabled by informationtechnology systems, are changing the way transport systems are being planned, financed,and managed world over. They are promising an efficient, low carbon, and equitable futurein the mobility sector.
In the Indian context, on-demand, shared models like taxi aggregators like Ola and Uber areoffering carpool services. Bus aggregators like Shuttl and Commut are offering on-demandbus services in several cities. Dockless bicycle sharing pilots are emerging. The BangaloreMetropolitan Transport Corporation and Kochi Metro Rail Limited have opened up theirvehicle-tracking data. They have also partnered with banks and set up open-access paymentcards. Other modes providing last-mile services can now easily get on to these interoperableplatforms.
The distinction between public and private transport is blurring today. Conveniences like
ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846
on-demand availability, origin-to-destination travel, comfort, and safety are becomingavailable in public transport, generating appeal among the personal motor vehicle user. Inaddition, these systems save the user the hassles of driving on congested roads and lookingfor parking space.
With such advancement, it might just be possible to imagine a future where peopleunderstand mobility as a service and access public transport as and when they need it. Thiswould be much like people procuring a seat in an airplane or a train (without having to ownthe airplane or train) while travelling long distances. Clearly, these changes will bechallenging, but good policy making and political will can go a long way in making publictransport the preferred mode of choice for commuters in India.
End Notes:
[1] The public sector is ideal for ensuring coordination and integration as it has aresponsibility of ensuring public good, namely, ensuring that public transport services areavailable for all at a equitable price. The private sector, on the other hand, is guided by theprofit motive and is able to operate services more efficiently. It is, therefore, better suited tooperate services. However, these services should be on a contract with regulated routes,service quality, and fares. These contracts have provisions for public subsidy on loss-makingroutes and a premium being charged on profit-making routes.
[2] An early example of this was in London, where the publicly operated services werereformed and Transport for London, a public agency, took over the responsibility forplanning bus services, but contracted operations from private operators through astructured contract that specified the routes, service quality, fares, and thepremium/subsidy to be paid. This system of bringing in the private sector has picked upelsewhere too. In Delhi, the transport department has contracted bus services to privateoperators and these are being managed by DIMTS. See: Competition in Urban PublicTransport: A World View; Competition in public transport in Great Britain; Bus ServiceReform in Delhi
References:
Duddu, Praveen (2014): "The World’s Top 10 Busiest Metros," RailwayTechnology, https://www.railway-technology.com/features/featurethe-worlds-top-10-bus...
Kumar, Ajay and O P Agarwal (2013): "Institutional Labyrinth Designing a Way Out forImproving Urban Transport Services: Lessons from Current Practice," WorldBank, http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/903181468346145008/pdf/840660W...
