The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Private vehicle population on the rise, patronage for public transport falling

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Saturday, Nov 15, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Private vehicle population on the rise, patronage for public transport falling

Vidya Venkat

CMDA’s projection for 2026 aims at reversing the trend

Low interest rate-driven sale of private vehicles cited as a reason
CMDA suggests integrating various modes of transport

CHENNAI: Urban planners and transport agencies seem to have a long way to go before patronage for public transport improves in the city. The data analysed in the Second Master Plan for Chennai Metropolitan Area 2026 which shows how private vehicle population on the roads has increased over the years, was followed by a corresponding fall in patronage for public transport.

Senior planner S. Chithra from the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) said that this situation had been created by low interest rate driven sale of private vehicles, especially two-wheelers that comprise 76 per cent of private vehicle population.

She was speaking at a conference on sustainable urban development on Friday, under way here at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

By 2004, 64.57 per cent of the city’s population depended on private mode of transport, she said.

The population of private vehicles in the city was 27 lakh, a four-fold rise from what it was 10 years ago, according to the traffic police. The CMDA’s projection for 2026 aimed at reversing the current trend. It suggested giving a boost to public transport so that private-public transport ratio in the city was 30:70 by then.

Strategies include integrating the various modes of transport, intensifying development along transport corridors by increasing Floor Space Index and restricting the growth of private transport in the city. “Only such an approach will lead to sustainable development in the city,” the planner suggested.

Data analysed by the CMDA also showed that 14.54 per cent of the city population currently used rail transport whereas 85.46 per cent of the population used road transport. As per the Master Plan, the ratio of public dependence on rail transport to road transport was envisaged as 40:60 by 2026. It was also revealed that only 4 per cent of the city population used private cars for transportation.

Work on the Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority was under way. It seeks to integrate different modes of transport. The Metropolitan Transport Corporation, on its part, was considering bringing in new measures. MTC Managing Director M. Ramasubramanian told The Hindu the agency was seeking exclusive bus lanes for the city under the proposed Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS). “Also discussions are on to introduce smart cards that can be used interchangeably in buses and trains,” he said.

As per CMDA data, in 2005, the number of person trips made by walking and cycling comprised 45 per cent. Person trips measure the number of trips made by persons per day . However, as pointed out by Senior Fulbright scholar in Transport Engineering, Murthy Bondada, the Master Plan itself did not lay much emphasis on creating road infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists. He suggested that any future development keep their needs in mind as well.

Karen Coelho, a researcher leading the voluntary organisation, Walking Classes Unite, said that several road expansion works done by government agencies had eaten into pavements. The Chennai Corporation should follow the guidelines laid down by the Indian Roads Congress while laying pavements, she said.

“Corporation councillors should consult residents in the locality regarding their specific pedestrian and cycling needs,” she said.

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