In an effort to learn more about the mobility patterns in BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), the U.S. and Germany, a research project titled Global Mobility Monitor Network (GMMN), in six cities including Bangalore, has been launched by the Civil Engineering Department of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.).
The Institute for Mobility Research (ifmo) in Germany has undertaken and funded this research project.
To carry out the study, six sample cities namely New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Indore and Guwahati have been selected.
Research in six cities in India, includes the condition of the roads for the past decade, number of vehicles, requirement of vehicles for different regions and the future of the transport sector.
All the six countries will have to submit their findings to the ifmo and the institute will then make a comparative study of the given data and form a baseline for further research in this field.
“We have already started checking and comparing transport conditions in these six cities,” Principal Investigator Ashish Verma, who is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering in the IISc., told The Hindu . “We hope to complete this by April, latest by May.”
The main objectives of this project is to provide information about the status of mobility based on common mobility indicators which will enable comparison among the study countries, and also to provide a systematic and comparative analysis of the expected future prospects for mobility for the year 2020 from the perspective of the six study countries.
The project will help bring international attention and investment on mobility patterns to the six cities in particular and other Indian cities in general.
“It will also help improve our understanding about how the mobility patterns are different in different Indian cities and similar cities in other BRIC and developed countries and how they relate to the level of economy and growth in the study countries.” said Prof. Ashish Verma
He also added: “One important thing is that this has put India in the forefront with other developing and developed nations and this recognition is good and if we do the work correctly and if the results are good, it will mean more development for the country in the infrastructure and economic front.” This, Prof. Ashish Verma explained, will be because the results will be particularly useful to the international stakeholders, who look to providing mobility solutions, products, and funding.
