Transport sector fraught with issues

A public transport analysis of the city was prepared by Copenhagen Consensus Center and Tata Trusts under India Consensus

and Andhra Pradesh Priorities Project.

The research suggests that metro rail and elevated bus rapid transit corridors can be introduced as interventions to the existing public transport of the city.

The desirable share of public transport in cities with a population of over 5 lakh (for a city like Vijayawada) is 80%, the report said.

The report identified several problems and offered solutions on fixing it.

Problems

Between 2015-16 and 2016-17, the number of motorcycles increased by 73% while cars increased by 40% in the city.

Growth in private vehicles, traffic congestion and mounting pollution are major challenges faced by the city.

Solutions

City planning and infrastructure needs an overhaul. Buses and other forms of public transport need to be prioritised in order to battle congestion.

Off-street parking should be made mandatory through policy. Infrastructure should be developed for pedestrians, and penalties for violations should be raised. Traffic rules need to be tweaked, such as identifying congestion charge zones, and imposing a higher registration tax on the second vehicle.