How will a traffic-choked road in Koramangala be impacted, if cars were restricted in some areas? As Bengaluru’s traffic management crumbles from increasing pressure caused by an explosive growth in the number of private vehicles, an ongoing study at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) is trying to decipher the kind of policies that could be implemented to contain the situation.
The Department of Civil Engineering, IISc., is undertaking a study on ‘Evaluating sustainability of transport policies for Bangalore’ by “bundling” policies instead of tackling them individually. On completion, it is expected to offer a forecast of what the city can expect in 2030 and 2050, based on which policies are implemented. Apart from glimpses into which modes of transport may be in use or on the decline, the study is also factoring in emission levels.
Delphi method
Using the Delphi method (theoretical method to collate expert opinion to arrive at certain conclusions in a structured manner), the study uses three ‘policy bundles’: increasing network coverage of public transit, defining car restricted zones, and increasing fuel cost.
Six modes of transport have been included using 2008 as the base year — buses, private cars, autorickshaws, walking, cycling, and two-wheelers.
“The 2008 data is the most recent household travel data. But it does not include data on the metro. We are trying to add that to the study too,” said Ashish Verma, Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering.
Findings from the study could be used to determine what would be the best policies to be implemented to counter the growth in both population as well as vehicular numbers. Bengaluru has one of the highest cars per 1,000 population in India. At the same time, it has one of the least lengths of reserved transit routes compared to major cities in the country and the world.
Namma Metro
Bengaluru has only one form of public transport with an exclusive right of way i.e., the metro, and this is 0.82 metres per 1,000 population.
Other cities in India, such as Mumbai (suburban rail - 16.17), New Delhi (Metro+BRTS - 10.07) and Ahmedabad (BRTS - 7.43) fare better. However, these are still far behind other cities in the world, such as Berlin (140.16) and Tokyo (92.39).
Lack of keenness?
As the Transportation Research Group of India (TRG) commemorated its sixth ‘foundation day’ with a seminar on ‘Sustainable Mobility Solutions for Bangalore - Bridging Research and Practice’ on Sunday, researchers shared how there was a lack of keenness from government agencies in utilising their work.
“We do not see any keenness or acknowledgement to come forward and gain from the study so as to take effective decisions,” researchers from the Indian Institute of Science said.
