The traffic snarls dogging arterial roads in the city can only be solved when a multimodal transportation system, including the long-pending commuter rail service, comes to fruition, said transportation experts Sanjeev V. Dyamannavar and Prakash Mandoth during the ‘Better Bengaluru’ web chat organised by The Hindu on Saturday.
When readers asked why the commuter rail project had not been approved even though numerous proposals have been raised so far, Mr. Dyamannavar, founder of the advocacy group Praja-RAAG, said it was due to lack of political will that the proposals were still awaiting the approval of the Railway Minister.
The recent gang-rape of a BPO worker in a private vehicle in the night showed the need to have a 24/7 suburban rail system here on the lines of Mumbai, he said.
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Similarly, Mr. Mandoth said, “Commuter rail system is badly needed to decongest the city. It will help poor labourers, students and employees as it is cheap and a fast mode of transportation.”
The experts believed the system should be integrated along with the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) service, metro connections as well as regulated taxi systems to ensure that even the last-mile connectivity remains safe.
Apart from public transport, there needed to be an impetus to discourage use of private vehicles. “Car pooling can be encouraged by exempting toll on expressways if the car is travelling full … street parking should be made expensive, while more taxi stands should be built,” said Mr. Dyamannavar.
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Airport connectivity
Until the ambitious Metro phase III that promises to connect the city and Kempegowda International Airport, comes up, Mr. Mandoth suggested that the large space underneath the trumpet flyover be developed as a transit railway stop. A station could be built along the railway line there, and from here commuters could access circuit-bus service to drop them at the airport, he said.
(The transcript of the chat is available on http://thne.ws/1PwVh3b)