The World Bank has insisted that the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) should get enhanced capacity and control over sector budget allocation to oversee urban mobility in the metropolitan area.
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Common ticketing services, allowing residents to travel in various modes of transport, including MTC and rail, with a single common ticket for the whole journey is expected to be implemented in Chennai.
At a meeting with World Bank officials, officials said CUMTA had agreed to adopt an operations manual and award consultancy contract for finalisation of a comprehensive mobility plan for the Chennai Metropolitan Area. At a series of meetings with World Bank officials, the authority also agreed to establish sub-committees on transit-oriented development, multi-modal integration, road safety, resilience and digital Chennai for improving urban mobility in the Chennai Metropolitan Area.
By June 30, CUMTA had agreed to conduct a stakeholder consultation as per the roadmap and as per the updated comprehensive mobility plan for the metropolitan area. CUMTA would also hire environment and social specialists to facilitate implementation of the mobility plan, an official said.
CUMTA has also agreed to appoint 13 technical staff for overseeing urban mobility, including in metro rail, MRTS and bus transport. The city is likely to get electric buses as MTC has also agreed to finalise a business plan, incorporating the role of 1,000 buses to be procured and implementation of an intelligent transport system in Chennai. In a bid to improve urban mobility and quality of bus services, MTC has planned to implement many programmes, including intelligent transport system and modernisation of buses.