The lack of an efficient and dedicated public transport system in Puducherry is proving to be a bugbear for the general public and for policy makers in the Union Territory.
While Puducherry has made stupendous progress in almost all sectors over the years, a virtual failure on the part of successive governments to ensure proper public transportation system is marring the merits of development.
Revenue hike
In spite of the unbridled increase in the number of vehicles, including non-transport ones, and a significant hike in revenue to the government through the transport sector, there has been no proper plan to put in place an effective public transportation system in the U.T.
Official sources claimed that the number of two-wheelers and cars alone had registered a significant jump over the years, while vehicles under the non-transport category remained stable.
Statistics available with the Regional Transport Department revealed that as many as 11,27,940 vehicles were plying in the Union Territory. This included a whopping 7,70,839 two-wheelers, 6,993 three-wheelers (autos and tempos), 3,684 buses and 3,794 omni buses.
While vehicles grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of close to 35% in the U.T., the growth of public transport vehicles was a meagre 0.38% of the buses per 1,000 population, according to a report of the Transport Department.
Another disturbing feature is that although the transport sector offers good scope for the government to tap revenue, the number of vehicles, especially buses operated by the government, is far less than those operated by the private sector to link Puducherry to different locations.
“A majority of the residents are dependent only on autos and tempos to commute daily. Once an effective public transportation system is put in place, people will only prefer them, dispensing with the need to have more vehicles on the roads,” R. Venkatesh, a resident, said.
Presently, Puducherry presents a picture of almost every household owning not less than three two-wheelers.
The congestion on the roads, coupled with poor traffic management, is also due to want of proper urban mobility planning. Inspite of repeated representations, no action has been evolved so far, said another official.
Ashok Panda, co-convenor of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), said: “An efficient public transport system has to be put in place, so that more people use it. Only battery-operated tempos/autos and mini buses should be allowed to run in Boulevard Town. Air-conditioned mini buses could also be operated at a higher price to enable more people to use public transport. Many cities have only e-rickshaws or battery-operated auto-rickshaws. Puducherry needs to get started on this idea which is very much suited for the Old Town.”
A pilot project could be taken up in the French quarters with electric vehicles plying from the north to south on every street, he said.
Tourists could park their vehicles at Subbaiya Salai or the Old Port area and the inner streets could become a fully no-parking zone with one-way traffic.
The Beach Promenade, which is fully pedestrian from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. (the next day), is very popular with residents of Puducherry and the tourists. A similar initiative can be taken up with the Dumas and the Romain Street from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m, Mr. Panda added.
The Smart City project, being funded by the Government of India, gives good opportunity to take up these initiatives — cycle lanes to bring back bicycles and more pedestrian space for people to walk wouls be ideal. Puducherry could set a whole new trend in India, Mr. Panda said.
According to a Transport Department official, Intelligent Public Transport System is the need of the hour in Puducherry. In an effort aimed at the overhaul of the public transport system, the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Limited (DIMTS) had submitted its Comprehensive Mobility Plan to the Government. The CMP, submitted in 2015, had suggested that tempos, which are currently plying in Puducherry, be gradually replaced with e-rickshaws, he said.
Urban mobility plan
The Comprehensive Mobility Plan will be incorporated in the Comprehensive Development Plan, which will be implemented under the Smart City project. Agence Francaise Development (AFD), the French bilateral agency, has come up with a plan for urban mobility for Puducherry.
However, the government suggested that urban mobility be included for the entire U.T. and AFD had agreed to the proposal, he said.
