PUBLIC TRANSPORT IS ALL ABOUT CONNECTING PEOPLE AND ENSURING DEVELOPMENT

Rapid urbanization is a global phenomenon for all the developing countries. In India specially, there has been rapid growth of the very largest metropolitan areas such as Mumbai, Kolkata, and Delhi, which now exceed 10 million residents each. Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Pune each have more than 5 million residents. And 35 metropolitan areas have populations exceeding 1 million, almost twice as many as in 1991. Maharashtra state is leading the nation in economic and infrastructural development which leads to urbanization. According to the provisional data of 2011 census Maharashtra shows 23% decadal growth in urban population and the same in Pune district is 36.63%, With nearly 12 lakh two wheelers and 60,000 cars in the city, the roads in Pune are crowded like never before. This urbanization results into congested roads, lack of public places and parking places, environmental problems; citizens of Pune are facing these problems and are vocal about it.

The obvious solution for ensuring mobility in a city is to focus on public transport system. Many western European countries are investing heavily in models based on most advanced technologies. East European, South American and some of the countries from Asia Pacific have developed cost effective technologies. In India we have some examples like Metro in Delhi and local trains and BEST connections in Mumbai. Pune Municipal Corporation is making continuous efforts and coming up with various models and possibilities to improve the mobility in the city. Improvements through pedestrian subways, footpath, pedestrian plaza, bridges, outer ring road, flyover/underpass, junction improvement and parking systems are worked on. Options of Metro and Monorail are explored.

Each option has its merits and demerits and the governance has reviewed it through different committee's and the reports from experts.

Monorail: Monorail has advantage of requiring less space both horizontally and vertically. They are quite, smart looking designs and cause less interference to the existing traffic. But, issue of emergency exit, compatibility of tracks and vehicles and initial investment required are some of the drawbacks of the system.

Metro: Metro is one of the most attractive options, especially when we have the world's largest metro network in Delhi. Capacity of the system, efficiency and security are the attractive features offered by the Metro. On the other hand, space, infrastructure requirement, high cost for installation and operation are some of the challenges to be dealt with. With increasing circumference of the Pune City, Metro can certainly be seen as a long term option.

Bus Augmentation- At the primary level, bus services should be increased by utilizing and upgrading the existing bus based mixed traffic public transport before investing in a major transport renovation plan.

BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System): BRTS is one of the successful ways of increasing the public transport trips. It includes a dedicated bus lane without interference from other modes of traffic. This has to be supported with the comprehensive coverage, bus priority and other accessibilities. Cities like Ahmedabad are coming forward as successful models under Jawaharlaal Neharu Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). Pune has leanings from pilot project in the city. We can definitely conclude that BRTS needs to be revived and this time people's opinion and experiences should play major role into it. BRTS has been adopted by many countries across the world as a comprehensive system that is relatively low on capital cost. Bogota, Quito, Jakarta, Beijing, Sao Paulo, and Mexico are some cities where BRTS has been successfully implemented. The JNNURM – Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission has given a push to the BRTS, the Union Urban Development Ministry has announced a scheme under the second phase of the JNNURM, as an incentive to the cities and states across the country to implement modern bus system, in particular the Bus rapid transit system.

One of the best reasons to take public transport is Increasing carbon emission through increasing number of private vehicle affecting the environment, so when we talk about sustainable development I think it becomes the responsibility of each one of us to address this issue of climate change, so let's come together, lets participate in governance and help make our city transport more efficient.

I feel that cities are full of diversities in terms of class, people's needs, opinions and priorities. Thus any master plan should be supported by the opinion of the people who will be using the facilities. Thus I invite citizens of Pune to come and share their experiences and opinions. I have no doubt that this will lead us towards a people's friendly and effectively mobile city.

Do post me your suggestion and opinions.