Page 34 - TrafficInfraTech Magazine - Linking People Places & Progres

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Changing Urban Mobility

The need and desire to move around only for essential items
during the lockdown period has raised a very pertinent question
amongst all the urban mobility experts- Can we reduce the
Urban Travel Demand? The answer is a strong yes! Ankush
Malhotra, Head of Department-Urban Planning and Transit

System, SYSTRA explains

e are seeing that
apart from reduction
in the number of trips
made for recreational/
Wshopping/ medical/
education/religious purposes, there has
been a strong decline in the number
trips to workplaces, government offices,
banks etc. as well. One of the major steps
that can be taken up by the authorities
to meet the changing dimension of • Re-assess the demand on each of would need to be redefined to ensure
urban mobility is to build wider footpaths the routes/ corridors and define the regular sanitisation of the places.
along all the major arterial roads with frequency of the trains/ buses based While meeting all these above
cycle tracks to promote non-motorised on the changing demand measures, the public transport authorities
transport and safe walking. Agencies such would face a strong challenge of increased
as CRRI have come out with guidelines • Majority of the offices would be operational expenses and reduced
for designing pedestrian infrastructure, working in shifts due to staggering earnings due to reduction in the demand
intersections and other public transport of office hours- Meeting the dynamic and the buses/trains carrying capacity.
facilities while maintaining the norms of demand during the entire day
social distancing. • Earmark spaces at the Stations One of the major opportunities in the
However, the biggest challenges to enable users to maintain social post pandemic scenario would be to
organise and integrate the entire public
to cope up with the New Normal is distancing norms transport system under a unified institution
organising the entire public transport • Encourage users to travel by stairs and to ensure better coordination and
system (buses, metro, other rail escalators while maintaining distance integration. All the public transport services
infrastructure, feeder services etc.) in the rather than using lifts such as buses, metro, feeder buses, shared
post pandemic situation. It is expected cabs, IPT and first & last mile connectivity
that there would be a heavy shift from • Changing the seating pattern in the can operate as complimentary services for
public transport to private transport and coaches and buses based on alternate services. Large bus companies or metro
users may start buying new vehicles or seating system rail operators can co-opt the smaller micro
increase the usage of personal vehicles. • Crowd management at stations mobility & shared use operators and their
Thus, some of the tasks to be taken by technologies to sustain and maintain the
the Public transport authorities would be • Safety and maintenance practices share of public transport in Indian cities in
to adopt the following measures: for the metro trains and at stations post pandemic era.

34 April-May 2020 / TrafficInfraTech www.trafficinfratech-com-500653.hostingersite.com