“ROAD SAFETY: First Step is to Educate People”

Having uniform number plate recognition on a national level and creating centralised data can help enforcement of traffic violations.

The new Road Safety Bill covers almost every aspect of road safety including the number plate system. There is a need to set up a proper system, it should be implemented on time. Any lacunae can be corrected in due course of time.

What are the initiatives to improve the State Transport bus services? How is the mobile application for ticket booking functioning?

MSRTC is yet to implement stateof- the-art technologies in its vehicles. As discussed, introduction of speed governors and GPS would be our first step towards applying the latest technologies in public vehicles. There would be around 250 monitoring systems across the state.

You are also introducing rules for app based registration of taxi drivers.

A policy for mobile application-based taxi services like Uber, Ola, and Taxi For Sure, is likely to be announced soon. The draft of Maharashtra Mechanically Propelled Vehicles and Road Safety Act, 2015 will include mandatory registration of such services. According to the act, no such taxi services would be allowed in the state unless they fulfil all the requirements.

Keeping that in mind the Uber incident in Delhi last year, the new set of rules will make it mandatory to have a software-based SOS button as well as safety alarm in the cab. Registration of drivers along with their detailed police record will be kept with the department before giving permission for plying the cabs.

You are also heading the Maharashtra Road Safety Council.

The first step is to educate people, what are their duties, what all things they have to keep in mind. We need people participation, their support when we implement a certain law/act in the State.

It is the responsibility of the citizen to use public transport wherever possible; there must be minimal utilization of private vehicles. If every family member brings out his/her car on to the road, it will only lead to congestion and chaos.

We cannot overload a road beyond its capacity. Public should also co-operate with the government, it is for their safety. There is no law to curb the number of vehicles on the road; you can only educate the public in these areas. We want schools and education institutions to introduce at least one chapter on ‘Road Safety’ in their curriculum, so that the youth are well trained in traffic rules and regulations.

What are the transport related issues to be considered when working towards smart cities?

Good transport system and smart cities are interconnected but the most important feature is good road. After good roads, it is mono & metro rails that play an intrinsic part of smart connectivity. The state government has already proposed water transport which will connect the island city to the suburbs i.e; the proposed Nariman point to Dahisar and Nariman Point to Borivili routes. The combination of all these modes of transport will definitely reduce the congestion on roads. Central government has signed an MoU with Japanese companies to develop the transport system in cities like Mumbai. With these funds, we hope to provide seamless and world class transport system for our people.

Our main aim is to create good drivers. Good drivers are backbone of any good transport system. Driver fatigue is one of the main causes of road accidents, and hence, proper training and regular breaks should be provided to them.