Unified Urban Transport Body and Private Participation in Public Transport Could Help Promote Seamless Urban Mobility

A panel of experts at the India Integrated Transport & Logistics Summit deliberated on ways and means to make urban transportation faster and more efficient. Growing urbanization has increased the need for efficient and seamless public transport systems. Development of public mass transport systems has picked up recently, with a proposal to build a metro rail system in every city with a population of more than 2 million. Multiple trial runs for BRTS system have also been conducted, with varying degrees of success, to improve the intra city transportation infrastructure. Developments in inter-city rail connectivity are also on the anvil. There is a pressing need to address issues of congestion, especially in view of the growing movement of consumer goods and to deploy new age technologies & practices to improve traffic movement and road safety.

The discussion focused on urban transport policy and role of public-private partnership in improving the same. Strengths and limitations of public and private participants in urban transit was also discussed. Currently, most common PPP model worldwide is government investing in infrastructure and private participants managing operations and maintenance activities. However, most panelists agreed that public transport which requires large investment would also benefit from private participation in infrastructure investment. There is also a need to adopt innovative models like land monetization and advertisement to enhance viability of public transport.

Experts suggested that a unified urban transport body on the lines of Transport for London or the newly founded Riyadh authority can enable integrated and coordinated network and can have huge impact towards seamless urban mobility.

The role of technology in enabling a seamless connectivity and enhancing public transport use was also discussed.

Dr Ekroop Caur ,MD, Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) highlighted the key initiatives, like network optimization,taken up by her organization in providing adequate transportation in Bangalore. She also highlighted the importance of integrated planning in providing adequate connectivity to commuters.

Shri. Mukund Sinha OSD, Ministry of Urban Development talked about the funding mechanisms in place for public transportation by Government of India and highlighted the importance of transit oriented development.

Shri.M. Ramshekhar, MD, DIMTS talked about the future of mobility and Shri. Shashi Verma ,CTO and Director of Customer Experience, Transport for London highlighted the importance of an integrated authority in providing seamless urban mobility. He also highlighted the measures taken by TFL in enabling safer and greener urban freight mobility.

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