Page 52 - Traffic Infra Tech Magazine

MASS TRANSPORT

Sustainable Transport Saves Lives:

A Case for Investing in Safety

of Public Bus Fleets

nducing a modal shift from and improving the safety of public buses on the bigger vehicle, a bus in this
private transport to public buses will be crucial in making this happen. case. This is largely due to improper
will reduce road traffic deaths in crash investigation. To help avert such
India. In cities such as Bangalore Road crashes negatively consequences, bus services should
Iand Mumbai, the city bus agencies impact SRTU finances take conscious measures towards
– Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Officially, the cost of crashes reported reducing crashes and managing their
Corporation (BMTC) and Brihanmumbai by the SRTUs covers only compensation public image. Bus agencies should put
Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) paid to victims. However, the actual costs together comprehensive investigation
respectively – account for 20-32 percent include vehicle damages, loss of work reports that document all aspects of the
of the mode share, but were involved in hours, and other fees towards enquiry, crash in a scientific manner. In addition,
only 5-13 percent of the road fatalities legal and medical services. For example, driver training and monitoring systems
reported in the city in the last five years. should be put in place, as well as active
The data suggests that the quantum BMTC suffered an average annual loss and passive safety retrofits on buses
of crashes per driven kilometers is of INR 11 Cr (1.7 million USD) between (for instance, larger mirrors for reducing
significantly lower in the case of buses 2012-2016 due to road crashes. This blind-spots) which would help reduce
as compared to personal modes. includes the amount that was paid as crashes. Lastly, a comprehensive policy
compensation to victims, legal fees,
India has 54 State Road Transport vehicle damages, and loss of man hours. at the organizational level will help
Undertakings (SRTUs), catering to over That is, for every INR 184 earned as imbibe a safety culture and persuade
68 million daily passenger trips in rural, revenue between 2012-16, BMTC lost drivers and other members to contribute
inter-city, and urban areas. While the INR 1 as a result of road crashes involving towards improving road safety.
enormity of public bus operations in
India is remarkable, bus agencies have their fleet, on an average. Sustainable transport
often been fraught with operational This is detrimental to the financial saves lives
inefficiencies and low-quality services, sustainability of bus transport agencies. Therefore, a proactive investment
resulting in declining ridership. Since SRTUs operate on thin margins in improving safety will, in addition
Although buses are involved in a and are often not profitable, capital to saving lives, allow for sustenance
small percentage of total crashes, these allocation to improve safety is limited. of bus services. Recently, WRI India
crashes have far-reaching impacts on Hence, provisions in the form of collaborated with a leading safety
finances, reputation, and ultimately, safety grants by the state and central science organization, Underwriters
ridership. And an impact on ridership governments will enable them to reduce Laboratories (UL), to study bus crashes
means that more people will opt for crashes and thereby losses. in India spanning 6 SRTUs: BMTC, BEST,
private modes of transport. A move Reputation of bus agencies APSRTC, KSRTC, NEKRTC, and MTC*.
to public transport will help India inch The analysis suggests that more than 80
closer to its commitment of reducing is at stake percent of crash victims were vulnerable
road crashes by half by the year 2020, In India, crashes are often blamed road users such as motorcyclists and
pedestrians and passengers. There is
a need to study these crashes more
closely and take practical steps towards
preventing them. Steps towards
reducing crashes involving buses,
coupled with a scientific approach to
crash investigation, will go a long way
in helping public bus agencies improve
their financial health, enhance brand
image, increase ridership, and above
all, advance public safety.
Anusha Chitturi and Roshan Toshniwal
Photo credit: Anusha Chitturi/WRI India

52 April - May ’18 / TrafficInfraTech www.trafficinfratech-com-500653.hostingersite.com