Page 48 - TT Magazine Feb-Mar 2019
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PUBLIC TRANSPORT
many other cities in Gujarat are looking private company in the world today
at introduction of a transport tax right is Uber, which is a transportation
now, mainly focussed on funding public company. That is the value that can be
transport gap. Also, state has the role generated from moving people and it
to reimburse the gap created by the need not be generated from 100% of
subsidies fully. Gujarat government your population. If it is generated from
has also come out with a viability gap the top of the pyramid, it can actually
funding for public transport. For every be used to subsidise or to provide
kilometre of bus operated one has to transportation for the entire segment.
pay twelve and a half rupees and the If we can create an efficient system
equation is like this. They estimate the today there is no reason why we
total cost of the bus operations for a can’t generate investments even from
standard bus is about 75 rupees; of private companies. WRI’s Better Bus
that 75, two-third has to be generated Challenge brought private startups to
In every city overlap through revenue fare box and one-third tie up with road transport unions to see
has to be a viability gap. Of that one-
how they can collaborate together. An
between regional third viability gap, 50 percent has to be efficient system can possibly do away
train, metro or BRT borne by the local authority and fifty with the need for viability gap funding.
percent by the state.”
Talking of the Pune experience,
do happen. We According to Patwardhan, cities are Deshpande said that, till 2014-15, the
should look at it as an sitting on a goldmine; even if they start city used to spend only ten to twenty
opportunity to even charging congestion tax and parking percent of its total transport budget on
fees for personal vehicles, they will
sustainable transportation -- that was
restrict the private have enough money to support public walkers or cycles. Only in the last three
vehicle usage on transport. In India, 90% of the people years that it has started putting at least
do not own any vehicle, so for them
fifty percent of its own budget into
those overlapping public transport is important. It is very sustainable transportation. Now there
corridors. important whatever money you spend is money but priorities are changing.
The city is saying that it needs walk
on transportation, it has to be spent
on the basis of how many people are paths, buses and cycle, that is the
Pranjali Deshpande travelling from point A to point B and future of our city. There has been
not how many vehicles are travelling reallocation of budget.”
from point A to point B. So, there is no “Money or funding is not the issue.
dearth of money. There should be some pressure from
The panel felt that Bus Transport the state or the central government
should not face discrimination. “In so that cities spend in sustainable
Bombay, the cars carry 7% of the transportation. In Maharashtra, there
population but occupy 87% of the is Draft Sustainable Transportation
road space. If you look at urban Policy, that says cities should spend fifty
transportation spent, cars are used by percent of its budget on sustainable
about 7% but account for 80% of the transportation.”
transportation spent because it is that In Ogra’s opinion, capability of a
expensive to own a car, the diesel, the technology lowers the requirement
parking etc. A car pays a one-time tax of operational funds. Most of the
when purchased but a private bus pays city transport organisations in India
a tax per seat per month on a monthly do not have scientific means, that is
basis. There is an imbalance in terms planning and scheduling platform to
of how we are generating revenue to really ensure their vehicles are operated
be used for transportation”, argued efficiently. In Ahmedabad, planning &
Shah. If you look at the most valuable scheduling system was implemented
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