URBAN

CASE STUDIES SERIES

A joint initiative of NCUM, National Institute of Administrative Research
(NIAR) and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship & Democracy (JCCD)
II
2
0
1
2
Growth of a City
and Public Transit System
Growth of a City
and Public Transit System
growth of
a city and
public transit
system
II
This case is from the joint 'Urban Case Studies Series' initiative of National Centre for Urban Management (NCUM) - of NIAR, LBSNAA and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD)
URBAN
CASE STUDIES
Growth of a
city and Public
Transit System
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy has worked on
this assignment in keeping with the terms of a Memorandum of
Understanding signed with the National Centre for Urban
Management, National Institute of Administrative Reforms, Lal
Bahadur Shastri National Academy of
Administration, Mussorie, Uttarakhand on 11th August 2011.
The team working on developing this case study gained,
immensely, from overall guidance received from Ms. Swati
Ramanathan and Mr. Ramesh Ramanathan, Co-Founders,
Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, Bengaluru,
Karnataka.
The team is extremely thankful to Dr. Sameer Sharma, IAS,
Commissioner Excise, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad,
Andhra Pradesh for his key advisory inputs received at key stages
of the work that was carried out on this assignment.
This work benefitted a lot from the expert inputs received from
Dr. Bimal Patel, Director HCP Design and Project Management
Private Limited, Ahmedabad, Gujarat; Ms. Shreya Gadepalli,
Regional Director (India), Mr. Anuj Malhotra, Director of
Programmes and Mr. Chris Kost, Director of Research all from
Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, Ahmedabad,
Gujarat; and Prof. Abhijeet Lokre, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of
Planning and Public Policy in Center for Environmental Planning
and Technology University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
The team also acknowledges the suggestions and support
received from Mr. Sanjeev Chopra, IAS, Joint Director, Lal Bahadur
Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussorie,
Uttarakhand and Mr. Ashish Vachhani, IAS, Deputy Director
(Senior) and Centre Head, National Centre for Urban
Management, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of
Administration, Mussorie, Uttarakhand .
The team that worked on developing this case study comprised
Mr. Vardhaman Vaidya and Ms. Prachi Sinha both, members of
the Urban Capacity Building Programme at the Janaagraha
Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, Bengaluru, Karnataka. For
further queries or suggestions, the team can be reached at
info@janaagraha.org. Please visit www.janaagraha.org to
know more about Janaagraha's work.
1
Results of implementing a Bus rapid Transit System (BRTS) in some of
the Indian cities have been mixed! Ahmedabads BRTS, however, has
been a largely successful model.
Vibhaa has just been appointed as the Municipal Commissioner of
Kaansyanagar in Maanneek Pradesh. She would, now, be responsible for
anchoring the policy-making-and-implementation for a new and / or
improved public transit system for the city.
She starts to weigh the prospects of BRTS to address the citys traffic
woes, which was a priority for the newly-elected Government. She
realises that BRTS can be a catalyst for transforming cities into more
liveable and human-friendly environs and that its key merit is its ability
to deliver high-quality mass transit within the budgets of most
municipalities. She notes that JanMargs planning; design;
implementation and operationalisation has benefitted not only from
the learnings from BRTS experiences elsewhere, but also from its
adaptation to suit the growth factors and growing requirements of
Ahmedabad.
This becomes a clear lead for her to direct her thoughts on BRTS-
for-Kaansyanagar and further to contextualising and customising it for
the city for which the 1st step would be carrying out a detailed study
of all relevant and related factors. Vibhaa contemplates certain key
considerations that should inform any decision-making regarding the
citys public transport in future.
She focusses especially on: an emphasis on inclusive growth; clear
acceptance of a key role for the urban local government concerned and
its due empowerment; an integrated approach vis--vis the existing
and proposed transit systems within the larger region.
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
2
WHEELS OF
CHANGE!
VROOM FOR
IMPROVEMENT!!!

A CASE STUDY ON GROWTH OF A
CITY AND PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEM
3
Results of implementing a Bus rapid Transit System (BRTS) in some of
the Indian cities have been mixed! Ahmedabads BRTS, however, has
been a largely successful model.
Vibhaa has just been appointed as the Municipal Commissioner of
Kaansyanagar in Maanneek Pradesh. She would, now, be responsible for
anchoring the policy-making-and-implementation for a new and / or
improved public transit system for the city.
She starts to weigh the prospects of BRTS to address the citys traffic
woes, which was a priority for the newly-elected Government. She
realises that BRTS can be a catalyst for transforming cities into more
liveable and human-friendly environs and that its key merit is its ability
to deliver high-quality mass transit within the budgets of most
municipalities. She notes that JanMargs planning; design;
implementation and operationalisation has benefitted not only from
the learnings from BRTS experiences elsewhere, but also from its
adaptation to suit the growth factors and growing requirements of
Ahmedabad.
This becomes a clear lead for her to direct her thoughts on BRTS-
for-Kaansyanagar and further to contextualising and customising it for
the city for which the 1st step would be carrying out a detailed study
of all relevant and related factors. Vibhaa contemplates certain key
considerations that should inform any decision-making regarding the
citys public transport in future.
She focusses especially on: an emphasis on inclusive growth; clear
acceptance of a key role for the urban local government concerned and
its due empowerment; an integrated approach vis--vis the existing
and proposed transit systems within the larger region.
This case is from the joint 'Urban Case Studies Series' initiative of National Centre for Urban Management (NCUM) - of NIAR, LBSNAA and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD)
URBAN
CASE STUDIES
Growth of a
city and Public
Transit System
BREAKING NEWS!!
Since a new Government assumed office in Maanneek
Pradesh, the air in Government offices had been abuzz
with talk of a bureaucratic re-shuffle and the various
permutations thereof. That announcement was finally
made and Vibhaa, got posted as the Municipal Commis-
sioner of Kaansyanagar Maanneek Pradeshs 2nd most
important city after the capital city of Rajatpur. She felt
really excited about the challenges and the on-the-job-
learning-opportunities involved and also given that
Kaansyanagar was where she was born and spent her
childhood. Importantly, the new Chief Ministers (CM)
constituency was in Kaansyanagar. The media carried
many stories of the newly-elected-first-time-CM being
the 1st CM in the States history to be elected from a city.
It was being said that governance-and-service-delivery
reforms in urban areas in general, and Kaansyanagars
all-round-and-sustainable-growth in particular, would top
the CMs agenda. The news carried flashbacks of how the
CM-to-be had identified the Kaansyanagars dismal public
transport as a pain-point. It was also becoming increas-
ingly clear that the new Commissioner of Kaansyanagar
would have to anchor this intervention and had her task
cut out.
Way to go!!! Havent been there, or
done that, but can do it!
And today, just 7 days into her new office, Vibhaa received
a fax about a meeting to be held in 8 days with all senior
officials concerned to thrash out a plan for Strategy and
Next Steps for Improving Kaansyanagars (Public Transit
System) PTS.
Vibhaa was mindful that the decisions and takeaways
from this meeting would impact her in terms of what she
would deliver to the inhabitants of Kaansyanagar. She
should, in fact, create for herself an opportunity to pitch
new and feasible ideas and cutting-edge good practices
and technologies that could be adopted / adapted for
turning around the citys public transport. She couldnt
have, possibly, aimed at just being a representative
supervising a(ny) PTS implementation.
She was ambitious and absolutely confident that her
studious, scientific, systematic approach would stand her
in good stead! She had decided to prepare a detailed
presentation for the meeting. She had noted how
Kaansyanagar was fast emerging as a mega city and
rapidly expanding in terms of area and population
accompanied by heightened pace of motorisation.
In her initial reading on PTS, Vibhaa came across the
concept of Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), which
captured her imagination. The more she thought about it,
the more assured she felt that BRT was the way to go!
She made up her mind to find out as much as she could
about BRTS and to analyse in detail its feasibility for
Kaansyanagar.
Vibhaa got to know that Delhi was the first city in India to
have a BRT and that the planning and implementation for
Ahmedabads BRTS acknowledged as the fullest or
most developed BRTS in India had learnt much from the
Delhi experience. Further, it was heartening for her to note
that BRTS was either being planned or constructed in at
least 7 Indian cities, and that in Ahmedabad work was in
progress to expand the network even as, in Gujarat, it was
being scaled-out to Surat and Rajkot. In her search,
Vibhaa also got to know about the experiences in other
countries. BRTS seemed a lot like an idea whose time had
come!
She was suddenly reminded of her batch-mate, Raveesh
who was presently allocated to the Gujarat cadre to find
out if he could help her know more about the JanMarg
(BRTS official name in Ahmedabad) experiment in detail to
help her further analyse if and how BRTS could be
proposed for Kaansyanagar.
. As luck would have it, Raveesh was close to the senior
officer who had instituted JanMarg. Whats more, Raveesh
Section 1
4
This case is from the joint 'Urban Case Studies Series' initiative of National Centre for Urban Management (NCUM) - of NIAR, LBSNAA and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD)
URBAN
CASE STUDIES
Growth of a
city and Public
Transit System
was to visit his hometown Rajatpur soon for a week.
He promised he would meet with him and further
suggested that he would try to get a telephone appoint-
ment with 2 eminent technical consultants on BRT. It was
agreed that they would meet over lunch in Vibhaas
office.
CONNECTING PEOPLE AND PLACES
Sirs key points are very few and simple, he started, but
form the crux of what JanMarg is all about and what it
means for inclusive growth. A citys economic growth and
geographical expansion is indispensable. However, this
should not adversely affect in any way the mobility of the
people, especially those whose basic-need-satisfaction or
livelihoods depend directly or indirectly on such mobility
and who have no fall-back in terms of private transport.
These people should be any PTS core constituency.
An obvious question to Vibhaas mind, then, was Didnt
the citys existing transport service do that? Or is it that it
did not do so as well as it ought to have? She agreed with
the core constituency point but felt that PTS should reach
out to the discretionary riders.
Given that it is for the people and of the people, Raveesh
proceeded, it is absolutely necessary to understand the
peoples needs through detailed research including
wide-ranging consultations. Being people-centric in
decision-making is a key factor in JanMargs popularity
and success.
Vibhaa agreed but was also clear about one thing: it is a
thin line between being citizen-centric and being populist,
and understood that this was a leadership challenge for
her as well as for the citys Corporators. Vibhaa accepted
that it was her responsibility to connect with the Corpora-
tors and to mobilise their representative authority,
outreach and networks in the interest of the city.
Another thought to have crossed her mind was: More
often than not we tend to be ill-informed about what we
want to achieve in the ultimate analysis. The policies end
up being generic and not suited to the key needs of many
a section of the society. With each layer of growth, a city
becomes all the more complex and diverse. Failure to
respond to such complexities indicates that the city has
only grown, but hasnt grown up! Cities should be
smart, but also sensitive.
Vibhaa recalled a thought that had crossed her mind when
she was reading up on BRT: Public transport should have
the potential and capacity to serve a variety of persons
and their varying mobility needs. All PTS serve people,
who become their customers. As with any business, all
transit customers the transit-dependent and choice-
riders alike must be targeted and sold on the available
transit products. So she wondered if focusing primarily on
the have-nots, and focusing on all including the have-nots,
would necessarily mean 2 different approaches!
Another key point that Raveesh explained was: unlike the
bus services in cities like, say, Bengaluru / Chennai /
Hyderabad which are directly or indirectly under the state
government, Ahmedabads city bus service was run by the
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). Historically,
State governments have had access to more funds than
city governments. Therefore, where it is a question of
financial resources in itself, state-government-run PTS
has done better than city bus services.
That the city governments should be made financially
strong and self-reliant was a deeper issue that needed to
be resolved. It was obvious to him, though, that
Ahmedabad had an advantage in BRT-implementation
since the roads and public transport were under
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporations (AMCs) direct
control. Vibhaas understanding from what she had read
so far convinced her of the desirability of enabling and
empowering city governments for public service delivery
and then making them fully accountable for the same.
In case of PTS, it will be necessary for local governments to
become even more assertive in the planning and provision
of public transportation. Local jurisdictions could do a
much better job of delivering when they can also coordi-
nate the many pieces after being given the necessary
5
This case is from the joint 'Urban Case Studies Series' initiative of National Centre for Urban Management (NCUM) - of NIAR, LBSNAA and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD)
URBAN
CASE STUDIES
Growth of a
city and Public
Transit System
authority over land use decisions and the local transpor-
tation infrastructure.
Raveesh added: This, in fact, is the idea behind the
grounding of the emerging concept of Spatial Develop-
ment Planning and the push for Urban Local Govern-
ments (ULGs) to have a greater say in developing such
plans ideally through an institutionalisation of the
functioning of District Planning Committee(s) / Metropoli-
tan Planning Committee(s) or otherwise. Whats more is
that such an approach would mean implementing the key
Constitution 74th Amendment Act, 1992 in letter and
spirit. This particular aspect has been clearly incorporated
in the reforms agenda under the Jawaharlal Nehru
National Urban Renewal Mission. Vibhaa was aware that
the fact that Kaansyanagar city transport was in doldrums
had led to a demand from some quarters for its handover
to the State Government. This, Vibhaa thought, would
amount to throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
Entrusting provisioning of city-based services to the city
governments should be an end in itself.
So. Vibhaa paraphrased Raveeshs point: Ideally, the city
government should be duly empowered and enabled to
plan for and deploy a comprehensive and integrated PTS
for itself. If for some reason, it cannot be the direct
provider of transit services, the ULG concerned should be
duly consulted through the planning implementation and
daily operations processes.
Further, Vibhaa was also becoming increasingly convinced
that, both, the extant city-transport-system as also the
prospective BRTS for Kaansyanagar should be fully and
properly integrated with the transit systems of / within
the larger region. Raveesh agreed but added that he was
not sure if this had been considered in Ahmedabad at the
time of inception of JanMarg. To be sure, integration with
Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS) had been
envisaged and was still work-in-progress. He also knew
that it would be well-integrated with the proposed Metro
project for the city.
Raveesh continued that historically, land use planning had
been better in Ahmedabad. But he added that even there
transport planning as such as not actively integrated into
land use planning in the past. This has changed in recent
years and JanMarg was a manifestation of that especially
in terms of being an instrument of the process of directing
the citys growth. This was a clear lead for Vibhaa in
terms of the need for contextualising / adapting /
customising BRT in Kaansyanagar after carrying out a
detailed study of such and other relevant and related
aspects.
Vibhaa was mindful that Unified Metropolitan Transport
Authorities (UMTA) had been proposed in the National
Urban Transport Policy (NUTP). Maanneek Pradesh was
yet to constitute an UMTA. She sensed the possibility of
this being brought up by other State-level officials
concerned during the impending meeting in CMO.
Thus, she completely favoured the setting-up of a special
purpose vehicle which in the case of Ahmedabad was
actually a consortium called Ahmedabad JanMarg Limited
(AJL) with AMC being the Lead Planning and Implement-
ing Agency and the Commissioner being its anchor.
Vibhaa noted that Kaansyanagars local government had a
different ruling dispensation, but on this matter there was
a significant and unprecedented bipartisanship. This was a
good thing no doubt, she thought for this had clearly
raised the stakes for the proposed intervention!
A CITYS GROWTH AND PTS
KEY LINKAGES
In Vibhaas opinion, the concept of inclusive growth was
absolutely pertinent to urban India more so in a city like
Kaansyanagar, which was still in a position to avoid some
of the pitfalls of unplanned urbanisation that could not be
avoided and / or continue to be unaddressed in several big
cities in the country. The growing sprawl and gentrifica-
tion and the widening divide between the haves and
have-nots (in terms of just access to basic civic services)
was all too evident.
6
This case is from the joint 'Urban Case Studies Series' initiative of National Centre for Urban Management (NCUM) - of NIAR, LBSNAA and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD)
URBAN
CASE STUDIES
Growth of a
city and Public
Transit System
The poor are as much a part of the citys growth story and
there is a need to facilitate / catalyse their contribution in
a manner that conveys that they are also valued. Vibhaa
thought: A city focused on inclusive growth should be one
that makes all its citizens feel that they belong to it, that
there is something in it for all its citizens (even as
city-life may mean different things to different people).
Raveesh agreed: BRT has the potential of being a leveller
and of projecting a more humanistic image of the city. The
problems that the people of Kaansyanagar would be faced
with include increasing traffic congestion, increasing
vehicle costs, rising fuel prices, rising road-expansion
costs, redevelopment and population growth, increasing
land prices, parking problems, meeting the needs of senior
citizens, highly mobile youth and the differently-abled.
These are the key factors for the growing realisation
among administrators, transportation professionals and
much of the general public that there is value to having a
more diverse transportation system.
True, added Vibhaa, a growing city can mean many
adverse environmental and public health impacts caused
by increased dependence on automobiles. As vehicle
ownership becomes widespread, the maximum air
pollution risk of accidents is on crowded main and arterial
roads where people tend to spend more time. Further,
there are significant linkages between a private-
transport-centered-culture due to a sprawling city and
obesity, simply, due to less walking.
To this, Raveesh said, one may add that easy and
non-time-consuming access to workplaces from homes
not only gives people the option of walking or riding a
bicycle to work or school, it also means improved quality of
time spent for oneself and with ones family and commu-
nity. Then, should administrators, city planners and city
managers of today ignore these aspects now that the
problems and their consequences are so evident and
when feasible and cost-effective solutions are available?
It seemed obvious to both of them that when cities are
small, opportunities are small and transport requirements
are less. As a city increases in size and wealth, demand
for transport grows. Satisfying the growing demand for
alternative modes can provide a variety of benefits, as
many motorists may prefer to drive less if alternatives are
convenient and affordable.
Such demand can be optimally and cost-effectively served
only by high-quality mass rapid transit, not by private
transport as Los Angeles learnt the hard way. Rapid
Transit System (RTS) need not always be rail-based. It can
be exclusively bus-based or a combination of the two.
Raveesh concurred: PTS can be an apt tool for promoting
a citys densification and re-densification, leading the
growth of a city and its economy in the most commonly
understood sense something that happened to some
extent in Ahmedabad.
From his experiences and interactions on this topic,
Raveesh had noted that linkages between land use and
transportation were rather clear. Residential and
employment densities matter when planning for each
type of transit service and for the frequency of transit
services. Higher land use densities and mixed use types
mean more people, jobs, businesses and services are
accessible by a single transit service, while higher
densities mean more potential customers for the transit
operators. This in turn means lower per-rider operating
costs.
Density of the employment destination is more important
in influencing trips than the density of the residential area
where the trips originate. Encouraging travel in both
directions makes the most efficient use of the transit
system. It is unlikely that the patrons and employees of
businesses located along a transit corridor will require a
single type of housing, so a variety could be provided. A
lack of housing diversity can nullify the advantages in
transit ridership gained by mixing land uses. These were
key inputs as Vibhaa wanted to ensure the interventions
would be holistically conceived, designed and deployed.
Vibhaa opined: PTS can significantly influence investment
7
This case is from the joint 'Urban Case Studies Series' initiative of National Centre for Urban Management (NCUM) - of NIAR, LBSNAA and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD)
URBAN
CASE STUDIES
Growth of a
city and Public
Transit System
and can have a strong positive impact on a citys
economy. Improving public transport must be combined
with a containment in private motor vehicle usage. New
development or redevelopment came about on many
stretches of JanMarg, so there is obvious potential for an
increase in land value when serviced by a high quality
transit system. From anecdotal information, price of real
estate has increased by up to a third in areas adjoining
BRT compared to other areas.
Vibhaa also felt that investment in this regard should
aptly take care of the access and safety considerations. As
much as businesses get set up alongside the corridors,
this would be an added dimension of safety in certain not
so densely-located areas in as much as they would
mean having eyes on the street. However robust a citys
financial condition, prudence in spending and cost
effectiveness must be paramount considerations! It was
also about prioritisation Ahmedabad started with BRTS;
Metro-rail, if and when it comes, would be fully integrated
into the existing BRT infrastructure.
As the number of private motor vehicles in cities like
Kaansyanagar continues to grow, it wont be long before
even wide streets would be congested. It must be ensured
that space is dedicated for PTS, for it is always politically
more difficult to take back space from private motor
vehicles.
Both finished their lunch in time to connect with the 2
consultants from Ahmedabad with whom Raveesh had
got an appointment. Vibhaa took out the brief notes she
had made on JanMarg.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE KNOWN /
DONE? KEY ELEMENTS OF THE
BRTS SET-UP!
Both briefed the 2 consultants about their understanding
about PTS / BRTS and sought their thoughts on BRTS for
Kaansyanagar.
>> The western ring road where the 1st section of
JanMarg was implemented up had little congestion and
moderate bus volumes, but the thinking was to ensure
that they get the design right before moving on to more
congested and difficult corridors. 3 years on, this carriage-
way is congested with private motor vehicles. However,
those stuck in traffic now have the opportunity to switch
over to JanMarg, which moves rapidly. Even the best PTS
is not the solution to traffic congestion per se, but
high-quality Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) does
provide a choice for those who dont want to be stuck in
congestion.
>> A wide road is not essential, though it is easier to build
BRT on ring roads and wide arterials. However, proper
evaluation needs to be done about the utility of BRT on
any given road to provide meaningful access and
connectivity.It was equally important to ensure that
pedestrians and cyclists dont feel that they are outlaws
and are, in fact, encouraged. Prioritisation of the 'ring-road'
for BRTs implementation in case of JanMarg was with due
regard to its context, and hence, to the ease of construc-
tion without immediate adverse impact on private motor
vehicles.
>> JanMarg was envisaged as part of a wider network of
corridors including those with relatively narrow widths
(18-24 m.). Demonstration on a less sensitive road
allowed the city to get citizen support for expanding it on
narrow corridors.
Incidentally, Raveesh recalled that 2005 had been a
Shahari Vikaas Varsh (Urban Development Year) in
Section 2
8
This case is from the joint 'Urban Case Studies Series' initiative of National Centre for Urban Management (NCUM) - of NIAR, LBSNAA and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD)
URBAN
CASE STUDIES
Growth of a
city and Public
Transit System
Gujarat. During this time, AMC initiated a series of steps
including restructuring AMTS, introducing a new fleet
through private participation, executing plans to induct
more buses into the public transport system and signifi-
cantly improving the road network (as a comprehensive
development project).
>> More importantly, it needs to be appreciated that
dedicated lanes for BRT improved the total capacity of a
street as against private motor vehicles. Last-mile
connectivity is an important requirement of any PTS, and
bus-based services are better suited to provide this
compared to rail-based ones. Bus services have a wide
network that provides more direct services without the
need to transfer. JanMarg has been designed as a hybrid
system where special buses not only operate within the
corridor network, but also can operate outside to provide
last-mile connectivity.
>> Every bus has right-side doors to provide step-less
entry from the stations and left-side doors to provide
access from the street side when the bus operates
outside the corridor.
>> It can be useful to locate high-trip-attractors (hospitals,
colleges, public agencies, entertainment facilities, etc.)
along transit corridors with the highest quality service.
Providing favourable transit access to these institutions
can make a big difference in terms of a significant number
of customers using PTS or not.
>> Interestingly, while all efforts are made to make PTS
more useful and acceptable, it is also important to
encourage to walk, ride bicycles and carpool. Mixed use
developments building homes, shops, entertainment,
office and even light industrial uses near each other can
create active, vital neighbourhoods. Such mixed uses can
be vertical (within one building) or horizontal (in close
proximity).
>> Good design plays a crucial role in all this. Policy-
making in this regard will, therefore, need a variety of
specialised-techno-managerial inputs throughout the
design and planning and implementation and operation-
alisation stages.
Vibhaa thanked the consultants and Raveesh for all the
help they offered. She now felt more convinced and
confident about what she could contribute during the
impending meeting with the CM.
THE BUS STOPS HERE!
Kaansyanagars city transport was not considered reliable
and people-friendly. The service was not planned with due
regard to demand, buses would not always come to a full
halt at the stops or would not stop at all at times. This
meant commuters had to resort to informal shuttle
services. Other typical problems with regard to congestion
and growing costs of private transport discussed with
Raveesh were more or less applicable to Kaansyanagar.
Vibhaa thought that in her presentation, she should
highlight that the bus stations were designed to offer
protection from sun and rain, benches and leaning
supports for comfort and also that their boarding system
is a vast improvement on the narrow, treacherous steps of
AMTS buses. She would emphasise that the placement of
JanMarg stations at a short distance away from intersec-
tions and the square-about-intersections meant that
there was enough room for turning so that vehicles are
not blocked in any way, and that stations can be reached
by pedestrians by using a short walkway.
Another point to be highlighted was that a BRTS would
need a control centre that employs Global Positioning
System (GPS) installed in every bus to monitor bus
locations, maintain regular spacing and to provide
real-time information allowing passengers in the station
to know the arrival time of the next bus. JanMargs other
key strengths to be referred to were: dedicated bus lanes,
step-less entry into the bus, electronic fare collection at
stations, buses with spacious interiors and wide doors
that match station doors to provide easy boarding and
rapid service to large numbers.
9
This case is from the joint 'Urban Case Studies Series' initiative of National Centre for Urban Management (NCUM) - of NIAR, LBSNAA and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD)
URBAN
CASE STUDIES
Growth of a
city and Public
Transit System
WHO PAYS FOR WHAT, WHEN
AND WHY?
She was clear that she would do well to also touch upon
the relevant economics of what she was talking about.
She wanted the senior representatives of the government
and the administration to know that the alternative to
creating a good PTS was continued dependence on private
motor vehicles. If BRTS is found to be a suitable option
after the necessary studies, she knew that the existing
city transport would still need to be spruced up. She was
also going to make the point that the per capita cost of
building a city dependent on private motor vehicles can be
about 50 times that of a city that is predominantly served
by public transport. It is not just the cost of roads, but also
the costs of providing parking and various services
because of the low-density sprawling city.
It was also important to understand that public transport
cannot be a profit-generating venture, and may require
subsidy to ensure that it can afford to serve those with
low incomes. In this regard, it was noteworthy that within
a few years of its operations, JanMarg had become a
self-sustaining venture (against AMTS which still required
substantial financial support). She was hopeful that in
Kaansyanagar, as is the case with other cities in India,
effective parking management could earn the municipal
corporation several hundred crores annually which could
be invested to maintain and expand high-quality mass
transit.
Vibhaa found out that JanMarg received funding from
JnNURM to the tune of app. 35% of its total costs. 15%
funds came from the Gujarat State Government and the
remaining app. 50% from AMCs pocket. She made sure to
include in her presentation the point about JanMarg being
initiated before JnNURM funds was available so she was
certain of getting just as much (if not more) political
support in Maanneek Pradesh.
She was also going to drive home the point that, in the
Indian context, a good portion of the costs involved is due
to several things over and above the PTS per se that every
city / town must have good pedestrian paths, cycle
tracks, storm water drains and other utilities. An MRTS
may become an opportunity to design and implement all
these.
In order to put things in perspective, Vibhaa wanted to
present that a bus-based rapid transit system could be
built at only about 5% of the cost of an elevated /
underground metro. She had found that even state-of-
the-art buses (say, high-quality CNG-fuelled buses),
stations, roads and all other facilities for pedestrians and
cyclists, the costs would not exceed Rs. 20 crores per km,
whereas a Metro could cost as much as Rs. 400 crores per
km. Moreover, Vibhaa had learnt that BRT projects need
not necessarily involve land acquisitions or expropriations,
or even very wide roads. BRT systems in many cities
operate on fairly limited right-of-way (10-12 metre width)
and also have the flexibility to be designed as one-ways
on parallel streets.
Incidentally, a big budget for an intervention would likely
mean that the local government would end up having less
contribution to make in its financing and therefore have a
much lesser say in its design and implementation
whereas if the Municipal Corporation successfully
implements a BRTS, it could earn the right to be the
arbiter for any future implementation of a Metro project.
Private sector participation was going to be useful for
technological and managerial competencies necessary for
this intervention, and possibly also to lessen the burden
on the Municipal Corporation regarding meeting the
capital, operations and maintenance expenditures
especially if other external support, such as the JnNURM,
was not available.
Vibhaa also wanted to make the point, derived from the
JanMarg experience, about the significance of separating
the operator from the regulator / monitor. The Municipal
Corporations direct role could then be to provide an
effective regulatory framework to monitor quality of
service of private entities (in this case the bus operator
and ticketing agency). She wanted to propose to bring in
10
This case is from the joint 'Urban Case Studies Series' initiative of National Centre for Urban Management (NCUM) - of NIAR, LBSNAA and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD)
URBAN
CASE STUDIES
Growth of a
city and Public
Transit System
the private sector to manage operations under the
planning and close supervision of the Municipal Corpora-
tion, competitive bidding, competition in operations and
performance-based contracts (in conjunction with a level
of service agreement) under a clear framework to keep
operating costs low pretty much as it happened in case
of JanMarg.
Vibhaa was going to advocate a strong institutional
structure and core management team anchored by the
local government that would constantly monitor the
quality of service, maintain efficiency and upgrade and
expand the systems.
The structure, which would approximate that of Jan Marg,
would deal appropriately with the full spectrum of
management issues, including contracting, operational
planning, monitoring and fare collection. In her presenta-
tion, Vibhaa wanted to mention that all of the buses of
JanMarg had been procured by the private sector operator,
who plied them based on a fixed-cost-per-operated-km
plan, and the collection of fares is done by a different
contractor.
In a world where aspiration plays a big role in individual
and societal decision, it would be important that public
transport is now seen as an aspirational service that
provides to the people the connections that they need
meticulously designed first and then smartly branded and
marketed
Her concluding point would be that: No effort should be
spared to ensure that Kaansyanagars PTS (with or
without BRTS) is firmly rooted in the citys context
something that the whole city would be proud of and
could call its own!!!!
.The CM entered the conference room. The house came
to order.
REFERENCES
URLs relevant for this case study
<http://urbanindia.nic.in/policies/TransportPolicy.pdf>
National Urban Transport Policy: The Ministry of Urban
Development is responsible for formulating policies, supporting and
monitoring programmes and coordinating the activities of various
Central Ministries, State Governments and other nodal authorities
in so far as they relate to urban development issues in the
country. know more. http://www.urbanindia.nic.in/
<http://www.ahmedabadbrts.com/>
. JanMarg is a system for one and all. It is about connecting
people and ensuring progress. Janmarg is about creating an
identity for public transport in Ahmedabad and a sense of pride in
Ahmedabad's citizens for their city. Janmarg is an image that will
define the ethos of Ahmedabad as a city that is ready to accept
change, a city that has a vision for the future, a city that will
transform the image of public transport in India.... know more.
http://www.ahmedabadbrts.com/CM%20Msg.html
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi_Bus_Rapid_Transit_
System>
The Delhi Bus Rapid Transit System is a bus rapid transit being
introduced in Delhi. a city in which buses cater to 60% of the city's
transportation needs[citation needed]. Together with Delhi Metro
and soon to be introduced Delhi Monorail and Delhi Light Rail, it will
be part of an integrated multi-modal transport system.
Introduction of bus rapid transit was sped up in time for the 2010
Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Like other bus-rapid transit
systems, Delhi BRT aims to make public transport more
convenient. Delhi BRT is not grade-separated: the buses run at the
same level as normal traffic and share the same traffic signals.
know more.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi_Bus_Rapid_Transit_Sy
stem
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmedabad_BRTS>
Ahmedabad BRTS is a highly ambitious rapid transport system
developed by Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB) for
the city of Ahmedabad, recognizing that no single mode would
cater to the mobility needs of the city and that Bus forms the
most critical segment of the public transport system in the
Ahmedabad city. know more.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmedabad_BRTS
<http://www.cept.ac.in/>
Center for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT)
University
<http://www.itdp.org/our-work/where-we-
work/ahmedabad/>
Institute of Transportation and Development Policy
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bus_rapid_transit_
systems>
List of BRTs and related key info-bits. know more.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bus_rapid_transit_s
ystems
11
Notes
Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy
4th Floor, UNI Building, Thimmiah Road
Vasanth Nagar
Bangalore - 560052
Ph: +91-80-40790400
Fax:+91-80-41277104
www.janaagraha.org
info@janaagraha.org