Prof Geetam Tiwari was misquoted in the India Today article

[Ranjit Gadgil]

For those of you who know of Prof. Geetam Tiwari, here is what she wrote to India Today, who have clearly misquoted her!

-- Ranjit

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Geetam Tiwari
Date: Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 6:03 PM
Subject: Re: queries from India Today
To: Mihir Srivastava <srivast...@gmail.com>

Increasing number of cars and two wheelers on  roads is the focus of "unbridled" or "unregulated growth" of traffic.  Over the years we have built and continue to build roads to move more vehicles ( expand roads to accomodate cars), create signal free roads, grade seperators( all these strategies increase risk to pedestrians, make infrastructure more hostile for pedestrains, bicycles and also public transport vehicles). These are based on forecasts of the past trends. All these strategies infact encourage more car use and discourage people from using public transport(bus and metro), bicycles and pedestrians: the alternative to cars which can reduce are depedence on cars.

The paradigm shift needed is " moving people instead of vehicles". If this is accepted then the indicators of judging a good transport policy, strategy and design will change.

1.Instead of asking where is the space for bicycle and exclusive lane for buses on the road we will accept that only after giving quality space to pedestrians, bicycles and buses, left over space is given to cars.

2. Parking spaces for cars and two wheelers not to be given close to home and offices, instead at least as far as bus and metro stops.

3. Traffic operational strategies: signalisation, location of bus stops, turning movements to be planned keeping in

mind the the pedestrian requirments. Every public transport user is also a pedestrian therefore this fulfills the requirements of public transport friendly infrastructure also.

Cars and the use of private vehicles have to be discouraged by making the alternatives( walking, bicycles, bus) more attractive in terms of quality, time and cost. Time or ensuring congestion free movement is the most important strategy. If cars are left in congested lanes and buses and bicycles can move freely, car commuters have incentive and option to shift to alternatives. However, if we hope to reduce congestion for cars by constructing metro systems, car commuters have no incentive to use metro or other public transport systems.

After creating congestion free movement for pedestrians, bicycles and buses, we can impose congestion charging. 

An important aspect of congestion pricing is other polices which can be implemented along with the congestion charge. This includes reduction in parking places for cars in the zone, dedicated lanes for buses and taxis and investment in upgrading bus and metro system and most important creating dedicated cycle lanes and pedestrian paths. The revenue collected through congestion pricing can be utilized for these measures. Car users who do not want to or cannot pay additional amount have attractive options in improved bicycle infrastructure and public transport system. This is an important aspect of congestion pricing that has to be kept in focus for achieving the desirable objectives.  Congestion is  a local phenomenon, and therefore should be a local tax. This is an attractive revenue source for the local municipalities. However, if the revenue is not invested in improving the alternatives to car, then it will lead to a double failure: increasing the cost of mobility and discriminating against people who cannot afford the high cost of travel,  instead of double dividend.

 In the short term we need campaigns with the help of well informed media to inform people of demerits of car friendly infrastructure. Politicians and decision makers react to media. Traffic police and road engineers have to be given a firm policy directions by the decision makers and politicians of the changed priority.

In the long term we need to invest in capacity building of all stakeholders, introduce new road standards( based on our own pilot projects), institutional and financial policy framework favouring pedestrian bicycle and public transport systems. Merely investing in metro systems will not save us from unbridled vehicle growth unless it is accompanied by quality pedestrian infrastructure, bicycle lanes, IT enabled modern buses and bus exclusive systems.

G. Tiwari

 

On Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 1:09 PM, Mihir Srivastava <srivast...@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear Madam,

 

We are doing a story as how unbridled and unregulated growth of vehicular traffic is become an urban nightmare. This is the thrust of the story. I would request you to kindly react to this point and tell us ways, immediate and in long term, to deal with this nightmare that is becoming worse with the every passing day. Is there a need for paradigm shift in the way we manage traffic?

 

It is requested to kindly send your valued comments on it by tomorrow.

 

with deep regards,

Mihir Srivastava,

principal Correspondent,

India Today

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