Is India Financing Urban Transport in the Right Direction

Abstract

Transport issues in urban centers are rising at an exponential rate and are characterized by congestion, high motorized vehicles growth, vehicular and noise pollution, road accidents and parking space constraints. Present public transport and Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) modes are inefficient and do not cater to the needs of 31.23% of urbanized population in India, which is poised to grow up to 71% by 2031 (MoUD, 2015). Lack of accessibility in public transport and NMT has compelled commuters to opt for private transport modes such as two-wheelers and cars, in order to have access to work, education and other leisure activities. The paper aims to assess the finances allocated to urban transport system in the city of Pune under the jurisdiction of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The authors intend to critically review the city budget and its contribution to sustainable modes of urban transport. The key research questions are: - a) whether the budget distributes enough revenue to enhance the efficiency and accessibility of public transport modes and NMT as guided in the National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP) of 2006? b) does the local government continue to invest in temporary urban transport solutions catering to the needs of private modes of transportation? The research is based on secondary budget data of the year 2016-17 and the data so collected, has been analyzed on various financial parameters. The results show that PMC’s budget allocation is not favoring sustainable modes of transport as much as it is catering to other urban transport infrastructure and utilities. The study thereby suggests sufficient allocation of the city’s budget towards the creation of sustainable transportation. Lastly, the paper concludes with recommendation on ways of innovative financing methods to make public transport, sustainable and discusses various case studies of best practices followed globally pertaining to sustainable urban transport system.

Mapping the Research Landscape for the Motorcycle Market Policies: Sustainability as a Trend—A Systematic Literature Review

“…The sustainability cluster groups together papers whose main focus is to evaluate the sustainable development of the territories and for which motorcycles are a means of transport that, like others, contributes to air pollution given the CO 2 emissions they generate. Several publications in this cluster have quantified the market share of these two-wheelers in the passenger transport industry and their impact on the emissions in the territories [77,[108][109][110][111][112].…”

“…Likewise, individuals' choice of motorcycles as a means of transport was recently examined in a city of Colombia [109]. In India, some authors analyzed the efficient allocation of the financial resources of a municipality to favor sustainable transport [110], as well as the possibility of building highways exclusively for bicycles (both motorized and nonmotorized) to promote their use and achieve greater sustainability in the transport system [102]. Other recent studies have assessed the life cycle of electric motorcycles given their rapid growth in some cities around the world [85], as well as the spatial and temporal behavior patterns of users of bike sharing services in order to design better policies that include these new modes of transport [116].…”

Sustainable Urban Development Through Public Bus System Financing: An Indian Multicity Study

“…However, the city transport services provided by PMPML, which is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), seem inefficient while meeting the growing mobility demands of the twin cities of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. The SPV of PMPML is also suffering from poor financial health, as it is funded by local bodies of PMC and PCMC [8]. Among the metropolitan cities in the country, Pune has the worst public transport system in place [39].…”

“…However, they often find themselves financially incapable of meeting the infrastructural demands of the cities [7]. The disconnect between urban planning and land use plans, as observed in many Indian cities, contrasts starkly with the guidelines laid out under the National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP) in 2006 [8].…”