Article Title: Opinion | How to reinvent public transport

Article Summary

This suggestive article named ‘How to reinvent public transport’, the author suggests what needs to be done. The solution is that innovative, multi-modal integration is vital for changing patterns of private and public transport usage. Describing the problem, the article mentions that India’s cities are growing at an overwhelming rate. From a transportation perspective, India has about 18% of the world’s population and only 2.5% of its land area, but accommodates a fleet of 210 million motor vehicles as of now. This adds to the stress.

Talking about the solution, it has been mentioned that connected, well-networked public transport is an ideal alternative. Today’s public transport systems, which follow fixed routes and schedules, can’t offer such conveniences. Innovative, multi-modal integration is vital to drive a change. Different modes, when appropriately combined, could offer inclusive, comfortable and frequent door-to-door services to commuters. Also, cities need to increase the number of public transport vehicles significantly to ensure safe, comfortable, frequent and crowd-free commutes to all. Clearly smart solutions exist, but the major barrier in achieving these is that improvements and upgradation could be expensive unless alternative funding sources are identified. A progressive and forward-looking approach can help us overcome such barriers. It is time now for the public transport to be re-invented and redesigned to motivate motor vehicles users to shift. If not, we run the risk of our cities coming to a standstill.