CHENNAI: Experts have attributed the lack of walking space and bicycle lanes to the increasing traffic chaos in major cities, including Chennai.At a discussion on Sustainable Public Transportation for Emerging Megacities, held as part of the 16th Asia Pacific Automotive Conference (APAC16), a panel of experts spoke about their research on the various reasons why traffic in major urban areas is increasingly congested.Professor Dinesh Mohan of the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, highlighted the fact that in India, there is no separate and convenient space for pedestrians to walk and a dedicated bicycle lane. “People have to walk or cycle to the nearest public transport facility. No matter how good the public transport is, they will not use it by choice if these facilities are not safe,” he said.Mohan also felt that road space for cars and two wheelers should be reduced to give way for bicycles and pedestrians. “Cities should be designed for optimised door-to-door transport,” he says.Dr R Sivanandan from the Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, said that the ideal public to private transport ratio was 70:30. “The reason why people opt for their own transport is the lack of connectivity from stations and bus stops. For some, bus stops are more than two kilometres away from their homes,” he said. Speaking about Chennai’s Mass Rapid Transit System, Sivanandan said, “It was built to handle around 4,00,000 passengers a day, but now hardly 70,000 people use it. The authorities know that the most common complaint is the stations are scary. They can solve this problem by making it them user-friendly and attractive. By coordinating with the Metropolitan Transport Corporation, they can establish bus connectivity as well.” R Seshasayee, executive vice-chairman of Ashok Leyland Limited, said that the public are also to share the blame. “No one wants to travel with other people when they can travel in air conditioned comfort in their cars,” he said.
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