Minutes of the July 19 meeting

We talked a lot, you can imagine the kind of conversations if people with ideas and opinions on just about anything Bangalore converge in one room.

Attendees:

• Local: Rohit, Hrithik, George, Srinath Heragu, Photoyogi, Narayan, Silkboard, Rithesh, Vasanth, GNT, Devesh, Murali, Ravi, a friend of Vivek (missed his name). And vvr sir was 'sensed' to be around :), should see you soon in a next meet!
• Remote: Syed, Tarlesubba, Shastri, Santsub, Mithun

We tried to follow the pre-published agenda. We had agreed to avoid issue specific discussions (website is better suited for that), and we kind of stuck to that despite some small 'friendly fires' in between. Despite Devesh, Syed and Narayan being in one room for over two hours, there was none of BIAL and HAL stuff :)

Some Internet hiccups meant we were about 10 mins late. However, all Praja meetings so far have had 95% of attendees show up on or before time. We will keep this tradition.

Intro session was short, late start meant we rushed through it a bit. Most of us know each other's thoughts etc via the website, but got to exchange some personal tidbits. Next time, we will keep more time for intros and open talk.

Next, we dived into the WG. Went through a "charter" document from Murali sir (whats this sir thing, you may ask. Just a mark of respect for grey haired folks!) via a small presentation. Glossed over them a bit, then talked a lot about what we can do, practicality of it all, etc.

Some key points and conclusions:

• Separate section for Transportation WG on the website. Will be done.
• WG != one project. WG will be a sort of an umbrella for several projects. With time, it should become the "handholder" or "nodal agency" for projects Praja members may take in the area of Transportation (Congestion, Public Transport, Enforcement etc). WG members should network, socialize meet people to create the contacts and connections we need to get our ideas and criticism to the right sets of ears.
• For this purpose, the WG should have "permanent anchors", those who sign up to give it some fixed and serious time every month. Rest of Praja community will collaborate and be the power behind these anchors.
• However, we should start with at least one concrete project and do a good job of it to learn and prove some things. These should be small and practical ideas. Suggestions were:
  • Meet Volvo, Ashok Leyland etc - organize a lab or a conference
  • Work with BMTC to improve uptake of Vaayu Vajra
  • Oversee and drive improvements to BMTC website
  • Take our routing ideas to BMTC
  • Resume Yelli Idira with our ideas (make GPS data available via a platform, and then let interested parties provide ad-filled SMS based Yelli Idira - this would cost BMTC next to nothing)
  • Looking for more
• One concrete next step is to organize meetings with Transport minister, new BMTC chief etc. Murali sir will be doing this in next couple of weeks itself. Get ready to accompany him.

Last, we talked about spreading the word on Praja and ideas on sustaining it. Key points from this discussion were:

• Should do the wiki section ASAP (gyan.praja.in). That could be our biggest marketing tool online.
• Can do a member funded ca/bike bumper sticker with Traffic messages with Praja logo on it.
• Can do more with some money (radio ads etc), but we should try reach the right audiences.
• Running ads to raise money to support Praja operations is okay with most. Company sponsorship was another suggestion, but that will lead to doubts about our 'neutrality'. Key point - Whatever we do, we must be transparent.
• Praja website and possible project work under giudance of Transportation WG and more - these could be seen as two separate things. Projects may find their own way to raise money - corporate sponsorship, member funded.

This captures the highlights from our meeting. Attendees, if you notice important omissions or misrepresentations, please chime in.

BTW, the remote participation thing worked out okay, we will try build on it to get even better remote participation for next meeting.

Thanks Devesh for being wonderful host, we loved the coffee and cookies. Thanks Praveen (photoyogi) for sandwich and beverages.

Hope to see more and more in these meetings as we move forward.