Summary: If one has 1000 Cr per annum, can he/she help to improve the traffic chaos of the city. Let us just explore what all can be done to improve the traffic chaos. An important point we have 1000 Cr free of cost to do that. Read more to find out how.
Details:
Given 1000 Cr for year what all one can do improve traffic chaos of the city. One is absolutely free to use this money. One can distribute this money as incentive to use public Transport or free cycles to people to use it. Lets us explore what all we would do with 1000 Cr.
- 1000 Cr = 780 Volvo Buses + expense of running them for Year
- 1000 Cr = 20 Flyovers @ 50 Cr each
- 1000 Cr = Use GPRS + Equip Traffic Police with latest equipment to maintain Traffic + Lots of Money still remaining
- 1000 Cr = 20000 Auto + Running Expenses for 1 year
- 1000 Cr = 7000 Meru Taxies ( 10 lakh each) + Running Expense for Year ( @3 Lakh)
- 1000 Cr = 1000 Foot Bridges over Road ( @ 50 Lakh) + 10000 Battery Run Cycle (@50000) and Expenses for 1 Year
All of the above can be given to people without asking them to pay for it. what is more important that one has access to this money every year. That means one has 1000 Cr every Year. Next year he can try other ideas as well.
HOW?
One has to think how is this money is possible? It is possible. Cost of metro is 11000 Cr estimated as of now.
Let us calculate Interest @ 9% will fetch 11000 * 9 /100 = 990 ~ 1000 Cr per annum. If one decides that metro is not required he is having 1000 Cr every year free of cost at his disposal.
WHY?
Let us assume we have metro. Using metro 10.20 lakh ( ~ 0.1 Cr) people will travel in 2011 ( According to Metro data). The interest on this amount is 1000 Cr ( @9%).
Interest paid Per Passenger Spending = 1000 Cr / 0.1 Cr = 10,000 Rs
Ticket Paid by Passenger in Year = 20 * 365 = 7300 Rs
(Metro site say "1.5 times the ordinary bus fare". Assuming that Passenger Pays 20 Rs every day on Metro)
So by the fare structure they have Metro is not able to pay the interest on the project.
Forget about the Operation cost and Principal, in that case metro will be disaster commercially. On the other note
WHY Oppose Metro?
I am sure there is lot of doubt that why am I opposing metro. Let us be fare this time as I have people opposing my ideas on various reasons. I would like to ask them
- Do one feel any of the other approaches like better Public Buses etc tried.
- Do one feel we tried encouraging people to use public buses giving them incentive.
- Do one feel we ever tried giving pedestrian the space they need to walk on the road.
- Do one feel we ever tried encouraging Cycling.
- Do one feel we every tried Hybrid energy cars/buses to save environment.
Do you feel we ever tried above approaches with any substantial amount like 1000 Cr.
If we have not tried any of this seriously who gives us right to say that Metro is THE solution.
Where 1000 Cr is spent as interest only when farmers are dying. Where are those who say we are allowed to spend 1000 Cr only on interest to do public good even if it not viable commercially.
Our country is power deprived. Where are those who say metro is clean but Bangalore city business will keep on running on Disel generators because there is no electricity for them but for metro.
What is the guarantee that people will use Metro and will stop or buy less 4 wheelers. There will be same number of vehicles again on the roads making life choking once one get down from metro. Where do I save my time.
Today Delhi metro is asking delhi Govt to buy more public buses. One of the prominent promise of metro was that it will ensure that no more buses will be required.
WHAT is false about metro?
Metro says that 10.2 lakh people will use metro. If one has not see map of metro, I will request them to see the same before reading further. Metro will have only 5% bangalore with in 1 Km range of metro lines. For other it will be trade of between other means ( Auto, Bus) and metro. Metro is NOT solution for everyone. People going to ITPL from kormangla, Sarjapur, Marthahalli will never use Metro. If one seriously think about the claim of 10.2 lakh out of 70 Lakh population of bangalore will hold true, they will have tough time to prove it as they have to consider time to reach to Metro Station, walking on metro Station, getting down at other station, walking out of Metro, taking Auto, Bus for the destination.
Another claim, difficult to support because we have not tried that we can improve traffic mess by doing basic things, few of the ideas could be
- get high speed bandwidth in bangalore so that people can do Video conferencing and hence reducing cars on the road.
- Make volvo buses Wi-Fi enabled so that people have access to net and they do not feel bored.
- Have public transport service level as close to Meru Cab service giving exact time of pickup at stop and drop at stop.
We have not done any brainstorming on the solutions. Metro is big and very very expensive time consuming activity. Unless we try any of the better solutions how can one decided that Metro is the solution.
Today 1st stage is inevitable but stage 2 of metro is still there to decide. We all know the false claim of Delhi metro. Where Delhi metro is running on subsidised electricity, not paying any interest, still not even half of the estimated numbers are using it.
I still feel that all of us are missing 1000 Cr charity which we will be wasting on interest. We could have done wonders if we go together and try more sane approaches to solve not only traffic problems but other issues as well.
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government has to redefine its role
The need for the METRO becomes acute because of inefficient public bus transport services. And, the only way that can change is by facilitating the entry of reputed private players into the field (rather than the government continuing to play around with thousands of crores of public money), by effecting policy initiatives along these lines. Thereafter, the government should confine itself to playing the role of the regulator to ensure a fair deal to the under-privileged sections of society, as also to provide a level playing field to the private service providers.
However, when a city grows beyond a certain level, it will become increasingly difficult to meet the demands for speedy mass movement, even with the most efficient of bus operations. The METRO then becomes the inevitable option. And, since building the METRO network takes a long time, the start has to happen much earlier. Also, the financial feasibility will then have to take into account the intangible benefits too, and not just the direct costs.
The trick may lie in limiting the growth of cities by spreading across satellite, tier two/ three cities, etc.
Money can be quatified:benefits cannot
Metro is viable or not is a case of making it viable by
public private structure,rerouting and bylaws that make using the
public transport mandatory (This has to be studied-maybe a fixed monthly cess for using other means)
By your logic we do not need any water supply,sewerage,solid waste mangement and medicines(tamil flu),just walk the way. It will save interest.
By the way did u know that water vapour is twice harmfull than the carbon di oxide in terms of climate change-although indirectly. So what do we do?
Stop cooking and burning fossilfuels or put more effort in developing green technology.
Its a never ending debate so the best solution is to innovate what is there.
Nitin Jhanwar
-nJ-
919462900144
www.nitinjhanwar.biz
Hi Nitin
I dont think so it applies to water services at all. because I am not against improving/spendings on to make bangalore traffic better. I am questioning the path they have chosen. If you know something can be solved in 1000 rs why would you go and spend 11000 Rs for the same , that too after taking it on loan. As you know we know that CFL's are better long term no one will suggest to save money by using Filament lights.
So I am not against metro only because it is expensive but I am against the procedure they have executed to arrive on Metro. None have tried any other solution. Do you feel they gave pedestrian a chance, cyclists a chance or anything else.
Thanks.
Bharat