Metro - coverage comparision with some cities

Good attempt Idiotspam,

       Though I am not aware of other cities, I can safely comment that the Singapore Metro map shown here includes a lot of future lines. Work on three of the seven merto lines shown here will not start for the next five years. Three of these are now operational and work on the circle line has been in progess for too long now and will be not be completed before 2011. Having stayed in Singapore for the past 18 months and extensively used the public transport systems there (btw, I am planning a post on how better the bus system is in Bangalore!!), I would want to opine that the comparative pictures you have put up are not proper.

       Another reson why I believe that this is incorrect comparison. The Singapore map shown here includes the metro map and the feeder LRT sections. But the one for bangalore is only the Metro lines. If you add all the 'proposed' monorail routes, it looks a lot more complete, probably a little too excessive.

There is already talk of a fourth line to Whitefield. Add a few monorails line proposed by Scomi. Yes, I agree we have just started.

A little off the topic, taking a look at the berlin and London maps presented here, I get a feeling that we need some software systems to guide us on the routes to take within the city. I am curious to know how people there decide on which interchanges to use to travel from one station to another. Sometimes, if you have too many possible ways, you may not understand what will be right route at what point of the day!!

-Srivatsava V

http://srivatsava-vajapeyam.blogspot.com/

IDS - Most informative.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, these complicated networks have evolved over a long time, whilst we are only just about beginning. The costs & land issues are also much more complex in our cities than abroad.

I dont think it will be possible to build such systems very fast - some have taken over a hundred years to emerge into what they are today !

I had the opportunity to see bangalore metro's planned future alignments which also has forks as suggested by you - in fact, Delhi metro's lines are also going to have such branches to improve connectivity. All this is going to take time, though.

They first have to have the spine laid out & then make additions as necessary, which I think they will in the future.

The ridership nos. with BMTC being only 3.7 million is because of inefficiency due to heavy loads on the roads & lack of punctuality by buses. Once some mass transit systems are in place, these nos. are bound to increase as dependence on private transport will reduce.

The development of mass-transits (for bangalore, or any other city) cannot cater to all individual requirements immediately. Typically, the first routes installed are usually the ones that are along where the maximum needs are or where the highest loads of commuters exist.

Bangalore’s mass-transit has been in the planning stages from a long time, but due to continued debate about system suitability & finances, it has only just commenced.

(See: http://bangalore.praja.in/blog/naveen/2008/10/27/bangalore-mass-transit-summary-past-study-reports).

It is also well known that public transport cannot cater to the convenience of every individual. At best, it can only be designed as a compromise for the best needs of all individuals put together.

Whilst the first systems in the world (London, Berlin, New York) took a long time to be developed, Asian systems that came up later (Japanese cities, Seoul, Hong kong, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai) have developed much faster due to rapid economic progress & readily available, tested technologies.

The history of urban mass-transits in India began only in late-1984 with the opening of a small section of the Kolkata Metro. There was no progress in any other city until end-2002, when the first section of Delhi metro began operations. Thus, India’s “march” has only just begun, but may pick up pace soon.