A joint initiative of NCUM, National Institute of Administrative Research (NIAR) and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship & Democracy (JCCD) II 2 0 1 2 Growth of a City and Public Transit System Growth of a City and Public Transit System growth of a city and public transit system II This case is from the joint 'Urban Case Studies Series' initiative of National Centre for Urban Management (NCUM) - of NIAR, LBSNAA and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD) URBAN CASE STUDIES Growth of a city and Public Transit System ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy has worked on this assignment in keeping with the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding signed with the National Centre for Urban Management, National Institute of Administrative Reforms, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussorie, Uttarakhand on 11th August 2011. The team working on developing this case study gained, immensely, from overall guidance received from Ms. Swati Ramanathan and Mr. Ramesh Ramanathan, Co-Founders, Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, Bengaluru, Karnataka. The team is extremely thankful to Dr. Sameer Sharma, IAS, Commissioner Excise, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh for his key advisory inputs received at key stages of the work that was carried out on this assignment. This work benefitted a lot from the expert inputs received from Dr. Bimal Patel, Director HCP Design and Project Management Private Limited, Ahmedabad, Gujarat; Ms. Shreya Gadepalli, Regional Director (India), Mr. Anuj Malhotra, Director of Programmes and Mr. Chris Kost, Director of Research all from Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, Ahmedabad, Gujarat; and Prof. Abhijeet Lokre, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Planning and Public Policy in Center for Environmental Planning and Technology University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The team also acknowledges the suggestions and support received from Mr. Sanjeev Chopra, IAS, Joint Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussorie, Uttarakhand and Mr. Ashish Vachhani, IAS, Deputy Director (Senior) and Centre Head, National Centre for Urban Management, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussorie, Uttarakhand . The team that worked on developing this case study comprised Mr. Vardhaman Vaidya and Ms. Prachi Sinha both, members of the Urban Capacity Building Programme at the Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, Bengaluru, Karnataka. For further queries or suggestions, the team can be reached at info@janaagraha.org. Please visit www.janaagraha.org to know more about Janaagraha's work. 1 Results of implementing a Bus rapid Transit System (BRTS) in some of the Indian cities have been mixed! Ahmedabads BRTS, however, has been a largely successful model. Vibhaa has just been appointed as the Municipal Commissioner of Kaansyanagar in Maanneek Pradesh. She would, now, be responsible for anchoring the policy-making-and-implementation for a new and / or improved public transit system for the city. She starts to weigh the prospects of BRTS to address the citys traffic woes, which was a priority for the newly-elected Government. She realises that BRTS can be a catalyst for transforming cities into more liveable and human-friendly environs and that its key merit is its ability to deliver high-quality mass transit within the budgets of most municipalities. She notes that JanMargs planning; design; implementation and operationalisation has benefitted not only from the learnings from BRTS experiences elsewhere, but also from its adaptation to suit the growth factors and growing requirements of Ahmedabad. This becomes a clear lead for her to direct her thoughts on BRTS- for-Kaansyanagar and further to contextualising and customising it for the city for which the 1st step would be carrying out a detailed study of all relevant and related factors. Vibhaa contemplates certain key considerations that should inform any decision-making regarding the citys public transport in future. She focusses especially on: an emphasis on inclusive growth; clear acceptance of a key role for the urban local government concerned and its due empowerment; an integrated approach vis--vis the existing and proposed transit systems within the larger region. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 WHEELS OF CHANGE! VROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT!!!
A CASE STUDY ON GROWTH OF A CITY AND PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEM 3 Results of implementing a Bus rapid Transit System (BRTS) in some of the Indian cities have been mixed! Ahmedabads BRTS, however, has been a largely successful model. Vibhaa has just been appointed as the Municipal Commissioner of Kaansyanagar in Maanneek Pradesh. She would, now, be responsible for anchoring the policy-making-and-implementation for a new and / or improved public transit system for the city. She starts to weigh the prospects of BRTS to address the citys traffic woes, which was a priority for the newly-elected Government. She realises that BRTS can be a catalyst for transforming cities into more liveable and human-friendly environs and that its key merit is its ability to deliver high-quality mass transit within the budgets of most municipalities. She notes that JanMargs planning; design; implementation and operationalisation has benefitted not only from the learnings from BRTS experiences elsewhere, but also from its adaptation to suit the growth factors and growing requirements of Ahmedabad. This becomes a clear lead for her to direct her thoughts on BRTS- for-Kaansyanagar and further to contextualising and customising it for the city for which the 1st step would be carrying out a detailed study of all relevant and related factors. Vibhaa contemplates certain key considerations that should inform any decision-making regarding the citys public transport in future. She focusses especially on: an emphasis on inclusive growth; clear acceptance of a key role for the urban local government concerned and its due empowerment; an integrated approach vis--vis the existing and proposed transit systems within the larger region. This case is from the joint 'Urban Case Studies Series' initiative of National Centre for Urban Management (NCUM) - of NIAR, LBSNAA and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD) URBAN CASE STUDIES Growth of a city and Public Transit System BREAKING NEWS!! Since a new Government assumed office in Maanneek Pradesh, the air in Government offices had been abuzz with talk of a bureaucratic re-shuffle and the various permutations thereof. That announcement was finally made and Vibhaa, got posted as the Municipal Commis- sioner of Kaansyanagar Maanneek Pradeshs 2nd most important city after the capital city of Rajatpur. She felt really excited about the challenges and the on-the-job- learning-opportunities involved and also given that Kaansyanagar was where she was born and spent her childhood. Importantly, the new Chief Ministers (CM) constituency was in Kaansyanagar. The media carried many stories of the newly-elected-first-time-CM being the 1st CM in the States history to be elected from a city. It was being said that governance-and-service-delivery reforms in urban areas in general, and Kaansyanagars all-round-and-sustainable-growth in particular, would top the CMs agenda. The news carried flashbacks of how the CM-to-be had identified the Kaansyanagars dismal public transport as a pain-point. It was also becoming increas- ingly clear that the new Commissioner of Kaansyanagar would have to anchor this intervention and had her task cut out. Way to go!!! Havent been there, or done that, but can do it! And today, just 7 days into her new office, Vibhaa received a fax about a meeting to be held in 8 days with all senior officials concerned to thrash out a plan for Strategy and Next Steps for Improving Kaansyanagars (Public Transit System) PTS. Vibhaa was mindful that the decisions and takeaways from this meeting would impact her in terms of what she would deliver to the inhabitants of Kaansyanagar. She should, in fact, create for herself an opportunity to pitch new and feasible ideas and cutting-edge good practices and technologies that could be adopted / adapted for turning around the citys public transport. She couldnt have, possibly, aimed at just being a representative supervising a(ny) PTS implementation. She was ambitious and absolutely confident that her studious, scientific, systematic approach would stand her in good stead! She had decided to prepare a detailed presentation for the meeting. She had noted how Kaansyanagar was fast emerging as a mega city and rapidly expanding in terms of area and population accompanied by heightened pace of motorisation. In her initial reading on PTS, Vibhaa came across the concept of Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), which captured her imagination. The more she thought about it, the more assured she felt that BRT was the way to go! She made up her mind to find out as much as she could about BRTS and to analyse in detail its feasibility for Kaansyanagar. Vibhaa got to know that Delhi was the first city in India to have a BRT and that the planning and implementation for Ahmedabads BRTS acknowledged as the fullest or most developed BRTS in India had learnt much from the Delhi experience. Further, it was heartening for her to note that BRTS was either being planned or constructed in at least 7 Indian cities, and that in Ahmedabad work was in progress to expand the network even as, in Gujarat, it was being scaled-out to Surat and Rajkot. In her search, Vibhaa also got to know about the experiences in other countries. BRTS seemed a lot like an idea whose time had come! She was suddenly reminded of her batch-mate, Raveesh who was presently allocated to the Gujarat cadre to find out if he could help her know more about the JanMarg (BRTS official name in Ahmedabad) experiment in detail to help her further analyse if and how BRTS could be proposed for Kaansyanagar. . As luck would have it, Raveesh was close to the senior officer who had instituted JanMarg. Whats more, Raveesh Section 1 4 This case is from the joint 'Urban Case Studies Series' initiative of National Centre for Urban Management (NCUM) - of NIAR, LBSNAA and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD) URBAN CASE STUDIES Growth of a city and Public Transit System was to visit his hometown Rajatpur soon for a week. He promised he would meet with him and further suggested that he would try to get a telephone appoint- ment with 2 eminent technical consultants on BRT. It was agreed that they would meet over lunch in Vibhaas office. CONNECTING PEOPLE AND PLACES Sirs key points are very few and simple, he started, but form the crux of what JanMarg is all about and what it means for inclusive growth. A citys economic growth and geographical expansion is indispensable. However, this should not adversely affect in any way the mobility of the people, especially those whose basic-need-satisfaction or livelihoods depend directly or indirectly on such mobility and who have no fall-back in terms of private transport. These people should be any PTS core constituency. An obvious question to Vibhaas mind, then, was Didnt the citys existing transport service do that? Or is it that it did not do so as well as it ought to have? She agreed with the core constituency point but felt that PTS should reach out to the discretionary riders. Given that it is for the people and of the people, Raveesh proceeded, it is absolutely necessary to understand the peoples needs through detailed research including wide-ranging consultations. Being people-centric in decision-making is a key factor in JanMargs popularity and success. Vibhaa agreed but was also clear about one thing: it is a thin line between being citizen-centric and being populist, and understood that this was a leadership challenge for her as well as for the citys Corporators. Vibhaa accepted that it was her responsibility to connect with the Corpora- tors and to mobilise their representative authority, outreach and networks in the interest of the city. Another thought to have crossed her mind was: More often than not we tend to be ill-informed about what we want to achieve in the ultimate analysis. The policies end up being generic and not suited to the key needs of many a section of the society. With each layer of growth, a city becomes all the more complex and diverse. Failure to respond to such complexities indicates that the city has only grown, but hasnt grown up! Cities should be smart, but also sensitive. Vibhaa recalled a thought that had crossed her mind when she was reading up on BRT: Public transport should have the potential and capacity to serve a variety of persons and their varying mobility needs. All PTS serve people, who become their customers. As with any business, all transit customers the transit-dependent and choice- riders alike must be targeted and sold on the available transit products. So she wondered if focusing primarily on the have-nots, and focusing on all including the have-nots, would necessarily mean 2 different approaches! Another key point that Raveesh explained was: unlike the bus services in cities like, say, Bengaluru / Chennai / Hyderabad which are directly or indirectly under the state government, Ahmedabads city bus service was run by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). Historically, State governments have had access to more funds than city governments. Therefore, where it is a question of financial resources in itself, state-government-run PTS has done better than city bus services. That the city governments should be made financially strong and self-reliant was a deeper issue that needed to be resolved. It was obvious to him, though, that Ahmedabad had an advantage in BRT-implementation since the roads and public transport were under Ahmedabad Municipal Corporations (AMCs) direct control. Vibhaas understanding from what she had read so far convinced her of the desirability of enabling and empowering city governments for public service delivery and then making them fully accountable for the same. In case of PTS, it will be necessary for local governments to become even more assertive in the planning and provision of public transportation. Local jurisdictions could do a much better job of delivering when they can also coordi- nate the many pieces after being given the necessary 5 This case is from the joint 'Urban Case Studies Series' initiative of National Centre for Urban Management (NCUM) - of NIAR, LBSNAA and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD) URBAN CASE STUDIES Growth of a city and Public Transit System authority over land use decisions and the local transpor- tation infrastructure. Raveesh added: This, in fact, is the idea behind the grounding of the emerging concept of Spatial Develop- ment Planning and the push for Urban Local Govern- ments (ULGs) to have a greater say in developing such plans ideally through an institutionalisation of the functioning of District Planning Committee(s) / Metropoli- tan Planning Committee(s) or otherwise. Whats more is that such an approach would mean implementing the key Constitution 74th Amendment Act, 1992 in letter and spirit. This particular aspect has been clearly incorporated in the reforms agenda under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. Vibhaa was aware that the fact that Kaansyanagar city transport was in doldrums had led to a demand from some quarters for its handover to the State Government. This, Vibhaa thought, would amount to throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Entrusting provisioning of city-based services to the city governments should be an end in itself. So. Vibhaa paraphrased Raveeshs point: Ideally, the city government should be duly empowered and enabled to plan for and deploy a comprehensive and integrated PTS for itself. If for some reason, it cannot be the direct provider of transit services, the ULG concerned should be duly consulted through the planning implementation and daily operations processes. Further, Vibhaa was also becoming increasingly convinced that, both, the extant city-transport-system as also the prospective BRTS for Kaansyanagar should be fully and properly integrated with the transit systems of / within the larger region. Raveesh agreed but added that he was not sure if this had been considered in Ahmedabad at the time of inception of JanMarg. To be sure, integration with Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS) had been envisaged and was still work-in-progress. He also knew that it would be well-integrated with the proposed Metro project for the city. Raveesh continued that historically, land use planning had been better in Ahmedabad. But he added that even there transport planning as such as not actively integrated into land use planning in the past. This has changed in recent years and JanMarg was a manifestation of that especially in terms of being an instrument of the process of directing the citys growth. This was a clear lead for Vibhaa in terms of the need for contextualising / adapting / customising BRT in Kaansyanagar after carrying out a detailed study of such and other relevant and related aspects. Vibhaa was mindful that Unified Metropolitan Transport Authorities (UMTA) had been proposed in the National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP). Maanneek Pradesh was yet to constitute an UMTA. She sensed the possibility of this being brought up by other State-level officials concerned during the impending meeting in CMO. Thus, she completely favoured the setting-up of a special purpose vehicle which in the case of Ahmedabad was actually a consortium called Ahmedabad JanMarg Limited (AJL) with AMC being the Lead Planning and Implement- ing Agency and the Commissioner being its anchor. Vibhaa noted that Kaansyanagars local government had a different ruling dispensation, but on this matter there was a significant and unprecedented bipartisanship. This was a good thing no doubt, she thought for this had clearly raised the stakes for the proposed intervention! A CITYS GROWTH AND PTS KEY LINKAGES In Vibhaas opinion, the concept of inclusive growth was absolutely pertinent to urban India more so in a city like Kaansyanagar, which was still in a position to avoid some of the pitfalls of unplanned urbanisation that could not be avoided and / or continue to be unaddressed in several big cities in the country. The growing sprawl and gentrifica- tion and the widening divide between the haves and have-nots (in terms of just access to basic civic services) was all too evident. 6 This case is from the joint 'Urban Case Studies Series' initiative of National Centre for Urban Management (NCUM) - of NIAR, LBSNAA and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD) URBAN CASE STUDIES Growth of a city and Public Transit System The poor are as much a part of the citys growth story and there is a need to facilitate / catalyse their contribution in a manner that conveys that they are also valued. Vibhaa thought: A city focused on inclusive growth should be one that makes all its citizens feel that they belong to it, that there is something in it for all its citizens (even as city-life may mean different things to different people). Raveesh agreed: BRT has the potential of being a leveller and of projecting a more humanistic image of the city. The problems that the people of Kaansyanagar would be faced with include increasing traffic congestion, increasing vehicle costs, rising fuel prices, rising road-expansion costs, redevelopment and population growth, increasing land prices, parking problems, meeting the needs of senior citizens, highly mobile youth and the differently-abled. These are the key factors for the growing realisation among administrators, transportation professionals and much of the general public that there is value to having a more diverse transportation system. True, added Vibhaa, a growing city can mean many adverse environmental and public health impacts caused by increased dependence on automobiles. As vehicle ownership becomes widespread, the maximum air pollution risk of accidents is on crowded main and arterial roads where people tend to spend more time. Further, there are significant linkages between a private- transport-centered-culture due to a sprawling city and obesity, simply, due to less walking. To this, Raveesh said, one may add that easy and non-time-consuming access to workplaces from homes not only gives people the option of walking or riding a bicycle to work or school, it also means improved quality of time spent for oneself and with ones family and commu- nity. Then, should administrators, city planners and city managers of today ignore these aspects now that the problems and their consequences are so evident and when feasible and cost-effective solutions are available? It seemed obvious to both of them that when cities are small, opportunities are small and transport requirements are less. As a city increases in size and wealth, demand for transport grows. Satisfying the growing demand for alternative modes can provide a variety of benefits, as many motorists may prefer to drive less if alternatives are convenient and affordable. Such demand can be optimally and cost-effectively served only by high-quality mass rapid transit, not by private transport as Los Angeles learnt the hard way. Rapid Transit System (RTS) need not always be rail-based. It can be exclusively bus-based or a combination of the two. Raveesh concurred: PTS can be an apt tool for promoting a citys densification and re-densification, leading the growth of a city and its economy in the most commonly understood sense something that happened to some extent in Ahmedabad. From his experiences and interactions on this topic, Raveesh had noted that linkages between land use and transportation were rather clear. Residential and employment densities matter when planning for each type of transit service and for the frequency of transit services. Higher land use densities and mixed use types mean more people, jobs, businesses and services are accessible by a single transit service, while higher densities mean more potential customers for the transit operators. This in turn means lower per-rider operating costs. Density of the employment destination is more important in influencing trips than the density of the residential area where the trips originate. Encouraging travel in both directions makes the most efficient use of the transit system. It is unlikely that the patrons and employees of businesses located along a transit corridor will require a single type of housing, so a variety could be provided. A lack of housing diversity can nullify the advantages in transit ridership gained by mixing land uses. These were key inputs as Vibhaa wanted to ensure the interventions would be holistically conceived, designed and deployed. Vibhaa opined: PTS can significantly influence investment 7 This case is from the joint 'Urban Case Studies Series' initiative of National Centre for Urban Management (NCUM) - of NIAR, LBSNAA and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD) URBAN CASE STUDIES Growth of a city and Public Transit System and can have a strong positive impact on a citys economy. Improving public transport must be combined with a containment in private motor vehicle usage. New development or redevelopment came about on many stretches of JanMarg, so there is obvious potential for an increase in land value when serviced by a high quality transit system. From anecdotal information, price of real estate has increased by up to a third in areas adjoining BRT compared to other areas. Vibhaa also felt that investment in this regard should aptly take care of the access and safety considerations. As much as businesses get set up alongside the corridors, this would be an added dimension of safety in certain not so densely-located areas in as much as they would mean having eyes on the street. However robust a citys financial condition, prudence in spending and cost effectiveness must be paramount considerations! It was also about prioritisation Ahmedabad started with BRTS; Metro-rail, if and when it comes, would be fully integrated into the existing BRT infrastructure. As the number of private motor vehicles in cities like Kaansyanagar continues to grow, it wont be long before even wide streets would be congested. It must be ensured that space is dedicated for PTS, for it is always politically more difficult to take back space from private motor vehicles. Both finished their lunch in time to connect with the 2 consultants from Ahmedabad with whom Raveesh had got an appointment. Vibhaa took out the brief notes she had made on JanMarg. WHAT NEEDS TO BE KNOWN / DONE? KEY ELEMENTS OF THE BRTS SET-UP! Both briefed the 2 consultants about their understanding about PTS / BRTS and sought their thoughts on BRTS for Kaansyanagar. >> The western ring road where the 1st section of JanMarg was implemented up had little congestion and moderate bus volumes, but the thinking was to ensure that they get the design right before moving on to more congested and difficult corridors. 3 years on, this carriage- way is congested with private motor vehicles. However, those stuck in traffic now have the opportunity to switch over to JanMarg, which moves rapidly. Even the best PTS is not the solution to traffic congestion per se, but high-quality Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) does provide a choice for those who dont want to be stuck in congestion. >> A wide road is not essential, though it is easier to build BRT on ring roads and wide arterials. However, proper evaluation needs to be done about the utility of BRT on any given road to provide meaningful access and connectivity.It was equally important to ensure that pedestrians and cyclists dont feel that they are outlaws and are, in fact, encouraged. Prioritisation of the 'ring-road' for BRTs implementation in case of JanMarg was with due regard to its context, and hence, to the ease of construc- tion without immediate adverse impact on private motor vehicles. >> JanMarg was envisaged as part of a wider network of corridors including those with relatively narrow widths (18-24 m.). Demonstration on a less sensitive road allowed the city to get citizen support for expanding it on narrow corridors. Incidentally, Raveesh recalled that 2005 had been a Shahari Vikaas Varsh (Urban Development Year) in Section 2 8 This case is from the joint 'Urban Case Studies Series' initiative of National Centre for Urban Management (NCUM) - of NIAR, LBSNAA and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD) URBAN CASE STUDIES Growth of a city and Public Transit System Gujarat. During this time, AMC initiated a series of steps including restructuring AMTS, introducing a new fleet through private participation, executing plans to induct more buses into the public transport system and signifi- cantly improving the road network (as a comprehensive development project). >> More importantly, it needs to be appreciated that dedicated lanes for BRT improved the total capacity of a street as against private motor vehicles. Last-mile connectivity is an important requirement of any PTS, and bus-based services are better suited to provide this compared to rail-based ones. Bus services have a wide network that provides more direct services without the need to transfer. JanMarg has been designed as a hybrid system where special buses not only operate within the corridor network, but also can operate outside to provide last-mile connectivity. >> Every bus has right-side doors to provide step-less entry from the stations and left-side doors to provide access from the street side when the bus operates outside the corridor. >> It can be useful to locate high-trip-attractors (hospitals, colleges, public agencies, entertainment facilities, etc.) along transit corridors with the highest quality service. Providing favourable transit access to these institutions can make a big difference in terms of a significant number of customers using PTS or not. >> Interestingly, while all efforts are made to make PTS more useful and acceptable, it is also important to encourage to walk, ride bicycles and carpool. Mixed use developments building homes, shops, entertainment, office and even light industrial uses near each other can create active, vital neighbourhoods. Such mixed uses can be vertical (within one building) or horizontal (in close proximity). >> Good design plays a crucial role in all this. Policy- making in this regard will, therefore, need a variety of specialised-techno-managerial inputs throughout the design and planning and implementation and operation- alisation stages. Vibhaa thanked the consultants and Raveesh for all the help they offered. She now felt more convinced and confident about what she could contribute during the impending meeting with the CM. THE BUS STOPS HERE! Kaansyanagars city transport was not considered reliable and people-friendly. The service was not planned with due regard to demand, buses would not always come to a full halt at the stops or would not stop at all at times. This meant commuters had to resort to informal shuttle services. Other typical problems with regard to congestion and growing costs of private transport discussed with Raveesh were more or less applicable to Kaansyanagar. Vibhaa thought that in her presentation, she should highlight that the bus stations were designed to offer protection from sun and rain, benches and leaning supports for comfort and also that their boarding system is a vast improvement on the narrow, treacherous steps of AMTS buses. She would emphasise that the placement of JanMarg stations at a short distance away from intersec- tions and the square-about-intersections meant that there was enough room for turning so that vehicles are not blocked in any way, and that stations can be reached by pedestrians by using a short walkway. Another point to be highlighted was that a BRTS would need a control centre that employs Global Positioning System (GPS) installed in every bus to monitor bus locations, maintain regular spacing and to provide real-time information allowing passengers in the station to know the arrival time of the next bus. JanMargs other key strengths to be referred to were: dedicated bus lanes, step-less entry into the bus, electronic fare collection at stations, buses with spacious interiors and wide doors that match station doors to provide easy boarding and rapid service to large numbers. 9 This case is from the joint 'Urban Case Studies Series' initiative of National Centre for Urban Management (NCUM) - of NIAR, LBSNAA and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD) URBAN CASE STUDIES Growth of a city and Public Transit System WHO PAYS FOR WHAT, WHEN AND WHY? She was clear that she would do well to also touch upon the relevant economics of what she was talking about. She wanted the senior representatives of the government and the administration to know that the alternative to creating a good PTS was continued dependence on private motor vehicles. If BRTS is found to be a suitable option after the necessary studies, she knew that the existing city transport would still need to be spruced up. She was also going to make the point that the per capita cost of building a city dependent on private motor vehicles can be about 50 times that of a city that is predominantly served by public transport. It is not just the cost of roads, but also the costs of providing parking and various services because of the low-density sprawling city. It was also important to understand that public transport cannot be a profit-generating venture, and may require subsidy to ensure that it can afford to serve those with low incomes. In this regard, it was noteworthy that within a few years of its operations, JanMarg had become a self-sustaining venture (against AMTS which still required substantial financial support). She was hopeful that in Kaansyanagar, as is the case with other cities in India, effective parking management could earn the municipal corporation several hundred crores annually which could be invested to maintain and expand high-quality mass transit. Vibhaa found out that JanMarg received funding from JnNURM to the tune of app. 35% of its total costs. 15% funds came from the Gujarat State Government and the remaining app. 50% from AMCs pocket. She made sure to include in her presentation the point about JanMarg being initiated before JnNURM funds was available so she was certain of getting just as much (if not more) political support in Maanneek Pradesh. She was also going to drive home the point that, in the Indian context, a good portion of the costs involved is due to several things over and above the PTS per se that every city / town must have good pedestrian paths, cycle tracks, storm water drains and other utilities. An MRTS may become an opportunity to design and implement all these. In order to put things in perspective, Vibhaa wanted to present that a bus-based rapid transit system could be built at only about 5% of the cost of an elevated / underground metro. She had found that even state-of- the-art buses (say, high-quality CNG-fuelled buses), stations, roads and all other facilities for pedestrians and cyclists, the costs would not exceed Rs. 20 crores per km, whereas a Metro could cost as much as Rs. 400 crores per km. Moreover, Vibhaa had learnt that BRT projects need not necessarily involve land acquisitions or expropriations, or even very wide roads. BRT systems in many cities operate on fairly limited right-of-way (10-12 metre width) and also have the flexibility to be designed as one-ways on parallel streets. Incidentally, a big budget for an intervention would likely mean that the local government would end up having less contribution to make in its financing and therefore have a much lesser say in its design and implementation whereas if the Municipal Corporation successfully implements a BRTS, it could earn the right to be the arbiter for any future implementation of a Metro project. Private sector participation was going to be useful for technological and managerial competencies necessary for this intervention, and possibly also to lessen the burden on the Municipal Corporation regarding meeting the capital, operations and maintenance expenditures especially if other external support, such as the JnNURM, was not available. Vibhaa also wanted to make the point, derived from the JanMarg experience, about the significance of separating the operator from the regulator / monitor. The Municipal Corporations direct role could then be to provide an effective regulatory framework to monitor quality of service of private entities (in this case the bus operator and ticketing agency). She wanted to propose to bring in 10 This case is from the joint 'Urban Case Studies Series' initiative of National Centre for Urban Management (NCUM) - of NIAR, LBSNAA and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD) URBAN CASE STUDIES Growth of a city and Public Transit System the private sector to manage operations under the planning and close supervision of the Municipal Corpora- tion, competitive bidding, competition in operations and performance-based contracts (in conjunction with a level of service agreement) under a clear framework to keep operating costs low pretty much as it happened in case of JanMarg. Vibhaa was going to advocate a strong institutional structure and core management team anchored by the local government that would constantly monitor the quality of service, maintain efficiency and upgrade and expand the systems. The structure, which would approximate that of Jan Marg, would deal appropriately with the full spectrum of management issues, including contracting, operational planning, monitoring and fare collection. In her presenta- tion, Vibhaa wanted to mention that all of the buses of JanMarg had been procured by the private sector operator, who plied them based on a fixed-cost-per-operated-km plan, and the collection of fares is done by a different contractor. In a world where aspiration plays a big role in individual and societal decision, it would be important that public transport is now seen as an aspirational service that provides to the people the connections that they need meticulously designed first and then smartly branded and marketed Her concluding point would be that: No effort should be spared to ensure that Kaansyanagars PTS (with or without BRTS) is firmly rooted in the citys context something that the whole city would be proud of and could call its own!!!! .The CM entered the conference room. The house came to order. REFERENCES URLs relevant for this case study <http://urbanindia.nic.in/policies/TransportPolicy.pdf> National Urban Transport Policy: The Ministry of Urban Development is responsible for formulating policies, supporting and monitoring programmes and coordinating the activities of various Central Ministries, State Governments and other nodal authorities in so far as they relate to urban development issues in the country. know more. http://www.urbanindia.nic.in/ <http://www.ahmedabadbrts.com/> . JanMarg is a system for one and all. It is about connecting people and ensuring progress. Janmarg is about creating an identity for public transport in Ahmedabad and a sense of pride in Ahmedabad's citizens for their city. Janmarg is an image that will define the ethos of Ahmedabad as a city that is ready to accept change, a city that has a vision for the future, a city that will transform the image of public transport in India.... know more. http://www.ahmedabadbrts.com/CM%20Msg.html <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi_Bus_Rapid_Transit_ System> The Delhi Bus Rapid Transit System is a bus rapid transit being introduced in Delhi. a city in which buses cater to 60% of the city's transportation needs[citation needed]. Together with Delhi Metro and soon to be introduced Delhi Monorail and Delhi Light Rail, it will be part of an integrated multi-modal transport system. Introduction of bus rapid transit was sped up in time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Like other bus-rapid transit systems, Delhi BRT aims to make public transport more convenient. Delhi BRT is not grade-separated: the buses run at the same level as normal traffic and share the same traffic signals. know more. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi_Bus_Rapid_Transit_Sy stem <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmedabad_BRTS> Ahmedabad BRTS is a highly ambitious rapid transport system developed by Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB) for the city of Ahmedabad, recognizing that no single mode would cater to the mobility needs of the city and that Bus forms the most critical segment of the public transport system in the Ahmedabad city. know more. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmedabad_BRTS <http://www.cept.ac.in/> Center for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) University <http://www.itdp.org/our-work/where-we- work/ahmedabad/> Institute of Transportation and Development Policy <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bus_rapid_transit_ systems> List of BRTs and related key info-bits. know more. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bus_rapid_transit_s ystems 11 Notes Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy 4th Floor, UNI Building, Thimmiah Road Vasanth Nagar Bangalore - 560052 Ph: +91-80-40790400 Fax:+91-80-41277104 www.janaagraha.org info@janaagraha.org