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Benefits of metro rail
Written By vinod_shankar - 5 November, 2009
Bangalore Bangalore Delhi DMRC urban Namma Metro Review Transportation public transport BMRCL Metro Rail
Every now and then i see one or the other organisation opposing the metro. No doubt they entitled to their views, but do they ever see the benefits any metro brings to cities,(especillay the crowded ones like bangalore, mumbai etc) Let me quote a few points from PIB regarding the delhi metro, i am sure such benefits will accrue to bangalore also once the metro is complete
„« Fuel cost saving: The annual saving on account of reduced fuel consumption will be Rs.180.89 crore in 2009, more than double from Rs.73.22 crore two years ago.
„« Number of vehicles off the road : Since the Metro began operations in December 2002, there has been a progressive reduction in daily vehicle demand due to the people shifting to Metro for commuting. In 2009, the Metro will take the daily share of 57,953 vehicles for all other modes of travel such as cars, buses, two-wheelers, auto-rickshaws, etc.
„« Vehicle cost saving : The annual vehicle (capital and operating) cost saving will almost triple from Rs.93.21 crore in 2007 to Rs.276.24 crore this year.
„« Reduction in emission of greenhouse gases : The increasing use of the Metro will result in prevention of emission of 131,395.34 tonnes of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide from being emitted into Delhi¡¦s atmosphere upto 2009. This is a five-time increase from 27,614.34 tonnes in 2007.
„« Emission cost saving : The emission cost saving will also increase almost three times from Rs.14.29 crore in 2007 to Rs.41.04 crore in 2009.
„« Number of Road accidents avoided : The Metro will help avoid a total of 255 accidents, including 51 fatalities, in 2009. In 2007, the respective figures were 196 and 21.
Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) has carried out a study which says that the annual cost saved by Metro passengers on account of reduced travel time will go up three times from Rs.310.13 crore in 2007 to Rs.947.07 crore in 2009.
And also Delhi Metro has become the first Railway project in the world to be registered by the United Nations under the clean development mechanism which will enable it to claim carbon credits.
vinod
COMMENTS
blrsri - 6 November, 2009 - 09:53
The stress and other health factors are not esaily measurable..but quite important and these get drastically affected by metro I suppose.
Can one reach a place in time?
Why is the Jam so bad?
Why is the road so bad?
Why are they doing the road block/hartal?
etc
idontspam - 6 November, 2009 - 12:30
would leave #2 and #3 for now simply because local governance structures are not there yet.
This reminded me of my customer in Stockholm who cancelled a business meeting to attend to a public consultation session arranged by the municipality who were planning to replace a traffic light junction with a roundabout in her neighborhood. When asked if she was sure her opinion would be accepted, she said no guaruntees but the trust with her local municipality made her confident any reasonable opinion will be accepted for incorporation into the larger plan. Regardless she wont skip it just because she is not sure of the results.
Post this discussion, it appeared pretty self centered to me, when we make statements on this platform that it is a waste of time to have opinions and be heard if it doesnt result in direct action on the ground. It also showed how mature cities take public opinion into account and transparently include public in building their city. There may be juvenile opinions but facts and consequential benefits must be sold to the public.
It is important for city administrators to make #3 a standard practice for any modifications.
silkboard - 6 November, 2009 - 14:56
IDS, thanks for this line there "Post this discussion, it appeared pretty self centered to me, when we make statements on this platform that it is a waste of time to have opinions and be heard if it doesnt result in direct action on the ground."
Thinking and acting positively is never a waste of time. When there are 10 suggestions and only 1 decision to make, chances are that 9 will end up feeling disappointed. The succees of constructive crticism is in making the other 9 feel that their opinions provided the diversity that made the decision maker feel good about having lots of choices.
Anyway, this is getting a bit philosophical.
Vinod - sorry if this looks off topic, but endless Metro bickering makes me write all this.
n - 6 November, 2009 - 15:29
Delhi metro is also one of the few metros in the world that are profitable. This should be true of other cities like Bengaluru also as -
a) People in Indian cities are not averse to using regular (read not erratic) public transportation
b) Metro is much better (cleaner, quicker, punctual) than existing inadequate modes
(BTW, mandating mass PT system for cities with a population greater than 'x' was one of the suggestions I sent in for the recently solicited suggestions for the MV act)
silkboard - 6 November, 2009 - 09:32
I am writing only this because all this going back and forth on almost everything happening in the city bothers me a bit.
No decision is perfect. Speed of decisions and execution matter lot more than making the perfect call in 60-40 type situations. Yes, I practice this (at work), and am not just preaching.
It is sad that collective brains of civil society get drained in different directions. We know it is unrealistic to expect the perfect on all the four counts :
- Agencies gather requirements from citizens
- Quick and perfect decisions by agencies
- Citizens rally around the decisions to review, enhance them
- And then everyone pitches in to track execution like hawks
What do you do when you have limited resources? Put them on what you think gives best ROI (return on investment). The resource in short supply here is time of active and aware citizens - right? It is the time that you and I 'waste' reading and writing all this, and attending all those meetings and events.
My opinion is that if we pick #4 to be the focus - If we shift even 10% of energy of citizen activists towards tracking of whatever is locked in and decided - we get the best ROI on our times.
Next after #4 should be #1. I would leave #2 and #3 out for now simply because local governance structures are not there yet.
Of course, this is all my personal opinion. But I for sure spend my time ('wasted' here or wherever at the expense of time for family etc) according to the lecture written above.
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