December 2016 could be considered the year’s best month for mobility in India, thanks to several new forward-looking developments across the country – two new bus systems inaugurated (Noida and Nagpur), one BRT corridor started (Amritsar), one Metro line pilot run held (Lucknow), two new Metro lines inaugurated (Mumbai) and one new Metro line approved (Pune).
UITP wishes that the Union Government and other stakeholders should make 2017 as Mobility Year for India. The Government should commit more investment towards development of public transport infrastructure in cities.
While it is quite obvious that India needs more investment in public transport infrastructure and should follow a partnership approach with private players to promote public transport, let’s take a look at some of the key projects that saw progress in December 2016.
Apni Bus in Nagpur
Nagpur city has launched the new public transport system under the title of Apli Bus Pariyojana (Our Bus Service) with a fleet of 195 buses, out of which 55 buses will be ethanol-fuelled green bus by Scania. The Nagpur Municipal Commission (NMC) will be operating 145 red buses (diesel) and 55 green buses (ethanol). It is important to highlight that this is the first time the ethanol-fuelled buses are used in operational fleet in India.
The bus operation will be done by three private operators – Travel Time Car Rental Pvt. Ltd., Smart City Bus Service and Shyama Shyam Services Centre. Further, NMC has appointed Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Ltd. as integrated bus transport manager (IBTM) for performance measurement, standards, monitoring and analysis.
Bus Service in Noida
The Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) has started operation of city buses at Noida and Greater Noida from December 14, 2016. This is a very important project as there was need for good bus service in Noida and Greater Noida.
MP Enterprises & Associates Ltd. is the concessionaire of the project and monitoring will be done by the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation. Initially, 20 buses will be operated on three routes and 30 buses will be inducted in the next few days.
BRT corridor in Amritsar
Amritsar will become the first city in Punjab to implement the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system and the first city in north India to implement a fully-closed system. The total length of the corridor is 31 km and will have seven lines and 62 stations. The BRT route will include the dedicated corridor as well as ‘mixed traffic’ zones such as the 3-km elevated road that runs along the general bus terminus.
The first phase of the project was inaugurated on December 16. In the first phase, the bus would traverse from India Gate on the Amritsar-Attari bypass road to the Amritsar railway station.
Metro Pilot Run in Lucknow
The Lucknow Metro is a Mass Rapid Transit System being constructed for the city of Lucknow. Lucknow Metro will be having two routes, from North to South and East to West. The work on phase I of the North-South corridor was started in 2014. The entire 23-km long corridor will have 21 stations, including eight elevated ones.
Trail run of phase IA was flagged off on December 1. The authority conducted the first round of trial on the 6.5 km-long elevated track between Transport Nagar and Mawaiya metro stations. The project will be open to the public in March 2017.
Metro Extension Line (1A and 2A) in Mumbai
As part of the extension of Mumbai Metro, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority has started construction of Line-2B (DN Nagar – Bandra – Mankhurd) and Line-4 (Wadala – Ghatkopar – Mulund – Thane – Kasarvadavali) of 23.5 km and 32.32 km respectively. The foundation stone was laid down by the Prime Minister on December 24.
The estimated cost of Line-2B and Line-4 is Rs. 110 billion ($1.7 billion) and Rs. 145 billion ($2.2 billion). Both State and Central Governments are expected to entirely fund the lines’ civil construction, but will borrow funds for procurement and installation of sub-systems (rolling stock, signalling, escalators, etc.).
New Metro Line in Pune
Pune city is the latest entrant to the list of cities with Metro system. Pune is one of the emerging cities in India with a population of 5 million. It is emerging as an IT and automotive city. Pune Metro is under construction metro for the Pune Metropolitan Area.
The project will be implemented by Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (MAHA-METRO), which will be a 50:50 jointly-owned company of the Union and Maharashtra Governments. The Pune Metro project was inaugurated on December 24. The Centre approved the development of phase-I of Pune Metro Rail Project which will cover a length of 31.25 km at a total cost of Rs. 114 billion ($1.7 billion).
India became the second country after China to announce National Guidelines for the regulation of the taxis industry, include online booking apps or taxis aggregator. China notified its guidelines in July 2016 and was applicable from November 1, 2016.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highway (MoRTH) has released the draft Taxi Policy Guidelines to promote urban mobility. This is the second time in which the Ministry has released the national guidelines.
Courtesy: UITP