Latest news with #MumbaiSustainabilityCentre
Time of India
29-06-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
BEST's contract buses a ‘flop', but system a success globally
Mumbai: A comparison of BEST buses with bus systems globally reveals several potential lessons from successful bus operations in other world cities. Activists say that the wet-lease system of hiring buses from contractors is a 'complete failure' in the city. Globally, however, such systems have seen notable success, leading to increased service efficiency. London, for instance, introduced the wet-lease model in 1985 to tackle financial challenges in publicly owned entities. This facilitated reliable, high-quality bus services and proved equally effective during London's transition to electric buses. Also, Mexico City, Santiago, Shenzhen (world's first fully electric bus fleet) and Bogotaadopted the wet-lease model for e-bus operations. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Rishi Agarwal, director of Mumbai Sustainability Centre, observed that the wet-leasing model's effectiveness abroad—especially in London—relies on well-designed, strictly enforced contracts. "Fares provide almost 60-80% of recovery of costs, there are third party audits to monitor bus quality and operational parameters. If it can be done in London it can be done here. It takes less than a month to design high quality contracts and implement them. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Knee pain prices might surprise you Knee pain | search ads Find Now Undo Why are the decision makers not showing intent is the question to ask." New York City's bus system has taken several measures, including dedicated bus lanes, transit signal priority, and bus network redesigns to improve operations and attract ridership, with an aim for a fully zero-emission fleet by 2040. The Select Bus Service (SBS) in New York achieved travel time improvements and increased ridership by prioritising buses through dedicated lanes and signal adjustments, with studies showing 10-20% improvement in journey time. Transport analyst Ashok Datar from Mumbai Mobility Forum said BEST should emulate the New York model. He said that with a larger fleet, 140 to 150 buses per hour could operate on dedicated bus lanes on busy stretches like Western Express highway, increasing number of buses on that arterial route to nearly three times the current operation and providing bus every five minutes. London and New York have seen significant traffic and transit improvement after introduction of congestion pricing. Central Business District Tolling Program (congestion pricing) in New York, implemented from Jan 2025, resulted in almost all Manhattan buses achieving up to a 5% speed increase, especially benefiting express bus riders with time savings up to 10 minutes, say global media reports. State authorities are also identifying areas in Mumbai, like Bandra-Kurla complex, Nariman Point, Worli and Lower Parel for potential congestion tax implementation, a senior official from the transport commissioner's office told TOI. "After a regulatory framework is established, the authorities may levy a fee for vehicles to enter these busy hubs during peak hours, similar to congestion pricing in London and New York," the official said, adding that public transport buses would be prioritised for commuters. Sudhir Badami, author of 'Matter of Equitability — Making commuting in Mumbai enviable', has advocated for premium Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) on the scale of Transmilenio in Bogota. Badami says having BRTS on metro corridors could have displaced 65% of private traffic and delivered buses in central lanes at a frequency as low as every 20 seconds. He said such measures would not only enhance frequency and commuter convenience but also improve safety due to negligible accident risk. Public policy (transportation) analyst Paresh Rawal said funding public transport with local property taxes is an established practice in many global cities. Avinash Dubedi, Program Head – Transport, Sustainable Cities, WRI India, said consistent support by BMC/state govt is vital for BEST to bridge the viability gap between operating costs and earnings, focus on enhancing bus accessibility in line with service benchmarks of up to 60 buses per lakh population.
Indian Express
25-05-2025
- General
- Indian Express
‘Lack of walkability, footpaths not just an infrastructure problem but a public health issue'
In a recent global study, Mumbai was declared one of the least walkable cities in the world besides grappling with other civic issues. Rishi Aggarwal, civic expert, environmentalist and founder of Mumbai Sustainability Centre, speaks to Omkar Gokhale on walkability, road concretisation, disaster preparedness and issues related to dumping sites and solid waste management in Mumbai. Why according to you Mumbai ranks among the least walkable cities in the world as per a recent survey? A walking friendly city is the most low-cost way in which we can greatly enhance quality of life for the largest number of people. It is shameful and saddening to see Mumbai in those rankings but not surprising. Since the turn of the century when cities in Europe and America besides China and Gulf increasingly moved towards an enhanced respect for pedestrians and cyclists and went out of the way to make their cities walking and cycling friendly, those in charge of governing Mumbai have gone in the other direction and chosen to make Mumbai car centric and in the past few years it has been devastating. Look at the way those black FRP grills have been installed on footpaths across the suburbs. What should be done about it? Footpaths and walkability should be viewed in a different light, as public health issue, not just infrastructure or mobility concerns. Well-designed footpaths can be a powerful tool to improve health, even though a garden or park may not be in the vicinity, by encouraging daily walking, which benefits blood pressure, joint health, cardiovascular fitness, mood, and reduces stress and anxiety. Many arterial roads, including SV Road which we sought to be given priority, lack proper footpaths, with some stretches having less than one metre. At 'Walking Project', we have been highlighting sorry state of affairs and demanding a minimum 3-4 metre wide footpath on such roads, adhering to quality standards, to promote daily walking and enhance public well-being. This often-overlooked aspect is crucial for healthier, more active citizens. What about hawking policy, shrinking public spaces and shortcomings in public transport? The deteriorating state of BEST buses, hawker issues, open spaces, air quality, state of rivers and other ecosystems, all stem from the same underlying problem and malaise. The situation has become complicated, partly due to the city's politics. A major issue is the lack of accountability and transparency regarding public spending over the past three years since administrator rule. For decades, the middle and affluent classes have shown little support for civil society groups addressing these issues daily. This indifference contributes significantly to Mumbai's decline. A sense of ownership and stewardship is crucial for any habitat to thrive. What about disaster preparedness in the wake of monsoon season and road concretisation? While some aspects of Mumbai's disaster response are improving, there's a lack of sophistication and genuine concern for a metropolis of its size. For instance, debris removed from stormwater drains will remain unattended, often flowing back after the first rains, which shows administrative apathy. Additionally, the BMC has wrongly concretised road shoulders, ignoring a 2005 decision to keep them in paver blocks or asphalt. These side portions, meant to remain permeable and less rigid are crucial for sustainable urban planning, are misused for parking instead of enhancing footpaths, worsening climate resilience, despite repeated feedback to improve the situation. The effect on roadside trees has been highly detrimental. Concepts such as blue-green infrastructure, sponge city can be adopted. Half of the shoulder portion should be given to enhance poor footpath widths. Recently Bombay High Court restored 'protected forest' status of Kanjurmarg dumping site and BMC floated a tender to clean waste piles at Deonar landfill for rehabilitation under Dharavi redevelopment project. How does it impact waste management? In 2006, I was part of the citizen group that gave inputs to the High Court on the Kanjur site, which then had no mangroves, only salt pans with healthy tidal influence and fishing activities. The recent HC order dismays me; the site is ecologically devastated and cannot be called a mangrove forest overnight. Closing it will only lead to finding another dumping site. Maybe that is the plan. In 2014, we proposed decentralised waste processing within 24 wards and using food waste to fuel bio-CNG for BEST buses, starting with Gorai depot. We need to do all this before closing the Kanjur site. Waste management has been plagued by corruption and malpractices. Regarding Deonar, using hazardous sites for human activity violates regulations and risks public health. Reclaimed areas must undergo remedial measures to recover from toxic effects before being used for any habitation.
