A Delhi Busways station. Photo by Madhav Pai.

By Dario Hidalgo and Madhav Pai. Originally published on IndiaTogether.com
Compared to other bus corridors world-wide, the Delhi effort is a very limited one. The current design is only a busway, and the government must push forward to build a full-fledged Bus Rapid Transit system, say Dario Hidalgo and Madhav Pai.

Policies that give priority to public transport, people-powered vehicles and pedestrians are always very positive. The Delhi Busway pilot project - which is generally referred to as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) - does all of the above, and hence it should be recognised as a progressive undertaking.

Conceptually, it has a profound sense of equity, as most of the road users in Delhi are walking, biking or riding public transportation vehicles, while the minority - who are rich but influential - are in private motor vehicles. According to data compiled for the Urban Age project, Delhi has less than 5 per cent of its population moving around in cars, 15 per cent in motorbikes and other vehicles, 39 per cent walking and biking and 42 per cent in buses. These statistics alone make a case that the constrained space of urban roads should be allocated in a way that benefits the majority of users.

Beyond equity considerations, space allocation to the most efficient modes of transport also has important sustainability impacts. The resulting financial burden to society as a whole is much lower, and expensive energy sources are used less. Also, emissions into the atmosphere of carbon dioxide as well as toxic substances are lowered, with benefits on the public health front, as well as in the fight against global warming. And overall, less time is consumed in transportation.

These real benefits possibly explain why, in spite of the problematic launch of the busway, and the extremely negative media coverage of it immediately thereafter, the majority of the public still favours the project. Independent commuter surveys conducted by Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and NDTV found that bus commuters overwhelmingly support the Delhi Busway. For some, the result may be surprising given the operational glitches and the media blitz declaring the bus corridor a disaster. While there are several things about the pilot project that should be improved, it would be both a strategic and political mistake to scrap it. The outpouring of public support for the new bus corridor by the majority of its users should be heeded. Lessons from the various difficulties encountered so far, and also from the experience of other similar projects elsewhere in the world should be considered and implemented.

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Photo by whatatravisty.

With oil prices hovering around $135 a barrel, many Americans are feeling uneasy about the future. And for good reason; higher prices at the pump channel money away from things like health care, education, and leisure activities that improve our quality of life.

But there’s an upside – during hard times Americans are pushed to innovate and come up with new systems for solving the problems that face them. Below are three solutions to the problem of skyrocketing fuel prices. If implemented, they will have the added value of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, improving public health, and curtailing over-consumption:

1. Build high-density, mixed-use cities - The vast majority of American cities are built for cars, creating what urban planners call sprawl, low-density areas where people spend too much time and money driving to conduct their daily activity. Cities built around people and walking as opposed to cars and driving have things like single family housing, apartments, grocery stories, office space and retail all within walking distance, eliminating the daily need to get behind the wheel. The rise of New Urbanism in places like Kentlands, Maryland, and the revitalization of American inner cities in places like Chicago, New York, and Washington DC suggests that more and more Americans want a lifestyle that favors short walking trips over long car commutes.
2. Invest in Mass Transit - Americans are flocking to mass transit in ever greater numbers. At 10.3 billion trips last year, mass transit ridership in the United States is at its highest level since 1957. To match this growing demand, cities should invest money to maintain and expand their mass transit systems. One practical way to do this is to charge car drivers for using the most congested roads and use this revenue to fund mass transit projects. London, Singapore, and Stockholm all have congestion pricing programs which have been wildly successful and, counter to conventional wisdom, popular among residents.
3. Invest in Cycling Facilities – Increasingly cycling is becoming popular among commuters making short trips around cities. But the spike in the number of city cyclists has yet to be followed by a supply of cycling facilities like bike lanes and bike parking. In many cities cyclists have to compete with cars for road space, a dangerous proposition that drives potential cyclists off their bikes and back into cars. By building special cycle lanes that are physically separated from traffic, cities can make cycling a viable, low-cost form of transit. Cycling can also be instrumental in countering chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity, which are now afflicting large swaths of the sedentary American population. Paris, among other cities, has taken cycling a step above the rest, creating a bike sharing program with 15,000 bicycles available at a moments notice for anyone with a credit card. American cities should take note.

So far, the response from politicians on Capitol Hill has been anything but inspiring. Many politicians have disingenuously claimed that we don’t need to change our behavior and can “drill our way out of this problem.” Or that we can apply enough pressure on oil-rich countries, who will then turn against their own self-interests and ramp up production. Or that high fuel standards and alternative fuels like ethanol, which just suffered a huge setback with the Iowa floods, will make all our problems go away. Read the rest of this entry »

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Congestion Pricing. Photo by .KM.

A very interesting study released earlier this month counters conventional wisdom, suggesting that a clear majority of people support tolling and road pricing. As the authors of the study, which analyzed numerous national and international public opinion surveys, clearly write in the conclusion of their report, “…in the aggregate, the public supports tolling and road pricing.”

The study’s findings will come as a surprise to many policy makers and elected officials who offer the standard response that tolling and road pricing are unpopular, and should therefore not be implemented lest they defy their constituents.

Traditionally, attempts to solve congestion have focused on building new roads or widening existing ones. But it’s clear that the strategy has not worked. That’s in large part because there’s a cyclical logic to road construction: as more roads are built more people want to drive cars, which in turn, drives the demand for ever more road construction. For decades now, there have been proposals for reducing the demand for road space by charging drivers who use it. But these proposals more often than not went nowhere in large part because of politics. Read the rest of this entry »

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I recently traveled to Santiago, Chile for the World Bank to assess the current state of “Transantiago” - the city’s ambitious and highly controversial transport reform project launched in February 2007. I was pleasantly surprised to find substantial improvements in the system, which was made infamous by its highly-publicized growing pains (for more info, check out an article that I contributed to in The Economist that covers the political fallout from the project).

The photo essay above contains photos of Transantiago I took on my trip. I hope it will provide readers with a closer look at the improving transport situation in the Chilean capital. To see a brief caption for each image, simply click on the photo.

For more info:
- Read more about my World Bank-sponsored assessment mission.
- Watch a short video I took of a Transantiago bus in action.

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A few months ago here on TheCityFix.com I posted a video offering a “driver’s eye view” of Istanbul’s new BRT system – Metrobus. Today I thought I would show a similar clip (see above) that I took of Transantiago’s new dedicated bus lanes. The video should give you a first-hand look of how another innovative (though controversial) urban transport project operates.

Watching the short film, you can clearly see that the central four lanes of this busy thoroughfare are restricted to bus traffic. Private cars and other vehicles are kept to the outside lanes of the street, and separated from the busway by a fence and a freshly-planted row of trees (which will eventually green up this admittedly drab route). Bus stops are located in the middle of this divider, keeping buses and bus passengers completely isolated from car traffic.

Stay tuned for a photo essay on Transantiago’s efforts to overcome the logistical chaos and political turmoil that dominated its launch.

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An independent commuter survey conducted by Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment found that commuters overwhelmingly support the new BRT system in Delhi. For some, the result may be surprising after the initial operational glitches and media blitz declaring the new bus corridor a disaster. While there are several things that should be improved with the new system, as with any project, the outpouring of support for the new bus corridor suggests that it would be both a strategic and political mistake to scrap the project.

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After some early hiccups, Tranantiago might just have a promising future. Photo by kurotashiO! ®

A year after its mangled implementation, Transantiago, the ambitious program to restructure Santiago’s sprawling and inefficient bus system, is still generating quite a bit of buzz. Last week, for example, The Economist published a piece on the political fallout from Transantiago, suggesting that the precipitous drop in President Michelle Bachelete’s approval ratings were caused by the system’s shortcomings.

Other media outlets throughout Chile have followed up with similar stories of their own. (See El Mercurioand Radio Cooperativa)

Recently I’ve heard many questions about the future of Santiago’s bus system: should it return to the partially de-regulated operations of the 1990s? Or maybe even go back to the totally deregulated transit of the early 1980s?

The answer to these questions is unequivocal: no.

Overall, the service during the 1980s and 1990s was extremely poor, resulting in unprecedented gridlock, high accident rates, increased air pollution, and long travel times. During this period, the upwardly mobile, whose incomes rose during the economic boom, turned their backs on mass transit, opting for the convenience of cars, which flooded the streets and only exacerbated the congestion and air pollution plaguing Santiago. Read the rest of this entry »

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Here’s a neat video about Amsterdam that doesn’t need a whole lot of explanation. Enjoy! To learn more about Amsterdam’s integrated transport network and Centraal Station shown in this video - it’s the one with a two-story bike rack - check out this post.

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Legislation passed by Congress to raise fuel effiency is a welcome first step. Photo by Storm Crypt.

As an engineer working in the field of sustainable transport I am very excited about the latest efforts to improve fuel efficiency, which will certainly help in the fight against climate change, a global phenomenon dating back to the start of the industrial revolution. (As an aside, the New York Times has a really neat graphic on this). One has to praise the US Congress for moving ahead legislation which will boost automobile and SUV fuel efficiency for the first time since 1975.

Nevertheless, as we have been claiming on this blog, this effort will not be enough! We have to do more. Lee Schipper, a colleague of mine and a fellow contributor to TheCityFix, says it well: “We also need to drive smaller, lighter vehicles. And we need to drive them less.”

The reason why he’s right has to do with an algebraic formula that’s really quite simple:

Using this equation, we can see that by improving fuel efficiency, we’re only effecting one of several variables related to total carbon emissions. But if people continue to buy more polluting cars, regardless of whether they are fuel efficient, and drive them longer distances, any gains in fuel efficiency might not do all that much.

The way the transport sector can fight climate change is by adopting a holistic approach that focuses on all three variables: total car travel, fuel efficiency, and carbon emissions per gallon of fuel. Here’s how we can do it:

• Reducing total car travel by promoting zero-emissions modes like walking and biking. Of course you can’t expect people to walk to work who live 50 miles from their office; after all, in the United States car commuters spend around 100 minutes on average getting to work and back. In many cases this is totally unnecessary because advances in telecommunications make telecommuting easier than ever. What’s more sprawling suburbs and satellite exurbs where walking is impossible are vestiges of the past. The urgency of global warming and energy insecurity demands that cities regulate the way that land is used, making mixed-use, high-density neighborhoods a priority.

• Reducing total car travel by improving public transportation. Currently, only 4.7% of people get to work using public transportation whereas 87.8% of people go by automobile. What this means is that buses, streetcars, and subways must be attractive alternatives to get people out of their cars. So they must come often, cover a large portion of the city, have seamless integration with other transit infrastructure like airports, and be comfortable and cost effective.
• Increasing fuel efficiency through technology improvements mandated by legislation.
• Increasing emissions standards through technology.

Even when considering all the various ways for reducing carbon emissions, raising the fuel efficiency standards, a move that was accepted by the auto industry, should still be considered a good step, especially considering the recent political environment. But with that said, we still need more!

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A cut away shot of Lexus’ new hybrid. Photo by Mike Babcock of Flickr.

To date, much of the debate swirling around global warming has focused on how new and improved technologies will save us from the dire consequences of a warming planet. In the context of transportation, this means that a lot of our time, energy, and discussion centers on the idea of fuel efficiency, or alternative fuels and vehicles. Among politicians and talking heads, hybrids, fuel cells, and ethanol are all the rage. But are they right to place so much emphasis on these technologies? Or is it misguided to depend so heavily on new automotive developments to fight global warming?

In the last few days I’ve done some number crunching – back of the envelope type calculations – to see what effect past automotive innovations had on our carbon footprint. The results are quite interesting and provocative. The initial numbers need a lot of review and improvement but I still thought they would be interesting to share. Read the rest of this entry »

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