To cut down vehicular pollution and minimise road congestion, Governments in the NCR and possibly in Rajasthan, need new ideas. It is time for policymakers to come out of traditional policies, and use smart technologies to put an end to the traffic mess
There is a reason we use the term “arterial”, to describe our major roads. Roads are like major blood vessels in a city, they take the talent and knowledge to the beating heart every working day. But, if you land in cities like Delhi and Mumbai in the evening, you can clearly see that these arteries are clogged just by looking at the chain of headlights stretching for miles on end.
Unfortunately, unlike a blocked blood vessel in our bodies, where we can use a stent, there is no such quick fix for our roads. Yes, we can build more flyovers and underpasses to improve the traffic flow, but those are temporary fixes at best, much like a stent. But, the patient is still going to die, and sadly as commuters across cities are quite aware of the treatment — that is, the building of more roads often makes the situation worse in the short run. And, at the rate private car ownership is climbing in India, all these new roads are going to get filled up mighty quickly.
What is the solutionIJ As an automotive writer, this columnist will not rant against car ownership. Cars sold in India are already taxed quite heavily. And, despite the impressive build-out of mass rapid transit systems across India, most Indian cities are still far from extensive systems, that connect every nook and cranny.
At least, a couple of decades at best, and even then, there needs to be thought put into last-mile connectivity. The fact is that Indian climactic conditions make walking unviable for much of the year.
So, why not start using an asset that is already there, the millions of cars on our roads, a lot better. The fact is that a car is, on the face of it, a pointless purchase as an asset. The minute you drive a car out of the showroom, it starts depreciating. Most cars are used only by their owner. Do this test yourself, count the number of people in a car when you are on the road next time.
While the average in India is slightly higher than the West, the number is still below two. And, chances are that on a regular workday, a car just goes between a home, and office, and occasionally a school run. Even accounting for traffic, the average car gets used for just a couple of hours everyday. An airline for example uses a plane for 14-18 hours daily. So, the car, a depreciating asset that barely gets used.
From a logical point of view, owning a car is a lose-lose situation. But car ownership isn’t always logical, particularly in a nation like India, where the car is an extension of a person. Car ownership is seen as having arrived, this is a nation of aspirers after all. But, there are a growing number of young people, who see car ownership as a headache. And, it is a headache, you have to worry about parking and driving in traffic.
But, earlier one did not have much of a choice but to buy a car, if one worked. Taxis were dilapidated, and public transport uncomfortable, crowded and slow.
However, the emergence of services such as Uber and Ola, that have made hailing a taxi extremely easy. Even with the occasional surge charge, using these services regularly costs not that much more than owning a car. They definitely are cheaper than owning a car with a driver. And, because someone else is driving you can catch up on work or your calls.
But, if you already own a car or if you are contemplating buying a car, what, if we used the technology that Uber, Ola and other similar services used to enable proper ride-sharing, or as we call it ‘carpooling’. But, here is the catch, give the person driving a commercial incentive. People tend not to carpool, because they don’t want to go out of their way or wait. The drivers, like all normal selfish human beings don’t look at the environmental benefits, but their own convenience. And, the fact is that we all behave like this. But, the minute you add a commercial interest, behaviour changes.
So, when you drive between Delhi and Gurgaon, and can pick up someone close to your house or on your route who is going somewhere close to, where you are. But that person pays you for that ride, so instead of driving alone you get some company, and even make say around 200-300 rupees. Not much, but even if you did this one-way, a couple of times a week, you can put a big dent in your fuel bill. Do it more often, and you can cover your fuel, and possibly a big chunk of your monthly payment.
Think of a young mother or even your driver who goes to drop your children to their school, and then waits there until school lets out in six hours. What if you could sweat your asset during that timeIJ Your costs get covered to an extent.
But, there is a problem, commercial carpooling is illegal in India. This is because of the complicated commercial vehicle laws. You need a commercial number plate, and commercial driving licence. On top of that, states earn a significant amount of money from entry taxes charged on commercial vehicles. But, if Governments allowed commercial carpooling, there would be massive benefits. A potential decline in traffic on the roads, because this could lead to fewer people buying cars. And, Governments would not lose out on taxes, because if the entire system is digital, payments would be too, if a vehicle is used commercially entry tax, and other taxes can be paid directly to the Government. As this Government is promoting a ‘less cash’ society, this fits perfectly with their agenda.
And, consumers who use such a service could benefit as well as such a service would potentially be cheaper than regular cabs.
As for security, which is a huge concern in a nation like ours, where there continues to be a law enforcement gap, use services such as Facebook, maybe ride-sharing could happen, only if the rider, and the driver are within two degrees of separation. Riders, and drivers can evaluate each other as they already do on apps.
There will be teething problems, and this is definitely not the only solution. Governments and city planners would have to sit down, and hammer out many more ideas.
More light rail systems for example, that will extend to the suburbs. They should involve technology companies like Uber and Ola, because of the wealth of data they have on travel patterns inside cities. And, individual Governments can’t look at solutions in isolation, in the National Capital Regions of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and possibly, even Rajasthan will have to collaborate. But, if we plan to reduce road congestion, and tackle vehicular pollution we need new ideas. Are policymakers listeningIJ
(The writer is Managing Editor, The Pioneer)