With unprecedented growth in population and lakhs of people commuting between the national Capital and its surrounding towns, a reliable, efficient and cheap public transit system is extremely vital for the city. An effective public transport system ensures better fuel economy and reduced pollution and also promotes growth, development and better standards of living.
According to mobility and transport experts, the public transport system between Delhi and adjoining States is dismal and performs poorly on the hallmarks of a good transit system for masses such as accessibility, affordability, reliability and last mile connectivity. According to the census figures, the population has increased tremendously in the Delhi’s suburbs as well. Gurgaon and Noida are among the top five places in India that recorded the highest decadal growth rate in population. While Gurgaon recorded a 74 per cent increase in population between 2001 and 2011. Noida saw a rise by almost 52 per cent. This significant and rapid growth in the population in and around Delhi calls for not only an efficient inter-city as well as an intra-city public transport system.
Delhi’s public transport system needs to follow cities like london, whose transport systems are applauded world over in terms of their efficiency and dependability. Urban mobility experts suggest that only an efficient and well-planned network can transport large numbers of people during the morning and evening rush hours for a large city such as Delhi. At the heart of such a network should be the mass rapid transit system or MRT, which should be supplemented by other modes of public transport such as buses, taxis, auto rickshaws and walkways. A user-friendly and hassle-free mass transport system can persuade the masses to use public transport and thus check the unprecedented increase in vehicle count.
Though Delhi Metro has expanded its network to almost 185 km and ferries around 25 lakh commuters daily, the end mile connectivity still remains a critical issue. According to Delhi Traffic Police, although the Metro connects far-flung parts of the city as well as Noida and Gurgaon with Delhi, in reality it just dislocates crowd from one place to another.
The city’s bus system also needs a desperate overhaul, which still transports over 60 per cent of the public transport users. According to Supreme Court’s order in the year 2001, the city should have 11,000 buses as per the needs of the population. However, after a lapse of 11 years, Delhi still has about 6,000 operational buses till date, 5,500 DTC and 400 buses under the cluster bus scheme.
Noida and Gurgaon are equally poor in terms of the public transport system and connectivity. The population of Noida as recorded on January 1, 2012 was 6,63,992. Promoted as a world-class investment destination and currently undergoing massive infrastructure development, Noida performs poorly when it comes to providing an efficient public transport system. Thirty-six years after the city was developed, an intra-city public transport system remains non-existent. Though Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) buses and a score of private buses continue to ply within Noida and Greater Noida, the frequency of these buses is very low. Besides, very few buses connect the two cities to Delhi.
Keeping the current scenario in mind where Delhi and its satellite towns are all fast becoming one big mass of inter-dependable entities, it is imperative that they have a well-defined and efficient public transport system.