In a bid to ensure ‘first mile and last mile’ connectivity for the Metro commuters, the Centre has decided to make it mandatory for the States to incorporate provisions for cycle lanes, public bike sharing, feeder buses and pedestrianisation in the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for the new Metro projects.
The Union Urban Development Ministry will soon issue a circular in this regard to the States. As per the advisory, the cost of multi-model facilities has to be included in the main project to ensure that the issue of fund doesn’t come up at a later stage and simultaneously assure a comfortable journey to the commuters to the last destination.
The move follows concern that while the States were keen to launch mega Metro projects they were doing little to make them commuter-friendly. In view of poor connectivity with other mode of transport, Metros remain almost inaccessible to many possible commuters who have no option but to bank on their own private vehicles for travelling. “The aim to built efficient mass transit system has almost become a failure,” said the sources.
They further noted that the benefits are not increasing in commensurate with the investment in such mega projects which are seen as a spine of the public transport system. For instance, in Delhi despite better Metro facilities, commuters have preferred their own vehicles on the roads as they find poor connectivity to the Metro stations.
It is being felt that while creating integrated transport facilities such as cycle lanes, feeder buses would entail small fund, their benefits will be immense. The aim is to ensure ‘first mile and last mile connectivity,’ said the sources noting that the new Metro projects proposed in Bhubaneswar, Assam and Delhi phase-IV
Metro for which DPRs are being prepared will be approved only if they create additional infrastructures at least one kilometre around the Metro stations.
Among the 19 cities, which have more than 20 lakh population as per Census 2011, Metro projects are under different stages of implementation in four — Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
The Ministry has decided to consider the proposal for Metro in Tier-II cities like lucknow, Kanpur, Patna, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Pune, Surat, Indore, Nagpur, Kochi, Coimbatore, Kozhikode.