Anyone listening?……..Tresha Guha Posted On Thursday, April 03, 2008
From handicap compartments exclusively for women to double decker trains, commuters provide good suggestions to improve public transport, notes Tresha Guha
When non government organisation (NGO) Karmayog invited suggestions to improve public transport, especially, the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) and Railways services, suggestions came flooding in. From compartments for handicapped women to awareness about bus routes, the suggestions were well thought out.
Says S D Israni, a regular AC bus traveller, “Today, BEST runs a few AC buses on certain routes and many people, particularly tourists, are unaware of this. BEST should create awareness about the specific routes on which AC buses are running, their frequency, the time of the first and last bus, etc.
In fact, this information should be provided at the bus stops where these AC buses halt. The frequency of these short distance AC buses should be increased on all the arterial routes to attract car users to take to buses. In addition, tourists will also love to use such service.”
The suggestions for the railways were also very well thought out. Says a resident of Wadala, Andrea Gogri, “The railways should come up with weekly tickets or tickets that are valid for two to three days.
This will cut the line at the ticket window by half. They should also introduce maps that indicate how a person can travel across different lines. For eg, a path showing the journey between Wadala and Mahalaxmi. Of course, double decker trains would be exciting.” Bhagwat Dahisarkar, senior public relations officer, Western Railways clarifies, “We have introduced tourist tickets that can be used for a period of one to five days. We always like to incorporate suggestions by passengers.”
Meanwhile, SoBo resident Suraj Prasad believes that a revamp is possible with private operators. He says, “Buses should be run only by private operators and it should be controlled by the Road Transport Office (RTO) as the regulator. To increase the income of the railways, they should employ two ticket checkers per bogie (on a commission basis), to spot ticketless passengers.
This move will not only increase the railways income, but also provide employment.” For Dr S L Dhingra, a professor of Transportation Systems Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, the services need to be eco-friendly. “The transport systems should all be eco-friendly.
The government is aware of the problems associated with public transport and they try their level best to incorporate suggestions. We normally have a meeting in IIT Bombay where we discuss urban transport issues and there is always a presentation on proposed infrastructure projects.
The government officials are aware of the issues and problems that commuters face on the western and central railways, and BEST buses because they are commuters as well.”Let’s hope these well-thought out suggestions are implemented to ease our commuting problems. tresha.guha@timesgroup.com
The railways should introduce maps that indicate how a person can travel across different lines. For eg, a path showing the journey between Wadala and Mahalaxmi