Convincing car users to shift to public transport tough: study…..Swapnil Rawal
Mumbai The state government, working on the Bus Rapid Transit System, that aims at bringing down the number of private vehicles in the city will have a tough time convincing private-vehicle users to shift to public transport, says a study. Consulting Engineering Studies (CES), the appointed consultant for the project, conducted a study on the commuter-user preferences. The results showed that car users are reluctant to shift to public transport.
The survey was carried out by the consultants on the commuter- user preferences. It received poor response from car users. This was expected because for commuters to shift from the comfort of their cars to public transport would obviously take time, said R Ramana, Additional Chief, Transport and Communication, MMRDA. He added that the benefits of BRTS need to be highlighted to bring about a change in commuter preferences.
In the survey, around 75 per cent of train users showed an inclination to shift to BRTS while two-wheeler users showed a greater resilience to switch over to public transport.
According to Sudhir Badami, member of the Technical Advisory Committee and Steering Committee of the BRTS project, apart from making the commuters aware of the benefits of public transport, the nodal agency should also look into the frequency of buses. Currently, the consultants are looking at bus services at an interval of five-seven minutes. Instead buses should be plied at an interval of 20-30 seconds, he said.
The committee would be meeting in the second week of June to discuss the next report on the elevated BRT corridor. The BRT will be demarcated along the median on both the express highways. Later it would be replicated in other parts of the city depending on its success.