For some people, travelling by their big cars is a matter of status

Ramakant Goswami, Delhi transport minister talks to Atul Mathur about the various reasons behind the city's perpetually clogged roads and traffic snarls.

You have built the Metro and strengthened the bus service. But arterial roads still remain choked. Why?
We need to change people’s attitude and habits. We have created a world-class Metro system and also added modern buses to our fleet. Ask the commuters who take the Metro or buses every day and they will tell you how stress-free and relaxed they feel. It is now for the people to make the best use of it. I agree there is scope for improvement. For some people, travelling by their big cars is a matter of status.

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How do you further plan to strengthen the public transport?
We are going to add more buses. The government has already cleared phase 3 of Delhi Metro and plans are ready for phase 4. Construction work on the first monorail corridor will start soon. We are also evaluating the proposals for more monorail corridors. We are soon moving the Supreme Court to lift the cap on the number of autorickshaw. All we need is to win people’s trust

Bus Rapid Transit is quite popular across the world. But the Delhi government is still dragging its feet on it...
We are not dragging our feet on BRT. We need to change people’s habits and perception. We are working on 14 more corridors.

Last-mile connectivity is still an issue.
We will soon have more Metro feeder buses. There are parking lots at the stations. E-rickshaws can prove an excellent system for last mile connectivity.

Do you think we need to take strict measures such as congestion pricing and enhanced parking charges to discourage use of cars?
It is very easy to get car loans. So more and more people are buying them. We have thought of various proposals to discourage use of cars We are exploring various possibilities. But it will not be wise to discuss them now.