New Delhi: At a time when efforts are being made to redraw the boundaries of the National Capital Region (NCR) for better planning and “harmonious development”, transport experts say, there is an urgent need for a detailed transport plan and a common regulatory authority.
The NCR Planning Board (NCRPB) has prepared the draft Regional Plan-2041, which was put up for public scrutiny last month, in which it has proposed the concept of "30-minute NCR" with the aim to reduce
New Delhi: At a time when efforts are being made to redraw the boundaries of the National Capital Region (NCR) for better planning and “harmonious development”, transport experts say, there is an urgent need for a detailed transport plan and a common regulatory authority.
The NCR Planning Board (NCRPB) has prepared the draft Regional Plan-2041, which was put up for public scrutiny last month, in which it has proposed the concept of "30-minute NCR" with the aim to reduce travel time within NCR to 30 minutes.
In the past few years, traffic movement within NCR, especially between Delhi, Ghaziabad, Noida, Gurugram, and Faridabad has increased resulting in traffic jams during peak hours at the borders.
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, people have had to face several problems commuting, as borders were initially shut, and later, the carrying capacity of public transport was reduced to ensure social distancing.
Recently, the Delhi government ordered that public transport will operate on 50% of carrying capacity and no standing passenger will be allowed in Metro trains and buses. This has resulted in long queues outside Metro stations. While the order impacts all public transport users, people living or working in the NCR are worst affected.
Commuters say that the Metro is the only fast and affordable mode to commute between Delhi and NCR cities, as there are a limited number of autos and buses plying in the region between states.
“There are very few buses plying between Delhi and Noida. Taking an auto daily is too expensive. With the new restrictions, it has become difficult to commute, especially during peak hours,” said Sunita Verma, a resident of Noida, who works in Delhi.
While the NCRPB is likely to finalise the Regional Plan-2041 in the next few months, transport experts believe that there is a need to prepare a comprehensive transport policy for the regions and also have a strong common regulatory mechanism.
Transport expert, Amit Bhatt, executive director at World Resources Institute (WRI), India, said, “A strong institutional structure for transport is missing in the NCR due to which commuting between NCR cities using public transport is a huge challenge. There is a need for a strong transport planning and regulatory authority just like Transport for London (TfL).”
This is essential to ensure coordinated effort by all city administrations in improving the transport infrastructure.
For instance, the Delhi government is pushing for the use of electric vehicles (EV) in a big way through the creation of infrastructure for EV charging. “A similar effort has to be made by other city administrations so that people in the region can switch to EVs and don’t have to worry about the availability of charging stations,” said Bhatt.
Another issue that needs urgent attention is easing inter-city state bus transport. Currently, states have a reciprocal agreement that an equal number of autos and buses of each state ply between the NCR cities.
Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment, said, “An efficient bus-based transport system is essential to provide good road connectivity between cities. There is a need to rationalise the permit conditions and increase the number of buses plying between NCR cities.”
She said that another important focus area is last-mile connectivity. “For people to use public transport, good last-mile connectivity is essential. People will switch from personal vehicles to public transport if the public transport modes are efficient and easily accessible,” she said.
Sewa Ram, head of transport planning at the School of Planning and Architecture, said that there is a need for integration of multiple modes of transportation and also push for improving the existing rail-based transport infrastructure. “We will soon have RRTS connecting Delhi to Meerut and another line to Alwar. This is good. But there is a need to plan to integrate RRTS with other modes of transportations such as buses, Metro etc. to provide seamless travel.”
He said, the Metro — considered the transport lifeline of the NCR — doesn't cover areas such as Sonipat. “A large number of people from Sonipat and other neighbouring areas commute by railway trains. There is a need to upgrade the infrastructure and also integrate it with other modes. The ring rail system in Delhi should be upgraded,” he said.
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