Urban Transportation

Low-floor buses in Gurgaon soon

Friday, 18 December 2009 11:13 administrator

Indian Express 18.12.2009

Low-floor buses in Gurgaon soon

To improve the public transport system in the Millennium City, the state government has finally decided to start a city bus service in Gurgaon on public-private-partnership (PPP) mode. To facilitate the move, the state transport department has decided to purchase 450 new buses which will hit the streets by August-end in 2010. There will be an inter as well as intra-city service. Buses will ply from Gurgaon to Faridabad and Delhi, said transport commissioner Anand Mohan Sharan.

“Sixty per cent would be low-floor and air-conditioned and fitted with Global Positioning System (GPS). Tenders will be invited from various agencies in the beginning of 2010,” added the transport commissioner.

According to the new plan, 227 bus stops will be constructed with state-of-the-art facilities. The bus stops would also be fitted with GPS.

A consultant, appointed for working out details like routes and stoppages, has submitted a report which would be shared with the Gurgaon district administration and the land-owning agencies like HUDA, Municipal Corporation and HSIIDC,” added Sharan.

Last Updated on Friday, 18 December 2009 11:18

Urban transport reforms need a push

Friday, 18 December 2009 10:33 administrator

The Times of India 18.12.2009

Urban transport reforms need a push

TNN 18 December 2009, 07:52am IST

PUNE: Urban transport reforms in the city have largely remained incomplete. The Union Urban Development ministry while sanctioning grants under JNNURM for all municipal corporations in the state for purchasing public transport buses had directed the state government and the municipal corporations to implement various urban transport reforms.

Some of the important reforms included formation of the Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) at the city level, creation of a dedicated urban transport fund, having an advertisement policy for funding public transport, creating dedicated lanes for public transport, implementing parking policy to discourage use of personal vehicles and waiver of various state taxes and duties on public transport.

While the UMTA is yet to be formed, the municipal corporations are still to come out with details on the policies about creation of dedicated urban transport fund, advertisement and parking policy.

At a review meeting held in July, the state government officials had said that the PMPML would function as a special purpose vehicle for operation of buses. The officials had also said that street tax would be added into the dedicated urban transport fund in the state. At the review meeting, the UD officials had observed the implemenation of urban transport reforms in various cities receiving grants for purchase of buses has been very poor.

A boost to urban transport

Thursday, 17 December 2009 11:14 administrator

The New Indian Express 17.12.2009

A boost to urban transport

Express News Service

KOCHI: The city’s urban transport sector is going to get a facelift with the Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA) appointing the Global Works International Corporation to conduct a feasibility study to strengthen Kochi’s existing transport policy framework.

As per the agreement, the pre feasibility study by Global Works will encompass elements of infrastructure and identify priority transport investments for citizens in a way that does not damage the environment.

“Global Works will submit the study report within five months. After analysing the report, CDIA will act as a facilitator of the Corporation and help in identifying potential investors from across the globe,” said Balakrishnan Elangovan, senior programme specialist, CDIA (India).

The other major objectives of the feasibility study include building and strengthening the capacity of key institutions involved in the management and delivery of the transport sector and obtaining support in identifying gap funding for Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) projects for urban transportation projects in Kochi.

Apart from strengthening Kochi’s existing City Mobility Plan, the study will help in identifying new institutional arrangements for effective transport sector management. “We will prepare a roadmap for Kochi, which will comprise the entire transport infrastructure facilities in a single framework. We will hold discussions with various stakeholders of the civic body to gather their valuable suggestions to strengthen the framework. Just like a cricket team preparing a game plan for a match, the road map will serve as the master plan for the overall development of urban transport facilities in the city,” said Global Works technical director Peter Turner.

Turner said the study will focus on water transport as well. “The final output of the feasibility study will cover an analysis of the urban transport challenges faced by the city. We will review the previous studies conducted in this regard and key documents on urban transport,” he added.

Earlier, Mayor Mercy Williams said that the expertise of US-based Global Works International Corporation, one of the leading technical consultancies that formulated infrastructure investment packages for developing economies of Asia, Africa and the Pacific, would help in the reformation of the existing infrastructure utilities of the city.

Balakrishnan said that the CDIA will focus on supporting Kochi for better urban management with the help of national urban strategies, fostering sustainable development, assisting in the implementation of city development strategies, structuring and preparing investment projects and building local capacity for more effective implementation. The CDIA will cooperate with existing networks like JNNURM and KSUDP for sharing and adopting best practices.

CDIA is an Asia-wide regional initiative jointly supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the Spanish Government. The grant allotted by CDIA for the feasibility study is Rs 2 crore.

“CDIA will offer assistance to the Corporation to market these projects to potential financiers,” Balakrishnan added.

Last Updated on Thursday, 17 December 2009 11:17

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