ITDP India

Promoting sustainable and equitable transportation worldwide

Maharashtra Urban Mobility Policy

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If life is a theatre, then commuting on Indian urban roads is a Greek tragedy that unfolds daily. Jostling for space, dashing to beat a signal or tip-toeing around oncoming traffic, all these are daily reminders of how desperately the Indian transport system needs an overhaul. According to a Boston Consulting Group survey, a commuter in Mumbai spends 135% more time in road travel than any other Asian city.

Yet, our current vehicle-centric transportation planning only adds more vehicles on roads. And beating congestion by adding more roads is a battle that no city has won. It isn’t just the rapid increase in congestion, traffic snarls or travel time, but also the subsequent rise of pollution and road accidents that hamper quality of life in our cities.

“Every rupee spent by a city on public transport boosts its economy by four rupees!” said Mr Khatua, Director of Mumbai Technical Support Unit, at a workshop on the Maharashtra State Urban Transport Policy. Succinctly put, the senior officer magnifies the need of the hour: sustainable public transport systems.

Closely looking at Maharashtra’s urban population, it is expected to increase by a whopping 30% in the next decade and by another 50% in the years to follow. Going by the present-day scenario of urban commute in the state, the future seems too hazy. To counter these issues, the Urban Development Department of the state has drafted and published the Maharashtra Urban Mobility Policy.

With sustainability at its core, the policy looks to develop transport systems in accordance. So efforts will be concentrated on urban transit systems which reduces burden on resources and most importantly, offers an equal space to every commuter. Hence, facilitating walking, cycling and usage of public transport.

How the policy came about

In 2006, the National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP) was laid out as a guidance for transportation planning in Indian cities. It prioritized the movement of people and not vehicles in cities, emphasizing on adequate road space for sustainable transport modes, such as walking, cycling and public transport. However, the NUTP mostly existed as a term of reference on papers.

You may ask, so why bring it up now? Well, Maharashtra is taking strides to plug this gap, making it the first state to define its own transportation policy. This further ensures that its urban transportation projects are consistent with NUTP. In June 2017, the Urban Development Department released a draft of the policy. To ensure transparency and insight on feasibility the process was participatory, taking into consideration comments and suggestions of citizens and officials from various cities.

Consultation with Pune Municipal Corporation

Consultation with Nashik Municipal Corporation

In all of this the ITDP India Programme provided technical guidance to the Urban Development Department, and the department is now in the last stages of finalizing the draft.

What it offers

Applicable to all urban areas of the state, the policy envisions transport modes which are safe, reliable, sustainable and accessible for citizen from all walks of life. Additionally, focusing on women’s safety.

The key objectives that the policy will enforce upon cities are:
· Safety and convenience offered to pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users.
· Reducing usage of personal vehicles
· Our transportation infrastructure must be is universally accessible
· Road fatalities should be drastically reduced
· Ambient air quality should meet or exceed Central Pollution Control Board norms

All this is easier said than done, of course. Hence, the policy offers tangible metrics for infrastructure implementation, followed up with support and training provided by the state government.

The policy also helps to detangle the bureaucratic red-tape and ensures a coherent approach is in store. Cities with a population of 10 lakh or more are expected to establish a Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority and an Urban Transport Fund to manage financial resources for all transportation projects. This will ensure that each agency works in coordination and follows an identical vision.

In conclusion, the policy offers a glimmer of hope; and we say glimmer because there are still many a miles to go and stretches to be reclaimed for equal distribution. But this clearly is a step in the right direction which will impact and influence other states to follow suit. In essence, Maharashtra has shown its wherewithal to get with the times and be the trailblazer that leads by example.

ITDP India – Our Journey from a Dream to Reality

team ITDP

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It was back in 1998 that ITDP began its engagements in India, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s words, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” What started as one woman’s journey to change the dystopian path our cities were drifting towards has transformed into a formidable force of young, passionate visionaries who strive to bring back life in a place we call home. Today, ITDP celebrates two decades of action on the ground, catalysing tangible transformation at scale in over a third of urban India.

Transportation is the focus of many pressing issues facing the world today—decisions about whether to build highways or bus corridors have a great impact on our health and our planet. For this reason, ITDP has worked with over 18 Indian cities to reduce the human impact of transport choices: ensuring cities put people before cars, all citizens can walk and cycle safety, and jobs and services are a bus ride away. Through the dedicated efforts of our team and a strategic approach towards sustainable transport, ITDP India programme has impacted the lives of millions for the past 20 years.

ITDP in India

The journey in India began in Agra. The vision to develop a modern cycle rickshaw to counter the growing threats of motor vehicular pollution, gave way to the India Cycle Rickshaw Improvement Project. What started off as five prototypes has become sustainably embedded as the standard design in cities across North India. Today, around half a million of these modern cycle rickshaws serve  4-5 million zero-carbon trips daily and offer dignified livelihood to over a million people, transforming the lives of their families as well.

Cycle rickshaws

ITDP realised the need to transform the quality and availability of public transport in Indian cities. Since 2003, the India Programme evangelised the idea of the Bus Rapid Transit (popularly known as BRT) to transform mediocre bus services into high-quality mass transit.

Ahmedabad, Gujarat’s largest city, welcomed ITDP to reimagine bus transit in 2005. Our partnership with Environment Planning Collaborative, and thereafter with CEPT University and the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation resulted in the launch of Janmarg (in 2009)—India’s first high quality BRT system that expands to a network of 87 km. Janmarg has inspired many cities in India, and with guidance from ITDP, five cities have created 200 km of high-quality BRT to date.

janmarg

In 2009, the India Programme revolutionised the way people perceived streets in India. Safe, child-friendly streets are not just a mirage of the past, but can be a beautiful reality even today. Ahmedabad was the first city in India to host Car-Free Sundays in collaboration with ITDP, Riverside School and other partners.  The initiative allowed citizens to experience the freedom of walking and cycling on safer car-free streets.  The success enabled expansion to Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra to raise awareness and transform their streets into places we all dream of everyday.

ITDP India Programme initiated collaboration with Chennai City Connect in 2009 to improve cycling and walking conditions across the city. Change isn’t easy in cities where the car is a symbol for status. But within five years of ITDP’s engagement with the city, Chennai took the bold move of adopting the Non Motorised Transport (NMT) Policy—first in India.

The policy mandates that a minimum of 60 percent of of transport funding to create and maintain walking and cycling infrastructure in the city. Having retrofitted over 50 km of walkable streets over the years, Chennai has initiated the next phase of redesigning an additional 50 km of street network. Chennai’s policy has inspired many national and international cities—from Chandigarh to Nairobi—to adopt similar policies. The comprehensive approach undertaken by Chennai, was awarded the Sustainia Award in 2015.

 

chennai complete streets

Since 2013, the India Programme has worked with the smaller cities of Tamil Nadu – Coimbatore, Trichy, Tirupur, Salem, and Madurai.  In Coimbatore, the Namma Kovai Namakke (Our Coimbatore Ourselves) campaign, initiated by ITDP, sparked citizen demand for better pedestrian facilities. Coimbatore was the first city in Tamil Nadu to host Car-Free Sundays, that inspired Chennai and Madurai to do the same. The city also adopted The Coimbatore Street Design and Management Policy that aims to increase walking, cycling and public transport use. In light of Coimbatore’s vision to improve people-mobility, the city has planned a 30 km-network of walking and cycling paths to connect the city’s major lakes, in line with the guiding Policy.  

The India programme began its engagements in Maharashtra in 2009, first with the Municipal Corporations of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, and thereafter in Nashik and Aurangabad. Today, Pune is the epitome of a smart Indian city. Pune launched 40 kms of the Rainbow BRT in 2015, with an additional 45 km in the pipeline. The city adopted the Urban Street Design Guidelines and plans to redesign 100 km of streets based on the world-class standards set by the transformation of  JM Road and DP Road pilot project.

While Pune has taken the first steps towards developing a people-centric city, the next challenge is to address the encroachment onto footpaths by parked vehicles. As a result, Pune adopted the Public Parking Policy to regulate parking, in 2018. The Policy aims to manage on-street parking through an efficient paid parking system but exempts bicycle parking from any charges. Pune realises that encouraging cycling reduces CO2, improves commuters’ health and increases retail visibility. As a result, the city plans to implement a dockless Public Bicycle Sharing system of 13,100 cycle, under the city’s Bicycle Plan.  Yes, the city has worked wonders. Pune, Chennai, and Coimbatore – all cities ITDP assisted, were selected in the first round of the national government’s Smart City Mission.  

Pune complete streets

In 2013, the India programme also expanded to Ranchi, the capital of the state of Jharkhand. Local conditions were unfavourable to support sustainable transport; thus, ITDP initiated collaboration with local civil society groups, educational institutions and trade associations that formed the Ranchi Mobility Partnership. Ranchi’s Mobility for All action plan prepared by ITDP, with input from the partners, provided a detailed roadmap of transport solutions for local conditions.

The action plan inspired the city to take responsibility of overseeing operations of 100 new buses, and an additional 300 buses in the due course—an applaudable move for a city that had fewer than 30 buses. The plan also identified a cycle network to improve access to public transport; as a result, the city is in the midst of constructing the state’s first Bicycle Sharing system comprising of 1200 cycles.

Onward and upward, Ranchi’s Parking Policy has inspired other cities in the state, like Jamshedpur, to manage on-street parking. The State too realised the chaos caused by unregulated parking and thereafter adopted the  Jharkhand Parking Regulations—first in India. Jharkhand is also the first state to endorse the Transit Oriented Development Policy that was prepared in consultation with ITDP India.

On account of leveraging the sustainable transport agenda at the national level, the India expanded to the country’s capital, Delhi, in 2016. This gave rise to the policy brief on Women and Transport in collaboration with Safetipin and UN Women. Women represent the largest share of public transport users, yet they face many barriers that limit their mobility such as safety, comfort, convenience and affordability. Empowering women in transport enables them to participate in workforce, thereby creating a societal shift to transform the entire world economy.

The India Programme’s capacity development work, through training workshops and study tours, has been imperative to the success of its projects and policy. The India Programme has trained over 1000 government officials and other stakeholders. Over the years, our knowledge products have not only been used for best practise references, but also endorsed by the government – for example, the National Guidelines for Public Bicycle-sharing for the Ministry of Urban Development, and Street Design and BRT Guidelines for the Indian Roads Congress (IRC).

capacity development

Since 1998, ITDPs’ agenda of improving the quality of life of citizens through equitable and sustainable transport has only magnified in momentum over time. Times have evolved, but our dream remains the same. Take a moment and imagine a 2050: will we design a future where we continue to get trapped in endless traffic while pollution destroys the city, and infrastructure fails to deliver? Or, will we live in ‘smart cities’ where people can zip around town, connected with walking and cycling boulevards and world-class rapid transit. The choice is yours; we chose the latter.

P.S. Dear Mahatma Gandhiji, we are being the change we wish to see in the world today. And, we have been doing it successfully for the past 20 years in India!  

Nashik’s Students Call for Better Streets, for a Better City, and a Better Life

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“The design solutions suggested are customised for Nashik’s streets—and they’ve come from the city’s youngsters no less!” Mrs. Himgauri Adke, the Chairperson of the Nashik Standing Committee.

Whom does the road belong to? This question formed the foundation of a public exhibition held in Nashik for a week from 13th April. The open-air exhibition explored the need to design streets that cater to all roads users, yet focusing on pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport commuters. Pedestrians and cyclists remain the most vulnerable road users and suffer severe consequences in road accidents since they are unprotected against the speed of vehicles and poor quality of infrastructure.

ITDP, in partnership with students of Nashik District Maratha Vidya Prasarak Samaj’s  College of Architecture (also known as NDMVP) and Nashik First Foundation, a local NGO, organised the exhibition. The exhibition was based on a year-long collaboration with the students on designing safer streets for the people of Nashik. Lokmat, a leading local newspaper, was the media partner for the event.

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Students of NDMVP explaining their street design proposals to citizens

The response to the exhibition was positive! The introduction of concepts like “more parking induces more traffic” proved to be thought-provoking for passersby. A major highlight of the event was the visit of the Chairperson of the Nashik Standing Committee, Mrs Himgauri Adke, who was enthusiastic about the students’ proposal and showed keen interest in understanding modern street design concepts!

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Nashik Standing Committee chairperson, Mrs Adke, and BJP City President Mrs Naidu visited the exhibition on April 18

ITDP collaborated with the students of NDMVP in 2017, over two semesters, to conceptualise and redesign the streets of Nashik, within a particular study area. Each group also suggested a PT-NMT network plan for the study area, based on their vision of mobility in the area.The redesign focused on changing the way people experienced life on streets—a playground for kids, walkers, cyclists and all other users. The proposed designs formed basis for the exhibition, to develop awareness amongst citizens and decision-makers in the city. The proposals of the NDMVP architecture students emphasised on the following, based on the Better Streets, Better Cities Manual by ITDP:

    • Allocating road space for pedestrians, bus stops, cycle tracks, street utilities, landscape, parking – in that order;
    • Designing safe at-grade crossing opportunities on streets with traffic-calming elements;
    • Implementing efficient Mass Rapid Transit solutions like Bus Rapid Transit (also known as BRT) on mobility corridors.

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Students discussing their conceptual work prior to the exhibition

Even if rapid motorisation plagues Nashik, the exhibition has shown that innovation and resourcefulness toward sustainable urban transport is not scarce in the city. The spirited preparation of the event and the committed response it has received indicate that Nashik is on its way to truly becoming ‘a city for its people!’

A year of radical planning, 2017 passes by…

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“I used to take my two-wheeler to travel the 3 kilometers between my house and the railway station. I’m now able to walk the stretch, thanks to the continuous footpath. Best part – I’ve lost 5 kilos and my diabetes!” Mr. Manimaran, a resident of Egmore in Chennai, is thrilled at the tremendous change that a safer and better footpath has brought about in his life.

The year 2017 witnessed many such impactful changes in the field of sustainable transportation all around the country, including cities which ITDP India Programme has been closely working with. Thanking all our supporters, we take a look at the year that passed by.

Pune broke ground on its ambitious Complete Streets networks – a 100km-network with its own financial resources and 45km through support from the National Smart Cities Mission. The first phase of these street design projects on JM Road and DP Road has already been lauded by the country, owing to the vibrancy of these redesigned streets. Pune’s Bicycle Plan, recently approved by the General Body, paves way for the creation of a 300km bicycle-track network in the city.

Having accomplished over 40km of Complete Streets, Chennai initiated the next phase of street design by inviting tenders in late October to redesign 22km of streets. The city tested out the design of 5 key intersections through a tactical urbanism approach – quick, temporary, on-ground interventions. Chennai also conducted another trial run of the proposed pedestrian plaza in Pondy Bazaar, the success of which fetched the project a sanction of of Rs 55 crores (~US $9 million) under the Smart Cities Mission.

Smaller cities have also made remarkable progress this year in their Complete Streets programmes – Nashik appointed nationally-acclaimed urban designers to redesign its proposed street network of 50 kilometers, with 10 kilometers tendered out; and Coimbatore commenced construction of its Model Roads and hosted an interactive exhibition to inform the people of the design of the roads while collecting feedback. Coimbatore also started developing detailed implementation plans for its Greenways and Lake Restoration Project, which includes a 30km network of greenways (exclusive walking and cycling infrastructure) that crisscross the city and connect 8 water bodies.

Becoming one of the pioneering cities in parking management in the country, Ranchi implemented a progressive on-street parking management system on its busiest thoroughfare, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, with a twelve-fold increase in revenue. Inspired by the success of the pilot, the city has proposed to refine and expand the system to cover all key locations. The state of Jharkhand has also proposed to adopt a state-level parking policy.

Chennai recently invited tenders to select an operator for its proposed on-street parking management system covering 12000 equivalent car spaces on Bus Route Roads across the city. Since Pune is also working towards parking management, ITDP, in collaboration with  GIZ-SUTP,  facilitated and managed a two-day workshop on the topic, with international parking expert, Dr Paul Barter in the city. Participants included municipal officials, traffic police, public officials from other agencies as well as various local stakeholders.

An increase in demand for better public transport has provided the fillip to cities across the country to increase and improve their transit services. Chennai made considerable advancement in its BRT planning, with the interim report for Phase I approved by the state and a series of public consultation programmes organised to explain the significance of BRT to people and get their feedback on the various corridors.

In Pune, around 130 crore rupees was sanctioned to construct 13 new bus terminals to facilitate better integration of bus services with the proposed Metro Rail network. The city also commenced work on expanding the existing 38km Rainbow BRT by an additional 15km. Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) initiated the process of adding 200 feeder buses to its fleet, to improve connectivity between the city and the surrounding towns.

Public bicycle sharing (PBS) is emerging as a popular mode of public transit across the country. Pune piloted a dockless PBS system with 275 bicycles and signed an MoU with 4 vendors dealing with dockless systems. Two other cities are preparing for the installation of a PBS system – Ranchi and Chennai invited operators to submit proposals for setting up 1264 bicycles in 122 stations (Phase 1) and 5000 bicycles in 378 designated parking areas, respectively.

Successful and sustained on-ground changes invariably require the backing of well-framed guidelines, policies and financial plans – 2017 was marked by many of these. Two sets of guidelines – the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) planning and design guidelines, and the Guidelines on Control and Regulation of Mixed Traffic in Urban Areas – prepared by ITDP, were approved by the apex committee of the Indian Roads Congress. These guidelines will apply for all cities across India and guide them towards low-carbon mobility.

The Government of Jharkhand adopted an inclusive TOD policy that focuses on equitable development of cities in the state, so that a majority of the population lives and works in areas with safe and accessible walking and cycling facilities integrated with reliable and high-quality public transport.

The Government of Maharashtra published a draft of the State Urban Transport Policy, which promotes low-carbon & equitable mobility and urban development by prioritising public transport (PT) and non-motorised transport (NMT). Furthermore, over half of Pune’s total transportation budget of 1100 crore rupees was allocated towards sustainable transport development for the financial year 2017-18. In the South, Coimbatore adopted a Street Design and Management Policy that focuses on creating equitable and sustainable mobility options and expanding their use.

The realisation that sustainable urban development will remain elusive without integrating women’s safety and comfort in urban transport, has generated momentum to include gender as a key factor in transport planning. Bringing this subject to the fore and as a first of its kind, a paper on Women and Transport in Indian Cities was created by ITDP and Safetipin, and released at a national workshop on gender and transit conducted by the two organisations. This paper identifies indicators, service level benchmarks and processes for integrating a gender perspective in urban transport projects, policies and programs along with good practice case studies.   

 

2017 was a year of radical planning indeed, with many grand plans conceived, developed and initiated for sustainable transportation. With all these plans set to materialize in the coming months, 2018 will be a year of implementation and tangible transformation. Looking forward to a great year ahead: Happy New Year!

Nashik celebrates the bicycle with its first ‘Cycle Day’

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“I have been riding a bicycle for years, but this is the first time somebody respected me and honoured me for this.” These were the words of Kiran Nikam, an industrial worker, when he was greeted with a rose for riding a bicycle on 26th April, the first ‘Cycle Day’ in Nashik. The ‘Cycle Day’, a joint effort by the Marathi newspaper Sakal, Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) and ITDP, is a part of the larger movement to promote non-motorised transport (NMT) as a safe, comfortable way of commuting around the city.

Nashik, situated in north-west Maharashtra, is witnessing rapid motorization and congestion, but like other Indian cities, lacks good infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists. ITDP has been working with NMC to promote a transportation paradigm where the focus is on public transportation, pedestrians and bicycles. To achieve this end, there needs to be a visible demand for these facilities with elevation of the social status of bicycles and public transport.

When ITDP and Sakal discussed how to build support for cycling and raise demand for better cycling infrastructure, Sakal proposed a ‘Cycle Day’, which would in turn encourage the next generation to use cycles as a safe and acceptable mode for commuting. The team from Sakal headed by editor Shrimant Mane handled the outreach and community engagement, with support from NMC and technical assistance from ITDP.

The initiative kicked off with a pre-event launch on April 12th, which was attended by the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Nashik, officials from other important government departments and notable residents of the city, who extended their support to the initiative. “NMC is committed to safety of cyclists, and I personally support the need to create the necessary infrastructure,” said Ashok Murtadak, the Mayor.

As a run-up to the event, a 12 km Cycle Rally was conducted on Sunday, April 24th, and the wide media outreach by Sakal helped in getting a turnout of about 250 enthusiastic cyclists- school children, men and women of all ages, and even the Mayor riding the entire course with the participants. A member of Nashik Cyclist Association joined the rally after completing a long-distance ‘brevet’ of 200 km the previous night, and Sanjay Gaay, a person with special needs also completed the rally on his tricycle. With the conclusion of the successful rally, the Mayor announced that NMC would create a bicycle friendly greenway this year.

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The cycle rally saw a turnout of about 250 enthusiastic cyclists of all ages and backgrounds.

After the right spirit created ahead of the Cycle Day, people used the Monday to borrow bikes or dust theirs off, to make sure that they are seen riding one on Tuesday and their efforts certainly paid off : the Cycle Day recorded  a 26 percent increase in cyclists as compared to a normal day. (This data was gathered from surveys that ITDP conducted at critical locations along with volunteers from ‘Young Inspirator’s Network’.)

NMC-AddlComm-officers

Cycle Day saw widespread participation from both government workers and private sector companies.

Government employees across various ranks pedaled their way to work to send the right signal to the people, the private sector was not too far behind with many companies ceremoniously welcoming employees who cycled to work, and even some school teachers cycled 30 km to work on a hot summer day.

With the passion that cyclists showed on the Cycle Day and the backing received from NMC, it is evident that the city still loves the bicycle, and ITDP is optimistic that Nashik will soon see serious investments on bicycle-friendly infrastructure to pave the way to a cleaner, healthier city.

 

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Gauging Transportation Needs in Nashik, India

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Conducting a household survey in a low-income area in Nashik

In early March, ITDP joined Clean Air Initiative-Asia to implement a rapid mobility assessment tool in Nashik, a city in western India about 150km northeast of Mumbai. The project, funded by UN-Habitat, seeks to create a quick and inexpensive way to gauge transportation needs in cities with little existing data. After reviewing existing data collection methods a new rapid assessment tool was developed, which consists of two parts: a household survey and a focus group discussion. The household survey aims to collect information about many different parts of the city while the focus group discussion aims to gather data from underrepresented groups whose important input might not be covered in the household survey. The city of Nashik was selected for the first test of the new tool.

In Nashik, the focus group discussion was held on Sunday, March 3, and included representatives of the blind, the disabled, women, the medical community, and the traffic police. The discussion brought forth a variety of perspectives on transportation, with particularly informative input from women and the disabled who discussed the daily challenges of safety and access that they faced when traveling around the city.

The household survey was conducted with help from the NDMVP’s Nashik College of Architecture-Nashik, National Institute of Technology (NIT)-Nashik, and the Institute for Design Environment and Architecture (IDEA) College. These student spent four hours on a Sunday learning the survey form and practicing techniques. The actual survey was conducted on three weekdays in over 12 neighborhoods, which were scouted ahead of time by the survey team. Students visited every part of Nashik, from informal settlements in the heart of the city to new, high-income areas in the outskirts.

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Focus group discussion in Nashik

With oversight from university professors and the survey team, students went to a variety of households in each neighborhood. Over the course of three days, over 1,000 surveys were conducted. Each survey, conducted by a team of two students, took approximately one hour, and most households were happy to provide information in order to improve transportation in Nashik. From the survey, ITDP and Clean Air Asia learned a great deal about the City of Nashik and about conducting surveys in the Indian context. ITDP will further refine this tool for use in other cities that lack transportation data.