As per a World Bank
study, by 2031, some 600 million people are expected to live in India's cities.
However, only about 20 Indian cities with populations over 500,000 have any
kind of organized public transport systems. In fact, the share of public transport
in large Indian cities actually declined from some 70 per cent in 1994 to
almost 40 per cent in 2007. Furthermore, India's accident and fatality rates
are among the highest in the world, mainly affecting the poor and vulnerable
who do not have their own means of transportation.
City transportation is
an important pillar for quality of life of citizens in a city. Currently, in
most of the cities, public and private road transportation are the key mode of
commuting and logistics. Some large and mega cities have metro and local train
network as the backbone transportation mode.
Lack of quality and
safe public transportation, inadequate capacity of public transportation, road
safety concerns, overcrowded road network, poor traffic management, parking
issues, theft, poor road conditions, lack of modal options (including
pedestrian walkways) remain the key issues in most of the cities. Most cities
also lack the integrated transportation plans leading to huge demand-supply gap
and poor transportation network. For transport operators, huge demand-supply
gap, under recovery and poor asset
management remain the key issues.
The schematic below
highlight some of the key issues in public transportation in India which are
mapped as a part of Accenture- NASSCOM report:
Transforming Public
Transportation leveraging Smart Technology Solutions
Technology plays an
important role by predicting demand and supply data to feed into transportation
planning. Technology can also help in improving reliability of public
transportation network by providing visibility on arrivals/departures/route
information for travellers for hassle-free journey. Multi modal fare
integration can help citizens to use multiple modal options without hassle of
purchasing different tickets. Intelligent traffic management can aid efficient
traffic flow.
The schematic from
Accenture NASSCOM report below shows the how Smart Technology Solutions can be
leverage to improve public transportation and transportation security:
Some of the
technologies relevant for Smart Cities includes:
Bicycle sharing system: A bicycle sharing system, public bicycle
system, or bike share scheme, is a service in which bicycles are made available
for shared use to individuals on a very short-term basis. For many systems,
smartphone mapping apps show nearby stations. They show how many bikes and how
many open docks are available at each station, increasing convenience for
users.
Geospatial-enabled efficient transportation
system: Geospatial-enabled
services provide periodic traffic forecast, journey planning mobile
applications based on real-time data, etc.
Dynamic carpooling/car sharing: Carpooling applications link drivers and
passengers in real-time, thus enabling dynamic carpooling. Drivers wishing to
profit from their journeys can find people situated on the same route via a
smartphone app and vice versa. Passengers can also directly debit his or her
fare to app, eliminating the need for any money exchange. The costs of travel
would typically be capped.
GPS-based tracking and route information of
public transport: Advanced
vehicle tracking solutions enhances operations and optimises public
transportation and ridership. These solutions offer real-time GPS tracking from
mobile devices thus increasing the reliability of public transportation.
Integrated transit
hubs: Integrated transport hubs seamlessly connect multiple modes of
transportation like bus system, metro system, etc.
Public transport surveillance: As the public transit population grows, it
becomes increasingly important to launch surveillance system on the public
transport, for e.g. buses, mass transit railway, underground, and trains to
secure public transportation. The administrators can monitor the public transport
remotely and take action against any accidents/incidents. The video footage can
also be used as legal evidence against damage or criminal action on the public
transport.
Road user charging: Road user charges are direct charges levied
for the use of roads, including road tolls, distance or time-based fees,
congestion charges and charges designed to discourage use of certain classes of
vehicle, fuel sources or more polluting vehicles. These charges help to reduce
peak hour travel and the associated
traffic congestion or other social and environmental negative externalities
associated with road travel such as air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions,
and visual intrusion, noise and road accidents. It can be leveraged in certain
busy areas or selected cities to discourage private transport usage.
Single fare card: Single fare card for fare payment on the
various participating public transportation systems. The cards can be recharged
by mobile applications/internet/retail outlets. Potential extension of the
cards could also be for street parking.
Smart parking: A smart parking leverages parking sensors,
cameras, smart parking solution, etc. to provide efficient management of on street
and off street parking spaces.
Smart toll: Smart toll leverages technology like number plate detection,
RFID, etc. to charge toll fees to user account so that vehicles do not have to
wait at toll gates on local, national and state highway.
Smart traffic lights: Smart traffic lights leverages technology to
sense traffic condition to tune traffic lights which enable smooth flow of
traffic.
Freight ICT services: Freight ICT applications can help save time
and energy by improving the efficiency of freight vehicle operations including
processes at entry and exit and making better use of the freight network. ICT
brings the potential for virtually unlimited data collection, greatly enhanced
predictive capabilities, and real-time, dynamic decision-making and
implementation which lead to a more efficient freight system based on
completely visible and accessible physical and digital networks.
Electric vehicles: Support electricity and renewable energy
operated cars with the required infrastructure. Make a few cities as pilot for
"Plug-in" ready cities by facilitating the expansion of a Public
Electric Vehicle (EV) infrastructure that ensures the safe, reliable, and
efficient integration of EV charging loads with the power grid.
Transportation is a
key pillar for quality of life in a city. India needs a balanced focus in terms
of improving/extending transportation infrastructure and leveraging smart
technology solutions. While, there is lots that needs to be done to
improve/extend public transportation infrastructure in Indian cities and
Government of India is investing in various national/ state/ local initiatives
to improve public transportation, there is also need to leverage Smart
Technology Solutions to quickly improve efficiency/capacity of public
transportation and to create high quality public transportation system.
