CHENNAI : The recent fuel price hike is perhaps the best opportunity for policymakers to take dynamic decisions to improve Chennai's public transport systems, urban activists say.

Even as vehicle owners and homemakers think of ways to manage the domestic budget after the hike, policymakers need to work on steps to entice people to switch to public transport modes.

But to achieve that, MTC buses should be put on the road. More important is the need is to arrive at a judicious mix of public transport options for commuters, the activists note.

Why public transport

It is only logical that people be provided improved public transport systems now, says M.G. Devasahayam, Managing Trustee of SUSTAIN, an NGO that works for improving Chennai's urban planning activities.

Buses are more fuel efficient, less polluting and occupy lesser road space.

A car consumes five times more energy than a 52-seater bus running to 82 per cent capacity. Automobiles consume eight to 10 times more fuel to meet the same travel demand per km. A car occupies 38 times more space per passenger than a bus, and a two-wheeler 54 times that of a bus. Automobiles are far more polluting than the average bus.

"These advantages are obvious. But the number of buses on the road is dwindling even by official statistics," he notes pointing out that the total fleet strength has come down from 2,816 in 2000 to 2,773 in 2005. An MTC bus on an average is eight years old. The effective km covered by public transport buses in the metropolis has come down from 221 million km to 298 million km across the five years.

"Worse still... fleet utilisation has come down from 81.80 to 78.78 per cent of the total buses available. This is because of breakdowns and paucity of technicians in the depots. All this has led to even reduction in occupancy - more people are using personalised transport."

No comfort

The existing fleet mix does not point to any modern thinking among transport policymakers, he notes. About 98 per cent of the 2,773 buses are old `body-on-chassis' that kills any comfort for a rider. "By the time a person travels 10 - 12 km, he has little energy left to work at office or factory. This only due to old technology buses. Bus building technologies have vastly improved and we need higher passenger transit capacity buses. For example, we now have only 42 articulated buses (capacity 150 passengers), Almost all others are conventional single-decker buses." A mix of integral, vestibule, low-floor, antiskid, air suspension, CNG/low emission buses, and double-deckers with advanced specifications, including retractable wheel ramps should all be brought in," Mr. Devasayaham notes.

A retired chief urban planner of the CMDA, Anantharanjan Doss also calls for introducing more high capacity buses and earmarking big thoroughfares such as Anna Salai, Inner Ring Road or Beach Road as bus ways, with clearly defined paths.

Exclusive bus ways are mooted by experts as a faster, reliable and less polluting option to personalised transport.

"If we have a reliable and comfortable bus or rapid rail system, we can encourage even bureaucrats to shed their automobiles. Look the huge wastage of fuel when thousands of vehicles wait each day in signals guzzling gas and emitting smoke... ," says Mr. Das, who also spoke of the imperative need to provide more safer passageways for two-wheelers and bicycles , which are completely non-polluting.

Mr.Devasahayam says exclusive bus ways is but part of a larger transport plan.

"First the MTC needs to have a bus optimisation model. We may need 5,000 more buses, but that many will choke our roads. Look the peak demand, create comfortable transport options, have variable size buses, integrate with rail and mass transit systems. We have been talking about the need for Unified Transport authority for Chennai. The national policy on transport also calls for this. Unless, this turns a reality, Chennai road will remain choked and polluted, with personalised transport the only costly option available... ," he argues.

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