The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : ‘Assess users before metro rail project launch’

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Friday, Jul 06, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

‘Assess users before metro rail project launch’

Number of users only 10 p.c. of actual projection: Ajay Maken

— Photo: P. V. SIVAKUMAR

Show of courtesy: Union Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken being greeted by RTC Managing Director V. Dinesh Reddy as CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury looks on.

HYDERABAD: Union Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken has advised the State Governments to properly assess the number of commuters that would use the metro rail before pumping in investments into the projects.

“The Governments have a passion of asking for metros, but they don’t project the ridership in them. This is evident from the metros in Delhi and Kolkata where the number of users is only 10 per cent of the actual projection,” he said. Mr. Maken was participating in a national seminar on ‘Urban Transport – Problems and Solutions’ organised by the APSRTC Staff and Workers’ Federation here on Thursday.

Regulation authority

Given the significant rise in the number of vehicles, the Minister said there was a need for strengthening public transit systems and setting up an urban transport regulation authority for promoting multi-modal transport. While private sector should be given peripheral activities, steps like increasing congestion charges and collecting higher parking charges from vehicle owners should be initiated. “We are subsidising private vehicle owners by collecting lower charges from them at the expense of public transport,” he said.

Mr. Sitaram Yechuri, Chairman of the Parliamentary standing committee on transport and tourism, said urban transport should be viewed in a holistic manner, not compartmentalised, in that several linkages including the huge growth of automobile industry had to be taken into account. Instead of laying emphasis on mass transport system as replacement for vehicles, the stress should be on people without vehicles.

State Government’s advisor on external affairs C.C. Reddy, RTC managing director V. Dinesh Reddy and others also spoke.

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