The Urban Development Department, Government of Maharashtra, must play a key role in ensuring that all cities in Maharashtra have an efficient bus-based public transport system for enhancing the liveability of cities.
WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, URGE THE HON’BLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT MINISTER, GOVERNMENT OF MAHARASHTRA, to:
- Recognize the importance of an efficient bus-based public transport (BBPT) system for healthy, developed and sustainable cities, and raise awareness about the same for the general public and decision-makers.
- Include the goal of a reliable, accessible, well-planned and affordable urban transport system within the agenda of the Urban Development department (UDD).
- Provide for a city’s requirement of buses by stipulating specific norms and guidelines for bus-based public transport both within the framework of a city’s Development Plan, and as an obligatory function of the Municipal Corporation.
- Ensure that the Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) of a city which must include the provision of BBPT, is taken into cognizance when the Development Plan is being drafted.
- Reassess and update existing BPPT-related guidelines like provision of depots and terminals per lakh population, and ensure their proper implementation.
- Require that Traffic Impact Assessments are carried out for major urban development projects, which ensure adequate bus service for places of high visitation.
- Enable public transport planning ahead of the demand especially in peri-urban areas.
- Allocate resources from the State for provision of quality-level bus services, especially in Tier-II and Tier-III cities of Maharashtra.
- Recognise urban transport as a multi-sectoral issue and work in coordination with allied departments (transport, environment, finance) to improve BBPT services, and champion a state urban bus-based public transport policy that is inclusive of the aforementioned recommendations.
Background
Maharashtra is one of the most urbanized states in India, with over 5 crores of its population living in urban areas. Public transport is poor and even non-existent in most of the cities, which have seen an explosive growth in vehicles and with it, chronic congestion and pollution. For an industrialized state like Maharashtra, there are only 11 buses per lakh population. Most of the Municipal Corporations (population > 3 lakhs) do not have a city bus service at all. Even the better performing cities are no better! While Mumbai has about 30 buses per lakh population Pune has about 27, both short of the 50 buses per lakh population benchmark set by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Excluding these two cities, there are only 4 buses per lakh population in other cities.
Despite the well-established role of urban bus transport in cutting air pollution, bringing down carbon emissions, improving the urban experience and liveability of cities, it remains understated in city development policies, programs and campaigns. Focusing on the urban bus system is an essential overhaul long due in imagining and designing interventions to address development concerns in urban Maharashtra.
ENDORSEMENT
We, therefore, are issuing this joint statement to ensure that against the stated background, our recommendations are acknowledged and accepted for a sustainably developed and liveable city.
With hope and regards,
- Shirish B Patel | Architect and Civil Engineer
- Narendra Dengle | Conservation Architect
- Vikas Dilawari | Conservation Architect
- Sharvey Dhongde | Architect, BNCA Pune
- Kiran Kalamdani | Architect and Urban Designer
- Anita Gokhale-Benninger | Urban Planner and Executive Director, CDSA
- Sudhir Badami | Civil Engineer and Transportation Analyst
- Malini Krishnankutty | Architect and Urban Planner
- Pranjali Deshpande | Architect and Urban Planner (Transport)
- Prasanna Desai | Practising Architect and Urban Designer
- Abhijit Kondhalkar | Architect and Urban Designer
- Rajesh C Shukla | Civil Engineer and Urban Planner
- D. Parthasarathy | Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay
- Hrishikesh Ashtekar | Architect and Urban Designer
- Yogesh Dandekar | Architect and Urban Designer
- Ashik S Jain | Architect and Urban Planner
- Anubandh Hambarde | Architect and Urban Designer
- Amrut K Deskhmukh | Architect and Sustainable Designer
- Rohit Gadiya | Architect and Urban Designer
- Tanay Ambavane | Architect and Associate Professor, MMCOA Pune
- Sandeep Pathe | Conservation Architect
- Sarang Inamdar | Architect and Urban Designer
- Gautami Ghumatkar | Architect and Urban Designer
- Minal Sagare | Architect and Urban Designer
- Tejashree Kulkarni | Architect and Urban Designer
- Pranjal Kulkarni | Urban Designer
- Aditya Chawande | Architect and Urban Designer
- Apoorva Kukde | Architect and Urban Designer
- Jagdish Temkar | Architect and Transport Planner
- Rohan Londhe | Architect and Urban Designer
- Pooja Kudale | Architect and Urban Designer
- Mrunmai Bhujbal Borate | Architect and Urban Designer
- Girish Shirbhate | Architect
- Randhir Gedam | Architect
and 20 others city-based architects and urban planners.