SS: The article presents a cautionary tale where rapid development of urban transit in countries – particularly developing ones – won’t always result in a success story. Indian (except the one in Delhi) metros have to deal with low ridership and risk being a massive financial drai. Lack of last mile connectivity, poor walkways, low frequency , high fares and high transit times limit the potential of India (and other countries) to use metro system to solve long-standing congestion and pollution issues.
minimirth on
It’s a weird article. As more and more lines are being built and getting connected, more people are using the metro. I can’t speak of other cities, but people in Bombay have been using the metro more and more.
In any case, governments here are often criticised for not planning ahead but where governments are planning ahead, they get bashed for anticipating ridership. It’s weird to expect an overnight change in commuting habits.
Having better infrastructure in tier 2 cities may attract more white collar businesses there.
No-Worldliness-5106 on
Old train lines are still cheaper, people would rather get cheap trains than expensive ones.
> “In Indian metro systems, the integrated journey cost can consume 20% of income for lower-income workers, above the global benchmark of 10-15%”
This also illustrates that point.
People will get on them once they realise either it is a better deal or it can get to their destinations faster. Changing habits takes time.
3 Comments
SS: The article presents a cautionary tale where rapid development of urban transit in countries – particularly developing ones – won’t always result in a success story. Indian (except the one in Delhi) metros have to deal with low ridership and risk being a massive financial drai. Lack of last mile connectivity, poor walkways, low frequency , high fares and high transit times limit the potential of India (and other countries) to use metro system to solve long-standing congestion and pollution issues.
It’s a weird article. As more and more lines are being built and getting connected, more people are using the metro. I can’t speak of other cities, but people in Bombay have been using the metro more and more.
In any case, governments here are often criticised for not planning ahead but where governments are planning ahead, they get bashed for anticipating ridership. It’s weird to expect an overnight change in commuting habits.
Having better infrastructure in tier 2 cities may attract more white collar businesses there.
Old train lines are still cheaper, people would rather get cheap trains than expensive ones.
> “In Indian metro systems, the integrated journey cost can consume 20% of income for lower-income workers, above the global benchmark of 10-15%”
This also illustrates that point.
People will get on them once they realise either it is a better deal or it can get to their destinations faster. Changing habits takes time.