Citizens' group targets better public transport

mumbai: a bunch of privileged car users lobbying to improve public transport? that seems like a far-fetched idea. but the city's traffic crisis is now so deep, it has improbably led to the formation of netra, an association of middle class citizens and civic organisations that is campaigning for better mass transport.the fledgling networking for transport alternatives group believes that mumbai's traffic snarls are the result of piecemeal transport schemes that place greater emphasis on motorists than on train and bus commuters.the group points out that 80 per cent of road space is occupied by only 10 per cent of the users__car drivers.``there is ample transport capacity, but indiscipline and inequitable use of road space has led to current traffic problems,'' says bina balakrishnan, a transport consultant with group.improved public transport, the group says, will get private cars off the road, reducing traffic and pollution and speeding up commuting time. ``it may seem elitist to demand comfortable public transport like a/c buses, but mass transport has to be attractive enough to wean away the car user,'' points out meher rafat of clean air. she adds, ``the beneficiary is the person on the street, who is most affected by pollution.''netra's agenda includes urgently implementing the mumbai urban transport project (mutp) ii to upgrade mass transport services; getting the police to enforce parking and traffic rules; compulsory off-the-road parking for vehicles; increasing parking charges; installing proper road signs; and charging a levy on vehicles entering south mumbai to restrict entry of cars into the city during peak hours.netra also wants the truck and bus terminal at wadala to be completed and says more pavements should be constructed and broken sidewalks restored.``we are not focusing on engineering solutions but on traffic management and implementing existing projects,'' says avantika akerkar. the group is also plugging for the innovative sky bus metro, a zero-pollution mass transit system suspended on rails above the streets.netra also wants an integrated transportation authority to be establish to manage public transportation, says neera punj of citispace. this idea is also recommended by the bombay high court-appointed v.m. lal committee on vehicular pollution.netra was born hesitantly last october at a meeting of residents' associations, fisherfolk, environmental groups and middle-class citizens concerned about road projects coming up without the consent of local residents, most notably, the controversial worli-bandra sea link and the pedder road flyover. but their agenda changed when they began to realise that the problem was much larger than these specific projects, that ad hoc schemes were coming up because of skewed transport policies and lack of transparency in decision making.still, it's unclear how a few middle-class groups, with little experience of public transport, can influence government plans and project implementation. or how they can combat the formidable automobile lobby. already, the original congregation of associations has been whittled down to a core group of 14 individuals, including debi goenka from the bombay environmental action group, nikhil anand from critical mass and citispace members.but the group is buoyed by the positive response it has received from the state bureaucracy. ``we have been negotiating with the chief and transport secretary and they have taken up our agenda,'' says ms akerkar, adding that a larger publicity campaign and educational programmes are in the pipeline.