People 'shun' public transport: Study

JAIPUR: Jaipurites, it seems, depend on themselves as far as travelling in the city is concerned. According to a Comprehensive Mobility Plan of the Urban Development Department, only 28% people use the public mode of transport.
A study conducted around three years ago for BRTS, revealed that the usage was around 30%.
If this trend continues, the use of public transport will further witness a drop of one per cent every two years, according to the CMP.“If no action is taken, the public transport modal share (motorised) will reduce to 18%.”
However, contrary to the present situation, the authorities have set a benchmark of 50%, the CMP draft suggests.
“The reduction in usage of public mode of transport will lead to substantial investments in creating more road space to accommodate the growing number of private vehicles,” it adds.
According to the study, the average annual growth rate of vehicles in Jaipur is 12%. Increase in the number of registered vehicles on the limited road space has led to overcrowding and congestion.
The current public transport system is majorly limited to bus services. The capacity of these vehicles and their comfort level may have also been a reason for the outcome.
The city grew and the lifestyle changed rapidly in the last decade. however, the authorities failed to match with this pace and hence have fallen behind. Poor connectivity of the bus services is also a major concern. The urban development department is also taking initiatives. “The projects like Metro and BRTS are already in various stage of initiation, in addition more buses are being purchased to provide reliable and comfortable transportation,” said principal secretary urban development, G S Sandhu.
This will also call for a rapid and integrated progress over various infrastructure projects under consideration. Meanwhile, the plans on the table will take time to realise and the government will have to step on gas and accelerate the process.