Govt should have bolstered RTC fleet: Urban transport expert

Hyderabad: Takingan all-encompassing stock of the ambitious expansion of Metro Rail, former faculty of CESS Prof C Ramachandraiah has opined that big time and big money projects won’t solve problems of the city passengers. Even if the project is taken by the government, it is ultimately the people who will end up paying for it.

Talking toThe Hans India, Ramachandraiah, who has worked as urban transport expert, stated that while addition of any infrastructure was good for the people, the Metro was a hugely expensive infrastructure. They never talk about how many more alternatives can be built with the same money and they are not bothered about this aspect.

“They get to draw a map on the city from here to here like Medchal, Shameerpet and simply connect the points that are far away. They are not bothered about the other equally critical issues, including the convenience of short distance passengers. The Metro is preferred by long distance commuters. They don’t bother how the passengers could reach the last mile destination after getting down from Metro. They go for big and expensive contracts. By the end of the day they spend so much money that the intended benefits will never be realised,” he said.

The Urban transport expert said in most of the big projects, initially benefits are exaggerated and costs are underestimated, figures that go asunder as the delays crop up.

Ramachandraiah said “As per the original 2008 estimates, 24 lakh passengers were supposed to travel by the Metro in 2024 itself. However, as of today, with five lakh passengers, it is carrying just a mere 25 per cent of the projections. Was it worth investing so much? RTC is carrying 30 lakh people per day. If we had earmarked another Rs 1,000 crore for the corporation, I would have been carrying another five-lakh people every day.”

As per the service level benchmark of the Union Government, there should be 60 buses for a lakh population for a city like Hyderabad, which has around 6,000 buses. Bengaluru has more than 6,000 RTC buses and it carries 50 lakh passengers every day.

“Going by our own experience in Hyderabad, big money problems won’t solve our problems. Even if it is taken up by the government, it is the people who pay for the services,” he said.

The urban transport expert said that Metro could have also gone underground. He said that opting for an elevated Metro has given an ugly look. The government should focus on basic issues like having footpaths, dividers and bus stops. Priority for RTC buses at least during peak hours would solve the transport issues of the citizens to significant levels, he said.