The Capital’s public is set to go more mobile. First the Delhi government planned to put in a total of 4,000 radio taxis on road in time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Now the Union Urban Development Ministry has gone a step further: it plans to introduce radio auto-rickshaws in Delhi and Chandigarh soon.
The ministry has already commissioned feasibility studies to see how this can be done.
“What is happening in Delhi right now is that transport is being conceptualised as independent projects,” a ministry official told Newsline. “So you have a BRT corridor coming up and then a proposed LRT. But the feeder system to various networks has not been conceptualised. What Delhi, or any other city, needs is a comprehensive transport network, not scattered projects.
“Non-motorised vehicles comprise nearly 30 per cent of the Capital’s traffic, and auto-rickshaws are here to stay. So they need to be incorporated in the city’s transport system in a more organised fashion.”
This, then, is how it looks on the ministry’s drawing board: auto-rickshaws in the city will be fitted with a GPS-monitoring system; a call centre will be set up on the lines of call centres working with radio-taxi services; and stoppage points for autos will be fixed.
When the project is implemented, Delhiites will be able to call an auto through an SMS or a phone call.
“We are conceptualising plans on how cycle-rickshaws can also be integrated in the transport network,” a transport official in UD ministry said. “The problem with cycle-rickshaws is that they cannot be fitted with GPS system. But we will decide haltage points for them as well, and organise them in a way that they can provide feeder services to other transport corridors.”
The official said their studies have shown cycle-rickshaws have been the “main feeder service” for Delhi Metro so far.
According to the official, all cycle-rickshaws and their owners need to be registered by the municipality. The owners should pay taxes, maintain the rickshaws, and conform to rules and regulations of traffic safety, which are not enforced till date, the official pointed out. “With carbon emission creating a hazard for the environment, cycle-rickshaws have been introduced in cities such as Frankfurt, London, Paris and New York,” the official said. “So it is just a question of improving their aesthetics and making them more viable” to make them more attractive for Delhiites.
The ministry has envisioned cost-recovery of cycle-rickshaw project with advertising hubs at its stoppage points. There are plans to make modern rickshaw stands with sitting facility, fare charts, drinking water and even railway ticketing stations.
The Institute of Urban Transport will conduct the two pilot studies sanctioned by the ministry; they will be completely funded by the ministry.
“Whether they are auto-rickshaws or cycle-rickshaws, it is not possible for individual owners to afford new, upgraded technology,” an official said. “That is why the ministry is stepping in. We are also talking to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) for the project.”
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