Promote Pedestrian Power
In today’s world, speed is all. Fast food, fast cars, fast (bullet) trains, fast (10-minute) grocery delivery: everything is a race, and getting there quicker – importantly, before others – seems vital to our lives. Yet, despite the speed, do we really get more time to do what we want to do? Responding quickly to a message or mail hardly ends the task; inevitably, fast replies trigger an immediate response, calling for another reply – and so the cycle goes on. “Fast” ends up as more work rather than as a free time. Generally, it also means off-the-cuff, knee-jerk reactions, with little thought or depth. Hurried, unthinking emails or actions often create problems: act in haste, repent at leisure!
Speed is encouraged by the instantaneity of social media, of the need to be the first to post news, even if it is an unverified rumour (most recently, “President XI under house arrest”!) and to immediately forward it. There is no time to observe, reflect or introspect. Partly as a reaction, things like “slow food” are now becoming popular.
Yet, the love for “fast” dominates. The leisurely pace of a cricket Test spread over five days has been replaced in popularity by the three-hour T20. In-depth articles have given way to 140-character tweets or 15-second video clips. One major manifestation of the obsession with speed is the desire to increase the pace at which vehicles move on city roads. This is a laudable but limited objective. In conjunction with economic inequity and power asymmetry, it translates to a focus on cars to the exclusion of other forms of urban movement. Fortunately, the glamour of a “metro” (rail) system – as necessary and prestigious for a city as a national airline once was to most countries – has brought attention, even if unintended, back to public transport.
The priority for cars is best exemplified by Delhi’s experience with a “bus rapid transit” system. Experience around the world has shown that when well run, this is an optimal system. It is far cheaper than a metro, can be rapidly scaled, and provides access closer to home and workplace. The lower fares (as compared to the high-cost metro) makes it affordable for the poor. Unlike the long lead times required for a metro, BRT can be expanded quickly wherever needed.
However, when Delhi embarked on a limited BRT, reserving two lanes on a busy but broad road, the reaction from car owners was so strong that it had to abandon. Admittedly, it was poorly implemented, with inadequate frequency and constant encroachments by cars on the BRT lanes. Of course, reserved BRT lanes meant that the road was more congested, and cars travelled slower. But then, this is one way of pushing more people towards public transport, with huge exogenous benefits: saving fuel, lower pollution, less stress (for car drivers), and more equitable. What stands out, though, is the power of the car lobby and the government caving into this vocal minority group. Little wonder that hundreds of crores are spent on fly-overs and road-broadening, but there is no money to buy new buses (in most cities, the number of buses – the true mass public transport – on the road is less than what it was some years ago)!
Today, we suffer the effects of climate change through extreme weather events ‒ bursts of massive rainfall, droughts, heat waves ‒ and there is a global push to minimise carbon (therefore, of fossil fuels like petrol, diesel, and coal). While electric vehicles may, in due course, replace the present ones, they have their own problems (including pollution). Accordingly, in urban areas worldwide, non-vehicular movement and the use of mass rapid transport is being encouraged. Cycling and walking are the ideal solutions (also, for better health!). This means more thoughtful urban planning: for example, integrated housing and office/commercial areas to minimise commute distances; offices and commercial areas (malls, restaurants, entertainment centres) co-located with transport nodes like metro stations or bus terminals; neighbourhood schools; and universities with student housing in or near the campus.
Amongst these, the single most important factor is the facilitation of pedestrians. In most major global cities, tens of thousands use public transport and then walk from the node to their offices or homes. In India, no one who can afford an alternative will walk even half a kilometre. Instead of seeking uncertain last-mile transportation, they end up using their own vehicle for the full journey. The reasons are well-known: lack of footpaths, in most cases. Where they do exist, they are broken, dug up, or composed of loose and uneven paving, and even these are encroached by shops, hawkers and parked vehicles; further, the lighting varies between non-existent and poor.
In the rare case of a broad footpath, it becomes one more traffic lane for two-wheelers (even three-wheelers), often driving on the wrong side. Inevitably, pedestrians have to use the road and navigate between speeding vehicles. Yet, many have no choice but to walk (even in the prosperous “millennium city” of Gurgaon, walking accounts for as many as 33 per cent of all trips, compared with three per cent by car). Meanwhile, “signal-free” roads mean that pedestrians have to scamper across busy roads, praying that no vehicle hits them. Given these well-known facts and available data, it is shocking that priority is given only to speeding up car travel.
We need a more responsive and decentralised form of urban governance, with sufficient financial and talent resources. Only then might cities focus attention, funds and effort on improving walkability. Well-paved footpaths, with trees for shade, good lighting, and safe (controlled) pedestrian crossings: these are the minimal necessities that city administrations must ensure. Complemented by widespread, inexpensive, comfortable public mass transport systems and sensible urban planning, this could transform our cities. Now is the time for a pro-pedestrian revolution.
The author loves to think in tongue-in-cheek ways, with no maliciousness or offence intended. At other times, he is a public policy analyst and author. His latest book is Decisive Decade: India 2030 Gazelle or Hippo (Rupa, 2021).
