ROLE OF AUTORICKSHAWS AND TAXIS IN SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTR K Singh, Dir(UT), Ministry of Urban Development

ROLE OF AUTO RICKSHAWS/TAXIS IN SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT

AGENDA FOR THE SESSION

SUSTAINABLE URBAN TRANSPORT PROJECT GEF-5: A Way Forward

R K SinghDir(UT)

Ministry of Urban Development16th April-2013

SUSTAINABLE URBAN TRANSPORT PROJECTThe two main objectives of SUTP are:Strengthening capacity of GOI, Institute of Urban Transport (IUT), and participating states and cities in planning, financing, implementing, operating and managing sustainable urban transport systems;

and

Assisting states and cities in preparing and implementing demonstration “Green Transport” projects.

SUTP is initiated by GoI with the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), World Bank and United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) is the nodal agency for the project.The implementation of SUTP is planned over the next four years. The total cost of the project is 1427.97 crores.

BACK GROUND

6

Achieving sustainable urban transport became a primary objective with the adoption of National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP) by the Government of India (GoI) in 2006.

Under the influence of the NUTP and JnNURM initiatives, urban transport has received considerable attention since 2006. However, it has been recognized that limited institutional and human capacity in urban transport at both national and local levels is a major constrain.

In order to overcome this situation SUTP aims at improving the capacities of the government officials and decision makers in the urban transport sector to appreciate urban transport in all its dimensions and develop the skills for undertaking urban transport planning and management in a holistic and comprehensive manner.

The SUTP program under GEF-4 is an outcome of the realization that it is needed to build capacity for implementing Sustainable Urban Transport in India.

Baseline of the proposal: JnNURM Project supporting acquisition of bus fleets for 61 cities.

Rising pollution levels in Indian cities require that efficient and sustainable bus transport is promoted pro-actively. Therefore MoUD along with World Bank has proposed the project “Promoting Efficient and Sustainable Bus Transport System in India” for USD 295.12 M under GEF 5.

Objective: Promote a shift from private to public transport by focusing more comprehensively on city bus transport keeping in view multiple issues such as operational, financial, regulatory and fiscal constraints. This project will also focus on:

Common Mobility Card Intelligent Transport System & Passenger Information System National Public Transport Helpline Usage of Hybrid Vehicle 7

1. Promoting Energy Efficient & Sustainable City Bus Systems (through World Bank)

CONTD.. Current Status:

Proposals from all the JnNURM cities were invited and the interested 20 cities made a presentation to the Representatives of WB, MoUD, and PMU.

After evaluation 10 cities had been short listed for submitting the revised proposals as per the suggestions provided.

Revised proposals received and evaluation under progress. Project Components:

Component 1: Technical Assistance on Regulatory, institutional & fiscal issues

Component 2: City Demonstration Project –TA & Capacity Building Component 3: City Demonstration Project – Physical Investments

GEF grant, Co-financing and Co-funding: Total Project Cost: USD 295.12 M GEF grant: USD 10.12 M WB Loan: 285.00 M The counter-part funding from the Govt. of India and the State

Governments would be from the funding already provided under the JnNURM-1 scheme as well as the funding to be provided under the existing schemes of Urban Transport Planning and Capacity Building and as such no additional funding would be required. The expenditure already incurred for procurement of buses under JnNURM-1 is to be treated as counter-part funding by GoI for availing of the World Bank loan.

8

CONTD.. Along with improvement in public transport it is also necessary that the use

of green transport is promoted concurrently to bring down the pollution levels. Therefore two sustainable urban transport programs are also suggested for implementation under GEF 5 through UNDP. They are:

• Public Bike Sharing Scheme• Transforming Auto rickshaws to “GREEN AUTOS”

The estimated cost of the above two green projects will be Rs.618.4 crore (including capacity building component).

9

A lot of trips using private modes can be reduced by creating a city-wide cycling infrastructure and integrating it with public modes of transport.

In India, mode share of cycling has declined very rapidly from 30 % in 1994 to 11% in 2007-08.

Urgent proactive steps need to be taken to reverse this trend.

Likely Benefits: Potential impact of each pilot project consisting of 100 stations

with 2000 cycles will be as follows: Generates 4 million trips in 1 year Saves 2 lakh litres of petrol / Rs.65 lakh in crude imports Reduces Carbon emissions by 500 tons

Implementing the pilot project in 7 cities will multiply the savings by 7 times.

Total estimated cost – Rs.490 crores10

2. Public Bike Sharing Scheme

Project Costing: Assuming an average of 2000 bicycles are provided at 100 stations in

each of the first 7 cities of India,

Initial cost of introducing ‘Green–BIKES’ = 3500 X 2000 X 100 X 7

= Rs.490 crores.

In addition: Brand Building and awareness campaign = Rs.10 crores

TOTAL COST = RS.500 CRORES

Annual cost of replacement of bicycles & operating and maintenance cost including staff cost which will be 25-30% of the capital cost approx., will be covered by nominal bicycle hire charges, membership fee and advertisement revenue.

11

CONTD..

Auto-rickshaws are low cost shared systems ferrying a large number of commuters in many cities. However the entire fleet operates in a disorganized and unaccountable manner causing much discomfort to the commuters and other stakeholders.   A demand response scheduling facility like the ‘radio-taxi’ system for auto-rickshaws has the potential to solve the problem for all the stakeholders.

Likely Benefits: Reduce GHG emissions by 20% by drastic reduction in their empty running. Help remove congestion at busy places like Railway Stations, Interchange stations,

major bus stops, Commercial/Institutional establishments as these autos block the roads waiting for passengers.

The GPS and Computer Controlled Systems will make them safe mode and will restore the faith of public in these modes thereby increasing the share of Para-transit at the cost of private modes.

Total cost – Rs.875 crores 12

3. Transforming Auto Rickshaws to Green Autos

Project Costing: Assuming an average 5000 Autos in 7 large cities in pilot phase Initial cost of introducing ‘Green–Autos’ = 250000 X 5000 X 7

= Rs.875 Crore

Annual operating and maintenance including staff cost will be covered by service charges to be levied on autos and users. The infrastructure cost of providing building etc. for setting up the Control Centre is assumed to be borne by the Sate/City Govt.

CAPACITY BUILDING: • This will also require capacity building of the staff, training of

auto rickshaw drivers and raising awareness among the users.

13

CONTD..

Competitive Process with emphasis on Clear commitment to the project Comprehensive set of modernization measures

for full and visible impact Innovation and adoption of latest techniques and

practices Reform agenda

Selection Criteria for Pilot Cities

ROLE OF AUTO-RICKSHAWSAutorickshaws and taxis are an important part of UT.

Found in most of the cities.

As an IPTfill a critical gap between private and public transport mode.

Importance by sheer size of the market. >50000 in Tier I cities (4M+)

15000-30000 Tier II (1-4M)

Shortcoming:

Belong to unrecognised sector which poses many challenges such as lack of brand image, poor public perception, poor quality of service, empty trips , crimes etc.

There is a need to have organizational reforms in the form of fleet based services to address the existing challenges.

OBJECTIVE OF THE PRESENT SESSION:(I) TO DISCUSS THE CURRENT BARRIERS AND OPPORTUNITIES TO PROMOTE ORGANIZATIONAL REFORMS THROUGH AUTO-RICKSHAW AND TAXI ENTREPRENEURSHIP INITIATIVES.(II) HIGHLIGHT BEST PRACTICES FROM SELECT CITIES.

THANKS