The need for private vehicles can be reduced to a significant extent,especially for those working in IT belts,with the Metro,says Satyendra Kumar
Ihave travelled in different Metros,from Kolkata and Delhi to New York,London and Los Angeles.I feel the benefits of a sound and efficient public mode of transport are many.In Mumbai,the local trains help the residents in a tremendous manner.The Metro in Bangalore can impact our lives in many ways.One,it will shorten the time of travel between point A and point B.For instance,in Delhi,if I had to go to Dwarka from Connaught Place in a taxi,it will take me about one to one and a half hours.When I went in the Metro,it took me just 25 minutes.Similarly,in London,where the roads are narrow,if I have to travel,say about 20-25 km in a taxi,it will probably take about two hours at least.The Tube shortens the time spent on travel enormously.So,the first impact would be a huge benefit to people as they will spend lesser time commuting to work.
Two,the Metro will also build strong social networks.Now,this can be easily explained taking Mumbai's local train as an example.The same groups of people tend to travel together as their workplaces and work timings are similar.There is a great possibility of interacting with other people during the commute.This is opposed to travelling in your own personal vehicle where one commutes across the city without interacting with other people.
Another impact will be a cleaner and better environment.As people who would have otherwise used their two-wheelers or cars start travelling by the Metro,there will be significant decongestion of traffic on the roads.Pollution will decrease and the greenhouse effect will considerably weaken.The total consumption of petrol within the city will decrease.Plus,there will be at least two to three fold increase in savings that people would have otherwise spent on purchasing fuel.
Now,from the business perspective,a good and efficient public transport like the Metro will spur multi-national companies to feel that the city has enough and more opportunities.In Shanghai,there are feeder lines to the industrial belt and IT sectors that help transport the workforce to their places of work.With the smaller extensions of the Metro gearing up,there will be promising future opportunities for professionals.Congestions on the roads will reduce significantly when the Metro connects the IT and other sectors with the rest of the city.Currently,Electronic City has about 250 buses that ferry employees to work from different areas of the city.When the Metro comes into these areas,the need for company buses will be reduced and that will,in turn,significantly reduce congestion on the roads and the consumption of fuel.There are some cautions as well.When the Metro starts its operations,the areas near the stations become difficult to manage and are almost chaotic.The Corporation should look at organising facilities like feeder buses/autos in a systematic and organised manner.There has to be a collective pride in the Metro.Many cities have immense pride and respect for their Metros.Delhi Metro is the second after the New York City Subway to be ISO 14001 certified for environment-friendly construction.Some Metro stations conduct rainwater harvesting as an environmental protection measure.It is also the first railway project in the world to earn carbon credits after being registered with the United Nations under the Clean Development Mechanism.People in Delhi are proud of the Metro and take care of it.In that manner,Namma Metro can provide some ammunition for the city to avail the opportunities to register under the Clean Development Mechanism and hence take pride in a green city.I wish the Metro team all the best and look forward to the day when the primary mode of transport for our workforce will be the Metro.
(The author is Vice President,Infosys)
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