[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by GoBabyGo

Major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, etc., should ban private cars on the roads between 6:00am to 8:00pm. Instead, they should ensure a robust public transport system, including:

Two-wheelers will be allowed on the roads throughout the day.

Last-mile connectivity must be ensured through electric rickshaws, battery operated vehicles or CNG autos from metro stations or bus stands to users homes.

Unless any city is developed from scratch, ban on private vehicles wont work and will infact lead to a lot of inconvenience. Its not possible from any stretch of imagination. I am traveling to another city where I have a home, means I have to depart from my home early or get permissions beforehand. This is akin to sort of license raj sort of step, many steps backward.

If free movement is curbed, it will have huge consequence on tourism and overall economy. Even car sales will go down. And the sales of fuel will also go down, something the government cannot afford to do so for an economy like ours.

Last mile connectivity is tough aspect, and safety also becomes an issue.

We need to decongest cities, instill traffic discipline (may I please add commonsense also ?), plan better infrastructure that avoids lots of corrective actions.

[GoBabyGo]

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

Very interesting concept. But you have not mentioned about Taxis which form the majority of cars on Bangalore roads. And How about autorickshaws? And what about the trucks which ply on our city roads?

Are you only against private car ownership or are commercial vehicles also to be included in this day time ban?

It you are partial to the business class and want to enable the private players at the expense of own transportation, what's to prevent the common man from buying a taxi or autorickshaw or pickup truck or full size truck/ luxury bus for personal use?

Hi wildsdi5530 – Thanks for your input about taxis. These will continue to be a part of public transport, especially for last-mile connectivity for those who need it. The government can regulate the number of registered taxis, auto rickshaws, and pickup trucks, which is not particularly difficult. People are more likely to prefer buying a two-wheeler rather than an auto rickshaw or pickup truck for commuting within the city.

Having grown up in Delhi and visited Singapore, I have seen firsthand how excellent public transport right at your doorstep can eliminate the need to own a car. While Singapore is a small country, even in larger Indian cities, building a robust public transport system is not rocket science. Restricting the use of private cars during the day may not be overly inconvenient if reliable public transport is easily accessible. People can buy the cars for their use in the evening / night.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by GoBabyGo

...Only Members of Parliament (MPs), Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs), and top businesspersons will be allowed to use personal vehicles, and even then, only electric vehicles (EVs) costing Rs.1 crore or more...

Pyongyang?

Originally Posted by GoBabyGo

Once parked, the vehicle cannot be moved again within the city....Two-wheelers will be allowed on the roads throughout the day....The app will link to users Aadhaar and PAN details for verification....

Looks like some Orweillan fantasy. Wonder why private two wheelers have been allowed if public transport is so good and there are walkable streets.

Can understand the need for less car usage and more public transport inside the cities, but banning private cars while allowing the elites to drive around/driven around won't sit well. The only plausible way is to make it money centric, not power centric. Let money speak. If it is too much cost prohibitive and less convenient to use a car than hop onto a bus/tram/train/metro, most people will not choose the car. If at all, they have to use a car for a day, they can pay for congestion fees or whatever.

Again. If our civic amenities are improved/developed, basic civic sense drilled in and traffic rules followed, we would be surprised that most of our traffic won't be so bad at all. It is amplified by many times due to poor infra and rules compliance. And new cities. At a macro level, we cannot go forward without building new cities and creating job opportunities outside big cities. Banning cars and all will only lead to an NCR like situation. Did removing 10/15 year old cars from the road bring down pollution? Nope.

[GoBabyGo]

Originally Posted by DicKy

Pyongyang?



Looks like some Orweillan fantasy. Wonder why private two wheelers have been allowed if public transport is so good and there are walkable streets.

Can understand the need for less car usage and more public transport inside the cities, but banning private cars while allowing the elites to drive around/driven around won't sit well. The only plausible way is to make it money centric, not power centric. Let money speak. If it is too much cost prohibitive and less convenient to use a car than hop onto a bus/tram/train/metro, most people will not choose the car. If at all, they have to use a car for a day, they can pay for congestion fees or whatever.

Again. If our civic amenities are improved/developed, basic civic sense drilled in and traffic rules followed, we would be surprised that most of our traffic won't be so bad at all. It is amplified by many times due to poor infra and rules compliance. And new cities. At a macro level, we cannot go forward without building new cities and creating job opportunities outside big cities. Banning cars and all will only lead to an NCR like situation. Did removing 10/15 year old cars from the road bring down pollution? Nope.

Hi DicKy, this is just my personal perspective, but I believe that if I had access to safe, comfortable, economical, and efficient public transport from my doorstep to my destination, whether it is my office or shop, I would definitely prefer using public transport over driving alone.

I know several neighbors and colleagues who commute just 7 to 10km by car every day, alone, simply because they don’t find any suitable public transport options. I also have friends who travel from North Delhi to central Gurugram daily, a one-way distance of around 50 km, taking at least two hours, because the public transport options available to them are either unreliable, slower than driving or too expensive for a public transport.

The larger idea here is to make public transport so efficient, dependable and well connected that people willingly choose it over personal vehicles. This would not only reduce individual travel costs but also help decongest city roads, probably lower carbon emissions and improve overall urban mobility.

That said, it's also important to recognize that no public transport system, no matter how well planned can cater to 100% of a city’s population. Realistically, even the best systems can serve only about 50% to 60% of daily commuters, especially in large cities. For the remaining population, especially those who travel short distances or from remote or underserved locations, two-wheelers can serve as a viable additional mode of transport, particularly for solo or two-person commutes.

Moreover, if people receive an income tax rebate on their local travel expenses, I am hopeful that many will shift from using personal vehicles to public transport.

[antz.bin]

Originally Posted by GoBabyGo

Major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, etc., should ban private cars on the roads between 6:00am to 8:00pm.

While I agree with the notion that these cities, and for that matter the other 60odd cities with populations > 10 lakh should have *the best* public transport for all strata of society. Why should there be a ban? On the contrary, studying traffic patterns should actually help the city identify which sectors need what kinds of services.

Shouldn't we let people vote with their wallets? People will use public transport when they feel it is worthy of being used. When the safety, comfort, reliability and dependability is up to a certain threshold for a certain individual, they will definitely make the switch. It is wrong to expect each and every mode of public transport to be filled up like a sardine can for it to be deemed *succesful*. If it is filled up like that all the time, there will be certain strata of society that won't consider it meeting the *comfort* threshold so they should be free to not use it.

By banning cars and letting 2 wheelers through, didn't you just make it (reverse) classist once again? Why was the 2-wheeler riding person spared from the ban? Can that person not use Public transport too? Why promote an inherently more unsafe mode of transport over a safer one?

We as a nation have started to grow older before we could become rich. The demographic dividend we were proud of about 10 years back is starting to fade away. The fertility rates in many states are below replacement level. So in about 10 years time, there will be less sub 10 yr olds than 60-70yr olds in India. All of these elderly people will have some health issue or other. How do I take my elderly parent with bad knees to the doctor's appointment? By Bus? The bus will not drop us to the gate of the hospital's reception, will it?

[am1m]

Originally Posted by antz.bin

Why should there be a ban?
...
People will use public transport when they feel it is worthy of being used.

Agreed. Just going to use your post to try and give some different perspectives. (Just as a discussion, not as a point/counter-point thing.)

While a ban is extreme and will not work, I believe there is some concept in economics called incentivizing desired behaviors and disincentivizing undesired. When it comes to public transport, just the incentive of good public transport will not be enough. After that is achieved, there should be disincentives for using private transport as well. This is already happening. Take the CBD in Bangalore, after the Metro has come, footpaths have been made wider and that has resulted in lesser road space for vehicles. Does that mean that there are no jams and traffic anymore? Nope. And that will never happen. But what that does is makes it easier for those who use public transport, which is a desired behavior in crowded cities.

Originally Posted by antz.bin

Why was the 2-wheeler riding person spared from the ban?

Again, I don't agree with a ban on any type of vehicle. But a 2-wheeler occupies less space on the road, when parked, and is less of a traffic obstruction compared to a car.

Originally Posted by antz.bin

How do I take my elderly parent with bad knees to the doctor's appointment?

So look at it this way, shouldn't more people be moved (voluntarily) to public transport so the roads are free for those who really need it? Ambulances, emergency vehicles, etc. And let's be honest, looking at any city traffic, is it mostly the transport of the elderly that is causing the jams?

Again, since we are a democracy, should 30-40 people in a bus have the right of way, or 4 people driving separately in 4 big cars? Should hundreds of Metro users moving every 4 minutes have a bigger footpath to walk on, or should a dozen cars have more road space? City planners have to plan for moving the most number of people in the most efficient way possible.

Obviously this is going to stir some emotions, since this is a car forum But all I'm saying is that we have already given over a disproportionate amount of city space and infra for cars, especially when you consider the number of car owners (me included!)

[Jaguar]

While we dream of banning private vehicles, here is a comparison between Bangalore and Tokyo to showcase how far behind we are. I don't believe we will reach a similar level of public transport in the next 100 years.

PS: Image source - Insta

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

I don't believe we will reach a similar level of public transport in the next 100 years.

Well, considering that the Tokyo Underground Rail started about a century ago, they did have that much of a head start.

But jokes aside, the shift will be gradual and will take time. There has to be both a push and a pull.

Just a push in terms of outright restrictions will not work. And ensuring even the best public transport system will not work by itself. Frankly, I think there is no need for a push- I've seen travel times by car increase by 2x and then 3x on the same road in just 7 years. How much will people tolerate till they realize it no longer makes sense? 5x, 7x? I think the push will happen by itself without any need for a ban or anything.

But what we are missing is an opportunity to leapfrog the old thinking that more roads and cars is the only solution. Just like how we leapfrogged widespread usage of credit cards to go from cash to widespread UPI payments, there is the opportunity to raise a whole generation to think of not owning a car as the default. To have a person considering moving to a big Indian city to think, hey I don't really need a car.

But instead, we have...tunnel roads. Nothing can stop the shift, but we can make it more painful than it has to be.

[JediKnight]

The real problem for Indian cities is accountability. If we really want to, we can fix our cities.

You cannot put a finger on one person or organization for the pathetic ways our cities are managed. The mayor of the city has no real power. There are umpteen departments in a spaggeti mess designed to benefit a few and do the bare minimum while avoiding accountability. The only one person who has enough power to make a difference on the ground is the chief minister of the state where the city lies. But they are least bothered. Most of the people that vote them to power are outside the city. So they suck the money out of the city to give freebies to other parts of the state.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

While we dream of banning private vehicles, here is a comparison between Bangalore and Tokyo to showcase how far behind we are. I don't believe we will reach a similar level of public transport in the next 100 years.

Having gone to Singapore last month, can't help but wonder what their numbers would be like. Can't compare population but their public transport is really good. Spent the vacation there with only one taxi ride (airport-hotel for the luggage), rest was all covered thanks to their MRT (Started in 1987 I believe).