[Atlblkz06]

I thought this was in interesting read. India seems to follow all of the US's bad habits :(

Fuel conservation not for Bangaloreans...
(Article copied from Welcome To a new world | BCIL Bangalore, Mysore, Green, Eco Friendly, Real Estate, Residential Property, Apartments, Plots for Sale)

Bangalore, 21 August 2008: Even as the decibel levels on issues like Energy Usage, Emissions, Global Warming, Climate Change are on the rise globally, a survey among car-owning Bangaloreans has rather worryingly revealed that Fuel Conservation is not yet a focus area for many. In a survey where most of those surveyed earned between 20-40 Thousand Rupees per month, almost half (48%) of the respondents spend upwards of Rs.3,000 per month on fuel. In fact, 11% spend more than Rs.5,000. This and many other such key findings were a part of the second in the series of surveys titled BCIL ECO-PULSE, conducted by BCIL (Biodiversity Conservation [India] Limited), a pioneer in Alternate Technologies, dedicated to creating eco-friendly homes.
The survey reveals that 51% travel more than 30 kms per day to their workplace. 85% use the car for shopping and 60% of respondents said that they use it to go on long drives. A large segment (75%) of the respondents also posses a two wheeler in addition to the four wheeler, while only 4% own a bicycle.
Mr. Chandrashekar Hariharan, CEO, BCIL, said, Consumption of oil and oil products is responsible for 57% of the CO2 emissions in the country today. And among all oil-consuming sectors, CO2 emissions from transport are increasing at the fastest rate at more than 6 per cent per annum. The need of the hour therefore is to think of methods to conserve fuel. It is sad that even a seemingly evolved city like Bangalore is not willing to take the lead in fuel conservation.
The city is not doing too well on most indicators of fuel conservation. Only 22% of those polled have practiced car pooling. There is also not much to look forward to on that front; almost half (47%) the respondents said they are comfortable traveling alone. Not many are trying / willing to try public transport either. More than 50% have not even thought of using Public Transport services. Reasons cited included over crowded buses, poor frequency, poor quality of buses etc. At the same time, 43% are not willing try Public Transport even if service standards improve.
And after all the hype and high-expectations on the Metro Rail, 30% of car-owners have already decided that they are not going to use the Metro! A drastic overhaul of our Public Transport System and a major change in the citizen's perception of it is in order for any major impetus towards fuel conservation to happen, Mr. Hariharan added.
The survey, aimed at understanding the behavioral patterns and attitude towards Fuel Conservation was conducted among 315 respondents (all of whom were car-owners who used the car to commute to office) from various zones in Bangalore in the age group of 21 to 50 years. 86% of those surveyed were Graduates or Post-Graduates and 88% were with household income of more than Rs. 20,000 per month. This Survey comes in the backdrop of ever increasing vehicle ownership rates in metros like Bangalore. The rolling stock of vehicles continuously locks up huge amount of energy and carbon. This has increased toxic emissions in our cities leading to widely different concerns converged around vehicles Fuel Splurge, Climate Impacts and Public Health.
It is a sobering thought that such apathy towards fuel usage is being reflected at a time of ever increasing fuel prices and even a squeeze in fuel supply. Mr. Hariharan suggested that, Even if a person does not consider himself to be an environmentalist, a little fuel conservation can really help not just the environment, but also the wallet! The price of petrol and diesel seems to always be on the rise. The best defense against rising gas prices is fuel conservation.
This is the second of the series of quarterly surveys that is being conducted by BCIL to reveal insights / alarming facts about Bangaloreans and their usage of critical resources. The first survey conducted by BCIL during the last quarter had focused on the need for Water Conservation in the city. The forthcoming surveys in the BCIL ECO-PULSE series will focus on Waste Management, Air Quality, etc., all of which, are causes that BCIL is crusading for, by building homes that are Water and Energy Positive, while being sensitive to most conservation related parameters.
The complete set of findings of BCIL ECO-PULSE (First and Second editions) is available on request.

[given2fly]

Hoax, like so many other schemes that come up claiming to revolutionize the way of living. Like those all integrated townships mushrooming where most of the flats are occupied by migrants. It's a pure sales pitch and doesn't have anything new on offer.

[zenx]

Actually, T-Zed is pretty effective. They had not applied for a BWSSB connection, and their electricity consumption was so low the BESCOM folks came over for an inspection. While, yes, a lot many builders add the "green" tag for the heck of it, these are one set who've been chipping away at doing it meaningfully for years together. In whatever little way, its made an impact too.

And I completely buy the "getting into the Us's bad habits" part - I see a lot many people drive the less than a kilometre to the mall next door even when

a) Total delivers for large quantities (and local grocery guys too - on a cycle/moped combining multiple deliveries)
b) They often buy small quantities
c) It takes similar/less time to walk than to take the car out of the basement + take the u-turn + find parking

[Atlblkz06]

Oops, I want to edit the post and take out the advertising in the last part of my post.
I didn't want to paste that, but forgot to take it out.

[alpha1]

Hmmm, so we should cut down on our excursions - to save fuel.

And use public transport inter and intra city.
Is the public transport really worth it?

[given2fly]

@ Alpha, yes it is. Public transport is still very efficient provided they are regulated like they are in Mumbai/Pune or Kerala (I may be wrong here but that is what I saw in my last journey) where you can't flag a bus to stop. Also, if you are relying on Public Transport, you need to be patient. I don't think PMT does that bad a job. Yes, they do need to weed out old buses, but then there is a lot of crap on the streets of Pune and PMT is lesser of the evil than stupid traffic I see everyday.

[Torqy]

I used to take the ordinary BMTC bus (not the Volvo) everyday when my office was on outer ring road. Now my office is on Airport road and there is no bus from Ramamurthy Nagar. To make things worse, the roads at my place have been dug up for the last few months.
Now i drive 25 km everyday.
Do i like it? NO.

[hrishig]

Nobody will like to drive for more than hour per day when the roads are full with traffic and so many other things. BUT...

The bus is is out of scope (because of bad conditions ) , Auto is another horror story, bicycle has low status + it is very inconvenient . So only options are bike or car.

I feel
The metro + bicycle may solve this problem provided some improvements are done for status and usability of the bicycles.

[Atlblkz06]

I think public transportation is the best solution. There is no way I'd go to work in a bicycle or even a motorcycle. You'd be dirty by the time you got there!

It'd be great if they had some sort of premium public transportation. The amount of land available per person in India is 1/10 compared to the US. It'd be a huge waste to throw it away on large highways.

I personally believe in trains. I think they are a great way to move people/goods. If they laid a MAGLEV track connecting the big cities: Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai - it'd reduce air and land traffic by a significant amount.

There is already plenty of track to move people inside the city - they just need to improve the ifrastructure and increase train frequency I think.

Of course most of what I say is based on guesses - you guys know better.