Transporting pollution

One activity from which environmental impacts are proving to be serious is the widespread use of motorized transportation. The developing countries till about three decades ago were largely insulated from the problem of air pollution in metropolitan areas, because firstly, the volume of transport was much lower, and secondly, there was much greater dependence on public transportation. In recent decades, however, the rapid growth of personalized transport has created very serious problems in most cities located in the developing world. If we take the example of Delhi, the rate of growth of motor vehicles in use has been extremely rapid. Projections indicate that by the year 2020 Delhi would have over 10 million motor vehicles of all types as opposed to 180,000 that existed in 1971. The air pollution crisis in Indian cities is a result of the growth by leaps and bounds of vehicular traffic. Unfortunately, solutions that are generally thought of, including the drastic switch to CNG under implementation in Delhi are really short-term solutions. There is very little attention provided to the challenges that lie ahead, namely that of providing efficient and rapid public transport and for which solutions have to be taken in hand immediately. There is need, therefore, to focus on a far more sensible modal mix of transport and improved traffic management, which would have far greater impact than a mere shift to any particular fuel, however clean and environmentally friendly it might be. In fact, the shift to CNG will undoubtedly lead to increased fares for users of bus transport, which will bring about a shift away from the use of buses towards, perhaps, greater use of three-wheelers with considerable overloading and adverse traffic conditions. That there are problems with the movement of traffic in Delhi can be seen from the fact that average speeds during peak periods range from 10-15 km per hour in central areas and 21 to 39 km per hour on arterial roads. This is complicated by the fact that the mix of vehicles competing for road space in Delhi, as in other cities of India, is diverse and characterized by significant differences in size, speed and road discipline. For instance, some vehicles are as narrow as 0.6 meters and others close to 3 meters in width, with speeds ranging from 15 miles per hour to over 100 km per hour. This obviously leads to heavy road congestion and high levels of air pollution. A study by the Petroleum Conservation Research Association estimated that in 1998 Delhi wasted $ 300,000 in fuel daily just on account of vehicles idling at traffic lights. A total revamping of traffic management and the organizationsinvolved in implementing this is long overdue. But far more important is the need for efficient public transport. The MRTS or Multi-modal Rapid Transit System that is under construction was delayed excessively, and by the time it becomes operational, it would make only a minor difference to traffic in the city of Delhi. The system would cover 198.5 km of electrified rail lines, and the first phase extending to 55 km of rail and bus ways is projected to carry a passenger load of 3 million passengers per day. The second phase of this system is scheduled for completion in 2021 and would then be expected to carry 22 million passengers per day. Meanwhile, the problems of air pollution from vehicular transport will continue to mount unless a satisfactory mix of transport vehicles is introduced in the interim. While the media, which is essentially city-centric in its approach, and Delhi-centric most of the time, has focussed on air pollution problems in our cities, little thought has been given to the problem countrywide and particularly in smaller cities and towns. The state of public transport in smaller towns in the country is deplorable and chaotic. There are much higher levels of air pollution in certain parts of cities like Meerut, Kanpur, Vadodara and even Jaipur than what exists in parts of Delhi. There is also a serious vacuum when it comes to metropolitan or city railway systems. The Indian Railways are generally lukewarm to the construction and operation of rail transport in urban areas, because financially this is always a losing proposition with the tariffs that exist in cities like Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, which have rail transport to varying degrees. Yet, there are no other agencies in the country that can implement railway projects in cities, because they have neither the expertise nor the infrastructure to carry these out. The problem at the national level if we evaluate transportation on our trunk roads is equally poor. The last comprehensive exercise in looking at transport policy in its entirety and various elements was carried out in the early 1980s when the National Transport Policy Committee developed some important recommendations in its comprehensive report. However, very few of the recommendations of the committee were implemented, and over time most of those that were not implemented have been forgotten. A good transport policy would have important implications for energy security, given the fact that the bulk of our petroleum products are consumed in this sector, and, therefore, it is transportation that is largely responsible for growing import dependence in petroleum. The impact of poor transport policy on environmental quality are equally if not more serious, as has become evident in several parts of the country. Yet, while we toy with end of pipe solutions or a somewhat more enlightened approach in improving automobile technology and fuel choices, we are still doing nothing about evolving an environmentally sound and sustainable transport system as a whole. Basically, the problem requires a high level of specialized expertise, which the government has been unwilling and unable to tap. Unless this situation changes, transport will continue to remain a major source of growing environmental pollution.