Metro stations to get auto parking space

Source: Hindustan Times, Delhi Edition, 15.02.2013

Auto-cracy to end: Soon three-wheelers on call

Source: Hindustan Times, Delhi Edition, 15.02.2013

HC ropes in agencies to decongest Chandni Chowk

Who is congesting Chandni Chowk? Vehicles or human beings? Twelve cycle-rickshaws ferrying people around, or 23 huge parked cars serving only one shopkeeper a day??
[Photo courtesy Nipesh Narayan, Assistant Professor, Sushant School of Architecture]

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Friday expressed concern over congestion in the thickly populated Chandni Chowk area and roped in two agencies to chart a plan to solve the problem.

A Special Bench dealing with traffic problems turned its attention to Chandni Chowk and asked UTTIPEC and the Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation to suggest ways in which the area can be decongested after carrying out a study.

Meanwhile, almost a month after being rapped for keeping the multi-level parking facility in Chandni Chowk closed, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) on Friday told the HC it will become functional next month.

Assuring a special bench of Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Justice S Muralidhar that the parking will decongest the crowded area, the corporation said it plans to re-start the facility soon. It was answering HC's query on why the ready-to-use multilevel parking facility in the area is closed, though it had been inaugurated twice.

The court also refused to grant more than two weeks time to the corporation to start the process of registering over 7 lakh cycle rickshaws plying in the city. Rejecting the NDMC's plea to grant more time, the bench made it clear the process must start in next two weeks ort else the commissioner will be held accountable.

HC had earlier cleared the decks for smooth registration of cycle rickshaws and quashed a rule of the erstwhile MCD that insisted on an address/identification proof from the owners, after activists complained it had resulted in harassment of the poor.

Lifting its stay on the policy and operation of the civic agency for registration of cyclerickshaws HC had said it shouldn't insist on ID proof in the application form for issuing licences. The petitioners in the case, Manushi, argued that information sought in the form is irrelevant and objectionable.

Unhappy with the criteria established by the corporation for registration of the vehicle and issuance of licence, Manushi had also cited an example, "The application form for registration seeks whether the applicant is suffering from tuberculosis (TB) and for how many years he has been staying in the city."

The special bench constituted to monitor the capital's pilot project for non-motorised vehicles (NMV), including cycle rickshaws on city roads, had earlier stayed the policy and asked the corporation not to implement the policy till it incorporates certain changes. It had also asked the corporation to reconsider its decision of charging the annual fee of Rs 25 for renewal of the licence for cycle rickshaws.

Source: TOI, Delhi Edition, 15.12.2012

Soon, e-rickshaws to go off roads

Delhi traffic police to come down heavily on all e-rickshaws plying on roads without valid documents

NEW DELHI: It seems that Delhi Metro’s plan to bridge the gap between your home and the nearest Metro station with the help of the city's newest mode of public transport— e-rickshaws — will not see the light of the day.

Less than a week after the government stopped the sale of battery-operated rickshaws or e-rickshaws in the Capital, they are now all set to go off roads. The transport department has decided to initiate an intensive drive against them.

The Delhi traffic police decided to come down heavily on all e-rickshaws plying on city roads on Monday. “We are starting a drive to prosecute e-rickshaws that violate the motor vehicle act. Any such rickshaws found without valid documents will be impounded and sent to court,” said Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police (traffic). The police will start the drive from central Delhi, Garg added.

The transport department had recently defined e-rickshaws as motorised vehicles as their motor has more than 250 watt of power and its maximum speed is higher than 25kmph.

As per the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, any vehicle is deemed to be a motor vehicle if its maximum speed is more than 25kmph and the power of the motor exceeds 250 watt.

Based on these norms, the operation of battery-operated rickshaws has been made illegal as these violate the motor vehicles act, 1988, transport department sources said.

“Most of these rickshaws are plying without valid registrations, type approvals from a specified testing agency, permits and fitness certificates,” said a transport department official.

Looking at the rising popularity of e-rickshaws among Metro commuters, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had recently decided to introduce e-rickshaws as its feeder service as part of its plan to boost lastmile connectivity, said DMRC officials.

The agency had also invited Expression of Interest (EOI) for starting eco-friendly e-rickshaws from its Chattarpur Metro station as a pilot project and was working out a feasibility study to finalise the stations where the feeder e-rickshaw service would be started.

Source: Hindustan Times (11 Dec 2012)

Why flag down Taxis when you live in the CAR- Capital

One thing that strikes me every time I am in Kolkata or Mumbai is how easy it is to move around in these metros even if you don’t have your own car. You can flag down a taxi anywhere and very few refuse going to even an inconvenient destination.
In Kolkata last month, I was surprised that the taxi drivers didn’t even round off the fare to the next multiple of 10 and returned the exact change. I even got a printed receipt. True, some cabbies do act greedy outside the airport or train stations. But elsewhere, they are not known to fleece passengers.
Much is said about Delhi’s love for automobiles. The statistics released last week showed how we further clogged our roads with another 5,00,000 vehicles in just one year. It could well be indulgence for many, adding a car or more to their personal fleet when they should have switched over to public transport.

But I know many who tried taking the Metro but had to pay more for the last mile connectivity than what they would spend for taking their cars. On Delhi roads, the only para-transit available is auto-rickshaws where every ride is a potential nightmare. The guy in front of you cares a hoot for road safety. If he is not drunk, he is surely in a tearing hurry. And if you somehow reach safely, you are almost always overcharged.
Yes, Delhi now boasts of 5,000-odd no-nonsense radio taxis but their minimum response time is half an hour. The 500 authorised cab stands that have metered black and green CNG taxis are hard to locate on the go. In both cases, one anyway ends up paying the return fare, which is factored in the meter rate because the cabbie won’t have a passenger on the way back.Our cabs run on CNG and can reduce the load on environment — and the city’s crammed parking lots — by dissuading a good number of car-owners. A lot is at stake as more than 700 new cars hit Delhi’s roads every day. No wonder the overhead smog just refuses to budge.
Environment apart, why Delhiites can’t have the privilege of just flagging down a cab like people do in most parts of the rational world? The only excuse of a logic is that autos are allowed everywhere in Delhi — unlike Kolkata and Mumbai — and so taxis are not allowed to be hired on roads. What about those who consider those reckless three-wheelers unsafe? Or those who find open autos inconvenient in Delhi’s scorching summer, freezing winter or when it pours?
Recently, there has been renewed focus on taming the autowallahs in Delhi, breaking the financial cartels by granting 45,000 new permits, and insisting that all vehicles have GPS so there are no complaints of overcharging. But the government refuses to frame a policy for the unregulated street taxi sector.
Taxi stands are one of the biggest encroachers of public land as the civic agencies just let them be. Diesel and petrol run private hire cars running as taxis cause pollution. A proposal to introduce smaller economy taxis that could be flagged down as autos was hurriedly put away. We need to accept that the majority of those used to cars do not feel comfortable in autos. Most auto users, on the other hand, also use taxis when they need and can find.
There is no reason why Delhi cannot offer both choices. Unless we believe that every Delhiite who deserves to travel safely and comfortably in a car already owns and always drives one and the rest are fine risking the reckless, open autos in a city of extreme weathers. Maybe that is why Delhi is the car capital of India.

Source: Hindustan Times (Delhi), Shivani Singh, Metro Editor shivani.singh@hindustantimes.com