Sounding the red alert

Sounding the red alert
Deccan Herald

Traffic in the City has gone to the drains - quite literally, as many road users will agree. And the swalpa adjust madi attitude seems to have stretched too far. But there is still a glimmer of hope, if only a concerted approach is adopted by the government, citizens and business community at large.

David Faria is the CEO of Technology Solution Providers (TSP), an integration company that he founded to improve the operational effectiveness of transportation systems.

He has served on a number of national panels on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) in the United States.

He moved to the US after receiving a bachelors degree in transportation engineering from Bangalore University and continued his education in the US where he earned an MBA in Information Systems and PhD in engineering.

David was invited by the previous Krishna government to give ideas to better the transport system in Bangalore.

He was in Bangalore for a panel discussion on ‘World-class transportation and infrastructure management.’

The discussion involved aspects of multi-modal transportation, citizens participation in planning and co-ordinated development and the launch of TSP, India. TSP manages the world's largest transit database in the US and also does strategic planning for the US government.

David Faria spoke to Metrolife about his ideas.

This is your second official visit to the State. Which of your previous suggestions have been implemented?

Things have neither changed nor implemented; it’s just like going one step forward and coming two steps back.

What kind of transport planning are you looking at?

There are three key elements here. Economic development, supporting infrastructure and quality of life. There is no co-ordination between the three. Bangalore has a vibrant economy and is heading to be a world class city, which unfortunately has third world infrastructure.

Moving from point ‘a’ to point ‘b’ in the City is not easy. I look at a co-ordinated development. In the long run if we don't come out with supportive infrastructure we will shoot ourselves in our foot.

What has been your experience in the US?

The US was in the same state more than a decade ago. George Bush senior took a stand saying ‘enough of reactive development, let’s be proactive’. For this they got the government, local entity and business community involved and came with concrete and sustainable plans.

What do you feel about road widening?

If a hotel, a mall, a petrol bunk, a hosptial all come up on the same small stretch of 300 metres, how can a road sustain the traffic? We have to come up with a common vision to include the public, government and business community. Make hard decisions and say no to certain things - so if a certain road cannot sustain the traffic volume, don’t give permission for huge buildings.

Metrorail project is still a distant dream. What is the immediate solution?

Tab the vertical growth of the city, plan out satellite cities on the outskirts, avoid mixing commercial and residential areas. If we just plan a Metro and nothing else, then Metrorail will also not be a solution to today’s problem.

City infrastructre got a boost during the previous government. How do you view the progress now?

Let politics not take over development. It is public money and time they’re dealing with. For development, we need not start from scratch, let’s mimic others’ success.

Bangalore is a city with 21 lakh vehicles. What can make its owners switch to public transport?

Reliving the conjunctions. To take people out of the cars, a comfortable co-ordinated transportation has to be provided. Linking trains, buses, taxis and flights has to be done systematically. Planners have to respect citizens’ precious time. The commuter will decide according to his/ her benefits.

Any nostalgia about Bangalore?

I am emotionally attached to Bangalore, every time I am here I feel sad.