Road ahead: A toll order

CITY PLANNERS PROPOSE TOLLED HIGHWAYS AND ARTERIAL ROADS
Road ahead: A toll order
Deccan Herald

Pay-and-use roads are yet to cut ice with Bangaloreans. Successful examples — home and abroad — have not inspired City planners enough to endorse tolled roads as a solution to Bangalore’s traffic woes. Still fledgling as a concept here, tolled roads have started to find space in infrastructure project proposals. Political will and public approval (see box) could see the concept transform Bangalore’s traffic roadmap. However, there are also the experts who aren’t convinced yet. Deccan Herald reporters R Krishnakumar and Shubha Narayanan try to trace out the why and why not.


Picture this. A non-stop, traffic jam-free speed drive from Raj Bhavan to Hebbal, in seven minutes flat. The catch? If the drive comes with a toll, only 30 per cent of Bangalore’s road users would go for it. Minus the toll, the percentage goes up to 60 per cent.

A study conducted on the proposed toll expressway on the above-mentioned seven-kilometre stretch has found that a toll would limit the effectiveness of the project.

The expressway, to be designed like the ‘Road over Road’ in Bangkok and Tokyo, on Design Build Own Operate Transfer (DeBOOT) basis, was proposed by the empowered committee on infrastructure headed by Chief Secretary B K Das.

The preliminary survey done by Infrastructure Development Corporation, Karnataka (iDECK) to access the patronage to the facility has found that 30 per cent vehicles that move on that corridor would shift to the elevated road if a toll is imposed, and 60 per cent without it.

According to iDECK sources, imposing a toll would be inevitable in a public-private partnership like this one, to make it commercially viable.

The profile of vehicles was limited to two, three and four-wheelers, but not heavy transport vehicles, the sources revealed. However, though the congestion on the junctions en route the stretch — like Chalukya Circle, Mekhri Circle and Cauvery Circle — will reduce, pressure will mount on the entry and exit ramps at Raj Bhavan Road and Hebbal, the survey concluded.

Reduced travel time: According to sources, the completion of the Devanahalli International Airport could increase the vehicular traffic on this corridor significantly, and the intervention of a RoR will help. Currently, the average travel time on the seven-kilometre stretch is 22 minutes; this will come down to seven-ten minutes, following the RoR, they say.

A special micro committee has been recently set up to explore the possibilities of having a toll road.

THE 41-km tollway proposed as part of the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises Limited (NICE)’s Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project (BMICP) could be one of the first tolled roads to surface in Bangalore.

“The tollway will double up as a ring road. It will take off 300 metres short of the Electronic City entry point to NH7 and will join the NH4 on Tumkur Road,” says Maj C R Ramesh, Project Director – NICE. He says the commissioning date of the project has not been decided on but adds that the groundwork is fast nearing completion.

The proposal for the Build Own Operate Transfer (BOOT) grade separator also has room for incorporating a monorail – to run on the central median. The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA)’s panel of experts is studying the proposal.

However, blueprints and proposals notwithstanding, these tolled roads are also bound to find a default speed-breaker: Public apprehensions about the concept of pay-and-use roads. Traffic experts feel that doubts about these roads are a given, but they would be dispelled if the services provided match the toll.

“It really depends on how the architects plan these roads and how they are maintained. There are many innovative services which the public pay for. If the roads are good and cuts down travelling time, people won’t mind paying to use them,” says BMTC Managing Director Upendra Tripathi. Tripathi is also part of a special committee looking into the proposal of the seven-km toll expressway from Raj Bhavan to Hebbal.

“Considering the surge in the number of vehicles in Bangalore, tolled roads is one of the best ways to ease the traffic. Highways and arterial roads could be proposed for pilot projects,” says M N Sreehari, traffic expert.

‘‘It’s still too early to talk about tolled roads in Bangalore. The concept could at the most be adopted in the peripheral regions of the City. If the services provided on the roads are good, the public shouldn’t have a problem paying to use them,’’ says Parashiva Murthy, DIG, Traffic Control and Road Safety.

iDeck survey on Raj Bhavan Road-Hebbal Expressway

30% road users will use paying toll

60% will use without toll

10% will use if it is

end-to-end with toll

20% will use it if it is end-to-end without toll

Proposed toll:

Rs 30 for cars;

Rs 15 for two-wheelers

Highs

Improved, faster access to some regions

New, stable source of revenue

Dedicated funds for construction/maintenance

Tolls on one road to fund work on other roads

Lows

Toll may fall short in meeting operation costs

Traffic diversion to nearby roads, leading to clutter

Private sector development may hit other investments

The toll should be introduced in the outskirts or in point-to-point connecting routes. Also, it is not a good idea to have manual tolling booths as it will result in traffic jams. We should be thinking of having a sophisticated system, where sensors, smart cards or tamper-proof stickers can be used for tolling

K N Shrivastava

Former Managing Director,

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation

It is a misconception that tolling can generate enough revenue to cover the maintenance costs. Tolling can only help in regulating traffic. Alternate non-toll routes should be provided for. If the purpose of the toll is to decongest, the scheme will not be effective within the City as road users will only shift to the non-toll roads.

Jayakar Jerome

Former BDA Commissioner