`Land transport authority needed'

`Land transport authority needed'

The Hindu

City governance is highly fragmented in India: Ravindra

# `Local governments in the West focus primarily on public transport'
# Regulatory mechanism for private vehicles sought

BANGALORE: Planning Board Deputy Chairman A. Ravindra on Monday felt the need for a land transport authority for Bangalore on the lines of those in Western countries.

Chairing a roundtable meet on `The Future of Public Transport in India' here, Dr. Ravindra said, "City governance is highly fragmented in India (with multiple agencies looking after different civic amenities)."

Local governments in the West focus primarily on public transport than anything else, he pointed out.

The meet was organised on the occasion of launching of International Association of Public Transport (UITP) in association with the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC).

Summing up the presentations made during the roundtable, Dr. Ravindra said besides policy-based support to public transport in a big way, there should be a regulatory mechanism for private vehicles too.

This was necessary as any mass rapid transport, including the metro rail, could not fully solve transport-related woes. The proposed metro rail could accommodate only 18 per cent of the travelling public, he noted.

Investment

Effective public transport needed massive investment in the coming days and adequate support by the Government, Dr. Ravindra pointed out. Besides investment, infrastructure needed to be augmented.