1 Clean Air Asia NMT Newsletter

Clean Air Asia’s interview with Brij Sethinurturing nmt: corporate style

In previous avatars Brij Sethi has evangelized sustainability and fostered significant innovation. He has worked in different senior capacities in the IT industry and is currently pursuing his interest in digital content. Clean Air Asia’s Sonali Chakravorty catches up with Brij for a chat.

1. India’s vehicular population is growing at a phenomenal pace, more than 12.24 percent in fiscal 2011-12, with most auto giants looking at making India a hub. While automation and vehicular growth is a regular feature in a developing economy like India, how can India leap frog the demerits of a boom in the auto-motor segment?

I would like to list the answers,As a developing economy it is important for people and goods to be able to move towards their

opportunities, so the idea should be to provide alternative opportunities for fast, smooth and easy movement of goods and people.

For inter-city movement of goods, we should explore faster movement, better scheduling and longer lengths of rolling stock (rail) in addition to looking at inland water ways, where feasible

For inter-city movement of people, we should continue to build capable highways at full speed and at the same time, encourage public modes of transport by ensuring fast, timely and regular service. It is also

NMT TIMES

NMT Times is a monthly compilation of news, views, features and articles from India and around the world on Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) from Clean Air Asia (CAA).

The newsletter and its detailed articles are available in the walkability-asia website which is an initiative of Clean Air Asia.

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ISSUE III | VOLUME I | FEBRUARY 2013

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important to complement this service with last mile connectivity such as by providing 2 wheeler and bicycle rentals for movement within the urban setup

The within-city goods movement has huge potential for IT based consolidation where a moped driver – with a properly designed load carrying moped – can participate in efficient IT driven hub & spoke distribution/ collection arrangements for all kind of goods at the last mile. This also has scope for providing entrepreneurial employment. There is a need to design and make available ultra fuel efficient utility vehicles rather than only showy and snazzy bikes. By current technologies itself, there is no reason why a 150 Km/ litre moped cannot be realized with fuel injection, low friction parts and aerodynamic design.

The within-city people movement has success stories to be emulated, from all over the world. Rather than restating the obvious – let me just say that the London tube recently completed 150 years of intra-city travel on train tracks. We are just beginning to do that in Bangalore with namma metro. It does make one wonder whether we are lagging by 150 years and if so, why?

For more, please click: http://walkabilityasia.org/2013/02/19/tete-a-tete-with-brij-sethi/

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On the sprawling campus of Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, the favourite vehicle among the students and faculty is the cycle rickshaw. Designed and developed by the institute, the rickshaws have been carrying passengers everyday for over a decade.

When Rashi Gupta, a doctoral student at India’s premier engineering institution, the Indian Institute of Technology in capital New Delhi goes to her lab every morning from her hostel on the campus, she hails a cycle rickshaw. “I like the rickshaw,” says Ms Gupta, who is doing research into replacing the hazardous chemical fertilizers with bio nutrients to help the country’s farmers. “The rickshaw is comfortable and keeps our campus less polluted,” adds the agricultural engineering scientist. Devi Lal, a second semester biotechnology under graduate, echoes Ms Gupta’s opinion. “I use only cycle rickshaws inside the campus. My friends too, ” he says.

The 17 cycle rickshaws on the campus of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, are a popular mode of transportation among both the students and the faculty. When the students talk about the rickshaws, a sense of belonging is palpable. In fact, the cycle rickshaws that run on the IIT-Delhi campus are the products of the institute’s own Industrial Design and Development Centre. Developed in the late 1990s for an Agra-based organisation, which wanted a model that would be more comfortable than the conventional ones, the rickshaw of IIT-Delhi was adopted for use by the

institute itself soon after, when it decided not to allow students to keep motor cycles. To the initial 10 rickshaws, which were free, the institute added seven more later.

While the rickshaw drivers were paid salaries to begin with, the wages were stopped when it was decided to hand over the ownership of the vehicles to their drivers. “We gave the rickshaws to the drivers free and asked them to maintain them and run them,” says retired army captain B N Yadav, the IIT-Delhi official who is in-charge of the running of the rickshaws on the campus. The drivers were then allowed to charge their passengers. The charges range between Rs 5 and Rs 15 for one passenger and Rs 10 and Rs 20 for two passengers, depending on the distance. “The rickshaws give employment to 17 people and improve the quality of air on the campus,” says Capt. Yadav.

The rickshaws are available to the passengers from 7:30 in the morning to 8:30 in the night seven days a week. “We get passengers everyday, but there are not many during the summer break,” says Nanku Kashyap, who has been a rickshaw driver in IIT-Delhi for the last 10 years. The institute campus, which is spread over 130 hectares in the historical locale of Hauz Khas in South Delhi, houses 8,600 students.

For more : http://walkabilityasia.org/2013/02/19/rickshaw-on-campus/

Campus-Friendly Transportfavourite mode of transport among the students, within the campus

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Chandigarh: Going the other way!Medical institute in Chandigarh bans rickshaws inside campus. The prestigious Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh has banned the entry of cycle rickshaws on the campus, causing considerable hardships for patients and their attendants. The decision to ban cycle rickshaws is believed to be on the assumption that cycle rickshaws caused “traffic congestion” on the campus. On the sprawling institute campus, it is difficult to travel to and from its different departments due to the long distances between them.http://walkabilityasia.org/2013/02/13/university-in-chandigarh-bans-cycle-rickshaws/ 

Delhi: Registering RickshawsDelhi civic body to start registration of cycle rickshawsThe first step towards launching the process of registration and licensing of cycle rickshaws in Delhi by framing draft guidelines as per the directions of the Delhi High Court has begun. The Standing Committee of the New

Bicycling more interesting modes

Communicating CommutingN a s h i k : D e d i c a t e d Bicycle TrackMunicipal Corporation plans 8.5 km cycle track in Nashik

The Nashik Municipal Corporation plans to develop an 8.5 km bicycle track, the first such initiative for non-motorised transport in the city, which is about 170 km from Maharashtra's capital of Mumbai. The 8.5 km track will begin from Hotel Rajdoot near Golf Club ground and end on the boundary of the civic l imits on Trimbak Road. Municipal Commissioner Sanjay Khandare said: "Normally there is a rush of four wheelers and motorcycles on the roads. But there is no separate way for workers, students and other citizens using bicycles."

http://articles.t imesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-01-26/nashik/36563608_1_nashik-municipal-corporation-plans-arterial-roads-major-roads

C e n t r e : B u d g e t & BicyclePM hints at special package for bicycle industry in federal budget Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has hinted at a special package for the bicycle Industry in the federal budget to be presented in Parliament at the end of February. This was revealed by a delegation of industrialists from Punjab, who met the Prime Minister in capital New Delhi. Punjab is the hub for bicycle manufacturing in India. President of All India Cycle Manufacturers' Association, Gurmeet Singh Kular, said: "The PM indicated that the bicycle industry will get a boost in the coming budget. We have asked for abolishing 2.06% central exciseduty on bicycles, as the industry already pays 12.36% central exciseon the raw material."

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pm-hints-at-special-package-for-bicycle-industry-in-coming-

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Bangalore: Victims of apathyHalf of accident victims in Bangalore are pedestrians. With nearly 50% of road accidents in Bangalore involving pedestrians, the city traffic police will focus on becoming more pedestrian-friendly this year. Shockingly, 354 of the 755 accident victims in the city during 2012 were pedestrians. Unscientific road crossing, footpath riding and parking by vehicles, and negligent driving are said to be the main causes behind the deaths of innocent pedestrians. One in every five residents of Bangalore owns a car, and vehicular population is set to go up to 13 million by 2030. For more : http://walkabilityasia.org/2013/02/06/47-of-accident-victims-are-pedestrians-in-bangalore/

Delhi: Hope for pedestriansProposal for turning Delhi markets into pedestrian-only zones. Delhi Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna has suggested that Connaught Place be turned into a “pedestrian-only zone” except during “extreme summer days”. The proposal to relax the rule during peak summer is to overcome resistance to the move by the traders in the area. Mr Khanna has asked the New Delhi Municipal Corporation and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to initiate action on the proposal. In fact, the Lieutenant Governor has suggested developing all market areas in Delhi into pedestrian-only zones. For more: http://walkabilityasia.org/2013/02/06/delhi-lt-governor-insists-on-pedestrian-only-markets/

Delhi Municipal Committee has decided to discuss the issue in detail. According to the Municipal Commissioner, the application forms for registration of cycle rickshaws and the licensing of rickshaw pullers have been finalised.http://walkabilityasia.org/2013/02/13/civic-body-plans-to-register-cycle-rickshaws/

Madurai: Rickshaw pullers demand interventionCycle rickshaw drivers in Madurai have appealed to tourism officials for launching ‘Rickshaw Tourism’ in the temple town of Tamil Nadu. Madurai is a major tourist destination for domestic as well as foreign tourists. Rickshaw drivers say foreign tourists who come in groups to the Meenakshi Amman temple would book 15 to 20 cycle rickshaws for travelling through the city. “These tourists like to travel in the rickshaw under the open sky, moving slowly, soaking in the beauty of the city and clicking photographs," says M Mariappan, a rickshaw driver in the city for the past four decades. For more: http://walkabilityasia.org/2013/02/13/rickshaw-pullers-demand-help-from-tourism-department/

Top pedaling destinations8 Hot Destinations for Bicycle Travel in 2013BikeToursDirect, which sends thousands of travellers on overseas bicycle tours each year, has announced its picks for the top eight hot cycling destinations in the world for 2013. The tour agency has identified eight destinations ripe for exploring by bike this year, including emerging destinations and already popular locales with something new to offer. India is on the list.For more: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/1/prweb10376031.htm

NEIGHBORHOODShaking a handle?

Bicycle Tour to develop India-Myanmar Tourist Circuit

A bicycle expedition has been identified as the major tool to develop a tourist circuit in India and neighbouring Myanmar. The tour, named the Burma Road Bicycle Expedition, was flagged off on January 19 from Lekhapani in Assam's Tinsukia, which is starting point of the famous

Stilwell Road, also called the Burma Road. The tourist circuit will be based on eco-tourism and wildlife conservation. The bicycle tour is 95km long, beginning from Lekhapani to the Lake of No Return in Myanmar.

http://walkabilityasia.org/2013/02/13/bicycle-tour-to-boost-india-myanmar-relationships/

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Singapore motorists can expect more eyes on the road.

A steady increase in the number of traffic violations is forcing the Singapore police to deploy more officers on the roads. The police are also studying the possibility of adding more speed cameras. The traffic violations have risen by 3.6 per cent in 2012, from 316,214 in 2011 to 327,500 last year. The number was 304,472 in 2010. There is an average 900 traffic violations on Singapore’s roads every day. For more: http://walkabilityasia.org/2013/02/13/singapore-motorists-can-expect-more-eyes-on-the-road/

bicycle boulevardPasadena opens its first "bicycle boulevard"American city Pasadena’s first “bicycle boulevard” was unveiled inJanuary as part of its plan for traffic management and safer cyclistconditions. The bicycle boulevard, which is the second in the LosAngeles County, stretches about three quarters of a mile on Marengo

Avenue. The project was funded through a 500,000-dollar Bicycle Transportation Grant from the California Department of Transportation. It is one of hopefully many new bicycle-friendly additions to the community, officials said. For more: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2013/02/pasadena-bike-boulevard.html

 

stopping for pedestrians

Motorists in San Juan City will soon be obliged to stop for pedestrians An ordinance has been unanimously

passed by the City Council of San Juan City in the National Capital Region of the Philippines to make in mandatory for all vehicles to stop before pedestrian lanes if at least one person is crossing it. The Draft Ordinance No. 1 Series of 2013 or An Ordinance Requiring All Vehicles To Stop Before Traversing A Pedestrian Lane With People Crossing Therein And Providing Penalties For Violations, was recently filed by 1st District City Councilor lawyer Angelo Agcaoili who said that the safety of people crossing at pedestrian lanes must be ensured at all times.

http://walkabilityasia.org/2013/02/04/councillor-seeks-to-

It is very easy for a cyclist to drop his cycle and ride motorised vehicle. Therefore the authorities have bigger role to play to make sure the cyclists enjoy every pedal they push!

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How comfortable and safe a footpath or sidewalk is, determines it's "Walkability". Have you ever come across a street, which has broken sidewalks or footpaths, has no street lights, is too high to step on, has an open manhole - in simple words, it is unsafe?Clean Air Asia Walkability initiative now brings you a FREE to download and use App, which not only allows you to measure the Walkability of a street, but also lets you share the feedback with your friends and family via facebook or twitter. This is first of its kind in the world and the idea is to promote and communicate that safe walking is everyones right - irrespective of ages, gender, education and

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