[1]

CHAPTER 12

TRANSPORT

[2]

CONTENTS

Introduction

Transport and Environment

Road transport

Rail transport

Air transport

Water transport

Urban transport scenario

Need for emerging intervention areas

TABLES

Table-1: Air Pollutant Data from Stations in Bengaluru

Table-2: Noise Pollution Data for Bengaluru

Table-3: Road Length Statistics for Karnataka

Table-4: Share of Petrol Consumption by Vehicle Type

Table-5: Share of Diesel Consumption by Vehicle Type

Table-6: Public Transport Operator Statistics

Table-7: Fleet in Operations by Emission Standard Type

Table-8: Status of ITS Implementation in RTCs

Table-9: Estimated Diesel Consumption by Freight Vehicles

Table-10: Cargo handled by Ports (in 1000 MT)

Table-11: Urban Population Densities in Selected Districts of Karnataka

Table-12: Indicative Costs and Capacity for Various Mass Transit Systems

Table-13: Operational Details of Namma Metro in Bengaluru

Table-14: Number of Buses Operational in Cities in Karnataka

Table-15: Existing Passenger Train Utilization in Bengaluru for Commuting

[3]

FIGURES

Figure 1: Source of PM 10 and PM 2.5 Emissions in Bengaluru

Figure 2: Annual Growth Rate of Registered Vehicles in Karnataka

Figure 3: Devaraj Urs Truck Terminal at Dharwad

Figure 4: Mobility Mode Share for Different Cities in Karnataka

Figure 5: TenderSURE Roads in Bengaluru

Figure 6: PBS System Implemented in Mysuru

Figure 7: Cycle Day & Open Street Growth Chart

Figure 8: Pictorial Views of Cycle Day and Open Street Events in Bengaluru

Figure 9: Line Diagram of Namma Metro

Figure 10: 44m section of Hubli-Dharwad BRTS Under Construction

Figure 11: BRTS Articulated Buses Procured in Hubi-Dharwad

Figure 12: Available Rail Network in Benagluru

Figure 13: Suburban MEMU Service inaugurated in Bengaluru

Figure 14: Control Centre in KSRTC Mysuru (MITRA)

Figure 15: ITS Implementation in BMTC

Figure 16: Electronic Ticketing System Implemented in BMTC

Figure 17: Passenger Information Systems in BMTC

Figure 18: ITS Implementation by Bengaluru Traffic Police

[4]

TRANSPORT

Introduction

12.1. Transport is crucial for the economic development of regions as it provides utility for

economic activities such as movement of people and goods to take place in a timely manner.

Road, rail, water and air are typical mediums for transport. Roads cater to various modes such

as buses, trucks, cars, two-wheelers, auto-rickshaws, cycles, pedestrians, etc., for transporting

people and goods. Transport sector in India has been reported to contribute 4.99% to the

Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2014-15. Amongst the four mediums of transport, Road

Transport has been reported to contribute 3.28% to the GVA, followed by Railways at 0.81%,

Water Transport at 0.07% and Air Transport at 0.05%. [MORTH Year Book, 2014-15]

12.2. Necessary as it is, the adversities that arise from transport are no less compelling.

Transport is a major contributor of air and noise pollution in urban environments. When

transport services are not well managed, it can lead to accidents causing loss of human life

and economic losses. Also mismanaged transport can lead towards congesting public places.

While transport services are inevitable for improving and sustaining economy of the state, the

environmental impacts could be alleviated by planning for appropriate mode of transport and

enforcing regulations for adopting less polluting modes.

12.3. This chapter would highlight the state of affairs of all the above transport mediums in

the state of Karnataka. As the state is fast urbanizing and 50% of the state population is

expected to be urbanized by the year 2026 [Karnataka Economic Survey, 2016-17], urban

transport appears as a major issue to be addressed in the coming years. Moreover, the

environmental impacts of transport are acute in urban settlements. Hence, much of this

chapter is devoted to highlight the existing state of urban transport in Karnataka. Some of the

key interventions that need to be pursued by the state to ensure that cities continue to grow

sustainably will also be highlighted.

Transport and Environment

12.4. Outdoor air pollution, which caused an estimated 620,000 deaths in India in 2010 - a

six-fold increase in a decade - is a serious environmental risk to health. Outdoor air pollution

was identified as the fifth leading cause of disease in India and also the seventh leading cause

of loss of healthy years of life due to illness with 18 million healthy years lost. It is also

reported that India has the world’s highest chronic respiratory deaths and asthma alone

caused 5.18 percent of all deaths in 2002. [Embarq, 2014]

12.5. Transport sector has been identified as one of the main contributors to air pollution in

cities. Contribution of automobiles in total air pollution in Indian cities is reported between

40–80% [Solanki HK, 2016]. Nearly 20% of passenger transport emission is by private

automobiles although they only contribute 4% total passenger transport activity in Indian

cities. Exhaust gas from tailpipe of automobiles, mainly due to incomplete combustion of

fuels and dust particles from roads are two significant sources of air pollution from Transport

sector. The common air pollutants (CAP) that adversely impact health are Particulate Matter

less than or equal to 10 microns (PM10), Particulate Matter less than or equal to 2.5 microns

(PM2.5), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Sulphur Oxides (SOx), Carbon Monoxide (COx) and

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). A study [TERI, 2010] reports that transport and road

dust account for 62% of PM10 and transport alone accounts to 68% NOx emission sources in

Bengaluru. It is further reported that road dust contributes to more than 50% of PM10

observed in the ambient air in Bengaluru, while 19% is contributed by transport (vehicular

[5]

emissions). On the contrary, transport contributes to 50% of the PM2.5 observed in the

ambient air, while road dust contributes 3.5%. Another study reports that road transport

accounts for 43.5% of GHG footprint in Bengaluru [TV Ramachandra, 2015].

12.6. Both PM10 and PM2.5 can cause respiratory health problems such as coughing,

wheezing, reduced lung function, asthma attacks and in some cases, early death. Data on the

air pollution levels in Bengaluru for the period between April 2013 and March 2014,

reproduced in the Table-1 indicate that the average level of particulate matter (RSPM) as

measured at 15 locations in Bengaluru far exceeds the acceptable limits at 13 locations,

including locations around major hospitals.

Figure 19: Source of PM 10 and PM 2.5 Emissions in Bengaluru [Source: TERI, 2010]

[6]

Table-16: Air Pollutant Data from Stations in Bengaluru [Source: ITS MP, 2015]

12.7. Road transport is reported to be the single largest source of noise in urban India. A car

travelling at 20 km per hour emits 55 decibels (dB) of rolling noise. This reaches 65 dB at 40

km/h, 75 dB and at 80 km/h and 80 dB at 100 km/h. Traffic noise emanates from engines,

especially while accelerating, from the contact between tyres and roads and of course horns,

which are trained as extensively in Karnataka as elsewhere in the country. Under the Central

Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Rules, 1999, the use of so-called shrill and multi-tone horns

has been banned, but the definition of shrill is not clearly defined to systematically enforce.

12.8. It has been observed that in Bangalore, for which some data is available, actual levels

exceed the permissible level. Data from five noise monitoring stations in Bengaluru for the

period between January and March, 2014 is shown in Table-2. Even during off peak hours

values recorded are above the permissible limit. Continuous monitoring, which is not in

place, may reveal that some locations experience excess noise levels for 16-18 hours per day.

High noise levels interfere with speech and communication, decreased learning ability and

scholastic performance. Prevalence of hearing loss is more in workers exposed to higher road

traffic noise compared to those less exposed. It is reported from a survey conducted at an

urban city in India that about 52% of population was suffering by frequent irritation, 46%

respondent felt hypertension, and 48.6% observed loss of sleep due to noise pollution

[Agarwal S, 2011]. In spite of its negative impact on health and the quality of urban life in

general, surprisingly little attention is placed on reducing it.

No. Name of Monitoring StationSO2

(ug/m3)

NO2

(ug/m3)

RSPM

(ug/m3)

50.0 40.0 60.0

1 Graphite India 15.2 30.0 133.0

2 K.H.B. Industrial Area (Yelahanka) 14.0 25.0 128.0

3 Peenya Industrial Area (Gymkhana) 15.0 30.0 123.0

4 Peenya Industrial Area 12.4 28.3 125.0

5 Yeshwanthpura Police Station 14.0 31.0 110.0

6 AMCO Batteries on Mysore Road 15.0 29.0 170.0

7 Central Silk Board on Hosur Road 15.0 30.0 175.0

8 DTDC House on Victoria Road 14.0 30.0 114.0

9 TERI Office in Domlur 6.7 9.8 58.0

10 Benswadi Police Station 11.0 24.3 85.0

11 Kajisonnenahalli 12.0 29.0 67.0

12 CAAQM City Railway Station 9.0 23.0 64.0

13 CAAQM S.G. Halli 7.0 18.0 22.0

20.0 30.0 60.0

14 Victoria Hospital 13.0 29.0 88.0

15 Indira Gandhi Children Care Institute (NIMANHS) 13.0 29.0 79.0

indicates the value which exceeds National Standard

Categorised Area

Industrial Area

Urban Area

Sensitive Area

National Standard

National Standard

[7]

Table-17: Noise Pollution Data for Bengaluru [Source: ITS MP, 2015]

12.9. Hence a comprehensive action plan that would target at the following goals is

required to improve adverse environmental impact from transport.

Improved vehicle technology for lesser emissions and noise;

Promote use of better quality fuel;

Promote use of sustainable transport modes (non-motorized and mass transit);

Plan for better operational efficiency in mobility through technology use;

Induce behavioural changes in mobility like decreased trip rates and trip lengths;

Improved built environment in-terms of achieving higher proportion of paved roads,

greener transport infrastructure, etc.

Road transport

Road Network

12.10. Karnataka has over 3,21,808 km of road length, which includes National Highways,

State Highways, Major District Roads (MDR), Municipal Roads and Other Roads. A breakup

of road length by category of roads is shown in Table-3. [MORTH Stats 2014-15]

12.11. Karnataka has 6,432 km of National Highways (NH) and about 80% of the NH has

two lanes or less. As seen from Table-3, about one-third of the road length in Karnataka is

un-surfaced and similar is the proportion of un-surfaced roads among urban roads as well,

which is a potential source of road dust (PM10 pollutant). Encroachment of forest land for

development works such as roads, etc. is a threat to the natural environment. It is worthwhile

to put on record that under the project roads, the length of roads taken up in forest land as on

year 2015 is 7,477 km out of which 881 km is paved.

Unit=dB in Leq

Noise Level Limit Measured Value Noise Level Limit Measured Value

January 66.2 58.9

February 63.2 57.2

March 65.4 59.8

January 61.1 66.6

February 63.6 57.8

March 63.5 58.6

January 52.6 51.2

February 59.7 52.6

March 55.2 52.0

January 67.9 66.2

February 66.0 60.8

March 66.9 59.0

January 66.9 68.2

February 78.4 64.1

March 68.8 63.9

indicates the value which exceeds the noise level limit of National Standard

Location

BTM Layout

Marathahalli Commercial Area

55

65

45

55

Month

（2014）

Day Time Night TimeCategorised Area

Residential Area

75

45

55

70

Nisarga Bhavan, SG Halli Residential Area

Commercial AreaParisara Bhavan, Church Street

Peenya Industrial Area

55

65

[8]

Table-18: Road Length Statistics for Karnataka

Motor Vehicles

12.12. As per the Road Transport Year Book 2014-15 published by the Ministry of Road

Transport (MORTH), Karnataka appears among the top five states in terms of share of

motorized registered vehicles in the country with 7% of the registered vehicles in the country

contributed from Karnataka. It is also mentioned that among the million-plus cities in India,

Bengaluru appears second, only after Delhi in terms of quantum of vehicle registrations.

12.13. The quantum of registered vehicles in Karnataka has been steadily increasing at an

average growth rate of about 10% per annum and the decadal growth rate of vehicles between

2007 and 2017 has been at 138%. In-terms of vehicular composition, two-wheelers account

for 70% of the registered vehicles in Karnataka.

12.14. It is reported that 2-stroke, two-wheelers emit with 20-40% of the un-burnt or

partially burnt fuel and hence emission from two-wheelers contain high levels of

hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. As a strategy to phase out the use of 2-stroke engines,

the Transport Department has stopped registration of any new 2-stroke engine vehicles.

Road Class Length in KM

Surfaced Length

in KM

Un-surfaced

Length

in KM

National Highways 6,432 6,432 0

State Highways 19,721 19,697 24

Major Dist. Roads 49,928 48,705 1,223

Rural Roads 1,84,918 1,05,562 79,356

Urban Roads 42,972 28,919 14,053

Project Roads 17,837 7,410 10,427

Total 3,21,808 2,16,725 1,05,083

[9]

Figure 20: Annual Growth Rate of Registered Vehicles in Karnataka

12.15. In 2012-13, about 157 million metric tons (MMT) of petroleum products were

reported to be consumed in India. In Karnataka more than 73% of the petroleum products

were consumed for transport purposes. The proportion of petrol and diesel consumption by

vehicle type is shown in Tables-4 & 5 respectively [Nielson, 2013].

Table-19: Share of Petrol Consumption by Vehicle Type

Vehicle Type Share of Petrol Consumption

India Karnataka

Two-wheelers 61.42 % 64.00 %

Three-wheelers 2.34 % 8.70 %

Cars 34.33 % 27.10 %

SUVs 1.51 % 4.20 %

Others 0.39 % 1.00 %

Table-20: Share of Diesel Consumption by Vehicle Type

Vehicle Type Share of Diesel Consumption

India Karnataka

Cars & UVs (private) 15.10 % 18.10 %

Cars & UVs (commercial) 10.30 % 9.50 %

HCVs/LCVs/Buses 40.80 % 40.30 %

Three-wheelers 7.40 % 5.20 %

Avg. annual growth rate : 10%

Decadal growth rate (2007-2017): 138%

Decadal growth rate (1997-2007): 147%

[10]

12.16. While efforts should be made to reduce the Transport sector’s reliance on petroleum

by use of alternate energy sources, use of efficient travel modes (like mass transit) and

restricting travel demand, it is also essential to improve the quality of petroleum products

used for transport like use of low sulphur content petrol, which causes less harm to the

environment.

Public Transport

12.17. Public transport is viewed as a sustainable mode of transport as space consumption

per person and emissions per person is far less compared to other modes such as cars and

two-wheelers. Bus based public transport in Karnataka is primarily catered by four transport

corporations, viz., Karnataka State Transport Corporation (KSRTC), North-West Road

Transport Corporation (NWKRTC), North-East Road Transport Corporation (NEKRTC) and

Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC). KSRTC, NWKRTC and NEKRTC

cater to intercity services and city services while BMTC caters to only city services in

Bengaluru.

12.18. The public transport in Karnataka caters to more than 1.13 crore passengers per day

while operating more than 18,000 schedules and 51 lakh kilometers daily. The operational

details of each road transport corporations in Karnataka are presented in Table-6.

Table-21: Public Transport Operator Statistics

Operator Jurisdiction Fleet

No. of Daily

Schedules

Daily

Operating Km

Passengers

Serviced Daily

KSRTC 17 Districts 8467 7774 26.65 lakh 26.18 lakh

BMTC

25 km radius around

BBMP area 6428 6216 11.47 lakh 50.74 lakh

NWKRTC 6 Districts 4994 4675 15.85 lakh 22.65 lakh

NEKRTC 7 Districts 4572 4021 13.19 lakh 13.50 lakh

12.19. The Bharat State IV (BS IV) vehicle standards have been mandated since 2010 for all

new vehicles in 15 major cities in India, including Bengaluru in Karnataka. Table-7 shows

the fleet size owned by each of the transport corporations and break-up of fleet as of 2017

classified by emission standards. Currently, only 37% of the BMTC fleet operating in

Bengaluru complies with BS-IV standards. Buses with BS-IV standards are reported to be

less fuel efficient and hence, adoption of BS-IV standards in buses has significant cost

implication on the operators. Table-7 also shows the percentage of fleet that is over aged in

all the four corporations. Older vehicles tend to pollute more that newer vehicles. The

percentage of over-aged vehicles for 2015-16 is reported as 22% in KSRTC and 18.4% in

BMTC.

Table-22: Fleet in Operations by Emission Standard Type

Operator BS-I BS-II BS-III BS-IV Total

% fleet of

BS-III &

IV

% fleet of

BS IV

Overaged

Fleet *

KSRTC 31 2235 5946 255 8467 73% 3% 22%

BMTC 6 470 3580 2372 6428 93% 37% 18.4%

NWKRTC 11 1453 3282 248 4994 71% 5% 48%

NEKRTC 22 1559 2645 346 4572 65% 8% 22.4%

[11]

Innovations towards Efficient Operations of Public Transport

12.20. The KSRTC carries out routine and surprise smoke emission checks at bus stations

and depots throughout the year. In 2015-16, 74,715 buses were checked for smoke emission

levels and 1860 (i.e. 2.5%) vehicles were found to emit above acceptable norms of 65 hart

ridge units. KSRTC has also introduced mobile smoke emissions and noise level checking

service that would verify and regulate the emission checks at depots.

12.21. In compliance to the notification by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in

2015, KSRTC started using of 20% bio-diesel blended fuel in 10 existing buses without any

modification to the CI engines. It is reported that emission levels were 60-70% lower in bio-

diesel when compared to buses run on conventional diesel and the fuel efficiency remained

the same. KSRTC has planned to use bio-diesel in all its existing fleet without engine

modification.

Table-23: Status of ITS Implementation in RTCs

12.22. All the road transport corporations in Karnataka are also progressively implementing

Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) such as Automatic Vehicle Location Systems (AVLS),

Passenger Information Systems (PIS), Automatic Fare Collection Systems (AFCS), Depot

Management Systems (DMS), etc. as a means to improve efficiency in operations. Also ITS

implementations have provided enhanced user convenience and in-turn would attract more

commuters to use public bus transport. Status of ITS implementations in the four RTCs is as

shown in Table-8.

Freight Transport

12.23. Trucks dominate the movement of freight. The number of freight vehicles (trucks and

LCV) has risen from 310,000 in the year 2009 to 643,199 as on December 2015 (refer Table-

9), which is an increase of 107% from 2009 to 2015 (average of 17.8% per annum). The

growth rate of freight vehicles is much higher than the average annual population growth of

3.5%. This indicates an acceleration of trade and business activities in the state. In 2006-07,

the ratio between (heavy) trucks and light commercial vehicles was 70:30 while in the year

2015 the truck to LCV ratio stands to 56:44 which indicates an increasing use of LCV for

freight movement. The movement of freight by road was estimated to result into an aggregate

71 million road kilometres covered per day (refer Table-9) for 2009, while in 2015 the

number is estimated to be approximately 124 million km per day.

Operator AVLS AFCS PIS Others

KSRTC 2000 buses ETM

35 major bus

stations

Leave management kiosk at

all depots, workshops, etc.

BMTC 6400 buses

10,000 ETMs

deployed; Smart

Card in pilot

phase

35 PIS boards in

11 major

terminals; Mobile

App

12 Passenger Information

Kiosk; Leave management

kiosk at all depots

NWKRTC 280 buses 7000 ETMs NIL

Smart leave application

through mobile app and

web based

NEKRTC

AVLS being

planned NIL PIS at 50 stations

Leave management kiosk at

47 depots

[12]

12.24. Till recently, petroleum products destined for Bangalore were transported from

Mangalore in trucks, which crossed the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats. An

underground pipeline of 364 km has been constructed between the two cities for transporting

petroleum. Under full utilization this pipeline is estimated to re-place nearly 2.2 lakh tanker

trips per year to transport 2.2 million tons of petroleum products.

Table-24: Estimated Diesel Consumption by Freight Vehicles

Type

of

freight

career

Number of Vehicles

Assumed

mileage

km/d

Distance covered in

million km/d

Diesel consumption

thousand litres/d

2003 2009 2015 2003 2009 2015 2003 2009 2015

Trucks 112,700 217,000 285,990 275 31 60 79 5,165 9,946 13,481

LCV 48,300 93,000 357,209 125 6 12 45 503 969 7,582

Total 161,000 310,000 643,199 37 71 124 5,669 10,915 21,063

Industrial/Economic corridors

12.25. The Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor Project is an upcoming mega

infrastructure project of Government of India. The corridor is to come up along Chennai,

Sriperumbudur, Ponnapanthangal, Ranipet, Chittoor, Bangarupalem, Palamaner, Bangarpet,

Hoskote and Bangalore. It is expected to boost commerce between south India and East Asia

by enabling quicker movement of goods from these places to the Chennai and Ennore ports.

12.26. Bengaluru-Mumbai Economic Corridor (BMEC) is a proposed economic corridor in

India between Mumbai and Bangalore. The corridor is spread across the states of Karnataka

and Maharashtra and passes through major cities such as Davangere, Chitradurga, Hubballi-

Dharwad, Belagavi, Solapur, Sangli, Satara and Pune. The overall length of the corridor is

around 1,000 km and covers an area of around 143,000 km2. The corridor is delineated

around the existing National Highway 4 (NH4) (which connects Bangalore to Mumbai), the

existing Bangalore-Mumbai railway line and the Dabhol-Bangalore Natural Gas Pipeline.

The government has envisaged at least four new cities to boost manufacturing activity across

the corridor.

DevrajUrs. Truck Terminal

12.27. The Government of Karnataka has established D. Devaraj Urs Truck Terminal Ltd.,

Company in the year 1980. The establishment of Truck Terminal/Logistic Park/Highway

Amenities for the benefit of Lorry/Truck Transporters at National Highways in Bangalore

and other Cities of the State is to avoid Traffic Congestion, Road Accidents, Air Pollution,

Facilities for Loading and Unloading the Goods and for providing infrastructure facilities to

crew members. The company has created truck terminal facilities at Yeshwantpur and

Dasapura in Bangaluru, Mysore and Dharwad. It has proposed to take up construction of

similar terminals in the cities like Hospet, Hubli, Raichur, Gadag and Hasan apart from the

existing facilittes.

[13]

Figure 21: Devaraj Urs Truck Terminal at Dharwad

Rail transport

12.28. As on December 2016, Karnataka has 3,281.36 kilometers (Source: Press Information

Bureau, Government of India, Ministry of Railways on 07-December-2016) of rail track. For

a long time after independence, the railway network in the state was part of the southern and

western railway zones headquartered respectively at Madras (now Chennai) and Bombay

(now Mumbai). The South Western Railways headquartered at Hubli were created in 2003

fulfilling a long-standing demand of the state. Several parts of the state came under this new

zone while other parts remained under the administration of the Southern Railways. Coastal

Karnataka is covered by the Konkan Railways, a project that is regarded as one of the feats of

Indian engineering and included the construction of a bridge of length 2,023 metres across

the river Sharavathi at Honnavar and a tunnel of length 2,960 metres at Karwar.

12.29. Bangalore, the capital city, is well connected to inter-state destinations while other

important cities and townships are somewhat off inter-state tracks and schedules, a fact

that was hoped could be changed with the creation of the South Western Railways.

12.30. The limitations of Karnataka’s railway network are manifold. Several locations

including the district capitals of Chikkamagalur and Madikeri are not connected by rail.

Konkan Railways operating in the lands west of the Western Ghats, has remained isolated

from the other two railway networks except for Padil, a minor transit point near Mangalore.

All in all, Karnataka has 16 km of railway track for every 1,000 km2 of geo-graphical area.

This is low when compared with Tamil Nadu which has 30 km/1,000 km2.

12.31. Rail traffic accounts for short-lived but significant noise emissions. Noise comes from

the engines, the contact between wheels and rails and whistle blowing. Furthermore, when

moving at high speed, aero-acoustic noise exceeds all other sources. Another undesirable

effect is vibrations. They can cause damage to lightly built structures near the track and cause

sleep disturbances in humans.

[14]

Air transport

12.32. The state carrier Indian Airlines started flying to Bangalore in 1953. Today

Karnataka has six operating passenger airports, namely Bangalore, Mangalore, Mysore,

Hubli, Belgaum and Toranagallu in Bellary district. Several regional airports are planned to

increase intra-state connectivity. International flights however operate only from Bangalore

and Mangalore, which are also used for domestic operations.

12.33. Bangalore’s Devanahalli/Kempegowda International airport located 35 km north

of the city became operational in 2008 and is Karnataka’s largest airport and can handle 11

million passengers per year. A rail-bound high-speed shuttle has been proposed.

Kempegowda International Airport is the country's first Greenfield international airport,

conceived under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. The airport has been developed

at a cost of Rs.2353.00 crore at Devanahalli near Bengaluru. The airport began operations in

May 2008 and handled 8.70 million passengers in the first year. During 2014-15 the

passenger traffic has reached 15.40 million. With the aim of establishing Kempegowda

International Airport as India's leading airport in terms of quality and efficiency and to set a

benchmark for the future amongst Indian airports, it is built and operated to the best

international standards and is a new start in Indian aviation with regard to the passenger

experience on ground. Presently, Kempegowda International is the 3rd largest airport in the

country in terms of passenger traffic and at present the traffic growth is over 22.50%. The

traffic at the airport is growing at a pace higher than the national average. Expansion of the

existing Terminal-1 building, apron area and other related facilities have been completed to

cater to the growing demand. Terminal-1 has been expanded at a cost of Rs 1479 crore to

cater to passenger traffic of 20.00 million. Kempegowda International Airport handled over

22.2 million passengers in 2016 with little less than 500 aircraft movements a day. The

airport also handled about 314,060 tonnes (346,190 short tons) of cargo. By 2020, it is

expected to handle at least 40 million passengers per year, with 45 international airlines and

more than 1000 aircraft movements per day.

12.34. Bangalore airport is a source of noise, which is notable especially during nights

when international aero planes arrive and depart and other sources of sounds are muted. One

study reported noise levels of 86-102 Db (A) at the airport, which exceeds the limit permitted

for industrial areas (75 dB (A) in day time and 70 dB (A) at night). This is not necessarily

alarming however because the location of the airport has been selected, inter alia, keeping in

view the need to minimize disturbances of the city. This may however spiral into a conflict

for new residential localities that have sprung up near the airport and the attention this area

receives from real estate developers.

Water transport

12.35. Karnataka has one major and ten minor ports. The major port is the New

Mangalore Port, an all-weather port situated at Panambur. It handles crude oil for the only

refinery of the state. Minor ports are at Belekeri, Bhatkal, Hangarakatta, Honnavar, Karwar,

Kundapur, Malpe, Mangalore (old port), Padubidri and Tadri. Among the minor ports,

Karwar, Belekeri, Malpe and Mangalore (old port) handle significantly more cargo albeit the

volume fluctuates unpredictably. The Karnataka Port Policy envisages the development of at

least three minor ports so as to make them more accessible. Between 2002 and 2009 the

cargo handled by four selected minor ports has almost doubled (refer Table-10). Karwar port

handles mainly petroleum products and Belekeri iron ore, at least until 2011.

[15]

Table-25: Cargo handled by Ports (in 1000 MT)

Ports FY

2012-2013 (in 1000 MT)

FY

2013-2014 (in 1000 MT)

FY

2014-2015 (in 1000 MT)

FY

2015-2016 (in 1000 MT)

Old Mangalore

165.93 120.26 115.89 98.00

Karwar

441.19 377.10 525.07 714.00

MalpeBelekeri,

Hangarkatta&Kundapur

4.74 3.00 2.31 3.00

Total

611.86 500.36 643.27 815.00

(Source: Karnataka Economic Survey, 2016-17)

12.36. Port facilities seem inadequate in view of the several so-called mega projects

coming up in the state in power, petrochemicals and steel. Further handling capacity needs to

be augmented. Both the Karwar and Belekeri ports are not well linked to railway lines and

thus place an unduly high burden on road transport. On any typical day, about 3,000 to 5,000

trucks will be visiting these ports. The New Mangalore port has been developed into deep-

waters to handle LPG, liquid cargo as well as containers. Recent improvements made it one

of the largest LPG and iron ore handling ports of India. The port also has a state-of-the-art

cement handling terminal. Mangalore is one of the two ports chosen to build strategic

reserves of crude oil. This is expected to significantly increase the oil cargo handled by the

port.

12.37. Ports require regular maintenance, mainly dredging to clear siltation. The New

Mangalore Port requires dredging of 2-3 million m3/annum of silt in the channel and about 1

million m3/annum in the lagoon. In the Karwar port siltation is relatively low. Unscientific

dredging can have adverse impacts on the local eco-system in the form of re-suspension of

bottom sediments, accumulation or dispersion of toxic substances, oxygen depletion, reduced

primary production, temperature alteration, increased nutrient levels and bed load movement.

An area of concern is also marine pollution from shipping vessels, especially but not only

those carrying crude oil. The Arabian Sea is a major route for oil tankers to Asia and the

Pacific region and seasonal tar-like residues found on India’s west coast are suspected to

originate from these. Oil cargo accidents are a latent possibility that could spell irreparable

damage for the fragile coastal ecosystem. Besides, the World Watch Institute estimates that

alien species of the order of several thousand per day are transported in the ballast water and

spread once let out

Urban transport scenario

12.38. It is reported that about 38% of the population in Karnataka lives in urban areas

and it is expected that more than 50% would be living in urban areas by 2026 [Karnataka

Economic Survey, 2016-17]. Population growth statistics of some highly urbanized districts

in Karnataka are presented in the table below. As seen in Table-11, the density in Bengaluru

district has increased by 47% between 2001 and 2011. High level of economic activities in

urban areas induces more need for travel as compared to semi-urban or rural areas. Also

[16]

because of high population densities in urban areas, the impact due to the negative

externalities of transportation (such as air and noise pollution) is far more amplified in urban

areas.

12.39. Bengaluru, while blessed with constant economic growth in past couple of

decades and well established as the IT capital of India, is today home for more than 1 crore

people and is estimated that about 1.5 lakh people move into the city each year. This in terms

of mobility translates to over 90 lakh trips every day. The roads in Bengaluru are often

congested during peak periods and these peak periods extend up to 8 to 10 hours in a day. It

is estimated that the fuel losses due to congestion is nearly 50 crore liters per year and this

when added to the man-hours lost in commuting on congested roads totals to monetary loss

of about Rs 3700 crore per year [Draft RMP 2031]. Hence, measures to alleviate negative

externalities of transport in urban settings are to be stringently pursued.

Table-26: Urban Population Densities in Selected Districts of Karnataka

12.40. Ownership of vehicles in the urban areas is on the rise. The average growth rate

of vehicular registrations in various city corporations in Karnataka exceeds 10% per annum.

If such trends continue to occur in urban areas, it would be difficult to manage the mobility

on roads and would continue to pose treat to safety and health risk to commuters.

12.41. In terms of the composition of registered vehicles, in most cities, motorized

two-wheelers comprise of about 70% of all registered vehicles. The chart in Figure-4 shows

the mode share (which is an indication of how/which mode people use to travel) for about 15

cities in Karnataka. It can be seen that in cities like Bengaluru, Mangaluru, etc., where good

public transportation is provided, the mode share is significantly high for public transport.

However, in smaller cities, mode share of motorized two-wheelers and intermediate public

transports (autorickshaw) dominate. The mode shares of cars in most cities are less when

compared to other motorized modes; however, this trend can significantly change with

booming urban economy and cars becoming affordable to more and more people.

Sl.

No.

District Urban

population

(in %)

Area 2011

(Sq. Km.)

Decadal

Change

in Area

(%)

Density

2011

(Per Sq.

Km.)

Decadal

Increase in

Densities

(%)

1. Bengaluru 91 2196 0 4381 47

2. Dharwad 57 4260 0 434 15

3. Dakshina

Kannada

48 4861 0 430 3

4. Mysuru 41 6307 0 476 24

5. Bellary 38 8461 0 290 21

6. Karnataka 38 319 16

[17]

Figure 22: Mobility Mode Share for Different Cities in Karnataka

12.42. Increasing use of private motorized modes for travel not only contributes to air

and noise pollution in urban areas, but also in loss of human life due to road accidents. In the

year 2015, Karnataka was placed in the 4th

position among the highest share of road accidents

that were observed in the country with about 8.8% of road accidents in India were reported in

Karnataka. In absolute terms 44,011 accidents were reported in the State and 10,858 deaths

due to road accidents. In the data published by the Road Safety Cell, GoK, the number of

road accident deaths increased from 2014 to 2015 in 23 districts out of the 30 districts

surveyed and on an average 11.5% increase in road accident deaths from 2014 to 2015 was

observed. Evidences from other states and countries indicate that measures to induce mode

shift of commuters from motorized private transport to sustainable modes like cycling, mass

transit have resulted in notable reduction in road traffic fatalities.

12.43. As per the 2011 census, 25.7% of the workforce in the urban areas is female and

this proportion of female workforce in urban areas is increasing [DES 2014-15]. In a survey

conducted by the Directorate of Urban Land Transport in four localities in Bengaluru, more

than 30% of the women perceived that it is unsafe for them to use public transport. Hence,

focus need to be laid on improving safety of women in public transport if women have to opt

for public transport for their choice commute.

12.44. Recognizing the need for urban areas to address the utility of transport in a

sustainable manner the National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP) was framed by the Ministry

of Urban Development [NUTP, 2014]. The NUTP provides direction for cities to develop

seamless mobility and promote liveability by emphasizing cities to adopt sustainable

transport choices such as non-motorized transport, appropriate public transport, and improved

efficiency in operations of public and private transport modes. In backdrop of this policy,

status of sustainable mobility practices adopted in the urban areas is highlighted in the

subsequent sections.

[18]

State of Non-motorized transport

12.45. Non-motorized transport like cycling and walking are considered to be the most

sustainable modes for commuting, not only due to the non-polluting nature of the non-

motorized modes, but also for the health benefits that these commuting options provide to

people. However, for people to embrace non-motorized modes, the built environment and

adequate safety plays a vital role. Cycling and walking used to be predominant modes in

many of our cities, still in smaller cities more than one-third of the mode share happens by

walking or cycling. However, as cities are urbanizing in an unplanned fashion, the share of

non-motorized transport has been drastically declining. Such a declining trend in use of non-

motorized transport can be attributed to non-conducive built environment in urbanizing cities,

longer trip lengths due to sprawling cities, and lack of equitable allocation of road space for

all modes resulting in motorized vehicles overwhelming other modes. In Bengaluru, the

trend of cycle use has declined drastically from 1981 and 2011 bringing down the mode share

of cycling from 16% to 2% in that period.

12.46. To improve air quality and reduce noise pollution in cities, it is important to

encourage people to walk and cycle especially for shorter trips. The average trip lengths for

walking is generally considered to be up to 1.5 km and cycling trip lengths are usually in the

range of up to 3 to 6 km.

12.47. Some key infrastructure implementations that could encourage people to walk

or cycle for commute are highlighted. One unique initiative taken up by BBMP in Bengaluru

is the implementation of pedestrian and cyclists friendly roads under the Tender SURE

model. The concept of the Tender SURE is to re-allocate road space equitably to all road

users. Twelve roads have been taken up for implementation of TenderSURE roads in the first

phase and 50 more roads would be taken up in the second phase. Recent implementation of

TenderSURE roads in the central areas of Bengaluru is shown in Figure 5. On the Residency

road the shared paths for cycling and walking can be seen.

Figure 23: TenderSURE Roads in Bengaluru

Public Bicycle Sharing System in Mysuru

12.48. Public Bicycle Sharing (PBS) system is becoming popular as urban commuting

option around the world, especially in Europe and China. India’s foremost fully automated

citywide PBS system was implemented in Mysuru in June 2017. The system consists of 450

bicycles docked at 48 locations in parts of Mysuru city, covering about one-fourth of the city

area. The system is fully automated and enables any registered user to use the cycles through

[19]

a smart card. The system consists of 12 registration centers, where people can register and

obtain smart card or top-up the smart card. The system also allows registrations through web

portal. The system is managed remotely from a state-of-art control centre. Six re-distribution

vehicles are used to distribute cycles to various docking locations to ensure that cycles are

available at all locations throughout the day. The system is available for use between 6AM to

10PM daily.

Figure 24: PBS System Implemented in Mysuru

12.49. Since the launch of the system in June 2017, more than 6,000 people have

registered with the system within 3 months of being launched. About 1,000 trips are currently

being made daily using the PBS system in Mysuru.

Awareness Creation to Promote NMT Use

12.50. In addition to infrastructure creation for non-motorized transport, awareness

drive for people to experience benefits of using non-motorized transport is also important. In

this direction, the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) has been regularly carrying

out Cycle Day and Open Streets initiatives in Bengaluru since 2013. The Cycle Day Initiative

is a Government-Citizen campaign with the aim to make cycling mainstream and spread

awareness about the importance of safe streets for Non-Motorized Transport users. This

campaign strives at increasing cycling trips and encourages residents to take up cycling for

short and mid commutes, local neighborhood shopping runs, last mile connectivity and for

recreational rides. As on date, 30 community partners in around 25 neighborhoods of

Bengaluru have joined hands to conduct and organize the Cycle Day events and more than

300 Cycle Day events have been organized across Bengaluru.

[20]

Figure 25: Cycle Day & Open Street Growth Chart

12.51. On Cycle Days, one or two street stretches are blocked in the neighborhood for

a shorter duration between 6 AM to 11 AM. Open Street campaign is a longer version of the

Cycle Day with Vehicle Free Zone stretching over a larger neighborhood and vehicle free

hours extended from 6 am to 9 pm is implemented. In Open Street events emphasis is also

laid on adoption of public transportation along with Non-Motorized transport. Currently two

such Open Street events have been carried out in Bengaluru.

12.52. However, as seen from the mode share in various cities, cycling mode share in

cities other than Bengaluru and Mangalore still ranges between 7% and 14%. For these cities

to sustain or improve the mode share of cycling and walking, much needs to be done in terms

of creation of infrastructure and awareness, in addition having a coherent policy to promote

non-motorized transport.

Figure 26: Pictorial Views of Cycle Day and Open Street Events in Bengaluru

State of Public Transport Systems

12.53. The National Urban Transport Policy (2004) emphasizes the need for cities to

adopt appropriate public transport systems such as bus services, BRTS, metro, etc. that are

appropriate to cater to the demand in the cities. The Table-12 provides guidance for selection

[21]

of appropriate public transport for cities based on the expected ridership and cost of

implementation.

Table-27: Indicative Costs and Capacity for Various Mass Transit Systems

System Cost (Rs. Crore)

Per Km

Max Capacity (PHPDT)

Metro (Elevated) 230 to 270 80,000

Metro (Underground) 350 to 400 80,000

Monorail 100 to 130 15,000- 20,000

LRT 90 to 150 15,000- 20,000

BRT 10 to 25 30,000

Bengaluru Metro Rail

12.54. In Karnataka, Bengaluru is the only city which has implemented metro rail

services. The BMRCL, agency responsible for implementing and operating metro in

Bengaluru, has fully commissioned the phase-1 metro line in June 2017 consisting of 42.3

km, which includes 8.8 km of underground line and 41 stations. The current ridership in

metro is about 3.4 lakh trips per day. The east-west line (purple line) carries about 56% of

the trips and the north-south line (green line) carries 44% of trips.

12.55. The phase-2 of metro for a length of 72 km is under implementation, which

includes extension of phase-1 line and two new lines (red line and yellow lines shown in

Figure 9). In addition another line (blue line) was approved for implementation in phase-2A

on the Outer Ring Road from Central Silk Board to KR Puram for a length of 17 km.

Table-28: Operational Details of Namma Metro in Bengaluru

Metro line & phases Length

(Km)

Status Daily Ridership

(2017)

Phase-1 3.4 lakh/day

North-south: Green Line 24.20 Operational 1.5 lakh/day

East-west: Purple line 18.22 Operational 1.9 lakh/ day

Phase-2

Extension of phase-1 lines 34.37 Under implementation NA

Line 3 18.82 Under implementation NA

Line 4 21.25 Under implementation NA

Phase-2A

ORR line 17.00 Under implementation NA

[22]

Figure 27: Line Diagram of Namma Metro

City Bus Services

12.56. City buses are opined to be the most efficient form of transport for cities due to

the array of passenger capacities that bus based systems cater to at an affordable cost when

compared to any other mass transit systems. In metropolitan cities, high capacity bus-based

systems (like BRTS) can cater to trunk services and normal buses can cater to short-haul

services and feeder services to other mass transit systems, whereas in non-metropolitan cities,

buses can act as backbone for city mobility.

12.57. Currently about 44 cities in Karnataka, including Bengaluru, have operational

organized city bus services, as shown in Table 14. This is a significant improvement from

2010, when only eight cities had organized bus-based public transport system. Induction of

bus-based public transport systems in these many cities between 2010 and 2017 has been

possible due to the financial impetus from JnNURM scheme of the Government of India and

dedicated State Urban Transport Fund instituted by the Government of Karnataka.

Table-29: Number of Buses Operational in Cities in Karnataka

Sl.

No. City Operator

No. of

Buses

Sl.

No. City Operator

No. of

Buses

1 Bengaluru BMTC 6,400 23 Koppal NEKRTC 24

[23]

3 Davangere KSRTC 20 25 Ganagavathi NEKRTC 25

4 Tumkur KSRTC 40 26 Raichur NEKRTC 51

5 Mandya KSRTC 25 27 Hospete NEKRTC 48

6 Kolar KSRTC 33 28 Sindhanur NEKRTC 20

7 Chamarajanagar KSRTC 5 29 Sedam NEKRTC 6

8 Chikkabalpura KSRTC 5 30 Gokak NWKRTC 10

9 Chikkamagalur KSRTC 10 31 Savadatti NWKRTC 10

10 Ramanagara KSRTC 20 32 Badami NWKRTC 18

12 Badravathi KSRTC 10 33 Bhatkal NWKRTC 20

13 Chitradurga KSRTC 10 34 Bailhongal NWKRTC 10

14 Shimogga KSRTC 20 35 Nippani NWKRTC 10

15 Mysore KSRTC 202

36

Hubli-

Dharwad NWKRTC 120

16 Mangalore KSRTC 48 37 Belgaum NWKRTC 50

17 Hassan KSRTC 35 38 Chikkodi NWKRTC 20

18 Kalaburagi NEKRTC 141 40 Bagalkot NWKRTC 20

19 Yadgir NEKRTC 24 41 Haveri NWKRTC 10

20 Vijyapur NEKRTC 89 42 Ranebennur NWKRTC 20

21 Ballari NEKRTC 54 43 Sirsi NWKRTC 20

22 Bidar NEKRTC 33 44 Karwar NWKRTC 20

12.58. In Bengaluru, buses comprise of only 2% of the total registered vehicles, but

cater to 42% of all trips in the city. The BMTC is one of the major public city bus operators

in Karnataka and caters to more than 5 million trips daily. The BMTC operates 6,400 buses

out of 44 depots. BMTC has three major bus stops and 10 Travel and Transit Management

Centres that cater to passengers with various passenger amenities like help desk, kiosks,

resting areas, park-and-ride facilities, eateries, etc. BMTC has various services such as

Suvarna, Pushpak, Big 10, Big Circle, Atal Sarige, Vajra, Vayu Vajra, Metro Feeder, etc.,

which help BMTC to cater to different classes of commuters. Vajra and Vayu Vajra are air-

conditioned services, where Vajra services IT hubs and other employment centres and Vayu

NEKRTC operates bus services in 7 districts in Karnataka. Prior to

receiving financial support from SUTF and JnNURM schemes (before

2011-12), NEKRTC served only 3 cities with 72 buses and 576 trips.

However, with the impetus from SUTF and JnNURM, NEKRTC was able

to scale up operations in 11 cities by 2015 with 479 buses and 4,365

trips. With increased services, occupancy ratio in buses went up from

55% in 2011 to 82% in 2015. It was also reported that about 50% of

users were those who were otherwise using autos, two-wheelers and cars.

Enhancement of city bus services by NEKRTC is roughly estimated to

have resulted in reduction of 7 lakh liters of gasoline consumption per

year in the region.

[24]

Vajra provides connectivity to Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport. Atal Sarige

and Suvarna are ordinary services providing cost effective options to commuters. Big 10 and

Big Circle services are directional services which ply on 12 major radial arterials and the ring

roads respectively.

12.59. The BMTC also takes up awareness initiatives like Bus Day, which began in the

year 2010 and observed on the 4th

day of every month since then to encourage more people to

use buses. Ambient air quality measurements on the Bus Day and non-Bus Days carried out

by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board indicate that level of various pollutants SO2,

NOx, RSPM, CO, etc. did decrease on Bus Day, which re-affirms the premise that mode shift

to buses helps in improving air quality levels in cities.

12.60. To improve safety of women commuters, BMTC has piloted various initiatives

like panic buttons (Durga buttons) in few of the services and women only services in some

routes.

Bus Rapid Transit System in Hubli-Dharwad

12.61. Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) is a bus based system with priority lanes that

can be fully dedicated to buses. The BRTS is suitable where public transport demand is high

and low cost high capacity systems are required. BRTS distinguishes from the normal buses

by providing quicker services and better passenger convenience such as level-boarding,

passenger information, access controlled bus stations, seamless ticketing, etc. BRTS aims to

attract more commuters towards bus transport.

12.62. The first Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in the State of Karnataka is being

implemented on a stretch of 22.25 km between the twin cities of Hubli and Dharwad. The

system is planned to consist of four lanes dedicated for BRTS and four lanes for general

vehicular movement with 4m of median space for about 16kms, where 44m RoW is available

and the remaining length where 35m RoW is available would have three lanes of dedicated

BRTS lanes and four lanes for general vehicular movement.

[25]

Figure 28: 44m section of Hubli-Dharwad BRTS Under Construction

12.63. The BRTS would be operated with 130 new buses and another 120 new buses

providing feeder services to BRTS. All the 250 buses are diesel buses of BS-IV specification.

Out of the current ridership between Hubli and Dharwad, 83,000 trips per day are catered by

NWKRTC and an additional 40,000 trips per day are catered by a private operator. The

NWKRTC services between Hubli-Dharwad operated 683 departures on 41 routes. However

the proposed BRTS services, which would replace the existing NWKRTC services between

Hubli and Dharwad and also the private operator services, are expected to cater to about 1.8

lakh trips with about 20% savings in vehicle-km travelled. The BRTS in Hubli-Dharwad is

expected to be operational by January 2018.

Figure 29: BRTS Articulated Buses Procured in Hubi-Dharwad

Suburban Rail System for Bengaluru

12.64. With the roads in Bengaluru getting congested, it is necessary to look at

alternate mass transit modes that would not occupy existing road space. Sub-Urban Rail

services are critical for providing a sustainable mode of mass public transport in the city of

Bengaluru.

[26]

12.65. Bengaluru has a rail network of about 440 km connecting nearby cities, which

can be potentially explored for running suburban rail services.

Sl.

No.

From To Distance (km)

1 Bangalore Mandya 92.88

2 Bangalore Yesvantpur 5.35

3 Yesvantpur Tumkur 64.00

4 Yesvantpur Yelahanka 12.45

5 Yelahanka Baiyyappanahalli 19.23

6 Yesvantpur Baiyyappanahalli 16.12

7 Yelahanka Dodballapur 20.72

8 Yelahanka Chikballapur 46.05

9 Baiyyappanahalli Hosur 48.59

10 Bangalore Bangarapet 70.21

11 Soldevanhalli Kunigal 45.2

Total 440.8 Figure 30 Available Rail Network in Benagluru

12.66. A feasibility study prepared for the Directorate of Urban Land Transport in

2014 recommends implementation of Suburban Rail in Bengaluru in a phased manner. It was

also recommended that a small subset of immediate activities can be taken up as Phase 1A of

Suburban Rail implementation. The corridors identified to be taken up under Phase 1A are:

i. Bangalore - Mysore sector;

ii. Bangalore - Bangarpet sector;

iii. Bangalore - Tumkur sector;

iv. International Airport Connectivity in Bangalore City.

12.67. The DPR for implementation of Phase 1A of Suburban Rail in Bengaluru

prepared in 2016 estimates cost of implementation as Rs. 2427 Cr. There is an existing usage

of passenger trains to cater to inter-urban services around Bangalore. The DPR for Suburban

rail for Bengaluru indicates that about 1.2 lakh passengers utilized train services daily making

inter-zonal trips around Bengaluru in the year 2013-14 and it is estimated that with the

implementation of Phase 1A, Suburban rail system would be able to attract about 3 lakh

passengers daily.

Table-30: Existing Passenger Train Utilization in Bengaluru for Commuting

Sections Passenger traffic (person/day)

Bengaluru - Bangarapete 82,372

Bengaluru - Doddaballapur 603

Bengaluru - Mysuru 23,736

Bengaluru - Tumakuru 13,826

Bengaluru - Hosur 1,563

Total 1,22,099

12.68. Discussions are underway with the Ministry of Railways to start Suburban

services in the above sectors identified for Phase-1A. A Memorandum of Understanding

[27]

(MoU) was signed by the State with Ministry of Railways in January 2017 to take up

conversion of 15 pairs of conventional trains to Mainline Electric Multiple Unit (MEMU)

services and augmenting MEMU maintenance facilities at Banaswadi to facilitate suburban

rail services in the Bangalore-Mysore, Bangalore-Bangarapete and Bangalore-Hindupur on a

80:20 cost sharing basis between Government of Karnataka and Ministry of Railways.

12.69. However, with increasing public demand for suburban rail services, the South

Western Railways have commenced a MEMU service between Bengaluru Central to

Ramangara in January 2017 and subsequently the South Western Railways have commenced

a new service between Baiyapanahalli and Whitefield in July 2017 to cater to the needs of IT

and ITES employees of the region as Metro Phase-2 works are commencing, which would

further worsen road traffic situation on this stretch.

Figure 31: Suburban MEMU Service inaugurated in Bengaluru

State of Intelligent Transport Systems

ITS in City Bus Transport

12.70. Intelligent Transport System solutions were first explored in Mysore city

services by KSRTC (MITRA) by deploying automatic vehicle location systems (AVLS) in

about 500 buses and Passenger Information System (PIS) in bus stops, inside the buses,

commuter portal, etc. with assistance from World Bank. A central command centre was also

established for monitoring of the buses. MITRA served as an example for ITS deployments

in public city bus services.

Figure 32: Control Centre in KSRTC Mysuru (MITRA)

[28]

12.71. Similarly, the BMTC has taken steps to develop an integrated ITS solution to

improve bus service operations and passenger convenience, which is one of the first of its

kind for urban bus transport system in the country. The ITS implementation is focused on

three aspects: Vehicle Tracking System, Passenger Information System and Electronic

Ticketing System.

12.72. The Vehicle Tracking System consists of GPS based vehicle tracking units that

are mounted on all the buses, which transmit location data to the ITS server located in

Command Control Centre. The Command Control Centre is a 20 seater facility with an

integrated video wall that is used to monitor buses against their schedule and manage

incidents through 2-way communication to buses.

Figure 33: ITS Implementation in BMTC

12.73. The Electronic Ticketing System consists of GPRS enabled handheld ETMs,

which are EMV compliant. The system also consists of a depot application for carrying out

various backend activities in the depot such as generation of waybill, creation of duty rota,

vehicle-schedule mapping, auditing, etc. In order to make mobility seamless for commuters,

BMTC is also introducing smart cards and is currently in the pilot testing phase.

Figure 34: Electronic Ticketing System Implemented in BMTC

12.74. The Passenger Information Systems consist of PIS boards that display real time

information on current bus location and estimated time of arrival (ETA) at bus stops based on

the data obtained from the vehicle tracking units. BMTC has also launched a mobile

application that can provide passenger information like locating buses on a map with ETA,

locating buses along a route, trip planner, etc.

[29]

Figure 35: Passenger Information Systems in BMTC

12.75. State-of-art and comprehensive bundle of Intelligent Transport System (ITS) is

under implementation to facilitate convenient and secure BRTS operations in Hubli-

Dharwad, which includes Intelligent Transit Management System (ITMS), Passenger Screen

Doors (PSD) and Adaptive Traffic Control System (ATCS). The various ITMS modules

shall be used for automatic fare collection (using flap gates at all stations and terminals;

ETMs on feeder buses; smart card for user access), vehicle location tracking, information

dissemination, depot & terminal management and incident management. All ITMS

equipment shall be connected to central control centre using dedicated optical fiber network.

In order to facilitate prioritized movement of BRTS buses at junctions, ATCS are being

deployed at all the junctions. ATCS would not only facilitate unhindered bus movement at

junctions, but also minimize the delays at junctions by appropriately changing the green time

for all approaches of a junction by capturing the demand in real-time. This state-of-art ITS is

expected to provide enhanced convenience to users in terms of real-time information of

buses, seamless integration of BRTS and city bus services, convenient ticketing system,

quick end-to-end service, etc.

ITS for Traffic Management

12.76. B-TRAC was an initiative of the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) to implement

technology (ITS) to improve traffic management and enforcement on Bengaluru roads. B-

TRAC was implemented in five phases from 2006 to 2011 with an allocated budget of Rs.

352 Cr. Major components of B-TRAC included creating of a traffic management centre

(TMC), CCTV camera installations at 179 junctions, installation of 5 over speed cameras,

variable message signs at 20 locations, traffic signals that can be remotely controlled from

TMC, e-challan system, vehicle database, etc.

[30]

Figure 36: ITS Implementation by Bengaluru Traffic Police

ITS Master Plan for Bengaluru & Mysore

12.77. In 2015, the Directorate of Urban Land Transport with technical assistance from

JICA has prepared a Master Plan for implementation of ITS in Bengaluru and Mysore with a

view to ensuring that various ITS deployments by various agencies are well integrated for

overall mobility improvement and systems deployed are inter-operable. Some

recommendations of the ITS Master Plan include creation of a central Bengaluru Traffic

Information Centre (B-TIC), which would analyze data from various sources such as BMTC

vehicle information data, traffic sensors, etc. and provide useful travel information to

transport agencies and commuters. ITS Master Plan for Bengaluru also recommends creation

of a state-level clearing house for implementation of common mobility card and adoption of

adaptive areas traffic control systems for efficient operations at junctions. For demand

management measures, the ITS Master Plan for Bengaluru proposed implementation of

integrated parking management and Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) scheme in the central

business districts of Bengaluru.

Smart Cities

12.78. Seven cities in Karnataka (Belagavi, Davangere, Tumakuru, Mangaluru,

Shivamogga, Huballi and Bengaluru) have also been identified as Smart Cities in phases 1

and 2 by the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India. The Smart Cities obtain

funding from MoUD to a tune of Rs. 500 Cr. for planning and deployment of various

technologies to address issues such as traffic congestion, enforcement, parking, etc., among

tackling other urban issues in those cities.

Need for emerging intervention areas

Data Driven Policies

12.79. The sections above highlight state-of-affairs of certain sustainable initiatives in

urban areas with a premise that such initiatives would have less adversities on the

[31]

environment. There are certain limited observations which tend to validate such a premise;

however, extensive monitoring and studies that could quantify the extent to which such

presumed benefits are achievable is not practiced in the eco system of urban transport sector.

If such quantification of the benefits of various possible sustainable interventions are built in

the framework of transport planning, it would be possible to develop a more comprehensive

policy for sustainable urban transport development that could be context sensitive to the

needs of different cities. Such objective policies would also help cities to better monitor and

manage the progress and course of their plans.

Coherent Policy Making

12.80. Urban transport systems planning and decision making has many facets like

vehicle technology, fuel technology, travel demand and behavior, financing, institutions, etc.

There could be policies, which directly influence on or other facets of the system or there

could be indirect policies that impact on the system facets such as land use policies, etc.

Currently, policies that exist contradict the outcome of the shape and form of transport

systems; for example, while NUTP stresses on NMT and public transport, the industrial

policies are tending to make cars cheaper and hence affordable for owning. Such

contradictions should be ironed out by having overarching policies such as those pertaining to

safeguarding environment or climate change.

Other Action Directives

Adoption of less Polluting Vehicles and Fuel Technology

Recognizing the need for more interventions to mitigate transport related pollution, the

State of Karnataka has taken an initiative to come up with “Electric Vehicle and Battery

Storage Policy (EV Policy)” for the state in 2017. The EV policy of the state clearly lays

a road map for significant conversion of public transport vehicles, freight vehicles and

personal motor vehicles to electric by 2030. The policy also identifies and facilitates the

infrastructure that would be required to achieve such goals by easing the setup of electric

vehicle manufacturing plants, setting of charging units, etc.

While the EV conversion, if realized, may significantly reduce the emission pollutants on

roads and engine noise pollution from vehicles, much needs to be done to curtail the

compounding growth of motorized vehicles on roads to ensure that on-road dust and

noise pollution from honking, etc. are under acceptable limits.

Achieving Greater Mode-share in Mass Transit/Public Transport

The draft RMP 2031 for Bengaluru projects that the population of Bengaluru is expected

to double in the next 15 years and number of trips in the city would triple in the same

time. A modeling exercise carried for preparation of the draft RMP 2031 indicates that

the total vehicle-km of travel in Bengaluru is expected to increase by 205% from 2015 to

2031 if no demand constraining measures are put in place. RMP 2031 also projects that if

no significant interventions are taken to curtail motorized transport demand on roads, the

total daily emissions of CO and NOx could increase by 157% and 152% respectively

from 2015 to 2031. It is imperative for such fast urbanizing cities in Karnataka to plan

for sustainable mobility options and improve the infrastructure and built environment for

non-motorized modes also with dense network of mass transit systems for cities to be

liveable and continue to be economically competitive in the future.

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The Comprehensive Traffic and Transport Plan for Bengaluru [CTTP Bengaluru]

proposes more than 200 km of metro network by 2031 to be operationalized for

Bengaluru and also to implement other mass transit like suburban rail, BRTS, monorail,

etc., to be able to cater to increasing travel demand. This requirement for extensive mass

transit has been reiterated in the draft RMP 2031 for Bengaluru.

JnNURM and the State Urban Transport Fund (SUTF) have provided a significant

impetus for improving or introducing public bus services in many non-metro cities as is

evident from the fact that only 8 cities had organized public transport before 2010, which

currently stands at 44 cities. Smaller cities, where high-capacity mass transit may not be

required in the near future should focus on other low capacity transit such as efficient bus

services with extensive coverage, so that reliance on private vehicular modes is reduced.

Safety of women in public transport is also a key concern for more women to adopt use of

public transport. The BMTC has introduced pilot bus services on selected routes that are

exclusive for women. KSRTC had also issued circulars to its staff to sensitize the staff on

ensuring safety of women travelers and extending courteous behavior towards women.

However, with women workforce increasing over the years and requirement of women in

certain industries to work beyond late evenings, it is essential that more focus needs to be

laid in ensuring that women feel safe in using public transport at all times of the day. It is

recommended that women only services should be extended on all public transport routes,

including providing women only compartments in metro services, women only feeder

buses/vans that provide last mile connectivity to metro users. Having more representation

of women workforce in buses (as conductors), metro (as wardens, etc.) and drivers of

mini buses/taxi/autos, etc. that provide last mile connectivity would further help in

increasing perceived safety for women to adopt public transport.

Promoting Environment for Walking and Cycling

Last mile connectivity and short distance trips are normally not well served by mass

transit hence such trips should be well facilitated through non-motorized modes like

walking and cycling. Such measures would ensure that commuters do not require to use

motorized two-wheelers and cars to reach mass transit stations and would in-turn help

reduce pollution and also recover valuable spaces that otherwise get occupied by parked

vehicles. These open urban spaces should be converted to breathable green oasis for

urban living.

Introduction of Deterrent Mechanisms to Induce Mode shift from Private

Vehicles to Public Transport

While creating good public transport infrastructure and multimodal integration is essential

for people to rely on sustainable transport for their commute, it may also be necessary to

introduce push mechanisms that deter people from using private vehicle means in order to

achieve desired more share of public/mass transport. In this regard, demand management

measure such as priced public parking should be introduced in cities, including tier-II

cities. In metropolitan cities like Bengaluru, more stringent measures like congestion

pricing in commercial areas should be introduced. A model based study estimates that

introduction of congestion pricing in central area of Bengaluru can reduce the distance

travelled by car and two-wheeler in the city by 25% and 28% respectively [Ashish

Verma, 2013]. Consequently the distance travelled by buses can increase by 16%.

Another study by DULT [ITS MP, 2015], estimates that by introduction of congestion

pricing in central areas, peak hour trips can get distributed to non-peak hours thus

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improving peak hour travel conditions and may even deter people from making non-

essential trips. Other mechanisms to restrict private vehicle usage like alternate odd and

even number vehicle usage, etc. can be adopted by cities to reduce adverse impacts of

mobility on the environment.

Integrated Planning of Transport Services and Land use

Success of ensuring commuters to change travel behavior and shift from cars and two-

wheelers to using public transport or for people to adopt cycling for last mile connectivity

rests in the level of integration between modes of transport so that there is end-to-end

seamless connectivity for commuters. Integration between various modes should be

achieved through physical connectivity of stations, integration of ticketing and

interoperability of technology (ITS). Push mechanism for mode shift to sustainable modes

from cars and two-wheelers is essential and should go hand in-hand with other

sustainable development initiatives. Land use also significantly influences the way

people move, sprawled cities tend to depend on private modes for mobility as providing

network of mass transit becomes less feasible as compared to dense compact

developments. Similarly, mixed land use tends to decrease trip lengths and makes

sustainable modes like walking and cycling more do-able. Hence cities should take up

integrated planning of transport and land use to achieve sustainable mobility

requirements.

Continuous Awareness for Citizens on Sustainable Commuting

In addition to promoting sustainable infrastructure in cities, it also important to create

greater awareness among public on choices of mode they can opt for commuting (like use

of public transport, carpooling, cycling, use of electric vehicles, etc.) and carbon

footprints they leave when using different commuting modes, which in the long-term are

necessary to bring about behavioral changes in commuters.