Sneek-A-Peek

The Problem

With each passing day, the traffic situation in Mumbai is worsening. Big traffic jams, accicents, parking woes, etc. Various solutions have been proposed to combat this problem.

Here's a slightly outdated statistical information on the traffic growth in Mumbai from 2005 to 2008. An annualised growth of 12%! That was 1.5 years ago, it has worsened further now.



This problem has been widely debated and discussed topic everywhere. I had the opportunity to be a part of it on two occasions, once on twitter and once during Raxit's session at BCM6. This prompted me to express my views on the topic on this blog.

Many solutions have been proposed to solve our traffic problems - promote public transport, improved road conditions, car pooling, levying of taxes in certain zones, allowing different vehicles on odd and even numbered days.

Preferred Solution

Public transport is the most viable solution, according to me. I am basing this on certain assumptions

• Only road transport is covered


• The scenario described is that of Mumbai, it may or may not apply to other places

Reasons

1. Less Congestion: Mass means of transport like buses and trains can carry higher number of passengers in lesser space compared to vehicles like cars and bikes.


2. Reusability: Once a person reaches their destination, the same space can be taken up by somebody else. Thus, there's resusability of the same space. In case of private vehicles the space lies vacant till used again.


3. Space Saving: Since public transport is reusable, we need a lower number of public transport vehicles. Also, that mass means of transport can fit in more people per area. This leads to saving of space for parking and while plying the vehicles on the road.
   
4. Flexibility of Timing: As compared to other options like car pooling, public transport is much more flexible with respect to time. Trains are much faster over longer distances, over shorter distances cabs and autorickshaws can take you to your destination as quickly.


5. Lower Total Cost: Mass transport options like buses and trains are cheaper to travel. Though, cabs and rickshaws may sound expensive, when considered with option of sharing it becomes cheaper. Add to that, the cost of maintenance is to be borne by the vehicle owner unlike public transport.

My Story

But, there are reasons why I use public transport lesser:

• Is much less fun unless when travelling in a big group over longer distances.


• Going out and exploring some nice places is better done in your cycle, bike, car as compared to public transport


• Going out biking with a group of friends once in a while is a must.


• Trains and buses are too crowded, which makes me choose my 2 wheeler over those.


Still, I tend to balance between using public transport and my bicycle (now that my bike is stolen), though I tend much more heavily towards my bicycle.

The 6th edition of our favourite unconference – BarCamp Mumbai will be held on Sunday, October 11th, 2009 at S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research.


BarCamp Mumbai is an ad-hoc gathering of people born from the desire to share and learn in an open environment. It is an event with discussions, demos and interaction from participants.

BarCamp Mumbai is in essence a conference without a pre-set agenda. We prefer the term ‘unconference’ actually. A bunch of smart people meet up over the weekend, put up a schedule on a wall and spend the rest of their time taking up sessions and discussions with each other. There is no audience. Only participants.

So host a session, help out with planning, ask questions, spread the word- Everybody is invited. There really are no walls – or rules for that matter!

You can register your attendance for the event at http://bcm6.eventbrite.com. If you wish to speak, you can register your topic at http://barcampmumbai.org/register.

Looking forward to meeting you there!

Address:

Sunday, October 11th, 2009.
S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research,
Bhavans College Campus,
Munshi Nagar, Dadabhai Nagar Road,
Andheri West,
Mumbai

You can find more details on how to reach there on the website.

Curious about the last BarCamp in Mumbai? Check out photographs, and the newspaper coverage from previous barcamps: Photos and News.