ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

Articles by Akshima T GhateSubscribe to Akshima T Ghate

Achieving Sustainable Mobility

Do Indian cities need to jump into demand management for addressing urban transport woes or do we need to focus on the basics of sustainable mobility principles that target increased supply and quality of walking, cycling and public transport? Using the experiences of the cities that have experimented with similar TDM measures and Census of India's latest data on how urban population travels to work, the article makes the argument for a sustainable mobility strategy for Indian cities which targets retaining the high modal shares of walking, cycling and public transport in Indian cities.

Accidents and Road Safety

Among all countries, India has the highest number of deaths due to road traffic-related accidents. Road accidents are the sixth leading cause of death in the country, and there were nearly 1,40,000 deaths from road accidents in 2012. Despite being a major public health issue that affects the most vulnerable and also the most productive sections of society, road safety has not received the attention it deserves. This paper discusses how the government has not recognised road safety as a key mobility, health, and equity issue, and has been slow in enacting legislation to establish the institutional mechanisms to promote it.

Can We Reduce the Rate of Growth of Car Ownership?

The average level of ownership of cars in India, currently 13 per 1,000 population, is expected to grow exponentially. Estimating the average level of ownership in 2025 at 35 per 1,000, this article points out that the growing number of cars has serious implications for energy security, air pollution, road safety, and equitable allocation of road space, and argues that there is an urgent need for India to learn from the experiences of cities that have decoupled car ownership from economic growth, and reduce the rate of growth of car ownership in India.

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