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| The fast changing world of transport: Thinking the unthinkable! | | | Dr. Pragya Khanna | 12/27/2019 10:51:58 PM |
| Today, as I sat reading the Newspaper, I came across a number of advertisements featuring new-fangled models of cars and motorbikes. The images brought a nous of surprise and admiration on the fast development of transport and related technology giving an impetus to our country to move ahead with the same zeal as of developed nations.
From good old days of bullock cart, horse carriage, and hand-pulled rickshaws to modern railways, bus transits, metros and aircrafts, the transport system in India has come a long way. The goal definitely was to move passengers faster, in greater quantities, safely and efficiently that remains the core motivation to improve transport technology till today.
Indian cities are continuously reshaping themselves to face the modern day transportation challenges. In the short 200 years since the introduction of mechanized transportation, the capacity, speed, efficiency and geographical coverage of transport systems has improved dramatically. Although, the history of transportation began from the start of the human era and continued to change over a period of time, transportation history took a drastic change with the introduction of wheels.
Today the different types of transportation in existence are land transport, railways, water transport, air transport and space travel. It is understood that entire economic, social and political life of a modern country depends upon an efficient system of transport. The economic impact of transportation projects can be measured in the benefits they bring to economic growth, job creation, trade facilitation, and the economies of scale created. When transportation improvements increase the accessibility of people and businesses to reach jobs, services, goods, and activities, productivity also increases. This may be due to reduced travel time and infrastructure enhancements, because the labour market temporally is brought closer to their places of work due to improved travel time, businesses experience gains in worker productivity. Another economic benefit of transportation improvements is the resulting larger pool of employees available for the job market. This may come from a new transit or commuter rail line that makes it possible for employees to reach previously inaccessible jobs. Or, road improvements may decrease employees' travel time by car or bus. Overall, employers can better match employees with appropriate jobs based on the job requirements and employees' skills. New rail, subway, and Metro lines attract new development, residential and commercial providing businesses and passengers with more options to earn and spend their money. By improving access, enhanced transportation projects positively affect the economic impact of metropolitan areas. Transportation, as one of the key costs of producing goods and services, is a major contributor to productivity levels. There are some who claim that ecommerce is the driving force of economic success, making transportation a less critical component, however, most people still use transportation to either spend money or make money, both of which drive the economy.
However, with the increased use of transport systems, it has become common for parts of the network to be used above design capacity. Congestion is the outcome of such a situation with its associated costs, delays and waste of energy which can now be seen everywhere. In order to attain sustainable development with respect to transport systems, the promotion of linkages between environmental protection, economic efficiency and social progress is a must. We must ponder over this if we are to make a real progress without destroying our environment and our health and that of our future generations.
Automobile dependence is a situation that is often related to an unsustainable urban environment. Today, we find ourselves being so much dependent on vehicles even for petty distances. The reasons can be many, however, such an observation is at odd with the mobility choice and preferences of the global population where the automobile is rapidly adopted when income levels reach a certain threshold. Transportation infrastructure should be expanded to accommodate rapidly growing transport demands. As long as the global urban population continues to grow, particularly in developing economies, there are pressures to expand urban transport infrastructures and well as infrastructure supporting global commercial interactions.
Leaving aside everything else let me concentrate on the development that has taken place in the realm of transport. Owing to its importance and need, transportation is the backbone of any system, organization or nation. The world is progressing and so is India. Although, back in time Kolkata was the first city to have underground mass transit system in India, the trend has now changed and other cities have taken a lead in the metro rail race. All major cities in India are now developing a metro rail system, a story which began with Delhi Metro.
Delhi's Metro system is the world's 12th largest metro system in terms of length. Around 2,000 trips run with an interval of between 1-2 minutes between trains at peak hours and 4-10 minutes at non-peak hours, daily. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is the first metro rail and rail-based system in the world to get carbon credits for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as it helps reduce pollution levels in the city by 6,30,000 tonne every year, according to the United Nations. More cities such as Mumbai, Chennai, Jaipur, and Bengaluru have started their own metro rail services, others like Lucknow, Hyderabad, Pune, and Kochi are in the queue.
With the growing purchasing power of India's middle-class, air travel is now within any ones reach. Air travel is safer, faster, and gives value for money. It also reduces the pressure from our roads. Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport has been recently planned to handle a nearly 100 million passengers from the existing 40 million passengers.
Buses cater to about more than half of any city's total population. That's why now cities are bringing eco-friendly buses that emit fewer pollutants.
Nothing can be considered more futuristic than the plan of the Government of India aiming to connect 37 rivers in India, so that the water-surplus rivers could be dammed, and the extra flow can be diverted to rivers that could use it. Nearly 30 canals, 50-100 meters in width, will be spread around 15,000 kilometres. Newly created network of canals will open new routes of water navigation, which is generally more efficient and cheaper compared to road transport.
Moreover, with India's growing information technology sector, we will soon see drones flying over our heads to parcel our goods. This new technology can have a huge impact in terms of pollution control, time saving, and less human interference.
If facts are to be seen in the right perspective, we must agree that despite cities lacking funds, population growth will continue; the World Health Organization expects 7 out of 10 people on the planet will live in cities by mid-century. Coupled with climate change concerns, cities leaders must start rethinking the very nature of existing transportation systems.
And Lo! New transportation technologies are emerging to meet these challenges, including connected and autonomous vehicles, alternative fuels, keyless fleet management and traffic analytics, as well as local zoning and planning policies that support transit-oriented development. New technology for on-road communications will dramatically change how vehicles operate and provide information and capabilities for better, real-time traffic management, if the necessary network infrastructure is in place.
The purpose of 'ITS' is to process and share information that can prevent vehicle collisions, keep traffic moving and reduce environmental impacts. Perhaps, the most anticipated element of ITS is the connected vehicle. Connected technology focuses on wireless communication: vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), collectively referred to as V2X. Intended primarily to improve safety, V2V technology allows cars to continually communicate to the vehicles around them so each are aware of the others' speed, heading and direction. Connected vehicles also help in recognizing and alerting drivers to dangerous situations. By adding communication points in hazardous road areas and intersections, V2I technology extends crash-reduction capabilities by allowing automatic control of signal timing, speed management, and operation of transit and commercial vehicles.
A different but related technology is that of autonomous vehicles, perhaps the most famous example of which is the Google self-driving car. Autonomous cars use a combination of LIDAR (similar to sonar but with laser light), GPS, optical cameras and big-time processing power to analyse millions of possible roadway scenarios and then take the appropriate action. The ultimate goal for autonomous vehicle technology is to make the vehicle so intelligent that no driver input is needed.
While such innovative technologies may take a while to reach our country, however, even today if you buy a new car, you're getting a preview of how driving will change as we move into the era of autonomous, connected vehicles. Features that help you park the car in a tight spot, automatically adjust cruise control speeds and sound an alert when the car drifts out of its lane are examples of technology now offered by automakers. All this reflects upon the greater dimensions that transportation across the globe is targeting for.
Although, having an insight into the revolutionary history of transportation, the one that has enhanced the quality of life at social, political and economic levels, one may assume new emerging trends in transportation systems in India will decongest the ever growing traffic in cities, make nature less vulnerable to pollutants and boost the Indian economy at large, still, anticipating future transport trends is very hazardous since technology is a factor that historically created paradigm shifts and is likely to do so again in the future with unforeseen consequences. Let's hope for the best as science and technology continues to grow and is always prepared to expunge hurdles as they ascend. |
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