We can better understand the transport and traffic crisis in India through the lens of Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, James Robinson who have just won the Nobel prize in economics
They have shown that high technology does not necessarily bring progress, it can have negative consequences for many people.
This is what we should remember in the light of the gross failure of the Metro rail in Mumbai, its bad management has become obvious to even ordinary people who were earlier dazzled by the high technology.
When the authorities do not even provide basic amenities to facilitate the approach and exit to Metro stations, even a high technology is bound to fail.That is what has happened to Metro line 3 recently opened by Prime Minister Modi.
Reaching Bandra Kurla complex Metro station or coming out of it can be a life threatening experience. Not just the Metro authorities, others must take the blame for the disastrous state of affairs. This is what we get after all the humiliation we were subjected to by Metro rail operations for years, the monstrous traffic jams the huge losses to BEST bus network because its services were affected.
This is the situation a few days after prime Minister Modi inaugurated the Metro 3 link now connecting BKC with Aarey colony JVLR station.
One takes a bus from the east side of Bandra station and get down at Income tax bus stop which is almost opposite the BKC metro station on the other side of the main carriage way the Bandra kurla road with continuous heavy traffic. There is simply no way you can cross the road to the station without a serious threat of injury or death. There is no traffic junction. It could have been easily provided.
The nightmare starts from the time you step out of the bus and try to walk to the point some distance away. The footpath to that point is completely closed so you have to walk with heavy traffic coming from behind you which is deadly, you have to be on guard constantly.
Then the crossing point. There is no signal so you have to dodge any number of vehicles to reach the middle of the main road and then go through a similar nightmare to the other side. There is no signage anywhere near the bus stop or on the other side about the location of the BKC station. You have to keep asking or refer to your mobile phone, many do not have a mobile phone and in any case the Metro is not affordable for ordinary people.
The trains were nearly empty, I saw during my two journeys , to Terminal T 2 and back. There was not a single ordinary person, all well to do. The usual rush of merry makers one saw on the opening days of the Andheri-Borivli stretch have been conspicuous by their absence, clearly because even other stations on this stretch are not easy to access.
Outside the BKC station there is no one to guide you , no signage. Much humiliation and inconvenience awaits you. No lift, escalator is visible so you walk deep down many steps, then find a board which says the lift is not working, it is working from another point. By then it is too late.
Outside T 2 metro station there is no signage absolutely about how to reach the airport, luckily and surprisingly, it is not too far, one can walk there.
There is a stinking nallah with much garbage stuck inside but at least the water is not stagnant. Surprisingly,, there were some lovely egret birds on a plant.
The metro stations are utterly drab, sterile, no colour , all one sees is the technology that went into building the Metro, as if that is something to boast about as if it does not exist anywhere. No murals, no pictures of the city , nothing, lacklustre comparing even to other metro stations in India. And to think that the Moscow metro is an absolute beauty. One can understand the constraints in Mumbai but blaming the Aarey agitation for the delay is so patently wrong, unjustified, why then even now so many stations are not fully ready, escalators, lifts , toilets not functioning ?
On way back as one comes out of BKC Metro station, again death and injury stare at you. There is simply no safe way to come out safely to on the main road to get into a car, taxi auto or bus, no footpath, you have to walk on the busy carriageway with its crazily driven cars. There is no signage about the nearest bus stop. So after all the years of talk of last mile connectivity, not even basics have been provided.
The entire Metro 3 line after day long operations carried just 20,500 commuters. This is ludicrous, the authorities are making a laughing stock of themselves. It takes less than 25 BEST buses to carry thee many commuters in a day. And with all as many as eight cars or bogeys per train , so many trips and such poor numbers.
Also the claims of Metro all these years are proving so hollow. They claim this service is energy efficient. Let them give us basic facts. With such high energy used the whole day, it is carrying such few numbers.
There are multiple hollow claims. One of these is we are connecting the unconnected. This is so false, they seem to know nothing of our urban transport history , background.
BEST has been carrying for decades commuters over long long distances , for example from one distant Western suburb to another distant suburb on the eastern route.
It is clear that the Metro was simply not ready for the inauguration which such a major political election gimmick. One can understand glitches here and there. But how can a metro train come to a halt for half an hour as is happening some times in the last few days. And this is what we get from a brand new product.
Please, we deserve better.
In the long run the Metro rail may pick up, it will attract more people, it may even become crowded but that will require more planning and dedication. It will not help decongest traffic unless the government vastly improves the bus transport , facilities for pedestrians and reduces motor car use.
Vidyadhar Date is a senior journalist and author of the book Traffic in the era of climate change. Public Transport, walking, cycling need priority
