The BJP has scored a big if questionable win in the just held legislative assembly elections in Maharahtra. But the state administration has scored a self goal or shot itself in the foot when it comes to it boasts about so called modern, high technology and urban transport with the miserable failure of its hobby horse the Metro rail network in Mumbai.
The Metro was touted as a technology marvel and the actual result has blown into the authorities’ face. It has failed on every front so far, even the ticket buying app has failed, train doors have not opened, major security concerns have arisen with frequent breakdowns underground, rain water dripping in, fire breaking out and so on.
Technology cannot be the real solution, it has to be used properly and there have to be reforms in other sectors. The more outrageous part is that the government while pampering the Metro has starved the BEST bus undertaking, the lifeline of Mumbai, which carries over 30 lakh commuters per day the Metro carries a very small figure. So the more important issue is the right choice of transport mode, not whether the technology is new or old..
That is why the conference on urban transport with heavy emphasis on technology organised by the CEPT university in Ahmedabad on November 27 was so ill timed and shows such inadequate understanding of urban transport. A pity this is happening in a university producing transport and urban planners. This is not too surprising considering the heavy influence being wielded by technology companies and other corporate interests in what are supposed to be independent centres of learning. Leveraging technology for urban mobility is the theme.
Let us turn to technology expert,Paris Marx, author of the book Road to nowhere What silicon valley gets wrong about the future of transport. He argues for example that electric vehicles (EVs) are not the best solution to climate change.The focus should be on rethinking mobility in general, rather than replacing every car with an electric one. He believes that to make a real difference, we need to:
- Have fewer cars
- Have smaller cars
- Invest in public transit, cycling, and walkable cities
According to a 2017 MIT study, traffic congestion could be dramatically reduced by changing how we maintain distance between vehicles. The research suggests that if drivers kept equal spacing between the cars ahead and behind them – similar to how birds maintain formation when flying – road traffic could move almost twice as fast.
This finding highlights how human driving behaviors, particularly tailgating, contribute significantly to traffic jams. By adopting a more balanced spacing approach inspired by nature, we could potentially make our commutes much more efficient without needing any new car.
The book Road to Nowhere by Marx exposes the problems with tech’s visions of the future and argues that we cannot allow ourselves to be continually distracted by technological fantasies that delay the collective solutions we already know are effective. Technological solutions to social problems and the people who propose them must be challenged if we are to build cities and transportation systems which serve the public good.
In response, Paris Marx offers a vision for a more collective way of organizing transportation systems which considers the needs of poor, marginalized, and vulnerable peoples. The book also argues that rethinking mobility can be the first step in a broader reimagining of how we organize our social, economic, and political systems to serve the many, not the few.
In a new book, Nobel prize winning economists Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson provide a sweeping historical overview of just how unevenly the spoils and costs of technological change have been distributed. Power and Progress: Our 1,000-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity reminds us that technology is not itself a force but rather a tool that is developed to support the agendas of the people and institutions who hold power in society. Claiming a fair share of technology’s benefits for the rest of society — that is, for most of humanity — requires that that power be challenged.
The motor car has proved to be another false symbol of modernity. Its overproduction and dominance of urban life has made a mess of many of the cities of the world. Cities like Paris are taking strong measures to reduce car use, promote public transport, bicycles while our authorities are in league with the car lobby and ruining our lives.
Vidyadhar Date is a senior journalist and author of a book on public transport
