My City My Responsibility - Role of Transportation for all

Dear All, 

Transport under SDGs

Last year, we collected a few citizens' perspectives on certain issues related to Urban Sustainability. These included Housing, Transport, Governance or Peoples Participation, Heritage (both Cultural and Natural), Waste management and Air pollution, Disaster Risk Assessment and Green Open Spaces. For relating it to a broader vision, we used the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework especially the SDG 11 which deals with making cities and settlements sustainable. We compiled all citizens inputs and formed the Citizens Charter for Sustainable Pune. In our event on Citizens Charter and Action Agenda for Sustainable Pune we shared the same document with all of you. On analyzing all the Citizen inputs, we realized that if these inputs are put up as actionable points it will be a good guideline to follow by all.

Last week we saw actionable points on Housing, below are the points from Sustainable Transport perspective as guidelines at individual, community and governance level. 

Kindly note that we all are facing impacts of increasing air pollution, rapidly changing climate and urbanization. Provision of inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable transport will definitely play a major role in lowering the emissions generated substantially due to transport. This will help in mitigating the impacts at local as well as global level. All we need is individual as well collective actions at all levels. 

Individual level

• Analyse or consider if there is a need to buy a new vehicle. 
• Adhere to basic traffic rules and speed limits.
• Ensure your protection by using required safety gears.
• Ensure timely and proper maintenance of your vehicle in order to ensure better fuel efficiency. 
• Understand the importance of PUC norms, and ensure that your vehicle emissions are within the norms. 
• Ask for information on PUC norms and its importance. 
• Practice lane discipline. 
• Make way for ambulance and differently-abled persons riding on the road. 
• Use public transport where ever possible and ask for better public transport.
• Respect the job done by bus drivers and try to cooperate with them. 
• Check the feasibility of shared transport like car pooling. 
• Check the feasibility of using cycles or walking (not more than 1km) for short distances instead of using your two wheeler.  

Community Level

• Lets advocate for efficient and safe infrastructure for public transport system and non motorized transport like cycling and walking. 
• Lets advocate for better roads and technically designed speed breakers. 
• Lets advocate for CNG or clean fuel based vehicular systems. 
• We can promote E-vehicles once the electricity is being generated from a renewable source. Advocating for E-vehicles currently is costlier and not very sustainable since coal is the source of our electricity generation. 
• Lets advocate for car free zones and affordable last mile connectivity like CNG auto rickshaws or rental cycles or mini buses provision at every 500 m instead of using private vehicles. 
• Lets advocate for travel time from one place to other in a city to be max. 40 mins considering crowded areas. 

Public transport in Pune

Governance/Policy Level: 

• Enforce strict penalties for disobedience of traffic laws for all, irrespective of financial or social status.
• Consider differently abled, pregnant women, children and senior citizens while designing modes of transport. 
• Ensure accessibility and affordability for all. 
• Implement comprehensive mobility plans and Parking policy defined by local organizations. 
• Roads should be designed considering safety of all stakeholders like street vendors, hawkers, cyclists and walkers by providing better lighting system or security forces wherever required. 
• Regular maintenance of roads ensure safety of the commuters.  
• While constructing a flyover, take the feedback of local organizations working towards making traffic management better in the city.  
• Involve active citizens if required for ensuring there is no traffic congestion.
• Collaborate and work in coordination with the local organizations working in for ensuring there is no traffic congestion. 
• Strategize mechanisms for tie-ups with local organizations, NGOs, communities and corporate sectors for making transport in the city sustainable. 
• All the para-transit modes of transport should be enhanced to CNG and considered into the main stream of transportation . 
• Employees that work directly for providing transit services should be provided with proper medical care and employee benefits. 

These are some inputs given by 200 odd people, we are looking for more such inputs and suggestions from you in order to make our Citizens Charter for Transport a better Action Agenda. 

Email me at pournima@samuchit.com OR like, share and comment on our FB page  @ https://www.facebook.com/SustainableCityPune/

Pournima Agarkar.

www.samuchit.com