My City My Responsibility - Environment Day Initiatives Part 2

Dear All, 

Selfies in the Bus

I know its been quite sometime for the World Environment Day, but I believe we cannot spend even a single day without depending on our environment.

In my last blog I appealed to all of you to use the public transport for a week in June and post a selfie of yourself as an action promoting the use of public transport for mitigating emissions caused due to the use of private vehicles. 

I am glad that the idea was appreciated, but only a few people sent me their selfies, many did tell me they tried using the bus but couldn't take the selfie, some people use a bus for daily commute but are not very comfortable with taking selfies. Few people filled in the feedback form and highlighted some issues with the bus. Seriously a BIG thanks to all I feel that everyone would like to use the public transport if we are able to fine tune the basic issues. It would be a win -win for all. We will have less traffic, less polluted air and less stressful life as driving your own vehicle is really stressful. 

And hats off to all the people who HAVE to or USE buses for daily commute accepting all the issues. I am a public transport user too but I use varied options depending on the time like six-seaters, carpool, autorickshaw or the bus. I should mention that the new Tejaswini buses are quite clean, spacious, in good condition and seem safe for travelling, however the number of buses are few, and they ply on selected routes only. I have also seen the new CNG buses ply on roads but haven't used yet it. However, our old regular PMPML buses, have a hell lot of issues. Every bus is in a sub standard form, windows are broken, seats are sometime broken, shabbily maintained emitting heat and smoke especially when you are about to get down  and you have to wait near the drivers seat, you can feel the heat waves...Apart from this the buses are overloaded beyond its capacity making it vulnerable to accidents on one hand while some buses are running empty at times. If this is not enough, the bus drivers are rash making the whole bus travel super adventurous. As per our online feedback form, for any given route the bus condition has been the major issue highlighted by the commuters. And yes, how can I forget, timing. Timing is another issue which I feel is the most critical component because of which one feels the need to use his/her private vehicle. I think we all can just go on listing the issues endlessly with our public transport.

Its important to note that we are talking only about the buses here, however the problem is bigger, the entire transportation network needs to be revamped. The roads and their condition, walking ways, cycling routes, metros, accessibility for all, affordability, safety, convenience, last mile connectivity etc. The GOOD news is a lot of work has been done and is in process in this direction, we have the Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) for PMC and PMRDA now, which is a good guide for assessing and tracking the status and success of each mode of transport. But the BAD news is its implementation is a mammoth task. A lot of organisations, institutions are working closely with the local bodies in order to get it on ground. But this will take some time, hopefully we will have better transport system in future. 

What we can do for now is to get ourselves equipped with such plans, documents, information and ask our local corporators or politicians about them. We need to check if they are aware of such plans and demand for its implementation. After all people's pressure is required for getting things done and we as conscious citizens can make this happen. So lets advocate for such plans, support organizations that promote these plans and use the public transport while we reduce usage of private vehicles (of course where ever possible). 

In case if you need more information on CMP or organisations working in this field. Please write to me pournima@samuchit.com

Pournima Agarkar. 

www.samuchit.com

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My City My Responsibility - World Environment Day initiatives!

Dear All, 

The World Environment Day is approaching soon and this years theme is Air Pollution. China is the host country this year. China has been investing heavily in renewable energy, energy efficiency and electric cars. China also suffers the impacts of air pollution to the extent of Beijing city coming to a halt several days during winter due to bad air quality. So it seems China may be the best host for this year's theme on fighting air pollution.

Last year India was the host country and the theme was to Beat Plastic Pollution, as a country we pledged to Ban Single Use Plastic completely by 2020. In Pune, there was a plastic ban movement which worked quite well for sometime, however lack of better and effective alternatives resulted in this initiative taking a back seat for now. However I feel that this initiative did create a consciousness among the Puneites about the ill effects of plastic to an extent and people have reduced using plastic items that are just Use and Throw...I really hope that we will continue this momentum.

Coming back to this year's theme, we all know a lot about air pollution and how it is affecting our health, increasing the number of deaths each year. We are also aware of the sources of air pollution in India. In case of Pune one of the major sources of air pollution has been vehicular emissions. Pune was a cycle city in past (though we are reviving it again through the Pune Cycle Plan) its the two wheeler city still to an extent and it looks like we are heading towards a four wheeler city. This means more dependence on fossil fuels, increase in traffic congestion, increase in travel time per trip and thus increase in vehicular emissions which is closely related to increase in carbon emissions and ultimately causing unsustainability. 

Considering this year's theme lets explore our public transport system. Can we as citizens use the existing bus service for a week in Pune while we commute to our work and back, whenever possible. Lets take any one week in this month and try to explore the Public mode of transport i.e the PMPML buses. Lets use the Bus Week as an action to curb air pollution as an individual. Lets document the experience with our buses and also brainstorm on its improvement and workability for all of us sometime in the next month. Also lets take a selfie with the bus. I am attaching a google form with this blog. Please fill in the form in order to help us document your experience. Click Here.

Some quick observations while using a public transport would be to see if the buses are on time, well maintained or clean, there is place to sit or stand comfortably, safe from theft, stalkers etc, travel time taken, frequency of the buses, condition of the bus, ease of last mile connectivity like whats the distance of the bus stop from your work or office space etc. 

As we are exploring this facility, I would suggest following pointers that will enable us to use the service effectively. 

• We all use smart phones enabled with GPS, there's a feature known as OK Google in all phones. Just type in ' buses near me' in this tab and you will be able to see the nearest bus stop. 
• We all use Google maps, just put your location and destination and select the bus option. You will see the bus number, all buses for those routes, scheduled time of arrival and approx time taken to reach the destination, they also give bus fare sometimes. 
• You can also use the PMPML app for all information related to the buses. 
• Lets be prepared to leave our homes an hour or an half early (i know its a bit too much) to reach anywhere since there is a lot of traffic congestion during peak hours.   
• Lets be ready to walk or take a rickshaw from the bus stop to our destination since many a times we may not have bus stops right next to our destination. 
• Lets see how much that will help in savings on transport for a week. 
• Lets not compromise as well, if its not convenient to use the public transport, however still give your feedback as to why its not feasible to use the buses.

Selfie in the bus

We at Samuchit, LAYA and INECC are part of a study project to make Pune a Sustainably SMART city by 2030 and part of ClimateCollectivePune (CCP) a network working towards making Pune a Carbon Neutral city by 2030. Going low carbon is the first step towards Sustainability and hence we are promoting this idea as part of this year's Environment Day. 

Looking forward to more selfies with the bus. In case of any queries please write to me at pournima@samuchit.com

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Pournima Agarkar.

www.samuchit.com