best public transport in india
courtesy : wikipedia
Transport in India
Transport in India consists of transport by land, water and air. Public transport is the primary mode of road transport for most Indian citizens, and India’s public transport systems are among the most heavily used in the world.
India’s road network is the second-largest and one of the busiest in the world, transporting 8.225 billion passengers and over 980 million tonnes of cargo annually, as of 2015.[1] India’s rail network is the fourth largest and second busiest in the world, transporting 8.09 billion passengers and 1.20 billion tonnes of freight annually, as of 2020.[2] Aviation in India is broadly divided into military and civil aviation which is the fastest-growing aviation market in the world (IATA data).[3] India’s waterways network, in the form of rivers, canals, backwaters and creeks, is the ninth largest waterway network in the world. Freight transport by waterways is highly under utilised in India with the total cargo moved (in tonne kilometres) by inland waterways being 0.1 percent of the total inland traffic in India.[4] In total, about 21 percent of households have two wheelers whereas 4.70 percent of households in India have cars or vans as per the 2011 census of India.[5][6] The automobile industry in India is currently rapidly growing with an annual production of over 4.6 million vehicles,[7] with an annual growth rate of 10.5%[5] and vehicle volume is expected to rise greatly in the future.[8]
also known as palkis, were one of the luxurious methods used by the rich and noblemen for travelling and also to carry a deity (idol) of a god. Many temples have sculptures of a god being carried in palkis.[9] Modern use of the palanquin is limited to Indian weddings, pilgrimage and carrying idols of gods.[10][11]
Bullock carts/horse carriages[edit]
Bullock cart of India
Bullock carts have been traditionally used for transport, especially in rural India. The arrival of the British saw drastic improvements in the horse carriages which were used for transport since early days. Today, they are used in smaller towns and are referred as tanga or buggies. Victorias of Mumbai, which were used for tourist purposes, are now banned and plans are afloat to replace it with Victoria-styled electric carriages. Horse carriages are now rarely found in the cities of India baring tourist areas and hill stations.[12] In recent years cities have banned the movement of slow moving vehicles on the main roads.[13][14][15]
Bicycles[edit]
Bicycles or cycles, have ownership rates ranging from around 30% to 75% at the state level.[6] Along with walking, cycling accounts for 50% to 80% of the commuter trips for those in the informal sector in urban areas.[16] However, recent developments suggest that bicycle riding is quickly becoming popular in the metropolitan cities of India. In recent years, government development authorities all over India encourages the setup and use of separate bicycle lanes alongside the roads to combat pollution and ease traffic congestion.[17]
Human-pulled rickshaws[edit]
Human-pulled rickshaws still run in Kolkata
Human-pulled rickshaws are nowadays rarely available in various cities and villages in the country. Many local governments have proposed a ban on these rickshaws describing them as “inhuman”. But in reality the rickshaws are still not yet banned. The Government of West Bengal proposed a ban on these rickshaws in 2005.[18] Though a bill aiming to address this issue, termed as Calcutta Hackney Carriage Bill, was passed by the West Bengal Assembly in 2006, it has not yet been implemented.[19] The Government of West Bengal is working on an amendment to this bill to avoid the loopholes that were exposed when the Hand-pulled Rickshaw Owners’ Association filed a petition against the bill.[19]
Cycle rickshaws[edit]
Cycle rickshaws were introduced in India in the 1940s.[20] They are bigger than a tricycle where two people sit on an elevated seat at the back and a person pedals from the front. In the late 2000s, they were banned in several cities for causing traffic congestion.[21][22][23] The Delhi Police recently submitted an affidavit against plying of cycle rickshaws to ease traffic congestion in the city but it was dismissed by the Delhi High Court.[24] In addition, environmentalists have supported the retention of cycle rickshaws as a non-polluting mode of transport.[25]
Road[edit]
Bandra-Worli Bridge in Mumbai
As per 2017 estimates, the total road length in India is 5,603,293 km (3,481,725 mi);[26][27] making the Indian road network the second largest road network in the world after the United States. At 0.66 km of highway per square kilometre of land the density of India’s highway network is higher than that of the United States (0.65) and far higher than that of China’s (0.16) or Brazil’s (0.20).[1]
India has a network of National Highways connecting all the major cities and state capitals, forming the economic backbone of the country. As of 2013, India has a total of 66,754 km (41,479 mi) of National Highways, of which 1,205 km (749 mi) are classified as expressways.[28] Although India has large network of four or more lane highways of international quality standards, but without access control (entry/exit control), they are not called as expressways but simply highways.
As per the National Highways Authority of India, about 65% of freight and 80% passenger traffic is carried by the roads. The National Highways carry about 40% of total road traffic, though only about 2% of the road network is covered by these roads.[28] Average growth of the number of vehicles has been around 10.16% per annum over recent years.[28]
India also has many bridges and flyovers in major cities to reduce traffic congestion. Some notable projects include Bandra – Worli Sea link in Mumbai and Kathipara Cloverleaf Interchange in Chennai. India’s metropolitan intra-city average traffic vehicle speed in Delhi was 25 km/h (16 mph), in Mumbai 20.7 km/h (12.9 mph), in Chennai 18.9 km/h (11.7 mph) and in Kolkata 19.2 km/h (11.9 mph), as per a study by Ola Cabs in 2017.
Under National Highways Development Project (NHDP), work is under progress to equip national highways with at least four lanes; also there is a plan to convert some stretches of these roads to six lanes.[29] In recent years construction has commenced on a nationwide system of multi-lane highways, including the Golden Quadrilateral connecting four important metropolitan cities of India (Delhi–Kolkata–Chennai–Mumbai) and North-South and East-West Corridors which link the largest cities in India.
In 2000, around 40% of villages in India lacked access to all-weather roads and remained isolated during the monsoon season.[1][30] To improve rural connectivity, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (Prime Minister’s Rural Road Program), a project funded by the Central Government with the help of the World Bank, was launched in 2000 to build all-weather roads to connect all habitations with a population of 500 or above (250 or above for hilly areas).[30][31]
An auto is a three-wheeler vehicle for hire that does not have doors and is generally characterised by a small cabin for the driver in the front and a seat for passengers in the rear.[82] Generally it is painted in yellow, green or black and has a black, yellow or green canopy on the top, but designs vary considerably from place to place. The colour of the auto rickshaw is also determined by the fuel that it is powered by, for example Agartala, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune and Delhi have green or black autos indicating the use of compressed natural gas (CNG), whereas the autos of Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad have green autos indicating the use of LPG.[citation needed]
In Mumbai and other metropolitan cities, ‘autos’ or ‘rickshaws’, as they are popularly known, have regulated metered fares. A recent law prohibits auto rickshaw drivers from charging more than the specified fare, or charging night-fare before midnight, and also prohibits the driver from refusing to go to a particular location. Mumbai and Kolkata are also the only two cities, which prohibit auto rickshaws from entering a certain part of the city, in these cases being South Mumbai and certain parts of Downtown Kolkata.[83] However, in cities like Chennai, it is common to see autorickshaw drivers demand more than the specified fare and refuse to use fare meter.[84]
Airports and railway stations at many cities such as Howrah, Chennai and Bengaluru provide a facility of prepaid auto booths, where the passenger pays a fixed fare as set by the authorities for various locations.[85]
Electric rickshaw is new popular means of transport, rapidly growing in number in India, due to low running and initial cost, other economic and environmental benefits, these vehicles are becoming popular in India.[citation needed] E-Rickshaws are made in fiberglass or metal body, powered by a BLDC Electric Motor with max power 2000W and speed 25 km/h.
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