30 June 2008

by Praful Bidwai

Besides poverty and squalor, what all South Asian cities have in common is a highly congested, heavily polluted, totally chaotic and nightmarishly unsafe transportation system. The appalling state of urban transport is lowering the quality of life in at least three ways, besides contributing massively to climate change—the gravest threat humanity faces today.

First, growing traffic congestion means that people are forced to waste more and more time in commuting from home to work, typically in unpleasant or nerve-wracking conditions marked by fierce rivalry for road-space. In many cities, commuting time has doubled over the past decade or so. Second, air pollution is causing grievous health damage, including respiratory problems and psychological stress. Third, the expense of moving from one place to another is rising, leading to cuts in spending on other necessities of life.

All these problems are worsening as cars and two-wheelers proliferate in our cities, driven by rampant middle class consumerism and by policies which promote and subsidise private transport. In recent years, production of private vehicles has risen in our part of the world at rates much higher than GDP growth, typically by 10 percent-plus. In India, for instance, the output of cars has doubled over 5 years. Increasingly, mid-sized—and more polluting—sedans are replacing small cars.

Automobile emissions of suspended particulate matter (SPM), and oxides of nitrogen and sulphur, account for 60 percent-plus of the air-pollution load in our cities. Fine particulates contain some 40 known carcinogens. It’s estimated that a representative Delhi household would annually earn a benefit Rs 19,870 and in Kolkata Rs 84,355 from reduced emissions of particulates. This translates into tens of thousands of crores for India!

Yet thanks to automobilisation, 57 percent of all monitored Indian cities now record “critical” SPM levels, exceeding one-and-a-half times the permissible standard. So pervasive is the phenomenon that even smaller cities have become its victims. India’s top 10 “hotspots” include Raipur, Kanpur, Alwar and Indore, but not a single metropolis.

The entry of the Tatas’ Nano will make things worse although its price is unlikely to remain at the “magical” Rs 1 lakh figure for long. It's unlikely that the Nano will meet the Euro-IV emission norms which take effect in India in 2010—without a hefty price rise. In any case, the sheer numbers of this car, and other models which are on the way, will cause more pollution and congestion. Yet, shamefully, the government has just lowered excise duties on small cars.

This policy direction must be urgently reversed. We must seriously promote public transport, and discourage private vehicles. Private transport means more global warming, resource waste, and iniquitous use of road-space. In most Indian cities, cars and two-wheelers hog 60 to 80 percent of road-space, but deliver 15 to 20 percent of passenger trips. By contrast, buses occupy under 20 percent of road-space, and account for up to 60 percent of trips.

Cars are an extremely inefficient transportation mode. Worse, they slow down public transport. Cars demand high maintenance, repairs and parking space. They usually occupy prime space—even when unused. Studies show that if owners were made to pay the economic rent for parking, many would stop using cars. At Mumbai's Nariman Point, the true annual market price of parking-space a car would exceed its nominal cost at least 10-fold!

Private transport must be curbed through higher taxation—in India, cars are extremely lightly taxed, but buses pay 2.6 times more per passenger-kilometre—, stiff parking fees, bans on use of odd- and even-numbered cars on alternate days, carpools, and pedestrians-only zones.

Above all, we must promote efficient, affordable, non-polluting public transport, including bicycles and other non-mechanised modes. If Paris can have 200 km of bicycle paths with 250,000 people using them, so can Delhi, Karachi or Dhaka. Bus Rapid Transit, based on dedicated lanes, is a worthy idea. Many European cities are going in for it. Regrettably, in Delhi, BRT was all but sabotaged by an elite-driven media campaign. It was poorly planned and implemented without public education. But the BRT concept is eminently sound.




Electricity-powered public transport is important to any rational urban transport system, including Metro rail, trams and trolley-buses drawing power from overhead lines. Environmental logic overwhelmingly favours electric transport because it’s non-polluting and noiseless. But we shouldn’t unthinkingly promote Metros. They cost at least 10 times more than BRTs and require heavy use (20,000 to 40,000 passenger-trips per hour per line) to pay for themselves. Most of our cities don't have that kind of commuting pattern.




Today’s phenomenal, yet subsidised, petroleum prices make electric vehicles (EVs) super-attractive. Insofar as we permit (limited) private transport, battery-operated cars/2-wheelers deserve to be promoted. They cost only about one-tenth as much to run as petrol-driven vehicles. Numerous Indian companies have plans to make electric cars. The number of electric two-wheeler brands on the market exceeds 20 and is growing. Major global players like Honda, Nissan and General Motors (accused of “killing” its electric car under industry pressure) have large-scale plans to make EVs or hybrids.






I’ve used an EV—Indian-made Reva, the world's largest-selling purely-electric car—for more than three years, and own no other vehicle. It’s almost as easy to drive/maintain as a bicycle.




EVs are extremely simple and don’t have multiple complex systems like fuel pumping, injection/mixing, electric synchronisation, gearbox-based transmission, and pollution- and noise-control mechanisms. They have fewer moving parts and involve less wear-and-tear than fossil-fuel vehicles. Their battery-driven motor sits atop the axle and transmits power directly via traction. The gear-free driving is pure pleasure. EVs reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels, and encourage frugal use of space and materials. In three years-plus, my Reva has undergone only one kind of repair: a shock-absorber change..






True, EVs, like everything else, have a carbon footprint—from manufacture and assembly of components and batteries, and consumption of metal and other materials, to final waste disposal. But 80 percent of the life-cycle pollution from petrol/diesel vehicles is caused during their running. That's where EVs score decisively.
Admittedly, EVs have disadvantages. They aren’t easily amenable, at today’s level of battery technology, to use in large-scale public transportation. They have a limited range, typically 60 to 130 km, depending on battery design. They need more frequent recharging than a petrol car/scooter needs refuelling: typically, two to six hours a day, for three to five days a week. Above all, EVs aren’t spacious “family vehicles’” Most cars on offer can seat two adults and two children comfortably. (At a pinch, the Reva can pull four adults in cramped conditions.)




No means of private transportation, however clean, can be a substitute for mass public transport. But insofar as private transport has a role, EVs’ merits outweigh their disadvantages especially for couples or single drivers, themselves a growing proportion of India's car and two-wheeler users. With a little planning of one’s trip, and appropriate charging, one can comfortably negotiate a city with an EV.




Personally,  I have never been stuck with a dead battery even while driving all the way to the international airport from Central Delhi and back Indeed, ordinary people are so friendly towards EVs that driving one transforms one's experience of our roads as sites of tension, cut-throat competition for favoured lanes, mouthing of abuse and display of rage.




There is, then, a strong case for public support for EVs. Besides launching trolley-buses and reviving/strengthening trams, such support can take three forms. First, governments should offer EVs straightforward price subsidies and rebates in VAT, road taxes, insurance premiums and registration charges, besides free or low-fee parking facilities.






Many European Union governments are indeed doing so. For instance, EVs enjoy free parking in London, besides 100 percent depreciation in the first year. They pay no congestion charge (GBP 8 a day) in Central London. Apart from outright price subsidies, France mandates that 20 percent of all new cars in public fleets must be electric. In Italy, EVs enjoy a price rebate of nearly 30 percent, besides free parking and road-tax exemptions. In Japan, EVs are given handsome tax support, besides ¥20 billion funding for battery development.




No wonder there are more Revas running in London than in Bangalore, where they are made! The Delhi government has just announced a rebate of 29.5 percent on EVs. Other states must emulate it. The Centre must also go beyond offering its present measly rebate of Rs 75,000 for state institutional buyers of EVs—who are very few.




Second, the government must initiate programmes for developing lightweight, high-power batteries (e.g. lithium-ion) for EVs. Most EVs use lead-acid batteries, whose basic design is more than 100 years old. A battery revolution is imminent and must be strongly backed.




Third, the government must create an infrastructure through free charging-points in city centres and major car-parks, which will greatly enhance the range of EVs and make them more attractive and competitive with small petrol-driven cars. That’s the way to go!—end—