Interesting video specifically on the disappointing state of public transport in India. Major takeaways for me:
- Many Indian cities are investing in (expensive and flashy) metros, which are posting disappointing ridership numbers, but
- Most Indian commuters are travelling distances short enough that biking or using rickshaws are quicker
- India’s metros are significantly more expensive for riders than other methods of transport
- Bus fleets in Indian cities aren’t growing, while their populations are expanding rapidly
- Traffic engineers/policymakers suffering from carbrain (sound familiar?)
Interesting watch, I’d say, as a non-Indian who doesn’t see much content about the world’s most populous country posted much
India is already a country where many people use bikes; it’s a pity that the government doesn’t want to encourage that avenue and make it safer for cycling to be normal and voluntary, rather than a just a cheaper mode of transport.
This is classic advice from an enlightened Westerner and I do agree in theory. Unfortunately there is no example of a cycling-first poor country turning directly into a cycling-first rich country.
In my experience having seen the urban dystopia of many of these places, every country feels the need to pass through the materialist car-owning stage of economic development before it can move on to the post-materialist stage of development where people are more concerned about things like the environment and wellbeing. It really is something to do with the novelty of material wealth, I think. People want the small car, the status symbol of material success is literally more important than anything else. Monster traffic jams are worth it, and they can sort-of be fixed, for a while anyway, by new monster roads.
India is at this stage right now. Alongside a few metros here and there, India is also building exactly the kind of monstrous urban freeways that are now being pulled down in Europe and the USA. It seems every country needs to learn the same hard lesson by itself.
Given the dominance of two-wheelers, with some clever marketing wouldn’t it possible to encourage more e-bikes and hybrids? Electric scooters could be subsidized, Maruti can market, etc.
People are very susceptible to popular things as you say, and I do agree it would need to happen gradually.
Hybrids: irrelevant and complex red herring that’s already on the way out. E-bikes: sure. But electric scooters will be the real salvation IMO. It’s a drop-in replacement which is actually cheaper and simpler. Path already blazed by China. The end of the abominable combustion scooter is now just a matter of time.