Skip to main content

Constituting 88% of total trips, public transport in Kolkata, Mumbai has led to lower vehicular pollution: Study

Counterview Desk
A new study of urban vehicular  pollution has said that Kolkata and Mumbai “emit least among six megacities due to high usage of public transport and walking”. According to the study “Kolkata ranks sixth among all the 14 cities, but it wins among the six megacities”, and does better than Pune and Ahmedabad, because “the average distance travelled by different modes in Kolkata is lowest among all megacities.”
Carried out by Anumita Roychowdhury and Gaurav Dubey of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi, and supported by the MacArthur Foundation of Chicago, the study says, “Kolkata also has the lowest vehicle stock among the megacities and second highest share of public transport”, adding, “About 60% of all its travel trips are within 3–4 km. This is exactly the model that Japanese cities and Hong Kong have followed.”
Titled “The Urban Commute: And how it contributes to pollution and energy consumption”, the study says, “ Kolkata has the most diverse public transport system for urban commuting – buses (now upgrading to electric buses), metro, trams, suburban rail, para-transit and waterways. If the share of public transport and para-transit are combined, they constitute 88% of the total trips in the city.”
“This shows that only high population, high travel volume and economic growth need not necessarily lead to higher automobile dependency”, comment authors, adding, “Early investment in diverse and connected public transport, and physical restraints can help. Kolkata’s public transport culture, compact city design, high street density, short travel distances and restricted availability of land for roads and parking are among the good practices. It helps reduce overall emissions and guzzling.”
Mumbai, ranking next to Kolkata among megacities, also wins, says the study, “as a result of its public transport spine – primarily its suburban rail system. Public transport and para-transit add up to 89% of all motorized trips in Mumbai.”
“Interestingly”, the study says, “Mumbai has one of the highest trip length for personal vehicles and yet its overall guzzling and emissions are comparatively lower as its suburban rail, which has zero local emissions, meets 52% of the travel demand in the city. Thus, despite having highest trip generation and volume of travel Mumbai could reduce negative impacts by adopting an intelligent public transport strategy.”
Comment the authors, “Mumbai has also proved that economic growth need not necessarily translate into high personal vehicle dependence. Even with highest per capita GDP among the six megacities and highest volume of trip generation, use of personal modes is lowest in Mumbai. This has helped Mumbai to have lower emissions and guzzling compared to most other megacities.”
Pointing towards why Delhi ranks worse of not just six metropolitan cities but also all the 14 cities studied, the study says, this could be because of megaciy's “current abysmal level of walking and public transport”, resulting in “a massive scale of overall emissions, pollution and energy guzzling.” Added to this is “sheer effect of population, volume of travel and highest vehicle stock”, all of which “eclipses the benefits of having CNG and better travel parameters than other cities.”
Thus, Delhi emits 5 times more particulate matter (PM) emission load from urban commuting than Kolkata, and 3 times more than Mumbai, 13 times more than Bhopal, 9 times more than Chandigarh and 8 times more than Vijayawada. And as for CO2, Delhi emits 4 times higher than Kolkata, 2.3 times higher than Mumbai, 1.7 times higher than Hyderabad.
As for other cities, the study warns, “Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Vijayawada, Pune and Jaipur are at an inflection point. Their per trip emissions are in the middle of the spectrum, and depending on what direction their mobility policies take over the next years and decades, their pollution levels may increase or decrease accordingly. They need to take corrective measures now and avoid the fate of the megacities.”
An assessment of 14 cities, based on emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide and toxic pollutants of particulate matter and nitrogen oxides, as well as energy guzzling from urban commuting, the ranking, says the study, is based on aggregated overall emissions and energy use from the urban commute by combining the overall quantum of aggregated toxic emissions of PM and nitrogen oxides (NOx), heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and energy consumption from urban commuting practices.

Comments

Tony Daniloo said…
Thanks for sharing this post. This post is very helpful for me. I would like to be share with my other friends. Get More Information Visit Here: Tony Danillo

TRENDING

Right-arm fast bowler who helped West Indies shape arguably greatest Test team in cricket history

By Harsh Thakor*  Malcolm Marshall redefined what it meant to be a right-arm fast bowler, challenging the traditional laws of biomechanics with his unique skill. As we remember his 25th death anniversary on November 4th, we reflect on the legacy he left behind after his untimely death from colon cancer. For a significant part of his career, Marshall was considered one of the fastest and most formidable bowlers in the world, helping to shape the West Indies into arguably the greatest Test team in cricket history.

Andhra team joins Gandhians to protest against 'bulldozer action' in Varanasi

By Rosamma Thomas*  November 1 marked the 52nd day of the 100-day relay fast at the satyagraha site of Rajghat in Varanasi, seeking the restoration of the 12 acres of land to the Sarva Seva Sangh, the Gandhian organization that was evicted from the banks of the river. Twelve buildings were demolished as the site was abruptly taken over by the government after “bulldozer” action in August 2023, even as the matter was pending in court.  

Outreach programme in medical education: Band-aids for compound fractures

By Amitav Banerjee, MD*  Recently, the National Medical Commission (NMC) of India, introduced two curricular changes in medical education, both at the undergraduate and the postgraduate levels, ostensibly to offer opportunities for quality medical education and to improve health care accessibility among the underserved rural and urban population.

United organisations oppose privatisation of health services in Madhya Pradesh

By Our Representative  In a strong show of opposition, multiple health associations under the umbrella of the United Organisations for Action against Privatisation of Health Services have condemned the Government of Madhya Pradesh’s recent moves towards privatising public health facilities. They argue that these actions, including outsourcing and the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, will compromise the availability and accessibility of essential health services for the state’s citizens.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah  The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad*  On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. 

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad*  The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.

Are Kashmir's porous borders turning region into 'convenient entry point' for drugs flowing into India?

By Raqif Makhdoomi*  Drug addiction has become a serious problem, affecting not only Kashmir but communities worldwide. In the shadowy world of drug trafficking, vast networks and powerful organizations play pivotal roles. These criminal enterprises, often bolstered by influential backers, operate with impunity, profiting from human suffering. For those able to evade law enforcement, drug trafficking can lead to staggering wealth; even at a local level, small-time peddlers can earn substantial sums. Despite international efforts to curb this menace, the drug syndicate is highly complex, eluding even the most determined governmental crackdowns due to its global reach and the powerful networks that support it.