Going in reverse

Proposals for comprehensive mobility plan do not solve transport problem

| MARCH 27, 2017, 06:26 PM IST

How long before a much talked about plan, one that has been proposed again and again over the years, can be cast aside due to the failure to execute? Or does one sit back, keep their fingers crossed and pray for things to change? This might just be the case when it comes to the plan to introduce electric and hybrid buses in Goan cities. 
This isn’t the first time this plan has been proposed. The Masterplan for Panaji has a similar proposal – hop on, hop off buses to be the main mode of transport within the capital city.
Maybe this time, the Parrikar-led BJP government might get it right, or five years from now we might still be lamenting the lack of proper transport facilities, not just in Panaji, but across Goa. There is no will for this plan to fail, but this proposal is in some essence a papering over the wide cracks that have developed with Goa’s mass transit system. Along with garbage management, traffic management and a mass transport system are two issues that have plagued successive Goan governments. No one has managed to bell the cat. Not for anything can this new proposal be viewed through skeptical glasses.
The government has proposed a few other things too, ideas that intrigue. There is the plan to upgrade the bus terminals, buy more buses, build a few bridges, spruce up the roads across the state and create a few more corridors on the lines of the NH4 Ribandar to Old Goa bypass. There is also a sum of Rs 5 crore earmarked for taxi insurance, and Rs 3 crore earmarked for subsidies on black and yellow taxis. 
If the government is so keen on subsidising taxis and paying part or the whole insurance cost for tourist taxis, people will be compelled to ask, what do we get in return? Are we still going to be subjected to the whims and fancies of the taxi mafia? When is the government finally going to put their foot down and enforce realistic fares via meters? This is a very high cost for the people to bear.
Widening roads and creating more corridors do not serve the purpose of augmenting the existing system, when such a system does not even exist. What Goa needs is a proper mass transit plan. Comprehensive bus routes with buses plying for at least 20 hours a day is necessary. We also need to bring private bus owners under the KTC umbrella. For a tourist state, we have a seriously pathetic transport system and no amount of cosmetic changes, from upgrading bus terminals to widening roads will change that.
What is required is a complete overhaul of the vehicle, not a paint job.

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