Connectivity the missing link

Connectivity the missing link
SATELLITE TOWNS Absence of a robust intra and inter-city transport system has failed to integrate the National Capital Region
Thirty-three-year-old financial consultant Ritu Singhal spends R700 on private taxis to commute between her Bhikaji Cama Place office in south Delhi and her Noida Sector 31 residence every day.

“I have spent three years in London and always travelled by the London Tube. If there were a direct Metro connectivity to south Delhi, I would have loved to travel by it. The buses are neither safe nor reliable,“ Singhal said.

Singhal shares the sentiments of thousands who travel between Delhi and the NCR towns of Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad every day.

The movement of people between NCR towns has increased manifold in the past few years. In the absence of affordable housing, a large number of people who work in Delhi have also shifted there. Multi-national companies too have offices in Gurgaon and Noida.

But though the NCR is fast integrating in terms of movement of people and a common work culture, the absence of an robust transport system has come as a spoilsport.

The Delhi Metro has remarkably help to fill this gap, but the facility is available only to a section of the NCR residents. Reason: A poor intra-city transport system and the absence of a feeder service to Metro stations.

The statistics speak for themselves.
Of the 190km of Metro network, only 17km run into the three NCR towns of Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad. But the combined Metro ridership of the three towns is about 1.8 lakh, 9% of the 20 lakh average daily Metro ridership.

While Delhi Metro plans to extend the Metro network in phase 3 and phase 4, experts feel the need for a holistic approach to boost the inter-city transport system. “The NCR Planning Board has come up with a detailed orbital rapid rail system. It will discourage a lot of unwanted vehicular traffic that come to Delhi every day. Dedicated bus corridors connecting Delhi with neighbouring cities are also being planned,“ transport expert PK Sarkar said.

While several private initiatives are being taken in Gurgaon to improve inter-city and intra-city transport, experts also believe the free movement of taxis and autorickshaws between cities will help solve various problems.
COMMENTS:-
THE DWARKA SUBCITY WHICH LACKS DIRECT SHORTEST ROUTE LINKS TO CENTRAL SECTT.AND NEHRU PLACE SHOULD BE PROVIDED WITH MONO RAIL LINKS AND ALSO METRO RAIL LINKS SO THAT PASSENGERS ARE NOT FORCED TRAVEL EXTRA DISTANCES TO REACH CENTRAL AND SOUTH DELHI BY METRO RAIL TRANSPORT FACILITY IN DELHI