The Infrastructure Today Urban Transport 2012 Conference was held on 28 and 29 August 2012 at New Delhi. A report.
Indian cities’ infrastructure needs to match the rapid pace of development, while our cities still await priÂvate investment in their infrastructure development. With a $1 trillion envisaged over the next 10 years in urban development, transport will form a major compoÂnent. With urban India set to house 600 million people by 2031, urban transport will find itself in a tight jam soon—quite literally—in our haphazardly growing urban jungles. Last year, a High Level Expert Committee (HPEC) submitted a comprehensive set of recommenÂdations on development of urban infrastructure, partiÂcularly through JNNURM. Urban transport has been one of the focal points of JNNURM’s budgets, and yet much more needs to be accomplished in the sector. A key recommendation from the HPEC has been that urban needs require a combination of increased investÂment, strengthening the framework for goverÂnance and financing, and a comprehensive capacity building proÂgramme at all levels of government. Empowerment of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) is also imperative.
The Conference discussed the above points and more addressing the questions such as:
• What policies and regulations are needed to best utilise the large quantum to be outlaid for urban transport infrastructure?
• What technologies are available in urban transport and how can they be customised to various cities?
• How can new technologies in signalling, ticketing, mapping and automation help our cities?
• How can we make our transport systems cleaner and more efficient?
• Should our cities start providing space for pedestrians?
Overall, the conference was a great platform to debate the urban transport solutions in technology, policy and execution.
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