Project Detail

Environmentally Sustainable, People-Centred Urban Transport.

Parisar has been active in urban transport in Pune for a number of years, lobbying successive city administrations for improvements in the PMT. While many administrations over the years were reluctant to countenance politically sensitive issues such as traffic demand management, or were less receptive to civil society organizations such as those of the grantee, the grantee gained experience in municipal traffic and transport advocacy, developed networks of partner organizations representing various stakeholders, and developed a suite of policy recommendations for the city. With a new, more sympathetic administration taking charge in June 2004, the grantee was offered an opportunity to present its case for NMT, BRT and TDM to the administration.

The objective of the project is to establish the perspective of Environmentally Sustainable Traffic and Transport Policy in the minds of policy makers and citizens and to develop a framework of environmentally sustainable transport for Pune city with the participation of citizens. A specialist group will be created that will be made up of individuals from the field of traffic planning, technical consultants, architects, planners, environmentalists, journalists and citizens? activists. A compilation of existing published material on Traffic and Transport will be developed to show that Sustainable Transport is not only possible but also essential in the long term. Meetings will be organized with various organized and non-organized stakeholders to communicate the perspective of Sustainable Transport. Feedback will be sought from the participants and articulation of the demands from diverse stakeholders and user groups will be incorporated into a framework. A final city level workshop will be organized to present the consolidated framework.

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Project Snapshot

Grantee:

Parisar Samrakshan Samvardhan Samstha

Country:

India

Area Of Work:

Climate Change Mitigation

Operational Phase:

Phase 2

Grant Amount:

US$ 15,385.00

Co-Financing Cash:

US$ 3,516.48

Co-Financing in-Kind:

US$ 1,000.00

Project Number:

SGP/GEF/IND/OP2/03/MS13

Start Date:

12/2003

End Date:

11/2005

Status:

Satisfactorily Completed

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Project Characteristics and Results

Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment

By encouraging infrastructural changes to promote modal shifts in transportation systems, this project is contributing to greenhouse gas emission reductions now and into the future. By changing perceptions of policymakers and establishing the beginnings of NMT, BRT and TDM programmes, the project has also set the stage for continued reductions and emissions prevention into the future.

Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods

Safety: Pune?s transport infrastructure in its present state is considered unsafe by many people, with motorbikes in the bicycle lanes, poor road discipline, and extreme congestion. Increased investment in public transit, improved infrastructure, traffic calming measures and a general reduction in the use of motorized vehicles should improve the road safety situation, and entice more people to walk or ride bicycles where they previously feared for their safety in doing so.

Policy Impact

The policy advocacy approach of the grantee uses SGP funding to support not implementation or procurement, but efforts to make the city redirect transport resources from increasing road building to sustainable transport development. This represents an excellent return in both local and global environmental benefit to SGP funding, while the localized implementation of the advocated activities ensures increased local ownership of the project, improved prospects for economic and social sustainability and high potential for replicability in other cities and regions in the country.

Gender Focus

Women in Pune are less likely to operate motor vehicles than men, and are more likely to walk or take public transit. Many women in Pune would cycle, but for their perception that the activity is unsafe. Improving the safety of traffic would make cycling a more acceptable activity for increasing numbers of women. Also, as women provide much of the bulk of pedestrians and users of public transport, (whereas men are more likely to cycle or take a motorbike), improvements in these modes will directly affect the welfare of women.

Project Results

Several presentations, seminars, and informal discussions were held between the PTTF and city officials during the second half of 2004. While city officials were broadly supportive of some sustainable transport measures, they required considerable convincing in many areas, including adding sidewalks to Pune?s narrow streets, the continued relevance of bicycles in an age of increasingly available motor vehicles, and the utility of bus-only lanes. Initially, the view of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) was that traffic was too heavy for these measures. The grantee, using examples from sustainable transport accomplishments in Singapore, Bogotá, London and Curitiba, slowly but successfully shifted the view of the PMC towards the recognition that certain forms of traffic restrictions actually speeds traffic rather than restricts it, while benefiting the environment, improving public safety, and increasing the mobility of the poor.

As city officials became increasingly receptive, outside experts were brought in and administrators from the PMT were included. Holding a seminar titled ?One Right Turn: Critical Issues in Urban Mobility for Developing Countries for Coming Decades,? the grantee attracted participants from noted NGOs such as the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment, transit officials from Delhi and Mumbai, other noted Indian advocates for BRT systems, and officials from the Central Institute of Road Transport. The seminar was well-received by officials, and garnered a lot of media attention, catalyzing popular support. A major publication on sustainable transport came out of the seminar, which ? combined with an appearance by Enrique Penalosa and his flagging off of a major cycle rally (~4500 cyclists) ? went a long way in persuading the PMC to take a more sympathetic approach to NMT, BRT and TDM.

The beginning of 2005 saw the PMC hire a consulting firm to help develop a transport action plan, with the grantee being given a role in the oversight of their work. Immediately encountering obstacles, the consulting firm?s recommendations were largely auto-centric and failed to countenance the progresses of the past year. The grantee engaged the consultants, and successfully persuaded them to revise the document. For unclear reasons however, the recommendations were not accepted by the PMC, throwing the progress made into doubt.

The 2006 municipal budget however allayed these worries, making significant financial commitments to sustainable transport development including:
? Upgrade of Pune?s citywide cycling network, including several kilometres of cycling tracks
? The beginnings of a multi-million dollar BRT system, with two initial routes to be constructed
? A decision mandating footpaths for all public roads in the city.

These provisions represent outstanding successes, and pave the way for further progress in the future. Parisar and its partners continue to lobby for sustainable transport and serve as policy watchdogs, monitoring city policy and ensuring continued improvement.

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