Need for a better motor vehicle policy
When I look at the way our cities are becoming crowded with vehicles, I keep wondering if government has ever thought about how things will be 10 years down the line. It looks very likely that we will continue to add more vehicles, while the roads are unlikely to improve much, resulting in worsening of congestion.
Last few years have seen plenty of improvements in the roads in the highways, but a similar thing is difficult to expect in our congested cities. There is hardly any room available in the cities to add new roads or widen the existing ones. Flyovers haven’t helped much in improving traffic conditions.
There have been a few good steps taken though. Delhi Metro is turning out to be a great example of public transport. The long flyovers between Delhi and Gurgaon, Delhi and Noida have also shown the example of making better flyovers. Rest of India needs to adapt similar steps to ensure smooth commute within the cities. Now Chennai also has got trains running within the city, and Bangalore is coming up with a Metro. All these are good moves, but also take long time to bear fruit and are expensive to implement everywhere.
Increasing affluence in the cities are resulting in more and more cars and bikes added to the roads every day. There is a need to consider a way to discourage people from using personal vehicles. For one, tax the cars and two wheelers heavily and use them to subsidize or fund public transport. Petrol prices can be increased further, as petrol is used only in private vehicles. An additional tax for diesel cars would help too. I would personally look at levying stringent taxes that result in doubling of the prices of all personal vehicles.
These measures can help in many ways, and the benefits are not just reduced congestion. It will improve the quality of air in the cities to a great extent, improving the health and living conditions. And to look at the larger perspective, emission of green house gases will come down considerably, resulting in a better place to live for future generations.
Without waiting for the government to act, we can take a step ahead too. Let’s buy vehicles that are frugal in fuel consumption(read - small cars), let’s avoid the temptation of frequent upgrade of our cars, and let’s avoid driving unless we have to. I have already reduced my driving by one fourth of what it used to be a year ago, and looking forward to cut down further on it. Let’s join our hands in this noble act of keeping earth liveable for longer.