Public transportation of people and goods is one of the most consequential issues affecting economic development; yet little thought to improve it is given until something breaks down.

Bangalore, one of the most happening cities in the world, has woken up to this challenge a little late; nevertheless it is taking steps to solve the traffic congestion. 'Bangalore Metro' is one such project aimed at curing this deadly traffic disease!

Government agencies, investors, consultants and related people talk about the return on investment, mode share, ridership and so on. But the hardship involved in acquiring land, work schedule problems, escalation of prices are not taken seriously. It is not for 'common man' to know project economics or demand models used in the project. However, his question will be 'Can Bangalore Metro alone solve the problem of traffic congestion?' However, looking at the developments, one would certainly be skeptical about a few things.

Metro fares will certainly be much higher than the bus fares. In the article 'Country may face crisis if inflation is not checked' published in www.hinduonline.com, eminent economist, T.Kurien talks about the imbalance in economic growth and questions the 'sustainability of high salaries'. So, with imbalance in growth, a few people might not be able to use this facility owing to high fares and switch back to bus. With this, the ridership comes down, as a result of which the revenue generated falls and the entire system fails. Hence, reevaluation of all the public investment that is being planned in the infrastructure sector becomes necessary; not to mention transportation would certainly find a place.

Given the escalation in population, increase in private vehicle ownership, urban growth, life style, and so on, independent travel would still continue to rule people's preferences. The sole reason for people not to see metro as an attractive mode of transport is because it does not take them to places where they wish to go. Transfers are a must. So, it is a must to design a feeder system that coordinates well with the metro. Buses, on the other hand, have been almost successful in doing this. 'Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation', as of 2007, carries 37 lakh people everyday by operating 4,655 scheduled buses (source: www.bmtcinfo.com). Private operators have been offering services along some routes. This tells the entire story about the deficiency in the government operated system.

The Bangalore Metro's official website, www.bmrc.co.in, aims to move 10.2 lakh people in 2011. Here starts the chain of problems; does the government have enough money to provide extra buses to cater to this demand? If we use the current fleet to serve these people, where do we accommodate the escalated number of bus users? Do we have enough lanes to accommodate these new buses? There have been umpteen hurdles in acquiring land. So, increasing the number of lanes is neither a one-day nor a one-year scenario. Have we designed the feeder system? Talking about costs, it's not only the capital cost, but cost to maintain the entire system, which is the reason the current system is paralyzed.

At the end of the day, you or I as a commuter would not want to see a sea of cars and motorcycles, right? Hopefully, all these problems will be considered and taken care of to help everyone commute smoothly and safely.

Jayanth, Ph.D Student - Transportation Engineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA