MoRTH signs MoU with Transport for London for public transport system in India

India's Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Transport for London (TFL) in New Delhi. The MoU aims at using TFL's expertise to revamp the public transport system in India.

TFL is the agency that manages the transport system for Greater London, and has demonstrated its capability by creating a strong and dependable public transport system in the city.    

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Nitin Gadkari, said “The country needs a good transport policy that promotes convenient and comfortable public transport system.”

He said an effective public transport system would be one that uses electricity or other less polluting, indigenously produced fuels like methanol, ethanol and bio-diesel. Such a system would not only reduce pollution, but would also be cost effective.

The minister further said that to implement reforms in public transport systems in the country, India has to learn from the best practices across the world. The government has to facilitate the capacity building in public transport with learnings from the experienced and proven public transport agencies like TFL.

Mentioning achievements of the agency, the minister stated that TFL has created a unique system of operating buses in PPP (public-private partnership) model with over 17 operators under a single brand.

The Ministry also mentioned its salient feature of the double-decker buses which provides for high-capacity utilisation with low road space requirement, along with operating a large number of electric and hybrid buses. Another successful product by TFL is its introduction of the common mobility card which has made travel easy for the commuters and accounting easier for the operators. As a result of creation of a successful public transport system in London, the city has not seen any increase in number of their private cars.

Gadkari said that the proposed MoU will help to revamp the public transport and augment passenger capacity by way of creating a sustainable public transport system. It will help the country adopt best practices for policy reforms in the transport sector. It would also enable improved customer services, harness from scientific data analysis and implement effective IT systems in the transport sector.

The MoU can see an increase in the use of electric vehicles in public transport and promote digital transaction for ticketing. It will also help in improving major procurement strategies including PPP models for operations, infrastructure maintenance strategies, infrastructure design and delivery, besides promoting behavioural change towards promotion of public transport.

 (Image: PIB)