Our transportation habits have seen a rapid change since the dawn of liberalisation in 1991. Globalisation has increased human transportation throughout the world. The data of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) reveal that the country’s 7.5% of families own their car. This number was 6% in 2018. Similarly, 49.7% of the families have two-wheeler vehicles. This number was 37.7% in 2018. If we talk about bicycles, then 50.4% of the families own at least one bicycle. This number was 52.1% in 2018. These statistics explain that the number of cars and bikes on roads is increasing and that of those who ride bicycles is declining. In the case of the capital, Delhi, 19.4% of families own cars. As the number of cars on the road increases, traffic problems are also on the rise. New highways and express lanes are being constructed to mitigate traffic issues and ensure smooth transportation. In major cities, there is hardly any space left for building new lanes. Environmental writer Sunita Narayan has provided interesting statistics about Delhi in her book “Conflict of Interest.” She mentions that roads have already been built on 21% of Delhi’s land. Furthermore, only 15% of the population travels by car, but cars occupy 90% of the road space. In other words, roads are dominated by cars, leaving very little space for buses, motorcycles, pedestrians, rickshaws, and cyclists.
The design of our roads is car-centric, and this leads to an increase in traffic congestion, accidents, and pollution. To address these issues, it is essential to make road transportation inclusive and equitable. We need a transportation system where everyone has access to fair and equitable road space distribution.
According to the World Health Organization, 81% of people who die in road accidents in Delhi are pedestrians, cyclists, motorcycle riders, and cycle rickshaw pullers. The reason is clear: our road design and traffic management are not inclusive. It is likely that in the future, cities will face even more congestion. If road transportation is not made inclusive and equitable, not only will traffic jams increase, but air pollution, noise pollution, light pollution, and urban heat islands will also worsen.
The future of cities from an environmental perspective will depend on how inclusive our road transportation becomes. We must understand that if road transportation is inclusive, cities will become greener, air pollution will decrease, and our cities will better withstand the heat of global warming. To achieve this, we need to improve our creativity in road design. Many developed countries are currently focusing on pedestrians and cyclists when planning their roads. Many large cities have also adopted bus rapid transit systems.
We need to increase investment in public transportation. A significant portion of the total area in cities is used for car parking. If road transportation is made inclusive, there will be more available space in cities. These spaces can be used to create city parks, lakes, and more. At present, our cities are becoming a threat to natural coexistence. Our city infrastructure no longer allows birds to sing, rivers to flow naturally, fish and turtles to breathe in lakes, rainwater to percolate to the groundwater, land for planting trees, or natural food for animals. Improving the ecological balance of our cities through inclusive transportation is vital for the future. This is the only way forward.