Shocking: 1,200 new vehicles added to Bengaluru roads every day
- Bengaluru has 73 lakh vehicle population of which 72 percent is two wheelers
- The government has allocated Rs 30 crore for scrapping the old and 4-stroke autos
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According to the Transport Department, Bengaluru has 73 lakh vehicle population of which 72 percent is two wheelers. "The travel time has further increased to 1.5 hours from 1 hour in areas including from Marathalli to Silk Board, Majestic to Yeshwantpur, City Market to Whitefield during peak hours.
According to department's record, the average speed limit of any vehicle commuting from Silk Board to Marathalli Ring Road is just 4.4 km per hour," said Narayanswamy CP, Additional Commissioner of Transport Department.
The officer told Newsable that, the department had taken a call to ban all old vehicle (bought 15 years ago) from operating on the road and also sent the proposal to the Ministry of Forest, Environment and Ecology and Karnataka State Pollution Control Board for their feedback.
Meanwhile, the department is making all efforts to cut down on 10,000 4-stroke autos in the coming days. The government has allocated Rs 30 crore for scrapping the old and 4-stroke autos from coming on the roads.
"Rs 30,000 will be given as subsidy for the autos with 4-stroke, they will have to scrap it and submit the chassis document. Based on the proof, the loan amount will be sanctioned, and the new vehicle will be allotted to the drivers. Time will be given for the 4-stroke autos and all of a sudden we will launch a drive to seize the vehicles causing air and sound pollution," said Narayanswamy.
Urban Transport Expert and CEO, Consortia of Infrastructure Engineers, MN Shreehari says any legislation to bring down vehicle or to stop the new vehicle entering the market will be a tough task for the government as automobile lobby is strong and they control governments.
"The automobile lobby will not allow the government to bring in mass transport system as their market will collapse," said Shreehari and added that a team of experts from Consortia of Infrastructure Engineers survey for 2016 pointed out at a loss of Rs 6,500 crore due to delay, loss of time and loss of fuel.
He suggested that the Transport Department should bring out a policy and cut down the new vehicle registration. Only 200 vehicles should be released every day from the department and also the roadside parking should be abolished. This will force the residents to come out of luxury and use public transport.
