Reinventing public transport and mobility in the 'new normal

In these extraordinary and unprecedented times, commuting systems and means across the country have virtually collapsed. To complement India’s complete lockdown, public transport was stopped. The fear of infection has stigmatised public transport and shaken people’s confidence. And yet, the economy cannot reopen and livelihoods cannot be secured without public transport and mobility. 

As India prepares to end the lockdown and reopen public transport systems, the immediate focus would be on hygiene, sanitation and social distancing. But what would be critical to consider at this juncture is how will we manage our public transport and mobility in a world of the ‘new normal’ – how can we devise and implement a sustained strategy for improving public transport to control overcrowding, design fiscal packages to revive and augment public transport services, increase use of IT for cashless transaction and service operations, while ensuring better digital data management for improved services? At the same time, how can public transport be linked with enhanced strategies for walking and cycling like other cities in the world are doing? 

The global community is in this crisis together. This offers us an opportunity to learn collectively from others – Hong Kong, Singapore, London and more -- who are reinventing to make public transport work, promoting walking and cycling while adopting working methods to reduce the need for unnecessary travel. Indian cities are also framing their own strategies and preparing implementation. How do we inform each other?  

Join us in a conversation that will highlight these much awaited solutions that are needed to mitigate dirty air and climate change

For more details: Souparno Banerjee, The CSE Media Resource Centre, souparno@cseindia.org, 99108 64339