On the Road, Again.

I didn’t put rang on anyone. The day wasn’t bhanged and there were no gujias consumed and yet I wouldn’t want to change anything about my Holi. Out of all the festivals I don’t celebrate Holi is my favorite. It officially signals in the summers for me; I enjoy the mild yet unrelenting sun that shines bright on the day when faces are smeared with color; life’s almost like a video game when grown-ups with silver colored faces cross paths.

But that’s not what I like the most about the festival of colors.

What I absolutely love about the day is that everyone seems to stay off the road. This is the day when the road regularly endured becomes the road less traveled. Every time I race on the city’s deserted streets my mind conjures up this image that I’m one of those F1 racers and this is just a dry run for the Monaco Grand Prix. The closer I get to my destination I continue to steal a glance at my wristwatch and keep telling myself that ‘under normal circumstances this journey can be covered in so many minutes…’

But what exactly is normal circumstance on the road when we have 11.2 million vehicles in and around Delhi? And that figure is almost three years old and probably means something else now.

Delhi’s traffic has grown at a rate of 132% in the last ten years. The day after the New Year’s Eve and Holi are two days when the roads are a dream to drive on. It’s on such days that you see how wide Delhi roads really are and wonder about yet another number- 1000. That’s the number of cars that join Delhi roads on a daily basis. Add a million more which come into Delhi from the satellite towns. Now add another factoid to make this interesting- the total road length of Delhi has increased by only 20% in the last decade.

Some of us might argue that we need more roads; others might say we need lesser cars. The truth, however nervously exits between a less than needed increase of roads and a more than desired increase in the number of cars. The bigger truth is that there is no way we can stop someone from buying a car. Or the second one. India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and so the number of cars sold would also be one of the highest in the world. The booming economy has to result in increased salaries of the working people and the growing population will, naturally, see a growth in the number of people. So what does one do with increased salaries? The same thing that one would do with any kind of salary. What am I working for? A better life. Yes, and that means a better car as well. Nothing wrong in that.

So, if we know that everyone is right in desiring a car then why do we assume that asking people to stop buying cars is the only way we can solve our traffic density problem?

It’s strange that lawmakers still believe that a car is a luxury. With less than adequate public transport system and warped policies teaming up increased salaries and growing desires there will be more cars on the road. Yes, the Metro has helped to a great extent by keeping 40,000 vehicles off the road by 2007; it saved 16.6 lakh vehicle km which means 172 crore rupees worth fuel but someone please tell the jokers who designed the parking lots for stations that it I have to spend an hour to look for parking then why won’t I take my car for the meeting that’s sad right next to another Metro station? Interesting the Delhi-Gurgaon Toll plaza has seen a decrease of almost 20,000 vehicles passing its gates but most importantly Metro has helped hardworking people almost 66 minutes/ day. But this also means a saving of almost Rs. 415 crore (till 2006) which,…ahem… means an increase in their earning capacity.

Thanks to the good things the Metro has done the average happily impacted Metro beneficiary will be able to by a car. This would increase the number of cars on Delhi roads; so does that mean people will start complaining about the lack of good public transport!?

This debate isn’t going anywhere but thinking about problems has become a way of life for me. I look forward to solving the problem of traffic and on the day when I’m supposed to enjoy my drive I can’t help but think about the parking troubles most colonies would face on the day the cars are kept off the streets!

PS: By the way this year the number of accidents during Holi was the lowest in the last decade.

Tagged

Have I done it?

Have I figured out what is really wrong with this country?

While the naysayers amongst you would be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of finding yet another thing to crib about, I’ll be one with the optimists on this one. Finding out what is wrong doesn’t always lead to whimper about the issue. It helps us to recognize the problem, isolate it and then duly work on it.

Really?

In any case here goes. The Gurgaon-Delhi toll was supposed to the final word in managing traffic. It was that gilded thought which would set us on the road to growth. This was the kind of road that the Indian tiger was supposed to run on and beat the bejesus out of the Chinese dragon.

Nope.

That didn’t happen. It did make the journey to Delhi a little better but that’s just about it. The point of getting to the toll and the stretch after that is all fine and one really enjoys driving on it. The real issue, the toll plaza is still a mess.

There is chaos and it’s been almost eight months since it started operating. I understand that there is huge traffic that is tackled every day and that thing would take a while to set in. This is a state as well as National Highway and hence the sheer volume of traffic could drive you nuts. But wasn’t that the great idea? Why is it that the people ‘operating’ it still allow cars without the electronic tag to ‘accidentally’ enter the tag only lane? The lane is supposed to offer wait less travel but...on top of that the road in itself is nothing short of a video game from the 1980’s. People cross the road at will and you, at 120 kms/hr, are supposed to keep an eye for them!

All this is fine. As Indians we are well equipped to deal with this mess on not only the nation’s but also one of Asia’s largest toll plaza which boasts of 32 lanes. We will buy toll tags which are supposed to electronically lift the barriers and drive in the sunset or away from it depending on which side you approach the toll from. But what we will not understand is that what the hell is a private cab doing in tag lane and delaying everyone by dishing out money in moneyless lane!?

You buy a tag to avoid scenes like this...but...


Why don’t the builders fine people who enter wrong lanes? Charge them hundred bucks instead of the seventeen and see how the word spreads. No one will make that mistake twice. Keep a police van stationed and anyone who refuses to pay can reason it with people who are on the right side of the law. Actually you don't really need someone to man a tag booth. But that won’t happen now…will it?

Ladies and gents I have deterred too far from the original hook of this post. I have, I think I do, discovered what the hell is really wrong with this country? Once I was made to wait endlessly in a tag lane. When my turn finally came I stopped at the booth and tried talking to the person inside. He was not on his chair, he was perched on his desk and his feet were resting on the chair. Why you ask? Well this being cashless lane, he didn’t expect tagless people so he was resting. I inquired of him that why don’t they do something with people who wander into wrong lanes? I urged him to think of supposedly smarter people, like yours truly, who paid money upfront and bought tags. He told me, ‘Did we ask you to buy a tag?’

Of course he hadn’t.

His implied that we bought the tag now we should just deal with it. Maybe this is it. In India that is what works. If you are in the right, that’s really your problem. The whole Tata-Mamta-Nano-Buddhadeb issue reiterated this sad truth. Things inherently are skewed here and on top that such attitude. Think about it. This toll road is an old road which has been blessed with flyovers so why are people charged to use it? The Delhi-Noida DND taking money is understandable for it was a new road made especially for the purpose that it serves. If a person has to go from Dhaula Kuan to Dwarka or the airport isn’t required to pay then how come a commuter from Gurgaon going the same distance is charged for it?

But with deadlines to meet and life to be lived…who the hell has the time to figure it out?

And after all they never asked you to buy a tag, now did they?

Image: www.thehindubusinessline.com