CUMTA to make commute breeze

CHENNAI: Commuting in the metropolitan is an uphill task for any commoner, thanks to the sharp increase in the number of vehicles and insufficient road space due to several reasons. With the formation of Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (Cumta) after a delay of more than a decade, the city seems to be heading in the right direction in resolving traffic woes, as the authority is in the process of taking up a slew of studies.

It’s well known that the State government will be getting over Rs 50,000 crore from the World Bank under the Chennai City Partnership, in which amenities including transportation, water supply, and others will get a facelift.

To play its part, Cumta has also proposed to conduct 6 studies such as the implementation of multi-modal integration, preparation of parking policy, provision of safe routes to schools, preparation of paratransit policy and creation of a railway line along Peripheral Ring Road with assistance from the funding agency. The authority proposed the studies during a recently held meeting with the World Bank.

Railway line along CPRR

The TN Road Development Company (TNRDC) is constructing the Chennai Peripheral Ring Road (CPRR) for 133 km crossing 3 districts to connect Ennore Port and Mahabalipuram at Rs 12,000 crore.

CPRR will be the fourth ring road for the city after the Inner Ring Road, Chennai Bypass and Outer Ring Road. The CPRR will pass through Thatchur, Tiruvallur, Sriperumbudur and Singaperumal Koil.

To promote public transportation along the Peripheral Ring Road, Cumta will study the feasibility of laying a fourth railway track on the Tambaram-Chengalpattu suburban route.

Another study will be conducted to add another railway line between Arakkonam and Kancheepuram. Presently, the frequency of EMU trains between Chennai Beach and Tambaram is higher while trains running up to Chengalpattu are fewer, due to the lack of sufficient railway tracks between Tambaram and Chengalpattu.

Safe routes to schools

Under the ‘Safe Routes to School’ study, Cumta will study measures to be taken to make roads leading to schools safer.

During the first authority meeting of Cumta, Chief Minister MK Stalin directed the authority to take steps to ensure roads to schools are student friendly. Based on the study results, frequency of buses would be increased on the routes where more students commute. Pedestrian pavements, roads, junctions and related facilities will also be improved.

Cumta has already asked the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) to share details about the number of students using free bus passes.

Paratransit policy

As the paratransit modes (share-autos) remaining the second most popular mode of public transportation in the city after the MTC, Cumta has proposed a plan to make them integral part of public transportation.

The policy will propose to divert share-autos to areas where buses cannot be operated with fixed charges. Presently, share-autos are competing with the buses as they ply on the same routes that buses are being operated.

A research study done by the Centre of Public Policy Research in 2013 revealed that over 18 lakh commuters use shared autos every day which is second to MTC’s ridership.

Parking policy for CMA

As the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) is set to expand to cover 5,904 sq km, providing sufficient parking space continues to be a challenge. To streamline parking management, Cumta has proposed to prepare a parking policy for the entire expanded CMA.

The policy will be prepared after studying the pattern of parking across the metropolitan area. It will lay down the rules and regulations for implementation of parking-related projects, monetisation methods, partnerships and other aspects, including on-street and off-street parking management systems.

Multimodal transportation hubs

Cumta has proposed to take 15 new Metro stations (phase-2) and convert them into transportation hubs. The study will be conducted under Chennai City Partnership.

The authority has finalised multimodal integration at Guindy, Washermanpet and Kilambakkam already. Also, feasibility studies will be conducted to implement multimodal integration in existing stations in phase-1 corridors.

Comprehensive Mobility Plan

Apart from the World Bank funded studies, Cumta has already invited consultants to revise the comprehensive mobility plan (CMP) for the CMA. The CMP will be prepared in a way to ensure interaction with the third master plan which will be prepared by the CMDA. The CMP will also include climate adaptation requirements.

The updated CMP will be based on Green, Resilient, Inclusive, Development focused and Safe (GRIDS) principles and focus on the movement of ‘people’ instead of vehicles. The present CMP was prepared by CMRL but has several lapses.

Lite Metros

As the CMDA is in the process of preparing the third master plan for the CMA, the transport authority has proposed to study the feasibility of providing ‘Lite Metros’ as last mile connectivity for Metro services.

The ‘Lite Metro’ study is a part of the CMP. Moreover, Cumta is trying to introduce a common ticketing system by January next year.

Cumta has proposed to conduct 6 studies — implementation of multi-modal integration, preparation of parking policy, provision of safe routes to schools, preparation of paratransit policy and creation of a railway line along Peripheral Ring Road with assistance from the funding agency

With over Rs 50,000 cr from World Bank under Chennai City Partnership