Traffic issues make driving a nightmare

KOLKATA: The city’s fleet of air-conditioned buses has changed the way Kolkatans commute, this scorcher of a summer.And it’s not just regular bus-takers. A recent study has found that a sizeable number of AC bus-users are ‘choice riders’: commuters who have the means and option of taking a car or a cab, but still rely on AC buses.A random survey among 20,000 commuters — part of an ongoing study started last September and still continuing — carried out by IIT Kharagpur on weekdays in various parts of the city revealed that 24% of those who own cars now regularly commute in AC buses.Though 40% of Kolkata’s car owners still do not consider the bus a potential alternative mode of transport, the other 60% is not only open to taking a bus, but 40% of this latter group are regular bus-users. Of this 40%, 15% take non-AC buses, and 25% AC buses.And nearly all respondents who use AC buses said they do so for reasons of comfort and reliability in service.Prof Bhargab Maitra, urban transportation expert and head of RCG School of Infrastructure Design and Management (RCGSIDM), IIT-Kgp, feels an even larger number of car users may switch to buses. “A car owner is more likely to shift to an AC bus than a passenger who commutes in a non-AC bus. If the level of service improves further, as much as 48% car owners may actually use buses. This will lead to road de-congestion and a red-uction in vehicular emission,” he said.According to conservative estimates, an AC bus is equal to 30 cars in terms of number of passengers carried.According to figures released by West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC), Kolkata’s fleet of 400 AC buses has managed to draw 2 lakh passengers daily throughout May and June. “AC buses have high loyalty and did not lose many riders even during the winter,” said a senior transport department officer.Prof Maitra said AC buses have proved to be a game-changer, having broken the myth that what matters most is the price of tickets. In AC buses, the fare is of the least consideration among things like travel time, comfort level, safety and real-time traffic information, he said.Choice-riders make up a distinctly different group in terms of their “willingness to pay” for bus services. The conversion from car to bus is likely to be higher with the improvement of three key areas: improvement of in-vehicle travel time by introducing suitable priority measures, improvement of quality of buses, and availability of real-time traffic information available onboard and at bus stops, the study indicates so far.Till the introduction of AC buses in big numbers in 2012-’13, bus services catered to only lower middle-class commuters and the lower income group. A large segment of the middle-class, which was willing to pay higher fares for comfort and safety, remained ignored by the transport PSU, and was forced to take AC cabs because of the lack of option. With the introduction of AC buses on several routes, many of these passengers have switched over to these buses.The airport-bound AC buses are a case in point. These buses are now travelling packed. Earlier, 99% of airport-bound commuters either used hired cars, cabs or private cars. “Our studies also found that airport-bound buses maintain better frequency and good travel time, which enable them to strike a high conversion rate,” said Prof Maitra.Driving a car to the workplace has become a harrowing experience due to high traffic and problems in parking. “The number of cars is increasing at an exponential rate, but parking infrastructure remains limited. Though the official parking fee is Rs 10, one pays nearly twice or thrice that amount for parking in the central business district and the surrounding areas. Extracting the car from parking lots is also an issue. Thus, commuting by a bus is a pleasure,” said Kallol Mukherjee, a senior manager in an MNC, who has switched to AC buses from his car.