For some, the objective of mobility is to reach their destination (workplace/home, schools, colleges, tourism etc) and for quite a few mobility itself is a work (job, entrepreneurship) ‘Speed thrills but kills’, ‘Better late than never’ etc are some of the popular roadside banners which keep staring at us while the intent is good but they subtly push the onus of mobility solutions largely on drivers and driving negligence which creates a myopic view of a pertinent topic of ‘mobility for productivity’ to a mere ‘driving attitude /etiquettes issues’, time has come to refocus on Mobility & Accident Prevention for Productivity (MAPS) afresh.
Mobility challenges is one of the major barriers to the economic development of any developing economies and especially that of Goa, resulting in severe social and economic impacts. The severity of traffic congestion is more thought-provoking than destructive barriers.
Quite often in the rush of quick fix we launch feel good factor initiatives like ‘pay & park’, ‘speed cameras’, ‘surprise raids’ which have their own limitations and end up only healing the symptoms, temporary pain relief but root cause remains unchanged.
Hence the purpose of this article is to trigger interests among transport policy makers, traffic police, students and startups to focus on deeper understanding the ‘pain points’ related to the social, economic, and environmental effects of mobility challenges like road traffic congestion in Goa and offer sustainable and scalable solutions.
Let us first revisit the problem statement, instead of tagging it as ‘traffic’ or ‘Road accidents’ we need to be ‘hyperopic’ for the purpose of exploring a systemic and result oriented outcomes.
1) Situation /scenario analysis stage, 2) Problem identification stage, 3) Implications stage, 4) Need payoff stage.
Following is the stage-by-stage multidimensional understanding to create triggers for a sustainable and scalable solution: 1) “A” to “Z”: situation(current), a) Mobility long term plan, b)Transparency in Transport policy, c) Lack of Data Sciences application, d) Auto sales projections, e) EV induced adolescent drivers, f) Multiple mega events, g) Bad road conditions, h) TCP and revised FSI impact, i) National & International symposiums sequels, j) Road accidents related litigations, k)Stalled road widening etc, l) Obsolete Public Transport and Bus depots, m) Commercial and residential complexes with no provisions for parking, n)Apathy, cold aloofness from school management, o)Faulty s Cross roads, junctions and divide, p) Unscientific road lighting, q) Outdated parking management, r) Blatant violation by rental cars/scooters, s) Worn out road signages, t)Adhoc and unthoughtful installations of hoardings
u)Pedestrian blues, v)No adherence to left lanes, w) Growing number courier services /home deliveries, x) Road Rage, Driving abuse, y) Tinted glass /fancy number head lights, z)Lack of Tech upgradation for Traffic management.
2) Problems (Man ,Machine, Method, Material, Measurement, Management & Morale). The existing scenario as shared in the “Sensing” stage fuels the next stage -Problems! i) Uncalled for accidents, trauma & loss. ii)Multiple Traffic congestion -mechanical, environmental, human and infrastructure related, iii) Uncalled for loading on Traffic police, medical services, iv)Traffic overload leading to burn out, v)Higher Pollution due to emissions, vii)Fuel wastage, rising fuel cost impacts bottom line, viii)Vehicle depreciation due to stalling, ix)Delay to reach Office/Home/schools /Missing of flights/train/buses.
3)Implications -long term: If the above problems are largely unattended or merely provided with temporary reliefs may lead them towards severe implications as under: a) Growing Road rage leading to unrest/crimes, b) Stress at work place impacting efficiency and effectiveness, c)Erosion of family time leading to mental health & wellness issues, d) Tourists may look for alternatives, e) Excess uncalled workload for Traffic Police/Hospitals/Judiciary etc.
4) Needpay off (solutions): Problems if left unattended will convert into implications and hence they have to be either minimized, avoided or eliminated and this needs deep solutioning, here is a suggestive list.
4.1)Macro level: a)The Transport ministry should formulate a Zone wise Task force team to study all the infrastructure developments, traffic statistics as of now, in progress and projected over next 3 years and arrive at a multidimensional picture about ‘mobility problems’ and ‘mobility solutions’ and make this public and also invite suggestions for the same.
b) Traffic department can also encourage and energize the colleges through contest etc. to kick start Road audits which should essentially cover the checklist as per stage 1 ‘sensing’ and undertake video/photo audits to understand the traffic flow, peak hours, mobility dynamics and offer solutions and suitably reward them, such initiatives can be easily sponsored through CSR.
c) Advisory Brain storming with experts like Dr Pasricha former Director General of Police -Maharashtra who has the distinction of being the most High-profile Traffic Policeman in the country -popularly referred as “Bombay’s Traffic Messiah, along with local representatives and traffic related stake holder to explore solutions factoring all the 6 levels namely Man /Machine/ method/material/management/morale.
4.2) Micro level: a)RSP -Road Safety Patrol @ schools. Road safety patrol & civil defence organization was formulated, in 1976 at Vidarbha Buniyadi School. Honourable Sanjay Shende was the state president of this organisation. R S P aims to create awareness in students’ regarding Prevention and Reduction of road accidents. RSP should be installed at every school, more specifically in those which are in the proximity of Traffic congestion.
b) Plan and implement more ‘by pass roads’ to divert the heavy traffic passing through crowded zones/villages, c) Social media handles – for awareness, case in study the Mumbai Traffic cell social media handles as a benchmark – the way they create awareness with a dash of humour and insight, d) AI /Robotics and drones to proactively access the road traffic this will dramatically ease the pressure on the Traffic cell and improve response time, e) Revamp the existing RTO tests for licence and make it more stringent.
f) Sensor based roads for effective and efficient Traffic signal management at key junctions, g) State of Art Traffic booth at major junctions with rest rooms, surveillance, drones etc for Traffic police so that they can do their stressful duty with ease, h) CSR pool: Industries should lead such initiatives by collaborative CSR integration and lead long term sustainable solutioning, i) ITI pass outs under CMPKPS can be trained to maintain and manage the traffic signals and other traffic related tech services through AMC retainership.
j)Applying Data science for predictive pattern of vehicular traffic ,driver behaviour, historical analysis of accidents etc.
Time is an economic commodity, and it helps to accomplish products and services as valuable items. Generally, travellers prefer to choose the route of less travel time, even at long distance and high running cost of the vehicle. Since travel time has a value, but the value of travel time depends on many factors, each of varying importance depending upon the traveller, the purpose of travel, the amount of time available, the reliability of having the time to use etc.
If no measures are taken towards mobility solutions, individual journey costs will rise, and the entire transportation system will become paralyzed, limiting sustainable development and will severally dent our endeavour to make Goa as the preferred destination for Global Tourism hub, Education Hub, Startup capital without compromising the welfare and safety of the local community.
MAPS is a call for simplification of mobility ecosystem ie creating more time for same time without compromising safety, quality –in short freedom from worries, anxieties of travel.
(Kishore M Shah is a Strategy Consultant & Managing Trustee – GDP Foundation)
