Skip to main content

Why Mumbai will never be free from traffic

2004 : Regular commute on the western express highway (which was barely a total of 3-4 lanes) all the way to Seepz, sometimes via Aarey Colony/JVLR.
Chai pe discussions (borrowed phrase) over why are they bothering to build a highway in the middle of the city..why we just cant have a metro from Ghodbundar / Kashimira to atleast Bandra, since we were anyways building the commercial district of Bandra Kurla Complex and the Bandra Terminus.
Anyways Delhi had a metro since the 1990's, and we being the hip and happening Mumbai deserved our own.
That, we all know did not happen.

And, in the meanwhile, atleast I now have good understanding of why something like that or similar will have opposing forces :
  • Lost Fare - Such a move would render thousands of auto fares/taxi fares needless. Think about Rs. 1 to 2 crore lost on a daily basis. In this context, think of the cycle of increasing taxi-auto fares -> increasing taxi/auto permits -> increasing fares -> you get the idea..
  • Auto Rickshaw manufacturing - Generally such a loss in fare would result in a lower number of people entering this profession, resulting in about 5-7% vehicles lesser on the road. That is lost revenue for a total of approximately 7000 (autos + taxis) lost, which is in turn a loss of a similar amount or a little lesser number of loans for the banks. About Rs. 30-40 crore gone.
  • Fuel Consumption - Obviously, without saying, lesser vehicles lead to lesser fuel consumption.. atleast another Rs. 6 lakh on a daily basis lost.
  • Road Construction - what would we do without these guys and all these flyovers zig-zagging..and ah yes the monsoon..that would be sooo boring.
  • Politics - Some of these autos, from what I know are owned by the juniormost level politicos - 5-6 per such politico, used as a dole for the underlings...
  • Rent Seeking - The permit economy of about Rs. 1 lakh per auto for about 3 years and Rs. 1.5 lakh for a cab permit is another lost opportunity.
  • Politics again - Approximately 7-8 lakh adults, including the drivers and their families rely on this profession. 
  • Cars - Seriously, how many of you would drive or bother to purchase a car if I gave you the option to sit and commute comfortably to your office. So with the cars, is the impact on the car companies and obviously is the fuel.
  • Jobs - With the cars lost, obviously, a conservative estimate of another 1000-2000 personal chaffeurs become jobless.
In short, this is a trade off between the comfort of the largely educate middle class + the business class, against the employment of the lower middle class. In short, re-distribution/socialistic policies.

What is wrong/right, I do not know.. but this is definitely an example of what is coming next..
The big debate of employment vs technology or the technology endgame... and how the demographic dividend may not exist.





    Comments

    Anonymous said…
    An interesting experiment in demand, supply and pricing would be -

    1. Find optimum number of vehicles required for city limits, population, commuters

    2. Increase fares of public transportation like auto, cabs.

    3. Increase number of cabs and autos.

    4. Repeat 2 and 3 till visible decrease seen in commuters.

    Popular posts from this blog

    The LifeTime Offer

    Vodafone India ₹ 499 LifeTime Offer Today, as I was having lunch, I received a call. The caller identified me by name. Then proceeded to explain she was calling to offer me a great ‘postpaid’ plan. From Vodafone. Why? I was already on a Vodafone pre paid. No Answer. But I figured. A few months earlier, I had figured that the bill being charged to me was too much for the services I was availing. So I did what a right minded Gujju would. Switched to pre-paid. Now mind you, I have been on post paid for over a decade before the switch. Back to the call.  She : I am suggestiing a Rs. 499/- “lifetime” plan which would include some 700 minutes of local talk time, 500 SMS and 2 GB of 3G data. Me (Thinking) : Now that is a pretty decent plan for someone with my kind of usage. My curiosity is piqued. Me : How long is “lifetime” Her (irritated voice) : lifetime means lifetime. Me : What if Vodafone shuts down this plan. Her : Kya Sir, aisa kabhi hota hai kya. Vodafone...

    I am the One and Only !

    I am the One and Only. Almost every revelation, discourse from any prophet, incarnate, divinty worth their name in salt have uttered thus or some variation. Bhagavad-Gita 12:06   Bhagavad-Gita 07:14 and many more in the Bhagavad-Gita, Bible and many such religious texts. And each time that happens, a new religion, sect etc. is formed, claiming to be followers of the only true one and the others to be false (MASSIVE FACEPALM). Achieving the EXACT opposite of the revelation. The 'One' is all pervasive, unmanifest ! Logically also it makes perfect sense, the case that there can be only one 'One', and well, that's exactly what the One claimed, albeit about the unmanifest and not the manifestation. And then each one of us, instead of understanding that there's only one One, with our finite wisdom, generally mislead by marketing managers (religious leaders) ask the question 'Which One ?' The global religion marketing wars ar...

    Street Side, Street Smart, Sales Strategies/Tactics.

    Couple of months back, I saw something interesting on the streets in Mumbai, where women were selling some wares. Observed some more, and here it is... Hot Shots This tactic is visible in restaurants, mainly Udipi restaurants and also the steetside pavbhaji/tava pulav vendors in Mumbai. Does it happen in your city/town/village as well ? The bhajis, specially the red coloured gravy ones: bhaji from pao-bhaji, veg kolhapuri, veg patiala, bhendi masala etc. are cooked using a mix of masala which stings on the tongue, and most of us eat food in such places when the temperature of the food is hot to lukewarm. This combination of hot taste and hot temperature confuses the average human being's reflexes: While eating such bhajis, ability to discern hunger and taste decreases, thrist, and eating speed increases. This generally results in you eating a pao-bhaji quickly, not understanding how much of your hunger is appeased, and generally resulting in a side order of a carbona...