Transportation Lessons Narendra Modi Can Learn From Singapore

Singapore's transport system is famous for efficiency across the world. The Lion City is known for its virtually uncongested roads and strong transportation networks. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaches Singapore on Monday in his final stop of a Southeast Asia tour, here are some lessons he can learn from the city state:

• Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wants people in the union territory to walk, bicycle or travel by mass transit as much as possible. Kejriwal, who plans to celebrate every 22nd of the month as car-free day, wants the entire city to become car-free on January 22, 2016. While commute patterns in a city are easier to change, they heavily dependent on the stricture of a city, something which is not subject to quick changes. For people to walk, bicycle or use mass transit to work, a few conditions ought to be satisfied.

A) The city should be compact. When buildings near mass transit corridors are tall, people can live near metro stations and walk or bicycle to work. Singapore is compact.

B) Jobs and residences should not be dispersed over a large distance. This means that labour markets and other amenities should be close by. This is not true of Delhi, where many travel two hours or more from residence to workplace. Compact development, however, will encourage walking, bicycling and usage of mass transit as much as possible. Singapore is a compact city.

C) A motorbike takes only one-fourth of the space of a car, while driving through roads and about one-fifth of the space of a car while being parked. A bicycle takes even less space. Bicycling also reduces air pollution. However, speed is very important in a city where offices and residences are far apart. Singapore's road transportation policy is designed to optimise speed. At the same time, there are bicycle parking spaces near mass transit stations.

• The Modi government plans to impose cess on fuel. This is one of the many ways used to lower road congestion across the world. While this may lower the usage of automobiles, people will be taxed irrespective of the hour in which they drive through roads. For example, fuel charges would be the same irrespective of whether you drive at midnight or at peak hours. The most optimal solution in a scenario like this could be imposing electronic congestion pricing.
  Singapore is one of the rare cities on earth that imposed congestion pricing. Despite being the third-densest country in the world, Singapore's roads are free of congestion. As car ownership in India is likely to significantly rise in the near future, Modi has valuable lessons to learn from Singapore.

• Singapore is a small country, spread over 714 square kilometers. This is a major factor that encourages public transport usage and walking in Singapore, apart from compactness. The Indian government that is keen on reducing automobile usage should remember that cities were once spread over a much smaller area long ago. Until 19th century, all cities on earth were walking cities. It is automobile usage that allowed cities to widen their boundaries and accommodate more people. It also allowed people to enjoy greater floor space. In a limited area, Singapore has tried to do the best that it can to accommodate more people, and build better transportation networks. India does not face such great constraints. India's transportation policy should take the structure of its cities into account, like Singapore did.