TRANSPORT: INITIATIVES FOR INDIA - Prof. Ralph Gakenheimer (Securing Asia 2015)

1. TRANSPORT:
INITIATIVES FOR INDIA
RALPH GAKENHEIMER
PROFESSOR EMERITUS
Dept. Urban Studies and Planning
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Smart, Secure and Sustainable Cities—India, July 2015

2. UMTAs: Unified Metropolitan Transport Authorities, of India
• A very substantial part of the growth of world population,
especially urban populations, in the coming years is going to
be in India. So a great deal of resource conservation can be
achieved by the wise guidance of urban growth by smart
cities. And the tools for a great deal of that will be in
refinement of the future of urban transportation.
• We live in cities where individual components of the
transportation systems have been created at different times in
the city’s history, different links to political and financial
support and different companion technologies. This has
produced current misfits between individual modes and their
appropriate roles in the overall systems.

3. UMTAs: Unified Metropolitan Transport Authorities
• These problems are apparent in the effort to create Unified
Metropolitan Transport Authorities (UMTAs) to harmonize city
transport development. As they have attempted to unify
operations of the various modes and functions that need to
be harmonized they encounter problems as reported in
papers that evaluate the performance of the UMTAs Yet it is
very important to harmonize the modes. UMTAs and their
potential roles are a unique Indian contribution to help unify
transport networks and create important urban efficiencies.

4. UMTAs: Unified Metropolitan Transport Authorities
• I refer to the effects of public transport on the spatial location
of travel demand, the accommodation of demand by new
BRT, the management of access by pedestrians, bicycles and
other light vehicles, consequences of driverless vehicles (sure
to be on the streets everywhere in the near future), and agile
replacement of trips by communications modes.
• Such a plan as this needs to begin with groups for
intergovernmental invention and eventually persuade
governments and their agencies of the values of their
proposals. The idea is uncomfortable because I seem to be
just magnifying the UMTA concept

5. UMTAs: Unified Metropolitan Transport Authorities
--If successful, UMTAs could become very important sources of
innovation and unified metropolitan action
--but they are struggling on account of different agency and
governmental origins of powers and responsibilities.
--UMTA internal agreement on overall policy (even leaving some
independent interpretations) would be an important attainment.
--Success in creating agreement on basic policy might lead to
widespread adoption of this framework

6. Medellín, Colombia

7. Basic Advantages
of teleferics, cable cars, aerial tramways,
metro cables, ropeways…
--Mobilize hillside dwellers (very important)
--Overcome lack of corridor space, avoid land acquisition
--Alleviate congestion
--Reduce energy use
--Shorten trip distances
--Short construction time, and cost
--Significantly reduce operating and maintenance costs

8. Teleferico Bicentenario, Stgo

9. Basic Disadvantages
• Capacity is limited (10 passengers per car),
speeds and capacities are small (3000
passengers an hour)
• But this will be overcome:
Current systems mostly provided by skiilift
designers. Demand will revise this limitation.

10. Proposal for Land Development Corridors

11. Green Transit Corridors

13. Seoul, Korea

14. Locating Soacha in Bogotá
Source: GPU Asociados a Transporte

15. Urban Corridor Design: Proposal for Soacha
Source: GPU Asociados a Transporte

16. 2001
Image Courtesy PLAZA

17. 2007
AutoVia:
Madrid
AutoVia:
Barcelona
AutoVia:
Valencia
Inditex (Zara) DC
Image Courtesy PLAZA

18. 2012
Inditex (Zara) DC
Shopping Center
Intermodal Terminal
ZLC
PLAZA (Platforma Logistica de Zaragoza)
Size: 13 Million m2
Number of companies: 350
People employed: 12.000
Caladero DC
Image Courtesy PLAZA

19. Plaza: The Market Area

20. Thanks for your attention.
Ralph Gakenheimer
rgaken@mit.edu
Urban Studies and Planning
Massachusetts Institute of Technology