Comparison of New York City & Ahmedabad on Street System and Public Bus Transport Saumya Shah
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Introduction of GRIDIRON Road network in New York City In early 1800 people from all around the world started pouring in The New York City due to its importance in The United States and being a economical hub and land of opportunities. Eventually it was eminent that a proper infrastructure to accommodate the new flood of people. The grid system was incorporated in New York City by “The Commission” in 1807. “The Commission” worked on the plan for 3 years conducting surveys and trying to get the best possible outcome for the city. The plan was passed in 1811. The Commission consisted of Governor Morris, John Rutherfurd, and Simeon De Witt. Governor Morris was one of the founding fathers of United States who had signed on the Constitution. John Rutherfurd was a land surveyor as well as one of the senate member of New Jersey. Simeon De Witt was a New York State Surveyor General. Governor Morris explained the grid system in a simple way: “A city is to be composed principally of the habitations of men, and that straight-sided and right-angled houses are the cheapest to build and the most convenient to live in.”[1] “exclusive power to lay out streets, roads, and public squares, of such width, extent, and direction, as to them shall seem most conducive to public good…”[2] [1] 200th Birthday for the Map That Made New York By SAM ROBERTS. MARCH 20, 2011,The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/21/nyregion/21grid.html REMARKS OF THE COMMISSIONERS FOR LAYING OUT STREETS AND ROADS IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, UNDER THE ACT OF APRIL 3, 1807 William Bridges, Map Of The City Of New York And Island Of Manhattan With Explanatory Remarks And References. New York: William Bridges, 1811. http://urbanplanning.library.cornell.edu/DOCS/nyc1811.htm
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But for common people it is just a new system that the roads around them are going change a much needed change, the roads to be planned axially and there will be less mess due to horse-carts and pedestrians. “The Commission� plan has designed the 12 major avenues running from north to south and 155 streets intersecting them at right angle. There are some exceptions in the avenues as well. The Broadway runs in angular direction than other avenues. There are some additional avenues named A,B,C,D. There are some wide streets in between the regular streets to accommodate heavy traffic. The avenues and streets operate on one way direction system, so alternate streets and avenues operate in opposite directions to create a better traffic movement. As the time progressed the city has developed new Fig 1.1 NYC 1811
ways to manage traffic as well as create better network of public transport for people of the city. The addition of bike lanes is only possible due to the grid iron system of the island. One can still see the envisioned plan from 1811 taking pace even today with some minor changes. Fig 1.1 REMARKS OF THE COMMISSIONERS FOR LAYING OUT STREETS AND ROADS IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, UNDER THE ACT OF APRIL 3, 1807 William Bridges, Map Of The City Of New York And Island Of Manhattan With Explanatory Remarks And References. New York: William Bridges, 1811. http://urbanplanning.library.cornell.edu/DOCS/nyc1811.htm
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Introduction of City of Ahmedabad Ahmedabad is an old city developed by Sultan Ahmedshah on the bank of river Karnavati(Sabarmati). Ancient name of Ahmedabad was “Karnavati” due to the river. He created a walled city for protection from enemy attacks. The walled city has avery dense network of roads and housing. The typical walled city housing is called “POL House” The image beside shows the street Fig 1.2 Road map walled city, Ahmedabad
density in Pol housing of Ahmedabad. The streets are not planned they are developed as habitats started growing and spreading. The streets are merely 15-20 feet wide. These streets also have parking and vendors. The road system of Pol housing works on its own with people screaming, honking and trying to manage their way out. As the time progressed people started to move out of the walled city of Ahmedabad. The reason to move out of the city was development of real estate on the west side of the river. Commercialisation and Economic development of new city of Ahmedabad attracted more and more people towards it. Fig 1.2 Road map walled city, Ahmedabad. Allen Jacobs, Great Streets MIT Press. ©1993 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/55279/3057_7ahmedabad_lg.html
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People also moved towards the industrial zones on eastern side of the old city. These transformations in urban fabric are so prominent that now the new city of Ahmedabad has become most important city of state of Gujarat. But the problem of street network still remains in western part of Ahmedabad. They are not planned; they are not on any orthogonal angles. They are as wayward as the streets on walled city just wider and better. The streets of Fig 1.3 Development of Ahmedabad
western side of Ahmedabad have a distinct characteristic. They are radial and connect people from outskirt to the core of city really well. The image shows clear difference in terms of street network and scale of buildings in old walled city and new western city.
Fig 1.4 Difference of Old & New Ahmedabad Fig 1.3 Development of Ahmedabad City Profile : Ahmedabad http://www.the-euroindia-centre.org/newsletter/vol6/images/city_growth.gif Fig 1.4 Difference of Old & New Ahmedabad, Google Maps. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ahmedabad,+Gujarat,+India/@23.0240191,72.5730783,2416m/ data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x395e848aba5bd449:0x4fcedd11614f6516!8m2!3d23.022505!4d72.571 3621
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Public Bus Transportation of the New York City The public bus transportation in New York City is maintained by MTA (Metropolitan Transport Authority).It is a secondary public transport system in the city of New York. The subway is a primary transportation network. The MTA Bus system in New York City has more than 1200 buses working under it for the four boroughs. It is 11th biggest fleet of buses in United States. It has 47 local routes and 35 express routes getting the total at 82 routes. The bus routes are designed in such a way that intersects with the subway stations. The Bus system has a special type of travelling option for people with called “Access-A-Ride�. They are special buses just to accomodate wheelchairs. The regular buses also have feature to lower the platform for easy access to elders and children. MTA Buses are better option for people who wants to travel across the Manhattan from east to west because the majority of subways run from north to south. Buses are also good for short distance travels because one doesnt need to go underground and come back up from the subway. Buses are also a good travel alternative for children and elderly because its slower and easily accessible. New York City bus has express routes which can be helpful to reach some places quicker than the local bus. The black strips inside the bus are method to inform the driver when you want to get off. The MTA Bus service is one of the weaker public transport comparing to the MTA subway.The ridership of buses are constantly declining while the ridership of subway is increasing constantly. The Fig on the top clearly shows how the ridership in bus has declined for years. The constant problem the buses are facing is the traffic and congestion on the roads.The average speed of New York city buses are just 8.1 mph,
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Fig 1.5 MTA Subway & Bus Ridership 1970-2014
which is really less in comparison with other major cities like Boston, Wasington and Los Angeles.The average bus speed of New York City has also dropped with the passing time. Due to maximum traffic congestion Manhattan has the lowest average speed of 5.5 mph. The other downside of taking a bus is that the Metrocard which is needed for the payment of the fare is not available at any Bus station but only available at subway station.The fare between any stations are same be it one station from the boarding station or the last possiblle station.
Fig 1.5 MTA Subway & Bus Ridership 1970-2014 As Subway Trips Climb, MTA Bus Ridership Continues to Stagnate By Stephen Miller Apr 23, 2015. http://nyc.streetsblog.org/2015/04/23/as-subway-hits-new-records-mta-bus-ridership-continues-to-fall/
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Fig 1.6 Bus Travel in NYC Borough & Bus Speed with NYC vs. Other cities
In some routes MTA has applied BRT system for the bus routes, which are called SBS system. Which has resulte in both possitive and negative ways. Some routes have a rise in ridership and some routes have a downfall in ridership.
Fig 1.6 Bus Travel in NYC Borough & Bus Speed with NYC vs. Other cities Better Bus Lane Enforcement Means Better Bus Service http://www.straphangers.org/buscams/
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Bus Rapid Transit of Ahmedabad Bus Rapid Transit system of Ahmedabad is the only efficient and wealth generating BRT in India. BRT project of Ahmedabad is named as “Janmarg�. Janmarg has changed the urban fabric of the city and has put it to a different level in terms of public transport. Janmarg has received several national as well as international awards. Janmarg had started in 2009.
Fig 1.7 Ahmedabad BRTS Network Map.
Fig 1.7 Ahmedabad BRTS Network Map. Ahmedabad BRTS Network Map. http://aapnuamdavad.com/brts-route/
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BRT Ahmedabad is unique because of various reasons. It has a dedicated corridor for the whole 50 miles of its stretch all over the city. BRT connects most of the parts of Ahmedabad in its different lines. It has a daily ridership of 0.13 million people which is quite more considering the population of Ahmedabad is just 5.6 million. BRT Ahmedabad has a fleet of 160 buses. One of the positives for Janmarg is that due to having a special corridor its average speed is 15 mph. Janmarg has a central bus station system rather than road side bus stops. Central bus station creates an option for a two way road connection. The bus station gives a safe entry and exit from bus because it is nowhere near the operational road. The bus station has an automated door system which ensures rider safety. The frequencies of buses are from 2 to 5 minutes. There is a dedicated traffic force of ex-military personnel who look out for Janmarg buses at intersections and bus stations. The fare system of Janmarg depends on the distance travelled. The minimum fare is $0.05 and the maximum fare is $0.42. It has student concession and physically impaired concession. Janmarg does not have any express bus service, every bus stops at every station of its route. Accessibility for people with disability is not provided. The stations have ramps but buses don’t have any bracing systems for wheelchairs. Dedicated corridors have created congestion in normal traffic where the roads are narrow. Higher number of passenger can make buses more crowded.
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Conclusion
Like in The New York City the grid system of roads have defined the way the city has developed. It has helped create a prominent cityscape and navigation throughout the city has become easier once you understand its pattern. But gridlocks are a problem caused due to the grid system of roads. The amount of vehicles in New York City makes it hard to manage traffic problems in the city too. The MTA Bus service has several opportunities to increase their ridership. Creating a payment system at bus stops will lessen the bus boarding time. Different fares for different distance will encourage people to use Bus system. Priority bus lanes for fast mobility. On other side in Ahmedabad the street system is concentrated as well as they are peripheral roads. It makes navigation from those streets easier and faster. Streets of Ahmedabad are confusing. The streets are filled with two wheelers which is altogether a different problem for the city and lack of vigilant traffic rules is also a cause in traffic congestion. Janmarg of Ahmedabad can have express bus routes for shorter travel time. It can be more eco-friendly. All the buses should be accessible for people with disability. Limited number of passengers will create safer travel. Both city systems can learn from each other creating a better, safer and faster commute be it by bus, train or road.
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"History of Ahmedabad". Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, 14 May 2012. http://www.egovamc.com/AhmCity/history.aspx Andrew Cafourek, Streets and Avenues: A History of the Grid System, 11 December 2010. http://becomeanewyorker.com/streets-and-avenues-a-history-of-the-grid-system/ Dan Rivoli, Better Bus Lane Enforcement Means Better Bus Service, 17 May 2015. http://www.amny.com/transit/mta-bus-ridership-plummeting-statistics-show-1.10444910 Heather Cross, Riding Buses in New York City, 01 July 2016. http://gonyc.about.com/od/gettingaround1/a/buses_in_nyc.htm MTA, Introduction of Bus Ridership, Ridership by Bus Route. http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/#intro_b MTA, The MTA Network, MTA Bus Company. http://web.mta.info/mta/network.htm Koeppel, Gerard (2015), City on a Grid: How New York Became New York, Boston: Da Capo Press, ISBN 978-0-306-82284-1, Page No. 79.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeon_De_Witt#cite_ref-citygrid78_1-0
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