Table 3: Regulatory Barriers in Selected Regions
Barrier
Description
Multiple Decision Centres
Government agencies involved in transport services include BEST Undertaking, Western Railways, Central Railways, Mumbai Metro, MMRDA
Autonomy of Operations
The agencies listed above are relatively independent and autonomous- they are accountable to voters, state urban development department, Indian Railways etc. respectively. The Regional Transport Authority (RTA) is responsible for motor vehicle taxation, issuing vehicular permits, changes in fare for cabs and autorickshaw services. However, the RTA and the state transport department have little say in the development of new mass transit projects currently under construction in the city.
Lack of Overarching Regulatory Framework
While a polycentric model by itself does not prevent sustainable mobility operations in a city, the lack of an overarching framework does. Maharashtra has a number of laws on transport, as well as policies on pedestrian-friendly mobility options. However, there is no single law that promotes public transportation, non-motorized mobility and evaluates the impact of cars on the city’s sustainability.
Information availability
Information on transport projects is difficult to obtain during the planning and feasibility stages, despite having access to the Right to Information (RTI). Reasons include- information is held by different departments in silos, concession agreements are considered to have proprietary information, projects are “under review” and hence information cannot be shared. As MMRDA plans the routes for 9 Metro lines, there have been protests the realignment of Metro route 6. No public consultations were conducted before designing the route or modifying it (Mumbai Mirror 2018).
Transparency of decision-making
While making decisions such as location of Metro stations, drawing up the Development Plan, MCGM and MMRDA have provided some information to the public, mainly due to pressure from stakeholders. Source: (CSTEP 2018), (Ostrom 2009), (MP Ensystems Research 2018)
3.2 Proposed solution to overcome barriers Government agencies and private operators have undertaken efforts to improve mobility, with three trends described below:
was one with “multiple centres of power, fragmented authority, and overlapping jurisdictions within a set of ordered rules”. (CSTEP 2018)
Urban Mobility Regulatory Environment in India
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