Kolkata Transportation Thread - (Surface/Water only)

[Suncity]

Originally Posted by kajusen

Sheen off swank bus service



source : http://www.telegraphindia.com/111041...y_13843660.jsp

Eki Kando! What is Swarnokamal Saha's stance on this?

[studdmanster]

whoz dat...r u refering to the conductor who became rato rat famous after the ban thing came in place??

[shoumik]

how do u think will the people of kolkata wud react to putting meters on autos...

this is not mumbai mate.......here even if the bus fares increase by Rs 1 ...buses are burnt

Originally Posted by debayanlahiri

Auto should be removed from proper Kolkata.. Autos should run only in the suburbs and that too on meter..

But I dont think politically that is possible!

[shoumik]

if ordinary pepole like us were given the chance to administer kolkata...there wud be plenty of good changes ...but we dont have that fate...politicians will never make kolkata better...

Originally Posted by debayanlahiri

Thanks Souvik for liking my ideas.. Its true that I should have jotted them down in one post.. Agree wid u man..

[arijeetb]

Originally Posted by kajusen

Sheen off swank bus service



source : http://www.telegraphindia.com/111041...y_13843660.jsp

and I thought the A/C buses were profit making. I saw a Tata A/C buses (gathering dust) parked inside the Terminus mall the other day, now we know the reason.

A revamp of the routes, timings, parking lots near middle/upper middle class congestion areas such as malls, high streets , dedicated parking at the airport , future feeder services to/from metro stations etc will ensure better utilization of the services. Just 50 buses operating for a city like Kolkata is no doubt a colossal waste.

[Suncity]

Originally Posted by shoumik

how do u think will the people of kolkata wud react to putting meters on autos...

this is not mumbai mate.......here even if the bus fares increase by Rs 1 ...buses are burnt

It is not ordinary people who create trouble. All trouble and andolons are created by politicians and their goonda bahinis who incite all the violence. Where does the common man have time to go burn buses or indulge in violence? At best the common man's sentiments are incited by the politicians who want power, money and gaddi.

[Suncity]

Originally Posted by studdmanster

whoz dat...r u refering to the conductor who became rato rat famous after the ban thing came in place??

For me he is just one of the many mafia leaders of various political fronts who control the transportation mafia.

[studdmanster]

hmm...so he could be next transport minister..provided TMC comez to power!

[avishar]

Funny,i saw many volvo buses on city roads this time and most of them were quite full.I saw quite a few which where absolutely packed with people,and new volvos too,other than the red ones,blue and orange ones.

Now i hear that its running in losses!

[avishar]

Funny,i saw many volvo buses on city roads this time and most of them were quite full.I saw quite a few which where absolutely packed with people,and new volvos too,other than the red ones brand new blue and orange ones.

Now i hear that its running in losses!

[Bombay2Calcutta]

Kolkata iconic trams are slowly fading out

[Suncity]

Originally Posted by avishar

Funny,i saw many volvo buses on city roads this time and most of them were quite full.I saw quite a few which where absolutely packed with people,and new volvos too,other than the red ones brand new blue and orange ones.

Now i hear that its running in losses!

That the media is saying based on people (with vested interests?). After all the game plan seems to be force the government to lower the EMIs or take more of the financial burden on behalf of private bus owners.

[avishar]

BRTS u/c beside the bye pass

[studdmanster]

@ avisar: we have a thread for BRTS, from nxt tym post the pics regarding BRTS, there!

[invincibletiger]

As the buses have become a non-viable option, few operators are brave enough to opt for one these days. The buzz that had been created when the service had been rolled out — attracting many passengers — simply isn’t there, making ends meet difficult for operators.

“The exorbitant EMIs that the transport department is demanding makes running of these buses a loss-making proposition, as the trend of using these buses is yet to catch on in Calcutta,” said a private transport operator.

Why do they need private transport operators for the Volvos? In Bangalore, BMTC runs them.

[suvendu_22]

Originally Posted by kajusen

These Merc buses are for the Kolkata - Durgapur - Asansol route.

and for Puri and Bhubanewar,odisha

[SarafIndian]

Photo cc ANIL RAJ I.S.

image hosted on flickr

[Bombay2Calcutta]

KMC digs up more trouble for trams

Sewer Project Delay Costs Dear, Rashbehari Stretch To Be Ripped Out Now

Saikat Ray TNN

Kolkata: Years after spending crores on paving tram track beds with concrete — a project that put the city through untold traffic agony — Kolkata Municipal Corporation now plans to dig up large parts of the concretised tracks on Rashbehari Avenue to desilt the brick sewerlines that pass underneath.
This, at a time when Calcutta Tramways Company has not been able to resume tram services on many stretches for two years.
Services on the Tollygunge-Ballygunge route, for instance, have been suspended for three years now. The KMC hasn’t yet handed the Rashbehari stretch back to CTC even after the one-year project deadline was extended several times over the past two years. Now, it plans to dig up the concrete.
Similarly, services on Hazra Road were hit as the road was dug up to de-silt sewer lines. This project, tagged with the Rashbehari Avenue project under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), has also missed several deadlines since 2009.
Besides the huge revenue losses, CTC authorities feel it is a cultural and social loss too. Tram cars are lying unutilized for years. Employees have no work. But above all, we could not carry passengers whom we value the most,” CTC managing director Pradip Chatterjee said.
Expressing helplessness, Chatterjee said it would not be possible to put trams on these routes till KMC gives the green signal. “I have written several letters to KMC, urging them to wrap up the work fast. But no one knows when we will get back these routes,” he said.
However, KMC authorities give no hope that the Rashbehari Avenue and Hazra Road lines would be handed over to CTC in the near future. A senior KMC official blamed it on the delay in executing the sewerage project.
The Rs 500-crore scheme was meant to modernize and rehabilitate underground sewerage lines along some major city thoroughfares like Rashbehari Avenue, Hazra Road, Canning Street and Beadon Street.
However, after reviewing the progress of work, the Union government has made it clear that it won’t give KMC additional funds unless reasons for the abnormal delay and consequent cost escalation are explained in detail.
“We have no idea when we can hand back these routes to the CTC. We will have to float another tender to complete the de-silting project,” a senior KMC official said.

[niljee]

Kolkata traffic undergoes a silent revolution
Krishnendu Bandyopadhyay, TNN | May 7, 2011,

KOLKATA: In the middle of the election, Kolkata's traffic system has undergone a metamorphosis almost silently with the introduction of a high-tech traffic management system — area traffic control (ATC) — at the central business district of the city.

Governed by a super-processor at the city police headquarters at Lalbazar, the ATC reduces 'human error' and changes the signals on the basis of its study of traffic volume on a particular crossing. "Apart from monitoring traffic, our system is adept to respond the distress calls and maintains surveillance at public places and VIP areas," said Commissioner of Police R K Pachnanda.

There are either magnetic loops just below the road surface near the crossing or cameras mounted on the signal pole. They act as sensors to gauge the traffic volume on a particular road at any given point of time. The study of these sensors goes to the central processing units. The CPU, which is collecting thousands such evaluations, gives the best possible signal command. The signal changes according to command.

"Since the system takes care of traffic flow management, traffic police personnel are used more for enforcement," said Debasish Roy, additional commissioner of the city police.

ATC currently covers a wide area. "It covers Strand Road in the west, AJC Bose Road in the south, AJC-APC Road in the east and Mahatma Gandhi Road in the north as its circumference. All roads and signals within this periphery fall under this system," said a senior traffic police officer.

The Kolkata police has also digitized records of about 6 lakh households, streets, pavements, banks, ATMs, water bodies, traffic signals, mosques, churches and temples in Kolkata. "If anyone makes any distress-call, his or her address and location will pop-up in our digitized map. It would be easier for police to locate the distress caller and resolve the issue," said an officer.

[kol2kol]

Originally Posted by Suncity

My suggestion:

8) Retain trams in the maidan area and run modern trams in a loop around the maidan for tourists. Make it value added by having dining cars in the evening (saw this in Zurich). Keep interchange between tram stops and metro stations.

12) mark out proper transfer points. Like Babughat has bus, tram, train and ferry service.

-> Trams should stay - we can have some tourist trams for sure, but trams are a convinient mode of transport - in fact, in many places, trams take similar times to reach your destination compared to buses. A good refubishing (atleast a fresh coat of paint) will go a long way to bring back the glamour factor. In most of the cases, it's the ongoing maintenance, and cleanliness that matters the most.

-> Proper transfer points is very essential. These transfer points should have parking, and adequate transfers to bus/train/metro/tram,etc. Express buses should run between transfer points