N° 6 -November/December 2009

Dossier

,-

From left to right: Manoj Kumar Aggarwal, Public Policy Research and Project Management Consultant and formerly Senior VicePresident (Road Transport), Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Ltd., New Delhi; Vijita Singh Aggarwal, ManagementProfessional, Faculty Member GGSIndraprastha University New Delhi and Iaspal Singh, Deputy Manager (Road Transport), DelhiIntegrated Multi·Modal Transit System Ltd., New Delhi, India

story of Transport AuthorityThe successDelhi

•In

•••The mission of DIMTSis to establish new standards of excellence in public transportation and allied infrastructure systems

India's transport sector is large and diverse. India has a federal polity and the administration of the transport sector is entrustedto different agencies at different levels. The current structure of governance for the transport sector is not equipped to deal withthe emerging problems of urban transport. The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD),like some other statesin India, has embarked upon an ambitious programme of promoting an integrated public transport system.

Delhi - Brief Demographic ProfileThe capital city of Delhi is the secondlargest city in India, with a total areaof l,483km2. The projected popula-tion of the National Capital Territoryof Delhi is 17-44 million, with 95% inurban areas as on 1 March 2009 (Eco-nomic Survey, 2008-2009), growing ata rate of 4% per annum. It is projectedthat Delhi and its satellite towns willbe among the most populous cities inthe world by 2020 (Urban Age, 2008).Delhi has a state elective assemblyand the local body administrative re-sponsibilities are shared between

---'-----------------26 PTI November/December 2009

three agencies: the Municipal Corpo-ration of Delhi (which controls 96% ofthe land area), the New Delhi Munici-pal Council (which controls 3% of theland area, mainly in central Delhi) andthe Delhi Cantonment Board (whichcontrols 1% of the land area).

The transportation network in Delh iis predominantly road based withl,284km of road per 100km2. Current-ly, there are two modes of public trans-port: metro and bus. At present, about6,600 buses are operating on morethan 325 routes. In June 2009, thePublic Operator (Delhi Transport Cor-

poration) and private operators wereplying buses at the ratio of 50:50. Inaddition, there are about 4,000 char-tered buses catering mainly to officecommuters. In April 2008, the govern-ment started the first Bus Rapid Tran-sit (BRD corridor, with a total lengthof 14.5km. The construction of theDelhi Metro is a major step towardsstrengthening the public transporta-tion system in Delhi. The Delhi Metrocovered a total distance of 76.7km inPhase I, including three corridors. InPhase II, the Delhi Metro is planned tocover a length of 127km by 2010.

Modal Split of Person Trips in Delhi* (Figures in Percent)

59.8

3.1 3.6 0.0 4.1

02000 - 2001

D 2007 - 2008

0.7 0.75.3 6.8

41.5

TwoWheelers

CycleRickshaws

Car/Taxi AutoRickshaw

Bus Metro

* Total Number of PersonTrips/Per Day (excluding walking) 14.4 millionSource: RITESDelhi Traffic and Forecast Study (2008)

Train (R) Bicycle

In 2007'2009, around 46% of totalpersonal trips in Delhi were madeusing the public transport system(bus and metro), which included 4%

by metro (RITES Limited, 2008). Thenumber of vehicles on Delhi's roadshas increased from 1.9 million in 1991to over 6.2 million by June 2009, anincrease of 226% in the last 19 years(Transport Department, GNCTD). Busridership has decreased from 7.0 mil-lion passenger trips in 2000-2001 to6.0 million passenger trips in 2007-2008. On the other hand, trips per-formed by car and two-wheelers haveincreased.

Creation of Urban Mass TransportAuthority (UMTA) - National UrbanTransport PolicyIn its National Urban Transport Pol-icy, the Central Government advo-cated setting up Unified MetropolitanTransport Authorities (UMTAs) in allmillion-plus cities to facilitate morecoordinated planning, implementa-tion of urban transport programs andprojects, and integrated managementof urban transport systems. It wasthought that UMTAs should functionas umbrella bodies which regulatethe overall performance of the pub-lic transport system and ensure thatthe cities have comprehensive pub-lic transport systems. The key role ofthese agencies should be to designnetworks and routes, assess demand,contract services, monitor perform-ance and manage common facilitieslike bus stations and terminals.

There are four requirements to an in-tegrated Public Transport System viz.

Strategic PlanningThe strategic functions involve longterm planning and policy-making, 'tak-ing decisions on long term investmentsand capital financing, etc.

RegulatoryRegulatory functions involve a rangeof functions such as: issuing of drivinglicenses, registration of vehicles, road-worthiness certification, etc., testingof vehicle emission performance, set-ting fares for different kjnds of publictransport, para transit and ensuringcompliance to safety regulations andprescribed emission standards.

ProvisioningThe provisioning function involves cre-ating infrastructures for public trans-port, be it: different modes, roads andflyovers, under-passes, BRTs,terminals,depots, interchange points, automaticfare collection mechanisms, AutomaticVehicle Tracking Systems, etc.

OperationsOperations fall into two categories: theoperation of common services such as pas-senger information systems for the entirenetwork, and the actual public transportservices provided by individual operators.

Transport Sector Structure in DelhiA transport body needs to fulfill differ-ent roles and functions, which include:

I. Strategic planning

II. Management, policy planning

III. System/corridor planning

IV. Financial planning

V. Long and short-term priority setting

VI. Decision making for investment andoperating subsidies

VII. Infrastructure project implementation

VIII. Regulation and enforcement

IX. Strategic operations manage_ment

X. Public transport service planning

XI. Public transport operation andmanagement

In Delhi, there are different agencieswhich are responsible for different rolesrelated to the transport sector. TheDelhi Development Authority, the threeMunicipal Bodies and the state Govern-ment exercise jurisdiction on variousaspects of Public Transport, with result-ant inefficiencies.

The Transport Department in Delhi isheaded by elected representative andhas three key divisions, as follows (seefigure 2 on page 29).

The State Transport Authority (STA)was created to oversee the integra-tion of different modes of transport,to provide policy input and to performthe strategic role of balancing thesupply-side and the demand-side of

Figure 1: Integrated PublicTransport System

StrategicPlanning Regulatory'

Provisioning Operations

November/December 2009 PTI 27

---------------_.-

Dossier

Table 1:The roles of different agencies in Delhi

Organisation FunctionsTransport Department I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X

United Traffic & TransportationInfrastructure planning and I, II, III, VIIEngineering Committee

Delhi Development Authority I, II, III, VIINew Delhi Municipal Corporation I, II, III, IV, V, VIMunicipal Corporation of Delhi I, II, III, IV, V, VIDelhi Cantonment Board I, II, III, IV, V, VIPublic Works Department VIPlanning Department I, II, III, IV, V, VIFinance Department I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, XState Government I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X

National highways Authority of India II, IV, V, VIDelhi Transport Corporation (DTC) VII, VIII, IX, X, XIDelhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI

I = strategic planning; II = management, policy planning; .111 = sys-tem/corridor planning; IV = financial planning; V = long and short-term priority setting; VI = decision making for investment and oper-ating subsidies; VII = infrastructure project implementation; VIII =regulation and enforcement; IX = strategic operations management;X = public transport service planning; XI = public transport operationand management

management. The authority is mainlyresponsible for the issuance/renewalof permits forcommercial vehicles(passenger and goods), fare fixationof metered taxis, metered auto andstage carriage buses, the collectionof authorization fees, etc. The author-ity is headed by a Board consisting ofthe Commissioner/Secretary (Trans-port) who acts as the Chairperson,two MLAs (Members of Legislative As-sembly), a Joint Commissioner (TrafficPolice) and the Secretary (STA).

Although the branch is headed by theSecretary (STA), over a period of time,the STA became part of the TransportDepartment. Because of a lack of ex-pertise and domain knowledge, theSTA is not very effective in terms oflong-term transport planning. Due toits location in the transport depart-ment, the State Transport Author-ity functions as an extension of thedepartment and often experiencesconstraints of expert manpower in adomain that is becoming increasinglycomplex and challenging.

City-wide Integrated Multi ModalAfter the introduction of the metrosystem in 1999, there was a need tointegrate the different modes of ex-

.~---------------------28 PTI November/December 2009

isting and future public transport sys-tems in a seamless manner.

Accordingly, GNCTD planned and ap-proved the implementation of a mul-ti-modal, integrated, city-wide masstransit system to increase mass tran-sit in Delhi with many corridors suit-able for the construction of differentmodes of Urban Mass Transit System.

This comprised 20 metro corridors, 27

Bus Rapid Transit corridors, six LightRail corridors and three Mono rail cor-ridors, in a phased manner.

Creation of a Transport Authority inDelhiGNCTD has been deliberating since along time on the creation of the DelhiUrban Mass Transit Authority (DUM-TA). Due to multiplicity of author-ity and in the absence of consensusamong different departments, GNCTDhas not been able to pass necessarylegislation to create a unified author-ity. However, in view of increasingvehicle growth, the need to performlong term transport demand planningand develop an integrated multi-modal transit system is continuouslyfelt. In order to ensure the integrateddevelopment of all transport relatedprojects, GNCTD took the alternative

route of creating an agency to lookafter the integration process in Delhi.In July 2006, GNCTD incorporated a100% Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV),named Delhi Integrated Multi-ModalTransit System (DIMTS) Limited for:

• the planning, designing, develop-ment, integration and operationand maintenance of public transportsystems;

• the planning, managing and financingof public transport through fare-boxand other means, including privatesector involvement; and

• the organizing, planning, coordina-tion and control of operations andmaintenance of public transportservices.

The mission of DIMTS is to estab-lish new standards of excellence inpublic transportation and allied in-frastructure systems that will keeppace with the growth in demand,and to provide reliable, safe, acces-sible, user-friendly and sustainablepublic transport within walking dis-tance for commuters. The key role ofDIMTS is to look after the integrationaspects of different modes of trans-port, which include integrated fare.Delhi Metro has already implementedthe Automatic Fare Collection System(AFCS). However, there is a need toimplement the AFCS in other modessuch as buses and new modes thatare being planned.

However, it was felt that DIMTS washamstrung by government proce-dures. It was accordingly decided tobring in a private partner, who willcontribute management expertise tothe company. Infrastructure Develop-ment Finance Company (IDFC) Ltd de-cided to buy a 50% stake in the com-pany in 2007. GNCTD accordingly hascontrol on the board, and manage-ment control remains with the privatepartner. The introduction of a privatepartner brought some flexibility. How-ever, this also raised questions aboutits legitimacy in performing publicagency tasks, such as regulation.

Current Role of DlMTSThe key role of DIMTS is to provideadvisory services to the Transport De-partment and for DTCto perform plan-ning, provisioning and Operationsmanagement functions in an efficientmanner. DIMTS is also associated asExpert and project management Con-

Dossler

Figure 2: Transport Sector Structure

Minister of Transport (MoT)Government of Delhi

Delhi Transport CorporationGNCTD

sultant in developing infrastructureand serves as a designated agency tooperate and manage the infrastructurecreated by the Transport Department.

Strategic Planning and Regulationfunctions are performed by DIMTS toassist the Transport Department inmulti modal transport planning. DIMTSalso plays the role of Asset Managerand is allowed to undertake the opera-tions and maintenance of the assetscreated by the Transport Departmentand other state agencies.

Some of the projects executed by DIMTSon behalf of the Transport Departmentinclude:

• TrafficDemand ForecastStudy: DIMTSmonitors the output and progress ofthe "Comprehensive Traffic DemandForecast" study of Delhi. The studywill help to identify the future majorcorridors for the development of vari-ous public transportation modes.

• Bus Rapid Transit System: DIMTS iscurrently entrusted with the task ofOperation and Management (O&M)of the existing BRTCorridor (14.5kmlong). It is also preparing "DetailProject and Engineering Reports"(DPR) for two more BRT corridors.The company is now completely re-sponsible for BRT projects in Delhifrom their conceptualization totheir execution. The developmentof the BRT system has not only im-proved the bus service in the city,but has also built the first world-class facility for Non-MotorisedTransport (NMT) in the country.

• Corporatisation of Private StageCarriage Buses: DIMTS has de-signed a scheme of corporatizationof private stage carriage buses to

Commissioner of TransportGNCTD

State Transport AuthorityGNCTD Mass Rapid Transit System

reform the bus sector in Delhi. Un-der the scheme, 657 bus routes areclassified in 17 distinct clusters,which will be bid out to privateplayers for an exclusive right to plybuses with state operators.

• Automatic Fare Collection System:DIMTS is entrusted with tasks to im-plement AFCS in buses, both publicand private, as well as its integrationwith other modes of mass transportsuch as metro.

• Automated Vehicle location System:DIMTS is also responsible for theimplementation of the AVL systemin public and private stage carriagebuses to improve the reliabilityof bus services. The pilot systemhas already been implemented in125 buses.

• Inter-State Bus Terminals (ISBTs):DIMTSis also engaged with the devel-opment and redevelopment of ISBTs.ISBTs are proposed to be key transitcentres for commuters.

• Smart Card based Driving License:the Transport Department has in-troduced the smart card based driv-ing license in Delhi. The system isimplemented by DIMTS on behalf ofthe Transport Department. The sys-tem is proposed to be extended topermits.

ConclusionThe creation of DIMTS has helpedGNCTD and the Transport Departmentto implement various projects in aspeedy manner. The key role of DIMTSis to do both macro and micro levelplanning. The company is entrustedwith all tasks in the value chain -from concept conceptualization to

operation and maintenance. Thoughthe agency is somewhat removedfrom the task of being a full-fledgedTransport Authority, it is a good ex-ample for countries where it is diffi-cult to create UMTA-like structures inone step due to legacy factors. DIMTSis a hybrid system that ensures theintegration and development of a cit-ywide network on the one hand, andon the other hand, has the autonomyand independence and consequent

. freedom of action to operate withflexibility to bring in professional ex-pertise and managerial efficiency.

Disclaimer: The views expressed aresolely those of the authors and do notnecessarily indicate the views of thevarious stakeholders.

Contact:Manoi-aggr1@yahoo.com;vijitaaggarwa/@yahoo.com;jaspa/.singh@dimts.incopying editor@uitp.org

November/December 2009 PTI 29