JAIPUR: Despite spending crores of rupees for preparing the detailed project report (DPR), the state government has been sitting over the Jaipur Metro phase-II project for over seven years now. The project was proposed to improve traffic on Tonk Road.
In the absence of mass public transport, traffic conditions have deteriorated and the city remains unprepared to ferry common people including students. Many students who appeared for REET say a proper Metro connectivity would have been helpful.
“Chandrika Kanwar, an aspirant said, “Most of the buses were full and we had to walk for a long time to reach home. I live in Barkatnagar with my sister and my centre is in VKI. A proper transport system would have been beneficial for us.”
Commuters using cars on arterial roads believe they can switch to Metro if proper connectivity is provided. cmmuter Imran Khan said, “I have a garage in Ambabari. I face long jams in the evening. A Metro is need of the hour as traffic in the city has increased manifold.”
A survey conducted by Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation (JMRC) in 2018 revealed that the city has 470 cars per thousand people, the need for Metro trains on this route is increasing. A JMRC official said, “The average travel speed has dropped to less than 20 kmph. The average travel speed in non-commercial areas of city came down from 28 kmph in 2009 to 18 kmph in 2018.” In absence of efficient public transport system, thousands of office goers and residents have switched to other means of transport, resulting in a cascading drop in public transport share in the city. A retired JDA engineer, who wished not to be quoted said, “About 890 vehicles are added to city roads every day. The public transport share that was around 31% in 2009 has fallen to 18% in 2018. The government should soon work on constructing a Metro.”
Metro on Tonk Road is the need of the hour as the peak hour per direction traffic (PHPDT) is around 20,500 vehicles for the proposed corridor. The survey conducted also reads that once the corridor is constructed, it would ferry 3.75 lakh commuters. Moreover, the Metro corridor would avoid emission of at least 5.6 lakh tonnes. According to experts, the extension of the Metro corridor is essential for increasing ridership. Over the past three years, the JMRC has extended the corridor by approximately 3 km.
