Yaara Metro ?
Namma Metro - the plan and what we can expect
The plan What we can expect
Planned for completion in 2011. Actual completion in 2012 assuming inevitable
Will have 2 lines – East-West and North-South- time escalation.
totalling 33 km., with 35 stations. Cost Rs. 12000 Cr. assuming inevitable cost
27 km. will be above ground, 6 km. underground. escalation (already escalated to Rs. 9000 Cr.)
Cost Rs. 6400 Cr. - Rs. 150 Cr./km. for the above Will carry 5 Lakh people a day, going by Delhi
ground, Rs. 300 Cr./km. for the underground and Kolkata metro's ratio of planned vs. actual
portions. traffic.
Planned to carry 10 Lakh people a day.
Bangalore is waiting for the Metro desperately, expecting it to be the solution to all its transport problems. The
Metro is considered to be a 'good idea' because someone in government has seen it working beautifully in some
city in a developed country – maybe London, Paris, New York, Madrid or Tokyo – and thought it can be
transplanted to Bangalore.
We already have a bus system that we think is bad. It however serves 50 % of the city's population very well and
is profitable. The BMTC has 5000 buses and carries 37 Lakh people daily. That's 0.2 % of the city's vehicle
population carrying 50 % of the human population.
Let's do a quick analysis of the possible benefits from the Metro, compare it with Metro systems in other cities,
and compare it with the other mass transport option – a bus system.
Coverage
BMTC covers the whole of the area
Bangalore and London have almost the same population. under the Corporation.
Greater Bangalore has an area of 741 sq. km. and a population of 72
Lakh. In 2012 it will be 1 Cr.
The Greater London Urban Area has a population of 75 Lakh in an
area of 1500 sq.km.
The London Underground extends over 400 km., with 268 stations.
Bangalore's Metro will extend over 33 km., with 35 stations. We will
have 8 % of London's coverage, 5 years from now, and think it's
going to solve our problem.

Bangalore London Paris
Density of coverage of Metros in various cities.
Accessibility
The Metro will have 2 lines, one going East-West and the other going BMTC's buses already cover the whole
North-South. Unless you happen to live within 1 km. of a Metro line, city, and everyone in the city probably
you will have to take a bus to the nearest station, then take a bus lives within 1 km. of a bus stop. The
again at the destination station. BMTC is planning to reduce this distance
to 0.5 km.
Poor accessibility is why the metros in Delhi and Koltaka carry less
than 50 % of the people that they were designed for, and the bus
systems in Bangkok and Singapore carry more people than the
metros.
Bangkok subway carries 2 Lakh passengers a day, while the bus
system carries 50 Lakh passengers a day.
Singapore Metro carries 12 Lakh passengers a day, while buses
carry 30 Lakh passengers a day.
Bangalore Metro's is planned to carry 10 Lakh passengers a day, but
will most likely carry around 5 Lakh, going by Delhi and Kolkata's
figures.

1 km. is the maximum distance that people will be willing to walk to / from the Metro. This means you can walk to
a Metro station only if you live within the red bands in the picture. Anyone living outside the bands will have to
cover the extra distance by some other means of transport – car, 2-wheeler, bicycle or bus.
The further away you live from the centre of the city, the longer you have travel to the nearest station. The
longest distance will be approx. 6 km., for example if you live midway between the RV Road and Byappanahalli
stations.

Commute time
The Metro's average speed is 32 kmph. The average is much less If there is widespread usage of buses
than the maximum of 80 kmph. because of stops at stations and and hence far less private vehicles,
acceleration and deceleration between them. Yeshwantpur to average speed on the road will be
Jayanagar will take 28 minutes, Byappanahalli to Mysore Rd. 33 approx. 30 kmph. This has been the
minutes. experience in cities worldwide with
extensive bus systems, like Curitiba,
Your total commute time does not just depend on the speed of the Brazil.
train. It is the door-to-door time, from your starting point to your
destination. The last mile connectivity is therefore extremely The nearest bus stop is typically 1 km.
important, and the last mile can often take more time than the travel from any place is the city now (the BMTC
between stations. is planning to reduce this to 0.5 km.). If
you walk to and from the stops, it's 20
Let's say the nearest Metro station is 4 km. from your home, 3 km. minutes for the walking, 5 minutes
from your office. You take a bike or car, park it at the station, wait 5 waiting for the bus, 24 minutes on the
minutes for the train, take the Metro 12 km., then take a bus to the bus.
office. 7 km. by bike + bus will take you 40 minutes (average speed
on the road is now 15 kmph., will be 10 kmph by 2011). Total 49 minutes.
Total 69 minutes.
The further away you are from the centre of the city, the longer your
last mile commute.
Cost
The elevated sections of Bangalore's Metro will cost Rs. 160 Cr. per
A really good bus system might involve
km, while the underground sections will cost Rs. 300 Cr. per km. buying 7000 more buses and improving
bus shelters, signage, etc. This would
To build a network equivalent to London's, it is going to cost cost about Rs. 2500 Cr. and take 1 year.
Bangalore Rs. 100,000 Cr. assuming an average cost of Rs. 300 Cr. City-wide coverage at a fraction of the
per km. Metro's cost !
Indore's BRT is expected to cost Rs. 870
Cr. for 120 km., about Rs. 7 Cr. / km.,
less than 5 % of Delhi Metro's cost.

Time to build
London's underground started operation in 1863, 145 years ago. It The bus system can be improved to
has evolved over the years into what it is now. handle the whole city efficiently in just 1
or 2 years. City-wide coverage in 1/50th
It is going to take Bangalore 50 years to build a network that is the time of the Metro.
equivalent to London's, assuming that we build 40 km. every 5
years. Bogota's bus system took 1.5 years to
complete.
Here's when the underground in other cities started operation:
New York - 1904
Paris - 1900
Madrid - 1919
Economic viability
Mr. Chaturvedi, Chief Operations Manager, Kolkata Metro Railway, Since a bus system costs between 5 and
said this in 2005: 10 % of a metro system, a reasonably
“Where the gross annual income of the Metro is roughly Rs.48 well run bus system will be profitable on
crores, its maintenance cost is a whopping Rs.125 crores. The Metro ticket sales alone, instead of depending
was designed to decongest the city's roads. I am afraid it has not on selling real estate. The BMTC now is
been able to do that. Even during peak periods, the capacity extremely profitable.
utilisation of the trains has been around 70 per cent, and only 40 per
cent in the early mornings. Unfortunately for the Metro, it has to
compete with cheaper modes of public transport such as buses and
trams.“
A commonly repeated claim is that Delhi Metro is one of the handful
of profitable metro systems in the world.
In 2006-7, Delhi Metro's earnings were Rs. 220 Cr. from ticket sales
and advertisement on trains, Rs. 251 Cr. from sale and renting of
land. This means less than half its revenues came from transport
operations.
The metro gets subsidized or free land, gets funding at low interest
rates from the government (meaning us, the taxpayers), and then
makes money mainly from property development. We, the tax
payers, will end up subsidizing the Metro in various ways on a
continuous basis.

Environmental cost
MG Road was one of Bangalore's showpieces - gently sloping down Minimal environmental damage. The
from the Kasturba Road end, row of shops and restaurants on one current road network is enough to handle
side, bouganvilla border on the other side with a tree-covered the additional bus numbers. Remember,
walkway beyond. This is going to be replaced by tons of concrete. we are talking of buses instead of private
vehicles. With some sensible legislation
A substantial part of Lal Bagh is going to be eaten up for a station. and planning to promote public transport
Nanda Theatre road at 2.5 km. is the longest tree-covered boulevard and discourage private transport, we can
in India. The Metro is going to go down the middle of this road. The reduce the number of vehicles to 6 Lakhs
huge, beautiful trees on both sides of the road are going to be instead of the current 32 Lakhs. This
trimmed to 50 % of their coverage area, which means they will fall would mean a drastic reduction in air
down due to gravity shortly thereafter. These are not mentioned in pollution too.
Namma Metro's Environmetal Impact Report. The report says 412
trees will be cut in total, a serious under-estimate.
Scores of homes and businesses are going to be destroyed.
Most metro systems in the world are underground to prevent this
kind of destruction. In our Metro, however, 27 km. of the tracks are
going to be above ground and 6 km. underground. If we adopt the
same ratio in future for the remaining 400 km., virtually every street
and locality is going to be just a mass of concrete.
MG Rd., 2007 MG Rd., 2001 – artist's impression. Courtesy – Deccan Herald

Flexibility
A city is dynamic. Population densities can shift as the economics of A bus system can grow and change with
the city change. The Metro cannot be rerouted once it is built. the city. The bus system adapts itself to
Numerous stations in the London underground are not used any the city as it evolves, while with the Metro
longer because lines have been rerouted or they are too infrequently it is the reverse - the city will have to
used to to justify keeping them open. adapt itself to the Metro.
One of 42 undergound stations closed in London, because of changes in the city.
In sum
The Metro will be ready 3 years from now.
Traffic congestion will remain. The traffic population in 2011 will be 50 % more than what it is now.
Commute time will not be reduced for most residents of Bangalore. Commuting will be an even worse
nightmare, maybe taking twice as long as it does now, because the number of cars and 2-wheelers will have
hugely increased.
The city’s aesthetics will be largely ruined. Some of the city's best landmarks are going to vanish.
Scores of businesses and homes are going to be destroyed.
Air pollution will be far worse than it is now.
While the Metro is getting built, some of the key roads are going to be blocked.
To expand the Metro to an ideal 400 km., there will be continuous construction for the next 50 years.
Many (most?) of us will suffer the construction, but will not be alive to see its final fruit.
All this to carry 5 Lakh passengers, 4 % of the population of Greater Bangalore in 2011.
Shouldn't we be thinking of a better option?
The final verdict on the Delhi Metro today is : “It's beautiful, very clean, just like the metros abroad”. Nobody says
”It has reduced the traffic, reduced pollution, reduced commute time and cost for the WHOLE of Delhi.”
Delhi's traffic congestion remains, its pollution levels are increasing, the government is trying out alternatives like

the BRT (Bus Rapid Transport) system.
Trains can be the most efficient way of carrying people around, in terms of space usage, pollution and cost.
However, there are trains and trains, and the big questions are:
1.Can we afford a Metro ?
2.Is it too late to think of a train system now – should we have done this 100 years ago, like London or
Paris ?
3.Is the over-ground system going to destroy the city, should it be underground instead ?
4.Why do richer countries than India think the Metro is unaffordable and opt for bus systems instead?
5.There are close to 100 cities worldwide that have implemented or are implementing bus based systems.
6.Why aren't we thinking holistically of a transport system that is a mix of vehicles instead of just the Metro,
with the rest as an afterthought ? Metro as 'A system' meshing with the rest, rather than 'THE system' ?
Balancing the pros and the cons, it might even be better to scrap the Metro and get a good bus system instead.
Your response is most probably going to be : "Oh, the arguments are all very convincing, but we have already
spent so much money on the Metro and done so much construction. How can we scrap it all now?".
To which my reply is this. Let's say your doctor tells you today that your lifestyle for the past 20 years was a
mistake, has resulted in high cholesterol, sugar and hypertension, and will surely result in your early death
unless you change it immediately. Which of these would you do?
1. Think that changing your lifestyle now is too much of a disruption, and decide to go on as before.
2. Realize that what you have been doing is wrong, decide to scrap the old lifestyle to avoid destroying yourself.
Let's apply the same decision making process to the Metro.