Since the beginning of September, buses have started to ply the roads of Chennai. Many, no doubt, sighed in relief as public transport, especially buses, are a lifeline. Buses mean mobility, buses mean livelihood and therefore survival.
It's been 5 years since Chennai became the first Indian city to adopt a non motorised transport (NMT) Policy. Are pedestrians safer now? Is the infrastructure better for them and are motorists more considerate? CAG evaluated several locations across the city and spoke to road users to answer these questions.
The world has come to a standstill thanks to a microscopic thing. Sumana zooms out to take a look at the big picture - how did this happen and what does it portend for the future?
Is Chennai’s public transit beyond help? How hard is it to navigate? Sumana takes a bus, train, and metro to understand what ails the system and challenges you to take the 30 day Public Transit Challenge
Should surge pricing by Uber and Ola be controlled? What about the reports of lack of passenger safety? Sumana explores the controversies swirling around cab aggregators and the attempts, in India and elsewhere, to regulate them.
The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill is key to containing the 1.5 lakh road fatalities each year - but will it ever see the light of day?
Sumana brings us up to speed on the Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill which has been hanging in limbo for a while now.
Sumana takes a humourous look at the unique and zany space that is the Indian road.
Are pedestrians and two-wheelers given enough space on these roads to navigate safely? Do the powers that be look at road infrastructure from the perspective of keeping everyone on the road safe? Sumana recaps what a road audit of 100 roads in Chennai found.
In the previous issue of Public Newsense, we looked at Government of India’s attempt to strengthen road safety by amending the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. At that time, the Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill, 2017, had been passed by the Lok Sabha and was awaiting introduction to the Rajya Sabha.