Improving Chennai's public transport will be an integral part of making the city, climate resilient. With commuters facing long waits for their bus while sitting on hot, metal seats or under leaky-roof bus shelters, Sumana, CAG, explains that increasing the frequency of buses is central to solving these problems. This then needs to be followed up by other climate resilient measures that improve waiting conditions, last mile connectivity etc.
Sumana, CAG explains that to keep pedestrians safe, we need a fundamental shift in attitude towards them. For as long as riders/drivers continue viewing pedestrians as second class citizens, their safety remains at risk. This needs policy makers to hear pedestrian voices and include them actively in road design meetings.
Sumana, CAG, commenting on how share autos support first and last mile connectivity, says that the government needs to have conversations with both drivers and commuters to understand needs from both sides. She adds that the first priority, however, should be to legalise them by giving them the right permits.
Sumana, CAG, talking about the plight of pedestrians in Chennai, comments that we have a Non-Motorised Transport policy, but that it exists only on paper. She adds that while areas like Pondy Bazaar are good examples of pedestrian friendly spaces, these are too few and far between. The government is still mostly focussed on prioritising private motorised vehicles by building flyovers and widening roads. This is not sustainable.
In this article that describes the menace of bike racing on Chennai's roads, Sumana, CAG, explains that with young people having a poor grasp of the risks of speeding, our driving tests need to be more robust, and awareness programmes need to be more extensive.
As residents of small and medium sized apartments come to terms with the increases in electricity tariff for their common areas, Bharath Ram, CAG explains that this could have been a hike that was done in stages.
The Chennai Climate Action Plan proposes to achieve 100% renewable energy in the city, by 2030. Consumer friendly tariffs are key to achieving the switch to solar, to make this target achievable. Vishnu, CAG, asks if the GCC has a plan to incentivise the switch, as without it, the target is vague and not actionable.
With 5034 road accidents, Chennai was the road accident capital for the year 2021. Sumana, CAG was panellist on the Tweet chat organised by Citizen Matters that looked at what can change this course.
Afroz, CAG, speaking to the Citizen Matters explains how a combination of affordable fashion and over consumption are leading to landfills piled with fabric waste. The article also contains useful pointers on how concerned citizens can move away from 'use and throw' to 'use, reuse and recreate'.
Sumana, CAG's article on the lack of public transport information in Chennai, and whether transport apps come anywhere close to solving the problem. Republished in Citizen Matters.