Comments on: ‘The People’s Way’ in Ahmedabad

By: Rajeev Lochan Sharma

Rajeev Lochan Sharma — Tue, 18 May 2010 10:56:39 +0000

I am not from Ahmedabad nor I have ever visited there, I write my few words about the traffic here in Delhi. I am little curious on the statement “sulfur is going to fill the lunch”. I would like to understand how is sulfur level going to increase if actually the number of vehicles on the roads decrease (taking the cue from “Raju Schroff, who owns a local factory, now takes the bus to work”)? Is there a study that says buses emit more sulfur than cars (considering the number of cars we will remove from the roads)? Your thoughts on the matter!

By: Meena Kadri

Meena Kadri — Tue, 18 May 2010 00:05:17 +0000

As someone who has been visiting Ahmedabad for over 30 yeas (and lived there recently for two years) I feel that massive strides have been made in a far from perfect city. Have you had the chance to visit? I agree that it doesn’t solve all problems of which there are many facing any urban center in India. As the writer of the piece I can assure you that this was not a press release compliments of the folks you allege – I actually spent two weeks riding the buses and speaking to passengers, rickshaw drivers, car drivers, academics, planners, architects, drivers, landscapers, local body authorities then put together the article. I’m from New Zealand and have no vested interest in the system.

By: Peter Smith

Peter Smith — Mon, 17 May 2010 17:05:08 +0000

‘incredibly thoughtful and detail-oriented’?

i’ve been reading BRT press releases for a couple of years now, and this is no different.

how about some talk on how thoughtful planners were in making sure riders got air conditioning? oops.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_this-summer-don-t-expect-to-get-a-cool-ride-on-a-brts-bus-in-ahmedabad_1382503

how about some talk about how much sulfur is going to fill the lunch of the children of Ahmedabad for decades to come — providing them with nice incurable cases of asthma?

even if we don’t go to ‘opportunity costs’ of what these cities could have had instead of a BRTS, this is not ‘thoughtful analysis’ — it’s a simple press release, compliments of the many folks who will benefit from the road building, the bus building, the ever-increasing car-building, etc.