The average car ownership of Ahmedabad increased from 23 to 24 per 1,000 people a decade ago to 50 per 1,000 today, according to the preliminary survey as part of the ‘Mobilse Your City’ plan, a project undertaken by the Indian and French governments for the Ahmedabad metropolitan region.
The survey is to cover 15,000 households in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. Non-motorised transport trips, such use of bicycles, have come drastically to just 3% of total trips from 9% in 2011.
“This phenomenon is noticed largely in the eastern part of the city, which had a high density of bicycle riders. The dip is alarming. There is too much reliance on personal transport while use of public transport has fallen over the years. This has to be reversed,” said a senior AMC official at the meeting. Walking has come down to 38% of the 5,000 households surveyed, from 41% a decade ago.
Ahmedabad had four fatalities per one lakh people in road accidents. This number is only one in developed countries. The city police, AMC, AUDA, Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC), GUDA, and RTO, as well as CEPT University and Transitec of France, are working together to develop the mobility plan.
Senior officials from the traffic police and Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) pointed out several accident blackspots on SG Road, SP Ring Road and in the Naroda and Kalupur areas. The preliminary accident data shared at the meeting highlighted the fact that the share of two-wheelers and cars road fatalities now exceeds those caused by heavy vehicles such as trucks or buses.
“Also when a survey of the road fatality victims was conducted. It was found that two-wheeler riders apart from pedestrians were both victims and also increasingly involved in road accidents, which was alarming,” the AMC official said.