Road Transport ministry signs MoU with TFL to revamp public transport

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : Ministry of Road Transport and Highways signed an MoU with Transport for London (TFL) in New Delhi on January 10, 2018. The MoU is aimed at using the expertise of TFL to revamp the public transport architecture in the country. TFL is the agency that manages the transport system for Greater London and has demonstrated its capability by creating a strong and dependable public transport system in the city.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Nitin Gadkari, said that the country needs a good transport policy that promotes convenient and comfortable public transport system. He said an effective public transport system would be one that ran on electricity or other less polluting, indigenously produced fuels like methanol, ethanol and bio-diesel, according to a PIB release. Such a system would not only reduce pollution, but would also be cost effective, he said.

The Minister further said that to implement reforms in public transport systems in the country, we have to learn from the best practices across the world. The government has to facilitate the capacity building in public transport with learnings from the experienced and proven public transport agencies like TFL.

TFL has   created a unique system of operating buses in PPP model with over 17 operators under a single brand. A salient feature has been their double decker buses which provide for high capacity with low road space requirement. They have also been operating large number of electric and hybrid buses. The common mobility card is another successful product launched by TFL which has made travel easy for the commuters and accounting easier for the operators. As a result of creation of a successful public transport system in London, the city has not seen any increase in number of their private cars.