Planning for mobility for slum poor : a case of Baan-Ganga and Khejda slum, Bhopal

Abstract

n the last three years in Bhopal it was observed that the public transport was majorly used by the lower economic groups of the society who were unable to afford expenses of private vehicle. So a decision was made to take this forward in research. The study made an attempt to study the travel patterns of a slum poor, in the context of Bhopal. The slum poor, in common, are unable to afford a private vehicle or even a two wheeler of their own. If somehow they manage to arrange a vehicle of their own, then they cannot afford the cost of operating and maintenance of such options. They majorly depend on the comparatively cheap public transport available in the city. They completely rely on the public transport as means of travel for the longer distances. It is found that one third of urban population lived under slums. Slums grow where the land cost and value are minimum, therefore they possessed inferior location in the city. These locations have poor connectivity to the public transportation and the urban poor are the prominent users in the contrast. Madhya Pradesh has the highest slum population as compared to other states in India. The growing slum population over the decades in the city of Bhopal has put enormous strain on the public transportation. It was found that the slum population is much likely to grow higher in Bhopal than the rest of the cities in Madhya Pradesh. So, there is a need to look out at the growing demand of public transportation. To understand the impact of existing public transport services on the lives of slum poor, two slums one located in city core and the other at periphery are been studied thoroughly. The research aims to improve the public transportation facilities in the case study areas. In this study, a closer look was taken into account at the possible mobility issues faced by the slum poor. There are three major challenges faced by a slum poor in a broader domain. The first is the inability to afford travel expenses. The second is the long distances required to travel to access the bus stop of a public transport network. Lastly, the third is the low frequency of buses on the bus stop, so they have to plan earlier to travel. The socio – economic characteristics are studied for the two slums. Their income levels and expenditure towards travel has been focused upon. Then their travel characteristics are analysed, in which modal split travel time and travel expenditure for each mode are also analysed. Then a comparative analysis of the two slums has been done to understand the challenges a slum poor at the fringe area faces. There are three aspects to make the public transportation as the best means possible to the slum poor. First is making it accessible, than available and lastly affordable.so new feeder routes are proposed with greater connectivity and smaller capacity buses running which are convenient as per the demand, and benefits from lower operating costs and its ability to operate remotely being smaller in size. Lastly the research wants to convey that the public transportation can work as medium to rationalise the travel expenses bearded by the poor at the fringe and at the core. Travel options can be made easier to the poor, helping them out with their economic prosperity.