Assessing smart mobility indicators a case of Bengaluru

Abstract

Indian cities are experiencing increase in vehicular population resulting in mobility and accessibility issues for the commuters. Cities have identified their own mobility indicators to find gaps determining their smartness. There are smart mobility indicators that are proposed by Bureau of Indian Standards that are applicable in Indian cities. Based on mobility indicators of various organizations and international reports, it has been found out that BIS has some gaps as many other performance indicators are needed to assess an urban area to determine its smartness. The concept is about assessment of urban areas through identified smart mobility indicators. There is various other transport related problems and issues identified in the many cities, be it congestion, availability of transport, last mile connectivity, transport infrastructure facilities and some issues Non-motorized issues like high pedestrian traffic in the core and some other areas in the city, Footpath facilities are generally scarce and their condition is declining. Therefore, upgradation of their facilities is very important. Issue such as parking which is major problem in the urban areas is assumed to have critical magnitudes within the city. Parking facilities have to be improved significantly. In the long run, city-wide public transport system needs to provide not only to reduce congestion on roads but also to cut plea for parking. These are some of the issues which can be tackled smartly through spatial interventions. Currently three urban areas of Bangalore are being considered in terms of the existing characteristics and perceived quality of the mobility and accessibility of/for the commuters; Majestic, MG Road and Vijaynagar, which will be compared, deciding which urban area is smarter. For this, Weightage matrix is also being studied, to assess the indicators through normalization identified in these three locations, similar to WBCSD, VTPI, European Union, Bureau of Indian Standards mobility indicators, etc. The proposal includes spatial plans and design interventions using GIS tool based on practical scenarios and mechanisms for the betterment of the urban areas where the interventions will help the commuters and residents ease and have better quality of life.