The gang rape
and death of a young woman in the national capital has brought back into focus the urgent need for ensuring greater safety of women in public places. Better policing must be a lynchpin of this, but what will also help is an efficient and reliable public transport system
along with other measures to improve civic infrastructure such as properly lighted public spaces. Unfortunately, public transport facilities in most Indian cities are not only grossly inadequate but also uncomfortable, unreliable and unsafe.
Mobility is a basic right and public transport, including reliable night services, is an important way of empowering citizens. It ensures safe travel, connects workers to jobs, brings consumers to business and delivers substantial economic benefits. A vibrant nightlife not only keeps city streets alive and enhances security by having more eyes on the street, it also boosts the economy. A US study has shown that a million dollars invested in public transport increases labour income by $1.6 million, adds $1.8 million to the GDP
and generates $4,90,000 in taxes. Given how poorly connected Indian cities are, investment in improving their public transport will yield even better returns.
Reliable public transport also decongests roads and reduces the cost of doing business, even as it substantially reduces the travel time and costs of commuters. Unfortunately, almost all political parties, given their fetishised focus on the rural voter, have made only half-hearted attempts to build urban public transport systems. And suggestions to improve women`s safety have centred on curbing nightlife rather than enhancing it. Implicit in them is a desire to impose rural lifestyles on urban residents. So most commuters are left at the mercy of petty operators, who use political patronage and criminal elements to run sparsely available night transport. This exposes commuters to major risks, as was evident in Nirbhaya`s case.
Though the JNNURM
funded by the central government has boosted public transport in cities, it is still too meagre to have a substantial impact. The progress of half-hearted efforts to set up bus rapid transit (BRT) systems and to incentivise investments by large corporate groups has been tardy. Authorities should take radical steps to operationalise large public transport networks that can cater to growing cities, including a night service. This will not only boost the national economy, but also enhance safety on the streets.