In a landmark ruling issued last week, the Delhi High Court upheld the use of New Delhi's streets for a 5.6-kilometer bus rapid transit corridor, in a blow to auto owners seeking have it removed for use by all traffic, including private vehicles.
Dario Hidalgo and Madhav Pai report on the court's ruling, which "advanced the idea that transportation facilities are for moving people,
not cars, and should favor all users, not just the minority fortunate
enough to use private cars."
The suit had been brought by Nyaya Bhoomi, who claimed "that the bus corridor was aimed at harassing
commuters and was a waste of public money. It said it resulted in
increased travel time for car users and longer idling time due to
traffic jams, resulting in wastage of fuel."
According to Hidalgo and Pai, the judges, Pradeep Nandrajog and Manmohan Singh, "reasoned that since a bus could transport up to 200 persons in the
course of one journey, as opposed to a car, which would transport 3 or 4
persons, it was not irrational to assign dedicated road space for
buses."
The judges also noted that the city's growing traffic congestion is a result of the increasing number of private vehicles on the road, and asserted that the only way to reduce congestion would be to improve public transportation.
FULL STORY: A Developed Country Is One in Which Rich People Use Public Transport
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Bus Rapid Transit Gaining in Popularity
As cities look to rebuild their transit systems, bus rapid transit provides a cheap and effective way to expand access and boost speed.
Controversial BRT Plans Revised in Los Angeles
The proposed changes to plans for a bus rapid transit route on Colorado Boulevard are an attempt to compromise between competing community concerns.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
EV Infrastructure Booming in Suburbs, Cities Lag Behind
A lack of access to charging infrastructure is holding back EV adoption in many US cities.
Seattle Road Safety Advocates Say Transportation Levy Perpetuates Car-Centric Status Quo
Critics of a proposed $1.3 billion transportation levy say the package isn’t enough to keep up with inflation and rising costs and fails to support a shift away from car-oriented infrastructure.
Appeals Court: California Emissions Standards Upheld
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board, the nation's two most powerful environmental regulatory agencies, won an important round in federal court last week. But the emissions standards battle may not be over.
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