Mangaluru: As the city braves through challenging times, Mangaluru is committed to make the buses, trains, and other transport services like shared autos, e-rickshaws Covid-safe. By participating in the Transport4All challenge— an initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA)— Mangaluru will improve public transport to better serve the mobility needs of all citizens, especially during and after this pandemic.
In a press release it was mentioned that Mangaluru is seeking support from NGOs, social enterprises, academic and research institutes to help the city understand the needs of the people and develop solutions to improve public transport that will help all citizens’ access jobs and essential services.
Why improve public transport now?
Covid-19 brought the city to a halt. Yet buses, trains, shared autos, and e-rickshaws continued to serve those in need, helping government officials, nurses, doctors, maintenance workers, and staff at grocery stores move.
Through the Transport4All challenge, the city will work towards resolving the most critical problems citizens face— overcrowding in vehicles, unaffordable fares, long travel time etc. — and rebuild people’s trust in public transport. Better public transport will help all citizens move safely during the pandemic and make the system more resilient to such outbreaks in the future.
Mangaluru has previously taken steps to improve the public transport services by building Smart Bus Shelters, Smart Parking, Smart Roads and Command Control Center for real-time monitoring.
How can citizen groups, NGOs, social enterprises, and academic and research institutes help?
Citizens can support the city in the following ways:
- Capture the mobility problems citizens face, especially vulnerable groups, through surveys, etc.
- Build citizen demand for public transport through media outreach and events
- Guide municipal corporations and startups to develop solutions that meet the needs of citizens
- Evaluate the impact of the solutions after testing them with citizens
- Create an alliance of civil society organizations for public transport reform
Interested individuals can sign up on the NGO page at www.transport4all.in. Over the next few weeks, the city will roll out surveys to understand the problems citizens and transport operators face. Mangaluru urges everyone to support us in this initiative to create transport for all.
