In 2009, a range of relevant issues were discussed under the overall framework of “Sustainable Urban Transport”, such as ‘Transit Oriented Development’, ‘Planning for Special Events’, ‘Intelligent Transport Systems’, ‘Fare Collection Systems & Policies’, ‘PPP in Urban Bus Operations & Maintenance Strategies’, ‘Opportunities in CDM in the Transportation Sector and CDM Markets’, and ‘Strategies for Parking’. Of particular significance was focussed discussion on two strategic initiatives of the Ministry of Urban Development:

Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA)

UMTAs aim to bring together all the modes of public transport, including buses, metros, etc. under the purview of a single authority. One of the prime objectives of JnNURM funding for urban transport is the formation of a unified transport authority for major cities; Chennai, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad have established Metropolitan Transport Authorities.

Service Level Benchmarks

Under the JnNURM, service level benchmarks have been identified for the following: (i) public transport in a city, (ii) pedestrian infrastructure facilities, (iii) non-motorised transport facilities, (iv) usage of integrated transport system (ITS) facilities, (v) travel speed along major corridors, (vi) road safety, (vii) availability of parking facilities, (viii) pollution levels, (ix) land use transport integration, (x) financial sustainability of public transport.

The importance of benchmarking arises from the need to bring accountability to service delivery by facilitating identification of performance gaps and application of best practices, and thus improving the overall level of services to people