In Mexico, rising pollution has caused the authorities to clamp down on vehicle entry into the city, which in turn has created a demand for electric cycles and scooters. In London too, pollution numbers has seen sales of electric cars go up by 85 percent. Now in Delhi, the Supreme Court has banned petrol and diesel taxis; the court also upheld a ban on sale of diesel vehicles above 2000 cc.
Panaji and other towns in Goa are far smaller by comparison and it will take a long time for pollution levels to rise that high. But is that a reason to get complacent or could that perhaps be used as a platform to build a network of ‘green’ transport? Panaji, Mapusa, Margao, Vasco, Ponda and other areas like
Sinquerim-Baga are already getting congested. Only recently, the CCP in Panaji notified many areas where parking will be charged, in a bid to decongest the city. In Mexico now, you can pick up an electric scooter in one place, ride it to work or wherever you’re going, leave it at the nearest docking station and continue about your business. You don’t have to pay for parking; you don’t
have to worry about pollution. There are electric cycles that you
can hire too. Mexico and San Francisco
are so far the first two cities
in the world to have schemes like
this, in a very serious attempt to reduce
pollution and congestion, but also create self-sufficient
regions within the cities. What is really interesting is that the
citizens have wholeheartedly joined in to make the transition
easier. In Mexico City, the number of vehicles has gone down
by 20 percent over the past weeks. Birmingham in England too
just launched a programme called Birmingham Connected,
which is on similar lines to Mexico City and San Francisco. The
aim there is to cut down dependence on motor vehicles and
create more human spaces where car parks would be.
Imagine driving to Panaji from your home, parking in Patto
and picking up an electric scooter from there, which you ride
to your office and leave it at a docking station close by. In the
evening you pick up another scooter and ride it back to Patto.
There is a fee but it’s not unreasonable. Now picture this
happening in every town and even in tourist areas. There are
so many areas that could now become pedestrian spaces and
green spaces. Imagine walking down 18 June Road without
even worrying about a crazy driver speeding down the road.
This is not a pipe dream. Given Goa’s relatively small population,
this is quite possible. But here, the government needs
to facilitate the move. One major detail needed is a great mass
transit system. If we have buses and trains connecting us to
every single part of Goa, there would probably be no need to
buy more than one car per family. This effort though needs a
lot of planning and great co-operation, especially from the
transport associations. This is also a sector that will constantly
generate employment because it’s always growing. The network
in Mexico City has tripled in the past year.
None of this is unrealistic. It can either happen now, or when
we have no choice but to make it happen.
