SKY BUS

SKY BUS

INTRODUCTION

The most precious asset in growing urban areas is the land. Allocation to residential and commercial purposes put heavy pressures on land for public use like parks and open spaces apart from very important and critical roadways. Hardly 6% to a maximum of 18% of land in cities form roadways. The roadways once laid- almost remain constant - at best- and may effectively reduce by uncontrolled encroachments. The physical constraint of road area being constant, as population increases, naturally loads on roads increase.

As more and more people from different habitats try to converge on to the central business district, the road has no capacity to handle and congestions erupt. Roads take one exactly to the point where one wants to go. But the capacity is limited in terms of passengers per hour that can be handled. Even if one considers only buses, need to maintain the braking distances between two buses and the space maintained between them affects speed as well as limits per lane what capacity can be achieved. When mass transit, that too at higher speed is required, rail based systems only can handle.

Let us examine the various modes of transport that population uses in a city and their capacities and limitations, to evolve requirements of urban transport solution in a holistic manner. Currently available solutions are either elevated railway or underground railway if mass transportation is required:

Elevated railway technically cannot reach truly congested central busy roads where the mass transport is needed. It is also too invasive and may require dislocation of some portions of habitat as well as introduces noise pollution.
Underground railway is less invasive on surface but still poses technically challenging risks of fires and evacuations. It also has to address concerns for foundations of heritage buildings.Both modes suffer from derailments and capsizing killing commuters.

Surface railway is impossible to lay in an existing city. But even to lay the same in a new development, one should keep in mind what happens after 50 years of laying the same. We have living example of our own suburban system. The city remains divided by the corridor and it is an eternal noise polluter in the heart of city day in and day out. Sudden disgorging of heavy loads of commuters at stations create need less congestion on the roads, reducing quality of life. Almost close to 2000 persons die annually- because of trespassing or falling from trains in our present system- whatever be the excuse and justification for accepting the same. In addition vulnerable to minor vandalism by urchins but resulting in grievous injuries like losing sight for the commuters. Again this mode cannot follow roads, so the weak link of road vehicles has to be brought in for inter-modal transfers.

Derailments, collisions and capsizing concerns remain with loss of life for all the above mentioned three systems.

The infrastructure created for urban transport is hardly utilized to 30 to 40% capacity because of directional as well as inevitable peaks for limited hours in a day. It has no other use and just idles.

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