We demand better Public Transport in Hyderabad through the means of improvement to the metro railway system in the city, the lack of reliable public transport has contributed immensely to pollution and other negative climate change activities within Hyderabad.Improvements to the metro railway system will help combat climate change and ensure a safer and cleaner environment for the citizens of Hyderabad

 

The metro railway system in Hyderabad in many ways has not been sufficient in fulfilling its passengers needs.This statement is evidenced more prominently by the fact that the metro rail is more than Rs 4000 cr in losses.The pandemic only worsened an already dire situation.For years the ridership has been shockingly low for the metro.In 2017 it had a ridership goal of 17 lakh passengers per day but in 2019 even before the pandemic the metro only managed to get 2.5 lakh daily riders.There are a myriad of reasons as to why the Hyderabad Metro Rail has not gained sufficient popularity and favourability within the masses. Firstly, the price of the train tickets can be up to Rs 60, this means a large percentage of its target demographic can not afford to use the metro for daily commute.Additionally the metro is not even available in many densely populated areas, such as old city.Lastly, the metro has poor last mile connectivity and often times people are forced to book a cab ride or an auto rickshaw in order to reach their destination, this only adds to the already high costs.

One of the reasons the metro was created was to reduce pollution and provide a robust public transport system by which the ground level ozone pollution caused by vehicles could significantly reduce.But it unfortunately seems that this dream has not been realised since many people opt for alternatives such as two wheelers, cars and bus rides, for the reasons mentioned above.According to official state data of Telangana vehicles contribute for 61.4 % of carbon monoxide release and two wheelers account for 56.2% of total vehicle pollution.It seems hard to imagine but even if a significant percentage of two wheeler riders opt to use the metro instead, then that alone would greatly reduce the overall pollution in the city.It can be said that wide adoption of the metro could really help make the state less polluted and more environmentally friendly.

There are quite a few solutions in order to make the metro more appealing for people, which in-turn will cause more widespread adoption, eventually leading to less ground level ozone pollution.

Solutions:

      1)Build more stops and stations in densely populated areas such as old city

      2)Improve last mile connectivity by implementing Bike-sharing

      3)Reduce ticket prices, so that more people can afford using the metro for daily commute

Even if the ticket prices are lowered and money is spent on systems such as bike sharing,while more stations are built in densely populated areas the initial cost may be more,but if there is more widespread adoption of the metro then even higher profits can be achieved overtime which can make the metro a profitable and sustainable urban investment instead of it creating losses and experiencing failure, as it is now.

Bibliography in (MLA8) Format:

1)Farooq, Syed Omar. “Metro Rail Remains a Dream for Old City.” Deccan Chronicle, 29 Nov. 2021, www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/in-other-news/291121/metro-rail-remains-a-dream-for-old-city.html 

2)Moulika.KV / TNN / Jun 3, 2018. “Hyderabad Pollution: Experts Sound Alarm as Hyderabad Chokes on Ground-Level Ozone from Cars: Hyderabad News - Times of India.” The Times of India, TOI, timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/experts-sound-alarm-as-hyderabad-chokes-on-ground-level-ozone-from-cars/articleshow/64433173.cms. 

3)Madhavi, Kolla Krishna, et al. “With Just around 2.5 Lakh Passengers a Day, Is Hyderabad Metro Failing the Test?” Citizen Matters, 25 Nov. 2021, citizenmatters.in/hyderabad-metro-phase-i-ridership-connectivity-13015. 

4)“Pollution Control.” POLLUTION CONTROL | TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT GOVERNMENT OF TELANGANA - INDIA, www.transport.telangana.gov.in/html/pollution-control.html 

5)“How to Ease the Woes of Last-Mile Connectivity in Metros.” DNA India, www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-how-to-ease-the-woes-of-last-mile-connectivity-in-metros-2603298 

6)Deekshith, Maddy. “HMRL Runs into Losses Even after Four Years of Inception.” Deccan Chronicle, 29 Nov. 2021, www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/in-other-news/281121/hmrl-runs-into-losses-even-after-four-years-of-inception.html 

7)Mayabrahma, Roja. “Hyderabad Sees a Rise in Air Pollution Levels.” The Hans India, The Hans India, 25 May 2020, www.thehansindia.com/telangana/hyderabad-sees-a-rise-in-air-pollution-levels-624372