3 notes for city from Delhi debate on free Metro rides for women

Ever since Delhi’s announcement to make public transport free for women, the conversation around this topic seems to only grow louder by the day. Many people asked me for an opinion around making Rapid Metro free in Gurugram, as it is currently operating at less than 20% of its capacity. That may be an interesting thought but even more interesting conversations around this topic are happening via official letters in Delhi.

The sequence started when E Sreedharan, the former managing director of Delhi Metro, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recommending that the Delhi government’s proposal be rejected, as it will hurt the economics of Delhi Metro. In fact, he has said that this would set “alarming precedence” for other Metro projects around the country and could bring them to a grinding halt. Manish Sisodia, Delhi’s deputy chief minister, replying to Sreedharan’s letter, argued that the Delhi Metro is grossly underutilised due to high fares. He said that the Delhi government’s proposal will help improve women safety.

On 20th of this month, Sreedharan replied to Sisodia’s letter, highlighting why free transport for women is a bad idea for Delhi Metro. The opposition from him is mostly around economics. However, some of the other argument in his letter highlight that all is not well with Metro projects in India. Let me explain.

On the issue of why Delhi Metro is only utilised to 65% of its capacity, Sreedharan said that Delhi govt should not refer to the DPR. Now, this is technically incorrect.A Detailed Project Report or DPR, as it is commonly known, is a document used for investment decision-making, approval and planning an infrastructure project. In case of Metro, the number of people it will ferry is usually the defining parameter that justifies the need for a city. However, the ridership does not always match the projects. For instance, Hyderabad is currently ferrying only 15% of the projected ridership, Jaipur 11%, Lucknow 6%, and Kochi, only 5% of the projected ridership. Now, if one puts the actual usages ridership figures in the DPR, the city would probably not even need a Metro. Therefore, comparison to the DPR is a must.

In his letter, Sreedharan says that India is constructing only 25 kilometres of Metro rail per year while this number in China is 300. He implies that India should aspire to reach to China’s number. Now, this can be misleading. Last year, around the same time, China’s State Council told the local governments to stop building Metro rails and light rail systems unless they can afford them. This is due to the fact that cities in China were undertaking rampant Metro construction, whether needed or not, which led to misconduct in the use of funds. Detailed guidelines were issued in this regard and it was estimated that around a third of the 43 cities which had approved Metro plans would not meet the new criteria. In fact, the global rating agency Moody’s applauded this effort as this would help local governments manage their finances better. Therefore, the one thing that we should learn from China is to stop blanket Metro construction and also look at other modes of transport.

Towards the end of his letter, Sreedharan says that if the Delhi government has more money, it should spend it on more Metro lines. Again, this needs a re-look. Delhi, at present, has the longest Metro network in the country, of around 327 kilometres. Over ₹70,000 crore have been spent on the first three phases of Delhi Metro, yet Delhi Metro ridership accounts to about half the number ferried by buses. While the phase IV of the Metro is already under advanced discussion, the question is how much more Metro network is needed in the city. Also, Metro in Delhi may get all the money, while the buses, which are a lifeline of the city are struggling due to lack of finances. Therefore, money should be spent on providing safe, reliable and affordable transport. Some corridors may or may not need the Metro.

Cities like Gurugram are looking to expand the Metro system. In fact, it was reported that the Haryana government recently approved the ₹5,900 crore Metro project, involving the construction of 31 km of new Metro link. However, the question to ask would be — is it the right choice? Will it bring the desired impact?

Therefore, it is clear that planning, design, and operation of Metro projects in India need much greater transparency. Therefore, Gurugram needs to look at Metro expansion carefully and a starting point would be a closer look at the DPR.