Public transport interventions at core of achieving SDGs

Transportation systems have been so imbibed in our lives, especially the urban areas, that it is now a parameter of measuring growth and development of a country or a city. In the endeavour of providing the user with better facilities, professionals have been quite successful, but there is another side of the coin as well. Road users have suffered losses due to transportation and its facilities.

According to the World Health Organization, the leading cause of death due to ‘injuries’ is ‘road injury’, and 1.3 million people die each year across the globe due to it. 90 per cent of the world’s fatalities are recorded in low- and middle-income countries. The picture is gloomier for Asian countries as out of these total accidents, 60 per cent are reported in Asia. According to reports by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, about 1,50,785 people have been killed and 4,94,624 people injured in 2018 due to road-related incidents. In order to get an idea of what India is losing every year, we can glance at the following analogy. In India, in the recent past, we have lost about 1.5 lakh people annually due to road accident deaths. The population of small cities like Darjeeling (1,20,414), Roorkee (1,18,118), and Greater Noida (1,07,676) is less than the number of accidents. In a nutshell, we can say “India loses one city every year”.
In order to tackle the situation, the United Naations has incorporated precautionary measures and targets in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These targets cannot be achieved until and unless there is coordination among and within stakeholder organizations right from local level bodies to international organisations. The targets can only be achieved when we start acting more efficiently at the local level and start thinking about the outputs at the international level. SDG 3.6 (Ensuring healthy lives and well-being) spells out the target of halving deaths due to road accidents by the year 2020. Unfortunately, according to researches by both WHO and the World Resources Institute (WRI), this target has not yet been achieved.

How to localise transport-related SDGs

In India, nearly 30 per cent of the population lives in small cities, with population of less than one million, and these cities often have a poor database. All national-level reports related to traffic deaths include data for large cities only. The master plans/ city development plans in these cities also do not discuss much on sustainable transport. Cities, therefore, need to keep the following points in mind as key strategies for localisation of SDGs:
To create a transport-related database
This can be done from different sources such as FIR reports regarding crashes, travel mode proportions, speeds in different corridors using google apps, pollution data from state pollutions control boards, and by conducting stakeholder surveys to know perceptions of mobility issues such as safety, pollution, and congestion.
This database can be used in road traffic crash analysis, pollution impact analysis, and further, to enforce laws like wearing helmets, and develop strategies to reduce air pollution.
To demonstrate possible transport improvement by conducting pilot projects
It includes selecting pilot corridors, making design changes, and developing model streets that can ensure safe access to all users. The idea is to increase awareness among different stakeholders, including and especially local communities.
Incorporation of transport chapter in city master plans
The entire transport subject is missing from our master plans. More priority should be given to the transport sector while preparing master plans of cities.
To develop public transport and NMT plans
Urban local bodies need to become more proactive in coming up with new and advanced public transport facilities, while keeping the needs of non-motorised transport (NMT) users in mind. This will also help redesign existing streets and promote SDG-oriented transport development
in cities.
Transfer of jurisdiction of roads to city authorities
Most of the accidents in small cities occur on highways. The jurisdiction of high-speed roads like national and state highways passing through the cities should be handed over to the respective urban local bodies of the cities as that will help in greatly reducing the number of accidents.

Strategies for localising SDGs

In order to localise SDGs, there has to be a roadmap for each and every issue that has to be addressed at policy, as well as implementation level. Thus, to formulate a framework, prioritization for possible interventions needs to be done, while collaborating with local and state-level stakeholders to integrate traffic and safety issues with respect to SDGs. As per the UN SDG Cities Guide, four basic steps for getting started with SDG implementation in cities have been proposed, which include initiation of an inclusive and participatory process while creating awareness of the SDGs and collaboration with stakeholders to achieve the goals and targets; setting of the local SDG agenda; and translating the global SDGs into a realistic agenda at the context of local development.
In order to ensure SDG implementation, monitoring and evaluation have to be in place while developing local capacity for more responsive and accountable governance. It is also critical to map the stakeholders and engage them through a participatory process in order to ensure overall development.

Case studies of cities achieving SDGs locally

A number of countries have distinguished the effect of an efficient public transport system on financial conditions and its significance in meeting the goals of the 2030 Agenda. A sustainable mobility system ensures that the benefits of public transport are concentrated around three crucial goals, which are: SDG 3 (Good Health and Well Being) through street security; SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities); and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Interestingly, effective public transport systems likewise empower nations to accomplish SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth); SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure); SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities); and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).
In Norway’s capital city of Oslo, due to an efficient public transport system, there has been an increase in the number of people using public transport, while the number of car journeys has remained stagnant. This has contributed largely to ensuring more employment, economic development, and better liveability, and has also contributed to the city’s fight against climate change.
In order to achieve SDG 13, Stockholm, Sweden’s capital, has built public transport entirely on non-fossil fuels. The city has elaborated on essence of creating a holistic thinking in order to make cities more liveable and benefit the environment.
Urbanization and traffic congestion has always been an issue for which governments have tried to focus on developing mass transport systems. Singapore has incorporated the measures in the Land Transport Master Plan 2040, which is based on research of last 20-30 years and includes public consultation from industry experts, users, passengers and academia. The entire transport ecosystem in Singapore is involved in innovations.