Road Transport, the bright future-3

Ramesh Kumar*

Over the past few days, I have been poring over the “Report of Working Group on Road Transport for the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17)” released recently. It is an interesting document and felt I will not be able to do justice to this precious tome in one single long piece. Moreover, to retain the attention span of potential readers, the offerings have to be in small doses. Like it is said that even the tastiest pizza has to be cut into small pieces to be cherished. Small indeed is beautiful and meaningful. Here is the Third Installment. Check out http://goo.gl/2KeOU to read the First Installment  and  http://goo.gl/4x073 to read the Second Installment.

Fifty plus Arun Kumar Agarwal, Divisional Manager-Driver Training at Ashok Leyland Driver Training Institute in Burari, on the outskirts of urban Delhi, is clear. Our focus of discussion on what causes accidents on road and he has his list of “Common Driving Mistakes”. What are they?

1.      Loosing attention – “zoning out”

      2.      Driving while drowsy
      3.      Distracted inside vehicle (cell phone, radio, passenger chat)
      4.      Failing to adjust to adverse weather conditions
      5.      Aggressive driving (tailgating, jumping signals)
      6.      Making assumptions about other drivers’ intentions
      7.      Lane changing without checking blind spots
      8.      Driving while upset
      9.      Ignoring essential maintenance

Well, each one may have his or her list. But what is pertinent is all of us make fatal mistakes while at the steering wheel – whether it is a commercial vehicle or personal cars. End result is serious, we all know. India’s road accident is pathetic.

As I had mentioned in the First Installment, “technological upgradation” is talked about at length in this Report. The emphasis is on introducing Intelligent Transport System (ITS) which the Report recommends “can be done selectively, step by step as resources permit”. ITS goal is three-fold:

(i)                 Efficiency with a view to enhancing mobility for both people and freight; reducing congestion and managing the transportation infrastructure more effectively and economically

(ii)               Safety with a view to reducing the number and severeity of crashes, to lower the number of traffic-related deaths and injuries
(iii)             Environment with a view to reducing the environmental impact of cars, trucks, buses etc. by reducing fuel consumption and emissions. 

Europe, US and Japan are at the forefront of using ITS which has led to ‘lowering barriers for the movement of people and freight” throughout Europe. Interestingly, these countries have achieved a lot more than originally envisaged. The US has several pieces of legislation that emphasizes on ITS such as Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, the Transportation Eqauity Act for 21 Century.  “511” services is gaining momentum. The digits 511 have been reserved as a national telephone number for obtaining traveler information. As part of 511 services, callers get information regarding current traffic informaotn, weather and road conditions etc. Japan uses its car navigation systems and the nationwide deployment of the vehicle Information and communication system (VICS). Eurovignette is a road toll system that is catching up fast in the European Union. Heavy commercial vehicles are charged based on vehicle weight, distance traveled and other criteria.

Coming back to India, efforts are underway to usher in ITS as early as possible. The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MORT&H), with National Informatics Centre (NIC), is rolling out the National Registers and State Registers of Driving Licenses and Registration Certificates of motor vehicles which involves computerizing of Regional Transport Offices and State Transport Authorities and later to link them to the national and state registers. Vahan ICT based vehicle registration, Sarathi licensing solution for RTOs, Electronic payment for toll collection, Road Accident Data Management System etc are some of the initiatives in this direction.

Freight hauling industry is yet to gain acceptance and popularity with the public at large, notwithstanding the fact that second-by-second survival on Plant Earth hinges on this critical and vital industry. We cannot wake up to brush our pearly teeth with brushes and pastes without Colgates, Pepsodents etc awaiting us in our washing rooms; nor breakfast, lunch or dinner can be imagined. We will go around Adam-Eve like unless cotton etc are picked and sent to factories to turn them into clothes and then the labeled stuff reaches shelves of super- or hypermarts.

The industry is still unorganized. But the potential upside is huge. If professionally managed, it can attract investments – both private equity as well as public at large. To become professional, these freight haulers have to pull up their socks and clean up their acts and technology – IT to begin with – can help them move up the ladder. Fleet management is no child’s play is something the unorganized industry is coming to grips with. Data capture and management will not only fetch better earnings, it will also certainly make them more mate-worthy for prospective suitors.

(To be continued)

·         Author of 10,000 KM on Indian Highways, Publisher of Supply Chain India and Consulting Editor of SAARC Journal of Transport