India joins congestion debate

The Mizoram transport department's move to deny registration of any automobile that is bought without proof of parking space needs to be replicated all over the country. In an upwardly mobile society like ours, owning a car is not just a matter of convenience. It is representative of our status. It supposedly defines where we are on the social pecking order. It is this thinking that is the main driving force behind the third largest automobile market in Asia. Given the furious pace at which cars are being added to our streets everyday, it is only natural that urban road space is at a premium. To counter this problem, we need to increase the cost of owning and maintaining a car. It is all very well to say that the government should provide for better public transport facilities and dedicated parking sites. These suggestions have been on the cards for a long time. Yet no state government can claim to have a plan in place to tackle the massive growth in the number of private vehicles. On the other hand, it is also true that people view public transport as a bitter necessity. Unlike New York's taxis or London's double-decker buses, we hardly take pride in our public transport infrastructure. It is this lack of both supply and demand that needs to be addressed in order to decongest our roads. Read on in The Times of India.