Mumbai congestion charge

I visited Mumbai a couple of months ago and feel it is getting too crowded for its own good. There will be a time, not too far away, when the benefits of living in MUMBAI will be outweighed by the horrific traffic.

Now before all you pounce on me, let me tell you, I love Mumbai and will do so till my last breath (hopefully). However, like every city in the world, it needs to keep evolving and getting better and I do not see that happening. There is too much pollution and traffic in Mumbai. This increases the time to get to work for everyone and thus their total exposure to pollution. Add to this the fact that Mumbai is the biggest market for cars and the booming real estate market (more people = more cars) and we have a catastrophe waiting to happen (without even thinking of the Nano).

Therefore, I propose a simple solution. Charge every private vehicle entering Mumbai (say beyond Matunga) Rs250 per day. Taxis, buses and all public vehicles will be exempt from this fee. Vehicle owners living within this zone will get a discounted rate. This charge will only be applied during weekdays from 7 am to 9pm. This will reduce the traffic, pollution and congestion in Mumbai and make it a healthier city to live in.

What I propose is not a novel solution. It has been implemented successfully in London and residents are happy with it (for more information go to http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/congestioncharging/6722.aspx or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge). How do we enforce the congestion charge. Well, in London, they have people register their cars and pay in advance or on the day they drive into London. All cars are tracked as they enter the city by cameras. Drivers are warned that they are entering the charging zone by big white boards with a red C on them. Think this is 'impossible' in India. Well, guess who is running the system for the Brits - its Mastek, an infotech company based in Mumbai, India. This proposal will take a huge initial capital input but isn't Mumbai worth it all? And if we do not want a huge initial investment, we could just have old fashioned toll nakas (booths) at the entry points. This will slow down traffic but traffic should get thinner and therefore, it will still be faster than now.

The next part of the argument against this charge is 'but our public transport system is stretched as well'. I agree and before we move to this system, we would need to upgrade our public transport a bit. Moreover, the money we get from the congestion charge can be used to make major improvements to our public transport.

Think about it. Since the Government limited the transfer of profits from the electricity distribution side of the BEST to cover the losses on its transportation side, the BEST has been making a valiant effort to change from a public service to a profitable organization. However, this has been at the cost of us, the consumers. Some routes have been cancelled, others have seen their frequency reduced. The end result. Horribly packed buses. Once the BEST gets money from the congestion charge, it can become a service again. The reduced traffic will also mean a faster commute (the average speed of a BEST bus is presently 13kmph) and cheaper transportation (better speed = better mileage/average). The money from the charge can also be used to invest in the suburban railways, the subway or even the skybus. The possibilities are endless.

I have been thinking about this for a while now and have mentioned it to quite a few friends and family. They think, with certain reservations, that this is a good idea and its time has come. What do you guys think?

After all, isn't this what we have always been longing for - a Clean Mumbai, Green Mumbai.