-Economic and Political Weekly     The Twelfth Five-Year Plan aims to foster more inclusive and sustainable growth. Urban transport finds mention in its chapters on sustainable development, environment, and urban development, which focus not only on aspects of Public Transport, but also urban planning and governance. Identifying the three main themes that emerge from the Plan's recommendations, this paper takes a critical look at them. It comments on what appears to be...

-Economic and Political Weekly There is overwhelming evidence to show that capital-intensive metro rail systems serve only a small proportion of the total trips in cities in developing countries such as India. Public-private partnerships have not been very successful, and the Delhi Metro, which is considered to be the most successful project despite falling far short of its projected number of users, enjoys numerous tax benefits not offered to the bus...

-Economic and Political Weekly Knowing full well that the private motor car is more a bane than a boon in terms of the various costs it entails, the time for policymakers in India to encourage greater use of Public Transport and non-motorised modes is past. Illustrating the politics of privileging car users over the vast majority that uses Public Transport like buses, this paper points to the vicissitudes the bus rapid...

-Economic and Political Weekly   Among all countries, India has the highest number of deaths due to road traffic-related accidents. Road accidents are the sixth leading cause of death in the country, and there were nearly 1,40,000 deaths from road accidents in 2012. Despite being a major public health issue that affects the most vulnerable and also the most productive sections of society, road safety has not received the attention it deserves....

-The Hindu Details have also been sought on how the States propose to implement new plans for women's safety that can be financed by the Rs. 1,000-crore Nirbhaya Fund. The States and Union Territories that have failed to put in place steps to make Public Transport systems safe for women will not be eligible for getting their quota of new buses under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), the Union...