ENS

Bangalore, Jun 13: Ford Motor Company and the University of Michigan in USA have chosen Bangalore and Chennai for pilot studies on alternative transportation facilities with an eye on the future when globally spiralling urbanisation is expected to create congestion, increase pollution and make mobility a looming problem in cities.

Experts have projected that by 2015, about two-thirds of the world population will be living in cities. They predict that at least 35 cities the world over will have populations more than one crore.

In these so-called `megacities’ and smaller cities, access to personal mobility is expected to be constrained. Besides, there is the fear of growing carbon dioxide emissions.

The pilot programme in Bangalore, Chennai and Cape Town (South Africa) will study designs to efficiently connect individuals to a variety of transportation options — buses, trains, taxis, carshare fleets, mopeds and bicycles — considering that the population growth will restrict access to affordable personal mobility for the commonman, a Ford release said.

The programme aims at establishing transport hubs to offer individuals a variety of affordable transportation options.

The pilot project is being carried out under banner `Ford Urban Mobility Networks’ (FUMN) with Ford’s Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering division collaborating with University of Michigan’s Sustainable Mobility and Accessibility Research and Transformation (SMART) programme.

The FUMN pilot project in Bangalore, Chennai and Cape Town will look at alternatives to personal vehicle ownership, therefore reducing carbon dioxide emissions by promoting public transportation and non-motorised transport options.

The hubs could offer commuters information on entertainment, recreation, dining, banking, commerce, community services and more, enhanced by information technology to provide real-time travel and schedule information, either at kiosks or through mobile phones.

The programme aims at working with researchers, academia, and public and private companies. The programme has been planned after envisaging that in future commuters may be forced to leave their personal transportation at home or pay a penalty to travel by car into an overpopulated urban area.

Ford Motor Company’s executive chairman, Bill Ford, says "Through urban mobility networks we hope to influence what personal mobility will mean in the 21st century."