WB representatives study Tirupati traffic system

Tirupati: The World Bank has chosen Tirupati for its study on the utilisation of public transport system. In this connection, two World Bank representatives arrived in the town on Tuesday and observed the flow of traffic and public transport system as part of their study. This is the second delegation from the World Bank to visit Tirupati. The first delegation, a five-member team, visited Tirupati RTC bus station a month ago and studied the prospects of developing the central bus station as well as its infrastructure and basic amenities. The two-member delegation comprising Digvijay Singh and Pavan Kumar from Delhi conducted a study in Chennai city three days ago and in Tirupati on Tuesday. They met transport officials, the traffic Deputy Superintendent of Police and Commissioner of Municipal Corporation. Speaking to 'The Hans India', Digvijay Singh said that the study is mainly to evolve more participatory approach in the road sector. The World Bank has selected 12 cities across the nation including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Bhopal, and Nagpur in addition to Tirupati from Andhra Pradesh, he said. For this, the World Bank has formed a special agency named Marketing and Development Research Associates (MDRA) and is collecting data as well as feedback from road users. As part of the study, they will collect the data on bottlenecks in improving road traffic system, which would lead to vehicle speed and reduction of road accidents, he said. When asked about selecting Tirupati for their study, he replied that the floating population is more in the temple town and there is certainly a need to formulate an effective traffic management system. They expressed shock after seeing the thousands of auto-rickshaws plying on Tirupati roads and poor traffic sense among road users. They studied the density of traffic at a few junctions in the town at Bhavani Nagar Junction, Municipal Office Circle and Purnakumbam circle near RTC Bus Station. Later, they collected the data related to road accidents, fatal deaths, density of vehicles, steps taken for the convenience of pedestrians, especially senior citizens, women and children, availability of foot paths, traffic management system in implementation and a few other issues with Traffic Deputy Superintendent of Police. They approached the officials of police, transport department and civic chief with detailed questionnaire like what type of complaints are coming to the police department from commuters of public transport, frequency of such complaints, what type of measures are being taken for safety of commuters, the steps for safety and security of commuters in the buses, helpline system, dedicated help line for women, police patrolling system, steps in implementation of safe city bus journey and betterment of public and mass transportation.