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Why Car-Free Weekdays Can Become A Game Changer For India: Case Studies From Gurgaon & Hyderabad
byKanika Jindal
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This webinar was hosted on Friday, 6 November 2015 from 12:00 – 1:00 pm IST (local time) and was presented by Prashanth Bachu, Project Manager – Urban Transport and Sarika Panda Bhatt, Manager – Cities & Transport from WRI - EMBARQ India.
Raahgiri Day, India’s first sustained car free Sunday initiative was launched in Gurgaon, India on 17 November 2013 and has expanded to 37 Indian cities since then. With more and more of our cities essentially becoming car dependent these days, the success of Raahgiri Day has re-established the fact that roads belong to people and they should feel safe while using alternate transport modes like walking, cycling and using public transport. Even though Raahgiri became a game changer of sorts, several people wanted this not just on a Sunday, but on weekdays as well. In order to promote sustainable transport, Car Free Day Gurgaon was launched with the request that people voluntarily give up their cars every Tuesday, and instead, use alternate modes of commuting.
On 6 August 2015, the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) and Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), along with Hyderabad Software Enterprises Association (HYSEA), Identcity and WRI – EMBARQ India, introduced a novel concept in the city called “Car Free Thursdays”, in order to give its commuters an opportunity to travel stress free on a weekday. Since then, every Thursday, all the employees in the Hyderabad IT corridor are seen using alternate modes of transport to and from work. Soon thereafter, on 22 September 2015, the Gurgaon Police and Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG), along with WRI – EMBARQ India, NASSCOM, The Raahgiri Foundation (TRF) and Rapid Metro Gurgaon, launched “Car Free Tuesdays” in Gurgaon to showcase just how our city might look like, feel like, and sound like without cars, at least once a week.
This webinar discussed how local administrative authorities, civil society and private sector joined hands to promote Car Free Thursdays in Hyderabad and Car Free Tuesdays in Gurgaon, and its consequential impact on ground in terms of reduction in the number of cars and air pollution.