Shimla: To decongest Shimla and Dharamsala, the Himachal Pradesh government is planning to set up personal rapid transit (PRT) as a green alternative transport mode, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said here today.
The feasibility report to set up PRT pods in both towns has been prepared, he said.
Presiding over a review meeting of the town and country planning, the chief minister said PRT was a latest green solution in alternative transportation sector.
Experts say PRT requires only a 2.1 m-wide track in comparison to 10 m-wide track required for mono rail.
An automated pod is a four-six seater battery powered driverless vehicle which runs on elevated guide way. The PRT system is successfully operating in London.
The chief minister said that an urban mobility transport authority would be established to enable alternative modes of urban public transport such as PRT and ropeways.
In Himachal Pradesh, buses are the mainstay of public transport.
-IANS
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There can be no two opinions about the need for better alternatives for urban transport in towns like Shimla. However, what is of primal concern in making any headway in this direction is the need to educate the public and politicians both about cost recovery of such services. One may recall with utter dismay the recent sad story of reversal of the cost recovery in the new “Red buses” in Shimla which the town got from the JNNURM. This had resulted as a major policy roadblock in further accessing the JNNURM funds : largely a central grant. So one could forget any private sector investment coming in this sector if adequacy concerns of cost recovery plus situation are not guaranteed.