CCE ACTIVITY GEOGRAPHY FA3 CLASS 10

TRANSPORTATION POLICIES IN SOME COUNTRIES(COMPARISON OF VARIOUS SITUATIONS)

SAUDI ARABIA AND IRAQ (DURING THE GOOD DAYS OF SADDAM HUSSEIN)

The rulers of Saudi Arabia and Iraq had built a very good network of highways in their country during the 1980s and 90s even in the deserts so that the people can enjoy a very good means of transport .Fuel is very cheap in these countries and people can afford to buy and maintain a car.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The people can afford to buy a car and maintain a car. One must remember that USA has used the most fuel guzzling car till recent times. You need to pay to use the highways. People pay a fortune  to keep several business alive(civil engineering ). USA has the highest number of cars per thousand people.

SINGAPORE

It is very difficult to maintain a car. The salary and living standards of the people of Singapore is in no way lesser than the developed countries. Cars are not manufactured in Singapore  they import it and the car owner is expected to pay a very heavy duty when he purchases one..

In 1990, Singapore started to curb car ownership by implementing the Vehicle Quota System. To own and use a vehicle, you have to bid for a Certificate of Entitlement, which lasts ten years. If demand is high, the certificate can cost more than a car.

In 1998 Singapore became the first country to manage traffic via electronic road pricing. The Electronic road pricing system which  automatically charges drivers “congestion pricing” for entering crowded areas at peak times. They don’t even need to slow down as they pass the electronic toll booths.

Public transport is very cheap , you can make it cheaper by taking monthly passes for the metro. You have to wait longer  in the queue for taxis but not for public transport.

               

	CAR	TAXI	MRT	BUS
DAILY	$ 84.3	$44	$3.2	$2.9
MONTHLY	$1855	$968	$70.4	$63.8
YEARLY	$22260	$11676	$844.8	$765

Source: Ride or Drive?: The Cost of Car Ownership vs Public Transport in Singapore(source :money$martblog)

If you use MRT instead of car your Savings = $1784.55 each month, or enough to hire seven tuition teachers. 

INDIA

Only a small proportion of the people can afford to buy a car . Car is considered a status symbol every one wants to possess it. The people consider it auspicious to buy one during the festival seasons( diwali, dusserah, onam , pongal , udadi etc)and there is a decent discount during this season. In the last decade to promote the sale of cars the government under pressure from the car manufacturers have lowered the excise duty. Many of the MNCs are in India not because we are so desperate to possess their products they are here because they want to tap the large market and take advantage of the cheap labour and raw materials   to develop India into a manufacturing hub so that they can export to other countries.   When more than a decade ago all public transport vehicles in Delhi were forced to switch over to CNG , this yielded good result . But no significant efforts were made to curb the growing number of private vehicles and the number of diesel vehicles proliferated because of the better fuel efficiency and subsidy on  diesel.

EXAMINE THE ABOVE CASES AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS

1.       Which of the following country has the most environment friendly transport policy?

2.       Imagine what would have happened if Delhi had got the metro when Kolkata(then Calcutta  ) had got its metro  or earlier than that  ?

3.       Ideally what should have been the transport policy of India?

4.       Why do you think public transport is a failure and everyone is looking forward to Mass Rapid Transit System?

5.       Singapore promotes use of cars as taxis but not as personal cars, do you approve this policy?

6.       Do you agree with the idea of collecting tolls on Indian highways. Give reason for your choice.

7.       According to a study conducted by IIM Kolkata traffic jams cost India more than 10 billion dollar ( 2012 data ) . Discuss some of the ideas we can adopt from Singapore to reduce this loss?

8.       What are the advantages and disadvantages of odd even formula which was implemented recently in Delhi?

9.       Write an essay in  English Travelling smart is the need of the Hour.
ALSO REFER :
 
 http://www.thenational.ae/uae/transport/dubai-to-implement-new-traffic-control-systems-this-year