EP 54 | Participatory Planning in Public Transport | #PolicyBeyondPolitics

The involvement and participation of citizens and stakeholders in the sustainable urban mobility planning process is necessary in order to obtain public legitimacy and create a plan that satisfies the mobility needs of people. With the adoption of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), citizen participation methods have started to shift more towards online environments. Planning for a public transport system should revolve around a basic question of who constitutes the public - i.e. whom are we planning the transport system for? When planning is prepared only by keeping certain sections of the society, it does not really serve the purpose of public transportation. The participation process must be envisaged as a continuous process – building on consistent methods, tools, and groups of stakeholders. It is essential to include different voices from different stakeholders who constitute as ‘public’ in the planning process. Participation processes might need risk assessment and management to adapt their strategy to exceptional, unforeseen circumstances. Representation across different caste,class, gender and other sections like people with disability, old-age people,etc of the society helps to impart different perspectives into planning. This participatory approach helps to include the social system and factors impacting public transportation in process.

KEY DISCUSSION POINTS

The key discussion points for the Podcast are as follows:

• Why do we need a participatory approach when we talk of public transport planning?

• How do we ensure different target groups form a part of planning?

• How can planning be done differently in a low resource/ high recourse setting?  the diverse tools available that could be implemented in both settings. - e-tools that can be used.

• Since planning needs constant updating, how do we incorporate changing needs of different sections in the process ?

• Data becomes a key indicator in the decision making process. How do we ensure to represent various nature of data in the decision making process?

• How does Inclusive planning help in envisioning changes in society regarding the public transport system ?

• With your experience working in western countries, what are the challenges you feel that India faces in this regard of participatory planning?