Incorporating Equity in Public Transport Planning: the Case Of

Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute Incorporating Equity in Public Transport Planning: The case of Bengaluru Jyothi Chava A thesis by hybrid publication submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) of Curtin University September 2016 DECLARATION To the best of my knowledge and belief this thesis contains no material previously published by any other person except where due acknowledgment has been made. This thesis contains no material that has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university. Human Ethics: The research presented and reported in this thesis was conducted in accordance with the National Health and Medical Research Council National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007) – updated March 2014. The proposed research study received human research ethics approval from the Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (EC00262), Approval Number # HURGS-04-14. Signature: Date: 12/09/16. i ABSTRACT Public transport (PT) and its associated developments are emerging as sustainable urban transport solutions. However, the rapidly increasing investments on them are not yielding equitable benefits for all. To address these inequity concerns, the study proposes a methodology to evaluate and incorporate equity related aspects into PT planning at the station area and network levels, and demonstrates the methods in Bengaluru, India as a case study. The equity solutions for station area level planning are illustrated in Yeshwanthpur industrial area (in Bengaluru’s suburbs) as the primary case study. At the station area level, the study developed a series of methods to: assess which income groups are being excluded from transit oriented developments (TOD); identify gentrification in TODs; evaluate the probability of replacement, in future, of the poor from TODs; and assess the implication of such social exclusion on PT ridership, through the development of a new model. In addition to incorporating equity into TOD planning, the study developed a framework for stakeholder deliberation towards developing affordable housing strategies for more inclusive and sustainable TODs. At the network level, the study developed a tool called ‘Transit Accessibility and Affordability Index’ (TAAI). In contrast to the existing PT performance measures, which evaluate only accessibility, TAAI evaluates both accessibility and affordability of PT. It was administered to Bengaluru using the software TransCAD, yielding recommendations for incorporating equity at the network level. Demonstration of the proposed research methods at the station area level indicates that the new TODs are 68% costlier than the houses located in suburbs, and are excluding the income groups with annual income below INR 0.6 million, thus causing new build gentrification. The detailed case study analysis conducted in Yeshwanthpur industrial area illustrates that while the new developments are causing gentrification, the old build existing housing remains ungentrified. It also demonstrates that in a ‘do nothing scenario’ it is highly probable that the availability of vacant and brownfield land could contribute to further social exclusion. An assessment of the impact of such social exclusion on PT ridership indicates that though the gentrifiers account for a small part of the bus ridership, they are significant contributors to the metro’s ridership due to its high level of service. ii However, the probability of the non-gentrifiers using metro is higher than that of the gentrifiers. Hence, the study recommends incorporating affordable housing in new TODs, to not only ensure equity but also further optimise the metro ridership. In this regard, a stakeholder deliberation was conducted and potentially feasible strategies were identified. These strategies are: inclusionary zoning, special purpose planning vehicles, land banking entities, innovative financing tools, and local area level plans. The administration of the TAAI tool at the network level in the case study area shows that the PT generalised cost (GC), a composite measure of accessibility (travel time) and affordability (travel cost), decreased by 15% following the high-speed metro’s introduction. However, PT GC is higher than that of the motorbike and the car. This is attributable to PT’s higher access, egress and waiting times (out-of-vehicle time); lower average trip length; high PT fares; and the minimal operating costs of private vehicles. In light of this cost difference, the study recommends mode integrated strategies towards a PT system more competitive with motorbikes, in Bengaluru. The framework and tools to evaluate and include equity related aspects in PT planning, developed in the study, are applicable to cities across the globe. The study creates awareness among policy makers, planners and city authorities, on equity implications in PT planning and management. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This doctoral research has been accomplished with the constant support and assistance of numerous people. Firstly, I would like to express my appreciation to my principal supervisor Professor Peter Newman for his invaluable support and guidance throughout the duration of the research project. I am extremely grateful for his assistance. I am also eternally grateful for the guidance and support of my co-supervisor, Professor Reena Tiwari. I would like to thank Anne Matan and Jannet Hartz-Karp for guidance in conducting a successful stakeholder deliberation in Bengaluru. Christine Finlay has been a wonderful support and I thank her for her friendship and advice on PhD related administrative procedures. I am grateful for support from Dr. Pradeep Singh Karola, Managing Director of Bangalore Metropolitan Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) and his team towards successful data collection. I would also like to acknowledge the assistance from the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) and the Center for infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning (CiSTUP) in organising stakeholder engagement deliberation workshops. It helped successfully disseminate the study results and identify the policy direction towards incorporating equity in public transport planning. I thank the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) for allowing access to the TransCAD software. I am grateful for financial assistance from Curtin University, Curtin Postgraduate Scholarship (CIPRS)/ORD Scholarship and an AusAid top up scholarship #51093. iv DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this thesis to my husband Kesava Naidu, son Sathvik and parents Sheshagiri Rao, Durga and sister Nagamalleswari. Their patience, support and understanding throughout this doctoral research has made this all possible. v MANUSCRIPTS SUBMITTED AS PART OF THIS THESIS Statement of Contribution of Others All of the manuscripts submitted as part of this PhD were drafted, designed and coordinated by Jyothi Chava. The majority of the calculation and writing for each publication was undertaken by Jyothi Chava. Signed detailed statements from each co-author relating to each manuscript are provided in the manuscripts section. vi MANUSCRIPTS SUBMITTED AS PART OF THIS THESIS Manuscript 1: Chava J., Newman, P., and Tiwari R. (2016). Gentrification in New Build and Old Build Transit Oriented Developments: The Case of Bangalore. Submitted the first version to Urban Research and Practice on 20th March 2016. The revised version after review was submitted on 29th May 2016. Manuscript ID: RURP-2016-0009. Manuscript 2: Chava J., Newman, P., and Tiwari R. (2016) Gentrification of station areas and its impact on transit ridership. Submitted to Case Studies of Transport Policy on 10th April 2016 and sent to reviewers. Manuscript ID: CSTP-D-16-00048. Journal paper 3: Chava J and Newman P (2016) Stakeholder Deliberation on Developing Affordable Housing Strategies: Towards Inclusive and Sustainable Transit Oriented Developments. Sustainability, 8(10). Manuscript 4: Chava J., Newman, P., and Tiwari R. (2016) Transit Accessibility and Affordability Index: A tool to evaluate transit quality. Submitted to Transportation Research Part A on 29th June 2016 and sent to reviewers. Manuscript ID: TRA_2016_532. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ................................................................................................................ i ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. iv DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... v MANUSCRIPTS SUBMITTED AS PART OF THIS THESIS ....................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................viii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ xiv LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... xv 1 Introduction................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Research Aims ..................................................................................................... 4 1.2 Research Objectives ...........................................................................................

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