The growth of population, consequent physical urban expansion and number of motor vehicles in the following six mega cities in India is unprecedented: Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Madras, Hyderabad, and Bangalore. While these cities contain 5.5% of the total population in India, they have a share of more than 19% of the vehicular population. The growth of rail transportation with the exception of Bombay and Calcutta and to some extent Madras is slow. The growth in road networks and increase in land for transport use do not match with the growth of vehicular population. Air pollution from motor vehicles is of great concern; 60 to 70% of air pollution is the result of emissions. The role of nonmotorised transport, though quite supportive is declining. The manifestation of such development is overcrowding, congestion, delay, energy waste, noise, and air pollution. This paper attempts to highlight the need of strategic transport planning, while discussing different aspects of urban transportation. (A) The French title of the paper is: "Profil de transport comparé dans les mégapoles en Inde pour une planification stratégique du transport".
Abstract