New initiatives are possible in evolving environmentally friendly urban rapid transit services in cities of developing countries, with the private sector acting in concert with stakeholders. We draw on two examples of such initiatives in India, which are in different stages of project development and related policy formulation. The paper discusses a model with four integrated modules. These forecast traffic on a new transit facility by computing the quantum of shift from the current modes, based on the transit system fare and savings in travel time, and deal with project technical parameters, financial, environmental and economic analyses. Environmental benefits provide justification for the Government's financial participation and help in evolving a method of raising the State's contribution.
Abstract