This post is Part I where will identify the problems and the constraints. In the next post we will apply the TOC to come out with possible solutions.
The Problems
Mumbai has a root problem - ever increasing population, mainly through immigration. This is no fault of the people, Mumbai is a land of opportunities. However, this has plagued it with a variety of problems that has increased the time for travel and created difficulties for handling the traffic:
Increasing number of vehicles
Mumbai has shown an alarming growth in the number of vehicles, both private and public (typically autorickshaws and taxis or cabs). If the private vehicles increase, then for the same population the public vehicles should reduce or vice versa. A good percentage of the population that increases through influx from other parts of the country end up in driving the public vehicles. So more services are offered but for a lesser customer base because of the increase in private vehicles. Result is that the total number of vehicles have increased without equivalent increase in the traffic infrastructure.
Bad design and quality roads, and ongoing construction
The authorities are awakening to this reality and are taking certain steps to improve it. However, this itself has started creating problems. Construction and repair work on the roads is going on continuously and there is no respite from diversions and the ensuing traffic jams. In fact, some of the spots have become accident probables because of dug up holes or the barriers.
No driving knowledge
Lets face it, the RTO does not ensure that drivers who get licenses know the rules. Anyone who can change the gear and use the brake and accelerator comes on the road and rampantly blasts all the rules. Cutting across lanes, overtaking from the left, breaking signals, not abiding by the speed limit, jams at signals, the circular jams are pretty common.
No alternate routes
Ideally, alternate routes would have helped ease the traffic. Traffic congestion is at its peak in the north-south and in some parts of the east-west corridor.
The Constraints
To apply TOC lets identify the constraints and focus on them to find solutions to the problems caused by them. We might be able to break some of the constraints, or sometimes just reduce their effect.
- Mumbai has to deal with growing population, and public transport is still the popular choice, even on the road. Public transport cannot be reduced to increase space for private vehicles.
- Mumbai is an old city and still has some old bylanes, in fact, too many of them. This has created a grid of many intersections which are candidates for traffic jams.
- Like elsewhere, fuel is getting expensive day by day, but more so here in Mumbai.
- A lot of businesses thrive on the road, which causes traffic congestion in spots. This ends up narrowing the actual space available for driving.
- There is no additional space in Mumbai, neither for diversions nor for alternate roads/routes.
- Lot of drivers are still illiterate and uneducated.
- Mumbai transport infrastructure is governed by a number of authority groups - BMC, MMRDA, the railways and then there is the government.
- Mumbai is has grown more in the north-south corridor, with suburbs continuing to extend in the north.
- In spite of being the financial capital of India, Mumbai cannot afford expensive transport options. The masses are still near the poverty line, and Mumbai is facing a multitude of problems along with the transport.
Tags: mumbai, traffic, theory of constraints, toc
