Project: RBN

Revive Bangalore Now!

Theme: An Innovative Solution to

Bangalore Citys Urban Issues

Abstract

Submitted By:

Lokesh.V
Deepu Chandran P.K.
Tojin T Eapen
_________________________________
Larsen & Toubro Limited
KIADB- Industrial Area
Hebbal Hootagalli
Mysore- 570018

Lokesh. V 09845272555 LOKESHV@MYW.LTINDIA.COM

Deepu Chandran P K 09886838279 CHANDRAND@MYW.LTINDIA.COM

Tojin T Eapen 09480166115 THOMASET@MYW.LTINDIA.COM

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Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................................... 3
1.1 PROJECT RBN....................................................................................................................................... 3
1.2 OUR SURVEY METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................. 3
1.3 SURVEY RESULTS .................................................................................................................................. 3
2 RAPID MASS TRANSIT SYSTEM ........................................................................................................... 5
2.1 THE URBAN ISSUE TRANSPORTATION & AIR POLLUTION ........................................................................ 5
2.2 LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING BUS TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES ................................................................... 5
2.3 OUR PROPOSAL THE HEXAGON ........................................................................................................... 6
2.4 LOCATION AND CONNECTIVITY ................................................................................................................ 6
2.5 FACILITIES AT BUSPORTS........................................................................................................................ 6
2.6 NETWORKING & IT INFRASTRUCTURE AT THE HEXAGON ........................................................................... 7
2.7 REVENUE MODEL ................................................................................................................................... 7
2.8 PROJECT FUNDING THE P4 MODEL ...................................................................................................... 7
3 BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY DEVELOPMENT..................................................... 8
3.1 THE URBAN ISSUE UNEMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL INEQUALITY ................................................................. 8
3.2 OUR PROPOSAL EVE (ENTERPRISE FOR THE VOCATIONAL EDUCATION OF WOMEN) .............................. 8
3.3 EDUCATION AT EVE KEY ENABLING SKILLS .......................................................................................... 8
3.4 VOCATIONAL TRAINING AT EVE .............................................................................................................. 9
3.5 REVENUE MODEL FOR EVE .................................................................................................................... 9
4 NETWORK CITY DEVELOPMENT........................................................................................................ 10
4.1 THE URBAN ISSUE HOUSING & CROWDING ......................................................................................... 10
4.2 OUR PROPOSAL BANGALORE CLIENT GARDEN CITY ........................................................................... 10
4.3 TOWN PLAN ......................................................................................................................................... 10
4.4 LAND CONSOLIDATION AND ALLOCATION- MODUS OPERANDI ................................................................. 11
4.5 REVENUE MODEL ................................................................................................................................. 11

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1 Introduction

1.1 Project RBN

RBN is an acronym for Revive Bangalore Now. It is also a mnemonic for what we consider are three
of urban Bangalores most pressing needs: Rapid mass transit systems, Business & employment
opportunity and Network city development. This in slightly simpler terms would relate directly to
problems concerned with Transportation, Unemployment and Housing respectively. These problems
are interlinked in many ways and any solution must be holistic and should tackle all the three, albeit in
different ways. This perspective was gained after surveying a cross-section of people associated with
Bangalore in different ways. Our sample population included the following groups: IT Workers, Long-
term Bangalore residents, Business Executives, Low-income migrant workers, Government Workers &
Visitors.

1.2 Our Survey Methodology

We prepared a list of 12 urban problems that Bangalore faces today. Most of these are common to the
worlds great urban centers, but some are unique to and even characteristic of Bangalore. The
respondents were asked to select up to three issues that were of most concern to him or her.

1.3 Survey Results

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The insights we gained from the survey and from discussions with NGOs were incorporated into a
framework for analysis. Though these needs are related, they were for the purpose of simplicity
considered mutually exclusive and dealt with independently. We have tried to tackle each of these
three needs in an innovative yet feasible manner. This paper contains an abstract of our solution. Each
section contains a brief description of the urban need followed by a description of our proposal to
alleviate, if not eliminate the problem.

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2 Rapid Mass Transit System

2.1 The Urban Issue Transportation & Air Pollution

Almost the first thing that one hears nowadays when discussing Bangalore is the lamentable state of
transportation infrastructure. It has grown to be a pernicious problem, which threatens to derail, and
possibly even turn the clock back on Bangalores development. We feel that the development of an
integrated Bus Rapid Transit System of the type described below will go a long way in alleviating two of
the most important urban challenges identified in the survey, viz. Transportation & Air pollution.

2.2 Limitations of Existing Bus Transportation Facilities

Buses are excellent & flexible means of mass transportation. The extensive use of buses for mass
urban transportation is limited by the following three factors:
1. Ad-hocism in the timings & routes
2. Non-regular users/Tourists find it difficult to access arrival timings & the route information
3. Uncomfortable seating & overcrowding. No assurance of getting a seat. Limited advance-booking
facilities
The Hexagon has been designed with these challenges in mind.

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2.3 Our Proposal The Hexagon

It can be shown that population increases as we move towards major transport transit points in
Bangalore. The building of such transit points would thus serve the dual purpose of improving transit as
well as redistributing population. The Hexagon has three main components
1. A network of six Busports. A Busport is a large modern bus-station with amenities & facilities
usually found only at Airports in India.
2. Highways with Busways connecting the Busports in the form of a hexagonal ring.
3. A well developed IT system to take care of everything from Bus scheduling to CRM

2.4 Location and Connectivity

The connectivity at Hexagon would be as follows:

1. The Hexagon would have six interlinked Busports. For strategic reasons, we propose that these
Busports be located on the outskirts of Bangalore at Bidadi, Attibele, Hoskote, Devanhalli, Dod
Ballapur & Nelamangala. Each of the Busports would also be connected to the Bus-stand at
Majestic
2. The main Hexagon roads will have a Busway or BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) corridor on the outer
lane. We do not propose that BRT corridors be provided on the connecting the Busports to the
Majestic Bus-stand, as this would compound the existing traffic problems in the city.
3. The Busports will serve as the linking points to cities around Bangalore. For example the Bidadi
Busport will be connected to Mysore on the south West and other five Busports will transfer people
traveling to Mysore to this port via The Hexagon.
4. There would be special Shuttle buses and Sector buses plying from the Hexagon. The Shuttle
buses would move between the Busports and would not move into the inner parts of the city. The
sector buses would first move from one Busport to another and then move into the city. For
example a Sector Bus from Hoskote to Attibele would then move to Electronic City, HSR Layout,
Madiwala and Koramangala.
5. Ordinary buses would ply as usual between Majestic and the individual Busports. Certain bus-
stands on the main Hexagon routes would also be associated with the Hexagon.

2.5 Facilities at Busports

Apart from modern convenience that one would normally expect only at airports, the Hexagon Busports
would have:
1. Large parking facilities for commuters traveling from their houses to the Busports. People using
the Hexagon daily for commuting to work, can park their vehicles at the Busport for a fee. Multilevel
parking lots can be considered at the individual Bus-ports.
2. Displays similar to the ones at airports indicating arrival and departure timings
3. Bus-stands associated with the Hexagon would have displays showing the arrival, routes of
incoming buses and seat availability.

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2.6 Networking & IT Infrastructure at the Hexagon

The Hexagon will have excellent IT systems in place, befitting Bangalores status as the IT capital of
Asia. This will eliminate the uncertainties in bus schedules and seat positions and will help in better
planning for the commuters. The Hexagon would also have the following features:
1. Buses would have GPS transponders installed. A portal that has access to the GPS data collected
from the buses would be made accessible to the public. Predicative algorithms would be used to
forecast bus arrival times and estimate seat availability
2. SMS based updates on bus positions, forecasted time of arrival and occupancy
3. RFID based smart-card systems for consumers for advanced booking; with flexible options like
prepayment, postpaid booking & on-the-move booking options for frequent users

2.7 Revenue Model

Possible sources of income for the Hexagon would include the following:
1. A percentage of the revenue from ticket sales.
2. User fee at parking lots
3. Rent from commercial establishments like shops & restaurants located within the bus-ports

2.8 Project Funding The P4 Model

As an advancement of the PPP (Private-Public Participation) Model, we propose a P4 model (Private-

Public-People Participation) model. This would have ordinary citizens participating in infrastructure
projects like The Hexagon. Residents and corporate bodies that benefit, directly or otherwise from an
infrastructure project can come together to contribute and provide support to such projects. Such
voluntary participation schemes have been successfully used to raise money for non-profit agencies,
web 2.0 sites, universities, hospitals and even election campaigns. This will, among other things,
improve visibility & transparency in infrastructure projects and preempt the problems similar to the ones
we saw with the opening of the Bangalore International Airports Limited. People are more likely to
make concessions if they are fully part of the decision making process

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3 Business and Employment Opportunity

3.1 The Urban Issue Unemployment and Social Inequality

Around 22% of our survey respondents mentioned unruly crowds in Bangalore as an area of concern.
There is also a fear in many quarters of impending social unrest in the city. A major reason for this is
the lack of employment opportunities for the low-income families. Inspired by Mohammed Younis
Grameen Bank, we came up with EVE, a project that aims to improve the livelihood of such families by
providing vocational training for women.

3.2 Our Proposal EVE (Enterprise for the Vocational Education of Women)

This project will set up world-class vocational education center called EVE (Enterprise for Vocational
Education of Women) in Bangalore

3.3 Education at EVE Key Enabling Skills

We have identified 6 important skills that we call Key Enabling Skills. Training on these skills would be
given to all the students at EVE.
1. IT and Computer Skills
2. Marketing & Sales Techniques
3. Money Management
4. English Language Training
5. Supervisory Skills
6. Etiquette

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3.4 Vocational Training at EVE

The emphasis at EVE would be on providing practical training that would help students find gainful
employment in the various industries. This would include:
1. General vocational training courses in Catering, Dressmaking, Servicing, Beauty-care, Driving,
Handicrafts, Desktop-Publishing etc.
2. Training for work in Business Process Outsourcing Centers
3. Training courses targeted at specific industries. A program for the Electronic manufacturing
industry might for example provide training in Electronics assembly & soldering.
4. Training would also be imparted on setting up of small-scale enterprises and establishing
cooperative ventures.

3.5 Revenue Model for EVE

The EVE can start with the help of government grants, corporate sponsorship and private donations,
but would work towards financial independence and self-sufficiency. Many of the training courses
would be directly sponsored by the industry. Revenue streams in the future might include profits from
Business centers where the skills learnt at EVE would be put to use, placement charges and deferred
fees.

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4 Network City Development

4.1 The Urban Issue Housing & Crowding

Lack of affordable housing is a problem in most urban centers. In Bangalore, the problem is
compounded by the fact most residential areas are in or close to the city. In many other parts of the
world, the outskirts have been developed to take care of these problems.

4.2 Our Proposal Bangalore Client Garden City

This project concerns developing a large residential and commercial township on the well-connected
large tracts of land on the outskirts of Bangalore near the Hexagon Busports. We propose a location
near Bidadi on the Mysore Bangalore Highway. Since both Bangalore and Mysore go by the sobriquets
Garden City, we have called this township a Client Garden City. This name is also appropriate in
another way as we propose for it a town-plan developed along the Garden City ideal proposed by the
renowned urban planner Ebenezer Howard.

4.3 Town Plan

The town-plan for the Client Garden City would incorporate the following

1. The center of the city would have a large central park. This area would be easily accessible from
all parts of the city. The public buildings like theatres, hospitals, town halls & banks and bus-
stands would also be located near the center

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2. The commercial area would form a ring around the city center and the residential area would be
developed in a radial fashion outside the commercial area.
3. For the residential area, a plan is developed with regions allocated as Class I, Class II zones.
Class I regions would be set aside for the lucrative upper-class/middle-class housing market and
would be auctioned off. Class II would be earmarked for low-income housing and be allocated in
a phased manner. Class II areas would be as accessible and connected as the Class I regions.
Areas would also be provided near the residential area for small parks and public schools
4. The town would be connected to the Bangalore and Mysore through the Bus-port at Bidadi. The
railway-station at Bidadi would also be developed to improve connectivity
5. An industrial belt would be developed in the periphery of the city and another green belt would be
provided outside this area.

4.4 Land Consolidation and Allocation- Modus Operandi

The Government/ Project Agency consolidates the land holdings by buying it from the existing owners.
Any unilateral move to acquire or develop property would attract the ire of the existing owners. Many of
the owners would also be reluctant to sell because they expect increase in rates immediately after the
expected consolidation. To circumvent these problems, we propose that 40-60% of any profit made by
reselling the land be given to the original owner

4.5 Revenue Model

1. An open worldwide auction would be done on the properties in the commercial and Class I
residential areas. Government certificates would be issued on the plots sold. Property builders
winning large tracts in the Class I residential areas would be required to develop pilot areas in
Class I areas. Prefab housing, Mud housing and other cheap but effective alternatives to concrete
housing would be considered in the Class II areas
2. Link-roads are developed from the man roads into these areas. Profits from the sale of
consolidated land would be allocated for the construction of the link roads.
3. A lottery system/auction is used to allocate the pilot houses in the Class II zones and based on the
success, the model is to be replicated in other areas

-- End of Document --

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