Cabinet approves National Urban Tranpsort Policy

New Delhi, Apr 5 (UNI) The Centre today approved the National Urban Transport Policy which aims at giving city dwellers quick, comfortable and affordable access to places of work, education and recreation, with special emphasis on use of clean technologies and non-motorised modes.

Under the new policy, urban transport will be taken taken care of at the planning stage rather than being a consequential requirement.

The policy is people centric in the sense that it would allocate road space between people and vehicles more equitably.

The focus will be on multi-modal public transport systems that are well integrated, providing seamless travel across various modes of transport. Private sector will be associated in activities where their strength could be beneficailly tapped.

The policy also aims at improving access of business to markets and various places related to production.

Under the New Policy, an effective regulatory and enforcemnent mechanism will be established to allow a level playing field for all operators of transport services. Also there be institutional mechanism for enhanced coordination in planning and managemant of transport systems.

Concern of road saftey and trauma response will be adressed in a more focussed way under the new policy.

There will be special emphasis on reducing pollution through changes in travelling practices, better enforcement, stricter norms and technological improvements.

The policy was approved by the Cabinet at a meeting held here this evening.

UNI NAZ PA RAI2053