National Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Policy

1 1 National Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Policy 1. Background India is urbanizing at a rapid pace with urban population rising much faster than its total population. Level of urbanisation has increased from in 1951 to % in 2011. India is competing with the fastest growing countries in the world. The urban population in India, which is nearly 377 million is poised to grow to 600 million by 2030. The urban population of India contributes 65% of country s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is expected to grow to 75% in the next 15 years.

2 With India witnessing a high economic growth, Indian cities are growing at a rate faster than other cities in the world. Urbanization has led to horizontal growth of the cities thus creating problems of urban sprawl. This has resulted in increase of trip lengths and higher usage of private vehicles, problems of pollution and increased demand of infrastructure. To address these issues, many cities have strengthened their public transport by developing mass rapid Transit systems (MRTS) such as metro rails and Bus Rapid Transit Systems (BRTS).

3 It is however, important to efficiently use these systems by integrating the land use with the transport infrastructure to make the cities livable, healthy and smart. 2. What is Transit - Oriented Development (TOD)? TOD integrates land use and transport planning and aims to develop planned sustainable urban growth centers, having walkable and livable communes with high density mixed land-use. Citizens have access to open green and public spaces and at the same time Transit facilities are efficiently utilized.

4 2 TOD focuses on creation of high density mixed land use Development in the influence zone of Transit stations, within the walking distance of (500-800 m) Transit station or along the corridor in case the station spacing is about 1km as shown in Figure 1. TOD advocates pedestrian trips to access various facilities such as shopping, entertainment and work. TOD increases the accessibility of the Transit stations by creating pedestrian and Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) friendly infrastructure that benefits large number of people, thereby increasing the ridership of the Transit facility and improving the economic and financial viability of the system.

5 Since the Transit corridor has mixed land-use, where the Transit stations are either origin (housing) or destination (work), the corridor experiencing peak hour traffic in both directions would optimize the use of the Transit system. 3. Need for a National TOD Policy As the cities are experiencing rapid growth, Transit systems like metro rail, BRTS, etc. are being implemented to cater to the growing travel demand. It has thus become inevitable to have TOD for all such cities which have an existing mass Transit systems or are planning to do so.

6 It is the responsibility of the state government to manage the urban spaces, however a National TOD Policy would serve as guidelines and play a catalytic role in formulating state/ city level policies for promotion of Transit Oriented Development Figure 1: TOD along Transit Stations 3 In this context, it is important for community-based organizations, practitioner, urban local bodies, state/ union territory (UT) governments, Central Government ministries/ departments/ agencies and all other stakeholders involved in the Development of the city, to understand TOD, its benefits and implementation strategy.

7 National TOD Policy shall be a guiding document for the Central Government ministries/ departments/ agencies to ensure that their schemes, policies, etc. encourage TOD in cities, especially those with upcoming mass Transit systems. This shall support states and cities to recognize public transport infrastructure as the core around which the future expansion of urban areas should be planned and the investments in public transport be directed accordingly.

8 This shall help all state/ UT governments and urban local bodies in formulation of TOD planning strategies. It shall help in the active participation of all stake holders, Government and Non-Government organizations in implementing TOD. 4. Vision of TOD Policy The vision of the Policy is three fold: Enable Transformation: to assist in transformation of cities from private vehicle dependent city to public transport Oriented Development , Accessible Public Transport: to promote the usage of public transport by making it accessible, encourage green mobility by encouraging people to walk and cycle and at the same time curb pollution and other negative impacts of motorization.

9 Compact walkable communities : to create livable and affordable communities , which are compact and walkable . 4 5. Objectives of TOD Policy TOD integrates land use and transport planning to develop compact growth centers within the influence zone of 500-800 m on either side of the Transit stations areas within walking distance, to achieve the following objectives: To promote the use of public transport by developing high density zones in the influence area, which would increase the share of Transit and walk trips made by the residents/ workers to meet the daily needs and also result in reduction in pollution and congestion in the influence area.

10 To provide all the basic needs of work/ job, shopping, public amenities, entertainment in the influence zone with mixed land-use Development which would reduce the need for travel. To establish a dense road network within the Development area for safe and easy movement and connectivity of NMT and pedestrians between various uses as well as to Transit stations. To achieve reduction in the private vehicle ownership, traffic and associated parking demand. To develop inclusive habitat in the influence area so that the people dependent on public transport can live in the livable communities within the walkable distance of Transit stations.