Thread by @rajbhagatt

#Thread:

#Visualization shows ownership of Cars, Bicyle, Two wheelers and also the households that dont own any of these

Why is this critical to know?

Prepared by @PratapVardhan @Stats_of_India
h/t @indiainpixels

Before going into the thread, let us clarify about the data. The data is an end product of a survey which surveyed around ~6,40,000 households across India

Data represented in this viz are aggregated at state level so rural-urban or other geo nuances might be hidden

2/n

Also they indicate ownership of vehicles and it would not truly reflect the transport mode share which in particularly urban areas, everyday commute in personal vehicles could be lesser as some people would take public transportation

3/n

But it provides a critical fact that only 7.5% people own cars. This is important because our road designs, the investments (particularly in urban areas) are all focussed towards moving of cars.
Pedestrian footpaths are in bad shape and cycle tracks are non-existent

The little amount of public space we have are spent in moving the 7.5%

And more amount of space is lost while parking them

And it is not just spaces, investments along with them have always been focussed towards cars whether they are signal free corridors, tolled expressways, or even the amount of allotted for car lanes over pedestrian footpaths

Even when inaugurated, pedestrian footpaths are not recognized as a part of a road!

It is not just during construction phase, maintenance wise also, potholes get more attention than poorly maintained pedestrian footpaths which actually carry more people

The urban rich are moving outside the public transportation service cover over the years with large residential projects coming up in peripheries that could be assessed by private transport only. Our traffic problems could become worse with those

Yes, I also believe in scifi fantasies & that one day, technology would overcome this but that is not now (not even close by decades). For now, our people transport themselves by public transportation, two wheelers, bicycles, & by walk. our roads should be designed accordingly

For all those infrastructure lovers (who want to fill world with concrete and Tar), notice the traffic congestion with just 7.5% owning cars. Imagine what would happen when 75% own them?

Will all our 2 lane roads be made 20 lanes? Is that even feasible!

Think about it

Remember the objective - we need to move people and things in efficient manner not vehicles.