Reframing Urban Mobility: Transforming the Auto Rickshaw System in Pune, India Akshay P ...

129 Pages·2012·5.55 MB·English

Reframing Urban Mobility: Transforming the Auto Rickshaw System in Pune, India
Akshay P Shinde

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of Masters of Fine Arts in Industrial Design
At
The Savannah College of Art and Design
© March 2012, Akshay P Shinde

The author hereby grants SCAD the permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper
and electronic thesis copies of document in whole or in part in any medium now known or
hereafter created.

Signature of Author and Date

Prof. Chris Miller Signature Date
(Committee Chair)

Prof. Robert Fee Signature Date
(Committee Editor)

Susan Zielinski Signature Date
(Topic Consultant)
Reframing Urban Mobility: Transforming the Auto Rickshaw System in Pune, India

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Department of Industrial Design
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Degree of Master of Fine Arts in Industrial Design
Savannah College of Art and Design

By

Akshay P Shinde

Savannah, GA

March 2012
Table of Contents

ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................................................. 1
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND ............................................................................................. 2
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................................. 2
PROBLEM STATEMENT .................................................................................................................................................... 3
PURPOSE OF STUDY ........................................................................................................................................................ 5
LIMITATIONS AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY ............................................................................................................................. 6
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORY DEVELOPMENT ...................................................................... 7
SECTION1: SUSTAINABILITY .............................................................................................................................................. 8
What is sustainability? .......................................................................................................................................... 8
What is Sustainable Urban Transport? ............................................................................................................... 10
The Many Definitions of Sustainability ............................................................................................................... 11
SECTION 2: THE THEORY OF DESIGN SEMANTICS ................................................................................................................ 12
The different aspects of meaning ....................................................................................................................... 16
What is culture? .................................................................................................................................................. 17
SECTION 3: THE DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION ..................................................................................................................... 18
SECTION 4: A REVIEW OF SCOT AND ANT ........................................................................................................................ 19
Social Construction of Technical Systems ............................................................................................................ 19
Actor Network Theory ......................................................................................................................................... 21
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................................... 24
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................ 24
RESEARCH TIMELINE OVERVIEW ...................................................................................................................................... 25
Phase 1 Overview – Pre-Fieldwork and defining the research scope .................................................................. 25
Phase 2 Overview- Grounded Data Collection and Ethnographic Research in Pune ........................................... 26
PILOT PHASE ............................................................................................................................................................... 27
SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION ...................................................................................................................................... 28
GROUNDED DATA COLLECTION ....................................................................................................................................... 28
Interviews ............................................................................................................................................................ 28
Passive and participant observation ................................................................................................................... 29
Cultural Probes .................................................................................................................................................... 30
PHASE 3 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 31
Overview – Internship at MIT MediaLabs ........................................................................................................... 31
EVENTS ...................................................................................................................................................................... 31
ANALYSIS OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................................................... 32
SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................................................. 32
CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS.................................................................................................................. 34
OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................................................................. 34
SECTION 1: THE VIGNETTES ............................................................................................................................................ 36
SECTION TWO: ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................................... 50
ANALYSIS OF PRIMARY DATA .......................................................................................................................................... 50
What do the patterns reveal in regard to urban commuting? ............................................................................ 51
Observations from Trip Tracking ......................................................................................................................... 52
Analysis of Road Trips made to Select Destinations ............................................................................................ 52
ANALYSIS OF THE SECONDARY DATA ................................................................................................................................ 53
Analysis of different groups and transport systems ............................................................................................ 53
Analysis of Modal Split and Social Space on the Roads of Pune ......................................................................... 53
ADDRESSING THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS .......................................................................................................................... 55
DESIGN SYNTHESIS ....................................................................................................................................................... 56
SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................................................. 57
CHAPTER FIVE: DESIGN CONCEPTUALIZATION ..................................................................................................... 59
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................ 59
DESIGN BRIEF .............................................................................................................................................................. 60
Design Brief ......................................................................................................................................................... 61
DESIGN PROCESS.......................................................................................................................................................... 62
The design process in brief .................................................................................................................................. 62
CURRENT LANDSCAPE – THE AUTO RICKSHAW AS A SYSTEM .................................................................................................. 62
What is an auto rickshaw? .................................................................................................................................. 62
How does the service work? ................................................................................................................................ 63
CURRENT ISSUES WITH THE AUTO RICKSHAW SYSTEM ........................................................................................................... 63
The Auto-wala’s story ......................................................................................................................................... 63
From the commuter’s perspective ...................................................................................................................... 64
The Auto rickshaw as a vehicle ........................................................................................................................... 64
DESIGN PRINCIPLES ...................................................................................................................................................... 65
WHAT ARE THE DESIGN PRINCIPLES FOR THIS STUDY?........................................................................................................... 65
Status .................................................................................................................................................................. 65
Reliability ............................................................................................................................................................ 66
Adaptability ......................................................................................................................................................... 66
REFINING THE DESIGN PRINCIPLES .................................................................................................................................... 67
CONCEPTUALIZATION .................................................................................................................................................... 67
Strategy and Benchmarking ................................................................................................................................ 67
Technical Specifications ...................................................................................................................................... 67
Chassis Conceptualization ................................................................................................................................... 68
Manufacturing Considerations ........................................................................................................................... 69
Suspension .......................................................................................................................................................... 69
Interior Space ...................................................................................................................................................... 69
Preliminary concept model ................................................................................................................................. 70
Refined concept model ........................................................................................................................................ 70
VALIDATION STRATEGY .................................................................................................................................................. 70
CONCLUSIONS FROM VALIDATION .................................................................................................................................... 71
SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................................................. 71
CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND DIRECTION FOR FUTURE STUDIES ............................... 73
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................................... 73
RECOMMENDATIONS AND DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE STUDIES................................................................................................ 75
APPENDIX A: STATISTICAL INFORMATION ........................................................................................................... 77
APPENDIX B: CONCEPTUALIZATION ..................................................................................................................... 79
APPENDIX C: FIELD RESEARCH AND PHOTO DOCUMENTATION ........................................................................... 95
GLOSSARY .......................................................................................................................................................... 112
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................................... 118
BIO STATEMENT ................................................................................................................................................ 123
1

Reframing Urban Mobility: Transforming the Auto Rickshaw System in Pune, India

Akshay P Shinde
March 2012

Abstract
In India, globalization is rapidly changing value systems, ethics, and, consequently, everyday life.
Nowhere is it more apparent than on the roads. These changes are played out daily in the
constant manipulation and negotiation as people engage with traffic laws, police, senior
citizens, and each other.
The focus of this study is Pune, which has become a major industrial and IT hub and a satellite
city for Mumbai, one of India‘s main commercial centers. Pune is experiencing high levels of
migration and is undergoing rapid urban development. With growth has come a rise in personal
affluence and increased use of private vehicles. This in addition to inadequate road-based
public transport services, and a seeming ―culture of tolerance‖ have led to more traffic
congestion, pollution, and stress-related travel problems.
A bottom-up approach was taken for the research. Data for the study was collected on site
over a three month period. Three broad questions guided the research – 1) What is the meaning
of Urban Transport in the context of Pune, India? 2) Who are the key actors? 3) What innovation
will a culture allow? Which will it inhibit? Findings suggest that there is a change in the needs of
people as the economic prosperity permeates to different segments of population and brings
different meanings to artifacts. The findings also showed the auto rickshaw, a three wheeled
cab system as a potential design opportunity that could meet these latent needs of commuters.
Actor Network Theory, Diffusion theory, and Geertz‘s definition of culture were then used to
shape the design brief and select design principles. Using the principles the current auto
rickshaw was redesigned into a reliable, economical and safe form of public transportation
system that provides commuters with a stress free and comfortable option to using personal
vehicles.
2

Chapter One: Introduction and Background
Introduction
With a population of 1,143,414,685 India is a land of contrast. It has the second largest
population in the world and is one of the fastest growing economies. In India, globalization is
rapidly changing value systems, ethics, and, consequently, everyday life. With the increasing
variety of people taking to cell-phones, e-marketing, and mall culture the interweaving of social,
cultural, and technological elements is being undone and reworked. This interweaving has
resulted in a unique blend of patterns of everyday life. This unique blending has produced in a
culture of mass consumption. Nowhere is it more apparent than on the roads where these
changes are reflected in the growing personal transportation sector.
With a total population of 5.5 million, the city of Pune is one of the major industrial and IT hubs in
India, and fast becoming a satellite city for Mumbai, the commercial capital of India. It is known
as the ―automobile city,‖ due to the presence of several automobile manufacturers. Pune is an
emerging market with the highest number of two wheelers in Asia. The number of registered
vehicles increased 97% between 1997 and 2002, from 475,583 vehicles to 938,125 vehicles. Each
month 10,000 – 13,000 new vehicles are registered (a rate of over 400 per day). In 2003-04
approximately 110000 vehicles were registered (Joglekar 2006). Fig. 1 in Appendix B shows the
geographical location of Pune on the map of India. Photo 1, Photo 2 and Photo 3 in Appendix C
show typical urban landscape of Pune.
Being the cultural capital of India, it reflects the contrasts of the entire country. Once known as
―the pensioner‘s city‖, Pune is experiencing a high level of migration and rapid urban
development. About 10 years ago the expressway was completed reducing the commute
between Mumbai and Pune to 2 hours. The offices of many multinational corporations (MNCs)
previously located in Mumbai have shifted their operations and opened branches in Pune in
part to take advantage of lower rents. The Pune City had 2.5 million people in 2001, a 62%
Chapter Two: Literature Review
3

increase since 1991. The population is now estimated at around 5.5 million. The growth of
software and education sectors has significantly contributed to the influx of professionals and
students from all across the country.
Problem Statement
Along with this growth has come a rise in personal affluence and an increased use of private
vehicles. With zero percent loans available, it‘s not surprising that the increase in vehicle
population has been even more dramatic and has created serious challenges for the residents
of Pune. Many of the social costs of commuting in India have less to do with fuel usage than with
congestion, traffic delays, accidents, road damage, land usage and other side effects of
commuting (Hawken, Lovins et al. 1999). Over the past 30 years, urbanized areas have
increased by 240% while agricultural and grassland/scrub areas have decreased by 31% and
39%, respectively(Singh 2005). The Central Board of Pollution Control (CBPC) expressed concern
for the increasing air pollution in Pune (CAI-Asia and EMBARQ 2006). Pollution is attributed to the
increased use of private vehicles as one of the major causes. According to statistics presented
by the World Bank, Pune had a concentration of particulate matter ≤ 10 micrometer (PM10) of
47 micrograms per cubic meter in 2005. The annual mean particulate air quality guideline of the
WHO recommends 20 micrograms or less (CAI-Asia and EMBARQ 2006).

Roadways present a chaotic environment where people constantly negotiate with and
manipulate traffic laws, law enforcement, senior pensioners, and each other. A total of 2001
accidents occurred in the year 2004 of which 348 were fatal, 278 were serious and 1383 were
minor; eventually claiming about 400 lives (Joglekar 2006). Pune roads have grown 6 times since
1960, but the vehicles have increased by 105 times (Joglekar 2006).

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in order to combat the rising problems began by
focusing on major infrastructure changes, which were short term solutions. To reduce the
Chapter Two: Literature Review
4

congestion on the roads the PMC built flyovers. The result was that flyovers attract more traffic
than they reduce. Photo 4 in Appendix C shows a new flyover. Highway expansion projects like
flyovers contribute heavily to the urban sprawl. When they are constructed without a long-term
vision, their effect on urban land use could be disastrous. In a lighter vein, one could say that
Mumbai‘s flyovers have helped slum-dwellers build and even perhaps rent out new shanties
springing up under the flyover (Laik 2010)
Another infrastructure that PMC invested in was the trial of BRTS corridors. A pilot program was
initiated in 2008. It failed to gain momentum; the reasons cited were feasibility studies. As per the
BRTS planning guidelines, the typical planning period for any BRTS project is anywhere between
12 and 24 months during which feasibility studies are carried out to select corridors best suited for
different types of mass transit systems, including BRTS, based on traffic demand and engineering
requirements such as widths of roads, availability of space for bus stations, etc. In Pune‘s case,
no such planning was done nor was a DPR prepared for the BRTS pilot project (Nita 2008). The
officials failed to understand what BRTS really is and used the cut and paste approach. Photo 5
in Appendix C shows the poor execution of the project where other motorists started using the
dedicated lanes.

PMC adopted the top down approach to find a solution to the congestion problems. Most of
these solutions are either quick fixes or cut and paste solutions based on research that has failed
to consider the context and uncover the real needs of commuter. As Christopher Alexander
(Hawken, Lovins et al.) observes,
When you build a thing, you cannot merely build that thing in isolation, but must also
repair the world around it and within it so that the large world at that one place
becomes more coherent and more whole and the thing which you make takes its place
in the web of nature, as you make it. (1999:124)

Chapter Two: Literature Review