{"id":4787,"date":"2025-03-24T10:28:57","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T10:28:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/?post_type=press_release&#038;p=4787"},"modified":"2025-03-24T10:40:31","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T10:40:31","slug":"experts-warn-kolkatas-public-transport-expansion-at-risk-without-parking-reforms","status":"publish","type":"press_release","link":"https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/press_release\/experts-warn-kolkatas-public-transport-expansion-at-risk-without-parking-reforms\/","title":{"rendered":"Experts Warn: Kolkata\u2019s Public Transport Expansion at Risk Without Parking Reforms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Kolkata, 11th March, 2025<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Kolkata\u2019s traffic congestion is at a breaking point, with unregulated parking significantly disrupting public transport operations and pedestrian movement. A new report by SwitchON Foundation, &#8220;<strong>Navigating Parking Chaos: Aiming Towards a Sustainable Parking Policy for Kolkata<\/strong>&#8221; reveals alarming figures\u2014<strong>89.8% of surveyed locations<\/strong> suffer from double-lane parking, while 80.3% experience haphazard parking, blocking essential bus routes and commuter pathways.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With only <strong>6% of the city\u2019s land<\/strong> allocated for roads\u2014far lower than Delhi (23%) and Mumbai (18%)\u2014Kolkata\u2019s inefficient parking management is directly hindering efforts to improve public mobility. Recognizing the urgency of this issue, SwitchON Foundation hosted the Roundtable on Accelerating Sustainable Mobility: Expanding Bus Fleets for Greener Cities as part of the <strong>Move for Earth Symposium<\/strong>. The event convened policymakers, transport authorities, urban planners, and industry leaders to develop solutions that integrate structured parking policies with public transport expansion, ensuring that Kolkata\u2019s buses can operate efficiently and sustainably.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recognizing the urgency of this issue, SwitchON Foundation hosted the Roundtable on Accelerating Sustainable Mobility: Expanding Bus Fleets for Greener Cities, presided over by <strong>Prof. Suganya Law<\/strong>, Associate Professor, Woxsen University; Ms. Karuna Singh, Regional Director Asia, Earth Day Network; Dr. Sudipta De, Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, Jadavpur University; and <strong>Mr. Sanjiv Gopal<\/strong>, Chief of Strategy and Planning, Asar Social Impact Advisors Pvt Ltd. as part of the Move for Earth Symposium. The event convened policymakers, transport authorities, urban planners, and industry leaders to develop solutions that integrate structured parking policies with public transport expansion, ensuring that Kolkata\u2019s buses can operate efficiently and sustainably.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kolkata\u2019s mobility crisis is not just about adding more buses; it\u2019s about ensuring they can move efficiently. Without structured parking and clear transit corridors, expanding fleets will not yield results.\u201d,&nbsp; <strong>Prof. Suganya Law<\/strong>, Associate Professor, Woxsen University.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The roundtable discussions highlighted that unregulated parking is a major roadblock to Kolkata&#8217;s public transport efficiency. Experts emphasized the need for scaling up bus fleets, enforcing structured parking policies, and integrating multi-modal transport solutions to create a seamless urban mobility system.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cExpanding bus fleets is critical for sustainable mobility, but without structured parking solutions and traffic discipline, these efforts will fall short\u201d, remarked <strong>Mr. Sanjiv Gopal<\/strong>, Chief of Strategy and Planning, Asar Social Impact Advisors Pvt Ltd.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/presentation\/d\/1REbQ289eKLDQrHD_mp1Y_hltq6oqRP93\/edit#slide=id.g34486ed96fe_0_16\">Media Dossier<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Online Articles: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/city\/kolkata\/37-6-car-owners-in-city-keep-their-vehicles-parked-on-roads\/articleshow\/119387737.cms#:~:text=The%20study%20revealed%20that%2037.6,52.9%25%20deal%20with%20unauthorised%20parking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Times of India<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/city\/kolkata\/with-shrinking-fleet-one-in-two-kolkata-commuters-cannot-get-buses-on-time-study\/articleshow\/118946072.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Times of India<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For more information please contact <\/span><a href=\"mailto:gargi@switchon.org.in\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-rich-links=\"{&quot;per_n&quot;:&quot;Gargi Maitra&quot;,&quot;per_e&quot;:&quot;gargi@switchon.org.in&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;person&quot;}\">Gargi Maitra<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">8336919233<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4794\" src=\"https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SUM09273-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SUM09273-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SUM09273-1024x575.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SUM09273-768x431.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4793\" src=\"https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SUM09268.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4792\" src=\"https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC07871-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC07871-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC07871-1024x769.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC07871-768x577.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC07871-1536x1153.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC07871-2048x1538.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4791\" src=\"https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC07865-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC07865-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC07865-1024x769.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC07865-768x577.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC07865-1536x1153.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC07865-2048x1538.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4789\" src=\"https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC07864-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC07864-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC07864-1024x769.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC07864-768x577.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":4788,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","press_category":[55],"class_list":["post-4787","press_release","type-press_release","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","press_category-move-for-earth"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - 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A new report by SwitchON Foundation, &#8220;Navigating Parking Chaos: Aiming Towards a Sustainable Parking Policy for Kolkata&#8221; reveals alarming figures\u201489.8% of surveyed locations suffer from double-lane parking, while 80.3% experience haphazard parking, [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/press_release\/experts-warn-kolkatas-public-transport-expansion-at-risk-without-parking-reforms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SwitchON Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-24T10:40:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.switchon.org.in\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_9711-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.switchon.org.in\\\/newsite\\\/press_release\\\/experts-warn-kolkatas-public-transport-expansion-at-risk-without-parking-reforms\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.switchon.org.in\\\/newsite\\\/press_release\\\/experts-warn-kolkatas-public-transport-expansion-at-risk-without-parking-reforms\\\/\",\"name\":\"Experts Warn: Kolkata\u2019s Public Transport Expansion at Risk Without Parking Reforms - 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