Have you seen the movie Crash? Though the story is about citizens of Los Angeles from different ethnicities with varied issues and goals in life, the underlying theme is the frustration or challenge of living in a metro or in a city where you have a hard time fixing small things.
Bombay is one such city. See the people there. They are running all the time – at times trying to achieve something and at other times trying to fix things. But they are running never-the-less. From early morning to late evening, there is always a rush and a gradual frustration built-up that comes from the inability to help oneself. This makes one whine, irritable and frustrated and starts affecting personal and professional life without our knowing. Take for example, what it takes to commute to work.
I do not have world statistics but New York, and by some estimates Atlanta, are the worst cities in the US for travel. People on an average travel 38 minutes a day in New York. In Mumbai, it would be safe to assume that this would be more than 2 hours. If a person lived in Mumbai for 60 years, he was travelling for 5! Commuting to work is largely a social waste of time. Though some of us try to make it productive by reading or catching up with people on phone, these are things we could do anyways without having to travel so long. Solutions, anyone?
The government could increase the 9-car trains to 12, 12-car to 15. This will alone increase the capacity by 20-30% for the 4 million or so people who take trains every day. The government has probably known this for a long time and has not done anything about it. But how can the private enterprise help?
If CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) or any such body gets together and proposes common working hours from 11.00 AM to 4.00 PM and a stretched one from 8.00 AM to 7.00 PM, it may go a long way. Broad industry sectors could then agree to a common industry sector specific time. Services (marketing, media, publishing, technology etc) may start early, let’s say by 8.00 AM. Consumer products (auto, office, appliances etc) may start later, say from 11.00. Common working hours will have limited affect on cross industry working and overtime people will learn to make use of it. This, if implemented, will ease a lot of traffic from roads and rails. People will have more time for work and play. And most importantly these travels will be relaxed and not a struggle. Not sure here, but easing out carbon emissions for longer duration may help the environment as well.
Less and relaxed travel will result in happy and productive employees at work. Its time private sector takes the onus in Bombay and other such cities to correct the situation. After all, they get to gain the most.
