JANAAGRAHA CHENNAI

Janaagraha was launched in Chennai in September, 2007 and is focusing its efforts on tackling the city's transportation challenges. Janaagraha in Chennai is the knowledge partner for Chennai City Connect (CCC) which is focusing on traffic and transportation for improvements in the city. CCC is a non-profit organization, hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which provides a platform for various stakeholders to engage with the government by providing knowledge and skills necessary to improve urban infrastructure and governance.

The Chennai team has taken up two fast track projects—redesigning of the L.B. Road and piloting New Mobility Hubs around the IT corridor.

The L.B. Road project takes its inspiration from the Bangalore City Connect team's Ramaiah Junction project. This comprehensive study involved surveys of multiple stakeholders, observations, and a detailed traffic volume study and resulted in recommendations for improvement that were both low cost and quick to implement. Following this design, the CCC team is producing practical recommendations to improve quality of services for pedestrians, bus drivers, street hawkers and all other stakeholders.

The other project the Chennai team is initiating is New Mobility pilots along the IT corridor. To complement the existing bus and Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) facilities along the IT corridor, the pilot will experiment with feeder buses, among other technologies and processes to make transportation seamless and smooth.

The pilot is a partnership between CCC, Sustainable Mobility and Accessibility Research and Transformation (SMART), an interdisciplinary initiative at the University of Michigan and Ford Motor Company. New Mobility is based on the emergence of new fuel and vehicle as well as information technologies, flexibility in transportation modes, innovation in land use and urban design, new business models, and collaborative partnerships. Systems are designed to support “seamless, sustainable door-to-door trips” by linking multiple transit services, both physically and electronically.

Janaagraha and CCC are also involved in reform track projects. These involve promoting a hub and spoke model of city and town development in the Chennai region. Each such hub and spoke would be connected by high speed corridors that facilitate development of surrounding rural areas and promote trade and commerce.

CCC will help government strengthen the Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA), which is envisioned to integrate and strengthen public transportation.