Date of Award
Spring 5-2014
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.U.R.P.
Degree Program
Urban and Regional Planning
Department
Planning and Urban Studies
Major Professor
Kate Lowe
Second Advisor
Anna Brand
Third Advisor
Stefan Marks
Abstract
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has a demonstrated capacity to improve safety, mobility and accessibility for multiple types of road users. In India, where road safety is an ongoing problem, the national government has supported cities’ efforts to implement BRT as a cost-effective tool to improve urban travel. The case of Indore’s iBus attests to the cultural and institutional barriers that Indian cities may face in gaining public support for BRT. After a contentious implementation process, the High Court ruled to open the dedicated bus lane to private automobiles, resulting in drops in ridership and increases in accidents and travel delay. This study examines the competing, public narratives that framed the issues during and after project construction. Contested notions of the public interest, the cause of traffic problems, and community participation informed the basis for the arguments that culminated in the court ruling.
Recommended Citation
Bruno, Lucien V. IV, "Contested Road Space: Public Narratives and Bus Rapid Transit in Indore, India" (2014). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 1850.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1850
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.