Chennai to have its own transport policy

CHENNAI: The city will soon have its own urban transport policy with the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) working on plans in this regard. As efforts are on to ease congestion in the city, the CUMTA, which came into being in 2010, is chalking out a series of measures to make travelling easier. As the city is on a transition phase with massive projects changing its skyline, CUMTA, the brainchild of planners, bureaucrats and technocrats, will work on making mobility quicker and simpler.Interestingly, the first meeting of CUMTA was held earlier this month, in which  several ideas were discussed, including the composition of the authority. Sources said the authority, which shall be a corporate body, would initially consist of 21 members under the chairmanship of the Transport Minister. The focus of CUMTA will be on framing an urban transport policy for the Chennai Metropolitan Area on the lines of the National Urban Transport Policy. The key functions of CUMTA will include monitoring the implementation of various traffic and transportation measures, including promoting the cause of public mass passenger transport systems and regulating their operations, besides implementation of traffic and transportation infrastructure in the Chennai Metropolitan Area, sources in the transport department said.The sources added that the main role of CUMTA would be to take decisions on matters that would impinge on transport in the Chennai Metropolitan Area and oversee that no steps are initiated by any agencies or local bodies that detract from the overall efficiency of the Comprehensive Transportation Plan.The other members of CUMTA include the Chief Secretary, vice-chairman of CMDA and one eminent traffic and transportation expert nominated by the government.