Travel 3.0

We keep on reading or hearing a lot about Travel 3.0. So what exactly is it? I tried looking for an answer in books, travel blogs and anywhere I could get some information on this topic. Finally what I could grasp and understand after going through all the information. I decided to write and help audience understand travel 3.0 in a simple and effective way.

we talk about travel 3.0, it will be a tool, where the user can get the holistic experience. Any traveler goes to 3 different phases:

1. Planning: A stage where he is looking for information, researching a destination and the fares etc. Which most of the website have been able to do. There are millions of websites which offers destination guides.

2. Bookings: So what do you exactly do after you have researched a destination? You try and reach there. So, the next logical step is to book a ticket, a hotel room, a taxi and perhaps look for a local guide? Though most of the websites offer first three booking, they still lack in finding a local guide.

3.Post Travel Experience: When you go for a holiday with friends, families, girl friend, you obviously shoot pictures, videos with your loved ones. So now the requirement comes of where to store them?

While there are websites which offers everything in bits and pieces, no one really offers everything integrated into one and offer it to customers. A user end up having gone to three different website for three different but entirely interlinked need.

Travel 3.0 would be a phase where all the above three phases would be integrated seamlessly to give the user a single window for his/her entire travel need.

Travel 3.0 will be all of sales, peer reviews and social networking

There are couple of websites like wayn.com and travelobuddies.com still in beta (and I think will take its own sweet time to get launched) are attempting to become one.

Gurgaon (access controlled???) expressway another Illogical move by the government and the infrastructure planning authorities.

Let me begin this way, and I hope everyone who commutes daily through this National Highway would agree to me, that, not everything is wrong with this “Expressway”. You cross the Toll Plaza towards Delhi and you are in for a smooth drive till the end of the RTR flyover. It is truly built and is at par with any international standard highway. Kudos to Government, NHAI and DS Construction who pulled this project through, though little bit of delay has happened and we perfectly understand that.

But, having said that, everyone who commutes daily through this National Highway would also agree to me that in no way this is an expressway. It looks as Government has decided to punish its citizens and to do this they have taken the help of DS Constructions Ltd.

Before, I go ahead, let me inform everyone that an express way should be built as an option, so that commuters who want to avail this facility and save money, fuel and time can do so. But, between Gurgaon and Delhi, it has been made almost compulsory for every commuter to pay a toll. The government and DS construction can argue that there are alternate routes which a commuter can take; a. the Mehrauli - Gurgaon Road, and b. the Kapashera Border road which ultimately joins the National Highway, at Shiv Murti junction.

Let’s, explore these two alternate routes;

The Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road: Now, who all will and can take this route, simple people who are going towards areas like, Green Park, Greater Kailash, Nehru Place, Lajpat Nagar, and to the extreme it will be taken by people going Trans- Yamuna and NOIDA. We all know the current condition in which this road is, potholes, heavy traffic and to top it all the construction of Metro, which will occupy this road at least till June 2010. (That’s what the earliest date for completion of Metro link to Gurgaon is.)

The Kapashera Border Road: People going towards, Dwarka, Janakpuri will normally prefer this road and West Delhi commuter may think of taking it. But, the big question is how many people can really afford to really take this route without actually crossing the Toll Plaza? This route can be taken only by people who are working on the Udyog Vihar or Old Gurgaon side, otherwise crossing over to the other side of the highways is an impossible task.

Coming back to the express way I can point out few major design fault, which authorities forgot to take notice of, take corrective measures and public will be in for a smoother ride;

1. No measure has been taken to ensure smooth movement of pedestrians

This Express way goes through a populated area anyone who has little bit of brain would understand that anyplace where people live; they live on both sides of the road. What about them? Is there any measure in place to connect people living on the other sides of the road? There are lots of villages which stretch out on both the sides of roads. People live on one side and go to other to earn their daily livelihoods. Children go to school everyday across the road. Whose responsibility is to provide them with safer underpass or an over-bridge?

When asked, the spokes person of DS Construction simply said “We constructed according to the design provided by NHAI” okay agreed, but what about those brilliant minded infrastructure designers?

Solution: It’s not too late, authorities please wake up, before a major tragedy happens, build those essential foot bridges now, if possible at every major intersections and villages.

2. Traffic movements on sides and below the over-bridges

Do you work in Udyog Vihar and come from Delhi? If you do, you face it everyday and every evening. Traffic below the Shankar Chowk Bridge and going right towards Udyog Vihar is a nightmare. Why? We all know the answer, none of the road planner thought of ensuring the smooth flow of the traffic. The moment you cross the Toll Plaza there’s a perennial problem of traffic jam.

Solution: (For Shankar Chowk/Udyog Vihar and Gateway Tower intersection)

1. Stop right turn for traffic coming from Udyog Vihar side; make a compulsory left turn there. The traffic can take a turn at DLF-III intersection and turn right from there towards Shankar Chowk and move straight.
2. Stop right turn at DLF-III intersection, make a compulsory left turn, the vehicles coming from DLF-III, they go straight and take a right turn at Gateway Tower intersection.
3. Stop the U turn at Gateway Tower intersection for the vehicle coming from IFFCO Chowk side along the side of Shankar Chowk Over-bridge. They go straight till DLF-III intersection and take a right turn.
4. Open Shankar Chowk/Udyog Vihar intersection only for vehicle coming from Delhi and going toward Udyog Vihar.

Similar rules can be made simultaneously for IFFCO Chowk and Hero Honda Chowk.

Now to another aspect of the Expressway, TOLL and Access. Don’t we all know that this is an access control highway? Which simply means few types of vehicles are not allowed on this particular highway? Two and Three-Wheelers are not allowed, but there is no stopping till now, in fact, Toll is being collected illegally from Three Wheelers. Two Wheelers and Three Wheelers cannot be stopped from using this expressway, as there is simply no alternate way. If you can’t stop Two Wheeler and Three Wheeler then charge a toll from them too. Here, the Government should be proactive, before any PIL is filed (may be even filed by now) or a question is raised about why should four wheelers take the burden of two wheeler’s toll? A car owner pays Rs. 32 daily for crossing either side of the border. God knows how they have fixed Rs.16 for each crossing on the other side. (DS Construction spokesperson says, ‘It is based on wholesale pricing index’ I, don’t know what it means??? But, what I certainly know is if you start charging toll from Two and Three wheelers the burden on everyone will be lessened. Rs. 32 for a day for car owners will definitely come down to Rs.20 a day.