‘Investment in mass rapid transit essential in making a city more liveable’

On his 3rd commercialized ngo to India recently, Andrew Barr, Minister for Tourism and Trade, Australia, and Chief Minister, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), covered 2 Indian cities: Delhi and Bengaluru.

Incidentally, Canberra — the metropolis helium hails from — was declared the champion metropolis successful the satellite for prime of life, according to the 2025 Oxford Economics Global Cities report. What are they doing close determination that rapidly increasing cities similar Bengaluru tin instrumentality notes from?

“My acquisition successful the astir apt 100 cities astir the satellite I visited, some professionally and arsenic a tourist, is that concern successful wide accelerated transit is indispensable successful making a metropolis much liveable for its residents, and much accessible for its visitors. So, connections from airports to CBDs, connecting large attractions, and large colonisation centres are fundamental,” helium said, adding that congestion successful large cities hap erstwhile the constricted transporation abstraction is taken up by individuals successful their backstage vehicles.

15-20 infinitesimal city

Canberra sits connected a precise ample geographic footprint, astir equivalent to Greater London, helium pointed out, adding that it is the largest inland metropolis successful Australia.

“So, its municipality renewal travel has mostly been astir expanding colonisation density, not to sprawl further. The absorption has been connected creating areas of greater residential and commercialized density wrong cardinal municipality centres, transport corridors, and wherever employment is. The nonsubjective has been to guarantee that Canberra remains a 15 to 20 infinitesimal city. Our nationalist transport investment, our obstruction infrastructure investment, electrification of our autobus fleet, has truly focussed connected those cardinal transport corridors,” helium said.

Mr. Barr further explained that Canberra’s readying and plan is that not each employment is located successful the cardinal concern district; they person a fig of antithetic “employment nodes”.

“That has enabled radical to beryllium capable to person employment and recreation, and lodging opportunities successful overmuch person proximity. A diagnostic of Canberra, being a much modern and younger city, is that overmuch of the plan was focused connected the centrifugal car, but that is changing. The nonsubjective is to marque the metropolis overmuch much walkable and easier to determination astir done e-mobility,” helium further said.

Quicker question times connected nationalist proscription is simply a existent tipping constituent for people’s choices, Mr. Barr argued. “Everyone wants to walk much clip connected things they enjoy, and I don’t deliberation determination are galore radical who bask travelling to work,” helium said, batting for transit lanes specified arsenic autobus and cycling lanes.

Other things that tin beryllium done see having a small spot much flexibility successful presumption of halfway concern hours, helium said, referring to the highest greeting and evening hours erstwhile congestion peaks arsenic enactment timings of the bulk coincide. “The solution present is simply a operation of much infrastructure, much nationalist transport. But that comes with a cost,” helium said.

Indian diaspora and tourists

Mr. Barr spoke astir wherefore the ACT, successful particular, and Australia successful general, is coming up with targeted programmes to pull much Indian endowment and tourists.

“We person had a absorption connected the Indian marketplace for immoderate clip now, and that’s starting to wage dividends for us. We saw astir 4,30,000 Indian tourists sojourn Australia successful 2025, increasing betwixt 5% and 10% a year, and the ACT’s marketplace stock of that is astir 3.5%, which is efficaciously treble our colonisation share. It is driven by a operation of acquisition and tourism. People are visiting their friends and relatives due to the fact that the largest diaspora assemblage successful Canberra present is the Indian community, who correspond astir 5% of each Canberra residents,” explained Mr. Barr.

He further said Indian students present relationship for a small nether 15% of the planetary pupil marketplace for Canberra, and the metropolis and ACT spot a beardown travel of students from India and the region, reflecting the visa and enactment rights arrangements that Australia has successful place.