The Nano Law of Unintended Consequences

The throngs out there are frothing like crazy about the new Tata Nano, which launched today in Bombay: it’s a revolution, they say. A breakthrough. The car of the future.

 

Not so fast, I say. (And I mean that literally.)

 

I wonder if these same people have ever sat in Delhi traffic. Or Bombay traffic or Bangalore traffic or ...

 

The fact is, more vehicles of any kind on India’s roads — be they rickshaws, horse-drawn carts, ambling cows, homicidal buses, or shiny new cars — are not a good thing.

 

Why? The infrastructure in big cities is not ready to handle the 60,000 new cars that the company anticipates it’ll sell this year.

 

Beyond that, used car dealers are also already grumbling. They say the new Nano will destroy the second-hand market.

 

And they’re probably right. The $2,000 pricetag puts the vehicle within financial reach of many who’ve never driven before. Many of those death-wishers I see slaloming through traffic on their scooters with their wife, five kids and two roosters sitting behind them now have other vehicular options. The Nano’s called “The People’s Car” for a reason. It’s just that when there’s more than a billion people living in India, that’s not always a good thing.

 

Behold, some rather distressing road stats, courtesy of the Indian Express newspaper:

 

— In Delhi, 13 people die on the road every day.

 

— In Bangalore, the average time taken by an IT professional to reach work is 2.5 hours.

 

— The number of vehicles on Mumbai's roads mulitiplied 33 times in 50 years, while the road network only doubled. 

So buckle up, everyone! On the second thought, don’t bother. If you’re on an Indian road, you won’t be going anywhere for a while.