Elevators and escalators are a necessary modern convenience and will continue to be enablers of urbanization and urbanization will drive the vertical transportation industry, says Sebi Joseph, President, Otis India.
Elevators have made modern cities possible. `The world’s population is growing significantly and with economies becoming more industrialized, more and more people have moved to cities to earn a living. The [Oxford Economics’ Global cities report] estimates that 17 of the 20 fastest-growing cities in the world between 2019 and 2035 will be from India. Studies have also shown that Indian cities are likely to contribute approximately 70 per cent of the country’s GDP by 2030. Housing or general living spaces play a pivotal role in helping to support the migration of Indians into towns and cities. As more people migrate into the urban areas, buildings will have to be taller, in order to compensate for the lack of horizontal space. The government’s focus on affordable housing, is lending further impetus to the residential sector which accounts for the largest share of elevator demand. To further offset the scarcity of land in major metropolis, there has been significant growth in satellite towns and tier 2 and 3 cities. The need for recreational space and public infrastructure would naturally increase as new urban areas are developed. Many of these spaces will need vertical transportation solutions. To lend accessibility and mobility within and across cities, the government is also driving infrastructure projects. Facilities such as airports, railways, metros need to be built to increase productivity and facilitate travel.
Commercial real estate is seen to be growing with major global brands using Grade A commercial office spaces, to set up and expand their presence in India. At the forefront of this development are global information technology and software companies that have been growing over the last couple of years as companies across the globe expand their presence in India. As companies expand, increasing efficiency is a key goal and that is where elevators come in. High speed, energy efficient and reliable equipment help ensure that people are able to move seamlessly in a taller world.
While elevators initially gave rise to taller cities, urbanization too has impacted change in the vertical transportation industry, driving it to evolve and mature as it accommodates the needs of more people in cities. Apart from higher speed, larger and taller cabs, a lot of changes have taken place.
Over the last couple of years there has been a lot of conversation around sustainable cities. Environmental responsibility is a key driver of sustainable cities. India ranks third with close to 900 green building projects, with over 25 million gross sq m of space, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. Many developers are paying attention to the aspect of sustainable living and are looking for solutions to help achieve this goal. Highly efficient elevators, like Otis’ flagship Gen2 with the ability to reduce overall energy consumption by up to 75 per cent under normal operation, can help in this regard.
Space savings are another major component in new developments. Every inch of real estate saved is money. Space saving elevators with machine-less room options like Otis’ Gen2, can help developers free up space for other uses. Efficiency becomes all important with the rapidly evolving development seen in cities today. To help further this, major elevator companies are moving to adopt the next level of service which includes digitalization. Service digitalization relies on information provided to mechanics in real time, so when they arrive at a site, they are armed with all the information they need on the unit. This empowers them to act more quickly and efficiently. Information made available to the mechanic is passed on from sensors that are placed on top of elevators. This gives customers the advantage of quicker service, more uptime and fewer breakdowns.
Urbanization and the vertical transportation industry collaborate on many levels. As the population continues to grow at a rapid pace in cities, the increased need for housing and infrastructure will continue to drive growth for vertical mobility solutions. It is very evident that elevators and escalators are a necessary modern convenience and will continue to be enablers of urbanization and urbanization will drive the vertical transportation industry.