Urban Transport in India

• 08 Apr 2025

For Prelims: Smart Cities Mission, Transit-Oriented Development, Particulate Matter, Urban Local Bodies 

For Mains: Urban transport reforms and inclusive mobility, Role of public policy in sustainable urban mobility, Affordability vs. accessibility in public transportation 

Source: TH 

Why in News?

Bengaluru’s Namma Metro has become the costliest metro service in India after a steep fare hike in February 2025. The move has raised concerns over the urban transport affordability. Without fair pricing, public transport risks losing commuter trust. 

What are the Concerns Regarding Urban Transport Systems? 

• Affordability: Rising fares in metro (Bengaluru’s Rs 90 fare for more than 30 km) and bus services are making daily commuting increasingly expensive for low- and middle-income groups. 
  • Additionally, surge pricing by mobility apps during peak hours or bad weather makes travel costly, undermining the National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP) 2006 and Smart Cities Mission that emphasize affordable and accessible mobility for all. 
• Weak Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) Infrastructure: Most Indian cities lack safe and accessible infrastructure for NMT like pedestrian zones (pedestrian fatalities >40% in Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru) and cycling tracks. 
  • Where such paths exist, they are often encroached, poorly designed, or badly maintained, making them unsafe and unusable. 
  • Land use and transport planning are poorly integrated, with weak Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) implementation. 
• Congestion: Indian cities face severe traffic congestion, private vehicles, despite serving under 20% of commuters, occupy 90% of road space. This mismatch, along with stagnant road infrastructure, leads to long commutes and reduced productivity. 
• Environmental Impact: In 2020, India’s transport sector accounted for 14% of total energy-related CO₂ emissions. Vehicles remain the largest source of Particulate Matter (PM2. 5) and NOx emissions in cities like Delhi, causing severe health issues and environmental damage, thereby undermining efforts to achieve India’s Net Zero target by 2070. 
  • Lack of clean fuel policies and slow adoption of electric mobility worsen the crisis. 
• Inadequate Public Transport Systems: Only 63 of 458 cities with population >1 lakh have a formal bus service. India has just 1.2 buses per 1,000 people compared to global benchmarks of 5-8 (NITI Aayog, 2018). 
  • Most cities lack well-connected transit networks, with metro services missing peri-urban areas, while unregulated informal modes like auto- and e-rickshaws raise security concerns. 
• Financial and Capacity Constraints: Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) lack financial autonomy and rely heavily on state or central funding.  
  • Their limited ability to raise resources through tools like land value capture, congestion pricing, or green bonds hinders affordable and sustainable transport projects. 

What Can Be Done for Sustainable and Inclusive Urban Mobility? 

• Investment in NMT: Nearly 50% of urban trips in Indian cities are under 5 km, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, making them ideal for NMT. 
  • Dedicated lanes and safe infrastructure for walking and cycling can promote affordable and sustainable urban mobility. 
• Adopt Best Practices: Cities like Kochi (Most Sustainable Transport System), Bhubaneswar (Best Public Transport), and Srinagar (Best Non-Motorized Transport) showcase replicable models. Recognizing and scaling these practices will accelerate transformation. 
• Affordable Public Transport Access: Promote subsidized fare structures (e.g., monthly passes) and leverage non-fare revenue sources (such as advertisements and retail leasing at stations) to reduce the financial burden on commuters. 
• Clean Transport: Promote clean mobility through FAME II, PM e-Bus Sewa, and provide subsidies or tax cuts on EVs to accelerate the adoption of electric buses and green commuting. 
• Empower ULBs: Enable ULBs to leverage land value capture, congestion pricing, green bonds, and parking charges under MoHUA’s Value Capture Finance (VCF) Policy 2017 to address financing challenges and support sustainable mobility services. 
• Integrated Public Transport Systems: Fund integrated public transport systems focused on moving people, not vehicles. Encourage multimodal transport, seamless ticketing, real-time tracking, and TOD  under Transit Oriented Development Policy, 2017 to reduce private vehicle use.  
  • Strengthen Unified Metropolitan Transport Authorities (UMTAs) for coordinated mobility planning aligned with Smart Cities and AMRUT goals.

What is Transit-Oriented Development? 

Click here to Read: Transit-Oriented Development 

What are the Initiatives Related to Urban Mobility in India? 

• Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). 
• Bharatmala Pariyojana. 
• Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) – I & II 
• Metro Rail Policy (2017). 
• Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF) 
• Multimodal Transport Hub 
• National Electric Mobility Mission Plan  

Drishti Mains Question:

Urban transport in India faces multidimensional challenges, suggest a comprehensive strategy for making it sustainable and inclusive. 

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Question (PYQ) 

Mains

Q. The Gati-Shakti Yojana needs meticulous coordination between the government and the private sector to achieve the goal of connectivity. Discuss. (2022)