Most people in metro cities use multiple modes of transport for their daily commute.

For instance, in Mumbai, a person typically walks from home to a bus stop, takes a bus to the railway station to catch a local train, and finally reaches the destination by taxi or auto-rickshaw.

However, these multiple modes of transport are often disconnected and poorly managed — causing congestion, increasing travel time, and leading to poor user experience.

This encourages people, who can afford it, to choose private vehicles over public transport — feeding into the vicious cycle of traffic in our cities. According to a report released last year, Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi are the 3rd, 5th and 11th most congested cities in the world.

In a vain attempt to address this issue, several State governments over the last few years have invested large capital in various modes of public transport.

But with car ownership numbers rising steadily, it seems abundantly clear that this disconnected approach is not working.

If we want our cities to be less congested, and want more people to use public transport, we need to stop looking at different modes of transport in silos.

Unifying networks

Our cities have transport services, not networks.

These services — roads, railways, metros, buses, taxis etc. — are often operated or regulated by independent authorities, each with its own objectives.

While individual services are improved with time and investment, there is no mandate to look at the broader picture of how these services connect together.

Bringing multiple modes of transport under a singular system can help address current gaps. Integrated transport authorities that work and coordinate with multiple stakeholders that responsible for planning, managing and coordinating all aspects of a city’s transport systems should be set up in all metro cities.

Global Precedents

Worldwide, integrated authorities have transformed transport networks across various cities by centralising and unifying multiple transport services to create people-first, seamless transit experiences.

For instance, in response to London’s unorganised public transportation, Transport for London, a unified transport authority established in 2000, brought all of the city’s public transport modes such as the underground and overground rail networks, buses, trams, etc. under one umbrella. The result – more people now use public transport. Similar initiatives in New York City, Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo have significantly improved public transport systems too.

Indian experience

Despite the potential benefits, implementing similar integrated transport authorities in India has been slow and often piecemeal. Over the last two decades, the central government has recognised the need to establish a unified transport authority for all major cities through various policies.

In 2006, under the National Urban Transport Policy, the central government recommended setting up Unified Metropolitan Transport Authorities (UMTAs) in all million-plus cities. In response, a few cities formed UMTAs with limited statutory status — merely to fulfil a mandate.

For instance, the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System, set up in 2006, has limited authority and covers only the city’s bus cluster operations. Similarly, in Mumbai, the Unified Mumbai Metropolitan Transport Authority was formed in 2008 without any statutory powers.

In 2017, the Metro Rail Policy hoped to address this gap by making it mandatory for State governments to establish a UMTA as a statutory body to prepare a Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) for all cities with a metro-rail plan. However, five years on, things are still moving slowly and most States are yet to take any solid measures in this direction.

Providing a glimmer of hope, the Karnataka government, in December 2022, passed the long-pending Bangalore Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) Bill that confers statutory authority to BMLTA to regulate and coordinate urban mobility initiatives and prepare a CMP. Similar progresses have been made in Chennai and Chandigarh to improve the city’s public transport networks.

Hopefully, this will prompt action from other city and state governments too.

The writer is Partner and Principal, IMK Architects