A Major Trend in Sustainable City Transport is the Rise of E-mobility

India is witnessing continued economic growth, and this has fast-tracked urbanization. The economic growth is evident in the mobility patterns, where the urban residents are keener on using motorized two-wheeler and private passenger cars. As a result, the number of vehicle on the roads and streets has multiplied steadily, leading to widespread pollution and congestion.

The Challenges

Indian cities require sustainable mobility systems. However, local public transport in the country is not considered convenient or appealing. To overcome these issues, the Indian government adopted the National Urban Transport Policy in 2006. The policy looks to strengthen the public transportation system in urban areas. However, even after that, the number of people using public transport has been steadily declining.

Now, the Indian government is supporting projects focussed on sustainable urban transportation. The Smart Cities Mission and Metro projects are being given preference. However, implementation of these projects can be successful only if states and cities opt for systematic planning and ensure institutions have the technical expertise. This will help to transform the state of the existing public transport.

The Road Forward

Germany and India have decided to collaborate to introduce SMART-SUT (Integrated and Sustainable Urban Transport Systems for Smart Cities) is three cities, namely Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore and Kochi. This collaboration will help to improve the public transport in these cities, making it a more appealing option for residents.

German Ambassador Dr. Ney, Indian Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, GIZ and Indian Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs have signed an agreement in this regard. This Indo-German cooperation will improve the basic condition of public transport in the three selected cities. The project will see a funding of €4mn and will operate until 2020.

The SMART-SUT (Integrated and Sustainable Urban Transport Systems for Smart Cities) will see the state governments give preference to low-carbon mobility planning and promote sustainable, non-motorised transport. They will also ensure that there is efficient delivery of the urban transport services.

The Indian Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs will then use the learning from these three cities and scale it to other cities that have been selected as a part of the Smart Cities Mission scheme.

The collaboration with the German government and partners will offer the following benefits:

1.Technical advice and support to plan and implement non-motorised transport and public transport in smart cities

2.Help state governments and city authorities to come up with ways to connect urban and spatial planning to urban transport

3.Ensure the smart cities are resource efficient and compact

4.Improve institutional structures, and enhance managerial and technical capabilities and capacities for smooth delivery of urban transport services.

5.Ensure the Smart Cities Mission and Metro projects have access to the best practices via partnership with international networks and peer learning

The Indo-German cooperation is being hailed as a major achieve, as it helps selected Smart Cities in India transition to e-mobility in an effortless and systematic manner, ensuring minimal damage to the environment while using the available resources optimally.