Are cities investing right in their public transport infrastructure?
Medium sized cities with population size varying between 10 to 30 lakh (as of 2021) are facing serious mobility challenges. Transport policy focus has been lopsided. Typically the policy focus has been on large cities, high-capital investment projects. Many of these cities have no or skeletal bus system. Buses, wherever exists, are aging without any structured renovation and augmentation plan. They are dependent on higher levels of the governments for funding which makes it unstable and unplanned. Initiatives, as they are responding fund availability, often their local relevance meeting needs of the people, present and future, is also under question.
