Faced with the challenges of growing congestion, local air pollution, increasing road accident fatalities, and a rapidly rising oil import bill, India adopted a National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP) in April 2006. At its core, the policy sought to persuade a shift from the use of personal motor vehicles to greater use of public transport or non-motorised modes of travel. The expectation was that such a shift in travel patterns would help ease the emerging problems. Accordingly, it prioritised investments in public transport and safe infrastructure for walking and cycling over investments in road widening or building flyovers.

The adoption of the policy was preceded by a wide range of consultations with experts, academics, industry and government officials, and chief ministers of all the states. This was followed by a consultation with the standing committee of the ministry of urban development. By and large the policy was hailed as a good one and much needed at a time when congestion was adversely impacting the economic efficiency of cities, air pollution was impacting the health of city residents, and a rising oil import bill was affecting the energy security of the country. The policy was approved by the union cabinet on April 6, 2006.

20 years down the line, we find that the objectives have not been met. In fact, things have worsened. The shift seems to have leaned more towards personal motor vehicles than towards public transport or non-motorised modes. This is evident from the fact that the number of registered motor vehicles in the country has........

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