India 'needs greater support for transport solutions'

Date: 28/2/2013

India needs greater support for its public transport systems and a stronger emphasis on green vehicles, according to Group Head for Policy and Chief Economist at IDFC Ritu Anand.

Writing in the Economic Times, Ms Anand says that many areas of the country fail to provide adequate transport services to local residents, while more environmentally-friendly vehicles could be used to improve efficiency.

Highlighting India's unorganised private sector's attempts to plug the gap in public transport networks, Ms Anand argued that such initiatives would benefit from stronger government support - most specifically on a local level.

"Very few of our cities have organised mass public transport: just 20-25 cities have dedicated public city buses and five cities have rail-based transit," she said.

"This glaring void has led to a range of makeshift (IPT) intermediate public transport, or para transit, solutions."

By working more closely with such services, Ms Anand believes Indian authorities can have a positive impact on the nation's transport systems.

Posted by Nick Anderson

International Transport News and Sustainable Transport News