India started with the first-mover advantage in urban mobility in Asia. It got urban rail 170 years ago, trams 150 years ago, cycle rickshaw and cycle 140 years back, urban bus 100 years ago, electric trolly bus 90 years back, auto rickshaw 75 years back and waterborne urban transport in third century BC, if not earlier. It is time to reimagine urban mobility by applying learnings from India’s past and the global best.
In the year 2023, in the epochal defining tectonic shift in the global demography, India will overtake China to become the most populous country on Earth. Also, India’s urban population is growing much faster than its rural population, making the urban mobility conundrum a key issue to be fixed.
In this three-part series on India’s Urban Mobility Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, I trace the growth of the country’s urbanization and explain how Indian cities started with the first mover-advantage in urban mobility (both rail-based and road-based public transit) and how the momentum was lost thereafter, as the country embraced motorization, first slowly, then in a rapid-fire manner.
I then take a detour to examine how urban mobility got neglected in the first six decades of independence before exploring how cities are reimagining their urban mobility with the train of the dogged pursuit of rail and bus-based mass transit.
Lastly, I examine the existing gap in the urban mobility infrastructure, including the lack of multimodal integration. I also touch upon the yawning gap in the first-mile and last-mile connectivity services and the poor state of infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists. And I conclude with why the country, though on the right path, has to move much faster along with the critically needed course correction.
The context first- ‘Urbanization on the Uptick’
Before I delve into the problems and solutions to urban mobility, it is contextually relevant that I first provide a bird’s eye view– Urbanization in India at the Inflexion Point.
URBANIZATION AT THE INFLEXION POINT
In the recent decades, contrary to the traditional dominant governance paradigm, ‘India lives in its villages,’ the country has urbanized fast, with the population growing from 16.0 crore in 1981 to 21.7 crore in 1991 to 28.5 crore in 2001 and 37.7 crore in 2011, and likely 48 crore in 2021.
Following are defining traits of Indian urbanization-
One, recent decades have witnessed a spurt in the rate of growth of the urban population – 36.44 percent (1981-1991), 31.51 percent (1991-2001) and 31.8 percent (2001-2011). This is partly owing to the organic population growth, in part due to the rural-urban migration and remainder due to the addition of the new areas as ‘urban.’
Two, since 1901, the percentage of urban population as compared to the country’s total population has grown steadily -10.8 percent in 1901, 17.2 percent in 1951, 27.8 percent in 2001, 31.2 percent in 2011 and 35.7 percent in 2022.
Three, India’s urban population in 2020 (48.0 crore) is one and half times the US population (33.2 crore) of 2022, the third most populous country in the world.
Four, though cities in range of 5-10 lakh and one million plus population are emerging as key growth centres, there is a tilt in the centralization of urbanization process around large metropolitan cities, making Indian urbanization substantially a process of ‘Concentrated Urbanisation’.
Five, India’s demography is at the epoch-making cusp. In 2022, the Chinese population, for the first time since 1961, shrank by 8,50,000 from that of 2021 to be at 1.4118 billion. This means India has dethroned China as the world’s most populous nation. Also, a large portion of Indian population growth is happening in cities. As per the United Nations World Prospects, in 2050 years of independence, “India’s population will be 167 crore, out of which urban population will be 81.4 crore, tantalisingly close to 50 percent.”
Six, fast-paced urbanization can either yield urbanization dividend in conjunction with demographic dividend or can lead to urban chaos. As per UN-HABITAT World Cities Report (2022), the country’s urban population from 48.31 crore in 2020, will be 54.74 crore in 2025, 60.73 crore in 2030, and 67.45 crore in 2035. The UN also estimates 2050 urban population at 81.4 crore.
Seven, the country’s urbanisation pattern is complex and uneven. Its smaller states/UTs are largely urban- Delhi (97.5 percent), Chandigarh (97.25 percent), Lakshadweep (78.7 percent), Puducherry (68.33 percent), and Goa (61.17 percent). Also, a few states will soon be more urban than rural- Tamil Nadu (48.40 percent), Kerala (47.70 percent) Maharashtra (45.27 percent), and Gujarat (42.6 percent). And there are states with low/very low urbanization- Himachal (10.075 percent), Bihar (11.29 percent), Assam and Orissa (14 percent), UP (22 percent), Chhattisgarh (23.24 percent), Jharkhand (24.04 percent), Rajasthan (24.87 percent) and Madhya Pradesh (27.63 percent).
Urbanization in India must be looked at with a nuanced prism.
Firstly, some states have matured urbanization, few are reaching there, and some states though have lower urbanization percentages, the actual urban population is high because these are high-population states.
Secondly, the urban population of India in 2035 (67.45 crore) will be close to the total population (68.4 crore) of India in 1981. Likewise, urban population in 2050 (81.4 crore) will be closer to country’s 1991 population (84.4 crore). It brings in its train humungous problems.
URBAN INDIA – THE DEFINING PROBLEM
To recap for brevity’s sake, urban population between 1970 and 2020 has more than quadrupled- from 10.9 crore to 48.31 crore. Also, Indian cities comprising barely 3 percent landmass contribute 63 percent to the nation’s GDP and by 2035, they will contribute to 75 percent of the nation’s GDP.
What does it mean?
Looking East at China, we find that out of 514 million plus cities in the world, 150 plus are in China. India too soon will have more than a dozen megacities and will need 125-150 million plus cities (old and new) with world-class infrastructure to accommodate the growing urban population. And to harness twin benefits of demographic dividend and urbanization dividend, it is time to banish the old paradigm of containment of cities that resulted in a haphazard growth of cities short of planning.
To reap urbanisation benefits, the country has to fix the myriad problems facing big and small cities. Problems to be fixed are many (urban sprawl, slummification, water and sanitation etc) but none starker than the need to tame the twin chaos of urban pollution and urban mobility gridlock.
This three-part series focuses on how to reimagine the defining problem of urban mobility and make Indian cities ‘future ready.’
But where do I begin? One way is my favourite – Look East- Learning from China. But I purposefully begin with the lessons for urban India of tomorrow from the urban India of yesterday.
I start the past perfect with the hypothesis- India in the second half of the 19th century and first half of the 20th century started with first mover advantage in both rail-based and road-based. Part I is the brief history of urban mobility in India (circa 1853-1947).
URBAN RAIL
India’s tryst with rail-based urban mobility.
One, India was the first mover and the torch bearer of rail-based urban transport (also known as suburban trains or local trains) in Asia. Railways connecting the city centre (central business district) to the periphery (metropolitan areas) reached India, almost parallel to the arrival of passenger rail transport in England and continental Europe.
Two, within two decades of opening a 50 km railway (arguably the first in England) between Liverpool and Manchester, on April 16, 1953, the first train in India between Boribunder (now CSMT) and Thane completed 33.8 km journey in one hour and fifteen minutes.
Three, when the above happened 170 years ago, it marked the arrival of railroad in India. It also heralded the era of rail-based urban mobility, way ahead of any other country in Asia. In Japan, 23.8 kilometres first railway line from Shinbashi to Yokohama then was two decades away (October 14, 1872) and the troubled birth of railway in China had to wait till the end of 19th century, after extensive railway networks were in place in Europe, North America, India, and Japan.
Four, shortly after Mumbai, Calcutta got its first local train in 1954 between Howrah and Hooghly. Mumbai got second line from Churchgate to Virar in 1967. In 2925 Mumbai local trains between Bombay VT and Kurla got traction in form of EMUs. Soon came EMU services between Churchgate and Borivali in 1928. Local trains reached South India, with Madras getting first electrified local train service between Madras Beach and Tambaram stations on May 11, 1931.
Five, a detour here is in order. In 1947, undivided India had massive 65,000 route km of railway line. Even after Independence, India’s route of 54000 km in 1947 was way ahead of 27,000 km of China, (barely 8,000 km usable due to civil war) and around 10,000 km in Japan.
Six, Railways contribution to urban transport in India has been humungous but an unappreciated story. India has close to 2000 km of urban rail (suburban/ local trains) operating in and around Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Pune, and Lucknow-Kanpur section. In 2020, Bangalore also got approval to develop an ambitious modern suburban train network. Local trains (DMUs/EMUs) also run around clusters of other cities. Due to paucity of local trains around many city clusters, local passengers often also travel in mail/ express trains. These numbers are seldom calculated correctly.
Seven, the immense contribution of Indian Railways to urban mobility begs to be narrated. The available data indicate that the annual number of urban commuters travelling on the IR network is close to five billion, more than three times the country’s total population.
Eight, apart from providing sustainable urban mobility, IR local train services have also greatly helped the dispersal of the population of big cities away from the CBD to the larger metropolitan area.
Nine, most robust local train services in the country are in Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai. These three cities today account for the daily ridership of 7.5-8 million, 3.5-4 million and 2.5-3 million respectively, totalling 13.5 to 15 million commuters daily.
RAIL-BASED URBANIZATION
Indian cities have fast developed around railways stations and along railway lines. Here is the story.
One, cities in India and elsewhere, initially developed alongside rivers, the principal mode of transport. Since the advent of railways, cities have witnessed urban growth clustered around stations and linear development on both sides of railway lines. Japan perfected the art of this form of urbanization. Even development of Hong Kong to new territories was fuelled by rail transit-oriented push by KCRC while the Hong Kong future city itself was shaped by rail transport.
Two, India, a country with scarce land resources, has a choice to make. Truly speaking, it has Hobson’s choice- cities have to grow vertical, with mixed land use along the rail and metro rail transit corridors. Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai have shown that population dispersal away from CBD is possible using suburban rail network.
Three, among many, two recent success stories of rail transit-propelled urban development are- one, the urban metamorphosis of Dwarka sub-city in Delhi after the arrival of Metro Rail and two, the extension of harbour local train services in Mumbai from Mankhurd to Panvel. The latter has transformed the urban corridors of Navi Mumbai by developing it along both sides of the track and in the process, it has also rejuvenated the alternative CBD in form of CBD Belapur.
Four, the development of Delhi-Meerut regional rail and Bengaluru suburban rail services bring more opportunities for rail transit-oriented growth. Same is the story with Metro rail which I will talk about a bit later. With India urbanizing fast, it is time to locate more rail corridors, particularly in million-plus cities and guide them to rail-oriented city growth to transfer the population load away from the bigger cities. For India to secure its place in the galaxy of developed countries by 2047, the country has to plan for cities of future now. This is how the British developed Bombay- in 1931 when Bombay had a 1.31 million population, on both central and western lines, EMU-based local services were already up and running from 1925 and 1928 onwards.
THE CHARMING TRAMS
Not only the railways, but India was also the first mover in Asia with regards to trams as a mode of urban transport. It is time for the country to reinvent that music. Here is why-
One, the year 2023 marks 150 years of the arrival of tram services in Asia in Calcutta. The year also marks the completion of 100 years of electric tramway services in Calcutta where the horse-driven trams first ran on February 24, 1873, between Sealdah and Armenian Ghat street for a distance of 3.9 km.
Two, soon the tram services were electrified and spread to other Indian cities. Before independence, at a different point in time, tramways ran at least in ten cities (Calcutta, Mumbai, Nashik, Madras, Kanpur, Kochi, Delhi, Patna, and Bhavnagar). But except Kolkata, post-independence tram services were dismantled.
Three, I have fond memories of travelling on the window seat of the princely first class of Calcutta trams between Howrah-Esplanade (1970s), Alipore-Chowrangi (1982) and Sealdah- Howrah (1988) either as a tourist or when I worked there. Those were the heyday of the Calcutta tram, when the city boasted as many as 52 routes. Today, with all but two routes of Kolkata trams shut, it is sunset time for trams. It should not have been the case. It need not be the case.
Four, for India to re-imagine urban mobility, it is reboot time for modern tramways. And the reason is not far to seek. Tramways, also known as LRT in certain countries, are the most convenient, relatively cheaper to develop, operate and maintain and are environmentally friendly. A study done by me for the Institute of Urban Transport in 2012 named “Life Cycle Cost for Five Modes of Urban Transport” found that LRT was the least costly mode for corridors between 7500-15000 Peak Hour Peak Direction Traffic (PHPDT).
Five, my findings and convictions are backed by global data. As per the UITP report Global Trams and LRT Landscape (October 2019), as of 31 December 2018, tram and light rail systems (both described as LRT here) are operational in 389 cities across the world and are growing fast in terms of number of systems, route km and ridership.
Six, in recent years, tramways have opened/reopened in at least 110 new cities, with Europe leading the pack with 60 news systems followed by Asia-Pacific and North America with 20 and 16 new systems. In addition to the new systems, there is a flurry of activities including adding new lines to the existing system and extension of the existing lines.
Seven, Asia Pacific takes the lead. As evidenced by the UITP report, between 2014 and 2018, 1,153 km of new tramway/LRT has opened worldwide. And 2017 was the watershed year when first time, green-field tramways projects in Asia-Pacific exceeded those in Europe, debunking the theory that tramways/LRT are not suitable for highly populated urban sprawls of Asian cities.
Eight, the ridership speaks. In 2018, globally, 14.651 billion people travelled on tramways. It was twice the world population. Maximum ridership of 10.42 billion was in Europe (204 systems, 1,276 lines 9,296 km).
Nine, China embraces tram. Today, when India is busy dismantling tramways in Kolkata, the only city with trams, China is investing heavily in tramways. And China’s focus on tramways/LRT is grounded in reality. Today, China has more than 150 cities with a one million plus population. Also, currently, 50 percent of the Chinese population of 1.4 billion live in cities, compared with 18 percent in 1978, and this is expected to rise to 70 percent by 2030.
Ten, trams chug along in China. Along with its metro rail revolution that began in 2003, in the last decade, China has silently ushered in the era of tramways revolution, both in smaller and big cities. In 2014, eight Chinese cities operated tramways, with a cumulative distance of 192.6 km, it increased to 550 km in 22 cities by 2020 and is likely to cross 4000 km by 2035. Between 2016 and 2020, trams chugged along in China fast, with the country opening more systems than any other country in the world. 58 new systems opened globally between 2016-2020 out of which 20 are in China, the next closest being the US with nine, and Turkey and France with four each.
Eleven, tramways are useful for both big and small cities. In China, tramways are being developed not only in cities around or less than one million population, but also in cities with over 10 million population. In the latter, they are also being developed as feeders to metro rail. Trams not only are apt solutions for sustainable mobility to cities with lower populations, but in bigger cities too, tramways are playing significant role as connectors to ‘New District’ or ‘New Town’ (which are often situated outside of the existing city perimeters).
Twelve, India thy time is now. When it comes to urban transport systems, the choice is not of either/or. It has to be a hierarchy of systems working in tandem to provide sustainable urban mobility.
As per statistics.com data collated out of the UN database, in 2021, India had 181 cities with more than three lakh population, 115 cities with more than 5 lakh population and 65 cities with 1 million plus population. There is a need for planned spatial growth of these cities which are future growth propellants. Like what China is doing with tramways/LRT are ideal fit for these cities. These systems also have a defined role in such corridors of bigger cities which are not mature for metro rail. Also, in newly planned cities which will be needed to house teeming millions of fast urbanising India, tramways have to be made sunrise systems contrary to the sunset system.
INDIA LOSES FIRST METRO RAIL REVOLUTION
India missed the first metro rail revolution by chance.
One, the year 2023 marks 160 years of the arrival of Metro Rail in the world. The first metro service ran on January 10, 1863, in London when the 6 km long underground ‘Metropolitan Railway’ ran between Paddington (then called Bishop’s Road) and Farringdon Street stations.
Two, however, the progress thereafter was slow. By 1900, other than London, only four more small metro rail networks were added globally- Budapest and Glasgow (1896), Chicago L (1997) and Paris (1900).
Three, suffice to say here that India, the first in Asia to get urban railway 170 years ago in 1853, and the first to get tramways 150 years ago in 1873, could also have first metro rail nearly 100 years ago in Calcutta. Had it happened, it could have been the first metro rail in Asia ahead of Tokyo. But the country missed it by a whisker.
Four, as the story goes, Major Walter Erwing Crum, president of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and a member of Indian Imperial Legislative Council, at the Council’s session at Shimla in 1919, first proposed the construction of Calcutta East-West Metro. But the committee set up by Imperial council, despite holding fourteen sittings, could not arrive at a conclusion. It led to the railway board appointing reputed engineer Harley Dalrymple Hay of London Underground to conduct a feasibility study in 2021. Hay’s team finally arrived for 3.5 million sterling pounds cost and a completion period of 4.5 years for the East-West link that would go under the Hooghly River.
Five, had the East-West Metro been taken up in Calcutta around 100 years ago, it would have become the first city in Asia to have a Metro Rail ahead of Tokyo, which got its first line in 1926. But the project was dropped on the cost consideration and India missed the first metro rail revolution.
Six, it proved to be a colossal loss. The country got its first 3.5 km metro rail in Calcutta only in 1984. But the real story of India’s tryst with Metro Rail began with the opening of 8 km stretch of Delhi Metro in 2002. India, thereafter, has witnessed renaissance in urban mobility with the fast-paced development of Metro Rail systems in different cities.
URBAN BUS IN INDIA- A CENTURY OLD STORY
It is time to move away from rail-based urban mobility to the genesis and growth of the urban bus, globally and in India. Like rail urban transport modes, the urban bus also arrived in Indian cities sooner than their advent in the UK and continental Europe. Here is the brief story of how urban bus-based transport developed in the country.
One, the history of bus-based urban transport in India dates back nearly 200 years. Closely following the launch of horse-drawn bus services in London, Paris and New York, horse-driven buses first started operating in Calcutta between Dharmatola and Barrackpore in 1830.
Two, history suggests India has just completed 110 years of organized motor bus service, started by T.V. Sundaram Iyengar (famously known as TVS), who began South India’s first passenger bus service in 1912. The buses ran on the Madurai, Thanjavur, and Pudukkottai routes.
Three, but urban India had to wait for one more decade for the arrival of the bus service. The country celebrates completion of 100 years of urban bus services that first commenced services in Calcutta in 1922, with the inaugural run between Shyam bazar in the North, to Kalighat in the South. Urban bus manufactured by Walford & Company with 56 persons carrying capacity, run by Calcutta Tramways Company, was India’s first and came shortly after the commencement of services in London.
Four, closely on the heels of Calcutta, the urban bus reached Bombay. The inaugural run of the first bus service in Bombay was on July 15, 1926, between Afghan Church and Crawford Market. From day one, Bombay embraced buses and 600,000 commuters travelled in five months and the patronage grew fast to 3.8 million next year. Over time, BEST bus service arguably became the best and most patronised in the country. On August 7, 1947, just before independence, BEST was finally acquired by the Bombay Municipal Corporation and evolved further and has just completed 75 years of public ownership.
Five, shortly after Mumbai, city bus service started in Madras in around 1927. The initial operations there were by private operators and it was only in 1947 that the Government of Madras nationalized passenger transport for the first time by introducing 30 buses in Madras City, side by side with the buses run by the private operators at that time.
Six, though the country’s capital shifted to Delhi in 2011, it was only in late 1920s that Delhi Motor Service, a special bus service was started to ferry government officials from the Central Secretariat to the walled city, where most of them lived. But a regular bus service in Delhi commenced only in 1935 with Jiwaji Rao Scindia, the Maharaja of Gwalior, starting Gwalior and Northern India Transport Company (GNIT). It was acquired post-independence and rechristened as Delhi Transport Corporation.
Seven, it is interesting to note that the urban bus reached Hyderabad in 1932, three years before Delhi, with the establishment of Nizam State Rail & Road Transport Department (NSRRTD) with 166 employees and 27 buses. These buses were imported from Scotland’s Albion Motors and were called ‘Deccan Queen.’
Eight, soon it was time for other key cities to have urban buses. Bangalore Transport Company (now BMTC) began operations in 1940, Pune Municipality with 20 buses in early 1940s, Ahmedabad had three urban bus companies – Ahmadabad Bus Corporation, Morris Transport and Munshi Bus service before independence. There were few more cities with urban bus services.
The above is proof enough that like rail-based urban transport, India also had a first-mover advantage in Asia with regard to bus-based urban mobility, an advantage it squandered post-independence. As of 2020, only 63 of the 458 Indian cities have some kind of formal city bus system.
ELECTRIC TROLLY BUS
India’s tryst with the electric trolly bus is an untold saga and the history of pre-independence urban transport does not get complete without narrating the trolly bus story.
One, experimental electric trolly buses emerged around 1880s and 1890s independently in Germany, France, England, and the US. The first non-experimental system in the US was a seasonal municipal line installed near Nantasket Beach in 1904 and in the UK in 2011, Leeds and Bradford were the first cities to have trolly buses.
Two, currently, around 300 electric trolly bus systems operate in the world and the one in Minsk (since 1952) is the largest in the world. China has trolly buses in 21 cities and is building more. China has also become a hub to export electric trolly buses. Near zero emission is a key characteristic of the buses.
Three, India’s romance with trolly bus began when a small stretch of service commenced in Delhi in 1935 but the service was stopped in 1962. Mumbai, too, which ran electric trams operated by BEST from 1907 to 1964 had a tryst with electric trolly buses. The services began in Mumbai in 1963 and ran till 1971.
Four, in a one size does not fit all, hierarchy of urban mobility electric trolly bus has an important role to play in the Indian urban transport landscape, and Metro-Neo being propagated for smaller cities by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is nothing, but rubber tyred urban electric trolly bus system in which China has taken a big leap forward.
WATER URBAN TRANSPORT
Pre-historic urban India (cities of Indus Valley Civilization) was known for its unique water-based transport. Similar was the case of the untold story of ancient India of the Maurya, Magadha & Gupta Empires arising and thriving along rivers with the ancient city of Pataliputra at the nucleus.
One, globally, the urban waterborne public transport systems pre-date the emergence of rail-based, and road-based urban transport and currently more than 100 cities have waterborne public transport whose footprint is increasing fast. Many global cities, big and small, have thrived long with urban water transit, a few of them are – Amsterdam, Hong Kong, London, Istanbul, New York, Brisbane, Sydney, Venice, Copenhagen and Rio De Janeiro.
Two, Indian cities too have had long history of waterborne public transit. To tell the story of just two cities – Calcutta had a long history of paddleboats as connectors between two sides of Hooghly and Cochin has a long history of wooden boats hopping islands.
Three, the waterways have significant advantages over rail and road transport in terms of energy efficiency, reduced pollution and cost-effectiveness. And India is endowed with large coastline of 7516 km, its 10 longest rivers provide 12000 km of navigable routes for freight and passenger traffic and there are plentiful cities along rivers, backwaters, and canals.
After neglect of decades, India is seriously looking at waterborne urban transit options along with intercity movement of freight and passenger services.
POSTSCRIPT
Between 1853 when the first train services commenced between Boribunder and Thane, to 1947 when India got independence, the country had every conceivable form of urban transport except Metro Rail, which it had missed by a whisker. India also was amongst the first mover in non-motorised public transit (NMT) with cycles arriving in 1870 and rickshaw in 1880. And just at the dawn of independence, para transit autorickshaw entered the urban landscape with Prime Minster Jawaharlal Nehru taking the first ride on the experimental autorickshaw.
To be continued.
Part II will focus on the 75-year history of post-independence India (Circa 1947-2022).
Akhileshwar Sahay is a Multidisciplinary Thought Leader and India based International Impact Consultant. He works as President Advisory Services of consulting company BARSYL. Views are personal.
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