Promoting the use of public transport is seen as one of the key strategies for moderating the inevitable growth of carbon emissions from urban transport in India. For the majority of Indian cities, this means promoting the use of public bus systems. However, the absence of analyses on carbon emissions savings attributable to public bus services in Indian cities creates a significant gap in the literature. This study used recently available data on bus system performance, travel characteristics, and emissions factors to estimate the emissions savings from public bus services in two cities, Ahmedabad and Bangalore. Three types of emissions savings estimates were calculated: past savings from increased ridership in the 5 years from 2005 to 2010, current savings from the newly introduced Janmarg bus rapid transit system in Ahmedabad and the Big10 trunk services in Bangalore, and forecasted savings for 2021 and 2031. All three estimates indicated that public bus services produce significant reductions in carbon emissions. The advantages of investing in bus systems (relatively low cost and quick implementation) over other potential strategies for reducing urban transport emissions suggest that bus systems should be a high priority for both governments and international funding mechanisms for mitigation of climate change.

Autorickshaws are ubiquitous in Indian cities. They play an important role in urban mobility by serving as an intermediate public transport mode and providing taxi-like services. Despite their role in urban transport, autorickshaws have received limited policy attention at the national level, which has resulted in problems with quality of service and in environmental and safety issues. Given the critical need to promote sustainable transport in a rapidly urbanizing India, this paper presents key policy focus areas for the autorickshaw sector. These policy areas are based on a structured assessment of the importance of autorickshaws in cities, their role in sustainable transport, the sustainability challenges facing the sector and opportunities to address them, and gaps in the current policy framework. Available literature, government and industry websites, and surveys of stakeholders (regulatory authorities and autorickshaw drivers) were used in this research. The key findings include the following: autorickshaw services play an important role in sustainable transport strategies for managing private motorization and encouraging the use of sustainable modes (public transport); however, as an unorganized sector, autorickshaw services face environmental and safety challenges caused by engine and vehicle design issues that need to be addressed to ensure the role of autorickshaws in sustainable transport. A policy vision is presented to promote organizational reforms and develop sustainable solutions for fuel and engine and vehicle design, and recommendations are provided on the next steps for the central government in taking the policy vision forward.

Between 2005 and 2012, India's Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) invested US$20 billion in urban infrastructure and basic services for the urban poor. The transport program under JnNURM is an important advance, helping cities with policies and funding for moving people, not vehicles. Nevertheless, this program has not sufficiently shifted investment in the urban transport sector from road widening and road expansion to sustainable transport. Urban characteristics and transport needs of Indian cities derived from interviews with stakeholders and a literature review are presented. Key improvements for Indian urban transport policy are suggested: (a) reinforce the link between land use and transport to allow preservation of the built environment in existing cities and development of new accessible, dense, and mixed used developments in the fringes; (b) advance the preparation and implementation of comprehensive mobility plans, in close connection with master plans and JnNURM budget allocations; (c) introduce performance measurements of key transport indicators at the citywide level—people served, modal share, travel time, traffic fatalities, and transport tailpipe emissions; and (d) develop capacity-building programs for project planning and delivery at the city level and for evaluation and monitoring at the state and national levels. There is no claim that expansion is not needed, but it should not be the main priority of public investments in the transport sector. Recommendations for India may apply to other rapidly urbanizing and motorizing countries.

The growth of motorization and travel activity associated with India's rapid urban development has serious implications for global climate change. Effective mitigation action requires comprehension of the scale of the problem. Data limitations, however, have thus far constrained efforts to understand how changes in demographics, travel behavior, and policy might affect future emissions of greenhouse gases. This study uses recently available data on city-level travel patterns to forecast emissions from passenger transport for three metropolitan areas in India: Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Surat. The forecasts compare carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for three scenarios by using various mode choice and trip length assumptions. The results predict dramatic increases in emissions under all circumstances. Travel in Surat is forecast to generate between 1.9 and 9.5 million tons of CO2; in Mumbai, travel could generate 10.3 to 49 million tons. Differences, however, between scenarios suggest the potential positive effects of policy interventions. While the results help convey the magnitude of the emissions problem, further analysis requires more complete data on individual travel behavior.

Bengaluru City’s Peripheral Ring Road (PRR), a project announced back in 2005 has faced several impediments to its implementation largely due to land acquisition hurdles and associated cost overruns. This paper addresses the state of the practice in the way the ring road has been imagined, why the project has remained unimplemented in over a decade and the possible alternatives by which it could be better planned and financed. Findings suggest that the crux of the problem could be attributed to a failure in recognising the full potential of a ring road to the city. Envisioned as a mere bypass to ‘decongest an already crowded Outer Ring Road (ORR), to prevent long distance private vehicles from entering the city centre’ its potential for area development, planned urban expansion and to serve as an ideal tool for land value capture were not recognised. Experiences of other cities which have been more successful in implementing similar projects through the use of alternative means of accessing land for public purposes provides clues to achieve that elusive middle ground between all stakeholders