Parliament Question: Promotion of Public Transport Usage

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 769 TO BE ANSWERED ON JULY 24, 2025 PROMOTION OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT USAGE NO. 769. SHRI ADITYA YADAV:

Will the Minister of HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government concurs with the view that the country has a much bigger opportunity in its sizable share of walking, cycling and public transport trips and high density mixed-use urban forms to avert the energy crisis;

(b) if so, the details thereof and the steps proposed to be taken by the Government keeping in view the fact that most of the country’s citizens still walk, cycle or use public transport and almost seventy-one per cent of the work trips are by walking, cycling and multi-modal public transport systems; and

(c) if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS (SHRI TOKHAN SAHU)

(a) to (c) : Urban planning is a State subject. The respective State Governments are responsible for planning, management, development, execution and maintenance of Urban Transport system including walking, cycling and public transport. Government of India issues policy guidelines for systematic development of urban transport infrastructure and also provides financial support to such infrastructure projects through various schemes / projects. Some of the initiatives taken by

Central Government are listed as below: i. National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP), 2006: This policy marked a shift in focus from "moving vehicles" to "moving people" and emphasizes the importance of public transport, non-motorized transport (NMT - walking and cycling), and integrated land-use and transport planning.

ii. National Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Policy, 2017: This policy aims to promote high-density, mixed-use development around transit corridors and stations to maximize the use of public transport and reduce reliance on private vehicles.

…2/--2- iii. Government of India has issued Metro Rail Policy, 2017 for systematic planning of public transport projects including Metro Rails in order to achieve sustainable mobility. Since May, 2014, about 788 kms of metro rail lines have been commissioned in 24 cities across the country.

Further, 35 metro rail projects with total length of 1005 kms at the estimated completion cost of Rs 3,27,487.30 Cr have been approved since May, 2014. Also, an amount of Rs 1,88,197.78 crores have been released to various Metro Rail/ RRTS projects by the Government of India since May, 2014.

iv. PM-eBus Sewa Scheme has been approved by Government of India in August, 2023 which aims to augment city bus operations in urban areas with Central Assistance (CA) of Rs. 20,000 crores for deploying 10,000 electric buses under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

v. Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT): This mission supports urban infrastructure development, including projects related to public transport and NMT. vi. Emphasis on Public Bike Sharing (PBS) Systems: Many cities have piloted PBS systems to facilitate first and last-mile connectivity for public transport.

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