The Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs and Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, highlighted the significant transformation in the government’s approach to urban transport issues since 2014. He noted that the rapid urbanization has been viewed as an opportunity rather than a challenge during this period.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the 16th Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference cum Expo 2023, Shri Puri discussed the remarkable growth of metro rail systems in India. He mentioned that in 2014, only 248 kilometers of metro rail were operational in the country, but in the nine years that followed, 895 kilometers of metro lines have become operational in 20 different cities. India’s metro network is now the third largest in the world, and in the next two to three years, it is expected to surpass the operational length of the USA’s metro network, becoming the second largest in the world.
Shri Puri also highlighted the positive impact of the metro network on the lives of citizens, providing comfort, stability, and security. He mentioned that the metro network currently has a daily ridership of around 1 crore, and this number is expected to increase with improved last-mile connectivity and other factors. The Minister emphasized the importance of Regional Rapid Transit Systems (RRTS) and Vande Bharat Trains in enhancing regional and inter-city connectivity.
He further discussed government initiatives to overhaul urban transport, including FAME-I, FAME-II, and the PM-eBus Seva Scheme. The PM-eBus Seva scheme is designed to enhance city bus operations, with a focus on cities lacking organized bus services. Under this scheme, 10,000 e-buses will be deployed on a public-private partnership (PPP) model in 169 cities, along with support for associated infrastructure, bus depots, and power infrastructure. The scheme also promotes environment-friendly initiatives such as bus priority infrastructure, multimodal interchange facilities, and National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) based Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS).
Shri Puri also stressed the importance of sustainable urban transport and highlighted efforts to promote green mobility, biofuel blending, clean energy alternatives like biogas and green hydrogen.
The 16th Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference cum Expo 2023 is organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. The event focuses on the theme of “Integrated and Resilient Urban Transport” and aims to design and implement efficient, high-quality, integrated, and resilient urban transport systems in cities. The focus is on strengthening the resilience of transport systems from the planning stage, particularly in light of rapid climate change and its impact on urban transportation. The conference brings together key stakeholders, including government officials, policy makers, transport professionals, and international experts to discuss and exchange ideas on urban transport.
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