Mobility As A Service Could Bridge Gap Between Public Transport And Private Cars

The keywords for such a concept have remained connected, seamless and efficient. The Covid-19 pandemic provided an opportunity for the government to promote the use of public transport by improving bus systems without worrying about passenger demand.

Air pollution from road transport accounts for 12 per cent of India's energy-related CO2 emissions. Policymakers have turned to pushing Electric Vehicles (EV) for private transport as solution. The Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) Scheme Phase-II subsidy incentivised adoption of electric buses, three-wheelers, cars and two-wheelers.  

Despite the political will, only 3,487 of 6,862 e-buses have been supplied to state transport units, indicating a 51 per cent shortfall in sales compared to other vehicles. Intra-city buses still remain wedded to diesel. Additionally, EV manufacturers do not get incentives for e-buses, unlike other EVs and hybrids. This may affect public transport's share.

Stakeholders Need To Come Together 

The Seventh Schedule (Article 246) of the Constitution vests urban development, including transport, as a state responsibility. But the internecine bureaucracy and rules are affecting a smoother transition to clean mobility.

Per data provided by Statista, a German online platform that specialises in data gathering and visualisation, India has 246 cars per 1000 people in 2020. A large and dense population and low car ownership is ideal for public transport-led mobility. But cities face low average journey speeds, especially in areas with more cars, due to inadequate infrastructure for sustainable transportation.

A study by CEEW, a leading Policy research institute and think tank based in Delhi, found that 70 per cent of urban residents travel distances less than 10 km for work and education with an average travel time of 27 minutes. Roughly 37 per cent rely on buses, trains, or other public transport, and walk 1.4 km to access these services.

Multi-modal transport thus becomes an important factor in reducing reliance on private vehicles. The current public transport system falls short in terms of comfort and convenience. The lack of efficient first and last mile connections is the main worry for urban commuters.

The FAME scheme includes bus transport solutions for cities with over 4 million population. While both e-buses and metro systems run on electricity, metros are energy efficient. metro systems will see more riders as cities expand and improve first-mile and last-mile connectivity.

The PM e-Bus Sewa scheme aims to deploy 10,000 e-buses in cities that have a population between 500,000 and 4 million. But an IIT-Delhi and The Infravision Foundation study found that metro networks have less than 50 per cent of projected ridership, with most having a load factor below 35 per cent. Delhi Metro has a 47.45 per cent ridership. 

According to the Delhi Economic Survey, DTC buses' load factor decreased from 84 per cent to 22 per cent between 2017 and 2022. Cluster buses' load fell from 84 per cent to 68 per cent for the same period. The average daily passenger usage has dropped despite increasing buses, which are travelling longer distances.  

Thus, both metro and public transport are underutilised. Such a gap leaves room for improved coordination among agencies and better tuning of app-based services to cater to the demands of the population for affordable and efficient transportation. Further, the increase in reduced load factor and increase in daily kms covered by these buses is leading to increased traffic and a rise in CO2 emissions.

Car Ownership Trends

SUVs account for over 40 per cent of Light Motor Vehicle sales in India, according to S&P Global. Growth in highway construction has led to this trend. Car prices have more than doubled in the past decade, with a growth rate of 39 per cent. Light vehicle sales, including cars and light commercial vehicles, are projected to reach 6.1 million units in 2030, compared to 4.4 million units in 2022.

This shift towards personal mobility options is driven by urbanisation, rising aspirations, and higher incomes. Currently, only 8 per cent of households own a car, while 54 per cent own a two-wheeler. To encourage shared mobility and alleviate congestion, city authorities should consider implementing multi-modal transport solutions and optimising asset utilisation, particularly in last mile connectivity.

A Solution To Last Mile Hiccups 

Last mile connectivity solutions are emerging to enhance the use of infrastructure-heavy public transport systems. But they continue to function independently and have laid the ground for Mobility as a Service (MaaS) as the future of urban transport.

In India, Ola, Rapido, and Bounce offer car aggregation, bike taxis, carpooling, and dockless two-wheeler services. These options are affordable and convenient, promoting shared mobility in India. A NITI Aayog study on shared mobility said a potential 35 per cent reduction in vehicle demand by 2035 could save 1 gigatonne of CO2 by 2030.

Alstom's LEAP program in Bengaluru Metro stations aims to improve last-mile connectivity and promote public transport usage. They have partnered with MetroRide, an AI-powered EV ride-hailing solution, to train 25 women drivers to drive e-rickshaws booked on the MetroRide app. A World Bank study has said incorporating women in the transport workforce has been shown to increase ridership and accessibility. 

Bain & Co has predicted a high adoption rate of electric 2 wheelers (E2Ws) by 2030, and placing them at metro and interchange stations can boost ridership. But app-based dockless scooter-sharing services like Bounce and Yulu's electric scooter face challenges due to lack of support from city authorities and limited public access. Bounce has successfully attracted new users to the metro. City authorities should provide for e-bike charging stations at key junctions and public transport hubs to promote public transportation effectively.

MaaS Effect

A Statista forecast says the number of users in the shared mobility market in India will increase between 2024 and 2028 by 40 million every year and will be 620 million in 2028.

The exponential growth in Mobility on Demand (MoD) services will power the numbers. Mobility platforms are already available on various platforms linking demand and supply. Today, they are mostly tech-enabled with platforms matching supply and demand to reduce spare capacity while improving user experience.

As a MaaS service provider, a public transport operator could enrich its services by integrating other transport services into its regular portfolio. These services can cover taxis, carpooling, city bikes and some inclusive digital services by the Managed Service Providers (MSP), e.g. mobile ticketing and payment, and multimodal planner and (re)routing.

With the increasing demand for last-mile connectivity all around the world, the scope for MaaS and alternative sustainable technologies will be on the rise. Disruption has led to innovation and further integration of technologies can be expected globally. 

The Future Merges Everything 

The incentives and use cases provide enough reasons for e-mobility start-ups to explore India as a market for e-mobility and MaaS. Urban mobility apps have great potential in India even if it has many players already in the e-mobility space. A comprehensive platform for multiple solutions to plug in gives businesses the opportunity to leverage themselves. E-MaaS will most likely revolutionise the way we travel and the potential it holds is out there to be tapped.

Innovations like a swappable battery along with a regular battery can be considered for E2Ws to reduce cost and remove range anxiety. These two-wheelers can be last mile solutions, the lack of which turns people away from public transport. They should be the focus vehicle segment in the personal vehicle segment, along with shared mobility through buses, taxis, and auto-rickshaws.

Sanctioned EV buses need to be distributed effectively to public transport bodies and on time as cleaner air, lower emission, more affordable mobility will far outweigh the pain of the transition. With India committing to Net Zero Emission by 2070, it becomes imperative for policy mandarins to act on these initiatives instead of putting it on the backburner as is often the case. Business has only itself to blame if it doesn't catch up either. 

(The author is a public policy and urban transportation specialist. Views expressed are personal)