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Hyderabad Metropolitan Area spreads over 1905 sq.km. The city has 7 million people. Additional one million people enter the city every day. The central core of the city -- only168 sq.km, holds 60 percent of the people and 70 percent of the jobs. Though the city’s air pollution shows arrested trend this Southern city is poised for vehicle explosion. Share of car trips is increasing steadily, taking away space from walkers and public transport users. Congestion has slowed down peak hour traffic. The city needs rapid mobility transition. .

Mumbai on the West coast of India is the financial capital of India. The City has grown phenomenally over the years with several suburbs and extended suburbs being added to it. The city is bustling with over 18 million people. Add to this the growing number of immigrants and the pressure on transportation systems. The city has one of the best public transport systems, with a network of suburban railways, public bus, auto rickshaws, taxis, radio cabs. But these do not meet the growing demand for travel. The city has to grapple with traffic congestion and health hazards from air pollution.

Kolkata Municipal Corporation has an area of 185 km2 and the Kolkata Metropolitan Area is spread over 1,750 km2 with 15 million people. Pollution levels in Kolkata are high and on the rise. The city will have to take steps to reduce motorisation, so that it can deal with congestion and air toxins. The city is constrained by the road space – it has less than 10 per cent of its land area under roads, against Delhi’s 21 per cent. Therefore, even though the city has fewer cars than Delhi the result is the same – growing congestion and pollution.

Lucknow currently houses a population of almost 2.5 million in an area of around 162.7 sq km. It is the political and administrative capital of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of India and has always been a major trading city of the north. The growth of Lucknow in recent years has resulted in huge demand for transport. Transport infrastructure, however, has not grown correspondingly and is therefore highly inadequate leading to a dramatic rise in the number of vehicles.

Kanpur is the largest city in the state of Uttar Pradesh. It is spread over an area of 260 sq km with a population of 25.51 lakh. The population is expected to increase to 48 lakhs by 2030 which amounts to adding a whole new Kanpur in 30 years. Even though it had originally grown as an industrial town, manufacturing is shrinking in this city. The city has strength in terms of heavy usage of cycling and walking but due to neglect the city is losing this advantage. Air pollution levels are one of the highest in the country.

Chandigarh is one of the most planned towns of India. This is also one of the richest cities witnessing spurt in personal transport leading to problems of congestion, inadequate parking and air pollution. This city needs to scale up its public transport systems to handle the situation.

18 Sep 2013

Supreme Court order upholds diesel price hike for bus corporations, but ignores the subsidy still enjoyed by cars, SUVs. What happens to the right of the majority to have affordable, reliable and comfortable bus service?

15 Jul 2013

The pilot project on electric, hybrid buses for public transport   looks more like a friendly nudge to industry to find 'real business' for a very expensive technology concept. Green steps without green target is a bad idea

05 Jun 2013

The initial phase of UPA II witnessed prolific rule making, but this was not followed by responsible governance

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