India, July 18 -- In April 2006, the Union government adopted the National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP) against the backdrop of rising urban congestion, air pollution, road accidents and a steep oil import bill. The core driver of these trends is rising motorisation. The NUTP sought to reverse this by encouraging a shift from personal motor vehicles to greater use of public transport and non-motorised travel.

Following the policy, significant investments were made in public transport. Yet 20 years on, motorisation has increased at an even faster pace. Clearly, the policy has not achieved its objectives.

A closer look shows the fastest growth has been in motorised two-wheelers, whose share rose from just 9% in 1951 to over 76% today. Th...