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. This steep growth tells its own story. People typically move to two-wheelers once their income rises enough to escape poor public transport, but not enough to afford a car. These are users who can be nudged back to public transport if their expectations of quality and convenience are met. Unfortunately, investments in public transport have not been conscious of these expectations, allowing such users to slip away in large numbers. These commuters rightfully seek more comfortable travel than an affordability-focused public system offers: Assured seating, comfortable rides, and pick-up/drop-off close to their origin and destination. Bus systems have wide networks that can offer that proximity but were designed for commuters who cannot afford a personal vehicle, so their focus is affordability, not quality, leaving them with a poor social image. Metro rail offers better quality and status, but given high capital costs, it has much smaller networks and cannot offer convenient access for most residents; better last-mile connectivity would help, but that means transfers, which commuters dislike. Two-wheelers, by contrast, offer convenient point-to-point rides with no transfers, immense flexibility, and are the fastest mode on congested roads, often working out cheaper than bus fares, though vulnerable to accidents. If public transport matched these quality expectations, most two-wheeler users would shift to buses. The need of the hour is to introduce premium bus services offering convenient access, assured seating, app-based booking, a quieter ride and cleanliness. A large network of smaller buses, seating 15-18 passengers, is needed across cities. These could charge three-four times the normal bus fare and would need no subsidy from the public budget. On congested stretches, dedicated lanes would help them move faster than personal vehicles. Our public transport systems need tobe revisited to meet the needs of thosewho cannot afford a personal vehiclewhile also matching the quality expectations of those who can, if we are toslow the pace of motorisation. Fixing this will help cities be true engines of economic growth, propelling India towards Viksit Bharat....