Nearly 80% Indians are willing to shift to public transport, provided it has better coverage and becomes more affordable and comfortable than it is today, a new report by Ola’s Mobility Institute.
“Given the high willingness to use public transport, policy makers need to devise strategies to cater to specific needs of different users by improving service levels, real-time information, providing clean public transport, improving frequency, better route planning etc.,” the Ease of Moving Index 2018 said.
The report, which surveyed over 43,000 people from 20 cities across the country, found that shared mobility is also gaining momentum across cities.
“Almost 30% car owners are willing to put up their own car for hire. An additional 50% car owners expressed willingness to explore this option, were there a policy on usage of cars for sharing purposes,” it said.
Further, almost 75% Indians believe electric vehicles have the potential to replace conventional vehicles by 2030.
“For Indian consumers, a subsidy to buy their own electric vehicles is not required for shifting to electric vehicles. 85% of the people feel that providing electric buses as public transport or other forms of shared mobility…will boost electric mobility in India,” it said.
Pointing out that it is estimated that by 2040, 55% of new car sales and 33% of the global fleet will be electric, the report said the government need to pro-actively create an enabling environment if India is to reap the benefits of the global revolution in mobility being driven by electric vehicles.
“Some of the measures could be to provide lower taxation levels for EVs, allow carbon credits to be utilized for EVs, fast-track approvals for setting up of charging and swapping stations, rationalisation of electricity tariffs for charging, dedicated parking for EVs in public spaces and commercial buildings, creation of low emission zones, and so on,” it added.