[CSH-CPR Urban Workshop #166] Institutional reforms for scaling up bus-based public transport in India (R. Gadepalli)

Improving public transport to meet our growing travel demand needs sustainably is a strategy that excites experts, policy makers and the public alike. Buses offer a cheaper and more agile public transport service for rapidly urbanizing developing countries where transport networks need to be flexible to meet changing mobility patterns effectively. Despite their obvious benefits, however, bus systems in India have not scaled up to meet the expectations of the growing population, primarily owing to the poor financial position of bus agencies which are struggling with growing staff and fuel costs even as the revenues are stagnant.

Government’s financial support to public transport is discretionary in nature and is mostly limited to capital support for fleet procurement, infrastructure development and to reimburse for the concessional travel obligations. Instead, bus agencies need consistent funding support to meet their cost and service obligations. In this context, the World Bank is supporting the institutionalization of a ‘Public Transport Service Contract (PTSC)’ mechanism in Chennai that formalizes a five-year commitment by the Government of Tamil Nadu to provide Viability Gap Funding for Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) Chennai to improve its bus services. The model offers several learnings about ensuring financial sustainability and improving service quality of bus services across India. The talk will cover a baseline assessment of bus services in India, key gaps and how PTSC can address some of the challenges.