This blog is co-authored by BIF Fellows Joshilyn Binkley and Nabhas Raj
Introductions to us
Nabhas was born and raised in the state of Kerala, with a comparatively strong and growing network of public road transport systems. Growing up as a regular commuter in public buses brought him closer to the idea of them, and the need to expand them significantly enough to overpower the demand for private vehicles. Living in metropolitan cities made him notice the stark contrast in inaccessible transport facilities and the roads congested by a growing car culture. Living in Himachal, the dependence of the working class on a below par bus network seems very apparent to him.
Joshilyn grew up in a rural area of the United States that lacked public transportation infrastructure and where movement was restricted by the ability to access private vehicles. She fell in love with public transit when studying in Prague; her subsidized student pass allowed her to explore the city in ways that would have been impossible without the service. Now as a resident of Hyderabad, the fourth largest city in India, the metro is one of her favorite things about being a Hyderabadi.
Experiencing Hyderabad
Hyderabad is home to 10.8 million people, making it the fourth largest city in India, and one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country. Booming rural to urban migration that has outpaced the development of affordable housing and other facilities and ineffective urban planning has led to a 264% increase in the city’s slum population in the last decade. (World Population View). This ever growing city is full of people who came for work, further challenging the strained infrastructure with a high demand for transportation services; an average of four million people rely on public transportation in Hyderabad everyday. (Open Data Telangana). A large number of people also rely on private vehicles, but even with nearly half the rate of private vehicle ownership as a city like New Delhi, the roads in Hyderabad become extremely congested and dangerous during peak hours. (Ghate).
In India, Hyderabad is unique for its significant investment in transportation infrastructure. “The 73-km elevated metro…is (already) the largest metro project ever undertaken through a public-private partnership…” (CW). However, the second-phase expansion of the HMRL is facing rejection by the BJP-led Union government. (Mahesh). The city is ready and has allocated funds to better connect residents to the Old City, a Muslim-majority part of Hyderabad, as well as the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. (Express). This expansion will be an important step in making the city more accessible for those currently not adequately covered by available routes.
Movement around Hyderabad is sometimes limited in the summer because of the intense heat and during the monsoon season by roads that flood. Both seasons pose a physical danger and have the potential to prevent residents from being able to attend work, school, or access parts of the city. The heat and flooding can be expected to worsen in coming years as the effects of climate change become more intense. Women, who are more at risk of facing violence or harassment, might be restricted in their ability to go around Hyderabad as they wish because taking cabs or walking alone in the evening is unsafe. Expanding the metro would help alleviate these issues and have long term social and economic benefits.
A life on buses in Dharamshala
As compared to South India, road transport is a different experience in Himachal Pradesh. In South India, there is always regular availability of state run public buses. Those buses were also much bigger in size compared to the smaller private ones in Himachal. Having grown up depending on those buses, they have painted a deep image of how public transport should be and it is difficult to not notice the drawbacks here in comparison. Himachal is a mountainous region that has a very low population density with communities residing in far flung areas of high altitude terrains with limited road transport facilities. The population density of 110 persons per sq km. is very minor when compared to the national average of 382 persons per sq km. Given the various geographical constraints, there is limited rail network access in the region (and less than 50 kilometers of new rail tracks have been added since independence) making the population highly dependent on road transport. 
According to the Economic Survey of Himachal Pradesh 2013-14, the coverage of the road network at 0.62 km per sq km is way below the national average of 1.21 km per sq km. As per the data from 2013-14 annual plan, around 43.91% of villages in Himachal Pradesh do not have road connectivity. Additional constraints like snowfalls and landslides only add to the struggle of people here. Yet another challenge is the percentage of single lane roads. 90% of all motorable roads are single lane roads as per data from 2012-13. The average rate of growth of vehicle population in the state is also very high, at nearly 17% between 2007 and 2013, and the road infrastructure is insufficient to handle this growth, leading to regular congestion.
Himachal has a very high share of car owning households. According to the National Family Health Survey 2018-19, almost 22% of households in Himachal own a car which is almost thrice as high as the national value of 7.5%. Increasing availability of finance and inadequate public transport services especially in the mountainous regions influence household decisions in owning private vehicles. The state also has less than 0.4 public service transport buses per 1000 population which is below the national average of 1.2 and well short of the internationally accepted standard of 4 buses per 1000 population. Including private buses, there were 14,622 units in 2019 which would amount to around 2 buses per 1000 population. Yet large sections of the state having poor access and existing roads not being able to handle the increasing vehicle population contribute to the increasing challenges. The inefficiency of the state government in ensuring mobility through state run buses results in people depending on private buses which run on their conveniences, with inconsistent timings and often canceling trips on weekends.
In Himachal, most routes are not popular among private bus owners, mostly due to insufficient business in those areas. This makes life harder for people who live there or commute through those routes. The roads there, even though single lane, are well maintained and suitable for travel. I have to travel through such a route to get to one of my field offices, and have to depend on the jeep services which are always so stacked up with people that you barely get space to breathe. There are very few bus services around my area after dusk. After 7.30 you will be forced to depend on cab services which charge heavily. ‘If we wait until the 5.30pm office timing to leave, we won’t get a bus home. Hence we have to leave at least half an hour early’ says one of my colleagues from the field. You expect better services near to Dharamsala, one of the state’s major cities and a renowned tourist destination.
Another major challenge here is getting to the bus stops from the inner areas. The hilly areas are sparsely populated and people reside up to 4-5 km uphill or downhill from the bus routes. Even though these locations are well connected by roads, there are no transportation facilities available. Persons with disabilities and senior citizens face the major brunt of these issues. The buses are not disabled friendly either. I have also felt that the average time required for commuting in Himachal is higher than what I have experienced in other states (outside city limits). It takes me over 90 minutes to reach my field office in Rait, 20 km away from my head office. The hilly terrains add to the challenge here. Yet I believe there are other challenges such as frequency of buses, increasing private vehicle ownership, road width etc. which can be overcome in order to increase the average speed of commute here. But at the same time traveling in the buses here is also a blissful experience. With lush greenery and snow capped mountains in the distance, it is unlikely that you will ever get bored. And if lucky, you will get to enjoy some traditional songs by nomadic musicians who perform as they travel.
Work Cited
CW Team. “Metro Rail Expansion in Hyderabad.” Construction World, 9 Feb. 2023, www.constructionworld.in/transport-infrastructure/metro-rail-and-railways-infrastructure/metro-rail-expansion-in-hyderabad/39135. Accessed 23 Apr. 2023.
Express News Service. “Hyderabad Metro Phase 2: KTR Writes to Centre Alleging Discrimination, Wants Proposal Approved on Merits.” The Indian Express, 28 Mar. 2023, indianexpress.com/article/cities/hyderabad/hyderabad-metro-phase-ktr-centre-discrimination-proposal-merits-8524085/https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/hyderabad/hyderabad-metro-phase-ktr-centre-discrimination-proposal-merits-8524085/. Accessed 23 Apr. 2023.
Ghate, Akshima. “Proliferation of Cars in Indian Cities: Let Us Not Ape the West.” TERI Policy Brief, 6 Jan. 2014, www.teriin.org/policybrief/docs/cars.pdf. Accessed 6 May 2023.
Mahesh, Koride. “Minister: Why High-density Hyderabad Metro Corridor in Centre Blind Spot?” Times of India, 29 Mar. 2023, timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/min-why-high-density-metro-corridor-in-centre-blind-spot/articleshow/99073864.cms?from=mdr. Accessed 11 May 2023.
Open Data Telangana. “GTFS for Hyderabad Public Transport Systems.” Open Data Telangana, data.telangana.gov.in/gtfs-hyderabad-public-transport-systems?#:~:text=Year%20after%20year%2C%20Hyderabad%20has,million%20people%20through%20public%20transport. Accessed 11 May 2023.
World Population View. “GTFS for Hyderabad Public Transport Systems.” Hyderabad Population 2023, worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/hyderabad-population. Accessed 3 May 2023.
