Uber, B.PAC’s ‘Sustainable Mobility’ report suggests ways to tackle congestion in Bengaluru

Uber in partnership with the Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC), today, released a research report themed ‘Sustainable Mobility in Bengaluru’ highlighting several measures needed in one of India’s most congested cities. The report also identifies current challenges the city faces, suggests public-private collaboration to improve the city’s mobility patterns.

The launch of the report concludes a nine-month partnership between Uber and B.PAC, which included a series of workshops and round table discussions, engaging stakeholders, elected representatives and administrators in the State to re-think mobility solutions for enhancing the quality of travel for the harried commuters in the city.

The report highlights the following strategic insights that can be implemented through joint action for maximum impact:

Public-private partnership to improve transport infrastructure

Government should look at public-private collaboration and work collectively to build a strong public transport network in the city. Integrating efficient, affordable and safety-first and last mile solutions to build continuity in transit is key to encouraging the use of public transport over private vehicles. The report also suggests putting in place a secure data sharing mechanism to allow private players like Uber share insights into travel data that could help identify mobility patterns and challenges in the city and further assist those portions of the transportation network that are struggling the most.

Policy support to improve urban commute

Incentivising shift from private to public transport requires strong policy support promoting shared mobility services across different modes of transport. The report suggests private players being authorised to run shuttle, bike and auto sharing, as well as carpooling services.

Promoting early electric adoption

Tracking green trips and green miles travelled instead of the number of electric vehicles (EV) on the road will be a better indicator of the EV ecosystem and incentivising every km run will encourage commercial fleets for early adoption. The report also proposes better financial models to minimise the high upfront cost of the vehicle and battery. Additionally, incentives for electric vehicles and batteries as separate entities will accelerate adoption of EVs considerably.

Prabhjeet Singh, Head of Cities, India and South Asia said, “Uber’s partnership with B.PAC has been invaluable in understanding how we can contribute to improve Bengaluru’s mobility infrastructure. We are always looking to forge innovative partnerships that will help us redefine urban mobility across India. We are confident that our research report will facilitate dialogue amongst stakeholders to discuss the mobility challenges that the city faces and find sustainable solutions to transform the mobility ecosystem in Bengaluru.”