Shared mobility plays a pivotal role in the transportation landscape of Indian cities, addressing the diverse needs of their residents. Shared mobility includes vehicles that operate on a sharing basis, such as shared auto rickshaws, or the more recent “aggregator” models such as Uber/Ola. This article talks about the shared mobility that operates without an aggregator platform. Shared mobility is sometimes also called ‘informal public transport’ or ‘intermediate public transport’. These terms are indicative of the role and their importance as a mode of public transport.
According to the 2020 data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), the total number of registered vehicles is around 326 million, out of which 10% include vehicles that are used as shared mobility or urban freight vehicles. In states like Maharashtra, auto-rickshaws are a common and convenient mode of shared mobility. Despite offering a convenient mode of public transport these vehicles are often deemed illegal, and are blamed for traffic congestion and pollution. However, cities would be well-advised to acknowledge their existence and importance to improve mobility for all. Here are some actionable steps for the government to consider:
1. Create a Census
Given that shared mobility is not really taken into account when thinking about the city’s transport, it is no surprise that usually there is a big gap in data about this mode. Often the only information available is the number of vehicles registered, but even this may not be very accurate. It is a common practice to get the vehicle registered at a conveniently located RTO and operate it in another nearby region. Typically, there are two models that exist in this sector. One is where the owner is the operator, and the other is where the owner rents out the vehicle to another driver for operations and shares revenue.
Cities should have data about vehicles operating in sharing mode, including their age and make. It should also include data on the ownership structure i.e. whether the owner is an operator or not. This data can serve as a foundation for authentic and informed mobility planning and build trust between operators and the government. Creating such a census, and providing a unique identification number to the operator, thus, includes the operator in the system with a sense of legal responsibility. An example to follow is the Municipal Corporation of Amritsar, which organized a mela for the registration of shared vehicles, and provided them with registration number stickers.
2. Formalise the sector
The informal nature of shared mobility operations makes it difficult for the government to have a dialogue with the operators. Cities can facilitate the process of forming legal entities of these operators. For instance, Kochi and Amritsar have created co-operative societies of the operators. In Amritsar, the Municipal Corporation and the Amritsar Smart City are facilitating this process of formalisation. Formalisation benefits both government and operators, enhancing transparency and accountability.
There are only a handful of such examples though. All cities need to have government-facilitated co-operative societies for shared mobility operators. The government can help the co-operative society build its capacity to raise funds for the social welfare of the operators. The collaboration can also play a role to discuss and resolve the challenges related to road safety, and passenger convenience.
3. Assign area of operations
Shared mobility vehicles are often blamed for traffic congestion and air pollution. There is a tendency to ban their operations on congested roads. But shared mobility acts on the basic principle of carrying more people and operating multiple trips throughout the day, as against motorised private vehicles. Hence, authorities should strategise on it by assigning area of operations, and route license or area license should be completely based on the passenger convenience. Operations for shared mobility vehicles can be assigned to provide access to market nodes in core cities with narrow roads, apart from plying on other roads. In fact, in congested areas, authorities should consider restricting private vehicles, especially cars which have low occupancy, and encourage more shared-mobility.
4. Prioritise public transport
It is quite often discussed to put a cap on the number of shared vehicles. Shared mobility vehicles serve as an essential component of public transportation. In many cities they exist due to the non-existence of good public transport, playing the role of a low-cost public transport system, satisfying the needs of all types of users. Studies reveal that women are more dependent on shared mobility than men due to the convenience, affordability, and frequency that they offer.
Maharashtra alone has around 2.9 million total registered vehicles that are used as shared or urban freight vehicles which is only 9% of total vehicles as against 30 million non-transport vehicles which accounts for 91% of total vehicles. Therefore, if the government wants to adopt the vehicle capping policy, there is an urgency to cap private vehicles to address their evident increase in number.
5. Embrace electrification
Many shared mobility operators face financial challenges, leading to poorly maintained, outdated, and unsafe vehicles for passengers. Additionally, the impact of the COVID pandemic, and poor credit-worthiness add to their financial woes. While the government is encouraging the electrification of all types of vehicles, the government should offer substantial subsidies to electrify older diesel-operated shared vehicles, similar to initiatives like Amritsar's RAAHI project. The RAAHI project provides a subsidy to owners of diesel-operated auto-rickshaws, equivalent to almost 50% of the new electric auto-rickshaw cost. A similar initiative is being adopted in Kochi.
In the month of June, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) also initiated the first phase of promoting electrification of public transport. The PMC provided a one-time subsidy of Rs. 25,000/- for e-rickshaw owners. The Maharhastra government is also planning to set up battery stations for these auto-rickshaws. This not only promotes sustainability but also improves passenger safety and comfort.
In conclusion, enhancing the shared mobility system in India is vital to create a sustainable and efficient public transportation system. Recognising its importance and formalising the sector, aided with subsidies, can improve the urban transport system, benefiting operators and passengers, while addressing environmental and traffic congestion issues.
By Pranjali Deshpande
Sustainable Mobility Expert (Trustee, Parisar Managing Committee)
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