Budget 2021 | 'Policy will enable shifting of older to new, clean, safe vehicles, and reduce road accidents'

By Mohammad Athar (Saif),

The budget has focused on bringing safety, quality and clean transport to the front by announcing a slew of initiatives. The Voluntary scrapping policy announced in the budget will for the first time bring fitness test as a criterion for scrapping old vehicles.

Over 1 crore light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles with an age of more than 15 years have been plying on Indian roads. The policy will enable shifting of older to new vehicles which will be safer and cleaner, and reduce road accidents.

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The scheme to support public bus transport with an investment of Rs.18000 crore will be critical to enable public transport mobility in Indian cities and reduce ownership of private vehicles in urban areas.

Electric and cleaner public bus transport could change the urban transport landscape of the country, and bring in the much-needed quality of life for daily workers who depend on public transport as a critical enabler of their livelihood.

Bus transport has remained one of the largest sources of public transport mobility, and the government's commitment to the sector will enable transitioning of the old fleet to new technology-driven mobility in Indian cities.

Alternate models of mass transit in the form of metro lite and metro neo will appeal to cities with narrower right of ways and higher urban density.

The continued investment focus on Kochi, Nagpur, Nashik and Chennai metro will enable completion of various project phases, and investment in the Bangalore suburban railway network will bring relief to urban transport challenges in the IT and R&D hub of the country.

(The author is an Economic Development and Infrastructure Partner at PwC India)