Sustainable Bus Rapid Transit initiatives in India: The role of decisive leadership and strong institutions

The Government of India’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission is instrumental in providing policy, financial, and institutional support to meet the growing needs of urban agglomerations (UAs). In addition to discussing the recently implemented Delhi Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system and the Indore Busway project, which served to renew the nation’s interest in public transport, this work presents a case brief from three UAs for which the author prepared detailed project reports on the BRT systems. This paper highlights the role of leadership and institutions in the successful completion of feasibility studies (Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada), the process delays (Hyderabad), planned implementation (Visakhapatnam), full-scale operationalization (Indore), and the problems caused by quick deployment (Delhi), the last of which has led to a national debate on BRT viability in India. In conclusion, this work brings to the fore the felt need for a decisive leadership and strong institutions in evolving sustainable public transport solutions.

Research highlights
► This work explores the role of the Government of India’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission in developing multimodal transportation solutions in India.
► This paper highlights the role of leadership and institutions in the successful completion of feasibility studies (Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada), the process delays (Hyderabad), planned implementation (Visakhapatnam), full-scale operationalization (Indore), and the problems caused by quick deployment (Delhi), the last of which has led to a national debate on BRT viability in India.
► This work brings to the fore the felt need for decisive leadership and strong institutions in evolving sustainable public transport solutions.
► This work shows that there is an urgent need to develop sustainable transportation solutions in India, and that the goal can be met through designing and delivering quality public transport systems in the form of Bus Rapid Transit Systems.
► The Indore Busway system, the Delhi BRT effort, and case briefs from Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, and Hyderabad show that leadership and institutions play a crucial role in successfully initiating the multimodal projects.