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Imagine a day where taking a bus is a hassle-free experience. Routes and schedules are at your fingertips on your phones. Waiting times are shorter, and you know exactly how long you must wait for the next bus. Planning your trip requires no guesswork. Commuting is no longer a pain but something you look forward to. 

We’re one step closer to that day as we successfully wrap up Stage 2 of the Transport4All Challenge and head into Stage 3. 

Digital innovations can transform our public transport systems by equipping passengers with the right information, providing them with avenues to raise concerns, and, most importantly, getting passengers wherever they want on time, comfortably and safely. In April 2021, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the Smart Cities mission launched the #Transport 4All🚍Challenge to bring together cities, startups, and citizens to develop digital solutions to transform public transport systems across the country. 

Stage 2 wrapped with the announcement of the top 10 winning startups who work with cities across the country to test out solutions developed by them to address eight problem statements developed by the cities in Stage 1.

Shortlisting Startups

To recap, the Transport4All Challenge was envisioned in three stages.

Stage 1

In Stage 1, we saw 46 cities conduct the country’s largest public transport data exercise with surveys with more than 2 lakh citizens, 15,000 bus drivers and conductors, and 22,000 informal public transport drivers. Based on the survey findings, cities developed more than 165 problem statements, which were then curated into 8 problem statements by the Challenge team, marking the end of Stage 1 in October 2022.

These 46 champion cities qualified for stage 2 of the challenge.

Stage 2 

In Stage 2—the Solution Generation stage—these cities worked with 70 startup applications shortlisted from over 160 applications. The goal was to create innovative and impactful digital solutions that could address the eight problem statements identified through the Stage 1 surveys.

Over the course of Stage 2, the Challenge team conducted 10+ workshops, 45+ one-on-one mentoring sessions, and 400+ calls to the startups and cities to support them in developing their solutions. The shortlisted startups proposed 45 solutions for the eight problem statements identified by the cities. 

Of these, the top 24 startups were selected by a panel of eminent experts. 

The 24 selected startups showcased their solutions to the 46 champion cities during the ‘Technological Solution Showcase’ held in August 2023. Based on the combined evaluation of the jury and the cities, the top 10 startups were declared winners of Stage 2. 

What’s next: Full speed ahead into Stage 3

In Stage 3—the Pilot Testing stage—the top 10 startups will engage with cities to pilot and refine the proposals based on citizen feedback. The Challenge team and mentors will guide the startups through this phase. The winning startups will also receive a reward of up to ₹20 lakhs based on the problem statement for completing various milestones in Stage 3 of the challenge. 

After three months of piloting, startups and cities will present the pilot results to the jury of experts for evaluation. MoHUA will showcase the successful startups and their solutions on the City Innovation Exchange (CiX) platform to enable cities to procure their product/services. 

We applaud the leadership of the Ministry of Housing and Affairs Smart Cities Mission and Urban Transport and the Association for State Road Transport Undertakings (ASRTU)—hosts for the Transport4All Digital Innovation Challenge. We thank our knowledge partner, the World Bank, for bringing their global technical expertise to digital innovation and guiding startups and cities. We also thank the technology platform partners—Cix and Startup India—for engaging with startups and providing a platform for cities and startups to collaborate efficiently. 

We look forward to working with the selected startups and cities to scale up the transformation of public transport systems across the country!

On 16th August 2023, the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP). Mr.Jeyakumar, IRTS, Member Secretary/Special Officer, CUMTA, signed the MOU with Ms.Aswathy Dilip, Managing Director, ITDP India in the presence of Ms.Apoorva, IAS, the Principal Secretary to the Government, Housing and Urban Development Department. Bringing all key agencies and stakeholders related to mobility under a single roof, CUMTA ensures seamless integration and implementation of all transport projects across various modes in Chennai. 

As part of the engagement, ITDP will support CUMTA in embracing an approach of prioritising sustainable mobility—especially ensuring seamless multi-modal integration between various modes of transport; improving road safety of citizens while they use and shift between the various modes; and regulate private vehicle usage through efficient parking management.

The success of this approach requires two things—improved capacity of the city to plan and implement sustainable mobility initiatives and increased public suppport. To this effect, ITDP will provide technical expertise for projects, drawing from its experience of working with over 100 cities worldwide, and support CUMTA in facilitating workshops and knowledge exchange with local international agencies to share best practice and learnings. ITDP will also support CUMTA to develop and roll out communications and outreach activities to improve public understanding and support for these initiatives. 

This engagement is a significant milestone on the city’s journey towards building a sustainable, equitable, and inclusive transport future for all its citizens and we look forward to supporting CUMTA in their efforts. 

This blog is part 2 of the ‘Communicating Public Transport’ series. Check out part 1 here.

As part of ITDP India’s ongoing public transport communications and marketing research, we visited Bhubaneswar to experience and learn from Capital Region Urban Transport’s (CRUT) MOBus System. One of India’s most appreciated bus systems, the efforts by CRUT have been recognised globally, and the agency recently received the prestigious Sustainable Transport Award – Honourable Mention. Check out Aishwarya Soni’s account of her learnings from CRUT about their policies and practices to be a genuinely people-centric public transport service. In her words, the visit was “a pivotal experience, one that has left a lasting impression on me.”

On 27th July 2023, the ITDP India team was delighted to organise a visit to the Pondy Bazaar Pedestrian Plaza for Ms. Steffi Lemke, Minister of the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety of Germany, along with a delegation from the Ministry. 

The ITDP India team presented our work on promoting sustainable mobility in India, with specific focus on the journey of the street transformation work across the country, starting in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and the subsequent scale-up to 100+ cities through three national programmes with the Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs—Cycles4Change, Streets4People, and Transport4All.

Since 2015, with support from the International Climate Initiative (IKI) under the India Sustainable Mobility Initiative project, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) has been supporting the Greater Chennai Corporation and the Chennai Smart City Limited to work on transforming the city’s streets into safe and comfortable spaces for pedestrians and cyclists and improving its public transport system. 

Over the years, Chennai has been a pioneer with multiple ambitious steps towards this vision—adopting the country’s first Non-Motorised Transport Policy prioritising walking and cycling; creating an award-winning Streets for People Initiative redesigning more than 100 km of streets; creating the city’s first pedestrian plaza in Pondy Bazaar, a historic shopping area in the heart of the city; launching a visionary Mega Streets programme to scale up work to over 250 km of streets in six neighbourhoods across the city; operationalising the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) to consolidate and coordinate all transport projects being implemented in the city; and setting up the country’s first Gender and Policy Lab, to mainstream gender-inclusive transport planning.

Following the presentation, the Minister and delegation walked with the ITDP India team through the Pondy Bazaar Pedestrian Plaza to experience the project first-hand. Through the visit, the ITDP India team highlighted key successes of the project—the wide and accessible walkways, trees and green areas, comfortable seating, designated parking areas and well-managed on-street parking, children’s play areas, and integrated utilities—making it a unique space in the city, and a role model for other cities.

We look forward to working with cities across the country to transform their streets into Healthy Streets—safe and comfortable for walking and cycling—and improve their public transport systems to move together towards a sustainable and inclusive future.

Building the capacity of bus operators across India

Part 1 of the Communicating Public Transport Series

Public transport plays a crucial role in reducing traffic congestion, cutting emissions, and enhancing the overall quality of urban life. Achieving a significant shift towards increased bus usage, however, is no easy feat. It requires a thoughtful combination of infrastructure development, better operations, and, most importantly, effective communications and targeted marketing strategies. As the first step towards improving public transport communications, ITDP India joined hands with the Association of State Road Transport Undertakings (ASRTU) to build the capacity of bus operators across the country on effective communications to improve passenger experience.

^{Factors impacting passenger experience: Marketing and communications are an integral part of ensuring the services reach the passengers}

Bridging the Gap between Passengers and Public Transport Services: The Role of Communication

Reliability, frequency, and connectivity are key aspects that influence passenger decisions when choosing public transport. Ensuring buses are convenient and run on time builds confidence and trust among passengers. Yet, even with efficient operations planning and management, effective communication between the bus operator and passengers is a vital link in the chain to ensure these services reach the people they serve. Marketing, communications, and passenger information play an indispensable role in bridging this gap. 

There are two broad groups that bus operators should reach—existing passengers who travel by public transport and potential passengers who can shift from private modes if they can be convinced.

Car manufacturers know this. They know making a good car is only the start. They invest in selling, and in selling them well. 4600 crore INR (560 million USD) is what car manufacturers spent on marketing, just in one year. That’s what buses and public transport are up against. And hence, they need to invest in marketing and communications, in addition to improving their services.

Public transport service providers should ensure that existing passengers have updated and easy-to-understand information that can empower them to continue to commute comfortably. Additionally, through targeted marketing campaigns, they can also attract new passengers and expand the number of bus users.

Building the capacity of State Transport Undertakings 

As a first step towards making public transport service providers in India understand the importance of of communications, ITDP India collaborated with the Association of State Road Transport Undertakings (ASRTU) to conduct a series of capacity building workshops for depot managers from public bus operators across the country. Held at the Central Institute for Road Transport (CIRT), Pune, these sessions aim to train over 150 depot managers in two specific areas—effective communications to improve passenger experience and planning & operating electric buses.

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Promote would include building a vision-driven brand, and ensuring that passengers are aware of existing services, schemes, and offers. Inform would include providing passengers with accurate and up-to-date information—on stops, services, and routes, including any changes. Engage would include listening to their passengers— getting their input and feedback to address any concerns and improve the services provided.

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By understanding passengers, their needs, challenges, and preferences, bus operators could provide better services that cater to their needs and successfully retain them.

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Drawing inspiration from international success stories, this session emphasised how enabling these staff to engage empathetically with passengers can help improve passenger experience.

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Ensuring depot managers are trained in effective communication will not only ensure that they can improve our public transport systems today but also create life-long champions who will go on to accelerate this transformation across the country. We look forward to continuing to support ASRTU in working towards a sustainable and inclusive public transport future for the country.

Written by Varsha Jeyapandi

Bogotá, Colombia, stands as a beacon of sustainable transport, earning the prestigious Sustainable Transport Award not once but twice—first in 2005 and again in 2022. The city’s remarkable commitment to active mobility and resilient planning led to its selection as the host city for MOBILIZE Learning Lab.

ITDP’s MOBILIZE program originated as an annual Summit to celebrate the winners of the Sustainable Transport Award and expanded to include the MOBILIZE Learning Lab—focused on cultivating knowledge exchange between these cities and relevant stakeholders. MOBILIZE aims to showcase cities that have implemented successful mobility projects so that others can learn from these experiences and utilise technical acumen that qualifies as best practices in regional contexts. 

In June 2023, the first in-person session of the MOBILIZE Learning Lab brought together practitioners and academics in Bogotá, Colombia, to see and experience first-hand the potential of resilient and equitable public transport and to discuss a collective vision for the future. Here are some transformative initiatives the ITDP India team witnessed in Bogotá that can inspire us all. 

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One fine breezy evening in Pune, on my way back from work, I reached Sambhaji Park bus stop on JM road to catch my bus home. My bus was due 10 minutes later, but I didn’t mind waiting. The view from my seat on the wide footpath was vibrant, with people, including women, children, and the elderly, all comfortably lingering and enjoying the greenery of the street space. Soon it was time to go home, but I carried this happy sight. Places like JM Road and moments like this remind me of the impact even small achievements in improving mobility in a city can have on the well-being of its people. 

And Pune’s achievements aren’t very small.

Pune, India, received the Sustainable Transport Award in 2020 for its remarkable efforts in promoting sustainable mobility. The city aimed to achieve over 90% of non-motorized and public transport trips by 2031, setting an example for other cities. Pune adopted Urban Street Design Guidelines and a Walk-Smart policy, created a Bicycle Plan, and initiated an ambitious Pune Streets Programme  transforming 45 km of streets and improving over 500 km with improved footpaths. Impressive investments back these initiatives, with almost 50% of the transport budget allocated to sustainable transport since 2016. Pune also made history in 2021 by celebrating Pedestrians’ Day, fully pedestrianizing a 500m stretch on Laxmi road for a day.

Over the years, Pune has been proactive in creating initiatives and infrastructure for better streets, but how impactful have they been in improving the well-being of citizens? What has worked? And what more needs to be done? 

These questions led the city and its leaders to take up the Walk and Cycle Analysis—an assessment of the city’s streets—conducted by ITDP India with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The report was launched during the city’s second Pedestrians’ Day celebrations in December 2022.  

Here are some insights—challenges, lessons, and opportunities—from the process of conducting the analysis. 

Why do we need a Streets Assessment?

Despite Pune’s efforts to improve safety and comfort for pedestrians and cyclists, it was not an uncommon sight to see them still using the carriageway and not the footpaths or the cycle tracks. Despite spaces being allocated for parking, vehicles still haphazardly encroached on road space. People also had trouble accessing the city’s public transport infrastructure. 

In August 2022, as preparations began for the city’s second Pedestrians’ Day celebrations, officials at PMC organised a meeting focused on identifying areas that needed improvement to ensure the availability of the required investment. ITDP India highlighted the importance of conducting an assessment of Pune’s streets to identify and address issues. 

A street assessment would

• help identify any gaps in execution that may be barriers to the infrastructure being used as planned
• provide a comparative analysis of the conditions and impact of street design works across the city
• help identify the right interventions needed to improve the streets to adapt to the needs of their users, 
• inform the budgets prepared for street projects
• create a data-based mapping for streets
• be an effective communication tool to showcase the impact of street projects taken up

Reframing the study: From an Impact Assessment to a Situation Analysis

The study was initially conceived of as an impact assessment—which typically considers data from both before and after an intervention to understand the advantages and disadvantages comprehensively. But since pre-execution data was unavailable for most street projects, the study primarily focused on identifying gaps in the current situation of walking and cycling infrastructure and providing recommendations. 

The study assessed streets on four fundamental principles to effectively communicate with both city officials and citizens: 

1. Ease of movement – how comfortable are the streets to walk and cycle on.
2. Safety – how safe are they for pedestrians and cyclists.
3. Universal accessibility – how accessible are they to different user groups, including the elderly and persons with disabilities.
4. Liveability – how comfortable are the streets for all user groups (including children, elderly, and persons with disabilities) to spend time.

To gather data for these three principles, three types of surveys were conducted, each providing valuable insights into the street’s condition:

1. Design surveys: to evaluate how well the street adhered to established guidelines in terms of its design.
2. Observation surveys: to provide insights into the street usage patterns by observing how pedestrians and cyclists used the street.
3. Perception surveys: to understand subjective opinions and feelings about the street.

The cumulative data gathered from these surveys were analysed and scores were assigned to assess how well the streets address the needs of pedestrians and cyclists. 

Preparing the Assessment Action Plan with the Pune Municipal Corporation

From the start of the project, PMC was invested in the research, and the city’s involvement and ownership of the study was critical to ensure that it would be impactful in informing decisions about future street projects. With the methodology in place, the ITDP India team worked with officers and engineers from PMC to mobilise resources, select the streets to be assessed, and schedule the surveys. City engineers also assigned trainees to support with the surveys of the streets from their respective zones. The city also decided to launch the report during a big event on the second Pune Pedestrians’ Day celebration, showing their ownership of the project. 

Subsequently, we prepared an action plan to seamlessly implement the survey. Each survey was carefully mapped out—specifying the time required, resources allocated, and the location. The surveyors were provided with a comprehensive half-day training to ensure their understanding of the plan. It was also important for the plan to be adaptable to changes on-ground during the surveys. 

Here’s what we learnt from conducting the surveys on the ground.

Lessons from conducting the study on ground

1 | It is important to test the survey on ground before rolling out across all identified streets.
We initiated a pilot study of the survey on one street, to test the process to ensure things go smoothly when we rolled out the surveys for all the streets. The pilot gave us useful insights.

For example, we needed more surveyors on the ground. Considering the varying character of the street, we divided the street into 500-meter segments and assigned three surveyors to conduct the design, observation, and perception surveys. The design and observation surveys could be efficiently managed by one person each, but the perception surveys required significantly more time to complete. This situation led us to make a decision: either we had to increase the number of personnel dedicated to the perception survey, or we had to extend the timeline for completing the survey. Due to the limited availability of personnel, we opted to allocate extra time to ensure the successful completion of the survey.

2 | The timing and location of surveys is important to get context-specific insights. 
Capturing the situation during various times (school hours, peak hours in morning and evening, weekends and weekdays)and various locations (such as high footfall areas, different building uses—residential, commercial etc.— and near bus stops) can provide context-specific insights into street use. For example, surveys near bus stops can help capture the number of public transport users dependent  on non-motorised transport.

3 | Training of surveyors is crucial.
The surveyors need proper training on street design fundamentals before conducting fieldwork. Throughout the study, we developed a matrix that outlined the surveyors and the time required to complete surveys for every kilometer of a street. The matrix was as follows:

Design surveys	1 surveyor per street Time required: 1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes per survey
Observation surveys	1 surveyor per street Time required: 1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes per survey
Perception surveys	4 surveyors per street Time required: 1 hour for 50 surveys

The presence of a supervisor and/or a survey coordinator was necessary to ensure the authenticity of the collected data and provide guidance to the surveyors. Additionally, a technical person had the responsibility of monitoring data quality and ensuring a balanced representation in terms of gender and age demographics. 

Insights from the surveys

The study yielded significant insights into the street design process, with the top three insights being:

1. Streets designed according to the Pune Urban Street Design Guidelines (USDG) performed better in all three surveys. This highlights the importance of adopting and adhering to design standards and guidelines in creating user-friendly streets. The streets that followed Pune USDG had better walking and cycling spaces, organised parking, placemaking and appropriate road safety measures.

2. Despite 70% of the surveyed streets having footpaths, only 30% of pedestrians actually used them. This indicates that a majority of the footpaths were unusable or face issues that force pedestrians to use the carriageway. There is a clear need to address these shortcomings and improve the functionality of footpaths.

3. Enforcement needs improvement. Encroachments of various kinds, such as illegal structures or obstructions, make footpaths and cycle tracks inaccessible. This emphasises the need for better enforcement mechanisms to ensure the proper use and maintenance of pedestrian and cycling infrastructure.

Check out the full analysis report here. 

What’s next?

The report received high praise from the city’s leadership. During its unveiling on Pedestrians’ Day, the Commissioner also emphasised the importance of conducting more studies like this in the future. The officials and engineers embraced the idea of data-driven making, with the collection of information on street usage and people’s perceptions of the streets they had implemented.

The study validated their efforts and motivated them to build on the existing work going forward. They embraced the action points highlighted in the report and have already started working on the ground to make improvements. The officials stressed the significance of conducting such studies periodically to monitor progress and ensure continuous enhancements in street design and infrastructure.

Similar studies, when done right, could be an eye-opener—for city officials as well as citizens. To begin with, cities that have been implementing walking- and cycling-friendly streets for more than five years can benefit from a similar assessment to evaluate the usability of their streets and make necessary improvements. Cities that are embarking on new Healthy Streets programmes should ensure they collect data for the streets before implementing new infrastructure to enable a true impact assessment by comparing with data collected after the transformation. It can also help create a user inventory for each street, and as cities assess more streets, they can create a city-wide database to inform their priorities while making decisions.
Cities keep arguing that streets don’t have enough pedestrians and cyclists to justify allocating space as per regulations—which is usually not the case at all. But pedestrians and cyclists have always been invisible street users, and a holistic street assessment can make them and their needs visible. It can help cities understand the needs of the most vulnerable street users and ensure that our streets and our cities work for everyone, not just for cars.

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In New Delhi on May 11th, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), in collaboration with the Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE), the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), and ITDP India, organised the Energy Efficient LiFE Charette. This unique event served as a platform to convene a diverse group of energy efficiency experts across 3 sectors – building, industry and transport, along with professionals specializing in communications and marketing, with the goal of transforming the narrative surrounding energy efficiency.

The event aimed to reframe key messages and communication strategies targeting the key emotions that drive the audiences to transition towards making energy efficient choices. The audiences identified included decision makers, businesses, and individuals. Energy efficiency communication is generally technical, without a focus on creating messages that resonate with diverse stakeholders and effectively drive behavior change. The event aimed to address this gap by emphasizing the benefits, experiences, and feelings associated with energy efficiency. Humanising the messaging can help build trust, credibility, and influence among the audience, facilitating their adoption of energy-efficient practices.

The event had two sessions: presentations from various partners, followed by a design charette—a hands-on workshop that brings people from different disciplines and backgrounds together with members of the community to explore design options for a particular topic—to develop key messages targeting certain emotions for multiple sectors and to multiple audiences.

Nudging energy efficiency in Transport and Cities

Aishwarya Soni, Deputy Manager – Communications at ITDP India presented on how different nudges can ensure energy efficiency in sustainable mobility by not solely focussing on efficiency, but leverage various other aspects—like health, cost savings, community and social impact, and climate action.

Brainstorming impactful narratives

The second session aimed to brainstorm innovative, emotion-driven energy efficiency narratives targeting different audiences across three sectors–buildings, business and industry, and transport. The participants delved into the persona of different target audience groups—individuals, policymakers, and the private sector—to understand the emotions to nudge transformation. This made way for tailored messages for each target group and also helped identify the right communications tools and approaches for effective outcomes.

From the above-mentioned sessions, key takeaways included: 

• Collaboration and audience aspirations: Change does not happen in isolation – communication is a catalyst for collaboration and collective action. Communication approaches need to be tailored to meet audiences where they are: focusing on building trust, bridging information gaps, and tapping into experiences. There is a need for a deeper understanding of the audience’s aspirations to address their needs effectively. 
• Changing the attitude about efficiency: Energy efficiency is about abundance—having more energy and doing more with it.  Even crises can be channelled in a positive and solution-oriented manner, for instance, by shifting the communication focus from “saving to survive” to “acting to thrive.” 
• Tapping into emotions: When crafting messages, there is a need to move from solutions and benefits to experiences and finally to emotions. The following emotions resonate with the various categories of audiences:
  • Optimism, Pride – Business. 
  • Lead, Pride, Confident, Hope, Proving – Government. 
  • Unity, Status, Ego, Pride, Satisfaction, Desire for a better life – Individual. 
• Simplifying the message and calling people for action: Good messages must be simple, personal, and beneficial. Great messages can connect to people, evoke emotion, and make them want to act. There is a need to democratise messages and let people feel that they are part of the solution to spur people to take more significant action within their context. 
• Reaching the people: Using the right technology is vital in disseminating messages and enabling innovative two-way communications. 

Launch of E-Bus Basics, an illustrated guide to planning for, procuring, and operating e-buses.

India has taken significant strides towards embracing electric mobility to reduce transport-related emissions and dependence on fossil fuels, paving the way for a greener and more efficient transport future. By focusing on the electrification of buses, cities can offer a more environmentally friendly option to a significant number of passengers while simultaneously reducing long-term operational expenses.

ITDP India’s latest publication in collaboration with the Association of State Road Transport Undertakings (ASRTU)—E-Bus Basics—provides a step-by-step guide for bus operators to transition to electric buses. It will help the reader deepen their understanding of the essential aspects to plan, procure, and operate electric buses in India. The publication was launched at a national workshop hosted by ASRTU and ITDP India for state transport undertakings on ‘Accelerating Procurement and Operations of Buses through Public Private Partnership’.

Download your copy here!

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COP-26 witnessed a historic moment when India committed to achieving Net Zero by 2070, and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways announced a target of EV30@2030—30% of newly registered private cars, 40% of buses, 70% of commercial cars, and 80% of 2-wheelers and 3-wheelers  will be electric by 2030. The states have a critical role in accelerating the transition to electric vehicles, and it was with this goal that the Government of Tamil Nadu launched its first Electric Vehicle Policy in 2019.

The policy envisioned attracting INR 500 billion in investments with an opportunity to create 150,000 new jobs and outlined several measures to support them. However, even after three years of policy adoption, the uptake for electric mobility is fairly low. Data from the Vahan Portal shows that in 2022 only about 3.9% of vehicles registered in the state were EVs, and this number was just 2% in 2021. One key reason was the policy’s focus on non-fiscal demand-side incentives, such as tax exemption and registration fees, whereas it lacked upfront capital subsidies for vehicle purchases. 

Taking proactive steps to improve the low electrification rate,  the state government started the process of revising the policy in 2021, to plug the gaps in the 2019 policy and address EV adoption with a more comprehensive approach. The state launched the revised EV policy in February 2023. We take a look at why the revised policy is important, how it compares with other states, and the way forward for the effective implementation of the policy.

Why is the 2023 EV Policy important?

The Industries Department, which anchored the creation of the 2019 EV Policy, took up its subsequent revision through a consultative process with various stakeholders—including original equipment manufacturers (OEM), charging point operators (CPO), private bus operators, and financial institutions. As part of the consultations, ITDP India also provided recommendations to the Industries Department on various aspects of the policy, including fiscal incentives for all buses, EV charging tariffs and demand-based energy pricing, and incentives for public charging infrastructure to cover commercial vehicles, including buses.

The revised policy gives the state an edge over others by attracting investments in manufacturing, revolutionising it as an EV hub for the nation and, at the same time, encouraging the shift of commercial fleets to EVs by giving upfront capital subsidies. For consumers to shift to EVs, the availability of charging infrastructure is critical. The aspect of public charging infrastructure was not addressed in the previous policy, but the current policy incentivises investment and the setting up of public charging and swapping stations.

In addition to the provisions of the 2019 Policy, the revised policy looks at the following aspects:

• Supply-side incentives – the policy aims to bring in investment in the state and offers more subsidies and incentives than the previous policy (such as Turnover-based Subsidy, Green Industry Incentive, Quality Certification Incentive etc.).
• Special demand-side incentives – To focus on the electrification of public transport and shared mobility, the policy seeks to incentivise only commercial vehicles.

• Retrofitting incentives – The policy facilitates the shift of existing internal combustion engine (ICE) commercial 2- and 3-wheelers to electric by offering retrofitting incentives. This incentive is one of a kind, and 3-wheeler fleets would especially benefit from this. Currently, the cost of retrofitting 2-wheelers is INR 25,000-65,000 and for 3-wheelers, it is INR 50,000-125,000. The incentives will reduce the retrofitting cost by 20-25%.

• Tariff revision to support EV charging stations – To foster the growth of public charging, the policy mandates the revision of energy tariffs by reducing existing charges by 75% for the first two years and by 50% for the subsequent two years. The energy tariff for public chargers falls under LT Tariff VII, and the energy charges vary from INR 8-12/kWh, bringing the reduced rates to INR  2-3/kWh. This will bring down the cost of operating EVs and, in turn, accelerate adoption.
• Incentives for charging infrastructure –  One of the most critical drivers for electrification is the availability of charging infrastructure. While the previous policy lacked incentives to facilitate initial momentum, the revised policy addresses this gap and provides a mix of support measures and incentives. With these incentives, the initial cost of setting up a charging station can be reduced by 20-25%. The EV Policy is also supporting private e-aggregators providing e-mobility solutions by providing incentives for setting up fast chargers for the first 50 applicants.

How does the 2023 EV Policy compare with the policies of other states leading electrification in India?

The above comparison shows:

• Tamil Nadu is amongst the states offering the highest incentives in terms of kWh of battery capacity. However, the number of vehicles incentivised is lower than in other states. These fiscal incentives would provide initial impetus for electrification, but the low vehicle cap could reduce momentum.
• While most states focus on scrapping incentives, Tamil Nadu has taken the lead in offering retrofitting incentives for 2-wheelers and 3-wheelers. This will not only support the conversion of ICE vehicles to EVs but also foster startups working on retrofitting in the state.
• All the demand incentives are tied only to commercial vehicles and not to private vehicles, thus strengthening the importance of electrifying public transport and shared mobility.

The above comparison shows that Tamil Nadu provides the highest incentives to charging point operators, but the number of beneficiaries is restricted. This low number could reduce the momentum.  

How does the policy address implementation?

Policies without clear implementation plans often do not result in on-ground transformation. The 2023 EV Policy addresses this by mandating the creation of institutional structures and implementation plans.

• EV Cell to be set up at GUIDANCE
  GUIDANCE is a nodal agency under the aegis of the Department of Industries and Commerce, Tamil Nadu, for investment promotion and single window facilitation. The EV Cell will be instrumental in implementing the policy and monitoring the state’s progress.
  Delhi’s experience shows that a dedicated Cell can play a critical role in catalysing electrification. The EV Cell in Tamil Nadu can put policy implementation on the fast track by facilitating investments, ensuring effective communication and outreach to build awareness, facilitating interdepartmental coordination, deploying public charging infrastructure on a public-private model, and guiding cities to create implementation plans.
• 6 EV cities designated: Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Salem, and Tirunelveli are designated as EV cities of Tamil Nadu wherein the Smart City Corporation/Municipal Corporation will act as the nodal agency to steer the electrification drive. These cities will work with the state EV cell to implement the policy, implement charging infrastructure, and develop roadmaps to meet the target of 100% electrification of three-wheelers.

Way forward

The Government of Tamil Nadu should capitalise on the momentum of the 2023 EV Policy. 

• The policy has mandated the creation of an EV Steering Committee and an EV Cell. The policy mentions that the Steering Committee would include representatives from various state departments, city agencies in the EV cities, academic institutions, and technical experts. Additionally, it is crucial for the EV Cell to also include these representatives from various stakeholders to ensure faster coordination, conflict resolution, and implementation.
• The EV Cell would develop a state-level roadmap for scaling up charging infrastructure and electrification of 3-wheelers and public/private buses. This document should address the various aspects of policy implementation in an integrated manner, to become the guiding document for all the cities in the state.
• Based on the state-level roadmap, each city should create city-level implementation plans with inputs from local stakeholders and the public. This plan should include required infrastructure development, such as public charging and battery swapping stations, along with effective communications and outreach to support fleet electrification.

The EV Policy 2023 is a great next step by the Government of Tamil Nadu towards accelerating transitioning to electric mobility across the state. We look forward to supporting the state and the EV Cell on the implementation of the policy.