Moving India: Chennai, a city straining under its own transport speed

Charging towards tomorrow on yesterday's transport system, TN's restless capital has blown past the limits of its own network - and a trillion-rupee overhaul now tries to teach city how to move again

Ayyappan P is an assistant professor at a leading private university in Padur, near Chennai. Every day, he travels about 25 kilometres (km) from his home in New Perungalathur to the campus — a trip that should take 40–45 minutes. Instead, to reach work by 8.30 am, he leaves home around 6.30 am, even though he never enters the city’s core. Thanks to Chennai’s traffic, he spends more than three hours a day on the road. 

“Lack of traffic-rule awareness among drivers, the absence of proper signals at key junctions like Vandalur, Kandigai, and Mambakkam, and routine blockages push my commute from 40 minutes to well over an hour and a half during peak time. It raises fuel costs, drains me physically, and eats into both productive and personal time,” Ayyappan said. 

His story is hardly unique for a city of 14.5 million — the fourth-largest metropolitan region and among the top five fastest-growing cities in India. Even though it ranks better than several Metros, the 2024 TomTom Traffic Index still lists Chennai among the slowest in India, with an average of 29 minutes to cover 10 km. 

A World Bank report released earlier this year outlines the challenges stacked against the city: climate change, coastal erosion, rising informal settlements, a growing housing deficit, urban sprawl, inadequate public transport, worsening congestion and air pollution, and pressure to sustain economic growth and jobs — all of which strain its mobility systems. Population growth is a major driver. 

Official figures show Chennai’s population doubling from 7.1 million in 2001 to 11.2 million in 2021, and reaching 14.5 million in 2025. Nearly three-fourths of residents now live in the densely packed urban core. 

World Bank data also shows a steep decline in public transport use: bus ridership has fallen from 50 per cent in 1980 to 16.1 per cent in 2023, while rail remains stuck at 5 per cent. The combined share of walking and other non-motorised transport has dropped from around 40 per cent in 1984 to 28 per cent in 2023. With the population climbing daily, the traffic crunch is only expected to worsen. 

The state government acknowledges these long-standing issues and says it is trying to tackle them systematically. Tamil Nadu has put forward a long-term mobility vision for Chennai, laying out a 25-year road map through an integrated, citywide approach. The Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) has been set up as the nodal agency to coordinate all forms of transport — road, rail, and Metro. 

“The root cause of the traffic problem is the explosion of personal vehicles. Road space is limited, and personal and public transport are competing for the same space. Right now, motorised public transport accounts for only 32 per cent of travel, while private vehicles make up 60 per cent. We want to reverse that within 25 years,” said Jeyakumar Iyamperumal, member-secretary, CUMTA. 

Last Friday, CUMTA released a Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) laying out this 25-year vision. The M K Stalin government aims to cut peak-hour travel times from 90 minutes to 60 minutes and reduce household transport spending from 15 per cent to 10 per cent. Achieving this will require large investments — an estimated ₹2.27 trillion by 2048, with roughly ₹1.92 trillion earmarked for public transport. The plan also includes non-motorised options and intermediate public transport such as autorickshaws. 

“Under CUMTA, all departments are working together to improve Chennai’s traffic in the years ahead. This includes coordinated land use,” said a senior state government official. The CMP proposes increasing the bus fleet from 3,481 to 8,533 by 2048, raising the number of buses per 100,000 people from 18 to 50. Daily bus ridership is projected to grow from 3.9 million to 6.5 million. Developing bus infrastructure alone is expected to require ₹52,963 crore. 

Jeyakumar said the Metro will be central to this overhaul, with ridership set to rise from 320,000 to 4.5 million by 2048. Light rail transit (LRT), bus rapid transit (BRT), and trams are also part of the long-term strategy. Metro expansions, LRT, and BRT together could attract investments of about ₹1.09 trillion if implemented. “We expect railway ridership to increase from 940,000 to 3.5 million by 2048. Suburban rail services have actually declined by 7 per cent, even though the population within 2 km of stations is growing at 1.33 per cent every year. We will need double the current number of rakes — from 67 to about 134 — and more lines from the railways,” he added. 

Metro users have long demanded better last-mile connectivity. According to sources, Chennai Metro is working on a feeder-bus system as part of its expansion, with the network projected to reach about 400 km in the next 25 years. While the plan offers hope for commuters like Ayyappan, it will face hurdles — funding gaps, political shifts, inflation, and procedural delays among them. 

The World Bank suggests that Chennai’s best path forward lies in strong coordination, large-scale planning, targeted campaigns on traffic awareness, promoting public transport, walking, and cycling, and integrating climate resilience into infrastructure decisions. “Cities, including Chennai, are not starting from a zero base. Existing systems, institutions, and infrastructure need to be considered when deciding what comes next. Cities can also pursue multiple agendas simultaneously, so it may not be necessary to take things a step at a time,” the report observes. 

If the plan holds, by 2048 every resident in Chennai will have access to public transport within 500 metres of home, compared with 64 per cent today. 

 

 

Series concludes