Moving India: So near yet so far for Gujarat's transport infrastructure

The fourth of a six-part series examines why daily commute in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and GIFT City remains a challenge despite better bus and metro services, and new infrastructure

Sejal, a 30-year-old who took a bus from the airport, is waiting at the Sola Cross bus stop for her parents to pick her up. Her two attempts to step out of the BRTS (Bus Rapid Transport System) station were made futile by a downpour and the premium charged by auto drivers to drop her to Thaltej. She had to finally call her parents to pick her up. 

“This is the best and worst of Ahmedabad’s public transportation. The BRTS helped me reach this point for ₹50 from the airport. Even if I take flights early in the morning or late evening, I take the BRTS because it starts at 6 am and functions till 11 pm. The problem is — how do you reach the bus stop,” she asks while leaving, as her parents came to pick her up. 

Ahmedabad is gearing up for an important event a few years ahead, with the city all but confirmed to host the Commonwealth Games in 2030, and looking to host the Olympics in 2036. Keeping this in mind, the Gujarat Budget this year allocated ₹1,000 crore to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority to enhance public infrastructure. 

The BRTS, introduced in 2009, has a near 160-kilometre route. For some people, especially on the outskirts, it has proven to be a lifeline. Chand, 32, says the frequency of buses is a major plus for him. “The problem is that it merges into the traffic in some places. That wasn’t how the BRTS was supposed to function. Exclusivity was its USP. Now, buses of Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS) also run on BRTS routes. This aggravates the problem.” 

The issue of congestion on BRTS routes comes up time and again. According to a report, an analysis of the city’s public transport system, conducted in 2023, revealed that the AMTS has an average ridership of 420,000 passengers perday and the BRTS has 180,000 passengers per day. 

“For decades, AMTS was so reliable that people in the city famously set their watches in accordance with its timings. But the picture today is starkly different,” says Darryl Dias, co-founder, New Urbanist. 

 

 

“Over the last two decades, AMTS has declined under the pressure of an ageing fleet, the shrinking number of passengers, and relentless competition from two-wheelers. Currently, AMTS operates over 800 buses, across more than 150 routes, serving 400,000-500,000 passengers daily. Yet the system runs at a heavy operational loss. For every ₹1 it earns, it spends ₹2-2.5, forcing the AMC to extend large annual subsidies just to keep the service running,” he says. 

Shanti, a resident of Memnagar, travels to the Odhav Industrial Area, approximately 15 km from her home. Once she reaches the bus stop, she has to share an auto to reach her workplace. She also has to pay nearly ₹40 to reach her bus stop in Memnagar. 

“The frequency of the bus is quite good. Even the prices are affordable. The problem is the last-mile connectivity. Although autos are easily available, it becomes a pain point if you add up the amount we have to spend on autos. I am considering getting a two-wheeler like my sister did. It might help me save some money,” she said. 

Ahmedabad has three districts —Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad East, and Ahmedabad Rural. Some estimates suggest Ahmedabad’s population to be close to 7.4 million. The number of vehicles registered in each district is 2.93 million, 1.25 million, and 0.36 million, respectively, adding up to 4.54 million. Even if the population figure is considered a conservative one, it adds up to nearly one vehicle for every second resident of the city. 

According to rhe Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24, in urban areas, Gujarat was the fourth biggest spender in conveyance among major states. 

Rutul Joshi, a professor at CEPT University, said the city’s infrastructure has not moved in tandem with urbanization. “The percentage of urban population in Gujarat has been higher than many other states. We have seen a consistent increase in urban population, but the bus system is not keeping up with that pace or expanding its fleet. AMTS makes a loss of ₹300 crore every year. We are not managing public transport properly and expanding its usage. We need to buy buses every 5 years and upgrade them with a good business plan. People rely more on rickshaws, buses etc. And since these aren’t reliable or available, they have invested in vehicles (primarily two-wheelers).” he said.   

Amrutesh Aurangabadkar, deputy municipal commissioner at the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, says the aim is to have higher revenues via fare and route rationalisation. “We have two institutions under the AMC. One is the Ahmedabad Transport Service and Ahmedabad Janmarg Ltd. Both are doing well. We are trying to ensure that there are no leakages in the system,” he says. 

He adds: “If we have bus routes near the metro that are aligned (with metro timings), we try to change the frequency (of buses). We also focus on area-specific requirements. If there are industrial areas, we align the frequency catering to people travelling to and from these areas.” 

The issue of last-mile connectivity is coming in the way of people taking a ride in metro trains. Metro rail, spread over 48 operational stations, two corridors, and with 68.28 km network length, was launched in March 2019. It has slowly become an integral part of “Amdabadi” life. The metro recorded its highest number of passengers in July, with 4.4 million commuters travelling on the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar route, and revenue collection was ₹5.22 crore during the month. 

Naveen Bhat, a resident of Ahmedabad, takes the metro every day to reach his office at GIFT City. The metro, he says, has made his life easier but problems continue to persist. “The best part is the AC. Earlier, we used to take the bus and by the time we reached work, we’d be drenched in sweat. Things have become much easier now. The government is also running free buses from GIFT City metro after every ten minutes as well,” he said. 

GIFT City, unlike most megacities in the country, is devoid of strays, potholes, or traffic. The city has one thing similar to other cities: Perennial construction. 

Naveen Bhat, a resident of Ahmedabad, says the biggest problem with GIFT remains travelling within the city. The financial hub, with offices of HSBC Holdings, Life Insurance Corporation, Standard Chartered, along with the offices of Google, Infosys and countless asset managers, has no public transportation system within the area. 

An executive working with a bank in GIFT City says: “Most of us drive because the highway is on a par with international ones. The problem arises for people who don’t own cars or workers here (office assistants, construction workers, etc). In most cases, offices here arrange private buses till the metro station. Some even arrange buses up to Gandhinagar. But it becomes difficult for those whose offices don’t have these options,” he said. 

Gandhinagar, the state’s capital, is nearly 10 km from GIFT City. The city, neatly divided into sectors similar to Chandigarh, has broader roads, greener colonies and a much organised traffic compared to Ahmedabad. Similar to Ahmedabad, most residents over here own vehicles. But for Anandi, a domestic help who also works at GIFT City during the day, travelling becomes a costly affair. 

“On most days, I travel with three of my sisters. But the situation becomes worse when one of us isn’t there,” she said.

“Rapido takes ₹100-120 for GIFT to the Gandhinagar bus depot. ₹40 per head every day is tough but we do it because it’s convenient. There are barely any autos in GIFT. Buses are also few and far between. But if any one of us isn’t there, the cost per head increases up to ₹60 per day. More importantly, once we reach, we have to walk to wherever we work as booking another auto isn’t feasible. I work in Sector 10. It’s not that big a distance from the bus depot. But doing it after a shift of work is strenuous,” she adds. 

The Household Consumption Expenditure Survey data for 2023-24, released by the Union statistics ministry, shows that urban areas in Gujarat rank fifth among states with the highest cost of commuting. 

“We have one of the best cities in India. If you compare it to others, it’s much cleaner, and is well-maintained. It’s much safer than most Indian cities. The problem remains travelling. Most middle class people own vehicles now. If we address last-mile connectivity issues, I feel nobody can stop us from hosting the Olympics,” says Anandi.