Metro is about travel, not trip

Without a massively augmented public transport system, we cannot get the mobility transition that will take us off our private vehicles and without this we cannot get clean air or livable cities

To say that public discourse is at its lowest ebb is not saying anything new. All we hear is noise and insult — and it’s getting worse with all sides deciding that the gloves of human decency are off. But what we don’t talk about enough is how this is affecting public policy.

Why this rant? I am really annoyed with the recent developments on the issue of pricing of public transport. Let me explain.

Some months ago, the Union government, specifically the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, agreed to increase the fares of Delhi Metro — the 296-km rail-based public