Studying Two-Wheeler Usage in the Context of Sustainable and Resilient Urban Mobility Policies in India

Abstract

The rapid growth of two-wheeler usage in India is a pertinent issue that has not so far received the attention it requires. Two-wheelers serve as a cost-effective transport solution in the Indian scenario; however, this mode is afflicted with several externalities, including congestion, air pollution, and road fatalities. This study extends the existing sustainable policy and planning literature by investigating the possibility of a new policy vision to regulate, monitor, and promote sustainable two-wheeler usage in India. The procedural framework includes assessing the role and attitude of current two-wheeler users (stratified into men and women) through an online questionnaire survey, reviewing the existing policy framework of India and two international cities, examining the critical barriers to sustainable, green, and inclusive urban mobility, and recommending a set of policy interventions and reforms. The proposed reforms and strategies can improve the policymaking processes of governing agencies and the sustainability of Indian urban transport.

Keywords

policy reforms motorized two-wheeler sustainable transport developing economy

Motorized two-wheeler usage in India is increasing at a striking rate, with more than 45% of households preferring it as a primary mode of transportation ( 1 ). Two-wheelers are extensively used in tier-two cities such as Agra, Nagpur, Meerut, and Salem, accounting for nearly 75% to 80% of these cities’ total registered motorized vehicles ( 2 – 5 ). In megacities like Bengaluru, two-wheelers provide easy navigation capability through city traffic and are used as a secondary vehicle to cars ( 6 ). Two-wheelers are popular in Indian cities for several reasons, including low purchase and maintenance costs, convenience, less space requirement than four-wheelers, reduced travel time, and suitability to heterogeneous traffic conditions ( 7 ). In India, two-wheeler users account for 40% of total estimated deaths in road accidents ( 8 ). In Chennai, out of 900 deaths between 2017 and 2018, more than 35% were two-wheeler users. Motor vehicle ownership is viewed as a sign of social status in India. Two-wheelers are also an increasingly popular choice for girls and women as an alternative to walking and public transit. In the last three decades, rapid economic growth has increased the urban sprawl, resulting in increased transportation demand ( 9 , 10 ). With rapid economic growth, the income levels of the population have improved, leading to a rise in ownership of two-wheelers ( 7 ).

The presence of inadequate public transit services that fail to cater to the increasing transport demand has further lifted two-wheeler usage ( 11 , 12 ). Although two-wheelers are perceived to hold several advantages, unrestricted growth of two-wheelers has led to numerous externalities, including traffic congestion, air pollution, and road fatalities from poor driving behavior ( 13 , 14 ). Traditional urban mobility policies have mainly focused on the widening and construction of roads, flyovers, and underpasses to counter these externalities. However, policy frameworks to achieve sustainable transportation should acknowledge that transportation is a derived demand, and the need to travel can be reduced through compact city form and mixed communities ( 15 ). Similarly, critical emphasis on efficient non-motorized transport and affordable, accessible, and safe public transport systems has been proven as effective solutions to rising motorized two-wheeler traffic. The need to identify, assess and address existing barriers to sustainability is crucial in developing any policy vision framework for achieving sustainable and resilient urban mobility. Even as India’s transportation sector guidelines have evolved since its independence, a policy vision framework for developing structural regulations and solutions to regulate, monitor, and promote sustainable two-wheeler usage in India has long been overdue. To address this research gap, this paper (i) identifies the roles and attitudes of two-wheeler users (stratified into men and women) in India, (ii) assesses the current policy structure and its weaknesses, and (iii) proposes strategic policy reforms and solutions. The paper explores the following questions:

What are the current trends and characteristics of two-wheeler transportation modes in India?

What are the roles and attitudes of two-wheeler users in India?

What are the impacts of male and female two-wheeler users on public transit, accidents, and emissions?

How robust is the current policy framework also in relation to interaction between sustainable public transit and two-wheeler usage?

What are the existing barriers to sustainability and possible policy reforms?

Trends and Characteristics of Two-Wheeler Transport in India

Greater dependency on motorized two-wheelers is witnessed widely in many developing economies, including India. Figure 1, b–d , shows some striking statistics on the growth and trends of two-wheeler usage in India. Two-wheeler ownership in India has a rising trend, with 47% of households owning a two-wheeler in 2018 (India then had approximately 250 million households with an average household size of 4.9 people) ( 16 ). In recent decades, the share of registered two-wheelers of the total motorized vehicles has increased, from 12.6% in 1960 to 73.5% in 2016 ( 17 ). The number of two-wheelers sold in India rose from 7.2 million in 2008 to 20.2 million in 2018 (Transport Research Wing 2019).

The share of household trips using two-wheelers varies from 18% in cities like Jammu ( 18 ) and Coimbatore ( 19 ) to 40% in Agra (Urban Mass Transit Company Limited 2018), Nagpur (Urban Mass Transit Company Limited 2013), and Vijayawada ( 20 ). Nearly 50% of the two-wheeler trips were work trips, followed by education trips (almost 20%) (Urban Mass Transit Company Limited 2018)(Urban Mass Transit Company Limited 2013). Two-wheelers also serve as access modes to bus terminals and metro/railway stations. The average trip length by two-wheelers in megacities (almost 10 km) is longer than in tier-two cities (almost 7 km) ( 21 ) (Chennai) (CDM Smith India Private Limited 2015). As a result of urban sprawl, the distance traveled for essential activities is higher in megacities compared with tier-two cities. Thus, more two-wheeler trips and inadequate road space contribute to traffic congestion in Indian cities. Two-wheeler users, pedestrians, and bicyclists are classed as vulnerable road users. The risk of road fatalities surges with an increase in the share of two-wheeler users. Figure 2 demonstrates that, in Bangalore Metropolitan Region in 2016, 47% of road accident victims were two-wheeler users. Failure to wear a helmet contributed to a major share of these fatalities (Crime Key Report) ( 22 ).

Roles and Attitudes of Two-Wheeler Users in India

An online survey was conducted to explore the roles and attitudes of current two-wheeler users. The survey was conducted for a period of one month (June 15 to July 15, 2021). The questionnaire was developed and distributed using social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and so forth, and circulated by email. Survey participation was voluntary and was kept anonymous to encourage unbiased responses and a higher response rate. The initial survey resulted in 528 responses, of which 20 were invalidated based on contradictory responses, and eight were rejected based on their short response time. The final sample set contained 500 responses, from which 380 participants from over 70 Indian cities were identified as regular two-wheeler users. Therefore, the observations and inferences drawn would be based on those 380 responses. The descriptive summary of the respondents is given in Table 1.

Table 1.

Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Respondents

Socio-demographic variables	Percentage (%)
Gender
Male	77.6
Female	22.4
Age
18–22 years	14.7
23–28 years	42.1
29–35 years	17.1
36–45 years	11.3
45–60 years	7.6
Above 60 years	7.1
Monthly family income
Less than Rs. 10,000 ($130)	6.1
Rs. 10,000 ($130)–Rs. 30,000 ($400)	12.6
Rs. 30,000 ($400)–Rs. 50,000 ($700)	20.3
Rs. 50,000 ($700)–Rs. 100,000 ($1,300)	27.6
Rs. 100,000 ($1,300)–Rs. 150,000 ($2,000)	10.8
More than Rs. 150,000 ($2,000)	22.6
Occupation
Student	31.8
Government employee	15.3
Private sector employee	35.3
Self-employed	7.9
Homemaker	0.8
Unemployed	1.8
Other	7.1
Level of education
Higher secondary school certificate/ Pre-university course	3.4
Undergraduate	28.9
Postgraduate	54.5
Doctorate	10.0
Post-doctorate	1.6
Other	1.6
Marital status
Single, never married	57.1
Married with no children	17.1
Married with children	25
Divorced/Separated	0.8
Vehicle ownership
One two-wheeler	36.1
More than one two-wheeler	2.1
Two-wheeler and four-wheeler	56.3
Other	5.5

The share of individuals’ primary mode of transport before shifting to two-wheelers is presented in Figure 3. Nearly 36% of respondents used public transit and 34% used non-motorized transport before they shifted to two-wheelers. Approximately 74% of male respondents used sustainable transport modes (public transit and non-motorized transport) before they shifted to two-wheelers, whereas the equivalent share of female respondents was about 55%. About 27% of female respondents had shifted their modes from auto-rickshaw to two-wheelers. Therefore, improvement in the economic status of an individual after graduation enables them, in the absence of adequate public transport, to shift to private vehicle ownership (two-wheelers).

Travel Characteristics

The survey responses indicate that approximately 38% of respondents had more than 10 years of experience of driving two-wheelers as a primary mode of transport, and 45% had three to five years of experience. The gender distribution demonstrates that nearly 40% of male and 31% of female respondents had more than 10 years of experience using two-wheelers as a primary mode of transport. More than 20% of both male and female users preferred to use their two-wheelers during the morning peak period (8:00–10:00 a.m.) and evening peak period (4:00–7:00 p.m.). Some also opted to use their vehicles during morning hours (10:00 a.m.–noon) and late evening hours (7:00–10:00 p.m.).

The questionnaire asked respondents to report the frequency, purpose, trip length, and travel time of their two-wheeler trips, both at the present time (June/July 2021) and before the COVID-19 pandemic. Figure 4 shows the characteristics of two-wheeler trips concerning frequency, purpose, trip length, and travel time before the COVID-19 pandemic and in the current situation based on the questionnaire survey. The possibility of change in travel characteristics explains the need for comprehensive urban transit planning in cities where different modes do not compete with each other.

The responses indicate that the frequency of using a two-wheeler every day had reduced by 48.3% compared with the pre-COVID situation because of people working from home, reduced economic activity, hesitation, and lockdown. On the contrary, using a two-wheeler two or three times a week had increased. Similarly, the frequency of two-wheeler usage was higher on weekends than it had been before the pandemic situation. As a result of the pandemic, a drastic reduction in educational and work trips is observed because of the shift toward online classes and working from home options. At the time of the survey, the purposes of most two-wheeler trips were leisure/social, running errands, and shopping. Running errands and shopping trips had increased by approximately 79% and 106% compared with pre-COVID conditions. Likewise, the number of trips lasting less than 15 min had increased by nearly 73% from before the pandemic. Trips lasting less than 30 min represented 51% of trips before the pandemic but had increased to 69%. A similar trend is observed concerning trip length. In the current situation, nearly 25% of two-wheeler trips were less than 2 km in length. Thus, change in travel characteristics as a result of adverse situations like the COVID-19 pandemic indicates the necessity for revised and focused regulations.

Parking Characteristics

The shares of individuals using free off-street and on-street parking facilities were 34.5% and 42.1%, respectively. Approximately 75% of both male and female respondents preferred to use free parking facilities. Only 8% mentioned using paid parking facilities. Nearly 4% of both male and female two-wheeler users admitted that they park their vehicles on footpaths. About 50% of both male and female respondents used parking facilities for less than one hour. The majority of the two-wheeler users revealed that they use free parking facilities, while some would pay parking charges up to Rs.30/- per hour for using paid facilities. Thus, the upsurge in usage of free parking facilities explains the need for a proper parking policy.

Costs Involved and Maintenance

Two-wheeler usage primarily involves two costs: monthly expenditure (fuel cost and parking cost) and annual maintenance costs. About 39% of individuals responded that they spend less than Rs. 1,000/- per month on their two-wheelers, and almost 38% spend up to Rs. 2,000/-. The gender distribution shows that the monthly expenditure of female users is lower compared with male users. Nearly 65% of the female respondents spent less than Rs. 5,000/- per annum on two-wheeler maintenance compared with 60% of male respondents. Every motorized vehicle plying on Indian roads should have a valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate pursuant to the Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989. The validity of the PUC certificate for a newly registered vehicle is one year. The PUC condition of vehicles should be checked every six months. Figure 5 shows the gender distribution of responses on PUC checks for their two-wheelers. About 41% and 29% of the respondents stated that they do the PUC check once and twice a year, respectively. Nearly one-quarter (22%) of respondents opted for “other” time interval, which suggests that some users might not be carrying out the mandatory PUC checks. The gender distribution shows that female users are more responsible about maintaining the PUC certificate as per the regulations compared with male users. Henceforth, along with mandatory regulations, strict enforcement and monitoring are also required to reduce adverse impact on air pollution and decarbonization.

Road Safety

Two-wheeler users and pedestrians are the victims of most road accidents in India ( 17 ). The share of respondents who reported involvement in at least one road accident in the past five years was approximately 50%. Of those involved in road accidents, the frequency varied from one to two, three, four, or more than four times. About 41% of male and 34% of female respondents were involved in accidents once or twice. The gender-wise comparison presented in Figure 6 demonstrates that approximately 3% of female and 4% of male respondents were involved in four or more than four accidents in the last five years. Nearly 18% of female and 23% of male respondents reported the severity of the last accident as vehicle damage with minor injuries. Approximately 6% and 3% of respondents were involved in grievous injury accidents and fatal accidents, respectively. Therefore, given the vulnerability of two-wheeler users, there is a need to reduce the dependency on two-wheelers or develop two-wheeler safe infrastructure, policies, and plans.

The share who responded that they always wear a helmet while using a two-wheeler was 65.5%, followed by respondents who often wear a helmet (17.4%). Nearly 17% of the respondents adhere to irregular usage of helmets. The share of male respondents who regularly used helmets was more than that of female respondents. Approximately 32% of the respondents were not usually accompanied by co-passenger. Almost 73% of the respondents of both gender revealed that it is very important for the pillion rider to wear a helmet. However, 10% of female and 12% of male respondents reported that it is slightly important or not at all important for pillion riders to wear a helmet. Female respondents seemed to be more aware of speed regulations than were males. Nevertheless, 23% of the former revealed that they were not aware of the speed regulations. On this evidence, enforcement of regulations on helmet usage, road accidents, and speed regulations should be strictly monitored.

Two-Wheeler Ownership, Travel Environment, Emotional Status, and Behavioral Characteristics

The respondents were asked to provide their level of agreement on various aspects, including factors influencing dependency on two-wheelers and perception/awareness toward two-wheeler usage. The stated responses are detailed in Table 2.

Table 2.

Responses Related to Two-Wheeler Ownership and Behavioral Aspect

Statements	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly agree
Factors influencing dependency on two-wheelers
Using two-wheelers saves travel time	7.4%	1.3%	6.6%	47.9%	36.8%
Using two-wheelers reduces travel cost	7.9%	8.9%	18.2%	39.2%	25.8%
Easy and convenient to use	8.2%	2.1%	5%	46.1%	38.7%
Using two-wheelers saves time compared with bus	7.1%	3.7%	6.6%	36.3%	46.3%
Travel cost of two-wheeler is less compared with bus	17.4%	33.9%	21.6%	18.4%	8.7%
Using two-wheelers saves time compared with metro	10.5%	27.6%	32.1%	18.2%	11.6%
Travel cost of two-wheeler is less compared with metro	12.4%	30.5%	30.8%	17.4%	8.9%
Perception/awareness toward two-wheeler usage
I feel safe and secure while using two-wheeler	8.7%	17.1%	23.7%	39.7%	10.8%
I get stressed/agitated during congestion	8.2%	15.8%	28.7%	36.1%	11.3%
I think using two-wheelers contributes to air pollution	6.1%	10.8%	22.4%	45.5%	15.3%
I usually use mobile phone while driving two-wheeler	59.7%	27.1%	7.9%	4.2%	1.1%

About 85% of the respondents agreed that using two-wheelers saves time; 65% agreed that using two-wheelers reduces travel costs, and nearly 18% provided a neutral opinion. The share of individuals who agreed that using two-wheelers saves time compared with the bus was 83%. About 51% disagreed with the statement that two-wheelers are cheaper compared with the bus, however, nearly 22% gave neutral opinions.

On the other hand, 38% of participants disagreed that two-wheeler saves time compared with metro service, and 43% disagreed that two-wheeler is cheaper than metro service. Approximately 30% of the respondents gave a neutral opinion on comparing two-wheelers and metro services. Thus, there is still scope to encourage people to shift to public transit services by improving the availability, integration, and quality of transit services. Additionally, 50.5% of respondents agreed that they feel safe and secure while driving two-wheelers, whereas 23.7% had a neutral opinion. Similarly, nearly 47% agreed that they feel agitated/stressed because of congestion. It is also interesting to note that almost 61% of the respondents knew that using two-wheelers contributes to air pollution. Furthermore, 70% of the male and 63% of the female respondents agreed that they would shift to sustainable transport modes if the infrastructure were improved.

Current Policy Focus on Two-Wheelers

Policies Inside India

Regulatory Institutions

The administrative structure of governance in India is federal, consisting of a central government and several state governments. The Indian Constitution has assigned a list of subjects to both central and state governments. The central government enforces policies and initiatives through ministries, some of which are further divided into smaller departments. Every state government also consists of several departments that enforce state policies and initiatives through respective field agencies. The third level of the administrative system is the districts within a state. The district jurisdiction may comprise a single large city or include several small towns, cities, and villages. Each city or town is governed by an elected body called a municipal corporation or committee. Most of these local bodies have limited jurisdiction and are heavily dependent on the state government for their finances. Therefore, the administrative control over regulating policies around two-wheelers falls under three organizational structures: central, state, and district administration. Table 3 summarizes the responsibilities of the different levels of government. It should be noted that district administration usually acts as a channel for central and state government agencies to discharge planning decisions. The administrative officials entrusted to enforce the decisions work under the district administration and are supervised by district collectors.

Table 3.

Administrations and Their Responsibilities for Urban Transport Matters in India

Central governance		State governance
Agency	Responsibility	Agency	Responsibility
Ministry of Road Transport	Control the Motor Vehicles Act, vehicle specifications, and emission standards	Department of Transport	Issue of driving licenses and PUC certificates, vehicle registration
Ministry of Environment and Forests	Propose emission standards and oversee the Environment Protection Act	State transport undertaking	Operation and maintenance of public bus transport services
Ministry of Urban Development	Accountable for policy planning and coordination of urban transport systems	Department of Environment	Regulate air quality
Ministry of Finance	Regulate tax and duty levels	Local municipality	Construction and maintenance of road infrastructure, control non-motorized vehicles and violations
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas	Regulate fuel standards	City development authority	Control land use plan and land allocation
Ministry of Industries	Regulate the automobile manufacturing sector	Department of Finance	Fund allocation and regulation of investments, state tax rates
		State Police	Enforcement of road safety laws and penalization of violators
		Public Works Department	Construction and maintenance of roads
		Land Revenue Administration	Land acquisition and allocation

Note: PUC = pollution under control.

Safety Regulations

The key set of rules to regulate motor vehicle safety in India is prescribed by the Motor Vehicle (MV) Act 1988 and the Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989 ( 23 ). The rules are further augmented by state-level rules applicable only to individual state jurisdictions. The MV Act has provisions for both traffic violations and crashes. The rules discuss aspects relating to driver training, testing and licensing of drivers, vehicle standards and maintenance, prescription of special safety measures, as well as penalties and deterrents to violation of safe driving norms ( 23 ). Driving licenses and vehicle registrations are obtained from a local body, called the Regional Transport Authority; after passing a driving test for the former and the owner producing the vehicle for fitness and emissions testing for the latter. Helmet wearing is mandatory for both two-wheeler drivers and pillion riders, as provided in the MV Act.

Penalties and deterrents to violation of safe driving norms are enforced through the MV Act as well as the Indian Penal Code under the Ministry of Law and Justice ( 24 ). The law also prescribes the maximum driving speeds and penalties for unsafe driving or rash driving. The penalties include imprisonment, fines, and suspension or revocation of the driving license. As per the new clause 63 of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019 which came into force from September 1, 2019, the penalty for drunk driving is Rs.10,000 (US$130), imprisonment of up to six months, or both for a first-time offence, and Rs.15,000 (US$199), imprisonment of up to two years, or both for a subsequent offence. Vehicle safety measures have also been introduced, which included the requirement for motorized two-wheelers to be equipped with an “AHO” (all-time headlight on, or automatic headlight on) system and compulsory quality control certification (Bureau of Indian Standards) for helmets sold in the country. However, much more needs to be done in the areas of infrastructure, legislation, and enforcement to avoid Indian cities reaching a mobility impasse.

Congestion Regulations

Regulation in this context implies discouraging a shift to motorized transport and improving public transport so that there is little motivation to move from public transport to two-wheelers. The existing legislation does not enforce any provisions to control two-wheeler ownership in cities ( 7 ). Current provisions can only limit the usage of certain types of vehicles within a specified area for a specified period. Moreover, there is also no distinction drawn between motorized two-wheelers and cars. Currently, the Indian motorcycle market is the largest globally and accounts for approximately 40% of the global count. National initiatives such as “Make in India,”“Automotive Mission Plan 2026,” and NEMMP 2020 have given a huge boost to the sector ( 25 ). As a result, Indian original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) control 77% of the market and have successfully kept up with foreign competitors ( 26 ). Although Indian OEMs have become self-reliant, their growth is correlated to the significant growth in the domestic two-wheeler and car market which has become greatly problematic for cities in relation to increasing congestion, pollution, accidents, and loss of public spaces. In addition, several incentives have been provided in the past to buy new vehicles through low-interest loans ( 27 ).

The absence of a proper tax system to regulate the purchase price has further added to two-wheeler ownership ( 12 ). Road user taxes are instrumental in the regulation and control of vehicles. A major weakness in taxation is that it cannot be adapted to the variability of road costs with regard to service units ( 28 ). One of the reasons is that the current system cannot eliminate external effects between non-users and all road user groups. Contrary to popular perception, cars and two-wheelers enjoy a much larger hidden subsidy based on the current urban transport pricing and taxation scheme, preventing the shift from motorized modes to public transportation modes ( 29 ). Additional constraints such as parking charges, congestion cost, and so forth, have never been a deterring factor to limit the two-wheeler count in cities. Few cities in India have a city-wide parking policy and regulation of parking charges in place. The absence of overnight parking charges, on-street parking charges, and congestion charges makes it easy to own two-wheelers. If an individual can afford to buy a vehicle, the maintenance cost is mainly confined to refueling costs. In such cases, the expenses incurred in traveling a stipulated distance by city bus and by two-wheeler are almost the same ( 28 , 29 ). Under these circumstances, commuters will identify a two-wheeler as more economical and convenient alternative to public transport.

Emission Regulations

Two-wheelers and other motorized vehicles impose a higher pollution cost than public transport ( 29 ). This cost includes medical costs incurred from respiratory illnesses and lost labor productivity resulting from the illnesses. Emissions are regulated through prescription and enforcement of emission standards, and ensuring appropriate fuel quality. The Ministry of Environment and Forests recommends these standards which are then notified by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The standards are further imposed by police and respective state and district administrations. The states utilize several emission testing methods of varying stringency to ensure the prescribed emission standards. The methods also depend on the seriousness of the pollution problems in the cities. The emission standards for petrol-driven two-wheelers in percent per volume of respective pollutants are: 1% CO and 1.2% HC+NOx. Standards for diesel-driven vehicles are: 0.5% CO, 0.05% HC+NOx, and 1.2% particulate matter (PM). The fuel standards are maintained by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, yet another central government ministry ( 7 ). The maximum limit of critical components like benzene in petrol has been specified at 5% m/m in the country and 3% in metropolitan areas. In metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai, a further limitation in sulfur content has been set at 0.05% since 2000–2001. The benzene content has been reduced to 1% in Mumbai and Delhi ( 27 ). Along with the maintenance of emission standards through required methods and inspection, tax-related measures have often been used to indirectly affect emission in many countries ( 8 ). These taxes are levied either through engine specifications, quality of fuel, or both, which could significantly control auto emissions. However, at the present stage, there are no such provisions given by the Indian government.

Policies in Other Countries

Like India, South and Southeast Asian countries are facing similar challenges arising from a high modal share of two-wheelers. In China and Southeast Asia, two-wheelers constitute more than a quarter of total passenger transport activity. Two peculiar cases, Taipei and Guangzhou, are discussed.

Case Study of Taipei, Taiwan

Taipei is a rapidly developing city with a population of over 2.8 million spreading across an area of 272 km². The motorization level in Taipei is exceptionally high ( 30 ). Two-wheelers continue to account for over 30% of the mode share since the early 2000s, with several instances where the city observed as high as 80% motorcycles/moped mode split during peak hours ( 31 ). On average, the number of daily commuters traveling from New Taipei City to Taipei using two-wheelers can be more than one million.

Taipei has taken efficient mitigation strategies to change its transportation landscape. Taipei has been developing an intelligent transportation system (ITS) since the mid-1990s ( 32 ). The city administration insisted that the city’s transport can achieve sustainability through ITS technology and scientific thinking, identification and inspection of people’s needs, inter-regional cooperation, integration of transport facilities, and proper application of information technology ( 33 ). The Taipei Rapid Transport Corporation (TRTC) offers smart, reliable, and effective transportation for commuters. It carries over 2 million people across 117 stations every day over a network length of 131 km with an on-time performance of 99.6% ( 34 ). Smart and comprehensive bus services connect 286 routes and cover 97.5% of the land area. The bus services are within a 500 m walk and offer dynamic travel time information at stops ( 32 ).

Apart from making the public transportation system a more practical and easier mode, the administration has implemented more focused policies to limit the number of cars and two-wheelers on the street. Stringent vehicle emission control measures are in practice. The development of mandatory helmet regulations for motorcycle drivers and strong and effective enforcement has increased the compliance rate and reduced accidents ( 35 ). Installation of speed monitoring devices, and penalties for overspeeding and drunk driving have effectively reduced average travel speeds and increased traffic safety ( 30 ). Enforcement of right-of-way priority regulations, parking management control such as charging an hourly parking fee for both on-street and off-street parking, and transit-oriented development have further helped control motorcycle ownership in the city.

Case Study of Guangzhou, China

Guangzhou is the capital city of Guangdong Province and spreads across an area of 280 km² with a population over 13 million. It was already the economic center and transport hub of the South China region in 1987, when it was noticed that the existing infrastructure could not meet the demand fluctuation. During 1980–1990, the number of two-wheelers increased by 4.7 times, from 36,000 to 208,000, while public transport ridership dropped by 29% ( 36 ). In the 1990s, Guangzhou witnessed another surge in economic growth at a much higher rate than its transport infrastructure development. Traffic congestion became persistent as the two-wheeler count crossed the one million mark. With the advent of further sports events, the city recognized the huge challenge of ever-increasing transport demand ( 37 ). One of the major steps taken by the Guangzhou administration was to ban two-wheelers in 2006. As a result of the ban, about 96,700 and 513,800 daily passengers shifted to metro and bus respectively in 2007 ( 38 ). Public transport capacity also increased by 11.4% in the same year. However, daily taxi and car ridership also saw an increase of 40,300 and 110,800, respectively. Therefore, the ban initiative was followed by rapid planning initiatives to reform Guangzhou’s urban transport system ( 39 ). The construction of many new expressways, highways, and rails led to the developing of a rapid rail transit system and expressway/highway system ( 40 ).

The Guangzhou administration invested specifically in metro network expansion and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) during the late 2000s. More metro lines became operational, and BRTs provided connectivity over 23 km of segregated busways. By 2010, more than 80% of the Asian Games venues were accessible through subways and suburban railways ( 36 ). Guangzhou BRT gained special attention post-2010 as it made several landmarks ( 41 ) such as recording the highest BRT bus volumes, the first BRT system in China to include bike parking and bike sharing, the first BRT system in the world to include direct connecting tunnels between metro and BRT stations, and so forth. Additionally, the Guangzhou administration undertook complementary initiatives, including implementing 400 km of cycle paths and making available more than 100,000 bicycles, ensuring pedestrian mobility infrastructure, and so forth ( 40 ). With time, the Guangzhou administration has emphasized: (i) innovation of public transport operation systems and mechanisms; (ii) optimizing the network operations; (iii) building security risk management; (iv) improving equipment quality management and maintenance at the network level; (v) creating public relations crisis response system, and (vi) building a widespread information system for network operation ( 39 ).

Barriers to Sustainability in India

Staggered regulatory institutions and overlapping responsibilities create challenging scenarios for focused policy interventions. Inconsistent decentralization and demarcation of responsibilities generate a lack of communication leading to conflicts in the joint implementation of transport and land use projects at different regional levels ( 42 ). Such disputes often lead to failure in achieving ideal project targets, improper monitoring, incoherent appraisals, and unproductive solutions. Institutional barriers also contribute to ineffective use of funds, skills, and stakeholder participation. A clear lack of formal and transparent mechanisms of driver training, vehicle registration, vehicle design, and license deployment is evident. Public acceptance of the legitimacy of penalties and enforcement actions is limited. Infrastructure provisions, technological interventions, awareness campaigns, and pricing policies are more localized and lack guidance from the central government. This is further proved by the substantial proportion of survey responses in this study that showed unawareness of safety regulations.

Setting congestion minimization goals by governments and international agencies is a common phenomenon, but it has received less attention from Indian regulatory bodies. Even the best of targets is challenging to achieve and requires systematic regulation and monitoring. The continuous liberalization of bank loans, automobile manufacturing, and foreign investment policies is a double-edged sword. Although such initiatives are crucial for developing economies like India to be self-reliant and self-sustainable, they also relax the financial restrictions on owning motorized two-wheelers. Additionally, improper parking charge regulations, poor accessibility, and public transportation connectivity have contributed to the emergence of two-wheelers as an economical and viable alternative. The lack of proper fuel tax, unclear emission standards, and pollution check regulations offers limited control over emissions. Emission standards on fuel and engines are still unclear to the majority of the population. Furthermore, there is little incentive for eco-friendly and healthy modes such as bicycling and walking in most cities. Interestingly, the travel, ownership, and behavioral characteristics of the two-wheeler users obtained from the survey enforce the same observations.

Way Forward

Re-organization of Public Transport

The importance of an integrated, accessible, and reliable mass transit system has been discussed numerous times. Yet there have been several instances when the introduction of public transportation services offered little help to reduce congestion. Now is an appropriate time to rethink and take the necessary steps to identify the limitations in the existing system and consider a structural re-organization. The survey results indicate that there may be a substantial shift from two-wheeler mode to public transportation if the infrastructure is improved. Therefore, taking a cue from success stories such as Taipei and Guangzhou, policies may focus on public transit agencies’ systematic and scientific service expansion. Development of mass rapid transit services in many cities without prior consideration of demand corridors, feasibility, and accessibility should be avoided. Providing an organized, ubiquitous, intelligent public transportation system that offers the required connectivity, accessibility, reliability, and efficiency requires scientific decision making.

The problems of optimal transit scheduling, network operation optimization, network quality maintenance, and information management require robust mathematical solutions, and therefore a holistic collaboration between the stakeholders will be of great value. Additionally, demand-capacity utilization will be a prevalent challenge in the post-COVID-19 period and requires innovative service scheduling models that may be of great interest to researchers ( 43 ). This whole re-organization and re-structuring can be implemented within a transparent and cooperative institutional framework to reduce institutional barriers. The division of finance, responsibilities, and jurisdictions can be made clearer, along with an independent governing body that will periodically monitor the policy development and implementation. Consideration of public grievances and feedbacks may go a long way in strengthening and improving the quality management of operations. The emergence of big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence applications in transportation will help to identify and explore people’s needs. Amidst these interventions, maintaining affordability will be challenging but can be addressed using specific strategies such as public–private partnerships and advertisement revenue schemes.

Regulations

Given the susceptibility of two-wheelers to road accidents in India, better safety norms and stringent monitoring policies are a priority. Existing loopholes in license acquisition and the vehicle registration process, accompanied with poor adherence to safe driving practices, pose major threats to traffic safety. Clear transparency will be required in licensing and vehicle registration process. The introduction of routine checks will increase adherence to safety norms. The revised penalties and deterrents to violation of safe driving norms are visionary but need to be applied at all costs. Recent years have also seen the emergence of a central penalty imposition system where fines are allocated online to the registered vehicle involved in the violation. Such strategies can be translated to cities of all tiers. In addition, widespread awareness initiatives have proved instrumental in minimizing safety violation rates in major cities. Some additional broad measures may include developing consistent road design, speed restriction, lane, and traffic regulations across all cities.

The wide availability of free parking space in the form of free on-street and off-street parking and the absence of parking charges need to be addressed. Taking notes from Taipei, the adoption of demarcated areas as designated on-street parking facilities and enforcing charges may act as a deterrent. A direct restriction on vehicle ownership may be a better alternative but not feasible. Instead, strict emission standards, road pricing, and fuel taxation can serve as proxy strategies to limit vehicle ownership. However, we must bear in mind the political challenge of implementing these regulations. Moreover, to make public transportation a cost-effective alternative, direct “push” strategies would be of little help if “pull” strategies involving affordable and attractive public transport are not implemented.

Green Mobility Initiatives

Schemes focusing on green mobility initiatives such as e-bike sharing systems and bicycle infrastructure prioritization are still nascent in India. Recently, the Government of Karnataka, India, announced the Karnataka Electric Bike Scheme 2021, to support e-bike taxis, a climate-smart mobility strategy to improve the last-mile connectivity. Further, non-motorized modes are gaining importance worldwide as a viable alternative to motorized transport. Studies focusing on identifying factors influencing bicycling in cities will serve as founding blocks for the successful implementation of these schemes. These factors may include bike path quality, shade, slope, vehicular traffic, pedestrian traffic, lighting, security, and so forth. Further studies that focus on designing optimal bike sharing/charging stations may help in making effective infrastructure investment decisions. The unprecedented situation of the COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly highlighted the need for clean mobility alternatives.

Conclusion

This paper explores the possibility of reforms and policies to regulate, monitor, and promote sustainable two-wheeler usage in India in synergy with comprehensive overall urban mobility. First, the trends and characteristics of two-wheeler usage are explored. These trends and characteristics suggest that two-wheeler usage has increased very rapidly in the last three decades. Two-wheelers might be a viable and cost-effective alternative in cities, but they significantly contribute to congestion, pollution, accidents, and loss of public spaces along with affecting the future behavior and travel choices of commuters. A survey was further conducted to study the role and attitude of current two-wheeler users. The questionnaire aimed to collect the following behavior of users: (a) travel characteristics; (b) parking characteristics; (c) fuel and maintenance cost; (d) safety and other behavioral characteristics. The existing policy framework of India, along with international cities Taipei and Guangzhou are discussed. Based on the survey responses and the existing framework, critical barriers to sustainability are identified. The barriers highlight the incoherence among regulatory institutions and lack of a transparent mechanism to control safety, congestion, and emission standards. Based on the barriers, three major policy reform sections are discussed: re-organization of the public transportation system, amending the regulation framework, and initiating green mobility solutions. A possible limitation of this study is the absence of a discussion on the possible effects of the evolution of urban transportation policies on two-wheeler usage. However, it is hoped that the interventions and reforms suggested by this study can still extend a helping hand to the governing institutions toward effective nationwide policymaking.

Footnotes

Author Contributions

The authors confirm contribution to the paper as follows: study conception and design: J. Jindel, A. Verma; data collection: A. Chandra, H. Allirani, J. Jindel, A. Verma; analysis and interpretation of results: H. Allirani, A. Chandra, A. Verma, J. Jindel; draft manuscript preparation: J. Jindel, A. Chandra, H. Allirani, A. Verma. All authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iDs

Aitichya Chandra

Hemanthini Allirani

Ashish Verma

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