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A foundational issue in the political economy is what is the role of the state? While protection and safety against aggression, both from external and internal, seem to be the legitimate and core principles behind the formation of states, public services like education and healthcare are often now conceived as being the responsibility of the state. But, what about transportation/ mobility?, is it the responsibility of the state or is it best left to private providers. This is a question that societies have been grappling with for quite sometime now. 
 
In India, the transportation model is mixed and (some would say mixed up) with the state ensuring the basic infrastructure like roads and railway tracks and even airports and ports in most cases. Services over these are provided by both government and the private sector. Two recent debates over transportation have made headlines but have rarely been understood from a holistic viewpoint. 
 
The first of these was the odd-even rule in the capital, brought to reduce the negative externality of air pollution. Many people have been very skeptical about how the plan is to get implemented. 
 
Also, the lack of end-to-end connectivity, women safety, and enforceability are cited as major challenges to the rule. Experts contend that the record of these types of rules has not been very positive in other countries that have had similar rules. In addition, several people opine that before making these rules, it is a must to improve the existing transportation infrastructure within the city and to have cheap and convenient public transport. Also, alternative solutions like increasing ethanol content can be effective at the same time causing lesser inconvenience to common people. 
 
Another problem is with respect to India's lack of solution-oriented approach to mobility options within a city. This is where the need is to look at integrated urban mobility solutions for people residing in cities. Often the initial part or the ending part becomes exorbitantly expensive for people who live away from public transport systems. This is where there is a need for improvement both in terms of cost and convenience. 
 
The second major thing which hit the headlines in the recent times was the metro rail project that is an inter-city project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. A lot of debate has taken place regarding the cost dynamics of the proposed project that is estimated to cost close to Rs 70000 crore. If escalations are added, the project is expected to cost close to Rs 98000 crore. Out of these, Rs 70000 crore a bulk of the costs, i.e., Rs 50000 crore is expected to be civil costs that will go to Indian companies. 
 
The project is at an advanced stage with Japan agreeing to provide India with more than three-fourth of the loan at a concessional rate of 0.1 percent and moratorium period of 15 years and a payback period of 50 years. It is one of the best deals India has had regarding cost and time, even from Japan, which reflects the depth of the Indo-Japanese relationship. The train technology is second to none with respect to safety. It has not had a single causality in 50 years of operation. 
 
The crucial question to ask, therefore, is not if a high-speed technology is good or not but can India's existing rail infrastructure be upgraded to improve travel times? And if so, at what cost? Travel time improvement requires not just track up-gradation but also an improvement in capacity utilization. With already overburdened capacity on the rail network, is it possible to improve speed is a crucial question to ask and answer by rail authorities. And if it is not is it not wise to upgrade to better technology with proposed high-speed tracks? 
 
Over the next few decades, India must find solutions that are visionary but also pragmatic as more people live in urban and semi-urban areas. The travel times can drastically improve with newer technologies in rails and even in automobiles. But as a nation, we must look to find solutions that solve the pressing problems of our times like vehicular pollution, availability of public transport with public consultation and seeing if better alternative solutions exist. But once a decision is made Indians must all support it to take India ahead. 
 
(The article is co-authored with Sankalp Sharma, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Competitiveness, India. Amit Kapoor is Chair, Institute for Competitiveness &amp; Editor of Thinkers. The views expressed are personal. Amit can be reached at <a href="mailto:amit.kapoor@competitiveness.in">amit.kapoor@competitiveness.in</a> and tweets @kautiliya) 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

Finding solutions to India's transportation challenges

<ul><li>The complete <keyword id="6396317" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hyperloop">Hyperloop</keyword> corridor will run between Anatapur-Amaravati-Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam.</li><li>Phase I and II consists of building the route between <keyword id="261805" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amaravati">Amaravati</keyword> and <keyword id="37103" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vijayawada">Vijayawada</keyword>.</li><li>There are two possible routes at the company’s disposal as per their pre-feasibility study. </li></ul><keyword id="2914023" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Hyperloop-Transportation-Technologies">Hyperloop Transportation Technologies</keyword> (HTT), one of the companies working towards building hyperloops around the world, presented their pre-feasibility study to show which routes would work within the state of <keyword id="37102" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Andhra-Pradesh">Andhra Pradesh</keyword> between the city of Amaravati and Vijayawada, a metropolitan district in the same state. 
	
	
	
	
	<div type="image" title="Hyperloop route alternatives." height="480" width="640" msid="64066689" hostid="261"></div>










 The project, in its entirety, will include three phases where, whichever route is chosen, will consist of phase I and phase II. Phase I can be located in either, Amaravati or Vijayawada, and will run a pod heading east-west on a 5-10 kms stretch as a pilot showcase for stakeholders and the public. 
	


	
	
	
	
	<div type="image" title="Proposed Hyperloop routes mapped out" height="480" width="640" msid="64066697" hostid="261"></div>










 Once the hyperloop corridor is completed, the route will start from <keyword id="70188" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Anantapur">Anantapur</keyword> (another city in Andhra Pradesh) to Amaravati, followed by Vijayawada and <keyword id="60510" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Visakhapatnam">Visakhapatnam</keyword> (the financial capital of Andhra Pradesh). The entire <keyword id="3926428" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="hyperloop-transportation">Hyperloop Transportation</keyword> system will extend to around 700-800 kms that will be integrated into the public transit system. Which brings us to phase III, encompassing a commercial route that will either cover the north or the south section of the corridor. 
	
	
	
	
	<div type="image" title="Future phases of the Hyperloop route" height="480" width="640" msid="64066725" hostid="261"></div>











 Aside from probable routes, HTT also put forward the blueprints for the manufacturing complex that they’ll need in order to actually build the tube, capsule and track. According <keyword id="6505428" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="shri-ajay-jain">Shri Ajay Jain</keyword>, the Principal Secretary of <keyword id="6505427" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="energy-infrastructure-and-investment-department">Energy Infrastructure and Investment Department</keyword>, “The proposed capital city Amaravati would house 3.5 million people and create 1.5 million jobs. The plan also proposes 9 theme-based cities within the capital city to serve as the hub of activities serving unique functions and employment generation alsong with complementary functions.” He adds, “To support this requirement, there is a need for sustainable high-quality robust mass transportation system.” Hyperloop seems to be part of the Indian government’s plans. Previously, Hyperloop One, the only company to have presented a working Hyperloop system so far, had also proposed routes and plans for the country. However, most of the plans are meant for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/Here-is-why-its-too-early-to-be-excited-about-Hyperloop-in-India/articleshow/63203135.cms">commercial use cases</a> right now.

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies recommends two prospective routes in India

Chennai, Public sector major <keyword id="59700" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="coal-india-ltd" source="Orion">Coal India Ltd</keyword> (CIL) has chalked out Rs 24,750 crore investment for eco-friendly transportation of coal on 61 first mile connectivity (FMC) projects. The three phased investment project when completed will have a combined capacity of 763.5 million ton per annum (MTPA), the company said. FMC projects involve transportation of coal in mechanized piped conveyors from production point to coal handling plants/silos with rapid loading system where coal is loaded directly into <keyword id="1060490" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rail-wagons" source="Orion">rail wagons</keyword>. According to the company, 35 FMC projects under the first phase having 414.5 MTPA capacity account for Rs. 10,750 crores. Eight projects of 112 MTPA capacity are already operational. CIL is gearing up to commission 17 more projects of 178 MTPA by FY 2024 end. The rest 10 comprising 124.5 MTPA capacity are expected to be operative by FY 2025, the company said. The second and third phase projects account for nine and 17 respectively. While their respective evacuation capacities are 57 MTPA and 292 MTPA, the investments sequentially, would be about Rs 2,500 crore and Rs11,500 crore. Under the second phase five projects of 21.5 MTPA capacity under construction are expected to be commissioned by FY 2025. Remaining projects are in different stages of progress with tenders issued and bid documents under preparation. For the third phase, tenders have been floated for three projects of 65 MTPA capacity. Nine projects are to be executed through mine developers and operators. The third phase projects are anticipated to be commissioned by FY 2029. Total eco-friendly coal evacuation would go up to 914.5 MTPA when all the 61 projects become operational by FY 2029, including the earlier capacity of 151 MTPA. FMC projects offer benefits like suppression of dust pollution and carbon emissions and reduce the load on road transportation leading to safety. Other benefits include precise quantity and quality coal is loaded for consumers with minimal manual intervention.

Coal India to invest ₹24,750 crore on eco-friendly transportation

An IIT Alumni is fixing gaps in India's transportation ignored by governments and other startups

<ul><li><keyword id="3009822" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shuttl">Shuttl</keyword>, founded in 2015, is a technology-enabled, seat-based, demand-adaptive bus mobility service. </li><li>The startup has raised $34 million in funding from the likes of <keyword id="270604" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sequoia">Sequoia</keyword>, Amazon Lightspeed India Partners, <keyword id="51757" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="TIMES-INTERNET">Times Internet</keyword> and Dentsu. </li><li>It also recently ventured into foodtech, by offering consumers food on the go. </li></ul>Shuttl, an on-demand bus service that allows to book their commutes in 'comfortable' rides, is rapidly gaining popularity in metros. Business Insider talks to Shuttl CEO Amit Singh about the company's growth plans and what makes it unique among several mobility options. 
	<div type="Slideshow" msid="69555783" hostid="261" title="An IIT Alumni is fixing gaps in India's transportation ignored by governments and other startups" firstImageMsid="69555784" slideCount="4"></div>

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Desperate Indians are turning to a black market in <keyword id="6355647" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Oxygen">oxygen</keyword> as stocks dwindle amid a <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword> surge. </li><li>Oxygen shortages have taken hold in several countries, with rampant price-gouging.</li><li>Reports from around the world detail cylinders being sold for ten times their normal price.</li></ul><keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> is having to deal with a black market for oxygen amidst a record-breaking COVID-19 surge that has exhausted supplies in many hospitals. It is a trend that has been seen in many countries around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. Six hospitals in India said Thursday that hey had run out of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-hospitals-run-out-of-oxygen-amid-covid-19-surge-2021-4">medical oxygen</a>, one of the most important treatments for those struggling with COVID-19 symptoms.Demand for oxygen is likely to shoot up in coming days in twelve states in India as the country continues to report hundreds of thousands of new cases each day, <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-which-states-are-worst-hit-why-is-oxygen-transportation-difficult-7277038/">the Indian Express reported</a>.<a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/oxygen-cylinders-remdesivir-being-sold-on-black-market/articleshow/82185040.cms">The Times of India reported Thursday</a> that the average cost of an oxygen cylinder has "skyrocketed", to 20,000 to 25,000 rupees, about $250-330.One man in India told AFP that he paid 45,000 rupees, about $600, for a cylinder of oxygen. That is about nine times its normal price, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210422-india-s-covid-19-shortages-spur-black-market-for-drugs-oxygen">AFP reported on Thursday</a>.One advertisement circulated on social media offering a cylinder for 30,000 rupees, about $400. Another offered it for 35,000, about $460, <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/making-hay-in-the-black-market-remdesivir-sold-at-rs-40000-oxygen-cylinder-at-rs-35000/articleshow/82187715.cms">the Times of India reported</a>.<a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.PCAP.CD?name_desc=false">According to World Bank data</a>, the Gross National Income per capita in India is $2,120 per year.India is not alone in facing this issue. 25 countries around the world are reporting a surge in demand for oxygen, mostly in Africa, <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/25-02-2021-covid-19-oxygen-emergency-impacting-more-than-half-a-million-people-in-low--and-middle-income-countries-every-day-as-demand-surges">the World Health Organization (WHO) said</a>. More than half a million COVID-19 patients need oxygen treatment every day, <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/25-02-2021-covid-19-oxygen-emergency-impacting-more-than-half-a-million-people-in-low--and-middle-income-countries-every-day-as-demand-surges">per WHO estimates</a>. That means 1.1 million oxygen cylinders every day. Brazil, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/09/world/americas/mexico-covid-oxygen-shortage.html">Mexico</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/may/07/peru-jungle-iquitos-coronavirus-covid-19">Peru</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/18/world/middleeast/egypt-hospital-oxygen-covid.html">Egypt</a>, Nigeria and other countries all reported shortages at the height of COVID-19 surges, and many had to deal with black markets praying on the vulnerable.In Peru last year, the price of a cylinder of oxygen was pushed well over $1,000, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/may/07/peru-jungle-iquitos-coronavirus-covid-19">The Guardian reported</a>.One woman reported paying nearly $1,300 for a cylinder, a markup of 1,000%, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/peru-coronavirus-oxygen-tank-price-gouging/2020/06/17/3e0f5392-b0bc-11ea-8f56-63f38c990077_story.html">The Washington Post said on June 18, 2020</a>. In Mexico too a black market thrived amid a nationwide shortage, with demand up sevenfold, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/09/world/americas/mexico-covid-oxygen-shortage.html?referringSource=articleShare">The New York Times reported</a>. Trucks transporting oxygen were held up at gunpoint, according to local reports, and prices for oxygen tripled on the black market, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/09/world/americas/mexico-covid-oxygen-shortage.html?referringSource=articleShare">The Times reported on February 9</a>. At the height of the shortage crisis in Brazil's Manaus region in January, the price of a 50-liter oxygen container went up 6.5 times, to almost $1,200, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210319-covid-leaves-brazilian-amazon-city-struggling-to-breathe">France 24 reported</a>.Oxygen shipments were guarded by police. Some sellers were caught painting fire hydrants green to pass them off as containers, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210319-covid-leaves-brazilian-amazon-city-struggling-to-breathe">France 24 reported on March 19</a>. Black markets aren't the only reason for a price hike. Transportation and infrastructure also contribute to the increase. Oxygen is often produced by factories, and transported by cooled tankers over long distances. In richer countries, the oxygen is taken in liquid form by cooled tankers to the hospitals. This means the oxygen, which takes less space in liquid form, is cheaper to transport.But most hospitals in poorer countries around the world don't have this sort of infrastructure. They have to rely on the transport of heavy gas metal cylinders over long distances to reach the hospital. That incurs logistical and transport costs, passed on to the patient, <a href="https://elemental.medium.com/theres-a-global-shortage-of-medical-oxygen-covid-19-is-making-it-worse-14553be5da09">according to a Medium post by Craig Spencer</a>, a medical professor in New York and a board member of Doctors Without Borders.Small rural hospitals in Kenya and Nigeria, pay 5 to 10 times more for a cylinder of oxygen than a London hospital does, <a href="https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2020-08-09/lack-of-oxygen-leaves-covid-19-patients-in-africa-gasping-for-air">according to an investigation from the UK's Bureau of Investigative Journalism</a>. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/09/world/americas/mexico-covid-oxygen-shortage.html?referringSource=articleShare">According to The Times</a>, at the height of the oxygen shortage in Mexico, a cylinder of oxygen cost more than $800, up to 10 times the cost paid by a US hospital. Most states in India have redirected their oxygen production, which is used for instance in the iron, steel and glass industry, towards meeting the oxygen need, <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-which-states-are-worst-hit-why-is-oxygen-transportation-difficult-7277038/">the Indian Express reported</a>. But here, again, the problem is transport, and India is huge. Oxygen production is mostly done in eastern India, whereas the demand for oxygen is higher in the western part of India and other parts, <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/view-how-india-could-pump-oxygen-into-the-oxygen-supply-chain/articleshow/82200183.cms">The Economic Times has reported</a>. Because of the increased logistics and transport, the cost of refilling a cylinder in India has been hiked fivefold, from about $1-5 to $6 to $26, <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-which-states-are-worst-hit-why-is-oxygen-transportation-difficult-7277038/">The Indian Express reported</a>.India's police has been cracking down on the black market for oxygen. The government of the Uttar Pradesh state of India has said it would invoke the National Security Act and Gangster Act to combat black marketing of oxygen, <a href="https://twitter.com/airnewsalerts/status/1385415125012787207?s=20">All India Radio News said in a tweet on Thursday</a>. India plans to import 50,000 metric tonnes of medical oxygen to deal with the crisis, <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-which-states-are-worst-hit-why-is-oxygen-transportation-difficult-7277038/">the Indian Express reported</a>. It also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-coronavirus-oxygen-express-trains-hospital-shortages-2021-4">set up an "Oxygen Express" train to get supplies to hard-hit states</a>.Some experts blame the government for not putting the infrastructure in place to avoid this situation in the first place. "We were aware that the second wave was coming but we didn't plan to avoid unfortunate incidences like shortages of drugs, beds and oxygen," <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-56757405">epidemiologist Dr Lalit Kant told the BBC</a>.

India's COVID-19 surge is highlighting a ruthless, global black market for oxygen, where sellers jack prices up to 1,000%

New Delhi, Jan 9 () Mahindra Logistics Ltd (MLL) on Thursday said it has launched a distribution centre for the pharmaceutical industry in the country's northern region, making a foray into first-of-its-kind temperature-controlled warehouse in the pharma sector.
 Through this facility, MLL will manage the warehousing and distribution for its client, in addition to their inbound and outbound multi-modal transportation across India.
 "MLL, one of India's largest 3PL solution providers, recently launched a state-of-the-art distribution centre for the pharma industry in North India. With this launch, MLL forays into a first-of-its-kind temperature-controlled warehouse in the pharma sector," the company said in a statement.
 It said the warehouse is specially designed and equipped with the latest temperature-control mechanisms for efficient power consumption, customised storage, diverse material-handling equipment (MHE) and technological solutions, including 'Mycargo360', a transportation management system.
 Rampraveen Swaminathan, chief executive officer of Mahindra Logistics, said, "We are delighted to open this facility and we are certain that this facility will align our clients' distribution network in North India and achieve their post-GST requirements."
 He added, "The facility is sustainable and energy efficient. Our integrated distribution solution combining warehousing, transportation and express movement will help our customers optimise their cost and on-time delivery."
 MLL provides a range of services and solutions, including warehousing, distribution and cross-border logistics solutions for the pharma industry.
 With warehousing, transportation and freight forwarding operations spanning 15 million square feet and 75,000 vehicle placements per month, MLL has an extensive pan-India network and global connectivity, it said.
 MLL is a portfolio company of Mahindra Partners, the USD 1-billion private equity division of the USD 20.7 billion Mahindra Group. NAM HRS

Mahindra Logistics opens distribution centre in northern India

<ul><li>The vessels will operate in shallow waters.</li><li>13 standardised designs already ready with IWAI.</li><li>Deployment of fairway to carry at least 1500 tonnes on the river <keyword id="6357202" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ganga">Ganga</keyword>.</li></ul>India is all set to launch its first inland water vessel. <keyword id="537012" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Inland-Waterways-Authority-of-India">Inland Waterways Authority of India</keyword> (IWAI) is ready with 13 standard designs for the vessels, which will be operated in the Ganga river between <keyword id="6357203" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Varanasi">Varanasi</keyword>, in Uttar Pradesh and Haldia, in West Bengal. The vessels will be used to transport goods. The government is in the final stages of finalising the vessel. The vessels will be able to operate in shallow waters, without polluting them, since they run on cleaner fuels and the latest technologies. A senior official stated that these vessels will be able to operate in shallow waters of 2-3 meters which will decrease the load on road and rail transport. “These vessels will be 45 meters wide and will be able to carry 2000 tonnes of goods which can be translated to 140 truckloads,” an official <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/mail-today/story/government-nearly-done-finalising-india-s-first-marine-vessel-to-transport-goods-1223812-2018-05-01">report</a> stated. This will not only decongest the highways but also save fuel and reduce air pollution. Water taxis are also being planned for the Yamuna, which currently doesn’t allow passenger boats to be used due to excess silt deposits. This will decongest the National Capital Region, which is the need of the hour after most of the experiments to do so have failed. Moreover, they can be manufactured in India as part of the make in India initiative. The designs are being drafted by a German firm. They will be finalised by next month. The project will involve the deployment of a fairway to enable commercial navigation of at least 1500 tonne capacity on the Ganga. The project covers the river between UP and West Bengal, covering Bihar and Jharkhand on the way. The trial run of the two Cargo vessels from Varanasi on National Waterway-1 (NW-1) was flagged off by Nitin Gadkari in August 2016. The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs, headed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had green lit the implementation of the <keyword id="2818636" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jal-Marg-Vikas-project">Jal Marg Vikas Project</keyword> (JMVP) for capacity augmentation on 1380 km Haldia-Varanasi stretch of NW-1 at a budget of Rs 53.73 billion with assistance from the World Bank. The project will be completed by the year 2023 and is expected to generate employment on a large scale. The project will primarily result in infrastructural development in multimodal and intermodal terminals, Roll-On-Roll-Off (Ro-Ro) facilities, ferry services, navigational aids and goods transport services. This will directly impact the socio-economic development in major cities and firms around its operational area.

India is looking to use its rivers to transport goods via Inland Marine Vessels

New Delhi, Jan 29 () Integrated supply chain and logistics solutions provider Transport Corporation of India (TCI) on Wednesday reported a 3.18 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 34.36 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2019.
 The company had posted a consolidated net profit (from ordinary activities after tax) of Rs 33.30 crore in the year-ago period, Transport Corporation of India said in a filing to BSE.
 Consolidated total income from operations in the October-December period dropped marginally to Rs 712.04 crore from Rs 715.68 crore in the year-ago period, the filing said. 
 TCI Managing Director Vineet Agarwal said, "In challenging economic environment, the results for the first nine months are as per our expectations across all the divisions. Even with low demand in almost all sectors especially in automobile and consumption driven industries, we are able to maintain some momentum in profitability."
The company expects better revenue and profitability growth for the last quarter of the year given the marginal improvement in business sentiments, Agarwal said. SID MR

Transport Corp of India Q3 profit rises marginally to Rs 34 cr

<ul><li>In an interview with Business Insider, Amit Singh, co-founder and CEO, <keyword id="3009822" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shuttl">Shuttl</keyword>, said the company is not competing with <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword> and <keyword id="6354720" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola">Ola</keyword> and instead complements them. </li><li>Shuttl has taken a public transport provider – bus – and offered it as a private transport service.</li></ul>India’s transportation industry has seen the rise of homegrown <keyword id="6362513" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups">startups</keyword> like Ola and the entry of global bigwigs like Uber. When bus aggregator and mobility app Shuttl came in 2015, it operated in the grey area between public and private transport. So, Shuttl competes in a market that already has public transportation like the metro along with convenience factors like Uber and Ola. Amit Singh, co-founder and CEO, Shuttl, believes they built a category that didn’t exist. “Small changes make the product very different. They are on-demand companies, we are a planned ride share company – with slots, routes and subscriptions,” he said. Singh explains that the difference between transportation and mobility is that mobility is a bottoms-up approach. “We care about where our consumer is, where he/she wants to go and build routes accordingly. Everything is consumer focused. Even when you are doing a traffic study for the metro, you need to be very confident about what the demand would be 5 years down the line as well. If you don’t get it right, viability goes for a toss,” he said. In fact, this was one of the challenges Singh faced when they began working on Shuttl. While buses have been operational in India for ages, they had not really been integrated with technology. This meant that Singh had no proof-of-concept whether the startup would actually take off.

Here’s why Shuttl is not in a competition with Uber and Ola

<ul><li>In an interview with Business Insider, <keyword id="217165" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amit-Singh">Amit Singh</keyword>, CEO and co-founder, <keyword id="3009822" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shuttl">Shuttl</keyword> talks about how the app has solved transportation problems for India’s working professionals. </li><li>It is operational in 8 cities and has marked over 20 million rides so far.</li></ul>Nineteen years back, Amit Singh used to take the bus to work everyday from Prabhadevi to Nariman Point. His friend who would board the same bus midway, would call him to track its ETA. Today, with co-founder Deepanshu Malviya Singh, runs a technology-enabled, seat-based, demand-adaptive bus mobility service – Shuttl. With Shuttl, a user can select from prefixed routes and schedules to commute from home to work. The service, popular with millennials and working professionals, is operational in eight cities and has marked over 20 million rides so far. Its biggest market is Delhi-NCR with women making up 38% of its customers. Singh, an IIT-Delhi graduate, had earlier worked on the <keyword id="6366797" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Delhi-Metro">Delhi Metro</keyword> and later at investment firms, before going on to work at Jabong. Having gained experience in both transportation and consumer internet, Singh knew that he had to bring both these industries together. “We were supremely impressed with Uber as a product. However, there was a trade-off between affordability and comfort,” he said. The Mathematics behind transportation Singh has a simple equation for comfort in transportation. Comfort = assured seat + a direct route + an AC vehicle. “Buses are the most cost efficient way of moving people. They have been there for ages, except that there was no technology involved. The white space was between cabs which offered extra seats at a price and a public transport which assured no seat at a cheaper price,” said Singh. So, they took buses – unbundled the seats, rebundled them and offered with a subscription model. “In India, there are three factors – high population density, low purchasing power, solutions and developing infrastructure – that gave us the opportunity to come and build something,” said Singh. The original commute When in 2015, Singh and Malviya started working on Shuttl, it was an intercity service providing bus routes between Delhi and Jaipur. On April 6, 2015, they realised that they weren’t solving a day-to-day problem. By April 7, Malviya built an app where users can put an origin and a destination without any payment gateway. On April 8, they stood at HUDA city centre in Gurugram, and convinced two people to use the app. By evening, those two people got five more along, thus taking it to nine bookings in a day. “Retention and referral are big things. We didn’t sell to nine people, we sold only to two, yet our phones were ringing with orders,” said Singh. Within four months, they gained the attention of one of India’s marquee funds – Sequoia Capital. By September, they had reached 10,000 users.

This man went from working for Delhi Metro to building a startup that solves transportation in India’s congested roads

Union minister <keyword id="26680" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nitin-gadkari">Nitin Gadkari</keyword> on Wednesday urged industry players to cash in on the huge potential that 22 upcoming express <keyword id="6381514" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="highways">highways</keyword> hold in the areas of alternative fuel, electric highway and charging stations. The Road Transport, Highways and MSME Minister said that projects specially about Rs 1 lakh crore Delhi-Mumbai express highway can offer instant right of way to players interested in setting up LNG stations, electric charging stations or petrol pumps. Addressing a conference on 'Future Fuels for <keyword id="34991" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="transportation">Transportation</keyword>' by FICCI, the minister said plans were afoot to set up 2,000 petrol pumps, including LNG. "We are building 22 new express highways including Delhi-Mumbai Express Highway. Work on seven out of 22 projects have started and these have huge potential for the industry. If players want to come forward, we can offer right of way especially on Delhi-Mumbai Express Highway which we plan to complete within three <keyword id="6466901" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="years">years</keyword>," the minister said. Gadkari said plans are on for an electric highway stretch on Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and the land acquisition for over Rs 1 lakh crore expressway project has been completed.
 He said he will be visiting Sweden next month to see E-Highways and welcomed players for investments to convert highways into e-highways.
 He also said: "The RBI has assured us that they will allow us to take infrastructure loans for 30 years. So if a bankable project is for 30 years, the loan amount will be raised within 13-18 years. There will be two years moratorium period after completion of project. When after three years, toll collection starts then we will open an escrow account. Specific amount will be deposited in this escrow account."
 The minister said at present NHAI has 480 such secure, bankable projects and five more banks are willing to give loans like the SBI gave. 
 "Depending upon traffic, we will keep depositing money in the escrow account," he said.
 He said NHAI 's annual income for the current fiscal will be Rs 40,000 crore and it will reach Rs 1 lakh crore in coming years. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/news/exclusive-tcs-ceo-shares-his-hopes-and-fears-from-the-budget-2020/articleshow/73753459.cms?src=hp_ts">Exclusive: TCS CEO shares his hopes and fears from the budget 2020</a>

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