Mumbai prefers public transport; Delhi offers best roads and parking most easy in Jammu, says report

New Delhi: Around 51 percent of people in Mumbai prefer public transport over personal vehicles, Hyderabad is the front-runner in shared mobility and it is easiest to park a vehicle in Jammu, according to a report released on Thursday. As per the Ease of Mobility Index 2018, prepared by cab aggregator Ola, while Delhi offers the best surface quality to ride on, you will always find a public transit option near you in Patna as bus stops are at less than 8 minutes of walk. The report, released by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, surveyed over 43,000 respondents from 20 cities across the country. These cities were selected based on five parameters – scale, character, culture, economy and geography. It said Jaipur has the best footpath condition for its pedestrians while Kochi leads the way when it comes to auto-rickshaw usage, which is at 32 percent. “Kolkata has the most to offer in travel choice; that too the most affordable”, with public transport modes like metro, tram, bus, ferry, taxi and auto-rickshaws. [caption id=“attachment_2045737” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational Image. Reuters[/caption] People of Bhubaneswar find public transit reliable and convenient, and Ahmedabad offers the cleanest public transport services. When it comes to Jabalpur, women feel the safest using public transport while travel distances are the shortest in Bhopal with average trip length of 4.75 kms only, the report said. On average Chennai spends less than 1 hour in transit and Surat is one of the safest cities, with minimum fatal accidents, while Bengaluru leads the way with the highest digital transactions. One of the key findings of the report was that overall 80 percent of citizens believe that the transport ecosystem has improved over the last five years. “Sixty percent of respondents report using public modes of commute, signaling that integrating modes of first and last mile connectivity with mass transport could lead to improved usage,” it said. “In fact, 72 percent of the respondents believe that this integration could lead to an improved public transport ecosystem.” The report also mentions that a majority of Indians are willing to adopt electric mobility and are in agreement that electrification will reshape the transportation segment. Also, 75 percent of respondents believe that electric vehicles could replace conventional vehicles by 2030. Additionally, results indicate that urban mobility is going digital, with 55 percent of commuters who use public transport owning smart cards, and over 40 percent transact digitally while using public transport, including intermediary public transport.