40% of residents do not have bus stops closeby, says report

As much as 40% of residents in Chennai lack access to a bus stop within walking distance, according to the Tamil Nadu Urban Mobility Charter 2031, which was released on Wednesday, by the Sustainable Mobility Network.

Major urban areas in the State operate with 18 buses per one lakh population against the Central government benchmark of 60, the document pointed out.

The charter was released following a multi-stakeholder roundtable convened in Chennai by the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (ITDP) India, Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group (CAG), Asar Social Impact Advisors, Poovulagin Nanbargal, along with resident welfare associations, sustainable mobility experts, former bureaucrats, commuters, and disability rights advocates.

The document stated that Tamil Nadu is India’s second-most urbanised State, with nearly half its population living in towns and cities. It noted that pedestrians account for 30% to 50% of road fatalities in cities such as Chennai and Coimbatore.

It also records that road transport remains a major contributor to air pollution, with Chennai alone having over 40 lakh high-emission vehicles.

The charter is structured around four priority areas: public transport, clean urban mobility, pedestrian safety, and integrated transport governance. It proposes extending the ‘Vidiyal Payanam’ free bus travel scheme across all public buses and improving integration between buses, metro rail, suburban rail, and shared mobility systems.

It also calls for unified transport authorities, dedicated urban transport funds and allocating the majority share of transport budgets to public transport, walking, cycling, and clean mobility.