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For the past three years, 60-year-old Dharmachand Jain has been commuting from Agarwal Farm in Mansarovar to Gopalpura in Jaipur. He leaves home half an hour early each day to walk 500 metres to catch the 9A bus, as there is no facility to reach the bus stand.
“Many times, the bus is not on time, so I have to take an e-rickshaw or a magic van. A bus journey costs me Rs 30 daily but using a magic van or any other mode costs Rs 50-Rs 60. The monthly pass and lower fares make the bus more affordable. After moving to Jaipur from Chhonkarbada village in Bharatpur district, most of my time and money are spent commuting,” he told Down To Earth (DTE).
Similar to Dharmachand, 24-year-old Vinod Kumar is also a regular user of Jaipur’s public transport.
He said, “There are so few buses that I waste at least an hour just waiting. The Jaipur Bus app, which was meant to help, doesn’t show the actual location of buses. There’s no interconnectivity either. For instance, to travel from Sitapura to Agra Road, I need to change three buses. The low-floor buses are old and often break down en route. Sometimes, it takes up to three hours to reach my destination. As a student, I can’t afford Ola-Uber every day—they’re too expensive.”
To improve public transport, the government established Jaipur City Transport Services Limited (JCTSL) in 2008, setting up depots at Todi and Bagrana. Earlier, in 2005, the UPA government launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).
Following JCTSL’s creation, 400 low-floor buses were introduced in Jaipur. However, this number has steadily declined. Today, JCTSL operates only 200 buses across 27 routes, with about 190 in daily service. By September, 80 of these will be declared “condemned,” reducing the fleet to just 120. This limited fleet serves a city of 3.5-4 million people, with about 1.25 lakh daily commuters relying on it.
To understand Jaipur’s mobility issues, Down To Earth spoke with experts, including NC Mathur, a retired Jaipur Development Authority official.
“In 1981, Jaipur had a population of one million and about 200 buses, including double-deckers. Back then, public transport had a 26 per cent share per lakh population. But with the rise of private vehicles like Maruti cars in the 1980s, the focus on public mobility declined. By 2005, the public transport share dropped to 19 per cent. Between 2005 and 2010, efforts under JNNURM and the BRTS increased this to 22 per cent, with 400 buses in the fleet,” he explains.
Mathur adds, “Since 1980, the city’s population has grown from one million to around 4.4 million, while the number of buses has halved. Jaipur still lacks an organised public transport system. Private vehicle ownership is growing at two and a half times the population growth rate. Ideally, there should be 50 buses per one lakh people.”
Data from Jaipur’s Regional Transport Office shows a sharp rise in private vehicles. Across three RTOs, Jaipur has 2,631,886 two-wheelers, 107,098 three-wheelers, and 749,018 registered cars. Statewide, Rajasthan has 2,813,269 registered cars. The lack of public transport has caused Jaipur’s public transport share to fall to a historic low of 13 per cent.
In Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities like Jaipur, a ‘Metro vs Bus’ debate continues.
NC Mathur noted, “Jaipur really only needs a metro along Tonk Road. The BRTS had promise, but since the metro began in 2012, buses have been neglected. The government is now dismantling the 43-km-long BRTS corridor. Meanwhile, Rs 200 crore is being spent to extend the metro by just 1.35 km from Mansarovar station. With that money, over 500 new buses could be bought and integrated with the metro to address most mobility issues. Unfortunately, metro systems have become status symbols for governments. The per-trip subsidy is Rs 100 for metros, but only Rs 5 for buses.”
Currently, Jaipur Metro runs a 9.63 km line from Mansarovar to Chandpole and a 2.4 km extension to Badi Chaupar (Phase 1B). A 1.35 km extension from Mansarovar to the 200-feet bypass is under construction. In May, Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma approved Phase-2 of Jaipur Metro—a 43 km line from Todi Mod to Prahladpura, with an estimated cost of Rs 12,600 crore. It will be jointly funded by the Centre and the state.
Ashish Arora, President of the Rajasthan Gig and App-based Workers Union, says, “The failure of public transport has boosted the gig economy. Jaipur has around one lakh auto-rickshaws, 50,000 cabs and bikes, and 50,000 e-rickshaws operating as alternatives.”
He estimated that about 1-1.2 million people use these services daily in Jaipur. Across the state, nearly 400,000 gig workers operate in this space. “If buses improve, 60-70 per cent of these commuters would shift to public transport. Ola and Uber are too expensive for daily use,” he adds.
Meanwhile, Madhu Sudan Sharma, Senior Programme Officer at
Consumer Unity and Trust Society mentioned that despite being a tier-2 city, Jaipur sees a much higher rate of personal vehicle ownership compared to even some metro cities.
“This increasing dependence on private transport has created serious challenges in terms of traffic congestion and road safety,” he told DTE.
According to an IIT Kanpur study, vehicles contribute 15 per cent to Jaipur’s PM2.5 levels, while road dust contributes 36 per cent. Among vehicles, trucks account for 60 per cent of emissions, buses 12 per cent, and two-wheelers 13 per cent. A 2019 report by Sanjeev Mehta titled Assessment of Urban Mobility in Jaipur projected that peak-hour motorised trips would rise from 2.35 lakh in 2010 to 6.30 lakh by 2031. The share of private cars is expected to grow from 13 per cent to 36 per cent in that period.
Simran Grover, CEO of the Centre for Energy, Environment and People, told DTE, “The solution is simple: integrate all public transport under a unified system. Metro lines are needed in some areas, but elsewhere, buses and small electric or CNG vehicles should fill the gaps. Last-mile connectivity must improve.”
Mathur agreed, adding, “Public transport should serve at least 35 per cent of Jaipur’s population. The government must invest in buses, integrated systems, feeder services like Tata Magic vans, and infrastructure like footpaths and cycle tracks. Flyovers and car-centric projects aren’t enough. Planning must be long-term with adequate funding.”
On December 17, 2024, the state floated tenders for 300 CNG buses. However, JCTSL is still awaiting final government approval for the purchase. Chairman Rajesh Yadav did not respond to repeated queries from Down To Earth.
Under the PM e-Drive scheme, Rajasthan is set to receive 1,100 electric buses. In the first phase, 675 buses will be distributed—150 each to Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, and Udaipur, and 50 each to Bhilwara, Ajmer, Kota, Alwar and Bharatpur.
Once delivered, Jaipur will have 450 electric buses in total. JCTSL claims that the 300 CNG and 150 electric buses will begin operations later this year.
This article is part of our series on how India moves, which looks at the relationship between air quality and human mobility in cities and towns