32 crore vehicles increased on roads in 20 years, recommendation to bring a new policy in 2026

Knews Desk- Amidst the rapid urbanization in the country and huge increase in the number of vehicles, transport experts have stressed the need for a new and comprehensive urban transport policy. In this direction, the Indian School of Public Policy (ISPP) has announced to start the review process of the National Urban Transport Policy implemented in the year 2006.

In the year 2006, the number of vehicles registered in the country was around 9 crores, which has increased to more than 41.3 crores by 2025. That means, in the last two decades, approximately 32 crore new vehicles have come on the roads. This rapid growth of vehicles has put huge pressure on the cities’ traffic system, road network and public transport.

This review is being conducted through ISPP’s Center for Urban Transition (ICUT). Experts involved in the review found that the main objective of the 2006 policy was to promote public transport and non-motorized modes of transport such as bicycles and walking, but the expected success in this direction could not be achieved.

The report said that in many cities, metro rail projects were given priority but were not effectively integrated with other transport modes and land use plans. Apart from this, important topics like parking management, urban freight transport, transport needs of small towns, app based taxi services, e-commerce logistics and climate change were also not given adequate attention.

Experts have suggested that a new urban transport policy should be implemented in 2026 keeping in mind the changing circumstances and technological developments. Dr. Partha Shah, Dean and Co-Founder of ISPP, said that there has been no holistic urbanization policy in India till now. He said that cities were left behind in development priorities for a long time, due to which many problems related to transportation have become more serious today.