National urban transport policy emphasizes on moving people instead of moving vehicles. Discuss critically the success of various strategies of the government in this regard.

The vision statement of the National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP) acknowledges that people occupy centre-stage, and that cities must evolve in a manner that supports the main social and economic activities taking place there. The objectives of the NUTP also broadly focus on making life easier for city residents. The NUTP aims to bring about equitable use of road space with people and not vehicles as the focus. It policy was created to motivate the building of people-centric urban transport solutions instead of focusing on improving the conditions for private motor vehicles. However, even in this regard the NUTP ignores the transportation difficulties and challenges faced by physically disabled persons and aged people.

The NUTP is more of a policy framework containing general guidelines rather than rules that are implemented. Further, transport is a state subject, thus making the issue of access to the Central government a tricky issue. Considering this, the Centre had to tie include some components of NUTP in JNNURM, and make the funding dependent on the implementation. This is how many cities have introduced BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System). This has also led states to explore setting up of metros. Also, the central government has initiated the Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP) in partnership with Global Environment Facility (GEF), WB (World Bank) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).