Mumbai's Traffic Woes: A Shift to Public Transport and Electric Vehicles the Way Forward

How will India’s financial capital, Mumbai, solve its decades-old traffic problem? Podcaster Raj Shamani opened a recent conversation with a question that resonates with millions of Mumbaikars. Speaking to Municipal Commissioner of BMC and former Managing Director of Mumbai Metro Line 3, Ashwini Bhide, he pointed to the city’s biggest traffic hotspots, including the Western Express Highway , Eastern Express Highway, Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR), Ghatkopar Link Road and Ambedkar Road. Bhide said traffic congestion cannot be solved by simply widening roads in a city as densely populated as Mumbai. Instead, she argues that the long-term answer lies in expanding public transport, particularly the Metro network, while encouraging cleaner mobility through electric vehicles. According to Bhide, Mumbai’s biggest limitation is its geography and road infrastructure. She said the city has only about 2,050 km of roads, compared with nearly 26,000 km in Delhi, despite carrying one of the country’s highest population densities and remaining India’s financial capital. She elaborated how ongoing infrastructure projects temporarily have worsened congestion because thousands of construction sites occupy road space. However, once Metro corridors become operational, a significant share of commuters is expected to shift away from private vehicles. “The solution is shifting to public transport system. There is no other option. Otherwise, if we stop traffic, Mumbai’s economic activity will stop,” Bhide said. She added that alongside public transport, Mumbai must gradually transition to electric vehicles to reduce emissions, although cleaner mobility alone cannot eliminate congestion. Responding to Shamani’s observation that Metro projects often appear to create more traffic than they solve, Bhide said this perception is common because Metro construction typically takes five to eight years, delaying visible benefits. She said Metro systems are designed not only for future population growth but also to divert existing road traffic once an integrated network becomes available. Today, Mumbai has around 100 km of Metro lines, but many corridors remain disconnected. Bhide said the real benefits will become visible only after the planned network is fully integrated over the next three to four years. Referring to projections from MMRDA’s Comprehensive Transport Study, she said the Metro system is expected to have the capacity to carry around 90 lakh to one crore passengers daily by 2040. As more commuters shift to Metro, suburban railway ridership could reduce from the current 70-75 lakh passengers to around 45-50 lakh, while bus patronage may also decline. The objective, she said, is to reverse this trend by making public transport the preferred choice. Drawing comparisons with cities such as Tokyo and Moscow, Bhide said successful transport systems do not eliminate road congestion entirely. Instead, they give commuters a reliable alternative. She explained that Tokyo’s extensive Metro network allows most people to travel underground efficiently, even though road congestion still exists. Mumbai, by contrast, has an overcrowded suburban rail system that leaves commuters with limited options. “I will not say traffic congestion will disappear, but people will have a choice. I can decide whether I want to spend two hours in traffic or travel in a Metro in 35 minutes,” she said. Bhide added that once the Metro network is completed, the transformation in Mumbai’s commuting experience would be significant. Until then, the city will continue to face temporary disruptions as large-scale infrastructure projects remain under construction. Towards the end of the discussion, she also answered Shamam’s question about the operational challenges of running Metro systems, noting that electricity accounts for nearly 40-45% of Metro operating costs. Reducing energy costs, she said, would also improve the long-term financial sustainability of Metro operations.