Prime Highlight

• The Gujarat government has established the Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) to improve coordination among city buses, BRTS, and metro rail, and to reduce traffic congestion in Ahmedabad and Surat.
• The UMTA has approved initiatives such as One City, One Mobility Card, and integrated last-mile connectivity to enable seamless travel for daily commuters.

Key Facts

• An Urban Transport Fund of ₹100 crore has been approved as seed capital for UMTA, with the state government planning a budgetary allocation in the 2026–27 financial year.
• Multimodal transport hubs will be developed at key metro junctions like Motera and Thaltej in Ahmedabad to integrate feeder services and reduce dependence on private vehicles.

Background

The Gujarat government has set up the Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) to reduce traffic and improve public transport in Ahmedabad and Surat. The authority will better coordinate city buses, BRTS, and metro rail, while ensuring smooth last-mile connectivity for daily commuters.

Key decisions were taken at the first meeting of the UMTA committee, held on Thursday under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary. The panel approved an Urban Transport Fund of ₹100 crore as initial seed capital to support the authority’s work. The state government plans to provide the corpus through a budgetary allocation in the 2026–27 financial year.

The committee also cleared three major initiatives for both cities. These include One City, One Mobility Card, a Common Mobility Plan, and a comprehensive Last-Mile Connectivity programme. Municipal commissioners of Ahmedabad and Surat have been asked to submit detailed reports on these initiatives at the earliest.

Under the One City, One Mobility Card plan, commuters will be able to travel seamlessly across BRTS, city buses, and metro services using a single payment system within a fixed distance. The government has directed both municipal corporations to fast-track the launch of the card, along with a transport mobile application and issue a request for proposal to appoint an implementing agency.

The Common Mobility Plan will map existing public transport routes and identify areas that lack connectivity. New services will be introduced in underserved corridors to ensure wider coverage. The last-mile initiative will improve access from homes to workplaces and public transport points.

UMTA also plans to build major multimodal transport hubs at metro junctions like Motera and Thaltej in Ahmedabad. These hubs will connect feeder services and help people rely less on private vehicles.

Officials said Gujarat is drawing inspiration from similar models in states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and may extend the framework to other cities in the future.