India’s capital, New Delhi is home to about 25 million people, and according to a UN report, the city more than doubled its population between 1990 and 2014. At its current annual population growth rate of 3.3 percent, New Delhi is expected to be home to 36 million people by 2030 — about the the entire current population of Canada!

As New Delhi’s population and economic clout (its per capita income of INR 3,29,093, is almost thrice the national average) have increased, the quality of its air, travel times and the health of its citizens have deteriorated dramatically.

According to a study by the Indian Institute of Technology, the city and its suburb lose approximately INR 60,000 crore annually to traffic as well as fuel, product, road accident and air pollution costs, which are expected to increase to INR 98,000 crore by 2030.

Over the last two decades, Delhi has tried hard to mitigate risks by introducing cleaner fuel based public transportation. It has also invested heavily into expanding the Delhi Metro to become one of the world’s best and biggest such service with a network of 317 km and a carrying capacity of 3 million passengers daily. But it still hasn’t been able to wean commuters off private car ownership.

This is primarily due to two reasons. First, a growing middle class and second, the nature of urban design that has pushed people into car ownership mirroring other global mega cities. Even in a city with great public transit like New York, the subway doesn’t get to everyone’s front door. In fact 2.7 million cars drive into Manhattan every day. The haphazard nature of today’s transportation system means that too many people have no option but to drive themselves. This is especially true for those on lower incomes, who cannot afford to live in neighbourhoods well served by public transportation or near where they work.

It’s here that we need to more effectively leverage the power of public-private partnership. Working in tandem with government operated Metro systems, existing ride sharing networks can provide last-mile connectivity to provide term respite and hopefully long term car ownership change.

For instance, our partnership with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation provides both physical presence and in-app wayfinding across 50 stations so commuters can get the benefit of a shared and connected ride with lower emissions. We plan to make relevant mobility solutions available to the commuter within the shortest possible time, and provide access even for people who may not use a smartphone. In time, we expect this model to be replicated across the network and help expand the reach of public transport to the underserved parts of the city.

Technology done right, and in partnership with others, has the potential to contribute to make cities more livable, travel between two points seamless, and allow people to grab the best available transport opportunity. A recent research from the University of Toronto has found that Uber complements the average transit agency, contributing to increased ridership by 5 percent after 2 years.

In the months and years to come, it’s possible we will link public transport schedules in various cities to our Uber platform.  

At the global level, we’ve already partnered with Masabi, a mobile ticketing platform for public transit for 30 transportation agencies worldwide, including Los Angeles’ Metrolink, New York’s MTA, London’s Thames Clipper and Boston’s MBTA.

There’s a ‘10-year challenge’ that has taken social media by storm asking you to compare your current lifestyle with what it was several years ago. If we can all get this right, can you imagine what our cities would look like in 10 years? Picture all of our cities with a perfectly blue sky, with cleaner air, and with happier faces. Think of a future in mobility that is shared, connected and with zero emissions.

Are you ready for that future?

(Nandini Maheshwari is Head of Business Development for Uber in the India South Asia region; Nitish Bhushan is Head of the North India Rides business.)