New Delhi, April 18: The top four Indian cities are today 149 per cent more congested than comparable cities in Asia and the country is losing over $22 billion a year in peak traffic hours compared to travel time during non-peak hours in those cities, an Uber-commissioned study revealed on Wednesday.
On average, commuters in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata are taking 1.5 times longer to travel a given distance and ridesharing or shared mobility is the only solution to get rid of the traffic menace, said the study titled "Unlocking Cities: The impact of ridesharing across India" by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
"We continue to be at the forefront when it comes to unlocking the true potential of ridesharing for India. Through this study, we are hoping to draw the attention of administrators and urban planners on how shared cars and mobility can be part of the solution vs individual car ownership," Amit Jain, President, Uber India and South Asia, told reporters here.
According to the BCG survey, up to 89 per cent of people plan to buy a new car in the next five years.
However, over 79 per cent would refrain from buying a car if ridesharing matches car ownership for affordability and convenience, it added.
The study was launched in the presence of Uber's Global COO Barney Harford, Suresh Subudhi, Partner, BCG and Ann Lavin, Senior Director, Public Policy and Government Relations, Uber APAC.
"If car ownership trends continue, Indian cities risk coming to a complete standstill in only a few years," said Harford.
"Ridesharing can be part of the solution to traffic congestion because it uses technology to get more people into fewer cars. We can unlock our cities and their full potential, but we have to do it together," he added.
In these circumstances, ridesharing would reduce private cars by 33-68 per cent.
By reducing private cars, increasing vehicle utilisation, improving public transport adoption, and optimising infrastructure planning, ridesharing could reduce congestion by 17-31 per cent, the findings showed.
"In the coming months, we will introduce several India-first innovations that will help bring the benefits of ridesharing to many more Indians and enable us to work with the government towards a common goal: reduce private car ownership and expand access to public transit systems," Jain noted.
Overall, travel by public transport accounts for 19 per cent and 54 per cent of kms travelled in Delhi and Mumbai, respectively.
On average, 25 per cent of the private car owners surveyed in Delhi and Mumbai expressed a keen interest in becoming rideshare drivers.
"On-demand ride sharing is a practical way to reduce the number of private vehicles on the road and reduce congestion. It is important to encourage this proactively," said Suresh Subudhi, Global Sector Head -- Infrastructure and Transport, BCG.
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Amitabh Bachchan returns to X to praise 'Operation Sindoor', says Pahalgam attack won't be forgotten
New Delhi, May 11 (PTI): Megastar Amitabh Bachchan on early Sunday morning made his social media comeback with a lengthy post on 'Operation Sindoor' by the Indian armed forces in retaliation of the Pahalgam terror attack, after sharing a series of blank posts on his X page and personal blog for weeks.
The veteran actor had not made any post on X since April 22, hours before terrorists attacked Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir killing 26 people.
Bachchan, 82, expressed sadness over the massacre of innocent civilians in Pahalgam.
In his post, he also lauded the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government for launching 'Operation Sindoor' which targeted nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including Bahawalpur which is a major base of Jaish-e-Mohammad terror outfit.
"The Pahalgam attack where they killed 26 innocent tourists .. all with their families enjoying a holiday , mercilessly, at one spot - even on a couple just married three days ago, who had come for their Honeymoon .. will never be forgotten .. SO . the Government , who have been telling the neighbouring authorities to stop terrorist camps and activities in our Country , has never been heeded ..
"Hence Modi and the Government decided to respond to the terrorist base camps in the neighbours and launched a military procedure .. the results of which are well known .. 9 of their terrorist camps and outfits were destroyed .. militarily .. (sic)" the actor wrote on X.
Bachchan concluded his post with the lines from his father, Hindi poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan's popular poem "Agneepath", exhorting the armed forces.
The actor said he chose to select words from the poem "as an inspiration and a demand to the Army and all Indians .. to continue the fight !! Against the injustice done to us and in particular the innocent .. !!!
"Tu na thamega kabhi, tu na mudega kabhi, tu na jhukega kabhi, kar shapath, kar shapath, kar shapath, agneepath, agneepath, agneepath," he wrote.
Hours after India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an understanding on stopping military actions, the arrangement came under severe pressure with New Delhi blaming Islamabad for breaching it.
In a media briefing close to midnight, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri called upon Pakistan to take "appropriate steps" to address these violations and deal with the situation with "seriousness and responsibility".
This came around five hours after the foreign secretary announced that India and Pakistan had reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea with immediate effect.
However, there was no ceasefire violation reported in Kashmir valley overnight, with no overnight cross-border shelling or drone activity reported from anywhere across the Jammu region, officials said on Sunday.
T 5375 -
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) May 10, 2025
छुट्टियाँ मानते हुए, उस राक्षस ने, निर्दोष पति पत्नी को बाहर खींच कर, पति को नग्न कर, उसके धर्म की पूर्ति करने के बाद , उसे जब गोली मारने लगा, तो पत्नी ने, घुटने पे गिर कर, रो रो अनुरोध करने के बाद भी, की उसके पति को न मारो ; उसके पति को उस बुज़दिल राक्षस ने, बेहद…
