Executive summary

Urban mobility is a dynamic and complex discipline that encompasses various fields, such as public transportation planning, congestion management, emission standards/regulations, street design and road safety. With the worsening impact of climate change and rapid evolution in technology, a new era of urban mobility planning is emerging, featuring alternative fuel technologies (electric/hydrogen/hybrid vehicles), mobility as a service (MaaS), data-driven mobility (integrated with digital infrastructure), etc. City or local government agencies are the closest entities to citizens, and best suited to ensure seamless, safe, affordable, and sustainable mobility for all. However, cities in India currently lack a dedicated capacity-building programme for their urban mobility officials. Urban infrastructure schemes/programmes— present and past—have enabled capacity building, but these efforts remain fragmented and project-based. The World Bank’s Sustainable Urban Transport Project was a pioneering initiative in India’s urban transport transformation; however, it provided training for only 450 urban mobility officials across India (World Bank 2019). CEPT University, which is an esteemed centre of excellence in urban transport under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), conducted a training programme titled ‘Leaders in Urban Transport Planning and Management’ (CRDF, n.d.), which trained approximately 250 participants and was limited to senior officials.

The absence of dedicated capacity building within the urban mobility sector in India leads to various negative externalities. The transport sector alone accounts for 11 per cent of India’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Kamboj et al. 2022). Throughout the year, the majority of India experiences severe air pollution and, in Prayagraj, Indore, Pune, and Bengaluru, transportation is responsible for 18 per cent, 27 per cent, 35 per cent, and 40 per cent of PM2.5 pollution, respectively (Urban Emissions 2017). India records the highest road fatalities in the world annually (Biswas 2025). Three of the top five most congested cities in the world are in India (TOM TOM 2024). One of the main reasons for this situation is that, in the Indian context, ‘urban transport’ is not explicitly classified as a constitutional subject under any of the three tiers of government (central, state, and local). It is rather intertwined with urban development, which is a state subject (Verma et al. 2021; NITI Aayog 2021). In the absence of a single agency planning and managing urban mobility in Indian cities, the subject is addressed by multiple government organisations/agencies from their own functional perspectives, which fragments capacity building in the sector. The National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP) 2006 emphasised that capacity building should be aimed at all the individuals working with the state transport departments, municipal corporations, metropolitan development authorities, traffic police, environmental authorities, transport corporations, public works departments, and so on. Through this study, we aim to identify the training needs of urban mobility officials concerning their functional roles and develop an integrated on-duty capacity-building programme proposal.

We partnered with the Regional Centre for Urban and Environmental Studies (RCUES), Lucknow, to carry out this study in India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh (UP). UP constitutes 12 per cent of India’s urban population, and is aspiring to become a trillion-dollar economy in the coming years, necessitating further and rapid urbanisation (Radhakrishna 2022). To improve its urban mobility ecosystem, the state is already investing in metro rail systems, electric buses, street redevelopment, intelligent traffic management systems, and urban planning schemes. We conducted in-person training needs assessment (TNA) surveys involving over 330 government officials specifically working on urban mobility in 17 cities of UP. We gathered various datasets from the officials through the surveys, including their profiles, awareness of government initiatives, and training needs.

The 17 cities included in this study were chosen based on the presence of a municipal corporation and the implementation of urban mobility projects through ongoing central/state government initiatives. These cities have a population ranging from 3 to 30 lakh, and their urban mobility interventions are overseen by different government agencies with overlapping jurisdictions and responsibilities. We identified and mapped all the government agencies directly or indirectly involved in performing one or more functions of urban mobility, and this is charted out in ES Figure 1.

Figure ES 1. Government agencies working on urban mobility in UP and their functional overlaps

Key findings

Limited planning professionals and low capacity building exposure among UP urban mobility officials

Transit oriented development to e-bus planning to safe intersection design - a range of training areas identified by the urban mobility officials of Uttar Pradesh

Table ES 1. Knowledge-based themes and sub-themes identified as ‘very high priority’ by all surveyed officials

Source: Authors' analysis

Table ES 2. Skill-based themes and sub-themes identified as ‘very high priority’ by all surveyed officials

Source: Authors' analysis

Table ES 1 and ES 2 emphasise the top three training areas recognised as ‘very high priority’ by all the 337 surveyed officials. However, because various agencies manage different urban mobility functions, and many of these roles overlap, we developed a TNA matrix (Figure ES 2.) showing identified training areas that cut across different agencies. With the aim of promoting collaborative training practices, the TNA matrix will be instrumental in planning for urban mobility training initiatives that contribute to the broader objectives of sustainable mobility. Additionally, it will enhance intergovernmental agency coordination and optimise resources.

The training needs are divided into two broad categories of ‘knowledge-based’ or ‘skill-based’ training areas. The results were categorised as Group I and Group II, based on the population of the cities, with Group I representing million-plus cities, and Group II, non-million-plus. The survey respondents were classified as managerial or technical staff based on their roles and responsibilities. jurisdictions and responsibilities. We identified and mapped all the government agencies directly or indirectly involved in performing one or more functions of urban mobility, and this is charted out in Figure ES 1.

Figure ES 2. Government officials from different agencies seek to learn about similar topics, emphasising the need for inter-agency collaboration and unified capacity-building

Figure ES 3. Besides knowledge-based skills, there is a high demand for project planning, functional and interpersonal skills

Recommendations

A key finding of our study is the limited availability of planning professionals in the field of urban mobility in Uttar Pradesh. The state must recruit more urban and transport planners across levels of project planning and implementation. Moreover, adding more number of women in roles within this sector can provide valuable perspectives on planning urban mobility from a woman’s point of view. Our study clearly also indicates that government officials involved in urban mobility in UP require continuous capacity building across multiple areas. Thus, we recommend a state-level capacity-building programme dedicated to improving the urban mobility ecosystem in the state. This programme aims to bridge the gap between technical advancements in the field and the operational skills of officials responsible for planning and managing urban mobility functions.

• A state-level capacity-building unit for urban mobility must be constituted within the urban development department. It can be set up under RCUES, Lucknow, as it already has the infrastructure and amenities to train government officials. This unit should comprise two full-time faculty members and a support team of two to three staff to plan and manage training for urban mobility officials. The capacity-building unit must conduct regular training needs assessment exercises, develop training modules, provide training at consistent intervals, and monitor the performance of government officials.
• A sanctioning committee must be formed under the chairmanship of the principal secretary (urban development department) to monitor the progress of the capacitybuilding programme. This committee must include members from other critical state government agencies, such as the housing and urban planning department, public works department, transport department, and traffic directorate. The sanctioning committee must provide regular funding to the capacity-building cell and review the programme.
• An annual recurring outlay of INR 30–50 million (INR 3–5 crore) is required to upskill 500 urban mobility officials in the 17 cities. The capacity-building programme shall be a continuous effort, and to ensure this, a sum of INR 30–50 million (INR 3-5 crore) should be annually kept aside from the state’s urban transport fund or other government initiatives. This should be used towards conducting training, and arranging boarding and lodging of participants, as well as for field visits, training kits, honoraria for faculty and experts, and training infrastructure, among other charges.