New Delhi, June 24 -- As Indian cities expand to accommodate growing populations, the infrastructure supporting them has struggled to keep pace. The typical policy response has been to build more roads, widen existing ones and invest in flyovers. However, states are now starting to explore a more sustainable path: optimizing the use of existing infrastructure. This shift, while still incremental, holds promise-if cities can scale and sustain it.

Policies in transition: Earlier this year, Maharashtra approved car and bike pooling policies aimed at increasing vehicle efficiency. In Delhi, to manage traffic congestion around India Gate, authorities designated taxi pick-up and drop-off points. More recently, the Delhi government announced a ...