Across the world, public transport in large cities consists of bus and rail services running in an integrated fashion so that it makes both economic sense for commuters and is convenient to use. With new additions to buses in the city virtually ruled out in the short term, it is truly odd how the city planners have neglected to properly utilise even the existing rail network and services. It is not that the city does not have a rail network. In fact, the network runs across all important city centres. The reason it is hardly used is its obvious user-unfriendliness.

What is lacking is a system of cheap and efficient feeder services to destinations close to the railway stations. And where there are no stations, the Delhi government has made no attempt to build them. If this is done, the pressure on Delhi's roads would come down, the city's alarming pollution levels would plummet, and road maintenance becomes far cheaper. Instead of working on this rationalisation, which should be a more cost- and time-effective answer, the capital's planners are pitching all their hopes on the eternally delayed metro rail system which is expected to be only partially operational by next year. The capital definitely needs a comprehensive transport policy with traffic projections into at least the next half century, but what it needs immediately is a short-term policy which taps existing resources efficiently with minimum investment.