About this event

Did you know that the road transport sector contributes over 20% of global CO₂ emissions? In India, transitioning to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) presents a major opportunity to reduce both greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and air pollution. Many major economies have already set regulations to achieve 100% ZEV or electric vehicle (EV) sales for new cars and vans by 2035. But what does this transition look like for India?

The ICCT’s latest study, “Vision 2050,” provides an updated global assessment of ZEV policies and market trends, analyzing their impact on EV sales, road transport energy consumption, and emissions through 2050. Accelerating ZEV adoption is the most promising strategy to cut CO₂ emissions from road transport and help meet the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming well below 2°C.

India’s ZEV adoption in the last year

In the last year from 2023 to 2024, the number of EVs sold in India increased by 27%. Three-wheelers are leading this transition, with a 57% EV adoption rate, and two-wheelers dominate the sales by the numbers, accounting for 59% of total EVs sold.

In partnership with ET Auto, this webinar will discuss how India and other countries are accelerating the transition to ZEVs, highlighting key successes and opportunities. Based on insights from the ICCT’s “Vision 2050” study, we will discuss how supply-side regulations (SSRs) and fiscal incentives have accelerated ZEV adoption across diverse vehicle markets. We will also examine how India could integrate international best practices to accelerate domestic EV uptake with key policies like fuel economy standards and EV fiscal incentives.

Join us to gain valuable insights on how India can drive towards a cleaner, more sustainable future.

This piece was originally published in the Hindustan Times.

Road traffic congestion is a pressing issue in many of India’s metropolitan centres. Gridlock brings prolonged commute times, excessive fuel consumption, air and noise pollution, and elevated greenhouse gas emissions. The National Capital Region has been in the spotlight as traffic has worsened with urban sprawl. According to research published by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), on-road vehicles were responsible for nearly three-quarters of the transportation health burden in New Delhi in 2015.

To address peak-hour congestion, Delhi’s government reportedly plans to introduce a pilot congestion tax that would charge drivers who use select roadways during busy periods. Also known as congestion pricing, this aims to ease traffic and reduce pollution by discouraging unnecessary trips and encouraging drivers to use alternative routes, travel at off-peak times, shift to public transport, or share rides (and fees) with others. A 2010 study by the ICCT found that congestion tax schemes in London, Singapore, and Stockholm reduced congestion by 13%–30% and greenhouse gas emissions by 15%–20%.

This isn’t the first time Delhi has considered congestion pricing. Proposals in 2009 and 2018 failed to advance. Still, as Delhi looks ahead to its congestion tax pilot, I’ll highlight experiences from other cities that can provide valuable insights into how these schemes could be employed to effectively reduce traffic and air pollution.

Dynamic pricing

Delhi’s pilot would reportedly charge vehicles entering the city at 13 major entry points during morning and evening peak hours. With over 1.1 million vehicles entering and exiting daily, this makes sense, as such corridors are often heavily congested. A 2016 Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) cross-border traffic survey at nine major entry points to Delhi accounting for about 70% of traffic into the city found that the number of personal and passenger cars and two-wheelers entering daily was about the same as the number of vehicles registered in the city in a year.

At the same time, with over 1,800 new vehicles added to the Capital’s roads daily, an entry-point congestion tax during peak hours could miss an opportunity to address a large portion of daily vehicle emissions. Another CSE study estimated that the traffic at surveyed border points contributed just 10% of the total pollution loads emanating from the transport sector in Delhi. Administering taxes only at peak hours can also mean overlooking emissions during off-peak times, including those from heavy-duty vehicles, which are responsible for 20%–30% of transport sector pollution in Delhi and operate predominately outside of peak hours.

Other countries have sought to balance pollution and emission reduction aims against commuter access through dynamic pricing schemes that apply city-wide and have fees that rise at times of high congestion and drop during less busy times. In Singapore, an early pioneer in congestion pricing, charges are regularly reviewed and adjusted in response to changes in traffic patterns. Rates vary throughout the day and rise and fall gradually around periods of high traffic, which helps avoid surges before and after the designated peak hours.

Targeting the most polluting vehicles

Delhi reportedly plans to impose charges on most vehicles but exempt two-wheelers and electric vehicles. Congestion pricing programs in other countries have also provided discounts or exemptions for certain travelers, such as for residents of the designated taxation area, diplomatic vehicles, and emergency vehicles.

However, in Delhi, discounts and exemptions for any personal or commercial vehicle may risk undermining the core congestion and emission reduction aims of the schemes. For instance, two-wheelers, with reportedly about 1,100 new registrations  each day,  are roughly one in three vehicles on the road and are the second-largest contributor to transport pollution, according to The Energy and Resources Institute. Lessons can also be drawn from Delhi’s own 2016 odd-even scheme, which aimed to reduce pollution by restricting the operation of vehicles based on license plate number and exempted two-wheelers, women-only vehicles, and taxis, among others. Observers assessed that the program had minimal impact on pollution due in part to an increase in the use of exempted vehicles.

Pricing framework

Policymakers in other countries have wrestled with how to set congestion charges high enough to encourage reductions in vehicle use without placing a disproportionate financial burden on low-income travelers. In the 1970s, Singapore’s congestion toll led to a larger-than-expected drop in traffic that raised commuter welfare concerns. More recently, London revised its fee upward to maintain effectiveness in response to inflation.

There are other strategies. Currently, pricing in Singapore and Milan’s Area C varies by vehicle size and heavier, more polluting vehicles pay higher charges than lighter ones. This reflects their greater impact on both traffic congestion and pollution levels. Remote sensing, a method used to monitor real-world tailpipe emissions, could offer support for tailoring congestion prices to the emissions of different vehicles. This technology has been deployed in Europe, the United States, Spain, Sweden, and elsewhere to identify high- and low-emission vehicles and detect possible vehicle tampering. A recent ICCT study that took measurements via remote sensing in Delhi and Gurugram highlighted the difference between real-world tailpipe emission levels and laboratory limits and the need for advanced techniques for emissions monitoring.

A review of congestion pricing pilot programs in U.S. cities identified a number of possible approaches to mitigate the impacts of these schemes on low-income groups, including discounts, exemptions, and rebates. Such measures aim to minimize the financial burden on disadvantaged communities while maintaining the program’s effectiveness. Additionally, cities like Bogotá (Colombia) have adopted approaches that consider drivers’ income level alongside vehicle emissions to establish an equitable pricing structure.

The role of public transportation and supportive policies

Delhi has more than 7,500 buses in operation and over 390 km of metro connectivity, including links to other major cities. Still, challenges persist, including irregular bus frequency, overcrowding during rush hours, poor conditions of the bus, and last-mile connectivity issues for metro users. Ensuring that the public transit system is reliable, well-integrated, and equipped for last-mile connectivity through feeder bus services and pedestrian and cycling infrastructure is critical to realizing the shift away from private transport envisioned under congestion tax schemes. Indeed, congestion pricing was also considered recently in Bangalore and Mumbai, but it stalled due to concerns about the capacity of the public transport system to provide sustainable alternatives to private vehicle users.

Other cities have used revenues from congestion pricing to pay for upgrades to the public transit system. In London, the net revenue from congestion pricing has supported efforts to enhance bus fleets, expand bicycle and pedestrian lanes, improve road safety, and more. Cities like London, Paris, and Brussels have implemented scrappage programs that provide subsidies to retire older, higher-emitting vehicles and encourage a shift to public transit or cleaner private vehicles. Furthermore, initiatives like Delhi’s Mohalla bus scheme, a feeder bus service designed for neighbourhood-level operations, are expected to bridge the last-mile connectivity challenges by deploying 9 m zero-emission buses at scale.

In considering congestion taxing to help address poor air quality, Delhi has the opportunity to draw on global insights and establish a strong precedent for tackling traffic congestion and air pollution together. Success in this would promote sustainable urban mobility that offers a safer, healthier environment for its residents.

Durante los últimos años hemos observado un rápido aumento de proyectos de transporte público cero emisiones en América Latina. Santiago cuenta actualmente con 2.480 buses eléctricos y ha anunciado planes de sumar 1.200 más en 2025, mientras que Bogotá ha decidido permitir solo buses cero emisiones a su sistema de autobús de tránsito rápido (BRT, de sus siglas en inglés) a partir de 2022 y ya tiene 1.486 buses eléctricos operativos. Aun así, incluso con más de 6.000 autobuses en operación en América Latina, los pilotos siguen siendo importantes para el aprendizaje.

El Consejo Internacional de Transporte Público (ICCT), a través de la iniciativa Zero Emission Bus Rapid-deployment Accelerator (ZEBRA), acompaño la realización de dos pilotos en el sistema de transporte de Medellín entre febrero y mayo de 2023. Estos pilotos fueron realizados en rutas barriales operadas por transportadores tradicionales, que presentan mayores retos y barreras de implementación que los sistemas de transporte concesionados tipo BRT. Se dio apoyo técnico a las empresas Flota Nueva Villa (FNV) y Expreso Campo Valdés (ECV), las cuales operan el en sector nororiental de Medellín, para realizar pilotos en tres rutas con longitudes entre los 12-14 km y con pendientes altas, cercanas al 25% en algunas zonas.

Los pilotos cubrieron toda la gama de actividades necesarias para comenzar a operar buses eléctricos. En términos de infraestructura, se solicitó disponibilidad de electricidad a la empresa de energía e instaló un cargador para los buses. Se realizaron pruebas de campo de la flota para garantizar el desempeño adecuado del bus, se capacitaron los operadores en como conducir para mejorar el desempeño energético del bus y se definieron los planes de operación para garantizar la autonomía del bus eléctrico en cada ruta seleccionada. Al final, los buses eléctricos cumplieron con las expectativas y funcionaron sin contratiempos.

Encontramos que los pilotos siguen siendo fundamentales para abordar tres tipos de cuestiones que son claves en el escalamiento de servicios de buses eléctricos: consideraciones tecnológicas, organizacionales y regulatorias.

Desde el punto de vista tecnológico, se observa que los mayores cambios que acompañan la transición a los autobuses eléctricos ocurren en la planificación de la operación y el mantenimiento, que están directamente relacionados con el uso del nuevo sistema de propulsión. De esta manera, los pilotos permiten validar la capacidad de baterías requeridas para los vehículos, la potencia de los buses, el diseño de las carrocerías y los costos reales de operación y mantenimiento. Adicionalmente, para el sistema de carga es posible identificar el tipo y potencia de cargador requerido y su concordancia con los planes de carga necesarios para cumplir con la programación de despachos de los buses.

En cuanto a la organización, los pilotos muestran brechas donde se puede requerir habilidades, personal o sistemas de gestión adicionales para cumplir los planes operacionales. Como resultado de la implementación del piloto es posible implementar programas de capacitación y o proponer cambios organizacionales para poder hacer efectiva la implementación de la electromovilidad en las empresas.

Finalmente, en términos de regulación, los pilotos ayuden a identificar las homologaciones, permisos y ajustes contractuales necesarios para implementar los proyectos de autobuses eléctricos, que de otra manera pueden producir riesgos de implementación inviabilizando o retrasando los cronogramas inicialmente previstos. Con los pilotos, las rutas criticas desde el punto de vista regulatorio y contractual pueden ser identificadas y priorizadas para reducir costos y tiempos de implementación.

De esta manera, los pilotos permiten entender mejor los aspectos técnicos, legales y financieros necesarios para establecer sistemas de autobuses eléctricos y detectar y abordar brechas en las interacciones entre autoridades, transportadores, fabricantes de flota y proveedores de energía que pueden retrasar la implementación. Esto puede ser especialmente útil en sistemas de transporte en los cuales la adopción de tecnologías cero emisiones y regulaciones relacionadas con ellos hayan sufrido un rezago que dificulte los cambios en la infraestructura y en las organizaciones necesarios para la implementación de la electromovilidad.

En este contexto, para los tomadores de decisiones responsables para el diseño de sistemas de transporte público, los pilotos pueden servir como una herramienta útil y un ejercicio orientador, ya sea como una fase previa a la estructuración a detalle o como una fase temprana en la implementación. Esto puede ayudar a respaldar la implementación exitosa de proyectos de buses eléctricos y generar la confianza que todos los actores requieren para dar este importante salto hacia la sostenibilidad ambiental.