Climate-Friendly Modernisation of Urban Transport, Tamil Nadu

Year: 2023–2025  |  Client: KfW Development Bank  |  Country: India (Tamil Nadu)

Cities Forum supports the climate-friendly modernisation of urban transport in Tamil Nadu, one of India's most urbanised states, within a major KfW-financed programme. Modernising a large public-bus system is among the most tangible ways a state can cut transport emissions while improving daily life for millions of commuters; this programme does both at scale, and Cities Forum's role is to help ensure the investment delivers on its climate, service and financial objectives.

Our approach

The programme is substantial in ambition and size, encompassing the procurement of more than 2,700 buses together with the charging infrastructure and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) needed to operate a modern fleet. Within this, Cities Forum's support focuses on the levers that turn new vehicles into better mobility: service-quality improvement so that passengers experience more reliable, comfortable and accessible journeys; operational and financial performance so that transport undertakings can sustain the fleet over its life; and the fleet upgrade itself, including the induction of 2,200 BS VI buses and 500 electric buses that together modernise and progressively decarbonise the system.

What we delivered

The work brings a systems perspective to the modernisation. New buses deliver their full value only when paired with the depots, charging, ITS, maintenance capacity and operating models that keep them running efficiently, and with attention to the passenger experience that ultimately drives ridership. By addressing service quality, operational and financial sustainability, and the composition and management of the fleet together, Cities Forum helps Tamil Nadu avoid the common trap in which shiny new assets underperform because the surrounding system was not upgraded with them.

Impact

The engagement helps Tamil Nadu deliver a cleaner, higher-quality and more financially sustainable urban-bus system, advancing both climate goals and the everyday mobility of its citizens, and supporting KfW's objective of climate-friendly transport investment. For Cities Forum, it exemplifies the firm's ability to add value within large, capital-intensive public-transport programmes, combining fleet, financial, operational and service expertise to make the modernisation greener and more effective on the ground.