It’s almost 20 years since I left New Delhi for my aged parents’ home in Chicalim, Vasco, Goa in October 2008. When I watch scenes of the smog-filled air in Delhi-NCR play out on English news channels at this time of the year, year after year, I count myself lucky to not be living or working in Delhi anymore. Though the city has been home to me for more than half my life, and my entire career in the advertising industry has been based there, save for a relocation to Chennai in 2003 to work with RK Swamy/BBDO about which, the less said, the better.
The sad thing is that it’s not just Delhi. Almost every large Indian city is faced with serious civic infrastructure problems which are not equipped to handle large-scale urbanization and the rise in vehicle population. Our city streets are clogged with traffic and not just during rush-hour, but all day. With bumper-to-bumper traffic crawling at snail-pace, we waste so many hours of our working day on commuting to office and back, not to mention doing any other errands such as shopping, etc. Besides being such a monumental waste of time, it also takes a toll on our health, what with the smog and toxic fumes filling the air, as well as the sheer strain of driving on such congested streets. The paddy-stubble burning in states such as Punjab, Haryana and UP is a recent phenomenon, and I think this reeks of unprofessional PR agency meddling and mischief to make farmers of us! It is inexplicable why none of these state governments have been able to stop this terrible practice which adds to the smoke and smog that envelops all of North India every fall and winter.
Why more people in India don’t take to using the Metro Rail as they do around the world, is a wonder.
As the COP30 Climate Summit to be held in Brazil draws near, I think it is time for all our cities to rethink the city infrastructure as it exists in India, because clearly this cannot continue in this way for much longer. The task of cities mitigating and adapting to extreme weather events and climate change is an arduous one and we need to stay focused on it in terms of climate change action. I have written before on our cities in India and the problems they suffer from climate change and what city administrations and state governments can do about it.
In this post, I would like to tackle yet another urban nightmare, that of excessive congestion on our city roads which makes life hellish every single day. And how Metro Rail can come to the rescue of millions of city residents. I was surprised to learn that over 20 cities in India now have Metro Rail, though there isn’t any reliable source for an exact number and status of Metro Rail projects anywhere online, except for a PIB statement that I was served by Google which itself reeks of unprofessional PR agency nonsense. I am also not aware of what stages of completion the various Metro Rail networks are in, as new lines are added and new localities connected.
As India’s automotive companies try to increase the sales of their vehicles in a still hugely underpenetrated car market that is India, there is also a need for a more sensible and judicious use of private transport as more and better public transport comes into service. I take great interest in the auto industry, having worked on car brands in advertising, but I can’t help think that there is a better balance that can be achieved. If every car and two-wheeler owner refrains from driving their vehicles everyday and used them only occasionally, as in once or twice a week, our cities’ residents and the cities themselves would be changed for the better.
I must admit that I have myself never ever used Metro Rail in Delhi, though I have used Metro Rail in cities that I have visited overseas, from UK and Europe to Singapore and Thailand. Perhaps it’s because many localities in South Delhi were not connected then. Looking at the road traffic conditions and the level of air pollution now in Delhi, I think I would definitely opt for Metro Rail travel on most days, especially now that Delhi and NCR-Gurgaon are also connected. A cursory look at the Metro Rail being built in various cities across India leads me to think that a large distance is being covered overground, rather than underground which is how it ought to be. If this can be corrected in future, it would be better for everyone concerned, as it leaves precious land resources to be used for better purposes and it also wouldn’t be such an eyesore. Further, Metro rail connectivity to airports and main railway stations ought to be of the highest standards. And Metro lines to airports must connect all terminals as well as transits between them.
Making people in India aware of the myriad benefits of travelling by Metro Rail requires a well-thought strategy and advertising campaign. It might take years to convince city dwellers and owners of private transport to give up driving their vehicles on a daily basis, but it would be worth trying. In India owning a vehicle of one’s own is still a huge aspirational goal for millions in cities, and it is also seen as a prestige issue, if not a status symbol, that owners like to flaunt. This barrier to using the Metro can only be broken if we can persuade them that there is more to taking the Metro than merely getting to work or someplace. If we can make car and bike owners feel that they are living a better and more sensible life by using Metro Rail, we have a good chance of changing their behaviour effectively. I have put down my thoughts on a strategy for Metro Rail India as well as an advertising campaign for it, which you can read below.
I must share a few thoughts on how we can achieve impact and cost-effectiveness through the way this campaign is aired across media. Since most Metro Rail corporations are joint ventures between the Central Government of India and State Governments, as I discovered, it makes sense to air the TV advertising campaign nationally through the Centre, with a cost-sharing mechanism that can be worked out between them. The Metro Rail campaigns in print and digital media can, and indeed must, be run locally at the city level for reasons I explain in the strategy and ideas document. I have also created layouts for the print campaign for Metro Rail which you may read below.
If we raise the level of Metro Rail usage in Indian cities by getting car and bike owners to use it on a daily basis, we could then claim that Metro Rail in India has finally come of age and that we are approaching world standards in clean, hassle-free and safe city travel.
There’s another area in which Metro Rail in India could attain world standards, and this is in renting station and platform space for advertising. Globally, most Metro Rail stations carry advertising for some of the world’s best-known brands and so it should be here in India. When millions of passengers use the Metro Rail daily, why would any advertiser not want to address them through cost-effective OOH media?
Once again, advertising can be a force for good. This time, for decongesting our cities and for making city travel a pleasant experience for millions of its residents and for visitors.
The featured image of Delhi Metro Airport Express Line at the start of this post is from Wikimedia Commons. Images used in the Metro Rail India advertising campaign layouts are from Wikimedia Commons and Unsplash, and I thank all of them.
Peripatetic Perch 