Stepping off the Thirumangalam metro at 6.45 pm, the train ride seemed effortless. It was cool, fast, and on time, taking just fifteen minutes from the office. Now comes the hard part. Standing at the station exit, finding a ride home is a struggle, as I switch between three apps to book an auto. The metro feeder bus only runs every 40 minutes and has just left. By the time I reach home, the "fast" metro trip has cost an extra half-hour and ₹120 in surge-priced rides, a last-mile problem the metro itself was built to solve. This is the…

Chennai has long had a tradition of public transport usage, with commuters having the choice of the suburban railway network, Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses operating in the city and the Metro Rail for their daily transit. Despite the government introducing new services recently, especially electric buses, private vehicles numbers have soared and bus ridership has gone down considerably. Last mile connectivity issues, poor coverage in certain areas and the inability of the government to encourage residents to use public transport are major impediments. In fact, private vehicles make up 65 per cent of all motorised transport in the Chennai…