Public Transport to Define India’s Mobility Landscape: ZF’s Akash Passey

Public transport will play a defining role in shaping India’s future mobility landscape, with buses expected to remain the backbone of mass transportation, according to ZF India President Akash Passey.

While highlighting the sector’s growing importance and the operational hurdles at Busworld India Conclave 2026, Passey said rising demand for mobility across cities and regions is reinforcing the need for efficient public transport systems, even as private vehicle segments expand.

“The movement will be defined by public transport.” According to him, buses are already beginning to assume a larger role with stronger policy support and institutional backing, and will become more central to mobility planning going forward.

“The government really became a supporter rather than a competitor,” he said, describing a shift in the public transport ecosystem over the past decade that has encouraged private participation and technology adoption.

Despite growing investments and frequent tenders, Passey flagged execution challenges in deploying electric buses at scale.

“We have 63,000 electric buses already ordered. Why are only 16,000 on the road?” he asked, pointing to gaps between procurement and operational readiness.

He said the transition to modern public transport requires coordinated action across multiple stakeholders, including financiers, operators, and technology providers.

“There is a lot happening with the change in technology. All ends have to meet, one way or the other.”

“The financing has to come through, the technology has to come through, the operators have to come through,” he added, describing the transition as both an infrastructure and behavioural shift.