The flyovers are responses to induced demand, built primarily to accommodate the growing number of private vehicles, urban transport expert Prashanth Kumar Bachu said.
An average of 446 people, roughly the capacity of eight buses, were stuck on a single flyover at any given time, according to urban transport expert Prashanth Kumar Bachu, who spoke at a session on Sunday (June 8, 2025). Citing the Begumpet flyover as a case in point, he argued that such infrastructure projects merely relocate congestion rather than resolve it.
“Flyovers are not symbols of development,” he said. “They are responses to induced demand, built primarily to accommodate the growing number of private vehicles.” He warned that this approach does little to ease traffic and instead intensifies urban mobility issues.
Mr Bachu underscored the impracticality of continuing to rely on long-term, high-cost infrastructure as a solution. Hyderabad, he said, would need over 2,000 flyovers, requiring ₹50,000 crore and a century to build, to address projected vehicle volumes. Similarly, over 300 kilometres of metro rail would demand upwards of ₹75,000 crore and could take anywhere between 10 to 40 years to complete.
“Even doubling the current road space will not be enough,” he said, “as this would come at the cost of footpaths, trees and other essential urban functions.”
Against this backdrop, Mr Bachu stressed that the city’s immediate relief lies not in more construction, but in more efficient use of existing roads through better urban design. “Designated lanes and road space for buses and pedestrians are the only viable short-term measures,” he said. “By simply reorganising road space, we can start making an impact now.”
Among the immediate solutions proposed were dedicated lanes for buses and non-motorised transport, prioritisation of pedestrian movement, and strict enforcement of lane discipline. Mr Bachu said 300 to 500 kilometres of existing roads are suitable for immediately introducing designated bus lanes, enabling at least 500 more bus trips along those routes without adding new buses or requiring fresh investment, simply by reducing traffic delays.
