Research & Publications

Abstract

What happens when digital mobility platforms designed for India's metros are extended to smaller cities? This paper argues that outcomes depend less on technology design or demand forecasts than on local informal institutions such as driver unions and route-sharing norms, platform incentives for labour, state regulation of aggregators, and local perceptions of trust and fairness. Drawing on academic, government and industry sources, including open-network alternatives, it concludes that platformisation in smaller cities requires institutional adaptation rather than copying metropolitan models.