The Gujarat government has constituted the Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) to tackle traffic congestion in Ahmedabad and Surat and to coordinate city buses, bus rapid transit services and metro rail while improving last mile connectivity from homes to workplaces. The authority will strengthen urban public transport management and oversee integrated planning across modes.

At its first committee meeting, chaired by the Chief Secretary, the authority approved an Urban Transport Fund of Rs one billion (Rs1 bn) as seed capital. The corpus is expected to be provided through a budgetary provision in the state government’s 2026–27 budget. The committee also approved three initiatives for Ahmedabad and Surat — One City, One Mobility Card, a Common Mobility Plan and enhanced last mile connectivity — and asked municipal commissioners to submit detailed reports promptly.

The proposed One City, One Mobility Card will allow passengers to use a single payment system across bus rapid transit services, city buses including AMTS and metro rail within a fixed distance, and both municipal corporations were directed to expedite its launch along with a dedicated transport mobile application. The Common Mobility Plan will map existing routes and identify underserved corridors where services will be introduced. The last mile initiative aims to improve access from homes to workplaces, increase the usability of mass transit and reduce reliance on private vehicles.

Major multimodal transport hubs are planned at key metro junctions in Ahmedabad, including Motera and Thaltej, where integrated feeder services will connect surrounding areas and help ease parking congestion. The Urban Transport Fund is expected to support planning, implementation, operations and maintenance of strengthened public transport systems in both cities. Gujarat is adopting elements of models that operate in states such as Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and intends to extend the framework to other major urban centres.