Nandan Dawda and Dhaval Desai, Leveraging Open Networks and Open Data for Smarter Urban Transport, Observer Research Foundation, July 2026. India’s cities are at a critical juncture in their mobility transition. Rapid urbanisation and rising travel demand are placing unprecedented pressure on existing transport systems, which remain fragmented, unevenly governed, and insufficiently integrated. By the mid-2030s, India’s urban population is projected to exceed 600 million, and daily mobility choices will shape not only economic productivity and environmental outcomes but also access to livelihoods, leisure, education, and essential services, including healthcare.[1],[2] A fragmented transportation system limits low-income users’ access to jobs, education, and services, and consequently, deepening existing inequalities. Despite notable investments in metro rail, highways, and digital platforms, urban mobility outcomes continue to be characterised by worsening externalities, including congestion, high travel-time costs, emissions, and exclusion. The outcomes are worse for users dependent on informal and peripheral transport systems, including paratransit modes.[3],[4] At a time when the broader Indian economy is rapidly adopting digital public infrastructure (DPI), open platforms, and data-enabled service delivery across diverse sectors, including finance, commerce, and governance, their use in public transport remains limited. Urban transport systems, including many fast-expanding metro rail systems, continue to rely on conventional service-delivery models, often ignoring the fundamental principles of accessibility, inclusivity, safety, and affordability.[5] At the same time, informal paratransit modes, which carry more than 25 percent of daily trips and provide critical first- and last-mile connectivity, remain largely invisible within formal planning, regulatory, and data ecosystems.[6],[7] Thus, despite the numerous benefits of harnessing big data, open data, and interoperable digital networks in providing seamless connectivity—as reflected in several successful, well-integrated, and user-oriented public transport models globally—urban transport in India remains fragmented across operational silos.[8],[9] Big and open data, combined with open network architectures, are emerging as strategic enablers