LAUNCHED: STAMP Innovation Challenge invites applications to boost public transport usage in Electronic City.
Bengaluru, April 11, 2025: The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), and the Electronics City Industries Association (ELCIA), in collaboration with Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) and WRI India today launched the “STAMP: Nudging Commuter Behaviour” — a pioneering initiative that leverages behavioural science and technology to encourage commuters to shift from personal vehicles to public transport.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
With the Namma Metro Yellow Line set to launch later in 2025, Electronic City — one of Bengaluru’s largest employment hubs — will be better connected to the city. This expansion will bring over one lakh jobs closer to the metro network, offering a faster and more sustainable alternative to private transport. Recently introduced BMTC feeder buses, launched in collaboration with ELCIA and the Electronics City Industrial Township Authority (ELCITA), are providing first- and last-mile connectivity in the area.
The Station Access and Mobility Program (STAMP), led by TMF and WRI India, has been working to bridge the connectivity gap to taking public transport in Indian cities, by combining research with innovative pilots, from electric autorickshaws to a carpooling app. Launched in Bengaluru in 2017, STAMP has since expanded to six cities: Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, and Delhi, enabling over 50,000 last-mile metro trips and saving 240,000 passenger minutes. Using a four-step model, it identifies gaps and customizes solutions based on each city’s metro system.
A 2023 working paper by Toyota Mobility Foundation and WRI India titled, “Improving metro access in India: Evidence from three cities” shows that commuters tend to avoid the metro due to last-mile costs and wait times. They also show that high-income commuters (earning over ₹60,000/month) rarely use metro services, preferring personal vehicles due to expensive last-mile options. Compared to cities like Nagpur and Delhi, Bengaluru commuters face higher last-mile costs, making metro accessibility a challenge. Behavioural science is emerging as a critical tool in urban mobility, enabling data-driven interventions that shift commuter habits and make public transport the preferred choice.