India is one of the few remaining large countries of the world yet to experience the urbanisation of its population. In most regions – from the US, to Europe and Latin America – more than 75% of people live in urban areas. By contrast, only 31% of India’s people live in cities. This, however, is set to change dramatically in the coming decades. By one estimate an additional 250 million people – equivalent to 80% of current population of the United States – will call India’s cities home by 2030. The number of cities with more than 1 million people will increase from 42 today to 68.

For the cities themselves, this demographic transition means that the demands on already stressed urban transport systems will grow significantly. Other convergent trends suggest an even greater increase in urban travel demand than urbanisation alone would predict. Rising incomes mean that the number of leisure and recreational trips per capita will increase. Additionally, the increasing involvement of women in the formal workforce will further increase urban travel.

It’s not every day that I open an email personally inviting me to Kensington Palace. As I read the words on my blackberry that Saturday in late March, I had a moment not unlike Charlie when he found the golden ticket in his bar of chocolate in the 1971 classic “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” The email confirmed what I had been hoping for weeks, ever since I submitted our application for consideration. His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent was presenting...