The trends observed in Indian cities show growing pressure on urban transport systems due to rapid urbanisation and rising motorisation, which has been particularly high in Tier-2 urban centres where urban transport infrastructure has lagged behind the rising mobility demand. The case of Kota city in Rajasthan is an example that can be discussed in this context: it has become the first signal-free city in India due to the systematic use of grade-separated smart mobility infrastructure as part of the National Smart Cities Mission. To explore the effects of this change on the efficiency of urban mobility, socio-economic productivity, environmental quality and road safety, this paper applies a case-study-based mixed-methods approach. The analysis utilises official secondary sources of data that are verified by the government, such as the Rajasthan Economic Review (2024-25), Central Pollution Control Board air quality archives, Smart Cities Mission Management Information dashboard, Urban Improvement Trust Kota reports, and Rajasthan Police traffic records, to provide an analysis of the changes in the variables between 2019 and 2025. The results suggest that the deactivation of signalised intersections led to the average commuting time reduction by more than 60 per cent, the number of traffic accidents decreased by about 40 percent and the improvement of air quality indicators of decreased vehicular idling and fuel usage could be measured. The paper also approximates vast socio-economic benefits of recovered commuter and fuel savings, which underlie the productivity benefits of infrastructure-based mobility planning. The paper draws a conclusion that grade-separated mobility infrastructure can provide long-term socio-economic and environmental payoffs and that Kota’s signal-free model can be reproduced in other Tier-2 cities of India with the global objective of providing long-term solutions to the problem of congestion, road safety and sustainability.
Choudhary et al. (Sun,) studied this question.