India has more traffic congestion than any other nation in the world.Traffic congestion is a serious problem in most Indian metros. The scorching pace of economic growth and the growing incomes of India’s burgeoning middle class are only likely to make the situation worse. Public transport systems are overloaded, and there is a limit to how much additional infrastructure can be added to a city.Of course, city planners are doing the best they can to cope with the increasing stress on the transportation infrastructure. For instance, in Mumbai, tens of flyovers have been,and continue to be,constructed, and existing roads are being widened.But creating more infrastructure is not a solution by itself.

Traffic congestion leads to a plethora of problems like increase in the number of accidents and injuries,stress induced diseases and rising emissions.Google has come up with an innovative solution to the problem with the concept of Self-Driven Cars,which essentially reduce the number of people on the road by a factor of 1 person per car(there is no driver),reducing accidents,reducing congestion,saving fuel and reducing greenhouse emissions.As amazing as the solution may be,I don't think it can be the answer to India's traffic woes.India is one of the few countries in the world to have alternatives like Rickshaw's (both auto and cycle) in the public transport domain and these comprise of a sizable portion of the vehicles on the roads of India.The men who drive these vehicles are often poor and uneducated,their source of income is not fixed and they often have to support large families.A shift to Self-Driving Cars will render these rickshaw's obsolete leaving these men and their families in Dire Straits.

Here is where I would like propose an alternative solution which promises inclusive growth as opposed to growth that only benefits privileged sections of society.

Technology already exists to control and manufacture Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV's) which can be remotely controlled from hundreds of miles away.Since the physics and mechanics of flight are(or at least seem to be)a lot more complicated than the dynamics of a road vehicle,I see no reason why we can't have vehicles that can be remotely controlled from a command center.The drivers of these vehicles can be the present day rickshaw drivers whose families will greatly benefit from the benefits of a contracted job and a fixed pay.Prospective customers can communicate with the command center via an Android app or a phone call.

This solution will save time and result in a lot fewer cars on the road(1 driver less/car),reduced traffic congestion,reduced greenhouse emissions and a dramatic decrease in the number of accidents(the men who will drive these vehicles are trained to drive,their primary skill sets are driving and navigation). This system also promises a lot of extensibility,the command centers throughout cites,states and nations can be networked together to enable collective decision making enabling higher routing efficiencies.I believe the solution can be applied to developed nations as well,but it holds a lot more promise in developing nations like India.