Jaipur, known as the "Pink City," was the first planned city in India. Photo by Christian Haugen.

EMBARQ's Centre for Sustainable Transport in India (CST-India) and the Jaipur City Transport Services Ltd. (JCTSL) will work together to improve bus operations in Jaipur City in order to reduce traffic congestion, long commutes and transport-related air pollution.

EMBARQ will help to create a formal City Bus Service (CBS) that is accessible, affordable, efficient, fast, frequent, comfortable and safe, in order to enhance and protect the distinctive urban environment of Jaipur, which was the first planned city in India.

"This is an important step in the ongoing integrated, systematic effort to address transport challenges in Jaipur in economically, socially and environmentally sustainable ways," said Madhav Pai, technical director of CST-India. "The objective of the EMBARQ- JCTSL Collaboration is to reduce transport-related threats to the climate, public health, and historic infrastructure of the city, thus improving quality of life for residents and visitors. This project is also a great opportunity for EMBARQ to expand its work to a new city in India."

A formal agreement was signed on May 12 between Pai and JCTSL Managing Director Malini Agarwal. Under this collaboration, EMBARQ will review and make recommendations to the existing operations and intelligent transportation system (ITS) plan developed by JCTSL.