New Delhi: More than half of individuals are planning to switch to electric vehicles from conventional modes of transport, according to a research report by Ola’s Mobility Institute.

The research report titled Ease of Moving Index 2018 is based on responses from 43,000 individuals from 20 cities in India including Delhi, Bengaluru, Kochi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Surat, Jaipur and Indore.

57% respondents are willing to replace their traditional fuel vehicles with an electric counterpart over the next few years, according to the report.

So far, electric vehicles have not taken off in a big way in India due to lack of infrastructure and high manufacturing costs. Amid discussions about an electric vehicle policy in the country, the government decided against one in a U-turn from its position so far, Mint has reported in February this year.

The future of mobility, the report said, can be assessed on various factors including usage of electric vehicles, improvement in first and last mile connectivity, need for footpaths and cycle tracks, smart card usage, digital transactions and perception of owning a car among others.

“If you look at innovation and where venture capital is going, there is a lot of emphasis around mobility," said Anand Shah, senior vice president for strategic intiative at Ola in a telephonic interview.

The report evaluated the cities on 55 parameters and noted insights such as 51% of Mumbai prefers public transport; Ahemdabad offers the cleanest public commute services and Hyderabad is a front runner in shared mobility.

“More than 80% of the people in the 20 cities feel that the mobility scenario in their respective cities has improved in the last five years," the report said.

As a part of Ola Mobility Institute, the cab aggregator had also launched “Mission Electric" with a commitment to put 1 million electric vehicles on the road over the next three years.

“EV has a lot of work ahead of us. We are very committed putting EV’s on road. We are looking to partner with others in the market including OEM’s and other organizations," added Shah.

Ola, run by ANI Technologies had also run pilot in Nagpur to test a fleet of its electric vehicles.

Founded in August this year, Ola Mobility Institute, is a policy and research think tank that focusses on intersection of mobility and public good. Ola did not disclose the investment it has pumped in setting up the mobility institute.

“We are actively recruiting (at the institute) and right now we are focussed on building our core team," added Shah on setting up the advisory committee at the institute.

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