India has spent over $26 billion expanding its urban metro network fourfold since 2014, yet most systems are carrying only a fraction of their projected passengers. In Mumbai, the new Aqua Line underground corridor was forecast to serve 1.5 million daily riders but is achieving roughly a tenth of that figure, a pattern repeated across nearly two dozen cities where actual ridership typically reaches just 20–50% of projections, according to researchers at IIT Delhi and the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. Experts point to a combination of factors holding back adoption: fares that can consume up to 20% of income for lower-wage workers — above the global benchmark of 10–15% — inadequate feeder bus services for last-mile connectivity, long transfer times between lines, and poor pedestrian access around stations. The situation matters beyond commuter convenience: India's rapidly expanding cities face acute congestion, pollution, and road-safety crises, and analysts warn that without meaningful fare integration, better bus connections, and improved station access, the country risks continuing to build infrastructure that remains operationally underused relative to its enormous public cost.