Nishant Singh

I am a Fellow at IIHS (deemed to be) University, working on urban mobility, inequality, and public transport.

My PhD is from IIT Delhi (2024). The thesis, New Bearings on Justice in Urban Mobility, looked at how everyday mobility in cities is shaped by structural inequality, using the Capability Approach and critical theory. A case study of North-West Delhi.

Previously, I led the TREND Unit at Youth Ki Awaaz, a cultural research programme that used polls, discourse analysis, and narrative work to study young India. I have worked on road safety at the TRIP Centre (IIT Delhi) with the WHO, published on fare-free bus travel for women in The India Forum and Ideas for India, and contributed to reports with Greenpeace India on public transport in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. My research has been covered in The Indian Express, Hindustan Times, The Wire, Down to Earth, Mongabay India, and I was interviewed for the SystemShift podcast.

I coordinate the Public Transport Forum, a citizen collective that works on bus transport policy, fare-free travel, and gendered accessibility in Indian cities. Earlier, I built and led the research programme at People’s Resource Centre (2018-2021), covering urban mobility, agriculture, rivers, and local governance.

My current research interests are survey methods, public opinion research, active citizenship, inequality, youth, ethics in emerging tech, and gender and social justice.

I hold a B.Tech.-M.Tech. dual degree from IIT Kanpur (2015, 2016).