GIFT City: At 9:00 am, the Metro departing APMC Vasna for GIFT City is already packed, as it is every weekday. Most commuters are young professionals in their twenties and thirties, many of whom get off at the PDEU station. By 10:08 am, the train reaches its last stop—GIFT City Metro Station—and the rush begins. Passengers step out briskly, heading straight toward the cluster of shuttle buses waiting outside. These buses, operated free of cost, ferry workers to the various office zones inside GIFT City. A few golf carts also weave through the station area, picking up passengers for short hops.

But the station’s biggest drawback is immediately visible: its awkward location. It sits far from both the Club Building and the core SEZ district where most offices are concentrated. With no walkable access, efficient last-mile connectivity becomes essential—hence the fleet of shuttle buses deployed by GIFT authorities.

Officials say this gap will soon be addressed. Two new metro stations—both within the central office district—are now in the pipeline, with tenders already in process. The project is expected to take around two years, and one of the stations will come up near the State Bank of India (SBI) building.

Today, around 27,000 people work inside the GIFT ecosystem. While the city was planned around a ‘walk to work’ philosophy, where homes and offices lie within a one-kilometer radius, limited housing availability and upside rents make many employees to live outside the GIFT city. As a result, mass transit has become critical.

The Metro remains the most affordable and time-efficient option. A worker can travel from Paldi (Ahmedabad) to GIFT City (Gandhinagar) in under an hour for Rs 30. The frequency is still low, but the schedule aligns reasonably well with office timings, making it the preferred choice for many.

To further support movement inside and around the city—especially while constructions continue—several initiatives are underway. A dedicated GSRTC terminal will be established inside GIFT City to operate more buses linking GIFT City. The city also plans to introduce electric vehicles for internal mobility. E-bikes are part of the plan, though their rollout is on hold due to ongoing construction; dedicated e-bike lanes will be created once conditions allow. Increased feeder connectivity to the nearby GNLU Metro station is also being planned, as train frequency on that line is higher.

Despite GIFT City’s design principles of walking and mass transit, the present reality reflects a heavy reliance on private vehicles. Roads in the core commercial area are often lined end-to-end with cars and two-wheelers, including stretches where they spill onto the carriageway. Officials acknowledge this challenge and say three multi-level parking facilities are under construction, expected to be ready in the next two years. One upcoming tower will feature a seven-storey underground parking structure, a rare or possibly first-of-its-kind facility in India. DeshGujarat