2.2 User demographics There are not enough published studies about user demographics and their attitudes/ experiences while using smart mobility services in India. A detailed survey (Basu, 2019) in Kolkata, India, of 80 passengers of cab­aggregator services revealed that all the respondents had an overall minimum travel experience of at least five times by app cabs. About 69 per cent of the respondents were male and rest, 31 per cent, female. One can immediately see a skew in this composition. From the age point of view, it was seen that 37.5 per cent of the passengers were below 30 years of age, followed by 32.5 per cent between 30- 45 years, 18.75 per cent were 46- 60 years, while only 11.25 per cent were above 60 years of age. As only a little more than 11 per cent were elderly users, it is clear that the services did not appeal to this age group. As expected, the younger section of people(up to 45 yrs of age) find these services most apt for their mobility. The educational level of commuters was also studied and it was found that expectedly, the highest user group were graduates(42.5 per cent), followed closely by those with school level education(38.75 per cent), while 12.5 per cent of the respondents were post graduates. Interestingly, 6.25 per cent of the respondents were either illiterate or did not have any form of formal education exposure but yet used apps to book rides which indicated that the booking procedures may not be very complicated or perhaps that someone booked the trips for them. Looking at income groups—it was found that the upper middle-income group with monthly incomes of INR 51,000–70,000, led with 30 per cent of total cab usage. The middle-income group with monthly incomes ranging from INR 31,000–50,000 formed 28.75 per cent of the user base. The lower and higher income groups were comparatively less inclined towards app cab usage and that can be explained easily. Low income groups cannot afford these services and rely more on public transport or shared paratransit modes. The highest income group often own automobiles and also have drivers. Hence, their inclination towards these services is less. The studying of occupational backgrounds of users 51,000–70,000, led with 30 per cent of total cab usage. Smart mobility in India from an equity perspective revealed that the salaried service class was the largest user group at 32.5 per cent, while not so far behind was the business class at 30 per cent. About 10 per cent of passengers represented the young student community. Those, not formally employed(unemployed, freelancers, housewives, etc.) represented 12.5 per cent of users. While analysing frequency of commuting, it was surprising to note that the proportion of daily commu­ters was the highest at 46.25 per cent. About 31.25 per cent users used cabs on a weekly basis, 11.25 per cent used cabs fortnightly. Finally, monthly and occasional travel frequencies were the lowest at 2.5 per cent and 8.75 per cent respectively. Most of the above results are likely to be very similar in other metropolitan cities 2 or million plus cities in India. At the global level, the results were also similar. As Singh (2019) reports after reviewing a plethora of global literature on the same, most of the users of smart mobility services in North America are more likely to be Caucasian, male, between the ages of 20 and 35, and well educated, when compared to the general popula­tion(Shaheen et al, 2014; Dill et al, 2015). Giesel and Nobis(2016) found that car sharing users in Germany were predominantly male(up to 80 per cent), with higher education, full-time employment, from a 1–2 person household, and who earned more than the average national income. A study conducted by Virginia Tech's urban planning students, documented key demographics of Capital Bikeshare users and found that women were more likely to be casual users than regular members. Another study of bike-sharing in five cities—Mexico City, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Montreal, Salt Lake City and Toronto in 2013—found that compared to the general population, bike-sharing members tend to be wealthier, more educated, younger, more likely to be Caucasian and male(Shaheen et al., 2014). Thus, it does not come as a surprise that the most common user description of smart mobility services in India is male, educated, employed and belongs to the upper middle to middle income earning segment who uses these services for work. 2 Million plus cities are those with a population of more than one million people. 5