Integrated feeder system for delhi mass rapid transit systeem: an alternative approach

Abstract

India has become the fastest growing major economy in the world in 2015, outpacing the Chinese economic growth rate last year. As the country enters into this phase marked with high economic growth, urbanisation, an inevitable process, is set to further expand its tentacles. According to World Bank, the urbanisation rate in India has already surpassed 35%. It is projected to surpass 50% in the next decade. Against this backdrop, as planners, we have to be prepared for the ramifications resulting from the widespread urban demeanour of our settlements. Issues prominent to the urban realm like housing, mobility, environment and governance, must be emphasised more and the actions should be in sync with the changing paradigm of technologies, socio- economic character and the demands of the populace. This thesis explicitly deals with one of the major issues which has morphed into a noteworthy perturbation- the mobility and transport needs of the urban community. Congestion, traffic jams and the blurring of hors have become come to be associated with an almost semblance with the major cities, corroborating the depth of the problem. The average travel time for metros has already tripled in the past decade. The magnitude of this colossal issue which is transforming into a menace has advertently led us to think of better ways of managing the mobility of our urban centres. One such solution which many cities have adopted for, is the greater emphasis on public transportation. Within public transport, to enhance its quality, the emphasis on the mass transits. Delhi being one of the early adopters of Rail based mass transit has witnessed Delhi Metro sprung up from virtually nowhere to now becoming the lifeline of Delh-iites. But whether the metro has achieved what it was aimed and envisaged for, in quantitative basis, is a point worth debating. A closer analysis reveals that though Metro has finally provided a superior public transport experience to the city’s residents, its actual usability in terms of the modal share it has managed to garner, does remain a point of major contention for the transport planners as well as the other cities who are emulating similar solutions. The study emphasises on the importance of an integrated Last Mile and first mile connectivity as an intricate link which is indispensable to make any mass transit solution viable. The research establishes the absence of a coherent feeder operations for the city. While much work and effort has gone to make metro a world class experience, the feeder has unfortunately not attracted the similar focus and agility. With an existing state of non- integrated feeder where the various modes, which often compete along the same route, has led to a few areas being overserved and a majority of the areas not being served at all. The gap is extenuated with data points which reveal that people running closest to the metro, use the least of it. The very objective of providing a state of the art metro being accessible to all, has been severely impacted because of it. Therefore, an alternative approach to feeder, which is based on the population density, the people’s opinion as well as their travel behaviour is required. The study aims to create a modally and route integrated feeder solution for Delhi MRTS, by taking the case study of Rohini Zone in Delhi. It is ground up in its methodology and takes cue from the successful implementation of feeders around the world, especially, The Hong Kong Metro (MTR). The research envisages to create a solution which can be further scaled up to cover entire city of Delhi, if it proves out successful.