Accessibility and safety indicators for all road users: case study Delhi BRT

Abstract

Traditional focus of transportation planning has been to improve mobility of motorized vehicles measuring benefits as increased speed and saved travel time. Since 1950s, indicators are being developed to evaluate accessibility and safety of different types of road users like non-motorized transport (NMT) and public transport (PT) users. However, the application of the indicators is still limited to evaluate the impacts on one type of road user only. The paper proposes indicators to evaluate the impact of a transport project on all types of road users and on the society as a whole. Both conventional and proposed indicators are applied to evaluate the Delhi-BRT corridor stretch of 5.8km. The conventional approach showed reduced personal vehicular speed and delays at junctions. Whereas, the proposed indicators of accessibility measured number of relevant destinations that are within reach of different types of road users which were not within the reach before and the number and type of road users for whom the accessibility has increased. The safety indicators evaluated the change in interaction between different road users and safety of different types of road users. The indicators also evaluated the change in competitive position of different modes that may result in causing modal shift. The proposed indicators are suggested to be used along with the traditional indicators for complete evaluation of transport projects.