GIS and Gravity Model-Based Accessibility Measure for Delhi Metro

Abstract

Metro is a rapid transit mode that helps in fast and efficient movement of the public. To make metro journey more convenient and attractive, from origin to destination, accessibility of metro must be good. In this study, tri-level analysis is carried out for the study area of Delhi. Traffic congestion and environmental condition of Delhi are degrading continuously, and to improve the situation, a sustainable Multi Modal Transport System (MMTS) with high accessibility must be explored. In this paper, policy to improve zone to zone metro accessibility for work purpose is discussed and the relation between multimodal transport system with accessibility is studied using GIS (ArcGIS), macrosimulation software (VISUM) and gravity model. It was observed that by the addition and extension of metro lines, transport accessibility is greatly improved. This study shows that percentage of zones in Delhi with higher accessibility level could increase from 5 to 13.88% with the implementation of phase IV of metro. In addition, the implementation of phase IV metro could reduce the average travel time between zones and metro stations. It will also reduce the travel time between metro stations substantially (for the zones covered in this study the average travel time is reduced by 23.63% and for the station covered in this study the average travel time is reduced by 17.73%). Further, it was found that ‘out vehicle travel time’ (OVTT) is having a major impact on the accessibility of metro. Lastly, it was concluded that with the higher level of metro accessibility, people will prefer the multimodal transport system with metro as the main mode. Travel time isochrones for public and private trips for the estimated MMTS model are also presented in this paper to depict the changes in accessibility for different scenarios. This will further help in improving private transport accessibility by reducing congestion on roads. Thus, planning for transport accessibility helps in developing the city in a sustainable manner in the future.