Disability Inclusion at Mass Rapid Transit Stations: Delhi Metro
摘要
Mobility and accessibility are essential for socio-economic upliftment of communities. Public transportation being a social service, should be inclusive to all, including people with disability, elderly, pregnant women, women with child (under 10), and other vulnerable sections of society. This chapter examines how well the existing infrastructure planning, design and last-mile connectivity of mass transit stations in Delhi provide accessibility and mobility to and within mass rapid transit stations for meeting the transportation needs of vulnerable user groups. The unit of analysis for this chapter is the individual user of mass transit stations from identified vulnerable groups who are surveyed in-person to understand the existing gaps and challenges in last-mile connectivity and ease of movement within the transit stations, vehicles and interchanges. Three high-demand transit metro stations—Rajouri Garden, Karkardooma and Rajeev Chowk—have been selected to understand the pain-points of the vulnerable user groups. The chapter analyses the survey insights using WHO’s ICF framework to assess the multi-dimensional nature of challenges of vulnerable users. The chapter further proposes recommendations to rehabilitate these user groups through enhanced last-mile connectivity, improved accessibility and movement within stations and interchanges, and easier boarding and alighting of transit vehicles, to better meet their transportation needs.