ACCESSIBLE PUBLIC ROAD TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

Agrawal, Kavita Svayam, New Delhi, India Kavita.agrawal@jindalsaw.com

Vashishth, Subhash Chandra Svayam, New Delhi, India
Subhash.vashishth@jindalsaw.com

Summary
Developing seamless accessible public transport system and the corresponding
supporting infrastructure has always been a bit of a challenge especially in cities
1
like Delhi. With current population of 13.85 million spread over an area of 1500
sq. kms the city infrastructure was developed around the late forties when the
2
transport system and the roads were catering to around 917939 people .
According to Census 2001, the density of population is worked out at 9294
persons per sq. km. as against 6352 persons in 1991. The density of population
in Delhi is highest in the country.
Keeping in mind the vast area Delhi covers along with its NCR (National Capital
Region) territories to upgrade the infrastructure to meet the requirements of the
modern transport systems is a mammoth task in itself. Redeveloping and
retrofitting within the given constraints is not an easy feat. Inroads have been
made by introducing the low floor accessible buses in to the existing fleet and
slowly phasing out the older inaccessible ones as well as building of new Bus Q
Shelters and retrofitting of existing ones.
However, the new bus Q shelters despite being termed as disabled friendly
were found to be inaccessible due to absence of immediate
Census of Delhi 2001 2 census
1941
connectivity to the road and by lanes, during access audits conducted. Svayam
came up with a suggestion in the present bus Q shelter design addressing the
above shortfall (Fig. 2 to 5) which was accepted by the Delhi Transport
Corporation and incorporated in the standard bus Q Shelter design in the
tendering process.
1

Purpose
This is not a research study but an experiential account of first hand use of the
Bus Q Shelters and successful engagement with the Delhi Transport
Corporation to improve upon the existing design to be user friendly and
accessible to all.
Materials/and or Methods
The Bus Q Shelters were audited by Svayam team along with the user group of
people with diverse needs. The following methods were adopted:
1.1. Observations
2.2. Interaction with various user groups
3.3. Interaction with the executing engineers and contractors
4.4. Sensitization workshops for the executing agencies
5.5. Onsite meetings with senior officials
6.6. Follow up with the officials/department
Results
The new Bus Q shelter design (Fig. 2 and 3) ensures accessibility from the road
and full utilization of the Public road transport system by the intended
passengers. The Bus Q shelters incorporate accessibility features like:

Curb cuts to provide access from the road

Handrails on the slope for support

Tactile warning and guiding block on the edge of the bus q shelter.

Seating as well as space for parking of two wheelchairs

Proper alignments of street furniture like dustbins, street lights, etc so that
they do not obstruct the path of travel.

Placement of Route information in accessible format (Braille).

Adequate lighting even at night.

Discussions
As per Census of India 2001, the percentage of disabled population is 2.13%
but a recent World Bank report has pegged it between 4% to 8% (40 to 80
million) (the discrepancy in data is due to widespread variations in disability

definitions, invisibility and lack of recognition of people with disabilities and the
methodology for mapping disability i.e. the census method applied every ten
years). If this group is added to the active senior population, who often has
some mobility impairment or disability, there is a substantial demand for
accessible transportation.
Persistent efforts of disability advocacy groups and keeping in line with the
Persons with Disabilities Act 1995, the Department of Transportation,
Government of Delhi, India decided to introduce low floor buses in the Public
Road Transportation system of Delhi to make road transport in the city
accessible to all passengers irrespective of their mobility requirements. This
brought forth the need to make the corresponding bus Q shelters and pedestrian
infrastructure accessible and in sync with the new bus system.
DTC is looking to procure more than 4500 buses for the city operations. These
include 3500 low floor CNG propelled city buses and 1000 semi low floor CNG
(750 Non-AC and 250 AC) propelled buses. After retiring the aging buses, DTC
will have a fleet of about 6600 buses by the year 2010. (The Indian Express,
th
Express News line 14 Oct 2008) At present the work has just begun on
ensuring that the corresponding infrastructure like Bus Q shelters are accessible
from the road bed as well as the pathways, through curb cuts, and also to
provide a barrier free sidewalk system.
The Delhi Transport Corporation undertook the building of the Bus Q shelters on
the build operate transfer (BOT) system wherein they invited bids for the same
from reputed organizations. The design for the Bus Q Shelters was finalized by
the Urban Transport department of RITES (Rail India Technical and Economic
Services -A government of India Enterprise, an ISO 9001 company. A total of
1400 Bus Stops (Bus Q Shelters) have been slated for re-building at a cost of
Rs. 2,000,000(Two million rupees) (41,059.33 USD) per stop. The contract has
already been signed by the Delhi Transport Corporation. Currently two hundred
fifty Bus Stops have already been built.
The initial design of the bus Q shelter (Fig 1), however failed to provide access
from the road bed due to the absence of curb ramps. Thus these so called
accessible Bus Q Shelters became isolated islands of accessibility without really
benefiting the end user intended for. This was highlighted by Svayam in
meetings with the senior officials of Delhi Transport Corporation.
Conclusion

The design suggested by Svayam today forms a part of the tendering process
for the upcoming bus Q Shelters. The existing bus Q shelters are being made
accessible through slope ramps on either side. The new bus q shelters
incorporating the design provided are user friendly and accessible to all.
References
1.
http://delhigovt.nic.in/dept/economic/populationdetail.asp#Del hi%20at%20 a%20Gl
ance -Economic Survey of Delhi 2001-2002-Population Census Data for Del hi
Census 2001, Go vernment of India
1.2. http://del hiplanning.nic.in/Economic%20Surv ey/Ecos ur2001-02/PDF/c
hapter3.pdf Demogr aphic profile
3.
http://www.worl dbank.org.in/WBSITE/EXT ERNAL/COUNTRIE S/SOUTHAS
IAEXT/INDIAE XTN/0,,contentMDK:21557 057~pagePK:1497618~piPK:217
854~theSitePK:29558 4,00.html World Bank Report: People with Disabilities in
India: From Commitments to Outcomes, May 2007
th
2.4. The Indian Express, E xpress News line 14 Oct 200 8

Annexure
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0000000000000001163707274000001500000003364657363000001840000006
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40000025400000070646d6464000002c400000088767565640000034c0000008
676696577000003d4000000246c756d69000003f8000000146d6561730000040
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97269676874202863292031393938204865776c6574742d5061636b617264204
36f6d70616e79000064657363000000000000001273524742204945433631393
6362d322e31000000000000000000000012735247422049454336313936362d3
22e31000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Figure 1- Initial Design of Bus Q Shelter
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00000c484c696e6f021000006d6e74725247422058595a2007ce00020009000600310000616
373704d5346540000000049454320735247420000000000000000000000000000f6d6000100
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00000000000000000000000000000000000000116370727400000150000000336465736300
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Figure 2- Accessible Bus Q Shelter Design provided by Svayam Figure 3- Design
specifications
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00000000000000000000000000000000000001163707274000001500000003364657363000
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18000000146758595a0000022c000000146258595a0000024000000014646d6e6400000254
00000070646d6464000002c400000088767565640000034c0000008676696577000003d400
0000246c756d69000003f8000000146d6561730000040c00000024746563680000043000000
00c725452430000043c0000080c675452430000043c0000080c625452430000043c0000080c
7465787400000000436f70797269676874202863292031393938204865776c6574742d50616
36b61726420436f6d70616e7900006465736300000000000000127352474220494543363139
36362d322e31000000000000000000000012735247422049454336313936362d322e310000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
ffd8ffe000104a46494600010201022b022b0000ffe20c584943435f50524f46494c450001010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Fig. 4 Curb ramp constructed in retrofitting stage
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0000c484c696e6f021000006d6e74725247422058595a2007ce000200090006003100006163

73704d5346540000000049454320735247420000000000000000000000000000f6d60001000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Fig. 5 Retrofitted design