Research Article Intelligent Systems to Enhance Last Mile Connectivity for Upcoming Smart Cities in India Moushila De1, Shailja Sikarwar2, Vijay Kumar3 Abstract Due to exorbitant migration in urban areas in the last few decades, increasing vehicle ownerships, traffic congestion and rising extreme air pollution have resulted more and more cities in India to opt for various mass rapid transit systems such as metro rail, mono rail and BRT systems etc. But cities still faces the problem of last mile connectivity. Most of the cities don’t have proper last mile connectivity facilities. First mile/last mile connections are made in a number of ways, these include: walking, bicycling, private automobile, metro feeder, bus service local bus, E-rickshaw, cycle rickshaw and auto rickshaw. This article is an attempt to understand the existing last mile connectivity issues in various cities of India especially in Delhi and how with the help of various Information and Communication based solutions, last mile connectivity can be enhanced in upcoming smart cities in India. This article basically focuses on seamless integration with other modes physically, technically and institutionally, smart parking management through RFID based technology and biometric devices, electronic road pricing, use of mobile GIS technology in safety and security process, installation of passenger information system and operation control centre and multiuse mobility card, Green CAB “dial a rickshaw facility etc. These above intelligent system and smart solutions can be used to enhance last mile connectivity in upcoming smart cities in India.
Keywords: Automatic ticket vending machine, Geographical information system, Electronic road pricing, Intelligent technologies, Radio frequency identification device
Introduction
Computational and Intelligent technologies provide a strong and efficient support to transportation infrastructure to address the issues of Last Mile Connectivity. People often have problem in starting their trip i.e. from their home. A person has beyond his residence to reach the station located at main transport network.
Providing best last mile connectivity options can reduces the cases of various crimes and also helps in the prevention of crime. It will also ensure safety and security of people specially women. During the last few decades, total number of cars has increased traffic congestion and related urban transport problem also arise in cities of India. Traditional method of an aid in this case is a feeder bus that is provided beyond the transport network to meet these needs but the problem is more than just feeder buses. Very few people prefer walking and cycling due to poor conditions of road infrastructure etc. Therefore, it is necessary to focus and enhance last mile connectivity in various cities of India. Last mile connectivity should not be just an option at metro ends but be treated as an opportunities as a user’s home. It is also necessary to suggest various intelligent technologies solutions.
1Student, MURP (Urban and Rural Planning) India. 2Associate Professor, 3Professor, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, D. C. R. University of Science and Technology, Murthal, Haryana, India.
Correspondence: Moushila De, MURP (Urban and Rural Planning) India.
E-mail Id: [email protected]
How to cite this article:De M, Sikarwar S, Kuma V. Intelligent Systems to Enhance Last Mile Connectivity for Upcoming Smart Cities in India. J Adv Res Const Urban Arch 2017; 2(3&4): 16-31.
ISSN: 2456-9925
© ADR Journals 2017. All Rights Reserved. J. Adv. Res. Const. Urban Arch. 2017; 2(3&4) De M et al.
The Research including the rise in private vehicles have led to chaos and disruption around metro station. It is the reason behind The effort aims to understand the first and last mile congestion on access road to metro station. connectivity and its relationship with a commuter’s choice of transit options for conceiving a journey and its impact To understand the existing last mile connectivity, four on public transport ridership and also evolve intelligent stations (Saket, INA, Vishwavidyalaya, Sultanpur) of Delhi technologies and smart technologies based solutions to metro stations were choosen based on ridership data ensure or to enhance various last mile connectivity options up to January 2017, last mile connectivity modes quality in the upcoming smart cities in India. assessment through Reconnaissance survey, abutting land use around yellow line metro stations, trip generating and Existing status of Last Mile Connectivity in India trip attracting metro stations through reconnaissance survey, activity intensity around the stations, typology of In most of the Indian cities the conditions of last mile the stations. conditions is very pathetic. In most of the cities people are facing the problem of uncomfortable environment, long Figure 1 explains the abutting land use plan of selected case waiting hours, long walking distance, overcrowded, traffic study stations. Based on the land use pattern of the area, congestions etc. A survey was conducted to understand the Saket, Sultanpur, INA and Vishwavidyalaya metro station last mile connectivity scenario in Delhi. From the survey, are categorized into trip producing area or trip attracting it was found that presently only 41 out of 138 stations area, also categorized into high, mid and low ridership. It of Delhi MRTS are served by feeder services. Haphazard also explains the factors affecting the impact of last mile supply of alternate modes around mass transit stations connectivity on metro ridership.
Figure 1.(a) Abutting land use plan of Vishwavidyalaya; (b) Saket; (c) Sultanpur; (d) INA metro stations
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Table 1.Metro station area profile Attributes Saket Metro Sultanpur INA Metro Vishwavidyalaya Station Metro Station Station Metro Station Planning zones Zone F Zone J Zone D Zone O Public transport Modes Metro feeder bus, Bus, Share Auto, Bus, Auto Rickshaw, Share modes Auto, DTC Buses, E - Rickshaw Auto, Auto, Bus, Grameenseva, College Bus, E - Metro bicycle Rickshaw sharing scheme. Physical Parking Yes Yes No Yes infrastructure Pick up and Yes No Yes No drop off Safety Eyes on Street Fair Poor Fair Fair Activity Fair Poor Fair Good during college hours Dead Spots No No No No Information Fair Poor Fair Fair Conduciveness High Wall - - - - of Street Shade No No No No Access Yes No Yes Yes Visibility Street light Approx. 20 m Approx. more Approx.15 m Approx. 15 m gaps than 30 m Environment Trees Fair Poor Poor Good Noise Average Poor Average Good Foul Smell No No No No Ambience Poor Poor Fair Fair
On ground observation also highlighted the fact that all the Inadequate, but Vishwavidyalaya and INA metro stations case study stations are located along busy arterial roads has relative better last mile connectivity than Sultanpur and ring roads causing disruption to the through fare of and Saket métro stations. vehicles. In terms of physical infrastructure, the stations are
Source: Retrieved from DMRC on February 2017 Figure 2.Comparative analysis of ridership data It is depicted from the Fig. 2 that Saket has the highest are only because of availability of abutting land use in ridership and footfalls, followed by Vishwavidyalaya and selected case study stations. For IPT operators and NMT INA has the same and mid ridership whereas Sultanpur operators, analysis was focused on current scenario of has the lowest ridership and footfalls. These differences LMC options available and their ownership. Looks like
ISSN: 2456-9925 18 J. Adv. Res. Const. Urban Arch. 2017; 2(3&4) De M et al. average expenditure on parking, permits, operation and operated, total time taken, total distance covered, route maintenance of the vehicle were included to get insights or area covered, total number of bicycle taken by passenger of the functioning of the various LMC options available to in a day, rules and regulations applied for people who the commuter. took cycle for rent etc. Feeder bus and bicycle plays an important role for enhancing last mile connectivity in that For Feeder bus operator and bicycle sharing operator, particular area. analysis was focused on total number of feeder bus
Figure 3.IPT and NMT survey analysis For private vehicle users, the analysis included various styles LMC options available. An open ended question targeted at of travel and user characteristic. But the main objective the willingness of user to opt for public transport if proper here was to obtain an estimation of the perception of user LMC options and parking mechanisms are in place near for not using public conveyance and its connection with the major PT systems was also admitted.
Figure 4.Survey locations
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Figure 5.Types of vehicles surveyed
Figure 6.Trip purpose
Figure 7.Frequency of tips
Table 2.Total distance (kms.) covered by private mode users
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Table 3.Average time to last mile
Table 4.Average cost paid by private vehicle user for last mile connectivity
Reasons for not using Public transport by Private Vehicle Users
Figure 8.Private vehicle users survey analysis
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The study incorporates, for commuter category, the aspects trips. The analysis also included several types of LMC of time, cost, and comfort for the overall journey with main modes available, perceived problems, suggestions and user focus on last mile connectivity options involving, “Origin characteristic during peak and non-peak hours. to public transport” and, “Public transport to Destination”
Figure 9.Trip distribution by age
Figure 10.Trip distribution by gender
Figure 11.Trip distribution by education
Figure 12.Trip distribution by occupation
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Figure 13.Trip distribution by income
Figure 14.Trip distribution by purpose
Figure 15.Trip distribution by frequency
Figure 16.Trip distribution by distance (in km) between the selected 4 metro stations and the origin/ destination of the commuters
Figure 17.Modal split during peak hours
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Figure 18.Modal split during off-peak hours
Table 5.Average trip length
Table 6.Average time (in minutes) of first/last mile
Figure 19.Time spend to cover the first/last mile
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Figure 20.Time spend in different section of the journey
Figure 21.Cost (in Rs.) of first/last mile at selected four metro stations
Figure 22.Cost incurred in different sections of journey Most of the commuters cited problems relating to over- prices of last mile connectivity often times more than crowding during peak hours, low frequency of metro half of the total journey expenditure and poor pedestrian services and too long walking distances for addressing infrastructure further adds up to the complications for the the last mile connectivity options of their journey. High commuters.
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Table 2.Suggestions for the improvement of last mile connectivity near the selected four case study stations by metro commuters Saket INA Vishwavidyalaya Sultanpur 1). Improvement of IGNOU 1). Footpaths need to be 1). Service lane is 1). Service lane is road is needed. developed. needed. required. 2). Road side parking should be 2). New feeder bus services 2). Foot over 2).Feeder bus service is removed in IGNOU road. needs to be started bridge or subway required. 3). Improvement and connecting INA metro needed near 3). Roads conditions are strengthening of road from station to Sarojini Nagar and Vishwavidyalaya very bad, it needs to be SangamVihar to Saket (Near R.K. Puram Colony. metro stations strengthening. SBI) through Sainik Farms 3). Emphasis should be connecting both 4). Roads from is needed to avoid traffic given on pedestrilisation sides of the stations. Gurudwara to Sultanpur congestion. safety. 3). There is scope metro station needs to 4). Pedestrilisation needs to be 4). Parking is needed near for improvement be strengthened. developed near Saket metro INA metro station, so that in terms of more 5). Drainage problem station. Focus should be on roadside parking can be and better quality need to be solved. people who are on foot. removed. provisions for 6). Road maintenance is 5). NMT needs to be enhanced 5). Activities like shops, and “bicycle on rent” as needed. especially in the peak hours. pedestrilisation friendly the present supply 7). Activity need to be 6). The road from Neb Sarai environment needs to be runs short of the developed around metro to Western Marg connecting developed for everyone huge demand. stations. Saket metro needs to be safety. 4). Feeder bus 8). Focus should be strengthened. 6). Inner roads of Lakshmi services or shuttle given on pedestrilisation 7). 100 ft road connecting Bai Nagar and Sarojini Nagar option or DTC buses specially the road IGNOU road to Chattarpur needs to be strengthened, need to be started connecting senior needs to be strengthened. so that maximum people connecting from secondary school to 8). Flyover from Tughlakabad can use inner roads for Vishwavidyalaya Sultanpur metro stations. to Khanpur is needed to avoid cycling, biking and walking metro station to 9). Last mile connectivity traffic congestion. directly to the metro Kamala Nagar. modes should range 9). Feeder bus service may be stations. 5). Pedestrilisation between Rs. 5 to Rs.20, required from Saket metro 7). Bicycle facilities is friendly the rate should be based station to Sector 1, Sector 5, needed near INA metro environment needs on distance, not on fixed Sector 4, PushpaBhavan, Saket station. to be developed price. city mall and further back to 8). NMT options need to near the Kamala Saket metro station. be enhanced especially Nehru Ridge. 10). Inner road need to be from Sarojini Nagar to INA strengthened from Devli to metro station market or Khanpur. from Sarojini Nagar railway station to INA market, Sarojini Market.
Strategies to Enhance Last Mile Connectivity in Passenger Waiting Anxiety: To reduce passenger waiting Upcoming Smart Cities in India anxiety, PIS (Passengers information systems) boards needs to be installed at all bus shelters, metro stations etc. The Smart Transportation System: There should be smart system will uses Global Positioning System (GPS) technology transportation system in a country like India for smart to determine location and time of the bus, predicting the cities. The benefits of smart transportation systems are expected time of arrival in the particular destinations, :- Interactive journey planner for all modes, automated these system will connects to the mobiles, and mobile user vehicle location system, real time traffic information needs to send simple messages, Or connected through systems, automatic fare collection system, Intelligent mobile apps for example: TRAKO
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Source: Smart and Connected Transport- A Case Study of Delhi Figure 23.GPS tracking system and real time information Multiuse Mobility Card: It is necessary to use multiuse (ATVMs) for all the networks like tram, bus, train and metro mobility card for last mile connectivity. The multi-use services. The system also provides real time information mobility card will help bring the various modes of transport about the connecting modes of transport for further even closer. Now they will actually be integrated. It will journey. not only make the journey convenient or easy but will also increase the number of people using public transport. It Operations Control Centre: It is necessary to setting up will encourage the citizens to use the public transit. Operations Control Centre, which will be the key hub for all last mile multi modal based transportation activity. Automatic Fare Collection System: AFCS will reduce journey times by ensuring quicker boarding and alighting. Intelligent Signaling System: There should be intelligent signaling system to enhance last mile connectivity and Automatic Ticket Vending Machines: Passengers to buy seamless integration of all modes in the upcoming smart tickets from the same Automatic Ticket Vending Machines cities of India.
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Source: Smart and Connected Transport- A Case Study of Delhi Figure 24.(a) Multiuse mobility card; (b) Automatic ticket vending machine; (c) Operation control centre Variable Messaging System: It is also necessary to install centre needs to be setup for booking and the dispatch of variable messaging system in all cities, large LED boards auto rickshaws. GPS-based Vehicle Tracking System needs needs to be installed at various points in the city. Messages to be installed in all auto rickshaws in the city and which will be controlled through a central command centre. will establish separate call-centre facility. Commuters will obtain information to assist their journeys including traffic conditions, traffic advisory, route diversions Dial-a-Rickshaw Facility: It is also necessary to introduce etc. Dial-a-Rickshaw facility “GreenCAB” as a feeder service for the commuters who will use it as last mile connectivity Electronic Road Pricing System: It is also necessary to modes. GreenCAB is an idea to provide door-to-door Electronic road pricing system in all the congested arteries mobility for all classes of people along public transit where public transport facilities are available for road user corridors in all the upcoming smart cities. GreenCAB can charging. use mobile phones to provide a feeder from the doorstep to public transit along the Delhi metro stations, bus routes GPS-based Vehicle Tracking System: A separate call or other local destinations like schools, shops, etc.
Source: Smart and Connected Transport- A Case Study of Delhi Figure 25.(a) Variable messaging systems; (b) Electronic road pricing; (c) Green CAB
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Fully Automated Locking System: For promoting cycle system, how bikes are checked in out from the parking infrastructure for enhancing last mile connectivity, it is spaces and use of card technology. necessary to introduced Park and ride facility. There is a need of fully automated locking system that allows users Installation of CCTV Cameras and Solar Street Lights: to check bicycle easily or out of bike share systems. For safety and security, it is necessary to install solar street lights and CCTV cameras in all the streets of cities. Radio Frequency Identification Devices: There is a need for wireless tracking system such as radio frequency Mobile GIS Technology: GIS technology can be used in identification devices (RFIDs), that locates within a bicycle these purposes. Mobile GIS technology can even deliver is picked up, returned and identifies the users. intelligence out to officers, where and when they need it, so they can quickly make the right decisions that need to Use of Information Technology: Information technology be made. should be related to customer register and pay for the
Source: http://www.esri.in/industries/public-safety Figure 26.GIS technology for safety and security RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device) based For example initiatives as high parking rates, parking hours/ Parking Management System: It is also necessary to day, parking days/month and designating drop off and proposed RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device) pickup areas need to be introduced. based parking management system is designed to efficiently control the entrance and exit gates of parking facilities Biometric Device: Biometric device can be installed in within a wide range of read distances. station parking areas and which will be linked with Adhaar card to find out the actually distance between commuters Parking Policy for Metro Stations: Parking policy for residents and various stations, which will help in charging metro stations and other important destinations should more from people residing near stations rather than people be formed to discourage increased private vehicle stations. who reside far from station. In this way, more number of people will be used public transport.
Source: http://www.biometricsintegrated.com/rfid-based-parking-management-system-kit.html Figure 27.RFID based Parking management system toolkit
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Special Signage to User Groups: It is necessary for special these user groups. While these suggested signage systems mention of the needs of vulnerable road users such as help with pedestrian movement, an appropriate way-finding pedestrians, cyclists and disabled people, and emphasizes strategy must be adopted by cities which ties in signage, the importance of providing signage to cater to the needs of destinations, accessibility options and so on.
Figure 28.Proposed enhancing accessibility of last mile connectivity through intelligent systems; (a) Proposed multi utility zone; (b) Proposed passenger information system; (c) Proposed RFID based parking at Saket metro station; (d) Proposed Intelligent Signage system Conclusion References
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