IMPACT OF 5 D’S OF DEVELOPMENT ON THE PATRONAGE OF A TRANSIT NETWORK – A CASE STUDY OF VADAPALANI METRO RAIL STATION

The patronage of public transport system in Chennai has reached to its lowest level ever since its inception. In this context, planning authorities introduced 1st phase of Chennai metro rail with 32 stations. The household survey conducted before the finalization of alignment of 1st phase projected the patronage of Chennai metro rail on 2016 will be 7.74 lakh trips / day, whereas the current patronage is only 1.21 Lakh trips / day in 2020, even though the Metro rail is in operation for more than four years. The reason for this low patronage is analyzed through the primary survey within the context of 5 D's of development (Density, Diversity, Design, Destination Accessibility & Distance to Transit) for the selected sample station.