Overcrowding at Metro Stations
Designing a hassle-free commute for Delhi metro station
Background
This project was done in the duration of 3 weeks as a part of the Master in Design Research Program, at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi India (2014)
Purpose of study
Objectives
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Study the Delhi Metro Station services as a system to identify the root causes of overcrowding at the Metro Stations
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Identify the issues faced by daily commuters
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Study and design the DMRC service system considering the ever-increasing ridership and its expected growth in the coming years.
Methodology
Secondary Data Collection
Understanding the working of the metro system, statistical data of the frequency, ridership and routes
Primary Data Collection
Identify the causes of crow generation and understanding people's behavior at the station
Meta Analysis and Brainstorming
To propose optimal solutions
Data Collection
I began by reading academic papers, specialized publications, books, and academic journals. All the data gathered through various sources were then synthesized. The data synthesis for secondary research was a four-stage process. The first step all the individual data points. All the data points were then clustered to understand what matters. This layer was then clustered to address the key issues. It was then finally clustered again, to describe the key issues.
For primary research participant observation enabled me to learn through the involvement and participation of the commuters at the metro station. It also enabled me to identify and build relationships in the given system that provided an intuitive and intellectual hold of the way things are organized and prioritized in the environment of the user.
Working on the wall
For the data gathered from primary research, I synthesized the data using empathy maps. This helped me create a shared understanding of user needs. Further then, I created a user journey map from the empathy maps. Working on the wall helped in creating free-flowing, iterative maps for stakeholders, empathy maps and journey maps. I also designed a wireframe of the metro system to analyze the gaps and loopholes.
Research Insights
With insights from the above data, I framed a matrix along with the system entities and the roles in the metro system. This helped me gather the main causes of overcrowding at the metro station.
Possible Interventions
