Station Access and Mobility Program Launched in Delhi; Focus On Improving Metro Station Accessibility

The Transport Department, Govt. of NCT, Delhi, and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), in association with Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) and World Resources Institute India (WRI India), launched the Delhi edition of the Station Access and Mobility Program (STAMP), to improve multimodal integration to and from the metro. STAMP Delhi is the 7^th edition of the program, initiated by TMF and WRI India in December 2016, to facilitate high-quality last-mile connectivity solutions across Indian cities. At present, the STAMP initiative is operational in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur.

Ashish Kundra, Principal Secretary and Commissioner, Transport Department, GNCTD, said, "As Delhi grows, the demand for more efficient mass transit will drive advancements in technology. The future of transport in the city lies in developing an integrated mobility-as-a-service solution. Crafting this for commuters will require a participatory approach from several stakeholders. Our collaboration with DMRC and TMF and WRI India's STAMP will be a good first step to bring more eco-friendly, flexible, and multimodal transport to Delhi."

STAMP Delhi's focus, aligned with the city's efforts to provide clean, digital, and interconnected transport, works to facilitate data-enabled solutions and strategies. The main objective of the initiative is to make mass transit more seamless and unified for Delhi's metro commuters with a focus on decongesting the capital's roads. The solutions that will arise out of the STAMP Challenge will benefit stakeholders across the board, from commuters and last-mile operators to transit agencies. This aims to encourage better uptake of public transportation, multimodal mobility, data-driven planning, and carbon-reducing technologies.

Vikas Kumar, Managing Director, DMRC, said, "We are excited to partner with STAMP and invest in enhancing connectivity to and from the metro. Through the STAMP Challenge, DMRC is working to build smart and safe mobility solutions for commuters and our last-mile partners. STAMP's work across India can aid in improving connectivity to the Delhi Metro and will be invaluable as we continue to create seamless mobility for the city.”

STAMP Delhi's work will aim to target three focus areas- first, it aims to create a mobility-as-a-service platform that will allow commuters to plan their public transport journey, across different transit modes, on a single interface. Secondly, STAMP is working to leverage existing last-mile services, such as shared mobility, autos, and e-rickshaws, to provide more efficient on-demand services to commuters. The interface will provide crucial information to drivers in underserved areas and times of high demand, allowing them to provide better last-mile services to commuters. Finally, STAMP is looking to partner with upcoming last-mile operators with innovative form factors to improve metro connectivity, particularly in areas with limited access to e-rickshaws and shared transport.

Pras Ganesh, Executive Program Director, Asia Region, Toyota Mobility Foundation, noted "When we started STAMP in 2016, we had a vision of enabling better multimodal mobility towards congestion: alleviation. Now after completing the process in 6 cities, we have a proven methodology of ideating innovative last-mile connectivity solutions and facilitating an integrated and seamless mobility experience for commuters, centered on the mass rapid transit initiatives of the Indian government.”

Madhav Pai, Executive Director, WRI India Ross Center, said, "As Indian cities invest more in metro rail, they also need to invest in creating an enabling environment for innovative enterprises that provide services which allow commuters to complete their last mile journeys in affordable, seamless ways."

The Station Access and Mobility Program (STAMP) is an initiative led by TMF and WRI India to promote better multimodal integration of metro rail, with other modes of transportation in Indian cities, through a partnership model with the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem. The initiative, which started in 2016, aims to support pan-India metro rail in becoming an efficient and attractive mode of travel, to ensure faster travel times, reduce road congestion, and lower air pollution.