Spatial and Temporal Pattern of Bus Crashes in City Bus Transport: Case of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), India

Abstract

Road crashes are one of the leading causes of deaths in the world and are causing a significant loss to the economy. Public transport, whether road or rail based, is considered the safest mode of travel for most people across the globe. This study examines bus safety in India, in particular Delhi, the capital of India. A detailed spatial and temporal analysis of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus crashes was conducted using Kernel Density Estimation to identify hot-spots and crash-prone corridors of crashes involving DTC buses. From 2015-2019, the majority of people injured in crashes involving DTC buses were vulnerable road users (78%) including the death of 55 people (22% of crashes). Recommendations to prevent bus crashes include bus modification, improvements to infrastructure for bus travel (e.g., bus stops, bus bays) and overall road safety measures (e.g., reduced speed).