Rapid urbanization combined with limited attention to walk-facilities has resulted in a substantial increase in overall pedestrian injuries and deaths in India. Developing policies based on user perception to improve existing pedestrian infrastructure is key to promoting safe and walkable pedestrian movement in urban areas. This paper demonstrates a pedestrian satisfaction-based methodology to prioritize an essential set of attributes influencing safety and walkability at sidewalks and crosswalks. Initially, an exhaustive set of 15 sidewalk- and 11 crosswalk-related attributes influencing safety and walkability were identified from a literature review. Subsequently, pedestrian perceptions of associated importance and satisfaction toward the identified attributes were collected using a five-point Likert scale. Face-to-face interviews were conducted at selected pedestrian crash-prone locations in Hyderabad, India. The data was analyzed using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), a widely used multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) method to rank the attributes based on user priority. Importance–satisfaction analysis (ISA) was then used to group the attributes in a set of quadrants based on associated standardized satisfaction and importance, respectively. The relative strength and weakness of different sidewalk and crosswalk attributes were measured and compared simultaneously using TOPSIS and ISA. Both TOPSIS and ISA were simultaneously used to estimate and compare various sidewalk and crosswalk attribute relative strengths and weaknesses. Results indicated that physical separation from traffic, sidewalk amenities, sidewalk width, sidewalk continuity, and sidewalk cleanliness were the most important sidewalk attributes, but were rated as less than satisfactory, requiring immediate intervention. The crosswalk-specific priority attributes requiring urgent attention were vehicle stop-line behavior, conflicts with turning traffic, zebra crossing, pedestrian holding space. These research findings are expected to be critical inputs for rational decision-making regarding pedestrian infrastructure improvement in developing countries in general and Indian cities in particular.

Electric two-wheelers (E2W) can help de-carbonize transport in Indian cities. To promote E2W as an attractive alternative compared to the conventional two-wheelers, an investigation on prospective users’ choice decisions is necessary. This paper proposed a comprehensive methodology to evaluate the prospective users’ choice decision toward electric two-wheelers and related attributes in the Indian context. In this paper, attributes such as Operating Cost (OC) savings, top speed, range, charging duration, acceleration, and purchase cost were considered to design a Stated Preference (SP) survey to collect data from prospective E2W users in Hyderabad, India. Concurrently, multinomial logit (MNL) and random parameter logit (RPL) models are developed, and the willingness-to-pay (WTP) associated with each of the identified attributes was estimated. Additionally, the effect of socio-economic characteristics on prospective users’ choice decision was also assessed. Subsequently, a sensitivity analysis was carried out to estimate the relative influence of the attributes on an individual’s choice decision in terms of the shift in probability to choose alternatives with better attribute levels than the base alternative. The results revealed that top speed was perceived as the most important attribute influencing an individual’s choice decision, followed by acceleration and charging duration. Age, income, and journey time significantly influenced an individual’s perception toward E2W and related attributes in the Indian context.

A comparative assessment of the total cost of ownership (TCO) is necessary to quantify overall costs and assess the economic viability of electric two-wheelers (E2W) compared with motorized two-wheelers (M2W). In this regard, TCO models specifically for two-wheelers were developed in this study to compare the TCO of E2W and M2W under the prevailing market conditions. The TCO model has four cost components, namely, acquisition costs, operating costs, maintenance costs, and resale value. The TCO was calculated considering a 10-year assessment period with 2021 as the base year. The available E2W and M2W alternatives in the Indian market were classified into low-performance (Category A) and high-performance (Category B) two-wheelers based on their power output and acceleration characteristics. The TCO estimates were also evaluated for three different average daily distances traveled ( ADDT): 10 km/day, 30 km/day, and 50 km/day. The results revealed that the TCO estimates for E2W vary from ₹0.67/km for an ADDT of 50 km/day for Category A E2W during the base year condition to₹7.66/km for an ADDT of 10 km/day for Category B E2W at the end of the assessment period. Further, the payback periods for different scenarios were also estimated and compared. The acquisition and battery replacement costs are critical factors for potential users of E2W, and act as a significant barrier to the widespread adoption of E2W in India. Finally, it can be concluded that E2W are an economically viable alternative compared with M2W, with payback periods ranging from one year to eight years in the Indian context.