Abstract

Urban public transport systems play a critical role in addressing congestion, pollution, and sustainability challenges in rapidly growing cities like Delhi. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has implemented several sustainability initiatives, including renewable energy use, eco-friendly operations, and community-oriented measures, yet their overall effectiveness required systematic evaluation. This study assesses the sustainability initiatives adopted by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation across environmental, operational, and social dimensions. A mixed-method research design was employed, combining a structured questionnaire survey of 421 metro users collected through a snowball sampling method with secondary data from official reports and academic literature. Quantitative analysis using SPSS included descriptive statistics, correlation, regression, and hypothesis testing to examine the relationship between sustainability initiatives and overall system performance. The findings reveal that DMRC’s sustainability initiatives have a significant positive contribution to the sustainability performance of the Delhi Metro. Initiatives related to clean energy adoption, waste management, technological advancement, and community engagement were found to be particularly influential in promoting sustainable urban mobility. Other measures such as eco-friendly practices, tree plantation, water conservation, and noise reduction also supported sustainability outcomes, though with varying levels of impact. In contrast, environmental audits and green building certifications showed comparatively limited perceived influence. Overall, the study confirms that DMRC’s sustainability initiatives strengthen sustainable urban transport and highlights the need for continuous improvement and focused policy support.