Who Switches to Metro and Why? Service Quality, Demographics, and Early Mode Shift of Dhaka’s MRT Line-6

Abstract

Rapid urban expansion has placed considerable pressure on transportation systems in many developing megacities and Dhaka is among the most affected. In response to rapidly growing travel demand and severe congestion, the city introduced MRT Line-6 as a modern mass transit system intended to improve urban mobility. Since the metro has recently begun operation, understanding its early usage patterns and user perceptions is important for guiding future transport planning.
This study examines the initial phase of metro adoption in Dhaka, focusing on passenger characteristics, mode shift behavior, and perceived service quality. Passenger information was collected through a large-scale survey conducted between July and October 2023. After data screening and quality checks, 1,397 valid responses were retained for analysis.
The findings indicate that metro users are predominantly young and middle-aged individuals from middle-income households mostly depending on salary; constituting approximately 45% of the respondents. Work-related travel represents the largest share of trips, comprising about 36.8% of total journeys. Mode shift patterns reveal that the metro is primarily attracting former bus users, who comprise nearly 60% of current passengers, while only about 12% previously relied on private vehicles. This suggests that the metro is currently substituting bus travel rather than significantly reducing private car usage.
Passengers expressed high satisfaction with several service attributes, including operational reliability, comfort, cleanliness, safety, and information provision, with most mean scores exceeding 4.0 on a five-point scale. Travel time savings received the highest rating (mean = 4.39), indicating that faster travel is a primary factor driving metro use. However, feeder service availability and travel cost received relatively low scores, pointing to shortcomings in first and last-mile connectivity and affordability that must be addressed to attract more private vehicle users.