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“IMPROVING TRANSIT SYSTEM AND ITS MEASURES TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC

FLOW AT A STREET”

Dissertation Report Submitted to the University of Calcutta In Partial Fulfillment for the Award of Master of Public Systems Management (With Specialization in transportation and logistics

Management)

By

MANIDEEPA BAIDYA

ROLL NO.: 107/MPS/110052

SESSION: 2011-2013

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL WELFARE AND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

COLLEGE SQUARE WEST, KOLKATA 700 073

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May, 2013

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The dissertation was done in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MPSM.

The three things which go on to make a successful endeavour are dedication, hard work and correct guidance. Able and timely guidance not only helps in making an effort fruitful, but also transforms the whole process of learning into an learning and enjoyable experience.

I am extremely thankful and pay my gratitude to Mr. Swapan Kr. Choudhuri, professor, IISWBM and Mrs. Jayanti De, course coordinator (transportation and logistics department), IISWBM for their expert guidance assistance in the successful completion of my dissertation.

Finally, yet importantly, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to

my beloved parents for their blessings, my friends/classmates for their

help and wishes for the successful completion of this project.

Thank you everyone.

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INDEX

CHAPTER 1: OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY 4

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 5

CHAPTER 3: STUDY AREA 6

CHAPTER 3.1: PRIMARY DATA 7

CHAPTER 3.2: SECONDARY DATA 12

CHAPTER 3.3: FINDINGS 15

CHAPTER 3.4: DEFINITION 16

CHAPTER 3.5: DIAGNOSIS 22

CHAPTER 3.6: PROJECTION 24

CHAPTER 3.7: OPTIONS & FORMUATIONS 25

CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSIONS 36

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BIBLIOGRAPHY 37

Chapter 1

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

As a student of Transportation and logistics management of MPSM in I.I.S.W.B.M, I was provided all the opportunities to learn the various aspects of transit systems and its characteristics of different measures.

My project area was concerned with ‘improving transit system and its measures at a street’.

My objective was to select a study area which is an important location due to which the traffic of that area becomes very much busy and congested, so that problem areas can be found and feasible proposals and recommendations can be made to improve the existing transit systems and its measures.

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Chapter 2

METHODOLOGYApart from keen observation of the various processes and practices carried out for this dissertation, various methods of data collections were also adopted to get true and detailed findings.

Selection of the study area

For study the topic of my dissertation I chose two junctions (Surya Sen and M. G. road crossing & College Street and M. G. road crossing), and the stretch between two junctions.

Primary data collection

Data regarded the study is collected first hand from the direct observation of the traffic movement at the both Surya Sen and College Street junctions.Data are also collected by consultation with the transport users and traffic police.Data are collected for both peak and off peak hour for three consecutive days.

Secondary data collection

Different websites, journals and books were viewed on the transport system in Kolkata, different measures that are taken to control traffic congestion in Kolkata.

Presentation of data

Tables, line charts, clustered column charts are used to present the data collected from direct observation.

Findings the problem areas Proposals and recommendations

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Chapter 3

STUDY AREACollege Street (name derived from the presence of many colleges) is a 1.5 km long street in central Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. It stretches (approximately) from Ganesh Chandra Avenue Crossing in Bowbazar area to Mahatma Gandhi Road crossing. It houses many centres of intellectual activity specially Indian Coffee House, a cafe that has attracted the city's intelligentsia for decades

The College Street is most famous for its small and big bookstores, which gives it the nickname “Boi Para” (Colony of Books).People from whole city and different parts of the state gathers here for their book. Many bigwigs of the Bengali publication industry are situated here. The street is also dotted with countless very small book kiosks which sell new and old books.

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Chapter 3.1

PRIMARY DATAThe primary data has been collected from both the Surya Sen crossing and the College Street crossing.

PLACE: SURYA SEN CROSSING

DATE: 16TH MAY, 2013

TIME: 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

VEHICLE TYPE NO. OF VEHICLESBus 60

4 wheelers (both private cars & taxis) 5742 wheelers (motorised) 96

Auto 185Heavy Vehicles 8

Bi-cycle 34Hand-pulled Rickshaws 25

Van Rickshaws 30TOTAL 1012

MOTORISEDVEHICLES

NON MOTORISED

VEHICLES

PUBLICVEHICLES

PRIVATEVEHICLES

923 89 245 406

Motorised vehicles: Non-Motorised vehicles = 923:89 (approx 10:1)

Public vehicles: private vehicles = 245:406 (approx 1:1.7 ratio)

PLACE: SURYA SEN CROSSING

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DATE: 16TH MAY, 2013

TIME: 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM

TRAFFIC NO. OF VEHICLES

Bus 45

4 wheelers (both private cars & taxis) 355

2 wheelers (motorised) 30

Auto 160

Heavy Vehicles 6

Bi-cycle 12

Hand-pulled Rickshaws 30

Van Rickshaws 46

TOTAL 684

MOTORISEDVEHICLES

NON MOTORISED

VEHICLES

PUBLICVEHICLES

PRIVATEVEHICLES

596 88 205 185

Motorised vehicles: Non-Motorised vehicles = 596:88 (approx 7:1)

Public vehicles: private vehicles = 205:185 (approx 1.1:1 ratio)

PLACE: COLLEGE STREET CROSSING

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DATE: 17TH MAY

TIME: 10:45 AM – 11:30 AM

VEHICLE TYPE NO. OF VEHICLESBus 198

4 wheelers (both private cars & taxis) 580

2 wheelers (motorised) 56Auto 210

Heavy Vehicles 12Bi-cycle 60

Hand-pulled Rickshaws 35Van Rickshaws 21

TOTAL 1172

MOTORISED VEHICLES

NON-MOTORISED VEHICLES

PUBLIC VEHICLES

PRIVATE VEHICLES

1056 116 408 98

Motorised vehicles: Non-Motorised vehicles = 1056:116 (approx 9:1)

Public vehicles: private vehicles = 408:98 (approx 4:1 ratio)

PLACE: COLLEGE STREET CROSSING

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DATE: 17TH MAY

TIME: 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

VEHICLE TYPE NO. OF VEHICLESBus 210

4 wheelers (both private cars & taxis) 405

2 wheelers (motorised) 42Auto 198

Heavy Vehicles 18Bi-cycle 43

Hand-pulled Rickshaws 38Van Rickshaws 34

TOTAL 988

MOTORISED VEHICLES

NON-MOTORISED VEHICLES

PUBLIC VEHICLES

PRIVATE VEHICLES

873 115 408 55

Motorised vehicles: Non-Motorised vehicles = 1056:116 (approx 9:1)

Public vehicles: private vehicles = 408:55 (approx 7:1 ratio)

LANE AND VEHICLE WIDTH DATA

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PLACE: SURYA SEN INTERSECTIONS

STREET WIDTH: approximately 18 feet (TOWARDS SEALDAH)

STREET WIDTH: approximately 25 feet (TOWARDS COLLEGE STREET CROSSING)

PLACE: COLLEGE STREET INTERSECTIONS

STREET WIDTH: 18 feet (TOWARDS SHYAMBAZAR)

STREET WIDTH: 18 feet (HOWRAH TO SEALDAH AND VICE VERSA)

BUS WIDTH: approximately 5 feet

TAXI/PRIVATE CARS WIDTH: approximately 4 feet

AUTO WIDTH: approximately 3.5 feet

RICKSHAW WIDTH: approximately 3.5 feet

TWO WHEELERS

(MOTORISED & NON-MOTORISED): approximately 2.5 feet

CHAPTER 3.2

SECONDARY DATA

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Growth Trends of Motor Vehicles- KOLKATA (in ‘000)

YEAR KOLKATA1981 -1986 3391991 4751996 5881998 6642002 1051

1981 1986 1991 1996 1998 20020

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

YEARKOLKATA

vehi

cle (i

n '0

00)

Source: http://www.ccsindia.org/ccsindia/pdf/Ch11_Review%20of%20Road%20Network%20and%20Transport%20System.pdf

PEDESTRIAN VOLUME SURVEY by KMA, 2008

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One of the heaviest pedestrian traffic movements in the KMA occurs between Sealdah station and B. B. D. Bag. In order to measure the volume of traffic quantitatively a 12 hour survey was carried out at different locations. The pedestrian volume was counted at following locations

1. East of Amherst Street Crossing

2. West of College Street Crossing

3. East of Rabindra Sarani

The pedestrian volume was also counted on M. G. Road, East of Suryasen Street i.e. Near Purabi Cinema at the following locations:

1. Surya Sen Street immediately to the east of the College Square

2. Prem Chand Boral Street immediately east of the College Square

3. Eden Hospital Road

OBSERVATIONS

2, 90,000 pedestrians were observed from Sealdah Stations via. B.B. Ganguly Street and Surya Sen Street. The results of the survey highlight three distinct patterns of pedestrian movements:

• There is continuous flow of pedestrians between Sealdah Stations and B. B. Bag via B. B. Ganguly Street, though in a tapered proportion.

• Major pedestrian movement was also observed between Amherst Street and Prem Chand Boral Street towards Eden Hospital Road.

• A concentrated pedestrian movement was observed via Surya Sen Street and M. G. Road to Sealdah Station which was 20 per cent of the total pedestrian volume.

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• In the KMA, almost 65 per cent of the trips per day are undertaken by foot and therefore, facilitating pedestrian movement is a priority of the Comprehensive Mobility Plan.

• The pedestrian mobility environment, in absence of proper maintenance and improvement of infrastructure over time has become very poor.

• Pedestrian fatalities are ranked at the top with 64 per cent share. The main reason for this high rate of pedestrian fatalities is lack of enforcement of traffic regulations and poor condition or absence of footpaths.

• Wherever sidewalks are present they are encroached by street hawkers thus pushing the pedestrians on to the main carriageway of the roads.

• Crossing roads is a dangerous proposition as 89 per cent of the carriageways are undivided. The lack of traffic enforcement adds to the misery of the pedestrians.

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Chapter 3.3

FINDINGSI personally travelled many a times in this area and felt that the traffic movement is not smooth at all at any of these two junctions.

After taking all the data at two junctions I tried to find out the problem areas for which the traffic is getting congested at the two junctions day by day.

I divided my research process in the following manner:

Definition: What are the problems?

Diagnosis: What are the causes of the problem?

Projection: How it will develop in the future if not taken care?

Options & Formulations: What are the possible ways to tackle the problems? & what are the pros and cons of each suggestion?

Chapter 3.4

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DEFINITION“Definition” basically defines the problem areas in my dissertation. The areas I have chosen for my dissertation are the college street crossing and Surya Sen crossing. There are many positive points in respect with the traffic movement on these junctions, like the road infrastructure, pavements for pedestrians, signal systems, one way traffic movement etc.

But according to my study I found the traffic movement efficiency is not up to the mark. There are some serious problems which become the hindrance of the traffic movement causes traffic congestion. So here I would like to define the particular problems on those above mentioned crossings.

Problem areas are:

Mixed traffic :

Based on my observation I found that there are no traffic restrictions for any particular vehicles. The traffic is mixed road traffic that is traffic includes each and every possible vehicles that can run on the road surface, like Trams, Buses, Taxis, Cars (private), Autos, heavy goods vehicles, 2 wheelers (motorised and non motorised both), hand-pulled Rickshaws, Van-rickshaws, etc. so it becomes very difficult to manage all these types of vehicles together specially in a one way traffic movement.

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Parking system:

The parking system is one of the major problem I found for which the traffic movement gets slower, thus reducing the efficiency and resulting traffic congestion.

There is no separate parking space used in between these two crossings. The vehicles (especially cars and taxis) are parked on the right side of the road. It almost takes 2/9th of the total road space.Land is valuable in all urban areas. Parking places occupy large portions of such land. This fact should be recognized in determining the principles for allocation of parking space.

Problems of Tramline in the particular study area :

The tramlines in Kolkata have been running with lots of advantages like,

Clean and green – enhances the environment; no emissions at street level

Safe – less prone to accidents Smooth and comfortable Pedestrian-friendly Acceptable and accepted – only rail-borne modes of transport

can actually get people out of cars High capacity – only metro systems have higher carrying

capacity Affordable – the cheapest form of comfortable mass transit Adaptable – can cope with steep grades and tight curves Inspiring – modern trams can be aesthetically pleasing Heritage – Tramcars are a part of history.

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Though the Tramline has lots of advantages but I found many disadvantages f the tramline in the particular area of my study.

Running the trams in the opposite direction of the traffic flow becomes a problem for other vehicles in the one way traffic movement. Moreover the dedicated lines used for the tramlines are shared with every other vehicles result in traffic congestion.Due to its slow speed trams cannot attract many passengers though it has a huge capacity of carrying nearly 130 passengers.

No separate lane for Buses

No Bus Bay system I found in this particular stretch from Surya Sen junction to College Street junction. Even if there was any such Bus Bay system it is completely ignored. All the vehicles including Buses are come together and get stuck, which again results in traffic congestion.

No separate lane for non motorised vehicles

There are no proper rules or regulations I found for the non motorised vehicles like Rickshaws, Van Rickshaws, Bi-cycles, etc. these vehicles don’t even follow the direction of the traffic.

There are no separate lanes for these non motorised vehicles.

As the speed of these non motorised vehicles are less than the motorised vehicles, sharing the space with the motorised vehicles results slow traffic movement.

Inadequate spaces for pedestrians

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I have added the space width that is used for the pedestrians in the PRIMARY DATA (CHAPTER 4.1), where I found the problem of encroachment which share the maximum spaces of the footpaths.Pedestrians have very small spaces to walk on the footpaths but the actual width of the footpath is wide enough without any encroachment. So pedestrians are thereby compelled to walk on the street which creates a huge problem in running the vehicles smoothly on the street.

Improper utilisation of road space

The road spaces are wide enough to run the traffic smoothly but the spaces are not fully dedicated for the running vehicles.The spaces are shared with parked vehicles, non motorised vehicles, users walking down on the street etc. so there is a lack of proper utilisation of the road spaces.The width details of each street under my study area are attached in the PRIMARY DATA (CHAPTER 4.1)

Ratio of public and private car

I took the numbers of both public vehicles and private cars during peak and off peak hour continuously for 2 days. The data attached at the end of this report in PRIMARY DATA (CHAPTER 4.1)What I found is that the numbers of private cars come almost two times than the number of public cars at peak hours.Public cars include Buses and Autos in terms of transit. And the private cars include only the cars of the users in terms of ownership.

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That public transport occupies less road space and causes less pollution per passenger-km than personal vehicles. As such, public transport is a more sustainable form of transport. Therefore, the central government would promote investments in public transport as well as measures that make its use more attractive than in the past.

Utilisation of space/persons by both the public and the private vehicles

Road space gets allocated to whichever vehicle occupies it first. The focus is, therefore, the vehicle and not people. The result is that a bus carrying 40 people is allocated only two and a half times the road space that is allocated to a car carrying only one or two persons. In this process, the lower income groups have, effectively, ended up paying, in terms of higher travel time and higher travel costs, for the disproportionate space allocated to personal vehicles.

If the focus of the principles of road space allocation were to be the people, then much more space would need to be allocated to public transport systems than is allocated at present.

Freight traffic problem:

The data that I attached at the end of this report about the number of vehicles in peak and off peak hours shows the number of freight traffic.I found some freight vehicle movement during peak hour though small in numbers which is not desired. It slows down the

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With limited capacity of the transport system, it is essential that freight traffic and passenger traffic are so staggered as to make optimum use of the transport infrastructure.

Role of Para-transit

Para transit (taxi) is normally expected to fulfil a need that neither public transport or personal vehicles are able to fulfil. They normally cater to a category of occasional trips such as trips to airports or rail stations with excessive baggage, or emergency trips that have to be undertaken immediately and it is not possible to wait for public transport. Para transit would not normally be used for regular commute trips to work or school. However, when the quality of public transport deteriorates, Para-transit tends to substitute for public transport. Unfortunately, this has started happening in many Indian cities. As such, this policy would seek to restore Para-transit to its normal role by persuading the improvement of public transport.

Chapter 3.5DIAGNOSIS

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The problems are already discussed in the previous chapter. Here I would like to discuss: what are the main causes for which the above problems (some of them) prevail in this particular area.

Causes for Mixed traffic problem:

No rules and regulations for certain vehicle type like freight traffic, non motorised vehicles.

No separate lane for Buses, Non-motorised vehicles. No physical separation for the Tramlines.

Causes for parking problem:

No proper planning for dedicated parking placeUsers who are not even work in this particular area park their cars in the stretch between Surya Sen crossing and College Street crossing.

Each and every local house, educational buildings, offices or other institutions should have parking facility in their own premises which is not common in this area; rather streets are used for parking purpose.

Causes for the tramline issues:

Trams are not very attractive to the users due to its slower speed than the other motorised vehicles especially in the peak hour.

Lack of proper maintenance Technology not upgraded Chances of derailment Discontinued tram service for load-shedding

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Causes for which people walks on the street

Less spaces in the footpaths Encroachment Random plantation on the footpath

Causes for the improper utilisation of road spaces

Road spaces are allotted for the vehicles not for the users Road spaces are shared by the parking cars Road space/passenger is maxi-mum for the public transport

whereas it is very less for the private cars, but study shows that the number of private cars is twice than that of the number of public cars.

People walk down on the street due to lack of spaces in footpaths

Causes for freight traffic movement problem:

No strict regulation on the time of such heavy vehicle movements

No by-passes for heavy vehicles around the study area that enable through traffic to go around the city and not add to the city traffic.

Chapter 3.6PROJECTION

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The future of this traffic movement in this particular area will have to face huge problems if the above mentioned areas are not taken care.

Unless the above problems are remedied, poor mobility can become a major dampener to economic growth and cause the quality of life to deteriorate. In near future the traffic of this area may have to face problems like:

Roads will almost reach to its Jam density

Speed of the vehicles may become lower day by day

Air pollution, Noise pollution may increase more than the present

The Roads may get damaged due to heavy vehicles movements

No separate spaces will be there in near future for the pedestrians if no action taken over the encroachment

Public vehicles may get hampered due to increasing private cars in respect to increasing income level.

Accidents can happen due to no separate lanes for non motorised vehicles

Trams, the heritage of Kolkata. Soon may become extinct if no proper maintenances are taken care.

Chapter 3.7OPTIONS & FORMULATIONS

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India’s urban population is currently around 30% of its total population. Experience across the world has been that as economies grow, rapid urbanization takes this proportion to over 60% before it begins to stabilize. As such, it is projected that India’s urban population would grow to about 473 million in 2021 and 820 million by 2051, as against only 285 million in 2001. Hence, cities must not only meet the mobility needs of the current population but also provide for the needs of those yet to join the urban population.

For urban areas to be able to support the required level of economic activity, they must provide for the easy and sustainable flow of goods and people.

on an average, while the population of India’s six major metropolises increased by about 1.9 times during 1981 to 2001, the number of motor vehicles went up by over 7.75 times during the same period.

“Prevention is better than cure”.

Before reaching to the projected future as stated in the previous chapter some useful measures can be taken which are going to be suggested below.

Though I have taken a small segment of the total area of Kolkata, the measures that are going to be suggested, some of them can be applicable in general.

SUGGESTIONS:

Separate lanes for

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Buses:

A bus lane or bus only lane is a lane restricted to buses on certain days and times, and generally used to speed up public transport that would be otherwise held up by traffic congestion. Often restrictions should be applied to certain other vehicles, which may include taxis, high occupancy vehicles, motorcycles, and bicycles. Bus lanes are a central part of bus rapid transit.In this area the bus lane is not necessarily has to be very long, as it may only be used to bypass a single congestion point such as the college street junction and the Surya Sen junction.Strict rules and regulations should be there to maintain the bus lanes so that no other vehicles can share the dedicated lane. Even Buses should follow their own bay.For that one suggestion can be the use of electric buses with rubber tyres.

Pros: 1. Bus lanes give priority to buses and cut down on

journey times where roads are congested with other traffic.

2. The introduction of bus lanes can significantly assist in the reduction of pollutants.

Cons: 1. Bus lane must give-way to all the other road-users

resulting in long queues of buses.

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Non-motorised vehicles

Like the Buses the non motorised vehicles should have their own lane for movement.

Non-motorized modes are environmentally friendly and have to be given their due share in the transport system of a city. The problems being faced by them would have to be mitigated.

In the college street area there should have paths in between the book markets and the main street for the Van Rickshaws, Hand-pulled Rickshaws so that they don’t share the traffic with motorised vehicles thus reducing traffic congestions. Restrictions are to be made strictly for the motorised vehicles (especially 4-wheelers) for those paths.

The safety concerns of cyclists and pedestrians have to be addressed by encouraging the construction of segregated rights of way for bicycles and pedestrians.

Pros:1. Safety can be improved for the non-motorised vehicles

2. The segregation of vehicles moving at different speeds would help improve traffic flow, increase the average speed of traffic and reduce emissions resulting from sub-optimal speeds.

3. This approach will encourage the use of non motorised vehicles for short trips resulting in reduced pollution.

Cons:

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1. If not properly maintained then the dedicated path would be also congested.

Heavy freight traffic

As economic activities in cities expand and city population grows, a substantial amount of freight traffic would be generated. The timely and smooth movement of such freight is crucial to the well being of the people and the viability of the economic activities they undertake. However, with limited capacity of the transport system, it is essential that freight traffic and passenger traffic are so staggered as to make optimum use of the transport infrastructure.

One solution is the practice to use off-peak passenger travel times to move freight. Many cities have earmarked late night hours for the movement of freight and restricted the entry of heavy vehicles into cities during day time. Further, several cities have by-passes that enable through traffic to go around the city and not add to city traffic. These practices are sound and would be encouraged in this area.

Proper maintenance, Physical separation for tram lines

The tramlines are shared by every other road vehicles (motorised and non-motorised) resulting in traffic congestion. Trams cannot run smoothly which reduces its efficiency as well as speed.If any temporary physical separation can be made like plastic cons, movable railings both sides of the line then the tram can run more smoothly than its present situation.

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The tram should be maintained properly in terms of speed, looks to have more passengers because the passenger capacity is huge than the other road vehicles, nearly 120 passengers at a time.

In the stretch from Surya Sen junction to the College Street junction the traffic flow is unidirectional but the tram movement is bi-directional. This creates traffic congestion. If the opposite direction can be by-passed on a parallel lane then this problem can be solved.

Pros:1. Reduction of peak hour congestion

2. Lower the chances of the road to get damaged.

3. Smooth traffic flow.

4. Tramline traffic would become more organised as well as attractive for the users

Encourage the use of carpooling system

Carpooling (also known as car-sharing, ride-sharing, lift-sharing), is the sharing of car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car.Especially the educational institutions, offices in this area should have carpooling systems and if possible it should be mandatory for a fixed distance.

Pros:1. Reduces each person's travel costs such as fuel costs, tolls,

and the stress of driving.

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2. Environmentally friendly and sustainable way to travel as sharing journeys reduces carbon emissions.

3. Reduces traffic congestion on the roads, and the need for parking spaces.

4. Reduces the use of private cars.

5. Proper utilisation of road space/passenger.

Price discrimination

Price discrimination can be defined as ‘different prices are charged from different users or customers or different groups for the same kind of goods or services’.

The traffic can be divided into two different zones depending on the volume of the traffic. One is peak hour traffic and another is off peak hour traffic.

If we can charge more prices during off peak hour and charge less price in peak hour for the same kind of transport service then we can experience a shift of elasticity of demand.Pros: 1. The congestion will be less during peak hour as people who

travel for amusement will try to avoid the peak hour traffic.

2. There will be a balance between peak and non peak hour traffic movement and congestion may go down.

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Cons:

1. If there is no existence of consumer who will be willing to pay the extra price during peak hour then there will be no change in congestion.

2. The segregation of market should be strong unless user may simply replace the higher priced traffic hours by lower priced traffic hour.

Proper parking facility

A good share of roads in this area has been taken by the parking cars ignoring the value of land use.Levy of a high parking fee, that truly represents the value of the land occupied.A land should be used away from the streets for parking the cars; moreover the parking should be restricted for this college street area only, not for other areas as it will increase the traffic volume.Preference in the allocation of parking space for public transport vehicles and non-motorized modes as well as easier access of work places to and from such spaces would go a long way in encouraging the use of sustainable transport systems.Not only for the motorised vehicles but Park and ride facilities for non-motorised vehicles, with convenient inter-change, would be another useful measure.Governments would be required to amend building bye laws in all million plus cities so that adequate parking space is available for all residents / users of such buildings.

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Pros:

1. Road spaces can be freed for the smooth traffic flow only.

2. Proper land use.

Cons:

1. Cost effective solution.

Encourage the use of public transport

According to my observation, the Buses, taking on an average 50 to 60 passengers at a time, occupy only 1/3rd of the total road space whereas the private cars, taxis, occupying almost 2/9th of the total road space, carry 1 or 2 passengers on an average in this area.

The focus of the principles of road space allocation was to be the people, and then much more space would need to be allocated to public transport systems.The Central Government would, therefore, encourage measures that allocate road space on a more equitable basis, with people as its focus in this particular area.This can be achieved by reserving lanes and corridors exclusively for public transport and non-motorized modes of travel.Similarly lanes could be reserved for vehicles that carry more than three persons (popularly known as High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes).

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Pros:

1. It helps reduce congestion and air pollution, if users of personal vehicles can be persuaded to shift to public transport.

Facility for the pedestrians

The width of the footpath should be available only for the pedestrians. Proper action should be taken for illegal encroachment. The book shops on the footpath should have left a sufficient space for the pedestrians if they are legal. The random plantation also occupies the space for the pedestrians. It should be in a more planned manner.

Pros:

1. Road spaces will not be used by the pedestrians resulting in a smooth traffic flow.

2. Reduce the chances of accidents.

Timing variations of educational institutions and offices

Normally the timing of the educational institutions and offices are same so that during that particular time traffic gets congested.If the timing can be changed then there can be a shift of traffic over a long time period which reduces the traffic congestion.

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Improved signal system

It is observed that the traffic signal is not well organised based on the volume of the traffic at the Surya Sen and College Street intersections.There should have frequent surveys over the traffic volume so that signal system can be changed accordingly for a fixed period of time. The signal should be flexible that is it should be automatic as well as manual.But the automatic signal is preferred more than the manual systems as it can results human error which can lead to accidents or traffic congestion.

Improved traffic management by proper traffic police training.

Special mobile teams of Kolkata traffic police team for any sudden traffic congestion due to accidents or any other reasons.

Need for public awareness and cooperation

Urban transport policies cannot succeed without the fullest co-operation of all the city residents. Such cooperation can be best secured if the objective of any initiative is made clearly known to them. It is, therefore, necessary to launch intensive awareness campaigns that educate people on the ill effects of the growing transport problems in urban areas especially on their health and well being. The campaigns would seek their

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support for initiatives like greater use of public transport and non-motorized vehicles, the proper maintenance of their vehicles, safer driving practices, etc. Such campaigns would also encourage individuals, families and communities to adopt “Green Travel Habits” that would make travel less polluting and damaging.

Need student involvement

Chapter 4CONCLUSIONS

I hope that the proposals and the recommendations that are made to make the dissertation objective successful are feasible enough to apply at both College Street and Surya Sen intersections and the stretch between the two junctions.

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If the suggestions made in this dissertation paper are properly implemented then the traffic flow will become smooth and there will have no congestion.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpool

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_turnout

http://kolkatainformation.org/2012/06/04/kolkatas-transport-problems-finding-a-solution/

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http://www.kmdaonline.org/pdf/CMP-KMA.pdf

http://mospi.nic.in/Mospi_New/upload/SYB2013/CH-21-ROADS/ROAD%20-%20WRITEUP.pdf

www.census2011.co.in

http://www.ccsindia.org/ccsindia/pdf/Ch11_Review%20of%20Road%20Network%20and%20Transport%20System.pdf

http://www.kmdaonline.org/pdf/CMP-KMA.pdf