Analysis of the economic and social parameters of the Three-Wheeler Taxi service in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has an extensive Three-Wheeler Taxi service comprised of around 300,000 vehicles. These vehicles, which first made an entry to Sri Lanka’s roads in the early 1980s, account for around 15% of the active motor vehicle fleet at present. Three-Wheelers Taxis also account for around 6% of the passenger kilometres. These vehicles are mostly individually operated with some owned by the operator and others hired on a monthly or daily basis. The industry is unregulated with vehicle registration and driving licenses being the only instruments of regulation. Fares are unregulated. However, most operators belong to associations which are loose collections of operators found in a given locality. These associations impose a degree of self regulation with respect to fares. They also tend to demonstrate oligapolistic behaviour.The paper is based on a survey of 200 operators and 100 passengers from a Divisional Secretariat area in Colombo District. The survey covered a number of details pertaining to ownership, management and fare structures, as well as opinions on the service attributes by users. The survey also covered perceptions of operators to determine the social, economic and transport implications of the services provided. Details were also obtained on the profiles of the operators and their expectations.The paper provides the results of the analysis of this data and draws a number of conclusions on the economics of the industry as well as the social aspects associated with it. It also discusses the characteristics of the users of these three wheelers as well as their typical use. The analysis also investigates complementarily of service provision between three wheelers as an access mode to buses and railways. This analysis has been used to develop an understanding of the manner in which the industry has grown over the last two decades and how it is being operated today. It also identifies areas wherein the industry has become inefficient and assesses the degree of over pricing that exists due to this. The data also helps to determine the relationship between unemployment and provision of self-employed transport services.The paper concludes with a synopsis of the profile of the industry and its role within the wider transport sector and with respect to ownership. It also discusses the positive and negative impacts of the lack of regulation on the industry.     

Impacts of the Belt and Road Initiative in the Indian subcontinent under future port development scenarios

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is twofold: the first is to assess the extent to which current port development initiatives contribute to securing the status of the Port of Colombo as a regional transshipment (T/S) hub to serve the Indian subcontinent; and the second is to generate plausible future development scenarios for the maritime industry in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). A scenario analysis method is applied to examine the past trends and to build future development scenarios. The results showed that major Indian ports have experienced a significant growth in cargo volumes and vessel traffic. South and East Indian coastal ports continue to use the Port of Colombo as a T/S port in tandem with the corridors connected to the Indian Ocean. Scenario analysis highlights the growing importance of BRI-centric land-based economic corridors, which would generate a large amount of cargos from hinterlands up to China. This would be further fueled through the Great Mekong region-driven industrialization, which would add to the west-bound maritime cargo volume. The paper concludes that the increased capital influx from China would more likely to result in a substantial development of the present port and road/rail infrastructure in Sri Lanka.     

斯里兰卡科伦坡港南集装箱码头工程平面布置优化设计

斯里兰卡科伦坡港南集装箱码头工程为国际BOT项目,为适应集装箱运输发展及业主运营、管理要求,根据本 项目平面布局特点,分析BOT原方案陆域平面布置中存在的问题,并提出优化思路及码头结构等级、堆场布置、闸口布置 和辅建区布置的优化方案,较好地满足了BOT和业主使用要求,并通过国际咨工的严格审批,为项目的顺利实施打下坚实 基础。优化成果对类似国际性港口工程有一定的借鉴和参考意义。     

Estimating origin‐destination matrices from link volume counts: a simple intercity auto travel demand model for Sri Lanka

The cost of nation wide travel surveys is high. Hence in many developing countries, planners have found it difficult to develop intercity transportation plans due to the non availability of origin‐destination trip matrices. This paper will describe a method for the intercity auto travel estimation for Sri Lanka with link traffic volume data.

The paper outlines the rationale of selecting the district capitals of Sri Lanka as its “cities,” the methodology for selecting the intercity road network, determination of link travel times from express bus schedules and the location of link volume counting positions.

Initially, the total auto travel demand model is formulated with various trip purpose sub‐models. This model is finally modified to a simple demand model with district urban population and travel times between city pairs as the exogenous variables, to overcome statistical estimation difficulties. The final demand model has statistics within the acceptable regions.

The advantages of a simple model are discussed and possible extensions are proposed.     

Social inclusivity through public transportation: a strategic approach to improve quality of life in developing countries

Welfare services such as healthcare and education are commonly recognised as determinants of physical quality of life indices during the early phases of development in the third world. In order to benefit from these services, it is important that the general public have the mobility means to access welfare provision centres. However, very low vehicle ownership under the conditions of low per‐capita incomes and large shares of population living in deep rural areas prevent the masses from accessing such services, thereby retarding the process of social development, which is reflected in the very poor physical quality of life indices in low‐income countries. Public transportation could offer a viable and affordable solution to this apparent ambivalence. It could permit mobility for poor masses in spite of low per‐capita vehicle ownership enabled by the national income levels. The present research demonstrates this strategic niche through an econometric examination of the evolution of the physical quality of life indices such as maternal mortality, infant mortality and literacy as against the healthcare, education and affordable mobility proxies in post‐independent Sri Lanka. The country, which was then referred to as Ceylon, is often cited as a rare example of achieving social inclusion and reduced marginalisation and thereby a high social welfare standing, in spite of relatively poor per‐capita income levels. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An aggregate demand model for intercity passenger travel in Sri Lanka

Inspite of the inherent weaknesses in aggregate demand models, they continue to be used in everyday applications, especially in developing countries. The largely data intensive disaggregate model preclude its application in many cases. This paper attempts the formulation and calibration of an aggregate total demand model for estimating inter-district passenger travel by public transport in Sri Lanka. In its process, an investigation is made of the common problems in the aggregate approach while examining possible remedial measures to improve the accuracy and (hence) the usability of the aggregate model. It is argued that commonly used variables and functional forms are inappropriate for making accurate estimates in developing countries. Consequently, the model calibration is shown to incorporate variables representing urbanisation, under-development, transfers, a mode-abstract cost function and intrinsic features. The necessity for functional form for each variable to be based on behavioral assumptions that are tested using the Box-Cox transformation for ensuring the best fit of the data is also observed. Although, the model form was calibrated for Sri Lanka, the model is generalised in order for its applications to other countries as well as, both, inter-district and intercity travel demand estimation.     

Lessons in ownership, regulation and management from 100 years of bus transport in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka observes 100 years of bus passenger transport in 2007. During this period the country has seen different forms of service providers ranging from private sector monopolies to state sector monopolies. It also has seen several changes in state policy ranging from welfare orientated service provision to entire market determined without any regulation. The existing regulated mixed competition is also characterized by poorly equipped regulators. In conclusion, the paper traces the different stages of failure that have led to the poor quality of bus transport services existing at present.     

Overcoming Governance and Institutional Barriers to Integrated Coastal Zone,Marine Protected Area,and Tourism Management in Sri Lanka

One of the major barriers to addressing complex social–ecological issues through integrated coastal management (ICM) is a lack of intergovernmental coordination and cooperation (horizontal and vertical fragmentation). This article describes an effort to overcome the barriers to ICM in Sri Lanka by fostering intergovernmental collaboration and initiating adaptive governance to restore one town, Hikkaduwa, and its associated marine protected area (MPA) and coastal zone habitats. Administrators from 12 national and local governmental agencies that are responsible for aspects of coastal management in the town of Hikkaduwa participated in a series of formal and informal workshops and a week-long tour of ICM projects in the Philippines. Outcomes demonstrate that these informal and formal meetings, workshops, and travel experiences fostered trust, social capital, and attitudinal organizational commitment (AOC). The experiences motivated members to overcome vertical and horizontal governance fragmentation through the formation of an independent intergovernmental committee for the restoration of Hikkaduwa into a sustainable and resilient community. ICM activities undertaken by the newly formed organization suggest that internal leadership capacity, effective local–national partnerships, explicitly linked ecological–economic projects, and long-term commitment are necessary conditions for success. Overall, attainment of sustainability and resilience through successful ICM should be thought of as a journey and not a destination.