Transportation planning and institutional rigidities in Surat,India

This paper while reviewing the prevalent traffic and transportation problems in a metropolitan city of India namely Surat, identifies certain institutional rigidities which mar prospects of planned improvements. The old city of Surat known as the Walled City is the center of chronic traffic congestion which is due to a variety of causes. Owing to the past neglect and the on-going developments, the Walled City is beset with numerous traffic and transportation as well as other problems. Based on an indepth analyses of field data, a series of short and long term remedial measures were worked out to cope with the immediate and the future travel demands. Of the proposals made, the traffic management scheme is designed to optimize the use of available infrastructural facilities with a thrust towards bus transportation. However, the success of these measures depends on the relaxation of the outdated practices which could stifle the implementation of the suggested solutions.