Examination of change of patterns and trends in the interaction of public transport in Colombo-Matara corridor bus & rail to provide an improved service

Abstract

This study is on "Examination of change of patterns and trends in the interaction of public transport in Colombo - Matara corridor - Bus and Rail, to provide an improved service." The study was centered on the coastal belt of Sri Lanka where the rail and road run parallel from Colombo to Matara. The study area included two provinces namely the Western and Southern provinces and included five districts viz. Colombo, Kalutara, Galle, Matara and Hambantota,fig.1.1.(Appendix 11). The requirement was to process the modal shift of passengers between bus and rail in relation to increase in Regional Gross Domestic Product (RGDP) , increase in fares, and development in Western and Southern provinces. The present status of both road and rail has been highlighted along with the anticipated growth in road traffic thus justifying the necessity to carry out the particular study, in order to propose means of improvement of the present level of bus and rail services, and to realize optimum potential from the available resources. Regression analysis using Lotus package was adopted to evaluate and analyze the behavior between bus and rail with the increase in the regional gross domestic product and fares. Regression analysis was centered mainly around the effect on rail demand with increase in RGDP. It is inferred from the calculations, that an appreciable increase in rail demand is not reflected due to certain limitations in policy, operations, and facilities, existing as at present, in the rail service. The economics of operation, for both bus and rail were analyzed with the available bus and rail passenger statistics. Thus the potential of each mode was evaluated. The limitations were then analyzed individually, and their affects on the rail demand were discussed. Recommendations have been made how to overcome them, so that an effective modal shift from road to rail can transpire.