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June 2009
FINAL REPORT
Innovative Transport Solutions (iTrans)
Pvt. Ltd., TBIU, IIT Delhi, New Delhi.
For:
International Council for Clean
Transportation (ICCT)
& The Institute for Transport and
Development Policy (ITDP)
Two & Three Wheelers in India
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Table of Contents
1 Background ................................................................................................................... 7
2 An Industry Overview .................................................................................................12
2.1 Driving forces of two and three wheeler industries: .........................................15
3 Government Policies towards 2 and 3 wheelers: .......................................................16
3.1 Government Incentive Policy: ............................................................................17
3.2 Tax Policies towards 2 and 3 Wheelers.............................................................. 18
4 Regulatory Framework at Policy and Individual Levels .............................................. 20
4.1 Regulations related to users: ............................................................................. 20
4.2 Regulations related to Emissions: ...................................................................... 22
4.3 Methods to enforce the emission regulations...................................................25
4.4 Current Fuel usage and emissions: .................................................................... 29
4.5 Alternative fuel technologies available.............................................................. 30
5 Traffic flows and congestion data...............................................................................32
5.1 Traffic Flows: ...................................................................................................... 32
5.2 Congestion data: ................................................................................................33
5.3 Measuring Traffic Flows: .................................................................................... 34
5.4 Road space requirements and travel time for different modes of traffic in
different types of locations ............................................................................................41
6 Traffic demand modeling methods specific to 2-3 wheelers and heterogeneous
traffic .................................................................................................................................. 48
6.1 Current Modelling practices followed in India...................................................48
6.2 Errors in current modelling, applicable for 2 wheeler and 3 wheeler traffic .... 49
7 Road/ Intersection design guidelines ......................................................................... 51
8 Conflicts with other vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians ............................................. 55
9 Safety data and prevention measures........................................................................ 58
9.1 India in comparison with Developed Countries:................................................58
9.2 Situation in India ................................................................................................59
9.3 Fatality Index for various cities: .........................................................................60
9.4 Prevention Measures ......................................................................................... 62
10 Mode Share and Mode preference ............................................................................ 65
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10.1 Mode shares of different category cities: ..........................................................65
10.2 Trip lengths of various cities: ............................................................................. 66
10.3 Advantages provided by the Two wheelers:...................................................... 66
10.4 Three wheeler Mode share and 3W index in various cities:..............................67
10.5 Time series data on 2W and 3W Mode share....................................................70
10.6 Purpose wise trips for various modes:............................................................... 75
11 Parking ........................................................................................................................ 78
11.1 Parking Policy (NUTP).........................................................................................78
11.2 City Parking Policy ..............................................................................................78
11.3 New Vehicle Parking Schemes: ..........................................................................80
11.4 Existing practices and Drawbacks: .....................................................................82
11.5 Recommendations for Future Parking studies:..................................................83
12 Noise Pollution and control Technologies .................................................................. 84
12.1 Legislations on noise control in India:................................................................ 84
12.2 Ambient Noise Standards (Noise Rules, 2000 and its amendments) ................84
12.3 Noise Control and Regulation Procedures ......................................................... 86
13 Policy Recommendations............................................................................................ 88
13.1 Safe and Efficient use of two wheelers:.............................................................88
13.2 Safe and efficient use of three wheelers ........................................................... 93
14 References .................................................................................................................. 94
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List of Figures
Figure 1: Percent distribution of urban trips by means of travel for selected Indian cities,
2006...................................................................................................................................... 8
Figure 2 Growth of India's motor vehicle fleet by type of vehicle, 1981–2002 (in millions).
............................................................................................................................................ 10
Figure 3: Sales trends of different vehicle types................................................................13
Figure 4 Vehicle category wise market share (2007-08).................................................... 14
Figure 5 Regulatory Framework for automobiles in India ................................................. 20
Figure 6 Typical certificate issued after pollution check....................................................27
Figure 7 Homogeneous Traffic ...........................................................................................43
Figure 8 Non-Homogeneous Traffic (Delhi, India) .............................................................44
Figure 9 Proportion of road users killed and impacting vehicles on sampled National
highways............................................................................................................................. 57
Figure 10 Proportion of vehicles registered in India, Germany, Japan and USA ...............58
Figure 11 Proportion of different types of road users killed in Delhi, Mumbai, national
highways in India and in highly motorised countries......................................................... 59
Figure 12 Comparison of three wheeler index of various cities ........................................69
Figure 13 Peak hour 2-Wheeler volumes at the five intersections selected in Delhi........ 71
Figure 14 Peak hour 3-Wheeler volumes at the five intersections selected in Delhi........ 72
Figure 15 2-Wheeler Modal shares at five intersections, for five years in Delhi...............73
Figure 16 3-Wheeler Modal shares at five intersections, for five years in Delhi...............74
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List of Tables
Table 1 Automobile Production Trends ............................................................................12
Table 2 Automobile Domestic Sales Trends....................................................................... 12
Table 3 Domestic Market Share for 2007-08 for various vehicles..................................... 13
Table 4 Road user tax in different states (As a percentage of the vehicle cost) ............... 19
Table 5: Emission norms for 2 and 3 wheelers in India (Fuel—Petrol).............................23
Table 6: Emission norms for 2 and 3 wheelers in India (Fuel—Diesel).............................. 23
Table 7 Emission standards for in use Petrol/CNG/LPG Driven vehicles ...........................24
Table 8 Emission standards for in use Diesel vehicles ....................................................... 24
Table 9 Category wise Fuel Consumption/ day (in Kilo Litres)...........................................29
Table 10 Category wise Emissions/day (in Tons) ...............................................................29
Table 11 Traffic Flows and Vehicular Modal splits of selected cities.................................32
Table 12 Expected Average peak hour Volume-Capacity ratio for cities by category under
do- nothing scenario .......................................................................................................... 33
Table 13 PCU values at intersections (IRC SP 41:1994) ..................................................... 35
Table 14 PCU values for mid blocks (IRC 106: 1990).......................................................... 35
Table 15 Modal share of traffic (Chennai, 2006) ...............................................................36
Table 16 PCU values observed at various volume levels ................................................... 37
Table 17 PCU values developed for 2W and 3W in various road conditions....................38
Table 18 PCU values of 2-wheelers at different area occupancy values ...........................40
Table 19 PCU values from IRC 106: 1990 ........................................................................... 41
Table 20 Capacities of roads of various widths.................................................................. 42
Table 21 Capacity Vs Flow observed in Delhi..................................................................... 44
Table 22 PCU values from IRC 86: 1983 ............................................................................. 52
Table 23 PCU values (IRC SP 41: 1994)...............................................................................53
Table 24 Conflicts of 2W and 3W with other vehicle is Delhi ............................................56
Table 25 Share of motorised two-wheelers (MTW) and three-wheeled scooter
Rickshaw(TSR) in Indian cities (14).....................................................................................60
Table 26 Proportion of road users killed at different locations in India ............................ 60
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Table 27 Average fatalities per 1 million population per year in various cities in India... 61
Table 28 Mode Share (%) - 2007 (With Walk)................................................................... 65
Table 29 Mode Share (%)-2007 (Without Walk) ................................................................ 65
Table 30 Average Trip lengths of different category cities ................................................66
Table 31 Number of Auto rickshaws in the selected cities ................................................68
Table 32 Average Modal share of 2W and 3W at the five intersections observed ........... 74
Table 33 Mode Split for the Work trips of various cities ................................................... 75
Table 34 Mode Split for the Education trips of various cities ............................................76
Table 35 Mode Split for the Social and Recreation trips of various cities .........................76
Table 36 Equivalent Car Space (ECS) by type of Vehicle ....................................................79
Table 37 Noise limits for various land use patterns........................................................... 85
Table 38 Noise limits for two wheelers and three wheelers of different engine types: ...85
Table 39 Noise levels near hospitals in Delhi.....................................................................86
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1 Background
India, like other developing countries, is characterized by population growth, increasing
urbanization, rising motorization, and low per-capita income. The total urban population
of India burgeoned over the past three decades, rising from 109 million in 1971 to 160
million in 1981 (+47%), 217 million in 1991 (+36%), and 285 million in 2001 (+31%)
(Census, 2001). The largest cities have grown especially fast. By 2001, India had three
mega cities: Mumbai (Bombay) with 16.4 million inhabitants, Kolkata (Calcutta) with 13.2
million inhabitants, and Delhi with 12.8 million inhabitants. Chennai (Madras),
Hyderabad, and Bangalore each had more than 5 million residents. And 35 metropolitan
areas had populations exceeding one million, almost twice as many as in 1991 (Census
2001). The rapid growth of India's cities has generated a correspondingly rapid growth in
travel demand and increasing levels of motor vehicle ownership and use.
As Indian cities have grown in population, they have also spread outward. Indeed, the
lack of effective planning and land-use controls has resulted in rampant sprawled
development extending rapidly in all directions, far beyond old city boundaries into the
distant countryside. That has greatly increased the number and length of trips for most
Indians, forcing increasing reliance on motorized transport. Longer trip distances make
walking and cycling less feasible, while increasing motor vehicle traffic makes walking
and cycling less safe. Most public policies in India encourage sprawl and new commercial
development is often in the distant suburbs. For example, Tidal Park is a software center
on the outskirts of Chennai; Gurgaon is a large new industrial area outside Delhi; and
Pimpri-Chinchwad is a similar center outside of Pune (Bertraud, 2002). Similarly,
Bangalore is planning several technology parks on its fringe as well as several
circumferential highways in the suburbs, both of which will induce further
decentralization. In most cases, there is inadequate transport infrastructure to serve
these new suburban developments and the residences located around them.
Ramachandran (1989) characterizes Indian suburbs as an ‘uncontrolled mix of industrial
development, dumps and obnoxious uses,’ with the ‘extension of urban settlement
causing conditions in the overtaken villages to deteriorate, both physically and socially.’
The leap-frog development typical of suburban sprawl tends to follow major highways
out of Indian cities to the distant countryside.
Low-density, sprawled decentralization causes enormous problems for public transport.
It generates trips that are less focused in well-traveled corridors and thus more difficult
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for public transport to serve. In India, it has led to rapid growth in car and motorcycle
ownership and use and thus increasingly congested roadways that slow down buses,
increase bus operating costs, and further discourage public transport use. As city size
increases and trip distances become longer, the relative importance of walking and
cycling falls to about half of all trips in medium-sized cities and about a third in the
largest cities. There is considerable variation, however, even within city-size categories.
Among the mega cities, for example, walking and cycling are much less common in
Mumbai than in Delhi, perhaps due to Mumbai's superior public transport system.
Among the smaller cities, Kanpur and Lucknow have much higher proportions of walking
and cycling than Pune, which has a very high level of motorcycle ownership and use (due
to a large middle class), as well as extensive charter bus services organized by Pune's
industrial firms for their employees. By comparison, Kanpur and Lucknow have much
lower levels of motorcycle use (due to lower incomes) and minimal bus services. Instead,
they rely on a mix of para transit modes such as auto rickshaws, cycle rickshaws, jeep
taxis, and tempos (large auto rickshaws). (
J. Pucher et al., 2005).
Figure 1: Percent distribution of urban trips by means of travel for selected Indian cities, 2006.
Modal Split of various cities
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Delhi (12.9)
Kolkata (13.2)
Mumbai (16.4)
Ahmedabad (5.41)
Bangalore (5.70)
Chennai (6.56)
Hyderabad (6.38)
Pune (3.76)
Kanpur (2.72)
Lucknow (2.24)
IPT
Car
Public transport
2-Wheeler
NMT
Walk
Source: Various CDPS from http://www.jnnurm.nic.in/nurmudweb/missioncities.htm
As of 2006, private motorized transport (mainly cars and motorcycles) accounted for a
small but rapidly growing percentage of travel, about 10–20% of all trips (see Fig. 1). Fig.
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2 dramatizes the extremely rapid growth of motorcycle ownership, which increased 16-
fold between 1981 and 2002. Private car ownership increased almost 7-fold during the
same period. The sprawling, low-density development around Indian cities has made cars
and motorcycles increasingly necessary to get around, especially given the unsatisfactory
alternative of slow, overcrowded, undependable, and dangerous public transport
services. At the same time, rising incomes among the Indian middle and upper classes
have made car and motorcycle ownership increasingly affordable.
Car (cost > $6,000) and motorcycle (cost around $1,000) form the two major choices for
private vehicle ownership of individuals. In the existing situation, these two modes serve
for two different sections of the market. For high income group population Level of
Service (comfort) and travel time are the highest priority and in the case of middle
income class population the initial capital investment and operating costs form the major
deciding factors in choosing a mode. Since extreme cold/ snowfall occurs only in very few
places this is not a criterion in most parts of the country. Because of these reasons, Cars
and 2W have separate niche markets of their own and in general they are not in
competition with each other. The Tata Nano, the new $2,500 car launched by Tata (yet
to be available in the market) is aiming at capturing some of the 2W market. However its
results are to be seen once the product is out in the market because, the operational and
maintenance costs of a car will still be greater than a 2 Wheeler.
The three wheelers on the other hand provide the mobility needs of people not owning a
private transport mode and not being adequately served by the public transport system.
They are discussed in detail in the following section.
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Figure 2 Growth of India's motor vehicle fleet by type of vehicle, 1981–2002 (in millions).
(Source: J. Pucher et al., Transport Policy 12 (2005) 185–198)
Note: “others” includes tractors, trailers, motorized three-wheelers (passenger vehicles)
such as auto rickshaws and other miscellaneous vehicles that are not separately
classified.
Three-wheeled scooter rickshaws (TSR) play an important role as para-transit modes in
the public transport of people in most cities in India. According to official statistics
86,185 TSRs were registered in Delhi in 2001.The number registered in 1996 was 80,208,
and in 1999 it was 87,785 (Mohan et. al. 2003). It is estimated that the population of
Delhi increased by 20 per cent between 1996 and 2001, but the above statistics show
that the availability of TSRs increased by only 7 per cent in the same period. Also, they
have unique safety and pollution problems that the West has never experienced. They
have high emission levels but cannot be substituted easily by modern vans or buses
because of economic and financial compulsions. However, the three-wheeled scoter
taxis are now coming equipped with four stroke petrol engines or CNG engines which
make emissions per passenger from these vehicles less than those of cars. Yet, safety,
efficiency and environment friendly technologies for these vehicles have not assumed
priority for research in India or any other country.
According to Mohan and Roy (2003) TSRs should be preferred transportation modes as
compared to personal modes of transport and should be encouraged in urban areas
provided they run on LPG/CNG or 4-stroke petrol engines equipped with catalytic
converters. Ample availability of TSRs (and taxis):
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• Encourages public transport use as one can easily get to one’s destination from the
end point if in a hurry, or it is raining, etc.
• Encourages non-ownership of private vehicles as point-to-point transportation is
easily available for special occasions.
• TSR/taxi drivers do not cheat when supply is abundant and fare structure is
reasonable, and so passengers are not scared of hassles and arguments.
Greater use of TSRs reduces need for parking places. A private car needs a
minimum of two parking places – one at home and one at the destination. Whereas, a
TSR just needs one parking place in the city and if it does ten trips a day, it reduces the
need for nine parking places at home and the destination.
A TSR is preferable to a car as it carries the same number of people on an
average, takes one-third the parking area and one half the space while moving as a car.
Since it weighs one-third of a car it wears out the road much less, has less tyre/rubber
use, and uses one-third of national resources to produce it. All this reduces indirect
pollution. Since TSRs have a small engine (175 cc vs. 800 cc for Maruti) they pollute much
less per passenger than a car if the engine is as specified earlier. Because of the small size
of the engine, they can’t go faster than 50 km/h, thus keeping to urban speed limits and
can control others’ speeds also. Because of lower speeds and lighter weights, they can’t
produce fatal accidents among pedestrians and bicyclists easily as compared to cars.
Therefore, TSR use should be encouraged as much as possible in Indian urban areas.
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2 An Industry Overview
During 1985-1991 due to economic reforms introduced in the country, the motor
vehicle industry in India underwent a sea change. These reforms were aimed at
encouraging competition. During this period, the two-wheeler industry saw the largest
proliferation of brands in the consumer durables industry. From then on the rate of
growth of 2 wheelers has increased rapidly over the next two decades as explained in the
industry overview above. (Source: J. Pucher et al., Transport Policy 12 (2005) 185–198)
The following tables show the production and sales trends of various automobiles in
India.
Table 1 Automobile Production Trends
Year of Observation, (Number of Vehicles)
Category 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08
Passenger
Vehicles
723,330 989,560 1,209,876
1,309,300
1,545,223 1,762,131
Commercial
Vehicles
203,697 275,040 353,703 391,083 519,982 545,176
Three
Wheelers
276,719 356,223 374,445 434,423 556,126 500,592
Two
Wheelers
5,076,221
5,622,741
6,529,829
7,608,697
8,466,666 8,026,049
Grand Total 6,279,967
7,243,564
8,467,853
9,743,503
11,087,997
10,833,948
Source: http://www.siamindia.com/
Table 2 Automobile Domestic Sales Trends
Year of Observation, (Number of Vehicles)
Category 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08
Passenger Vehicles 707,198 902,096 1,061,572
1,143,076
1,379,979 1,547,985
Commercial Vehicles
190,682 260,114 318,430 351,041 467,765 486,817
Three Wheelers 231,529 284,078 307,862 359,920 403,910 364,703
Two Wheelers 4,812,126
5,364,249
6,209,765
7,052,391
7,872,334 7,248,589
Grand Total 5,941,535
6,810,537
7,897,629
8,906,428
10,123,988
9,648,094
Source: http://www.siamindia.com/
The sales trends shown above have been represented in the following figure.
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Figure 3: Sales trends of different vehicle types
Sales Trends of various vehicles
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08
Year
Vehicles Sold (in millions)
All Vehicles
Two Wheelers
Three Wheelers
Commercial Vehicles
Passenger Vehicles
From the total numbers, the percentage share of each of the vehicle types is calculated
and is presented in the following table.
Table 3 Domestic Market Share for 2007-08 for various vehicles
Vehicle Type Market Share
CVs 5.05%
Total Passenger Vehicles 16.4%
Total Two Wheelers 75.13%
Three Wheelers 3.78%
Source
:
http://www.siamindia.com/
The following figure gives the above data as a pie chart.
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Figure 4 Vehicle category wise market share (2007-08)
Domestic Sales
The cumulative growth of the Passenger Vehicles segment during April - March 2007 was
20.70 percent. Passenger Cars grew by 22.01 percent, Utility Vehicles by 13.21 percent
and Multi Purpose Vehicles by 25.20 percent in FY 2006-07.
The Commercial Vehicles segment grew by 33.28 percent. Growth of Medium & Heavy
Commercial Vehicles was 32.84 percent and Light Commercial Vehicles recorded a
growth of 33.93 percent.
Three Wheelers sales grew by 12.22 percent with sales of Goods Carriers increasing by
13.52 percent and Passenger Carriers by 11.33 percent during April- March 2007
compared to the corresponding period last year.
The Two Wheeler market grew by 11.42 percent during April- March 2007 over the same
period last year. Motorcycles grew by 12.79 percent, Scooters grew by 3.48 percent and
Mopeds registered a growth of 6.95 percent.
(Source: www.siamindia.com)
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2.1 Driving forces of two and three wheeler industries:
Even though it is the user market that determines the demand for two wheelers and
three wheelers, their decision making depends on the driving factors of the market and
the factors which are identified to be influencing it are discussed below.
Two Wheelers
The major forces for this industry are observed to be of three types; the manufacturers,
financial institutions which loan new vehicles and the regulators (Ministry of
Environmental Regulations, Civil Society Groups)
Manufacturers: Since they are the ones who launch various models in the market and
also lobby for better facilities for the 2 wheelers to be provided by the government.
Financial institutions which loan new vehicles: They drive the market in such a way that
if they lend loans at lower interest rates, more people are likely to take them leading to
more sales of two wheelers and vice-versa.
Ministry of Environment Regulations and Civil Society Groups: There are no regulations
on the two wheeler ownership/ sales in a city. The only regulations are regarding the
emissions of 2W and the emission norms in India are among the most stringent in the
world (Iyer, BAQ, 2008). Therefore the Ministry of Environmental Regulations which sets
the emission norms and civil society groups like Centre for Science and Environment and
other such NGOs which lobby for stricter norms also add up to the driving forces of the
industry.
Three Wheelers
The three wheelers cater to the mobility needs of the people not using private transport
modes and not being served by the existing public transport system. In this way, they
serve the needs of a section of the society by acting as cheap taxis, since they have lesser
engine capacities and higher mileage than the regular Car Taxis.
The major driving force behind the three wheelers are found to be the policy makers
who decide upon the various issues related to three wheelers like restrictions on their
total number in the city, their fare policies etc. there is a general tendency among policy
makers in various cities in India to try and phase out three wheelers in their respective
cities. This is because of reasons like, three wheelers seen as a competition to public
transport, cause of additional pollution, a slow and unsafe mode of transport, it being an
informal sector etc. which are not always backed with sufficient data. Also the fact that
three wheelers cater towards mobility of a particular section is also ignored while
forming the policies affecting them.
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3 Government Policies towards 2 and 3 wheelers:
India is a federal state, which means that the total powers on various policy
matters are shared between the Central or the National government and the States.
Generally, the policies on various issues are developed and notified by the central
government. The implementation of these policies is up to the state governments to
follow. Matters like regulating a particular mode of transport by specifying their
maximum limits in a city, implementing helmet laws, regulating the emissions by various
fuel policies are in the hands of the sate government. This causes the policies to be
varying from state to state based upon the state governments objectives and the local
conditions.
The transport sector policies in India are made by two ministries of the
Government-
1. Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways (MoSRT&H)
2. Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation (under which Urban
transport is a sub division)
In the various policies of these governments, no specific policies towards 2 and 3
wheelers are mentioned. The various policy measures under these ministries are aimed
at increasing mobility by encouraging Public Transport and not encouraging the use of
private modes of transport (NUTP, 2005). Since 2 wheelers come under the category of
privately owned modes, the policies of the government indirectly are meant towards
discouraging 2-Wheeler usage. Among the private transport, no specific preference for 2-
Wheeler over Car or Car over 2 wheeler is mentioned. 2 wheelers appear to have
potential benefits in terms of road space, cost, mobility and Green House Gas release.
However, safety, emissions and equality of the problems associated with 2 and 3
wheelers need to be addressed.
Three wheelers in India act as an Intermediate Public Transport (IPT) and serve
the purpose of a feeder mode to the Public transport in large cities and act as the only
available transport for people not owning vehicles in many places where no Public
transport is available. A successful Public transport system, with high rider ship requires
a good network of 3 wheelers to be operating as feeder modes. However, the policy
guidelines of the ministry of urban development (as given in the National Urban
Transport Policy (NUTP), 2005) only mention the encouragement of Public transport but
don’t mention anything about the 3 wheelers. The policies of other ministries like issuing
3-Wheeler loans at a discounted interest rate to poor as an Employment opportunity are
encouraging people to buy more 3 wheelers. The following sections discuss the various
Government incentives and the tax policies towards 2 and 3 wheelers.
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3.1 Government Incentive Policy:
Incentives to various vehicle owners are provided in the form of loans to buy new
vehicles. The government, through the various Public Sector banks gives loans to people
at interest rates about half to one-third less than what the private financiers charge. The
various policies of the government towards the vehicle loans are as mentioned below.
Two-wheeler Loans:
A loan of up to 90% of the on road price of the vehicle or Rs. 60,000, whichever is
less can be claimed from the banks at an interest rate of 13.25-16.25%, depending upon
the bank. The repayment period various from 1- 5 years based on the interest rate at
which the loan is claimed. The eligibility criterion for this is that the gross annual income
of the person claiming the loan should not be less than Rs 60,000 /-.
Four-wheeler Loans:
A loan of up to 90% of the on road price of the vehicle or 3 years gross income of
the loan seeker, whichever is less is can be claimed from the banks at an interest rate of
11.75-13.5%, depending upon the bank. The repayment period various from 1- 6 years
based on the interest rate at which the loan is claimed. The eligibility criterion for this is
that the gross annual income of the person claiming the loan should not be less than Rs
1,00,000/- and also, the person claiming the loan should have a residential telephone in
his name.
In the case of second hand four wheelers, loans are given only for vehicles with
age less than 3 years. The maximum quantum of loan is Rs. 5.00 lakhs. The maximum
repayment period is 5 years.
Three wheeler Loans:
The loan policies for three wheelers are similar to the ones for two and four
wheelers. However as a measure of poverty alleviation and employment
generation, the government has waived off the requirement of security for the
unemployed poor, if they provide the appropriate income certificate. This has lead to an
increase in the three wheeler ownership of people with low incomes.
Incentives to Women:
To improve the standard of life of women, the government provides them with
special incentives, wherein for the various vehicle loans mentioned above, the interest
rate for women is 1% less than that for men. The rest of the requirements are same as
that of men.
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Private Financiers and grievances of three wheeler owners
For all the vehicle loans mentioned above, if the loans are taken from private
financiers, the interest rates for the repayment of the loans are in the range of 30 – 40%,
but the various requirements for claiming the loan are less stringent than that of the
public sector banks. Also, the public sector banks do not give loans for second hand three
wheelers. In some cities like Delhi there is a state government policy of not allowing the
number of three wheelers in the city to increase beyond 45,000 registered vehicles and
also the maximum age of vehicles on road is determined as 10 years. Therefore, anyone
wanting to buy a new three wheeler should first buy an old one and exchange it for a
new one. In general the second hand or the old vehicle costs around Rs. 100,000/- and a
new one costs around Rs 300,000/-. Also, this transaction is done through private dealers
who charge around Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000. Hence the total cost to buy a new three
wheeler adds up to about Rs 4,50,000. Out of this, loans from the public sector banks are
given only for the new vehicle i.e. Rs. 1,00,000/-. This forces people wanting to buy three
wheelers to take loans from the private financiers, at high interest rates. As a result,
operators who own a fleet of three wheelers and rent them everyday are finding it easier
to generate the required money to buy new three wheelers than individuals wanting to
own a three wheeler.
3.2 Tax Policies towards 2 and 3 Wheelers
The road user tax to be collected from two wheelers and three wheelers is under the
control of various state governments and hence the tax paid by users in various states is
different to each other, based on the state in which they are operating. In all the states
the road user tax for two wheelers is collected as a lump sum amount (different for
different states) for a period of 15 years at the time of registration of the new vehicle. In
the case of three wheelers in some states, the tax is collected on a yearly or quarterly
basis. The following table gives the tax in some selected states, to get an idea of the
variations in tax collected in different states.
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Table 4 Road user tax in different states (As a percentage of the vehicle cost)
State 2-Wheeler Tax 3-Wheeler Tax
Andhra Pradesh 9% 9%
Delhi 2% 2%
Karnataka 9% 9%
Madhya Pradesh 5% 6%
Orissa 5% 5%
<50 cc 1.50%
Punjab >50cc 3% Rs 150/ Yr
Uttar Pradesh Rs 1600 (around 4%) Rs 380/ Yr
Tamil Nadu 6% Rs 280/ Yr
Bihar Rs 900-1500* Rs 990-1920*
*-- Exact amount depends on the weight of the vehicle
Source: http://www.morth.nic.in/related_catmain.asp?rellinkid=27&langid=2
If a vehicle is purchased (and hence registered) in one state and at a later stage needs to
operate in a different state, the vehicle needs to get registered once again in the new
state by paying the road user tax of the new state as applicable to vehicles from other
states.
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4 Regulatory Framework at Policy and Individual Levels
The regulatory policies developed by the central government have been
discussed in section 4.1 and the remaining sections discuss their impact from the
individual users perspective.
4.1 Regulations related to users:
In India the Rules and Regulations related to driving license, registration of motor
vehicles, control of traffic, construction & maintenance of motor vehicles etc are
governed by the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 (MVA) and the Central Motor Vehicles rules
1989 (CMVR). The Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways (MoSRT&H) acts as a
nodal agency for formulation and implementation of various provisions of the Motor
Vehicle Act and CMVR.
Figure 5 Regulatory Framework for automobiles in India
Source: http://www.siamindia.com/scripts/regulatoryframework.aspx
In order to involve all stake holders in regulation formulation, MoSRT&H has constituted
two Committees to deliberate and advise Ministry on issues relating to Safety and
Emission Regulations, namely –
• CMVR- Technical Standing Committee (CMVR-TSC)
• Standing Committee on Implementation of Emission Legislation (SCOE)
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CMVR- Technical Standing Committee (CMVR-TSC)
This Committee advises MoSRT&H on various technical aspects related to CMVR. This
Committee has representatives from various organisations namely; Ministry of Heavy
Industries & Public Enterprises (MoHI&PE)), MoSRT&H, Bureau Indian Standards (BIS),
Testing Agencies such as Automotive Research of India (ARAI), Vehicle Research
Development & Establishment (VRDE), Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT),
industry representatives from Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM),
Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) and Tractor Manufacturers
Association (TMA) and representatives from State Transport Departments. Major
functions the Committee are:
• To provide technical clarification and interpretation of the Central Motor Vehicles
Rules having technical bearing, to MoRT&H, as and when so desired.
• To recommend to the Government the International/ foreign standards which
can be used in lieu of standard notified under the CMVR permit use of
components/parts/assemblies complying with such standards.
• To make recommendations on any other technical issues which have direct
relevance in implementation of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules.
• To make recommendations on the new safety standards of various components
for notification and implementation under Central Motor Vehicles Rules.
• To make recommendations on lead time for implementation of such safety
standards.
• To recommend amendment of Central Motor Vehicles Rules having technical
bearing keeping in view of Changes in automobile technologies.
CMVR-TSC is assisted by another Committee called the Automobile Industry Standards
Committee (AISC) having members from various stakeholders in drafting the technical
standards related to Safety. The major functions of the committee are as follows:
• Preparation of new standards for automotive items related to safety.
• To review and recommend amendments to the existing standards.
• Recommend adoption of such standards to CMVR Technical Standing Committee
• Recommend commissioning of testing facilities at appropriate stages.
• Recommend the necessary funding of such facilities to the CMVR Technical
Standing Committee, and
• Advise CMVR Technical Standing Committee on any other issues referred to it
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The National Standards for Automotive Industry are prepared by Bureau of Indian
Standards (BIS). The standards formulated by AISC are also converted into Indian
Standards by BIS. The standards formulated by both BIS and AISC are considered by
CMVR-TSC for implementation.
(http://www.morth.nic.in/index2.asp?langid=2&sublinkid=204)
Standing Committee on Implementation of Emission Legislation (SCOE)
This Committee deliberates the issues related to implementation of emission regulation.
Major functions of this Committee are –
• To discuss the future emission norms
• To recommend norms for in-use vehicles to MoSRT&H
• To finalise the test procedures and the implementation strategy for emission
norms
• Advise MoSRT&H on any issue relating to implementation of emission
regulations.
Based on the recommendations from CMVR-TSC and SCOE, MoSRT&H issues notification
for necessary amendments / modifications in the in Central Motor Vehicle Rules.
In addition, the other Ministries like Ministry of Environment & Forest (MoEF), Ministry
of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) and Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources
are also involved in formulation of regulations relating to Emissions, Noise, Fuels and
Alternative Fuel vehicles.
The above are the policies of the government and hence affect the users at an aggregate
level. The regulations related to individual users have been explained in the following
sections. This is explained such that the emission regulations on new and in use vehicles
are detailed initially, followed by the methods to enforce these regulations. Even after
doing this there will be emissions due to these vehicles and the actual emissions caused
by them are explained in section 4.4. Even after the regulations are in place if the
emissions cannot be controlled adequately, alternative technologies need to be
explained to control them and the one’s available are discussed in section 4.5.
4.2 Regulations related to Emissions:
Since the 2-wheelers (75% in 2007-08) and 3- wheelers (4% in 2007-08) constitute
about 80% of the total number of vehicles in India, their emissions also form a significant
proportion of the total pollution caused by vehicles. The primary pollutants released by
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the 2 w and 3 w are particulate matter, Hydro carbons and NO
x
. If these pollutants are
left unchecked, they are found to have serious health effects on people and hence they
need to be controlled for a better future.
Emission standards by the government
The emission standards for 2W and 3W in India are first put in place in 1991 and have
been continuously upgraded from then in various phases as mentioned below.
– First major revision 1996
– Second major revision 2000
– Third revision in 2005
– Next revision in 2010
The following figure provides the chronological order of emission standards for various
vehicles and also various pollutants being emitted. These norms are for the new vehicles
and not for the vehicles in use.
Table 5: Emission norms for 2 and 3 wheelers in India (Fuel—Petrol)
YEAR PETROL 2-W PETROL 3-W
CO HC+Nox CO HC+Nox
1991 12 to 15 8 to 9 30 12
1996 4.5 3.6 6.75 5.4
2000 2 2 4 2
2005* 1.5 1.5 2.25 2
2010* 1 1 1.25 1.25
*DF 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
DF*: Deterioration Factor, Note: All units are in gm/ km
(Source: N.V. Iyer, Managing Two and Three-Wheeler Emissions--National Workshop on the Improvement
of Urban Air Quality of Pakistan, 13 - 15 December, 2004, Lahore, Pakistan)
Table 6: Emission norms for 2 and 3 wheelers in India (Fuel—Diesel)
YEAR DIESEL 2 and 3 W
CO HC+Nox PM
1991 14.3 20
1996 5 2
2000 2.75 0.97 0.14
2005* 1 0.85 0.1
2010* 0.5 0.5 0.05
*DF 1.1 1 1.2
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DF*: Deterioration Factor
(Source: N.V. Iyer, Managing Two and Three-Wheeler Emissions---National Workshop on the Improvement
of Urban Air Quality of Pakistan, 13 - 15 December, 2004, Lahore, Pakistan)
The following tables give the standards to be followed by the vehicles already in use.
Table 7 Emission standards for in use Petrol/CNG/LPG Driven vehicles
VEHICLE TYPE CO, % vol HC, ppm
2&3 wheelers (2/4-stroke),
pre-2000
4.5 9000
2&3 wheelers (2-stroke),
post-2000
3.5 6000
2&3 wheelers (4-stroke),
post-2000
3.5 4500
Bharat Stage II compliant 4-
wheelers
0.5 750
4-wheelers other than
Bharat Stage II compliant
3 1500
(Source: N. V. Iyer, Environment Friendly Vehicles – the Indian Experience-, National Workshop on Urban
Air Quality Management and Integrated Traffic Management for Karachi, September 13 - 14, 2006,
Karachi.)
Table 8 Emission standards for in use Diesel vehicles
Method of test Maximum smoke density
Light absorption coefficient,
(1/m) Hartridge Units
Free acceleration test for
turbo charged engine and
naturally aspirated engine
2.45 65
(Source: N. V. Iyer, Environment Friendly Vehicles – the Indian Experience-, National Workshop on Urban
Air Quality Management and Integrated Traffic Management for Karachi, September 13 - 14, 2006,
Karachi.)
Maximum limits for critical ingredients like Benzene level in petrol have been specified a
limit of 5% m/m and 3% m/m has been set for petrol in the country and metros
respectively.
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To address the high pollution in 4 metro cities, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai,
0.05% sulphur content in petrol & diesel has been introduced since 2000-2001. The
benzene content has been further reduced to 1% in Delhi and Mumbai.
These progressively increasing stringency in emission norms resulted in significant
technological advances and the introduction of very low emission vehicles to meet the
standards specified. This arrested further deterioration of air quality, but no significant
reduction in ambient pollution levels of PM10 and CO. (Note: Significant contributions of
PM10 come from diesel vehicles and CO from passenger cars)
Also, it is observed that the environmental benefits obtained from cleaner new vehicles
is negated by the pollution contribution of large number of in-use vehicles (poorly
maintained and without emission control) (Source: N.V. IYER, 2001)
4.3 Methods to enforce the emission regulations
To ensure that the above mentioned standards are being observed, two levels of checks
need to be performed:
1. Checks on the manufacturers such that the vehicles sold by them are complying
to the standards
2. Check on the users who operate on the roads, whether they are maintaining the
vehicles up to the required standard or not.
The methodology of how this is being done is explained in this section.
1. Check on the Manufacturers:
This is generally done in the following ways:
Type Approval and Conformity of Production (COP) tests
These tests are carried out to ensure that the new vehicles coming out of the
manufacturing plant are conforming to the tail pipe emission standards specified for new
vehicles. These tests are important because after the new vehicles are sold they are not
required to get tested for emissions for the first one year. In this way, the new vehicle
tests assume significance.
Type Approval tests:
Any new vehicle being made by a manufacturer needs to get a Type approval certificate
stating that the model under review is among those listed in Rule 126(A) of the Central
Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR), 1993. This Type Approval test needs to be carried out by a
testing agency recognized by the government. ( Eg: iCAT in Manesar, Haryana).
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Conformity of Production (COP) Test:
The test agency which carried out the type approval generally does the COP test also. But
the manufacturer can change it if so desired. The COP period for a vehicle/engine model
shall be every Six months viz. April to September and October to March or, production of
25,000 vehicles/engines in the case of other vehicles (other than 2&3 wheelers)
whichever is earlier. However if production of a model including its variants in a year (i.e.
two consecutive COP periods of Six months each) is less than 5,000 in the case of other
vehicles (other than 2/3 wheelers) the COP interval shall be one year.
The sampling size shall be one day’s average production subject to a minimum of 10 and
maximum of 100. For low volume production vehicles (<250 numbers in six months)
sampling size shall be minimum 5 numbers for Bharat Stage II/ Bharat Stage III
vehicles/engines. In case of CBU Bharat Stage II/ Bharat Stage III vehicles, where import
is less than 5 numbers at a time, the sample size may be limited to three.
If the vehicle/engine meets the requirements of COP, the test agency will issue a COP
certificate to the manufacturer. The certificate for COP will cover the vehicle/engine
model and its variants produced/planned to be produced during the COP interval. The
test agency will also send the copies of the COP certificate to other testing and Nodal
Agencies.
If the vehicle/engine fails to meet the requirements of COP, the testing agency shall send
the copies of the test report to the nodal agency and the manufacturer. The nodal
agency will make a decision and convey the same to the manufacturer and test agencies
within 4 weeks of the receipt of the failure report of the COP, after calling for a Standing
Committee meeting to discuss and advise the nodal agency. The vehicle/engine
manufacturer will be given an opportunity to present his case to the committee before
advising the nodal agency. Based on the recommendations of the committee, the nodal
agency may issue the order for withdrawal of type approval certificate and stop dispatch
of the vehicles/engines by the manufactures from his works.
(Source: http://www.araiindia.com/cmvr_tap.aspx)
Fuel Economy labelling of vehicles
Fuel economy labels are informative labels affixed to manufactured products to describe
the product’s energy performance (usually in the form of energy use, efficiency, or
energy cost); these labels give consumers the data necessary to make informed
purchases and thereby making them purchase energy efficient purchases. In India this is
mandatory only for a few articles like air conditioners, refrigerators but not for vehicles.
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In the case of vehicles “voluntary disclosure of fuel economy” method is followed, which
means that the manufacturer of the vehicles displays the fuel economy label mentioning
the vehicle’s model name, fuel used (Petrol/ Diesel/ CNG) and the mileage (certified km
per litre).
About Standard Test Conditions: The approved agencies conduct tests on all the vehicles
under "standard test conditions". Amongst many parameters, the "standard test
conditions" include: 2 persons in the car/ 2W, AC switched-off (for cars); Standard (non-
adulterated) fuel; gear changes in a predetermined pattern and at predetermined
acceleration levels; standard air pressure in the tyres, wind speed etc. As the "standard
test conditions" during tests at the certification agency are identical for all vehicles,
irrespective of manufacturer, the customer will able to make correct comparisons of fuel
efficiency, across car models. Some test centres like iCAT are authorized to carry out
these tests and only the labelling done there are valid and the rest are not valid.
(Source:http://www.marutisuzuki.com/Maruti-Suzuki-displays-Fuel-Efficiency-of-its-12-
brands-from-the-New-Year.aspx)
2. Check on the users
The following measures may be adopted for the in use vehicles to be following the
above mentioned norms. (Source: N. V. Iyer, 2006, Karachi)
Sound Inspection & Maintenance Programme
To check that the vehicles are observing these norms the PUC (Pollution under Control)
certificate is made mandatory for all the vehicles. According to this all the vehicles are
required to get their vehicles checked every year and obtain a certificate which clears
their vehicles to be following the required emission standards.
The PUC certificate is issued after the following procedure:
The transport departments of various state governments authorise some pollution
checking centres in various cities generally placed in some fuel filling stations or mobile
vans with the required equipment for testing the vehicles. Vehicle users who require a
PUC certificate need to get their vehicles tested at these locations. The price charged for
this is nominal at Rs. 35/- (less than $ 1). The vehicles get tested here and certificates are
issued. Figure 6 shows an example of a typical PUC certificate issued in Delhi. Even
though the certificate is of the year 2004, the same procedure is followed even now
(with change in the prescribed standards) and hence this form can be used to
understand the pollution check process.
Figure 6 Typical certificate issued after pollution check
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This certificate is valid for a period of one year and the vehicle owner is expected to get a
new check done for the next year. As can be observed from the form, a photograph of
the vehicles number plate is taken with the date of check and is placed in the certificate
and this is taken as the benchmark for calculating the mandatory one year period. If the
measured level of pollution from the vehicle is greater than the prescribed limit the
owner is supposed to get the vehicle repaired and get a new PUC certificate.
– However, the present system has the following inadequacies and hence needs to be
improved.
o No government supervision of the large number of privately owned
centers
o No quality assurance to verify correctness of certificates; Test equipment
not calibrated periodically
o Certificate issuing system not foolproof
o Fraudulent practices followed by many centres, issue of certificates even
without testing
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o Test centers are allowed to carry out repairs; this creates vested interests.
o Noise pollution caused by the vehicles is not checked during the test.
Introduction of pre-mixed 2-Stroke (2-T) oil
• At present only the city of Delhi has made this mandatory. Other cities need to
follow the example to achieve lesser emissions.
Phasing out old vehicles
• Replacing these with new ones meeting latest emission standards or
• Replacing by those running on alternate fuels
Up gradation of old vehicles
• Retrofitment of catalytic converters - will be effective only on post-1996
vehicles;
4.4 Current Fuel usage and emissions:
The following tables give the total fuel being consumed in various cities in India. The
cities are categorized according to their population.
Table 9 Category wise Fuel Consumption/ day (in Kilo Litres)
City
Category
Population
(in lakhs) Car 2W 3W Bus Total
1 <5 36 8 5 6 55
2 5-10 603 414 362 280 1,659
3 10-20 1,003 1,058 602 376 3,039
4 20-40 436 393 393 140 1,362
5 40-80 921 901 553 833 3,208
6 >80 4,782 1,605 2,869 7,442 16,697
Source: MoUD report, 2008
Table 10 Category wise Emissions/day (in Tons)
City
Category
Population
(in lakhs) Car 2W 3W Bus Total
1 <5 6 3 0 0 10
2 5-10 90 133 24 21 268
3 10-20 158 342 125 27 652
4 20-40 64 127 37 9 238
5 40-80 143 300 143 60 647
6 >80 556 365 451 375 1747
Source: MoUD report, 2008
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The majority of the fuel consumption by vehicles for all cities in Category 1 to 5 is
contributed by cars and two-wheelers and they account to approximately 65 percent to
90 percent of the total emissions produced by all modes of transport. In Category 6
cities, although cars and two-wheelers consume less than fifty percent of the total fuel
consumption by all modes, the total emission produced by these two modes is more
than 60 percent. This is due to high level of congestion in these cities resulting in slow
speeds and thus higher emissions.
In Category 5 and 6 cities, Intermediate Public Transport vehicles account to 18 to 23
percent of the fuel consumption, respectively while they contribute to approximately
quarter of the total emissions by all vehicles.
It is expected that mandatory fuel economy standards and an official fuel economy
labelling programme will help in reducing these emissions. (Centre for Science and
Environment, 2008)
4.5 Alternative fuel technologies available
Putting up strong emission standards and following them is one way of controlling the
quality of air. The other way is to explore the possibility of using alternative types of fuels
and technologies available. This section discusses the various options available in terms
of fuel technologies.
The experience with 2-wheelers suggests that they are not attractive candidates for fuel
changes. However, the three wheelers were found to be successfully converted to CNG
(India) and LPG (India and Thailand). The following are the features of these conversions:
CNG auto-rickshaw:
• Uses a 4-stroke,air cooled spark-ignited engine
• Has a CNG cylinder (22 litre water capacity) capable of holding ~ 3.5 kg of CNG at 200
bar pressure
• Delivers a fuel efficiency of ~ 45 km per kg of CNG
• Complies with all notified safety standards
• Is provided with a 3 litre “limp-home” petrol tank
• Priced at ~US$ 2000, about 25% higher than the corresponding petrol version (~
12,5% higher with Delhi incentives)
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LPG auto-rickshaw:
Opinion divided on whether LPG is a truly environment friendly alternative to advanced
engine technology and clean fuels. This is because the The total Hydrocarbons (THC)
emission of LPG vehicle is higher (~15 to 30%) than that of corresponding petrol vehicle
and also the CO and NO
x
emission levels are comparable to those of corresponding
petrol versions. Also, users may not be attracted to LPG if the fuel economy benefit is too
small. The other danger of promoting LPG in India is that LPG for kitchen use attracts a
subsidy (price ~Rs 24/kg-US$ 0.60, subsidy ~ Rs 17/kg-US $0.42 /kg). Since the auto LPG
price would be based on market forces, its price is likely to be higher and variable. Users
may not be attracted to LPG if the fuel economy benefit is too small.
The other alternatives available in terms of the fuel technology are
Electric 3-wheeler Auto-rickshaw Programme
Electric 2-wheeler Scooter Programme
However, large scale commercial production and usage is yet to be achieved in this
segment and hence no conclusions can be drawn as yet.
(Ref: IYER N.V., 2001, George et al.,2002)
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5 Traffic flows and congestion data.
5.1 Traffic Flows:
The vehicular traffic flows and their modal splits observed in the CBD areas of some
selected cities are presented in this section. The ranges of flows given here are collected
from the traffic volume count surveys done in these cities as a part of various
Comprehensive Mobility Plans, BRT feasibility plans and other such studies. Since various
vehicle types make up the total traffic the modal split of various vehicles are also
presented to get an idea of which type of vehicles are actually contributing to the flows
mentioned. Since the current study is specific to 2 and 3 wheelers, only their modal splits
and that of cars, which are the other major personalized mode is presented separately.
All other vehicles are put together in the others’ column.
Table 11 Traffic Flows and Vehicular Modal splits of selected cities
City Population
(in millions)
CBD-Mid block
Flow (pcu/ day)
2W 3W Car Others* Total
Delhi >10 50,000-60,000 6 8 18 86 100
Hyderabad 5-10 50,000-60,000 24 9 12 67 100
Pune 2-5 40,000-50,000 45 9 15 46 100
Jabalpur 1-2 30,000-40,000 37 2 2 59 100
Rajkot 1-2 30,000-40,000 35 1 16 64 100
Patna 1-2 30,000-40,000 20 10 12 70 100
Vijayawada 1-2 30,000-40,000 29 25 7 46 100
* Others include-Public Transport, Non Motorised Transport, and other modes like
Tractors, Goods vehicles etc.
Sources: TRIPP Report, 2008
It is observed that with increase in the population of the city, the traffic in the CBD is also
increasing, which is logical since large population means a larger city and more business
activity, which leads to more trips. Also, for the four cities in the same population range
of 1 to 2 million, the flows are also in the same range i.e. 30,000 to 40,000 pcu/ day. This
suggests that the pattern of flows in cities with similar populations is similar to each
other. Also, apart from rajkot, with a very less three wheeler usage (1%) and Vijayawada,
having a high three wheeler usage (25%), all the other cities have a similar 3-Wheeler
modal share (8-10%), which is also observed in the Modal share section 10.1.
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Two wheeler modal share trends:
In the case of two wheelers, even though there is no exact trend, the general trend is
that the two wheeler modal shares increase with increase in the city size and after a
certain point start decreasing with increase in city size. This can be attributed to short
trip lengths (Discussed in Section 10.2) in smaller cities leading to higher NMT usage and
with increase in city size the trip lengths increase, thereby encouraging people to shift to
motorized transport. Since two wheelers are more affordable by the middle income class
people (which constitute a high proportion of population) because of their low initial and
operational costs than cars, people shift from NMT to two wheelers. As the city size and
hence the trip lengths increase further, more people are observed to be preferring cars
because of the comfort they provide in the tropical Indian conditions and also higher
speeds leading to lesser travel times for long distance trips. Section 10.3 presents some
other aspects regarding the two wheeler modal shares.
5.2 Congestion data:
The Volume/ Capacity (V/C) ratio is taken as a measure of congestion in various cities.
For the year 2007 it is calculated by taking peak hour volume counts (4 hours in the
morning peak and 4 hours in the evening peak) at screen line (imaginary lines cutting
across the major arterials connecting the CBD of the city) points of various cities.
The following table gives the observed average V/C ratios in the arterials of various cities
categorized according to their population. The future V/ C ratios of these cities have also
been estimated for a do-nothing scenario i.e. assuming that the vehicles grow at the
same rate and the road infrastructure remains the same.
Table 12 Expected Average peak hour Volume-Capacity ratio for cities by category under do-
nothing scenario
City
Category
Population
(in millions) 2007 2011 2021 2031
Category-1 <0.5 0.24 0.33 0.69 1.48
Category-2 0.5-1 0.73 0.78 1.2 1.64
Category-3 1-2 0.81 1.24 1.8 1.97
Category-4 2-4 0.97 1.05 1.16 1.32
Category-5 4-8 1.12 1.51 2.01 2.54
Category-6 >8 1.21 1.79 2.4 2.9
Source: MoUD report, 2008
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It can be observed that in some cities the V/C ratios are greater than 1, which means
more vehicles in a road than its capacity. This may be due to two reasons.
i) Roads operating at Level Of service (LOS) F: IRC 106 defines this as the state of
forced or breakdown flow. This state occurs when the amount of traffic
approaching a point exceeds the amount that can pass through it. Queues
form behind such locations. Operations within the queue are characterized by
stop-and-go waves which are extremely unstable. Vehicles may progress at a
reasonable speed for several hundred metres and may then be required to
stop in a cychc fashion. Due to high volumes break-down occurs and long
queues and delays result. The average travel speeds are between 25 per cent
and. 33 per cent of free flow speed.
ii) Use of incorrect Capacity values: The capacities of various roads are specified
in terms of pcus/hr/lane. However, the PCU values adopted are static
throughout the network and therefore might not be representing the arterial
traffic completely. If the pcu values are incorrect, the capacity values will be
wrongly estimated and this leads to incorrect V/C values increasing to values
more than 1 in large cities and V/C’s in small cities in the range of 1.24, which
means a 76% percent unused space on the road.
5.3 Measuring Traffic Flows:
Information on traffic volume is an important basic input required for planning, design
and operation of road systems; hence, it is imperative that traffic volume is measured
accurately by adopting appropriate methodologies. Expressing traffic volume as the
number of vehicles passing a given section of road per unit time will be inappropriate
when several types of vehicles with widely varying static and dynamic characteristics are
present in the traffic stream. The problem of measuring volume of such heterogeneous
traffic has been addressed by converting the different types of vehicles into equivalent
passenger cars and expressing the volume as passenger car unit (PCU) per hour.
PCU values:
The PCU has been defined by the UK Transport and Road Research Laboratory as
follows:
On any particular section of road under particular traffic conditions, if the addition
of one vehicle of a particular type per hour will reduce the average speed of the
remaining vehicles by the same amount as the addition of, say x cars of average
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size per hour,…then one vehicle of this type is equivalent to x PCU. (Arasan et al.,
2008)
In India, the Indian Road Congress (IRC) sets the standards for various parameters related
to roads and publishes them as codes of practice. It gives the PCU values for various
types of vehicles in Urban areas in two of its code books- IRC-SP 41 and IRC 106. IRC SP
41 gives the PCU values of at grade intersections and IRC 106 gives the ‘PCU values at
mid block sections. In both the cases it is mentioned that the ‘recommended’ pcu values
are ‘tentative’. The following tables give the pcu values in these codes.
Table 13 PCU values at intersections (IRC SP 41:1994)
Vehicle Type PCU value
Two wheelers 0.5
Three Wheelers 1
Table 14 PCU values for mid blocks (IRC 106: 1990)
% Mode share Less than 5% 10% and above
Two wheelers 0.5 0.75
Three Wheelers 1.2 2.0
The values for percentage traffic composition between 5% and 10% will be interpolated the above values.
Also, it is mentioned in these books that the pcu value varies as a function of the physical
dimensions and operational speeds of that particular vehicle classes. Since in urban areas
the speed differentials are generally low and hence PCU values are predominantly
functions of the physical dimensions of vehicles. However, empirical evidence shows that
there are other factors influencing the PCU value of a vehicle. Literature search on the
research done in India on pcu values is carried out and the extracts from the papers
published in peer reviewed journals are discussed in the following section.
Factors influencing PCU value
i. Effect of Road Width
Sikdar et al.(2000) found that road width has an influence on the PCU values. This
is because, if traffic volume and its composition remain unaltered, an increase in road
width will provide more freedom for vehicles to choose their speed. By the same logic as
above, the PCU for individual vehicles will increase with road width.
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Also, it was found that, PCU for a vehicle type decreases with an increase in its
own proportion in the traffic stream. For a given road width, increase in volume level will
cause more density on the road. Due to this, vehicles will move at reduced but uniform
speed resulting in lower speed differences between a car and a vehicle type. It will result
in a smaller PCU value for the vehicle type.
ii. Effect of traffic volume:
Arasan et al. (2008) found that the PCU value of a vehicle type varies significantly
with variation in traffic volume. Their paper proposes that the PCU value of any mode
increases with increase in the total traffic volume and after a certain level, reduces with
further increase in volume. Hence, it is appropriate to treat the PCU value of a vehicle
type as a dynamic quantity instead of considering it as a fixed one.
It was found that, PCU values can be accurately estimated through
comprehensive study of the interaction between vehicles of the traffic. Study of
vehicular interaction under heterogeneous traffic conditions involves modelling of the
traffic flow to study the vehicular interactions at the micro-level, over a wide range of
roadway and traffic conditions, as well as the collection of extensive traffic data in the
field. A study was carried out in the city of Chennai and the results obtained are
explained below.
Table 15 Modal share of traffic (Chennai, 2006)
Mode % Volume
Buses and Trucks 3
Bicycles 10
Motorized Two Wheelers 41
Motorized Three Wheelers 16
Cars 28
Light Commercial vehicles 3
Source: Arasan et al., Road and Transport Research, March 2008.
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Table 16 PCU values observed at various volume levels
PCU Value Volume
(veh/ hr) M3W M2W
500 1.1 0.29
1000 1.4 0.43
1500 2.07 0.55
2000 1.55 0.53
2500 1.07 0.52
3000 0.79 0.42
3500 0.7 0.38
4000 0.58 0.36
Source: Arasan et al., Road and Transport Research, March 2008.
The study shows that the pcu values increase with an increase in traffic volume
and after a level reduce with the increase in volume. At low volume levels, the spacing
(both longitudinal and lateral spacing) between vehicles is greater, the cars (which are
the reference vehicles) are able to maneuver through the gaps easily, which facilitates
fast movement. An increase in traffic volume at this stage significantly reduces the
spacing between vehicles, resulting in a steep rate of reduction in the speed of cars. This
trend continues up to a certain volume level at which the speed of the traffic as a whole
is reduced and, consequently, the speed difference between cars and other vehicle types
is reduced. At this stage, a further increase in volume results in a relatively lower rate of
change (decreases) in the speed of cars and in a relatively lesser impact, due to the
introduction of the subject vehicle. This results in the decreasing trend of the PCU value
of the subject vehicle at higher volume levels.
iii. Effect of Traffic density, modal split and lane width
In a separate study carried out in Delhi by Tiwari et al. (2008), Traffic density,
modal split and lane width were found out to be affecting the PCU value and PCU values
for Indian highways based on empirical data are developed. Traffic data is collected and
analysed for various points and based on the traffic densities and lane widths, PCU
values for various modes have been derived. The PCU values for two wheelers and three
wheelers developed in this study along with the average percentage composition of
these modes are presented in the following table:
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Table 17 PCU values developed for 2W and 3W in various road conditions
Road Type %2W
Composition
2-W
PCU
%3W
Composition
3-W
PCU
Single lane 43 0·25 6 1·34
Intermediate lane 23 0·51 7 1·31
Two lanes without paved
shoulders 18 0·91 2 9·16
Two lanes with 1·5m shoulders 10 2·81 15 2·15
Two lanes with 2·5m shoulders 24 2·29 3 18·66
Four-lanes divided 20 1·99 4 11·44
Source: Tiwari et al., 2008.
It is observed that PCU values of motorized three-wheelers have very high values when
the modal share of three-wheelers becomes less than 5%. This shows that vehicles,
which have much lower average speeds than the other vehicles in the traffic stream,
affect the capacity of the road even at low densities. Also, it is observed that, the 85
th
percentile road width occupied by each mode varies based on the width of the road and
hence the PCU value is different for different road widths i.e. lesser road widths force
vehicles to form tighter 85
th
percentile widths and hence occupy less space and vehicles
occupy more area on wider highways as is evident from the higher PCU value on wider
highways as compared to single lane highways.
The above values are derived from the data at rural and sub-urban highways, where free
flow high speed traffic exists. Therefore in a typical urban scenario, where the traffic is of
the forced flow, low speed type, these values may not be applicable directly and some
corrections are to be made in order to get the correct values.
iv. Effect of Area Occupancy:
Mallikarjuna et al. (2006) studied traffic behavior as a three dimensional (3-D)
phenomenon, including 2-D for the roadway (longitudinal and transverse) and 1-D for
the time and found out that the area occupancy of a vehicle has an effect on the PCU
value. Area occupancy expresses for how long a particular size of the vehicle is moving
on that section of the road. It is measured over time and over space (length and width of
the road). In this study the entire road width, irrespective of the number of lanes is
considered and also different sizes of different vehicles is taken into account. The
following equation has been used to calculate the area occupancy of a vehicle.
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Where,
ρ
A
is area occupancy measured over space and time across the entire road width;
L is the length of the road section under consideration;
x
i
denotes the distance between the vehicle and any of the two reference lines,
measured along the road length.
L – x
i
denotes the actual distance traveled by the i
th
vehicle over the observed road
section
w
i
is the width of the i
th
vehicle
W is the width of the road and it is assumed to be constant for the entire road
section.
T is the time period of observation
Cellular Automata models have been developed for modelling traffic because they are
found to be more representative of mixed traffic than regular car following and lane
changing models. In this model the gap acceptance parameters and speed variation
parameters are taken in such a way that they represent mixed traffic conditions.
From these models, the PCU values for Trucks, buses and two wheelers at different area
occupancy values have been developed. The PCU values for two wheelers at various
modal shares have been presented in the following table:
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Table 18 PCU values of 2-wheelers at different area occupancy values
% No. of
2W
Area
Occupancy PCE(max)
PCE(Min)
0.036 0.1 0.1
0.038 0.44 0.1
10
0.05 1 0.52
0.029 0.1 0.1
0.038 0.76 0.1
20
0.05 0.79 0.53
0.028 0.1 0.1
0.038 0.46 0.1
40
0.05 0.46 0.34
0.025 0.1 0.1
0.038 0.48 0.12
60
0.05 0.88 0.12
0.021 0.22 0.22
0.038 0.6 0.25
80
0.05 0.87 0.25
0.021 0.26 0.26
0.038 0.45 0.36
100
0.05 0.6 0.36
Source: Mallikarjuna et al.
It is observed that depending upon the traffic conditions, the 2-W PCU value ranges from
0.36 to even 1 in some occasions and hence a standard value, as adopted in the current
code books will not be correct. Also, the PCU value decreases with the increase in
proportion of two wheelers in the traffic stream.
From all the above studies it can be concluded that the currently adopted PCU values
do not represent the actual situation in the field and hence a more robust way of
estimating the PCU values need to be developed. However, the factors listed above may
not be all inclusive and there may be other factors effecting the pcu value of a vehicle.
This requires extensive studies to be carried out to find out the exact factors influencing
the PCU values and based on the findings of the study, PCU values of various vehicles
under various circumstances need to be developed.
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5.4 Road space requirements and travel time for different
modes of traffic in different types of locations
The road space requirements are calculated in terms of the Passenger Car units (pcu) of
various vehicles. IRC 106 states the ‘Guidelines for the capacity of urban roads in plain
areas’. This book discusses the basis of the pcu values adopted to find the capacities of
urban roads. It states that “the pcu value is a function of physical dimensions and
operational speeds of respective vehicle classes. In urban situations the speed
differential among various classes is generally low, and as such the PCU factors are
predominantly a function of the physical dimensions of the various vehicles.
Nonetheless, the relative pcu of a particular vehicle type will be affected to a certain
extent by increase in its proportion in the total traffic” and it recommends the following
pcu values to be adopted.
Table 19 PCU values from IRC 106: 1990
Percentage composition of
vehicle type in traffic stream
Vehicle type
Less than 5% 10% and above
Two wheelers
(Motor cycle or scooter etc.) 0.5 0.75
Three Wheeler
(Auto-rickshaw) 1.2 2.0
Passenger Car
1.0 1.0
Light Commercial vehicle
1.4 2
Truck or Bus
2.2 3.7
Cycle
0.4 0.5
Cycle Rickshaw
1.5 2
Hand Cart
2 3
The values for percentage traffic composition between 5% and 10% will be interpolated the above values.
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However this may not be true all the times. The assumption that the speed differentials
in urban areas are minimal is questionable. Also, various researchers have shown that
the pcu value depends on many other factors apart from just the physical dimensions
and proportion of various vehicle classes. Therefore the road space requirements vary
from one location to another. Extensive empirical data needs to be collected and
modeled, to know the road space requirements.
Capacities of Roads with standard lane widths:
IRC 106 states the ‘Guidelines for the capacity of urban roads in plain areas’. Table 33
gives the capacities of various types of roads specified in this book. All the capacities
given are in terms of the number of lanes in a particular road. The standard lane widths
followed are 3.75m for single lane roads and 3.5m per lane for roads with two or more
lanes.
Table 20 Capacities of roads of various widths
Road Type
(Both directions Combined)
Capacity
(PCU/ hr/ direction)
1-Lane 350
2-Lanes Undivided 750
2-Lanes Divided 750
3-lanes 1000
4-Lanes Undivided 1500
4-Lanes Divided 1800
6-Lanes Undivided 2400
6-Lanes Divided 2700
(Source: IRC 106)
However, the actual capacities in the field can be different to this, mainly because of two
reasons. Firstly, at many locations in India, the lane width specifications are not followed
properly and hence many roads with widths not conforming to the 3.5m per lane
standard are constructed. Secondly, the above capacities assume proper lane discipline
to be followed by vehicles. Due to mixed / non homogeneous traffic conditions, as
explained in the following figures, lane discipline is very rarely followed in India and so
the actual capacities can be different to the one’s mentioned in Table33.
Homogeneous and Non-Homogeneous Traffic:
Homogeneous traffic has strict lane discipline and has traffic entity types whose physical
dimensions do not vary much. This is illustrated in figure 14.
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Figure 7 Homogeneous Traffic
Source: Tiwari et al., 2007
The composition of non homogeneous traffic is more than just passenger cars and heavy
vehicles. In addition to passenger cars, motorized two-wheelers, motorized three-
wheelers, mini trucks, minibuses, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, animal-drawn carts, and
vendor push-pull carts on the road are usually present in the composition. The physical
dimensions of the traffic entities vary greatly. Operationally, acceleration and
deceleration characteristics vary greatly because non motorized traffic entities exist
along with motorized vehicles on the road. Further, the characteristics vary among
motorized vehicle types with motorized two-wheelers that typically have 100 cc engines
operating side by side with passenger cars that typically have 1,200 cc engines. A facility
has non homogeneous traffic when its peak hour volume has less than 85% passenger
cars and has less than 90% passenger cars and heavy vehicles. (Tiwari et al. 2008). Figure
15 shows a typical non homogeneous traffic condition observed in Delhi, India.
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Figure 8 Non-Homogeneous Traffic (Delhi, India)
Source: Tiwari et al., 2007.
Actual Capacities observed on Indian Roads with Non-Standard lane widths:
To compare the actual flow and the capacity values given in IRC 106, observations from a
study done on two intersections are selected on the arterials of Delhi and the peak hour
volume counts on the four approaches of each of these two intersections are taken. The
following table gives the road widths, actual flow and the capacities of each of the roads
according to IRC 106.
Table 21 Capacity Vs Flow observed in Delhi
Name of the
Intersection
Approac
h Nos.
Approach road
width (m)
No. of Lanes
marked
Capacity
(pcu/hr)
Total incoming
flow (pcu/hr)
1 7 2 1800 1430
2 10 2 1800 2593
3 14 3 2700 4200
IIT
Intersection 4 14.5 3 2700 4018
1 9.5 2 1800 1561
2 11 2 1800 2121
3 11.5 3 2700 4049 Nehru Place
Intersection 4 11 3 2700 2598
Source: TRIPP, IIT Delhi.
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It is observed that out of the eight approaches, only one approach has lane widths
marked according to the IRC guideline of 3.5m per lane. At all the other locations the
lane widths marked do not conform to the standard specifications. Also, converting the
traffic into PCUs and comparing the actual traffic with the road capacities, according to
IRC 106, it is observed that in seven of the eight approaches, the volume of traffic is
exceeding its capacity. This clearly explains the fact the within the 2/3 lanes provided
more than 2/3 vehicles are passing because of the vehicles not following lane discipline,
therefore leading to better utilisation of available road space.
The problem of standard lane widths not being marked is not a serious one because
people are not going to follow those lanes in any case. However, the incorrect capacity
standards, if any need to be corrected because while suggesting capacity building
measures on roads, people may over estimate the required road space for a particular
traffic, because of the lesser capacities given in the code books.
Suggestions for correct prediction of capacities:
The continuity equation of traffic flow for homogeneous traffic is
k = q/ u
s
where q =traffic flow across a lane or lanes (vehicles/h);
u
s
=space mean speed (km/h)
k=traffic density in a lane or lanes (vehicles/km)
The above equation assumes constant spacing and constant speed, i.e., in un congested
condition with moderate to slightly high volume.
Since maximum flow in any section gives the capacity of that particular section, if the
above equation is validated for non homogeneous conditions, by varying k ans u
s
based
on the actual road conditions, capacity of a particular road can be found out. However,
the equation is for homogeneous traffic and the capacity is to be found out for non
homogeneous traffic. This needs to be done by finding some commonalities existing
between theories of homogeneous and non-homogeneous traffic and deriving the
required parameters from those commonalities.
Tiwari et al. (2008) present one such study done on the validation of Continuity equation
for Non homogeneous traffic. In this study, the validation is done taking density of traffic
(k) as the parameter. A modified continuity equation is used in this study to reflect non
homogeneous traffic in such a way that the parameters are adjusted but the traffic
characteristics still maintain the basic relationship as in the original equation.
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Here the total density is taken in terms of sum of individual densities, where individual
densities are vehicles of a particular type (mode) per unit area. Flow is taken in terms of
no. of vehicles of the mode considered for density and speed as the space mean speed of
the same mode vehicles, which cross the total length of the area considered in density.
The equations used here are:
For Individual Mode Densities:
K
j
= (q
j
/W)/ u
s, j
Where,
j
=traffic entity type, e.g., 2=heavy vehicle, 3=motorized three-wheeler;
k
j
=average number of traffic entities of type j per unit area of highway, e.g., motorized
two-wheelers/(km m)
W
=cross-sectional width for measuring flow, e.g., m;
Flow
q
j
=Number of traffic entities of type j crossing the cross-sectional line of width W
during a time interval, e.g., non motorized two-wheelers/h; and
Speed
u
s,j
=space mean speed of traffic entities of type j that completely traverse the
length of
the highway area (km/h)(
the space mean speed of nonhomogeneous traffic is
the
weighted harmonic speed of each traffic type’s space mean speed)
An assumption here is that W is constant throughout the highway segment for all traffic
entity types.
Total Density of all modes i.e. sum of densities of individual modes, since all the modes
use the same road space available.
1
N
nt j
j
k k
==
∑
Where,
k
nt
=average number of non homogeneous traffic entities per unit area of highway, e.g.,
entities/(km m)
and N= Total number of entity types in the non homogeneous traffic stream.
The average density from actual densities observed on a mid block section in the field is
compared to the density derived from flows and space mean speeds. It was found out
that these two are matching each other for the above equations. Therefore, by using the
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above modified equations, continuity equation is also valid under non homogeneous
conditions.
The actual concern here is to find out the capacity, which is the maximum total flow in a
section. The flow equation to be used is:
1
N
nt j
j
q q
W W
=
=
∑
Where,
q
nt
= Total non homogeneous traffic flow.
q
nt
/ W = flow per unit width
The maximum total flow is the sum of maximum flows of each mode, which is derived by
maximizing the flow equation. In this way maximum flow per unit width is derived which
gives the capacity per unit width.
This gives one method of finding the capacities of lanes with non standard lane widths in
non homogeneous traffic conditions.
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6 Traffic demand modeling methods specific to 2-3
wheelers and heterogeneous traffic
6.1 Current Modelling practices followed in India
The modelling method currently adopted in India is largely the four step modelling,
except in some research institutions where discrete choice modelling and activity based
modelling is adopted. The general practice to be followed currently is to model the peak
hour traffic using software like TransCAD, CUBE Voyager, TRIPS etc.
The procedure followed for this is as follows:
i. Trip Generation: Deriving the trip generation equations (trip production and trip
attraction) from Household Interviews (HHI) and preparing the production and
attraction table for all the zones of the city from it.
ii. Trip Distribution: Distributing the trips among various zones using gravity method
for trip distribution and calibrating it based on the observed trip lengths in the
city.
iii. Mode Choice: Mode choice modelling by techniques like revealed/ stated
preference surveys is not carried out in detail in most of the studies referred.
(Comprehensive Mobility Plans of Jabalpur, Rajkot, BRT Feasibility studies of
Vishakhapatnam, Vijayawada). The mode share derived from the HHI data is
applied for the whole city. (In some cases, it is taken zone wise and in others it is
taken at the aggregate level for the whole city).
iv. Trip Assignment: Trip assignment techniques like User Equilibrium generally used
to assign the trips on to the network using the shortest path algorithm. The
shortest path is decided based on either distance or time as criterion (as specified
by the user). The software initially assigns trips to a particular path and based on
the capacity of the roads, delays are calculated and alternative paths are explored
iteratively before converging on to a single path for each trip.
However, these software have some inherent features which do not exactly reflect
the mixed traffic conditions. Thereby implying that, the two wheelers and three
wheelers are not properly accounted for in the modelling process. These aspects
have been listed below. No specific methodology for 2-wheelers and 3-wheelers is
adopted. PCU value is assumed to be taking care of them (IRC-106).
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6.2 Errors in current modelling, applicable for 2 wheeler and 3
wheeler traffic
1. PCU value constant for the entire network: For traffic assignment, Origin-
Destination (O-D) matrices of various modes according to their modal shares are
prepared and while assigning the matrix to the network, the PCU values of the
modes are specified. Therefore, the PCU values given here are static throughout
the network. As specified in section 5.2.2, the PCU values need to be dynamic for
them to be representative of the actual conditions. This implies that the correct
PCU values cannot be incorporated in the present modelling procedures.
Probable Solution: If a modeling software accepts a program which takes
dynamic PCU values as a function of different variables on which it depends this
problem can be overcome. However, the current modeling packages like Emme3,
TransCAD (which are among the most used softwares in India) do not have such
features and hence some more research needs to be done on this before a
solution can be found.
2. Modal share constant for the entire network: The modal share specified in the
O-D matrix is generally caculated at the aggregate level for the entire network.
However, this might not be true in actual conditions, where there is a high chance
that the modal split is different in different locations. In some areas the
proportion of Cars may be more and in some other areas, the proportion of two
wheelers and three wheelers may be more.
Probable Solution: To counter this, from the data collected through House hold
interviews, separate mode shares for all the zones need to be calculated and
mode choice modelling with this data should be carried out. This must be used
while forming the O-D matrix. However, there is no report of such work done in
India as per the data available for the current study.
3. Link speeds but not vehicle speeds are considered: The speed of the vehicles is
taken in terms of the link speeds but not vehicle speeds. This assumes that the
speed differential among various vehicles is negligible and hence the link speed
will be the speed of all the vehicles. This may be true for homogeneous traffic
conditions where the number of modes in the traffic is few. But in mixed traffic
conditions, with the presence of two wheelers, three wheelers and cars which
have different engine capacities and also with the presence of non motorized
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transport on the road, this may not be true all the times and hence giving link
speeds instead of vehicle speeds leads to errors in the modelling results.
Probable Solutions:
i. If segregated lanes for different vehicles are provided (Eg: BRT systems), the
error is minimized to some extent because heavy vehicles use the Bus lanes,
NMT uses the bicycle lanes and so on. In this case car, 2W, 3W and other
motorized modes if any shall be sharing a road space and hence the peak
hour speeds might not be highly different to each other.
ii. Even though macroscopic modelling softwares do not have the option of
mode wise speeds, microscopic simulation softwares like VISSIM, AIMSUN
have this option. Therefore macroscopic modeling can be used for the entire
network to get a general idea of traffic loads at various points and at the
critical locations; microscopic simulation can be carried out to get accurate
results.
4. People do not use the shortest path available: The algorithms used in various
modelling software assign the O-D matrix to the network based on the
assumption that people use the shortest path to reach their destinations.
However, research done shows that, people do not always use the shortest path
available and they are likely to use some major corridors along their route even if
their trip lengths are going to be more along that route. This may be due to
reasons like, lack of knowledge of the various shorter routes available, which pass
through areas which are not very popular, superior Level of Service (LOS) on the
major corridor, presence of gated communities which do not allow external
traffic to pass through their roads. Ideally, to solve this problem, the various links
of the network need to be given properties in such a way that
Probable Solution: There are no conclusive methods for nullifying this error and
hence further research needs to be carried out to find a solution for this problem.
Even though, the problems mentioned above are faced in some other countries and
solutions are found to solve them, those solutions need to be adopted to Indian
conditions and should be incorporated in the design standards so that they are
available to people doing macroscopic modelling for cities.
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7 Road/ Intersection design guidelines
The design guidelines for roads in India are formulated by the Indian Roads Congress
(IRC). The following four codes are found to be giving the road/ intersection design
guidelines specific to two and three wheelers.
i. IRC 3-1983 gives the ‘Dimensions and Weights of Road design vehicles’
ii. IRC 86: 1983 gives the geometric design standards for mid-blocks or through
sections
iii. IRC SP-41: 1994 gives the ‘Design guidelines for at grade intersections’
iv. IRC 92- 1985 gives the ‘Guidelines for the design of interchanges in urban areas’
The salient features in these guidelines, which are applicable to two and three
wheelers are discussed below.
i. IRC 3-1983, gives the ‘Dimensions and Weights of Road design vehicles’.
The vehicles to be taken as a standard for design are three:
i) Single Unit (meaning one passenger car unit)
ii) Semi Trailer
iii) Truck-Trailer Combination
Two-wheeler/ three-wheeler are not even mentioned among the design vehicles. The
pcu value is assumed to be taking them into account. However, as explained in the PCU
section these values can be wrong in some circumstances thereby implying that the
guidelines might not me accurate in all the cases.
ii. IRC 86: 1983 gives the geometric design standards for mid-blocks or through
sections:
For this purpose all the urban roads have been divided into four categories:
1. Arterial: A general term denoting a street primarily for through traffic, usually on
a continuous route.
2. Sub Arterial: A general term denoting a street primarily for through traffic, usually
on a continuous route but offering somewhat lower level of traffic mobility than
the arterial.
3. Collector Street: A street for collecting and distributing the traffic from and to the
local street and providing access to the arterial streets.
4. Local Street: A street primarily for access to residence, business or other abutting
property.
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Based on these road classifications, various design parameters like the design speed,
Right of Way (ROW), Sight distance required, horizontal and vertical alignment
parameters are recommended. Also, the cross sectional elements of roads like the road
widths, design traffic volume, carriage with, footpath and bicycle track provisions are
specified. The design traffic volume is mentioned in terms of PCU and the PCU values for
two wheelers and three wheelers are as mentioned below. As explained in the PCU
section 5.2.2, these values might not be correct under all circumstances and hence need
to be revised.
Table 22 PCU values from IRC 86: 1983
Three Wheeler (Auto-rickshaw ) 1.00
Two Wheeler (Motor/Scooter) 0.50
For all the standards developed the design speed is the primary criterion and hence the
designs will comprise of all vehicle types thereby implying that the two wheelers and
three wheelers are also taken into account. Also, whenever the length of wheel base of a
vehicle is required, it is normally taken as 6.1m or 6.0m for commercial vehicles. Since
the lengths in case of 2-w and 3-w are less than this, they are being accommodated in
the design.
In all the cases no separate design standards for 2-wheeler/ 3-wheeler specific
environments are developed. A ‘tentative’ Passenger Car unit (PCU) value is developed
for various vehicles (in all the cases and they use the same PCU values) and the traffic
from all the modes is converted to these units. The rest of the design is developed
assuming that these many cars come on to the road and based on the Level of Service
(LOS) of a particular road, their dimensions are found out. Since the PCU value itself can
be wrong (explained in section 5.2.2), the whole design process is likely to be inaccurate.
iii. IRC SP-41: 1994 takes the following as design parameters:
- Design Speed
- Design Traffic volume
- Design vehicle
- Design Radius of curves at intersection
- Width of turning lanes at intersection
- Acceleration/ Deceleration lanes
- Super elevation and cross slope
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- Visibility at intersections
- Channelising Island
- Kerb
- Traffic Rotary
Among all the parameters, the design vehicle, design speed and the traffic volume are
the central parameters and based on their values, the other parameters’ values are
specified. These parameters are discussed in detail in this section.
Design vehicle: The code specifies that the intersections along the arterials and sub-
arterials in the urban areas and those in the Central Business District (CBD) need to be
designed for a single unit truck (with allowance for turning vehicles encroaching on the
other lanes in the CBD). A single unit truck has the dimensions of 2.58m width and 9m
length. Since the two wheelers and three wheelers have lesser dimensions compared to
a single unit truck, an intersection designed for such a vehicle is assumed to be taking
care of the two wheelers and three wheelers
Design speed: A design speed of 80kmph for Arterials, 60kmph for sub arterials, 50 kmph
for collector streets and 30 kmph for local streets are recommended. Since the desired
speeds of two wheelers and three wheelers are less than 60 kmph even in arterials, the
design speed specified in the codes cater to them also.
Traffic Volume: As explained in the ‘Traffic flows and Congestion data’ section, the traffic
volume should not be used as the total number of vehicles passing a point, but it should
be used as total PCUs passing through a point. This makes the PCU values to be adopted
very important and the accuracy of the PCU values determines the accuracy of the
intersection design. The PCU values recommended in the code are given in the table
below.
Table 23 PCU values (IRC SP 41: 1994)
Three Wheeler (Auto-rickshaw ) 1.00
Two Wheeler (Motor/Scooter) 0.50
iv. IRC 92- 1985 gives the ‘Guidelines for the design of interchanges in urban areas’
In this book, various guidelines on when to construct an interchange-what are the
factors to be considered like the terrain, traffic coming in, importance of the intersection
etc are discussed. Also, the types of interchanges to be adopted for various situations
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and their geometric details are specified. However, all the vehicles are divided into two
categories- Motorized and Non- motorized and the designs are developed for them. But,
in mixed traffic conditions two wheelers and three wheelers form a high proportion of
the motorized traffic and hence based on their vehicle capabilities, speeds etc. the
interchanges designed for cars and trucks can become non negotiable. For example if the
vertical curves are designed for cars and are made very high, since they have engine
capacities of 800 cc and above, they may be able to negotiate it, but two wheeler with a
100cc engine can find it difficult to drive over the flyover.
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8 Conflicts with other vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians
A Traffic conflict is defined as a situation in which two road users approach each
other in such directions and with such speeds as to produce a collision unless one of
them at least performs an emergency evasive maneuver. More rarely, a traffic conflict
may involve a single road user, on a collision course with a fixed obstacle or an animal.
(The Way Forward, 2005)
The normal lane widths adopted are 3.5m per lane and the maximum width of any
vehicle is 2.4m. Also a typical urban traffic is characterized by mixed traffic, inclusive of
2W and 3W with widths less than or equal to 1.5 m. This leads to more number of
vehicles using the road space than the number of lanes during periods of heavy traffic.
Because of this phenomenon, during overtaking, vehicles try to out maneuver other
vehicles traveling in the same lanes. This leads to conflicts between various vehicles.
A high share of non motorized vehicles (NMVs) and motorized two wheelers (MTW)
characterizes the transport system of Indian cities. In such cities nearly 45%-80% of the
registered vehicles are MTWs. Cars account for 5%- 20% of the total vehicle fleet in most
LMC large cities. The road network is used by at least seven categories of motorised
vehicles and NMVs. Public transport and Para transit is the predominant mode of
motorized travel in mega cities and carry 20%-65% of the total trips excluding walk trips.
Other modes make up for the rest of the traffic. The presence of different modes, with
differences in speeds sharing the same road space leads to conflicts between various
modes.
A study has been carried out in Delhi to observe the conflicts between various modes
of vehicles in mixed traffic conditions. This paper reports the results of a study that
explored the relationship between fatal crashes and conflict rates at mid-block on 14
locations in Delhi, India. The conflict data
revealed that the presence of only a few non-
motorized modes is enough to cause conflicts between motorized vehicles and on-road
non-motorized vehicles. The study did not provide a conclusive relationship between
mid-block conflicts and fatal crash sites.
An important conclusion of this study is that a
traffic-planning emphasis on studying conflict rates may not result in reducing fatality
rates on urban roads along mid-block segments.
From the total conflict data, the conflicts involving 2W and 3W are separated and are
presented in the table below.
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Table 24 Conflicts of 2W and 3W with other vehicle is Delhi
Car Bus 2W 3W Bicycle Total
3W 24 % 17 % 17 % 25 % 17 % 100 %
2W 22 % 27 % 18 % 13 % 20 % 100 %
Source: Tiwari et al, Accid. Anal. and Prev., Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 207-215, 1998
The results of the study show that, maximum conflicts involving 3 wheelers are
the ones which involve conflicts with other 3 wheelers, followed by the conflicts with
cars. Among the conflicts involving 2 wheelers, Buses are the conflicting vehicles in
maximum cases, followed by Cars, bicycles and 2W themselves. This can be explained by
the difference in speeds between the 2 wheelers and buses, cars, which calls for
segregation of heavy traffic by methods like exclusive bus lanes. The phenomenon of all
the modes having a collision rates among themselves is observed to be due the process
of natural segregation of various vehicle types. This means that even without segregated
lanes for different modes, vehicles are aligning themselves into clusterf of their own
modes. For example, all NMT operating on the left most lanes, buses to the right most
lanes and cars, 2W and 3W in the middle is a common phenomenon.
Figure 9 shows the consolidated results of a detailed study done on 14 locations on
national highways around the country (Reference). These data show that even on
national highways two wheelers constitute over 20% of the fatalities and all vulnerable
road users put together, which includes the three wheelers, constitute more than 65%.
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Figure 9 Proportion of road users killed and impacting vehicles on sampled National highways
(Source: The Road Ahead, Dinesh Mohan)
Figure 6 above also indicates that in fatal crashes trucks are involved in a vast majority of
cases. In the absence of detailed multidisciplinary crash investigation data, we can only
surmise that this disproportionate involvement must have to do with a higher presence
of trucks on national highways and the higher mass of trucks compared with other road
users. In the event of a crash, the road user with a lower mass usually suffers more
severe injuries.
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9 Safety data and prevention measures
9.1 India in comparison with Developed Countries:
Road Traffic crashes are chiefly caused because of high energy transfer between two
vehicles or a high speed vehicle hitting a low speed vehicle or a pedestrian. Therefore,
the type of vehicles moving on the road forms an important role in determining the
crashes caused and the preventive measures to be adopted. The following figure
compares the type of vehicles registered in India as compared to some developed
countries.
Figure 10 Proportion of vehicles registered in India, Germany, Japan and USA
(Source: Mohan D., 2004)
The data above shows that the car population as a proportion of total motor vehicles is
much less in India than in the Highly Motorized Countries (HMCs) (13% vs. 56-80%) and
that the proportion of motorized two-wheelers (MTW) much higher (70% vs. 5-18%). In
figure 8, the fatalities in India are compared to these countries to see whether the
difference in the number of vehicles is causing any change in the number of fatalities.
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Figure 11 Proportion of different types of road users killed in Delhi, Mumbai, national highways
in India and in highly motorised countries
*-- Average for 14 locations, MTW – motorised two wheelers
(Source: World report on road traffic injury prevention, 2004)
The above figure shows that, Pedestrians, bicyclists and MTW riders, who constitute the
vulnerable road users (VRUs), constitute 60-80 per cent of all traffic fatalities in India.
This flows logically from the fact that this class of road users forms the majority of those
on the road. In addition, because metallic or energy absorbing materials do not protect
VRUs, they sustain relatively serious injuries even at low velocity crashes.
However, the fact that the differences in fleet compositions are affecting the traffic and
crash patterns enormously cannot be denied. Therefore, the preventive measures which
are applicable in the HMCs might not be of the same use in India and the situation in
India needs to be looked at separately to understand the preventive measures required
here.
9.2 Situation in India
Table 18 below shows the number of two-wheelers and three-wheelers as proportion of
all vehicles registered in Indian cities. Studies from different cities also show that bicycles
constitute 10% - 35% of all trips in most cities of India. This shows that the vulnerable
road users constitute the vast majority of traffic on the roads in Indian cities.
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Table 25 Share of motorised two-wheelers (MTW) and three-wheeled scooter Rickshaw(TSR) in
Indian cities (14).
(Source: Mohan D., 2004)
Table 19 shows the proportion of different road users killed in Delhi and Mumbai. In both
these cities, the car occupants constitute less than 5% of all the fatalities and vulnerable
road users more than 80%. Similar data for all cities are not available in the public
domain, but considering that road user proportions are similar in most cities, we can
safely assume that fatality patterns will also be similar.
Table 26 Proportion of road users killed at different locations in India
% Fatalities of various modes
Location Truck Bus
Car 3-W 2W Rickshaw Bicycle Pedestrian
Total
Mumbai 2 1 2 4 7 0 6 78 100
New Delhi 2 5 3 3 21 3 10 53 100
Highways* 14 3 15 0 24 1 11 32 100
(* - Average of 14 locations, tractor fatalities not included)
(Source: World report on road traffic injury prevention, 2004)
9.3 Fatality Index for various cities:
A fatality index has been developed for various cities to compare the situation across
different types of cities. The average number of fatalities per year per 1 million
population is taken as the indicator. The following table gives the values for various cities
in India. All the cities are segregated in to five categories based on their population. The
fatalities in these cities are collected and the average of all the cities is taken to get a
general picture of the fatalities in various types of cities.
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Table 27 Average fatalities per 1 million population per year in various cities in India
City Category Category-
1
Category-
2
Category-
3
Category-
4
Category-
5
Population (in millions) <1 1-2 2-5 5-10 >10
2W 260 110 140 80 80
3W 70 20 40 20 10
2002
Total 10 10 10 10 0
2W 270 120 140 90 80
3W 110 20 50 20 10
2003
Total 0 10 10 10 0
2W 270 110 160 90 80
3W 90 30 50 30 20
2004
Total 10 0 0 10 0
2W 310 320 50 30 80
3W 90 80 30 10 20
Accident
data:
Fatalities
per
1,00,000
population
(Time
Trends)
2006
Total 20 20 0 0 0
Source: Ministry of urban Development (MoUD) report, 2008
The data here shows a continuous increase in the number of fatalities in the cities with
population less than 2 millions.. However, in the case of cities with population greater
than 2 million, the number of fatalities has reduced from 2004 to 2006. This can be
attributed to increase in traffic and higher V/C ratios, leading to reduction in average
speeds and hence reduction in the number of fatalities. No data on time trends of modal
split are available and hence correlation between modal split and the mode wise
fatalities could not be obtained.
It is also observed that, the 2W contribute to around 17- 51% of the total fatalities while
the three wheelers contribute to around 3-8% of the fatalities. Hence the three wheelers
are relatively safer and immediate concentration on the preventive measures should be
put on Two wheelers. These are discussed in the following section.
Causes of accidents:
Empirical research shows that the following are some of the major contributors towards
accidents in India:
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•
Conflicts of motorized vehicles with pedestrians and non motorists in urban areas.
•
Speed differentials between different types of vehicles operating on the roads in
mixed traffic conditions.
•
Night time driving
•
Wrong way drivers on divided highways
•
Unsafe vehicle front designs.
(Source: Road Safety in India: challenges and opportunities, Dinesh Mohan, Omer
Tsimhoni, Michael Shivak, Michael J. Flannagan, Report No. UMTRI-2009-1, January
2009)
Therefore, these aspects need to be taken into consideration while planning the safety
measures or the accident prevention measures. The following section discusses the
prevention measures which are currently being taken up and the ones which are
recommended to be taken up in the future.
9.4 Prevention Measures
The various road safety measures to be taken up by the government come under the
Department of Road Transport and Highways. The department has set up a Road Safety
Cell, to take care of the matters relating to National Road Safety Plan. It prepares and
implements Annual Road Safety Plan. It also compiles road accident data and interacts
with states on issues of road safety.
Schemes under the Road Safety Cell:
The following are the various Important Schemes administered by Road Safety Cell:
•
Publicity Programmes
•
Grants-in-aid to Voluntary Organizations for organizing road safety programmes
•
National Highway Accident Relief Service Scheme
•
Refresher Training to Heavy Vehicle Drivers in Unorganized Sector
•
Setting up of Model Driving Training Schools
(Source: MORTH, 2008 (http://morth.nic.in/index1.asp?linkid=77&langid=2))
Activities implemented by the Road safety cell:
As a part of the above schemes the following activities have been taken up by the Road
Safety Cell: (Source-ANNUAL REPORT 2007-2008, DEPARTMENT OF ROAD TRANSPORT
& HIGHWAYS, MINISTRY OF SHIPPING, ROAD TRANSPORT & HIGHWAYS, NEW DELHI)
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•
A public awareness campaign was carried out in the electronic/ print media. The
campaign included printing of calendars depicting road safety messages, broadcast of
radio jingles, computerised animation displays etc. Besides, television spots on road
safety are telecast on the National Network of Doordarshan. The jingles in different
languages are broadcast on various channels of All India Radio in order to create
awareness on various aspects of road safety. Publicity materials like calendars,
pamphlets, posters etc. are supplied to NGOs and to transport and police authorities
in states/union territories for distribution.
•
Grants-in-aid were sanctioned to 120 NGOs for undertaking road safety programmes.
•
The nineteenth Road Safety Week, with the theme “Drive to Care! Not to Dare!” was
observed from 1-7 January 2008 throughout the country involving State
Governments, voluntary organizations, vehicle manufacturers, State Road Transport
Corporations, etc.
•
More than 59,000 drivers are likely to be trained during 2008-2009 under the scheme
of refresher training to heavy vehicle drivers in the unorganized sector.
•
Assistance for setting up model drivers' training schools is being provided to state
governments/NGOs. A new school has been sanctioned for Nagaland during the
period under report. Another new driving training school for Madhya Pradesh is also
under process for sanction.
•
Cranes and ambulances are provided under the National Highways Accident Relief
Service Scheme (NHARSS) to states/union territories as well as NGOs for clearing the
accident sites and to take accident victims to the nearest medical centres. During the
year 2007-08, 31 cranes have been provided to various states / UTs. It is expected
that 71 ambulances will be provided to the states/UTs/NGOs during the current year.
•
A National award on road safety is awarded every year to NGOs as well as individuals
for doing commendable work in the field of road safety. The award amount for
winners is Rs.1 lakh for NGO category and Rs.50,000 for the individual category. For
the runners up the amount is Rs. 30,000 under the NGO and Rs.15,000 under the
individual category.
Review of the above Activities taken up and suggestions for future activities:
•
While the activities like grants to NGOs, cash awards to people doing good work is to
be appreciated, investments on activities like public awareness, safety weeks, driver
education need to be reviewed. This is because, empirical evidence shows that the
above activities are not likely to be effective in improving safety. (Sources: The Way
Forward, 2005) Therefore, diverting these funds to the various activities
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recommended by experts after research on road safety and various injury prevention
techniques.
•
The safety measures recommended by experts in the field of road safety after
research, which are specific to two and three wheelers have been mentioned in this
section:
o Traffic calming during off peak hours, when the speeds are likely to be higher,
hence increasing the probability of a crash
o Placing roundabouts at intersections
o Restrictions on free left turns at intersections
o Enforcement of helmet laws
o Pedestrian friendly front ends of vehicles
o Improving the crashworthiness of vehicles
o Improving vehicle conspicuity to reduce night time crashes
o Random alcohol breath testing
o Rest regulations for truck drivers
o Mandatory use of headlights during day time.
(Source: Road Safety in India: challenges and opportunities, Dinesh Mohan, Omer
Tsimhoni, Michael Shivak, Michael J. Flannagan, Report No. UMTRI-2009-1, January
2009)
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10 Mode Share and Mode preference
10.1 Mode shares of different category cities:
The following table gives the Modal split of the trips made in various cities, categorized
according to their population.
Table 28 Mode Share (%) - 2007 (With Walk)
City Category Population
(in millions) Walk Cycle 2-W 3-W PT Car
Category-1a <0.5 with plain
terrain 34 3 26 5 5 27
Category-1b <0.5 with hilly
terrain 57 1 6 0 8 28
Category-2 0.5-1 32 20 24 3 9 12
Category-3 1-2 24 19 24 8 13 12
Category-4 2-4 25 18 29 6 10 12
Category-5 4-8 25 11 26 7 21 10
Category-6 >8 22 8 9 7 44 10
National
Average 28 11 16 6 27 13
Source: MoUD report, 2008
Table 29 Mode Share (%)-2007 (Without Walk)
City
Category
Population
(in millions) Bus*
Mini
Bus
Car/ Jeep/
Van 2W
3W
Comm.
vehicles
NMT
Category-1a
<0.5 with
plain terrain 9 4 17 30 14 9 17
Category-1b
<0.5 with hilly
terrain 6 15 40 33 0 5 0
Category-2 0.5-1 7 2 17 32 20 6 16
Category-3 1-2 6 4 19 33 20 5 14
Category-4 2-4 6 2 23 36 16 4 13
Category-5 4-8 9 2 20 37 21 4 7
Category-6 >8 12 3 31 23 23 3 4
(*- Including and tourist and education purpose buses)
Source: MoUD report, 2008
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10.2 Trip lengths of various cities:
Trip length plays an important role in mode choice of individuals and hence the average
trip lengths of the above categories of cities are given in the following table. It is
observed that, as the population of the city increases, the average trip lengths are also
increasing. This indicates a sprawl in the city size with increase in population. Since the
average trip lengths in cities with population greater than 2 millions is greater than 5kms,
using non motorized transport like bicycles will lead to long travel times and hence it is
leading to more usage of motorized transport like two wheelers and cars (Tables 11, 24,
25).
Table 30 Average Trip lengths of different category cities
City Category
Population
(in millions) Average Trip length (km)
Category-1a
<0.5 million with
plain terrain 2.4
Category-1b
<0.5 million with
hilly terrain 2.5
Category-2 0.5-1 3.5
Category-3 1-2 4.7
Category-4 2-4 5.7
Category-5 4-8 7.2
Category-6 >8 10.4
Source: MoUD report, 2008
10.3 Advantages provided by the Two wheelers:
The two wheeler modal shares in vehicular traffic of various cities are briefly discussed in
Section 5.1 .It is observed that, for all the cities with population less than 80 lakhs, 2
wheelers cater to 30-37% of the total modes to make various trips. The average trip
lengths in cities with population less than 80 lakhs are less than or equal to 7.2 kms. For
trip lengths of this range, two wheelers provide users with the following advantages
when compared to Public transport:
i. Door to door service,
ii. Lesser or comparable cost compared to public transport for short trips
iii. Easy maneuverability in high traffic conditions,
iv. Easier trip chaining compared to public transport (Eg: Home- Work- Shopping-
Home)
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The reduction in the number of two wheeler trips for cities with population greater than
80 lakhs can be explained by their average trip length of 10.4 kms. For such long trip
lengths, people are likely to choose a mode which is either more comfortable than the
2W or less expensive or more time saving than the 2W depending on the individual’s
choice. The people opting for higher comfort or Level Of Service (LOS), shift to Cars and
people opting for cheaper modes shift to public transport.
10.4 Three wheeler Mode share and 3W index in various cities:
From the mode share (without walk) table above, it can be observed that for all cities
with population greater than 5 lakhs, the three wheeler mode share is consistently in the
range of 16-23 % in all the cases around twice the mode share for Public transport. In
cities with population less than 5 lakhs and in plain terrain, the three wheeler mode
share is 14%, which can be explained by short trip lengths and hence the lesser
requirement of para transit. In hilly areas with population less than 5 lakhs, three
wheeler mode share is zero, which can be explained by the difficulty in operating the
three wheelers in hilly terrain.
3W availability index of cities:
The availability of three wheelers or the fleet size of three wheelers plays an important
role in determining the number of people opting to use three wheelers. Therefore, an
index indicating the number of three wheelers available in a city as a function of their
population is developed and is explained below.
Three wheeler availability Index = Number of three wheelers registered per
1 lakh population
Table 24 gives this index for various cities in India.
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Table 31 Number of Auto rickshaws in the selected cities
S.No City No. of 3Ws (2005) No. of 3W/ lakh population
1 Gangtok Nil 0
2 Panaji 293 302
3 Shimla Nil 0
4 Pondicherry 2017 397
5 Bikaner 4125 645
6 Raipur 7478 1040
7 Bhuvaneshwar 3421 405
8 Chandigarh 7256 751
9 Hubli-Dharwad 8407 868
10 Guwahati 5567 525
11 Amritsar 9903 913
12 Trivandrum 7152 637
13 Madurai 6361 537
14 Agra 4884 357
15 Bhopal 11620 797
16 Kochi 12742 701
17 Patna 16302 888
18 Varanasi 12221 645
19 Nagpur 10666 505
20 Jaipur 12513 467
21 Kanpur 5252 193
22 Surat 19512 631
23 Pune 44590 1062
24 Ahmedabad 43865 739
25 Hyderabad 48898 766
26 Chennai 45016 642
27 Bangalore 77375 897
28 Delhi 104747 756
29 Kolkata 41946 285
30 Mumbai 156261 883
Source: MoUD report, 2008
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Figure 12 Comparison of three wheeler index of various cities
City wise 3W Index
0
25
50
75
100
125
Gangtok
Panaji
Shimla
Pondicherry
Bikaner
Raipur
Bhubaneswar
Chandigarh
Hubli Dharward
Guwahati
Amritsar
Trivandrum
Madurai
Agra
Bhopal
Kochi
Patna
Varanasi
Nagpur
Jaipur
Kanpur
Surat
Pune
Ahmedabad
Hyderabad
Chennai
Bangalore
Delhi
Kolkata
Mumbai
Name of the City
3W Index (No. of 3W per 10 lakh population)
The auto rickshaw population in selected cities is presented in Table 24. Cities such as
Gangtok and Shimla do not have auto rickshaws. For other cities, the number of auto
rickshaws per lakh population ranges between 190 in Kanpur to 1060 in Pune. Pune has
the highest number of auto rikshaws/lakh population.
Also, from the graph it can be observed that there is no particular relationship between
population (indirectly the size of the city) and the availability of three wheelers. Major
metro cities generally have higher number of auto rickshaws compared to smaller cities
because they act as a feeder service to public transport and also because of the end to
end service they provide, which is not always possible for the public transport to cater
to. It is observed that cities without public transport have higher number of IPT vehicles.
Hence the number of three wheelers in any city is based on the local conditions, like
financial options, road infrastructure etc. and the national policies are not having a
uniform effect throughout the country.
However, the numbers given here may not accurately give the actual number of 3W
operating on the roads, because, it was found that (Ref: Autofuel policy study, CRRI), a
large percentage of the vehicles registered with the RTOs were not found to be operating
and hence vehicle ownership does not necessarily mean vehicles on the road.
Average Index
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10.5 Time series data on 2W and 3W Mode share
The city of Delhi is taken as a sample to observe the trends in the modal share of 2-
wheelers and 3-wheelers in traffic, as a function of time. The data provided here is
collected as a part of a research project taken up by TRIPP, IIT Delhi from 2002 to 2006.
In this study, to cover the traffic characteristics around the city, five intersections namely
Aurobindo, Hazrat Nizamuddin, ISBT, ITO and Punjabi Bagh are selected from various
parts of the city and their traffic is studied. All of them are among the busiest
intersections of Delhi. A brief introduction of the importance of these intersections, their
connecting roads and the land use pattern of the area is given here.
Aurobindo Intersection: On Aurobindo Marg, the road along which this intersection is
placed, there are some very important places in Delhi. Few of the important ones are
shopping areas (Delhi Hart, Green Park) hospitals (AIIMS, Safdarjung), educational
institutions (IIT Delhi, NCERT), residential areas (Hauz Khas, Green Park) and tourist spots
(Qutab Minar).
Hazrat Nizammudin
This crossing is located on Mathura road going towards Noida, Mathura and Agra. This
junction is the main entrance for Nizammudin Railway Station. There is also a heavy
residential area adjacent to this intersection. These factors attribute to high traffic
volumes at this place.
ISBT intersection
This intersection is located on a busy ring road in North Delhi. Inter State Bus Terminal, is
near this intersection. One of the roads connects Sahadra in East Delhi and Ghaziabad to
the ring road. The Delhi University campus is very near to this junction. These factors are
the major reasons of high volume at the intersection. The detailed location of this
intersection is shown on the map.
ITO intersection
Among all the considered intersection ITO has the highest volume flow at the
corresponding time intervals. This area has some of the very important offices like Delhi
Police Headquarters, DDA, Institute of Engineers and The Times of India. The importance
of this intersection can be appreciated by the fact that within a 1.5 kilometer radii
around it places like India Gate, Pragati Maidan, Supreme court to its South, Darya Ganj,
Delhi Gate to its North, New Delhi Railway station, Connaught place to its west and
Yamuna bridge, Delhi Secretariat and ring road to its east are covered. Because of this,
this intersection is among the most heavily loaded ones in Delhi.
Punjabi Bagh
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This crossing is located on the ring road and used for commuters going to Rohtak. On
both sides of this crossing there is a heavy residential area, causing high traffic volumes.
From the various data collected at these intersections, the volume data during the
morning peak of 9-10 AM is taken for analysis. Since these intersections are evenly
spaced out around the city, it is unlikely that during the peak hour, the same vehicles are
counted more than once at different intersections.
The following figure gives the variation of the total volume of two-wheelers passing
through these sections during the peak hour.
Figure 13 Peak hour 2-Wheeler volumes at the five intersections selected in Delhi
Time Series Peak Hour 2W Volumes
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
Aurobindo Chowk H. Nizamuddin ISBT ITO Punjabi Bagh
Location
2-Wheeler Volume
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Source: TRIPP, IIT Delhi
It is observed that in three of the five intersections considered, the 2-Wheeler volumes
have been continuously increasing over the five year period while at ISBT intersection,
the volume of 2-wheelers in 2006 remained almost same as in 2002, with a slight
decrease in between the years. In the case of ITO intersection, the two-wheeler volumes
increased by about 2000 veh/ hr(4324 to 6873) from the year 2002 to 2003 and have
slightly reduced in the later years. But ITO still has the highest 2-Wheelers among all the
intersections, followed by Punjabi bagh.
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The three wheeler volumes at these intersections have been given in the figure below
Figure 14 Peak hour 3-Wheeler volumes at the five intersections selected in Delhi
Time Series peak Hour 3W Volumes
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
Aurobindo Chowk H. Nizamuddin ISBT ITO Punjabi Bagh
Location
3-Wheeler Volume
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Source: TRIPP, IIT Delhi
Except at Aurobindo Chowk, at all the other intersections, it was observed that the 3-
wheeler number has been continuously increasing till 2005 and then decrease in 2006.
This can be attributed to the age restrictions and the restriction on the total number of
three wheelers in the state by the Delhi government.
The above give the absolute number of vehicles, while the percentage share of two and
three wheelers in the total traffic is discussed in the following sections. Figure 12 gives
the modal share of 2-Wheelers at the five intersections, in the five years observed.
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Figure 15 2-Wheeler Modal shares at five intersections, for five years in Delhi
2W Modal Share in Delhi
38
30 30
40
44
37
31 30
50
43
37
33 33
42 43
35 34 35
43 41
37
33
36
42 45
0
10
20
30
40
50
Aurobindo Chowk H. Nizamuddin ISBT ITO Punjabi Bagh
Location
% 2W in Traffic
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Source: TRIPP, IIT Delhi
It was observed that there is no fixed pattern in which the modal share of 2-wheelers is
changing with time. The 3-wheeler modal shares are shown in the following figure.
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