GREATER COLOMBO TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT

Transcription

1 GREATER COLOMBO TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT Research Report 0902 Research Grant provided by Hon. Dullas Alahapperuma, Minister of Transport, Sri Lanka Amal S. Kumarage, Professor & Head, Department of Transport & Logistics Management Janaka Weerawardana, Researcher Transport Research & Study Centre University of Moratuwa Moratuwa Sri Lanka 20 th April 2009

2 Contents 1 Scope of the Research Overview on the Problems at Present Solutions and their Viabilities Road Capacity Development Travel Demand Management The New Policy on Traffic Management Scope of the Study Data Sources Used Summary of Executions Characteristics of Travel Demand in Colombo Introduction Growth of Road Traffic in Colombo Present Road Traffic Condition in Colombo Timely Variation of Demand Purpose of Traveling to Colombo City Assessment of Premium Service Introduction: Necessity of a premium service Potential users of premium service Route Planning Criteria Trip generating and attracting areas of potential users Destinations for the services Intermediate Pick & Drop Points for the Service Operational Aspects of the Services Public Opinions on the Premium Service Assessment of Variable Work Hour Program Introduction Flex-Hours Compressed Work Week Staggered Work Hours Variable Work Hour Programs impact on Transportation Administrative Considerations Flex-Hour Considerations Compressed Work Week Considerations Staggered Work Hour Considerations Execution of Program Public Opinions on Variable Work Hours National Transport Commission Ceylon Electricity Board & Department of Inland Revenue National Chamber of Commerce, Sri Lanka Responders who are experiencing Variable Work Hours at present Responders who are experiencing Normal Work Hours at present i

3 5 Assessment of Present Route Network & Re- routing Introduction Present Bus Route Network in CMC Orientation of the Network Bus Routes and Frequencies Bus Stopping and Terminals Behavior of Bus & Rail Passengers Considerations for Re-Routing Assessment of BRT-Battaramulla-Dematagoda Introduction Present Accessibility Options to Battaramulla Area Zones for Passenger Flow Analysis Approach from Colombo West to Battaramulla Approach from Colombo North to Battaramulla Approach from Colombo South to Battaramulla Potential Passenger Trips between Battaramulla and Rest of Greater Colombo Area Passenger Trips in Public Bus Transport Modes (Route Buses) Rail Transport Private Transport Modes Estimation of Passenger Demand for Proposed MRT Trace Estimated diversion of Bus Passengers Estimated passenger diversion of Private vehicles Total Passenger Demand for Proposed Corridor of MRT Fuel Conservation Capacity of New Introductions Contribution of New Services in brief Introduction of Premium Service Program Impact to Vehicular Flow Estimated reduction of private vehicle kms and Fuel Consumption Introduction of Car/Van Pooling Program Impact to Vehicular Flow Forecasted reduction of private vehicles and Fuel Consumption Bus Rapid Transit (Battaramulla-Dematagoda) Program Impact to Vehicular Flow Forecasted reduction of private vehicles and Fuel Consumption Introduction of Variable Working Hours Program Impact to Vehicular Flow Forecasted reduction of private vehicles and Fuel Consumption Contribution of new services for the improvement of flow speed Program Impact to Improve Flow Speed Forecasted reduction of Fuel Consumption ii

4 List of Figures Figure 1-1: Analytical Representation on Present Transport Issues in Colombo City... 2 Figure 2-1: Comparison of Passenger Modal Share Since 1975 to Figure 2-2: Major Accessing Corridors for Colombo City and their Flows Figure 2-3: Road Passenger- Vehicle share at CMC boundary Figure 2-4: 12 hour-two way traffic flow on Colombo-Negombo Road Figure 2-5: 12 hour-two way traffic flow on Parliament Road Figure 2-6: Variation of Vehicle Composition on Colombo-Negombo Road Figure 2-7: Travelling Purpose of trip makers at CMC boundary Figure 2-8: Percentage of trips by its purposes at CMC boundary towards city, Figure 3-1: Cumulative Private Vehicle Composition by Travelling Purpose Figure 3-2: Provincial Share of Vehicle Fleet, Figure 3-3: Growth of Revenue license issued in CMR ( ) Figure 3-4: Trip Attracting and Generating Center in Colombo Figure 3-5: Premium Service Bus Route, Kadawatha-Nawam Mawatha Figure 3-6: Premium Service Bus Route, Katubedda-Nawam Mawatha Figure 3-7: Passenger Willingness on Premium Service by Present Mode of Travel Figure 3-8: Expected cost/km for a Premium Service by Present Mode of Travel Figure 3-9: Additional Trip Makers Willingness on Premium Service Figure 4-1: Flex time Work Hours Vs Standard Work Hours Figure 4-2: Compressed Work Week-4/40 Program Figure 4-3: Compressed Work Week- 3/12 Program Figure 4-4: Schedule of Staggered Work Hours Figure 4-5: Private Vehicular Flow at CMC boundary, Figure 4-6: Stake holder Responsibilities in executing Variable Work Hour Program Figure 4-7 Traveling modes of NTC staff Figure 4-8 Analysis of arrival & return trip convenience level- NTC, Figure 4-9 Analysis of work trip convenience level- NTC, Figure 4-10 Analyses of reasons for travel convenience-ntc, Figure 4-11 Analysis of FWH impact in personal affairs- NTC, Figure 4-12 Primary reasons for the convenience of personal affairs-ntc, Figure 4-13: Analysis of FWH impact in official affairs- NTC, Figure 4-14 Analysis of overall view about present FWH program- NTC, Figure 4-15: Traveling modes of CEB & IRD staff Figure 4-16: Comparison of Traveling Ease by Mode of Travel in Arrival Trip Figure 4-17: Comparison of Traveling Ease by Mode of Travel in Return Trip Figure 4-18: Percentage of Passengers Experiencing Convenience Figure 4-19: Reasons for Travel Comfort under FWH scheme Figure 4-20: Level of Convenience in Personal and Official Affairs Figure 4-21: Interest on variable work hours by mode of travel Figure 4-22: Interest on variable work hours by trip length Figure 4-23: Interest on normal work hours by mode of transport Figure 4-24: Interest on normal work hours by trip length Figure 5-1: Variation of Load Factor at Rajagiriya, Parliament Road Figure 5-2: Distribution of Present Route Network Figure 5-3: Bus Stops and Terminal in Fort and Pettah Area Figure 5-4: Routing of Buses coming in Galle Road and DR Wijewardana Figure 5-5: Probable arrangement of bus routings with Link provided Figure 6-1: Zones for Passenger Flow Analysis iii

5 Figure 6-2 Relationship of AAPF, MPPF, EPPF and Total Flow at Borella Figure 6-3 Bus Passenger Trips at Battaramulla Figure 6-4 Route share of Bus Passengers entering to CMC at Rajagiriya Figure 6-5 Route share of Bus Passengers leaving CMC at Rajagiriya. Error! Bookmark not defined. Figure 6-6: Bus Passenger Flow between Battaramulla and Colombo west/north Figure 6-7: Private vehicular passenger flow Between Battaramulla and Colombo North Figure 6-8 Estimated passenger demand for the proposed transit option Figure 7-1: Contribution of New Services for Reducing Fuel Usage Figure 7-2: Traffic Flow at CMC boundary, Figure 7-3: Fuel efficiency survey for typical vehicles iv

6 List of Tables Table 1-1: Important Buildings in Colombo City... 1 Table 1-2: Road density comparison... 3 Table 1-3: Summary of executions in Research Components... 8 Table 2-1: Daily Passenger Flow at the CMC Boundary-Both Directions ( ) Table 2-2: Growth of Traffic Entering to Colombo City Table 2-3: Average Daily Traffic at CMC boundary, Table 2-4: Daily Passenger Flow at CMC Boundary- Both directions, Table 3-1: Travel Pattern in CMC Area, 1996 (24-hours, weekday) Table 3-2: Consumer Expenditure Shares, %, 2003/ Table 3-3: Origin- Destination Flows of Greater Colombo Intra Regional Trips, Table 3-4: Origin- Destination Flows of CMC-CMR Inter Regional Trips, Table 4-1: Percentages of different types of trip experiences-ntc, Table 4-2 Percentages of different types of scenarios experiences-ntc, Table 5-1: Pettah/Fort Originated Bus Routes and Their Frequencies Table 5-2: Bus Stops and Terminals in Pettah and Fort Area Table 5-3: Daily Bus Parkings in Pettah and Fort Bus Stands Table 5-4: Origin- Destinations of Pettah/Fort Bus Travelers Table 5-5: Origin- Destinations of Pettah/Fort Rail Travelers Table 6-1: Route Share of Passengers Traveling from Battaramulla to Colombo City Table 6-2 Summary of bus passenger flow from Battaramulla to Colombo North/West Table 6-3: Route Share of Passengers attracted to Battaramulla from Colombo City Table 6-4: Bus passenger flow from Colombo North/West to Battaramulla Table 6-5: Bus passenger Flow between Battaramulla and Colombo west/north Table 6-6: Private Vehicle Flow between Battarmulla and Colombo North Table 6-7: Private Vehicular Passenger Flow between Battaramulla and Colombo North Table 6-8: Bus Passenger Flow Estimation from Battaramulla to Dematagoda Table 6-9: Estimated Bus Passenger diversion to the proposed BRT from Battaramulla Table 6-10: Estimated Bus Passenger diversion to the proposed BRT from Dematagoda Table 6-11: Estimated passenger diversion of private vehicles to proposed rapid transit Table 6-12: Estimated passenger demand for the proposed transit option Table 7-1: Home based Work Trips by Private Vehicles Table 7-2: Reductions in Private Modes Due to Car and Van Pooling v

7 1 Scope of the Research 1.1 Overview on the Problems at Present Colombo city is the centre of the economy in Sri Lanka. Government offices, private offices, factories, hospitals, hotels, schools and harbor located within the city induces higher daily regular travel demand towards the city core. It also drives large amount of ad-hoc travelers since it binds all parts of the country by keeping country s major road and rail passenger transport node within the centre of the city. Therefore most of passengers traveling between the western part and the rest of the country have to at least touch the Colombo city in their journey. Table 1-1: Important Buildings in Colombo City Feature Nos. Police Stations 19 Primary and Secondary Schools 132 Government and Private Banks 97 Government offices 161 Government and private Hospitals 40 Embassies 31 Hotels 13 Theatres & Cinemas 27 Places of Worships 53 Bus Stoppings and Terminals (Fort and Pettah only) 10 Railway stations 6 Attracting higher amount of vehicles and passengers leads to the traffic congestion on the roads as well as the inter-modal congestion in public transport modes. These congestion issues can be considered as the outputs produced by attracting people and vehicles for the activities in the city. These outputs interact with the prevailing socio-economicenvironmental aspects and produces negative outcomes. For an example, output such as traffic congestion consumes higher amount of fuel and also emits higher amount SO 2 to the environment polluting air in surrounding. Therefore it can be concluded that the traffic congestion leads to two negative impacts of fuel waistage and air pollution in economic and environmental sectors respectively. Additionally, the inefficiency of agencies and the higher cost for maintaining road assets are also can be considered as negative impacts of road traffic and inter-modal congestions. Afore-mentioned ideology can be represented in graphically as illustrated in Figure

8 Figure 1-1: Analytical Representation on Present Transport Issues in Colombo City 1.2 Solutions and their Viabilities In fast few decades it was noticeable that the rapid growth of vehicle coming to the city was predominantly increased and hence the problems attached to the transportation were also severe. But so-far, the government has not made an effective intervention for catering or managing the travel demand as a response to the problems governing at present. But there are two basic interventions are in discussion to get rid of the situation prevailing. They are, 1. Road Capacity Development for catering increasing demand or 2. Managing inputs as it reduce the impacts of outputs and hence the outcomes But the viability of such kind of interventions should be assessed with respect to the present geographic and demographic profile of the city Road Capacity Development The road infrastructure in Colombo city and its suburb cannot be further widened or new roads built keeping with the rate of demand created by people who are shifting from public transport to private transport. The inability to obtain the required land for road space, parking spaces etc are fast becoming constraints that are severely restricting the flow of vehicles which far exceed the capacity of the road system to efficiently discharge the demand. As a result, around 70% of the length of the national roads within the 10-km radius from the city 2

9 centre is congested throughout the day. The average speed on these roads falls below 15 kms per hour. At such speeds, fuel consumption doubles, consequently increasing air pollution as well. On the other hand, widening or building new roads cannot be accepted as a solution of managing travel demand since Colombo and its suburb already contains lengthy road network providing several accessing options for single specific location. This issue is further confirmed by the statistics appeared in Table 1-2. It indicates that Sri Lanka is having the highest road density in terms of length per area in South Asia and more interestingly CMC and its suburb exceeds overall value of Sri Lanka equalling to a value of 3.48 km/sqkm. Besides that, the higher population density of pop/sqkm is also clearly indicates the difficulty of land acquisitions for further road development activities. Projects such as the extension of the Duplication Road, widening and extension of Baseline Road and Marine Drive have clearly illustrated the difficulties in land acquisition in a city which is both historic and densely built up. Table 1-2: Road density comparison Country Road Density Population Density (1000 km/sq km km/1000 population Population/sqkm) Nepal Pakistan Bangladesh Bhutan India Sri Lanka Colombo Metropolitan Region Colombo District CMC Travel Demand Management Limitations of highway development evidently tell to find a solution for prevailing problems through managing present travel demand for the Colombo city. In recent past, there are debatable proposals has been forwarded in this regard such as By shifting passenger attracting functions to outskirt of the City such as Maharagma, Nugegoda, Panadura, Kiribathgoda etc Last ten years it was noticeable that some of the private sector businesses and offices were started to shift to the outskirt of the Colombo city areas such as Maharagma, Nugegoda, Panadura, Kiribathgoda etc. Though these unplanned developments of above cities are contributed to decrease the passenger flow towards the city centre, it has not been caused to decrease the traffic congestion in the city. Furthermore these in 3

10 turn are causing congestion along the major arteries thus throttling the city even further. Therefore this cannot be accepted as a right move in terms of road traffic management of Colombo city. Controlling or de-motivating vehicular and passenger entries to the City by introducing policy interventions Road pricing, vehicle usage restriction, park and rides, ride sharing and variable work hours are some of possible solutions in this respect. By introducing road pricing schemes for the congested areas, the car users have to pay in terms of value of time for the additional delay added by him. This scheme helps to minimize the private vehicular entries to the city by shifting these users to public transport modes, alternative routes or cancelling the journey. Similarly vehicle usage restrictions based on certain criteria also can be introduced for reducing road congestion in some of the areas in the city. Allowing odd and even numbered vehicles on alternative days is a best option can be followed under this kind of restriction process. Advanced equipments developed for automatic vehicle identification has to be used for regulating both road pricing and vehicle usage restriction schemes effectively. Park and ride and ride sharing options are also effective in terms of congestion reduction especially once they coupled with road pricing and vehicle restriction schemes. Well planed park and ride must provide security for parked vehicles, efficient transfers, reliability of services and comfort for the potential users. Similarly arranging well organized shared transport by matching trip ends of commuters is also accepted as a good practise in managing traffic. Variable work hours facilitate to choose different work schedules for the office based workers interest. Thereby these regular travellers tend to use public or private transport modes in different times to approach and leave the city by reducing peak period congestion on the road as well as in the public modes. Upgrading public transport The present system of sub optimal bus transport operations and railway services of poor reliability have to be improved to a status wherein they form a realistic choice to those who own or can own a private vehicle. In this context management restructuring of the bus sector as well as introduction of premium level valued added rail and bus services will be a priority. It will also include the provision of priority for public transport which is a wide spread policy adopted by many cities in their attempt to reduce traffic congestion and environmental pollution. It also requires reducing the number of excessive vehicles, re-rerouting and terminating some bus routes away from city centres. Additionally it is a pre-requisition of maintaining a good information system coupled with upgraded public transport system. This would help passengers to plan their journey with minimum distance, time and cost and consequently it would also help to reduce the congestion. Modernized computer based information technology can be used effectively for this purpose. 4

11 Managing Freight Transport There are an estimated 15,000 good vehicles movements made to and from the city everyday. Beside this, there are perhaps twice as many freight vehicle trips circulating within the city everyday. Around 2,500 of such movements are to and from the Port. This includes containers, tankers and trucks. Thus around 10% of all goods movements within the city are related to trip ends in the Port. Surveys do however show that around 50% of such movements are empty underlying the lack of coordination in securing return hauls for freight vehicles. The other significant freight vehicle generators are the Vegetable (Manning) market in Pettah as well as the dry goods and hardware markets in 4 th Cross Street and Armour Street areas. The movement of goods vehicles in such dense areas by road, results in road congestion. It is thus timely to think of moving such traffic by railways. Therefore encouraging the movements of port related cargo by rail should be considered as an urgent measure. Moreover encouraging the use of excess road capacity at night and during weekends should also be considered as a policy objective. Improving the utilization of cargo carriage by reducing empty truck movements would also be a valuable exercise. 1.3 The New Policy on Traffic Management 1 The Ministry of Transport is presently formulating wider transport policy for the country as a whole. Its strategic approach as relevant to Traffic Management to be achieved by the year 2010 is given below: Policy Level Interventions: o To reduce the number of vehicle arrivals within the city particularly, the daily number of private vehicles from 175,000 to 125,000 by end of This is estimated to improve traffic speeds by 50% and pollution loads by at least and equal amount. o To increase railway passenger arrivals to Colombo to increase to at least 120,000 (a 50% increase) by end of 2010 by improving services and new connections where feasible. o To ensure that at least 1/3 rd of existing road space on major highways within a 10 km radius from Colombo Fort as well as within the city be reserved for high occupancy vehicles. Such areas to be utilized for high priority bus lanes, light transit systems (trams) or bus rapid transit (BRT) systems in order to reduce buses and other vehicles. o To ensure that at least 1/10 th of space of all roads within the city are provided exclusively for non-motorized transport such as for sidewalks for walking and bicycle lanes. o To undertake a complete city rerouting of bus routes in the city and suburbs in order to reduce overlapping routes, promote bus priority roads and reduce excess buses and bus trips. o To reduce the number of goods vehicles arriving in the city by 50% by the year 2010 by relocating or decentralizing logistics and distribution activities outside the city. 1 Source: Strategic Plan for Traffic Management in Greater Colombo Area, Dec

12 o To plan to introduce Road Pricing as a measure of managing traffic levels on a long term basis to be implemented after satisfactory public transport alternatives are provided to private vehicle users. o To plan the priority land use for Colombo and to determine which activities should be gradually moved out to other areas. o To integrate land use development especially of high density commercial and residential areas in close proximity to public transport corridors. o To identify & preserve railway land in the city and its suburbs for future development of transport based facilities and appropriate high density urban development activities that are consistent and part of such transport developments. o To revise vehicle tax structures to encourage vehicle imports that are less polluting and the electrification of suburban railways. Administrative Level Interventions o Changes to the National Transport Commission Act to streamline the planning functions and to provide for conversion of the existing single operator bus industry to a professionally managed bus industry. o Improve the services of the Sri Lanka Transport Board by management restructuring along the lines of the SLTB Act of o Improve the services of the Sri Lanka Railways by investing in rolling stock and infrastructure development for both passenger and freight transport especially in the Colombo Urban area. o Implement a Coordinating Mechanism (by expanding the Presidential Committee on Urban Transport (P-CUT) or similar arrangement) to coordinate activities of traffic demand management in the Colombo Urban Area. Project Level Interventions (for completion by 2010) o Ensure the reduction of empty truck movements to and from the city and to encourage the movements of heavy goods vehicles during night times and outside of peak traffic times. o In particular to ensure the minimum impact of port related traffic on limited road space within the city and to facilitate greater movement of goods movements during night time and off peak hours. o Commencement of Inland Logistics Hubs at Ratmalana and another location to the east and also to the north of Colombo to reduce the number of heavy vehicles coming in to the city for which Cabinet approval has been obtained. o Implement a system of well designed bus priority lanes in Colombo city especially in the areas under the One-Way traffic system. o Implement a modern Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) from Battaramulla to Dematagoda for which Cabinet approval is obtained. o To develop and modernize the Bastian Mawatha Bus terminal in Pettah 6

13 o To plan and construct New Multi-modal Terminals in locations such as Dematagoda, Kelaniya, Ratmalana, Battaramulla and other suitable sites to commence park and ride systems so that long distance buses can terminate at these centres in the periphery. o To operate Value Added Premium Railway Services to attract present private vehicle users o Feasibility Study to be undertaken to provide inter-modal connectivity between railway stations, bus terminals and points of heavy traffic generation within CMC area with a Light Rail (tram) Transit system. o To introduce a premium service air conditioned minibus service to attract regular private vehicle users from suburbs to city. o To implement an Advanced Traffic Control System with priority for high occupancy vehicles within city and suburbs. o To study and introduce flexible work hours and staggered hours for schools and offices in an attempt to smoothen traffic peaks. o To study measures to reduce the use of government vehicles especially those assigned for personal use. Financial Level Interventions o A budget line of approximately Rs 10 billion per year to be ear-marked for years 2009 and 2010 for Colombo Area Traffic Management Strategy to be implemented by the Ministry of Transport in association with relevant agencies coming under other ministries. o In this context, it should be mentioned that estimates indicates that the cost of fuel, vehicle wear and tear and travel time lost in Colombo urban area alone is a staggering Rs 35 million a year. The reduction of 25,000 vehicles arriving in the city will be worth around Rs 6 billion per year. o Moreover it is to be pointed out that urban road construction such as the Colombo- Katunayake Expressway is estimated at Rs 1.2 billion per km, which is much more than most of the other measures suggested in this strategic plan. 1.4 Scope of the Study Data Sources Used Manual Classified Counts (MCC), Passenger Origin-Destination surveys (Pax ODs) conducted by University of Moratuwa, 2004(Canal Transit Project) Bus Passenger Occupancy Surveys conducted by University of Moratuwa, 2001 (CUTS 2) Manual Classified Counts (MCC), Passenger Origin-Destination surveys (Pax ODs) conducted by University of Moratuwa,2006(JICA Urban Transport Development Project) Route Lists of National Transport Commission and Western Province Road Passenger Transport Authority, 2008 Sketches and Verbal explanations provided by WPRPTA on existing bus routings in Greater Colombo Area 7

14 Transplan (for 2007) Software of University of Moratuwa Surveys conducted by National Transport Commission for Testing interest on Flexible Work Hours in the organizations of CEB, NTC and Inland Revenue Chaminda Basnayaka s Program for estimating fuel Consumption Central Bank data on Vehicle Fleet for 2007 Bus Occupancy and Routing Surveys in Pettah & Fort area conducted by University of Moratuwa, Summary of Executions Following table summarize the work executed with respect to the each above research components. General Project Premium Service Bus Route Reorganizing Variable Work Hour Programs Table 1-3: Summary of executions in Research Components Activities Vehicle and passenger flow estimates Identification of vehicle and passenger flow characteristics (VoR, peak periods etc.) Identification of private vehicle user trip purposes Identification of origin & destinations of HBW trips in Colombo area and hence routes for the service Quantifying the probable attraction to the service & the fuel saving Analyzing interest of car users on premium service in several selected agencies Preparation of Bus Route Map for the Greater Colombo Area Identification of movements and Frequencies of buses within Fort and Pettah area Identification of overlapping of bus routes Passenger bus flow estimates in each link in Pettah and Fort Area Survey data analysis for 141 and 255 for enhancing their service efficiency Analyzing responses of surveys conducted for testing interest on Variable Work Hour Programs (Staffs of NTC,CEB and Inland Revenue Dept were surveyed ) Preparation of implementation guide for Variable Work Hour Program in Sri Lanka Simulation of impact of variable work programs Estimating Fuel saving due to introduction of variable Work Hour Program Estimation of passenger demand for the proposed Bus Rapid Transit option between Battaramulla and Dematagoda 8

15 Bus Rapid Transit (Battaramulla- Dematagoda) Other Estimation of fuel saving due to the proposed BRT Estimation of vehicle fleet and transport sector fuel consumption for the year of 2007 Preparation of drawings for Traffic improvement in Kollupitiya & Bambalapitiya (one-way system) 9

16 2 Characteristics of Travel Demand in Colombo 2.1 Introduction For managing travel demand of Colombo city, it is necessarily needed to identify and quantify the flow characteristics of both passengers and vehicles at present and past. These types of assessment would help to forecast future trends and take rational proactive decisions based upon them. In general following areas should studied in this regard Growth of passenger and vehicular flow, Passenger and vehicular flow at present, Travelling purposes of passengers and Causes of trip attractions and areas of trip attracted and generated 2.2 Growth of Road Traffic in Colombo Since country s major administrative, business, commercial and educational activities were centralized to the Colombo city centre, it has experienced a steady traffic growth for several decades. But in last few years it is observed that the outskirt areas of Colombo city such as Nugegoda, Maharagama, Panadura and Kiribathgoda were also rapidly developed and used for administrative and economic functions by reducing certain amount of passenger trips driven towards the centre of city. This scenario is affirmed by that though CMC is experienced an annual increase of 5% in the number of persons arriving to the city on a daily basis from 1965 to 1995, it is started decrease since 1995 due to the development of aforementioned city suburbs. Table 2-1: Daily Passenger Flow at the CMC Boundary-Both Directions ( ) 2 Corridor Pax 1965 (000s) AAGR (65-85) Pax 1985 (000s) AAGR (85-95) Pax 1995 (000s) AAGR (95-05) Pax 2005 (000s) Galle Road Negombo & Kandy Rds Ratnapura Rd Cotta &n SJ Rd Horana Road Weelampitiya Road Narahenpita Road Ambatale Road n/a n/a 32 n/a Total % Interestingly however, during the last decade, even though the number of people coming has reduced, the number of vehicles coming to the city has continued to increase. This means that more and more people have shifted from public transport to private vehicles which take more 2 Source: Final Report on JICA funded Colombo Urban Transport Study, Prof. Amal S. Kumarage,

17 space on the road per person, thus allowing fewer people to enter the city especially during peak periods. Figure 2-1: Comparison of Passenger Modal Share Since 1975 to Over the last 30 year period the share of trips made by cars and motor cycles have increased from just 5% to 20% leading to an explosion in the demand for road space from around 25,000 vehicles per day to 175,000 a seven fold increase. This phenomenon is not particular to Colombo as most cities experience similar problems when public transport fails to match the improved quality of transport and complexity of mobility needs that arise with increasing incomes of the population. This can be observed when one compares the relative deterioration in the comfort of bus or rail transport when compared with the ever increasing features in private vehicles. Even though buses have increased in number, the quality of service, reliability, conditions of bus stops and terminals have continued to deteriorate. The railway service is also plagued by loss in quality and also struggles to meet its timetable requirement due to lack of rolling stock. Table 2-2: Growth of Traffic Entering to Colombo City 4 Year Private Vehicles Buses Goods Vehicles Total ADT ,000 31,950 16, ,800 AAGR( ) ADT ,215 27,084 24, ,457 AAGR( ) 5.3% -1.3% 2.6% 3.9% ADT ,893 23,893 31, ,381 3 Source: Transportation Engineering Division, University of Moratuwa, Source: Transportation Engineering Division, University of Moratuwa,

18 2.3 Present Road Traffic Condition in Colombo There are 10 major accessing corridors for Colombo city and an estimated amount of 750,000 people who arrive to the city by road come in 200,000 vehicles. Of these, 11,000 are buses and 15,000 goods vehicles. The balance of around 175,000 private vehicles carries 1 or 2 passenger each. Presently around 15% of the road space is utilized for bus transport even though it transports 62% of road passengers. On the other hand, 65% of the road space is used by private and hired vehicles which in sum total carry only 38% of the passengers. ADT, 2004 Cotta Rd. Narahenpita Rd. Ambatale Rd. Wellampitiya Rd. Horana Rd. Ratnapura Rd. Negombo Rd. Galle Rd. Kandy Rd Parliament Rd 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 Figure 2-2: Major Accessing Corridors for Colombo City and their Flows 12

19 No. Corridor Motor Cycle Table 2-3: Average Daily Traffic at CMC boundary, wheeler Car/saloon Utility (Pickup/Jeep/Van) Mini Bus A000 A1sp,Parliament Road Total 10,372 10,061 21,824 13, , , ,737 Rajagiriya % A001 Colombo-Kandy Road Total 12,762 8,594 11,967 19,413 2,582 3, ,722 5, ,290 Kelaniya % A002 Colombo- Galle Road Total 7,072 10,298 15,671 14,198 1,419 4, , ,385 Wellawatta % A003 Colombo-Negombo Road Total 8,100 7,625 9,238 14,115 1,100 1, , , ,578 Peliyagoda % A004 Colombo-Ratnapura Road Total 4,660 4,272 9,706 8, , ,609 Sweet House % B084 Colombo - Horana Road Total 5,058 4,719 9,176 9, , ,544 Kohuwala % B096 Dematagoda-Wellampitiya Total 3,486 5,998 1,927 2, , ,757 Kolonnawa % B435 Urugodawatte-Ambatale Total 3,410 5,743 1,643 2, , , ,801 Meetotamulla % M013 Nawala-Narahenpita Total 2,811 3,271 10,062 6, , ,058 Narahenpita % B062 Cotta Road Total 5,013 4,326 8,806 8, ,441 Ayurveda % Total 62,743 64, ,019 99,576 7,841 15,283 1,211 7, ,489 19,240 1,305 3, ,200 % Large Bus Service Vehicle ADT Bicycle Cart Light Goods Veh Medium Goods Veh Heavy Goods Veh Multi Axle Goods Veh Tractors Total 5 Source: University of Moratuwa,

20 Table 2-4: Daily Passenger Flow at CMC Boundary- Both directions, Road/Link Corridor Motor Cycle 3wheeler Total Passengers Per Day (Both directions) Car/saloon Utility (Pickup/Jeep /Van) Total Private Vehicles A A1sp,Parliament Road 12,430 8,746 35,338 23,149 79,663 14, ,923 (Occupancy Rate) A Colombo-Kandy Road 12,430 8,668 20,883 48,934 90, , , ,910 (Occupancy Rate) A Colombo- Galle Road 7,745 14,216 23,506 25,556 71, ,936 66, ,764 (Occupancy Rate) A Colombo-Negombo Road 10,044 7,786 17,551 43,757 79,139 89, ,283 (Occupancy Rate) A Colombo-Ratnapura Road 5,994 3,192 16,120 17,063 42, ,238 9, ,430 (Occupancy Rate) B Colombo - Horana Road 6,021 6,242 16,517 19,689 48,468 62, ,629 (Occupancy Rate) B Dematagoda-Wellampitiya 4,229 6,308 2,698 5,628 18,862 37, ,524 (Occupancy Rate) B Urugodawatte-Ambatale 4,334 5,481 3,122 6,728 19,664 38, ,908 (Occupancy Rate) M Nawala-Narahenpita 3,603 2,815 18,111 11,805 36,334 9, ,033 (Occupancy Rate) B Cotta Road 10,639 7,652 28,036 26,189 72,517 94, ,709 (Occupancy Rate) TOTAL 77,482 71, , , , , ,777 1,697,113 (Occupancy Rate) % Share Buses Railway Total 6 Source: University of Moratuwa,

21 Utility 28% (15% of Pax) Mini Bus 2% Large Bus 4% (62% Pax incl.mini bus) Motor Cycle 18% (6% of pax) Car/Saloon 29% (12% of Pax) 3wheeler 19% (5% of Pax) Figure 2-3: Road Passenger- Vehicle share at CMC boundary As accordance to the surveys conducted by the University of Moratuwa in 2004, it reveals that an approximately 1.6 million passengers enter to the CMC area from outside of CMC by all modes of passenger transports. Among them, about 33% are traveled by private vehicles and others are used public modes of rail and bus services in 13% and 54% proportions respectively. Addition to the vehicle coming from outside of CMC, there are about 250,000 registered vehicles in the CMC which also contribute to raise the traffic on the roads. In every day all the corridors in the city experience two major traffic peaks in the evening and the morning and several local peaks especially in the after-noon. Obviously the work trips and the school trips cause to raise the traffic level in these corridors at afore-mentioned time durations and further study on peak period traffic flow is elaborated in late chapters. Typical representation of traffic flow on Colombo-Negombo and Parliament Roads are shown in Figure 2-4 and Figure 2-5 in below. 15

22 1400 Total Vehicle Flow(Smoothened) Corridor:Colombo-Negombo Road Location:Peliyagoda Link No: A Date:09/06/ Flow/30 minits To Colombo From Colombo Time Figure 2-4: 12 hour-two way traffic flow on Colombo-Negombo Road Total Vehicle Flow(Smoothened) 1600 Corridor: A1sp,Parliament Road Location:Rajagiriya Link No:A Date:04/03/ Flow/30 minits To Colombo From Colombo Time Figure 2-5: 12 hour-two way traffic flow on Parliament Road 16

23 2.4 Timely Variation of Demand 1400 Total Vehicle Flow Towards CMC Corridor:Colombo-Negombo Road Location:Peliyagoda Link No: A Date:09/06/ Flow/30 minits All Private Frieght Buses Time Figure 2-6: Variation of Vehicle Composition on Colombo-Negombo Road According to the Figure 2-6 it is clearly illustrated that the peak period congestion is purely created by the private vehicles. Therefore it is an important issue to study of characteristics of private vehicular flow in managing traffic in Colombo. 2.5 Purpose of Traveling to Colombo City One end of the most of trips coming to the city is a home. 41% of home based trips at the CMC boundary are coming to the city with the purpose of working. The majority of 17% home based other trips are produced for schooling purposes. Non-home based trips such as business and official trips are in 41% equaling to the home based work trips. 17

24 Figure 2-7: Travelling Purpose of trip makers at CMC boundary According to the Figure 2-8, higher percentage of morning and evening peak period traffic is comprised with home based work trips. Home based other trips such as school trips are raised in the morning and the afternoon creating several local peaks. Non-home based trips are gradually increased once the day progress and start to diminish at about afternoon after reaching its maximum HBW Trips HBO Trips NHB Trips 60 % of Trip Category Time Figure 2-8: Percentage of trips by its purposes at CMC boundary towards city,

25 3 Assessment of Premium Service 3.1 Introduction: As discussed in above chapters, since Colombo is the major administrative and commercial city in Sri Lanka, it attracts large number of passengers from other areas of the country especially from Gampaha, Kalutara and Colombo Districts. Most of these travelers are daily city commuters who are coming to the city in the morning and leaving in the evening or in the afternoon. These peak period inter-zonal trips produced between Colombo city and the rest of the areas especially in the CMR are coming with the purpose of schooling or working in the most of cases. Following Figure shows the variation of trip purposes once the time goes on in a typical week day. It represents the percentage of each trip category produced from 0700AM to the time of day on consideration. At the start of the day there is a higher composition of HBW trips are observable. But HBW trip percentage is dropped during 7.30 to 8.00 due to the raise of school trips. Meanwhile, once the day progresses, continuous growth in NHB trips such as business and office trips are continuously increased while reducing HBW trips percentage in cumulative sample Cumulative Private Vehicle Composition by Travelling Purposes (CMC Boundary,2004) HBW Trips HBO Trips NHB Trips 60.0 % of Cumulative Trips Duraration of Time Figure 3-1: Cumulative Private Vehicle Composition by Travelling Purpose However the intra-zonal trips which are moving internally in the Greater Colombo Area are quite higher compared to the inter-zonal trips and these trips make higher contribution for traffic congestion in the city. Similar to the inter-zonal trips, intra-zonal trips are also made off with work and school trips specially in the peak periods and additionally it includes 19

26 business and official trips which are mainly circulating during off-peak period of the day. Following Figure shows the zonal distribution of trips produced to CMC in 1996 Table 3-1: Travel Pattern in CMC Area, 1996 (24-hours, weekday) (000s) Movement Type Person Journey Goods Private Vehicle Bus Rail Vehicle Journeys Outside CMC to outside CMC (via CMC) Outside CMC to inside CMC Inside CMC to outside CMC Inside CMC to inside CMC Total Journeys Necessity of a premium service Due to the continuous deterioration of quality of public transport in last three decades it was noticeable that more and more passengers were diverted from public modes to private modes and also some of them were migrated to the city proximity for minimizing use of public transport modes for their travelling purposes. This was caused to increase the private vehicle fleet and the cost of living of people residing in CMR. The vehicle fleet in CMR was rapidly increased in last three decades and at present it is estimated as 967,097 and about 45% of country s vehicle fleet. In last 5 years it was increased at a rapid growth rate of 12% while it was about 15% island wide. Even it is comparatively lower compared to the country s growth still CMR maintains a higher growth in vehicle fleet. Since this is cause to produce higher vehicular trips between the Central Business District of CMR and rest of areas, higher traffic congestion has to be expected especially in major arteries. Eastern 4.1% North Central Uva 4.7% 3.3% Central 6.7% Northern 3.2% Estimated Total Vehicle Fleet,2007 = 2,222,803 Western 43.5% North- Western 13.7% Sabaragamuwa 5.9% Southern 14.9% Figure 3-2: Provincial Share of Vehicle Fleet,

27 1,000,000 Growth of Vehicle Fleet in WP ( ) 900,000 No. of Vehicles 800, , , , , WP 614, , , , ,097 Figure 3-3: Growth of Revenue license issued in CMR ( ) For the purposes of avoiding public transport usage, people tends to use more and more private modes for their transportation purposes and also try to live close to their work places and children s schools is an increasing trend among CMR inhabitants. It has been revealed that the population in CMR is spent higher amount of their earnings for the Housing, Education, Transportation and telecommunication compared to the other provinces of the country. Therefore it is concluded as the life style which is adjusted to minimize traveling in public transport modes has been caused to increase the living cost of CMR inhabitants. Table 3-2: Consumer Expenditure Shares, %, 2003/04 Item Consumer Expenditure Shares, % Western Province All Island Food Clothing and Apparel Housing Medical Education Transport and Communication Fuel and Light Consumer Durables Interest on Debt Other

28 In accordance to the above issues it is revealed that the people are presently spent higher proportion of their earnings for the comfort of traveling by means of using their own vehicles or residing close to their offices/schools. Therefore it is understandable that if comfortable passenger transport service can be provided, some proportion of them can be attracted for such services even at a higher rate since they already spent higher amount of their earning on this issue. 3.3 Potential users of premium service With respect to the land transport modes, as shown in the Figure 2-6, compared to the public buses, private vehicles are in higher proportion in the traffic stream in any time of the day inducing traffic congestion especially in the peak periods. But Figure 2-3 is revealed that even though private vehicle are in 94% of total road traffic it only carries about 38% of road passengers. Intention of introducing premium services is to reduce private vehicle users which are higher impact on traffic congestion especially in peak period. Composition of private vehicle trips based on their travelling purpose shows peak time travelers are home based travelers. Among them home based work trips are significant in amount.but same buses can be used for city shuttle service during the day time encountering official and business trips which are also make local peaks. Feature of higher reliability and comfort of these services will be able to capture the targeted group of private vehicle users. Due to above qualitative aspects, operator has to charge higher fare compared to other public transport modes. As a result of higher fares, these services would not be able to capture the working population who are using public transport mode at present. Survey conducted covering several institute in Colombo city reveals, though present public transport users are more interested on premium service, their willing to pay fare for such service is low compared to the private and hired vehicle users (Appendix xx, Figure xx and zz). It also discloses that the trip length of passengers doesn t have an influence on selecting premium service (Figurexx in appendix). As a conclusion, these services are limited for work and businesses trip producers who are presently using private and hired vehicles for travelling purposes. Therefore planning routes targeting these potential users will secure the service in long-run. 3.4 Route Planning Criteria Route planning for premium service should be carried out under two categories of Greater Colombo intra regional and CMC -CMR inter regional based on the demand prevailing. For both type of route planning criteria should be followed a sequential step wise process including; Identification of trip generating and attracting areas of potential users Identify the destinations for the services Identify Pick and Drop points for inter-mediate commuters to reach the service Trace the route between two destinations along those accessible points 22

29 3.4.1 Trip generating and attracting areas of potential users As discussed in section 3.3, potential users for these services are the private vehicle users in their work trips which are generated during the peak period of the day. Same services can be adopted to use as city shuttle service during off-peak period encountering business and office trips. But this section is not intended to discuss the route planning process of city shuttle service of premium buses. Greater Colombo intra regional service is needed to be planned considering the work trip generation and attraction in between the zones of CMC and its suburb. Origin-Destination Matrix appeared in Figure xx shows the number of private vehicles used for home based work trips in-between several zones in CMC and its suburb. Estimated 27,000 private vehicular home based work trips equaling 60% of total trips produced in-between these zones. Inter regional premium service between CMC and CMR region should also be designed based on the origins and destinations of private vehicular home based trips. Areas of such trip generation and attraction are illustrated in Figure 3-6. There are about 41% of home based work trips in total private vehicle trips produced between CMC and CMR region. Figure 3-4: Trip Attracting and Generating Center in Colombo 23

30 3.4.2 Destinations for the services Identification of starting and end points for these services should be determined as it maximizes the demand for the service. For attracting more private vehicular users, it is important to select a location with easy access and parking space for a starting point. End points of the services should be decided considering the potential passenger s trip ends in central business district. Starting points can be arranged in park & ride system which facilitate higher safety for parking vehicles and also comfortable transfer for the premium service for the private vehicular users. But finding a land space for such kind of park & ride system even in outskirt of Colombo city has been difficult to the transport planners due to these areas are almost occupied. However there are some land spaces are identified in Battaramulla, Ratmalana, and Kiribathgoda areas for developing as park & rides. Since the road congestion towards the city is started beyond these areas, it is anticipated to have a higher demand for such park & ride arrangement since these locations becomes the end of easy drive of their own vehicles. End points should be basically set in the middle of the city providing adequate parking facility for the buses. For the effective utilization of the service, end point should be in closed to the area of higher commuter travel demand exist. In this perspective, Slave Island, Kollupitiya and Townhall are more suitable destinations for a premium service. Once the service reaches to these destinations it has to cover the entire intermediate pick and drop points which are having service user travel demand. 24

31 Table 3-3: Origin- Destination Flows of Greater Colombo Intra Regional Trips, 2006 (12 hours, Towards Centre of City) Trip Category: Inter Zonal Trip Type: Home based Work Trips Vehicle Type: All Private Vehicles Cordon: Trips crossing CMC and CBD are only considered From To 1,105,000 Maharagama 1,106,000 Kesbewa 1,107,000 Nugegoda 1,108,000 Dehiwala- Mount Laviniya 1,109,000 Moratuwa 1,401,000 Aluth Kade 1,402,000 Bloemendhal 1,403,000 Fort 1,404,000 Galle Face 1,405,000 Grandpass 1,406,000 Kotahena 1,407,000 Maligawatta 1,408,000 Maradana Maharagama 1,105, , ,016 7 Kesbewa 1,106, ,307 5 Nugegoda 1,107, , , Dehiwala- Mount Laviniya 1,108, , Moratuwa 1,109, ,092 4 Aluth Kade 1,401, Bloemendhal 1,402, Fort 1,403, ,404 9 Galle Face 1,404, Grandpass 1,405, Kotahena 1,406, Maligawatta 1,407, Maradana 1,408, ,164 4 Mattakkuliya 1,409, ,234 4 Pettah 1,410, Slave Island 1,411, Town Hall/Wekanda 1,412, Bambalapitiya 1,501, Borella 1,502, ,699 6 Cinnamen Garden 1,503, Dematagoda 1,504, Havelock Town 1,505, Kirulaponne 1,506, ,416 5 Kollupitiya 1,507, Kuppiyawatta 1,508, Milagiriya 1,509, Narahenpita 1,510, Pamankada 1,511, Thimbirigasyaya 1,512, Wellawatta 1,513, ,075 4 Total , , ,472 1,193 1, , ,063 27, % ,409,000 Mattakkuliya 1,410,000 Pettah 1,411,000 Slave Island 1,412,000 Town Hall/Wekanda 1,501,000 Bambalapitiya 1,502,000 Borella 1,503,000 Cinnamen Garden 1,504,000 Dematagoda 1,505,000 Havelock Town 1,506,000 Kirulaponne 1,507,000 Kollupitiya 1,508,000 Kuppiyawatta 1,509,000 Milagiriya 1,510,000 Narahenpita 1,511,000 Pamankada 1,512,000 Thimbirigasyaya 1,513,000 Wellawatta Total % 25

32 Table 3-4: Origin- Destination Flows of CMC-CMR Inter Regional Trips, 2004 (12 hours, Towards Centre of City) Origin- Destination CMC-CMR Inter Regional Trips,2004 (12 hours,towards Centre of City) Trip Category: Inter Zonal Trip Type: Home based Work Trips Vehicle Type:All Private Vehicles From 1,102,000 Hanwella 1,103,000 Homagama 1,104,000 Kaduwela 1,105,000 Maharagama 1,106,000 Kesbewa 1,107,000 Nugegoda 1,108,000 Dehiwala- Mount L 1,109,000 Moratuwa 1,110,000 Kolonnawa 1,112,000 Padukka 1,201,000 Gampaha 1,202,000 Divulapitiya 1,203,000 Katana 1,204,000 Negambo 1,205,000 Wattala 1,206,000 Ja-Ela 1,207,000 Kelaniya 1,208,000 Biyagama 1,209,000 Dompe 1,210,000 Attanagalla 1,211,000 Minuwangoda 1,212,000 Meerigama 1,213,000 Mahara 1,301,000 Beruwala 1,302,000 Mathugama 1,303,000 Walallawita 1,304,000 Agalawatta 1,305,000 Dodangoda 1,306,000 Bulathsinhala 1,307,000 Horana Hanwella 1,102, Homagama 1,103, ,134 2 Kaduwela 1,104, , Maharagama 1,105, ,220 8 Kesbewa 1,106, ,905 5 Nugegoda 1,107, , , , , , , Dehiwala- Mount Laviniya 1,108, , , , Moratuwa 1,109, ,108 2 Kolonnawa 1,110, ,418 8 Padukka 1,112, Gampaha 1,201, Divulapitiya 1,202, Katana 1,203, Negambo 1,204, Wattala 1,205, ,459 5 Ja-Ela 1,206, ,290 2 Kelaniya 1,207, , ,987 4 Biyagama 1,208, ,170 2 Dompe 1,209, Attanagalla 1,210, Minuwangoda 1,211, Meerigama 1,212, Mahara 1,213, ,574 3 Beruwala 1,301, Mathugama 1,302, Walallawita 1,303, Agalawatta 1,304, Dodangoda 1,305, Bulathsinhala 1,306, Horana 1,307, Bandaragama 1,308, Kalutara 1,309, Panadura 1,310, Madurawela 1,311, Millaniya 1,312, Ingiriya 1,313, Palinda Nuwara 1,314, Aluth Kade 1,401, Bloemendhal 1,402, Fort 1,403, Galle Face 1,404, Grandpass 1,405, Kotahena 1,406, Maligawatta 1,407, Maradana 1,408, Mattakkuliya 1,409, Pettah 1,410, Slave Island 1,411, Town Hall/Wekanda 1,412, Bambalapitiya 1,501, Borella 1,502, Cinnamen Garden 1,503, Dematagoda 1,504, Havelock Town 1,505, Kirulaponne 1,506, Kollupitiya 1,507, Kuppiyawatta 1,508, Milagiriya 1,509, Narahenpita 1,510, Pamankada 1,511, Thimbirigasyaya 1,512, Wellawatta 1,513, Total % To 1,308,000 Bandaragama 1,309,000 Kalutara 1,310,000 Panadura Outer PB , ,814 2, , , , , , ,746 2,110 4,778 3,284 1, , , , , ,011 2, , ,311,000 Madurawela 1,312,000 Millaniya 1,313,000 Ingiriya 1,314,000 Palinda Nuwara 1,401,000 Aluth Kade 1,402,000 Bloemendhal 1,403,000 Fort 1,404,000 Galle Face 1,405,000 Grandpass 1,406,000 Kotahena 1,407,000 Maligawatta 1,408,000 Maradana 1,409,000 Mattakkuliya 1,410,000 Pettah 1,411,000 Slave Island 1,412,000 Town Hall/Wekand 1,501,000 Bambalapitiya 1,502,000 Borella 1,503,000 Cinnamen Garden 1,504,000 Dematagoda 1,505,000 Havelock Town 1,506,000 Kirulaponne 1,507,000 Kollupitiya 1,508,000 Kuppiyawatta 1,509,000 Milagiriya 1,510,000 Narahenpita 1,511,000 Pamankada 1,512,000 Thimbirigasyaya 1,513,000 Wellawatta Outer PB Total % 26

33 3.4.3 Intermediate Pick & Drop Points for the Service Once the bus traveling towards city centre these locations are the passengers picking points and in-turn trip they become dropping points. These locations must be identified considering the potential attractions of private vehicular work trip attached to each area. For an example according to the OD matrix in Table 3-3, premium service from Ratmalana to Slave Island has to touch Dehiwala-Mt. Lavinia, Bambalapitiya, Kollupitiya, Wellawatta, Townhall, Thimbirigasyaya and Pamankada in priority of travel demand towards Slave Island, Fort and Pettah. Therefore the route between two selected destinations has to be traced as it touches the areas having higher travel demand of private vehicular work trip makers. Following Figures shows two planned premium service routes which cover certain areas of Colombo and its suburb. Figure 3-5: Premium Service Bus Route, Kadawatha-Nawam Mawatha 27

34 Figure 3-6: Premium Service Bus Route, Katubedda-Nawam Mawatha 28

35 3.5 Operational Aspects of the Services After planning the routes for the premium service, it is needed to plan the operational aspects of the service such as time schedules and fares. Timely variation of travel demand of private vehicular work trip makers has to be closely inspected in preparing time table for the services. Similarly proper economic analysis also has to be carried out for deciding the fares for the each service. All above aspects including route planning has to be performed separately for the proposed city shuttle service which is intended to implement using same buses in off-peak period of the day 3.6 Public Opinions on the Premium Service Survey form appeared in Appendix 1 is generally tested the interest on premium service among the organizations attached to the Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka. According to the responses given by the employees, it is reveal that public transport users are highly interest on the premium service compared to the private and office vehicle users since they can enjoy higher comfort compared to the present by using such service. Also the staff van users are interested on the service in inter-mediate to both of above categories. Since premium service doesn t expect to provide door to door service as staff vans, those users are comparatively reluctant to give up such facility though they are paying higher charge at present. Frequency of Service Willing Passenger Distribution (According to Present Mode Used) 100% 90% 80% % of Service Willing Passengers 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Bus Train Staff Transport Office Transport Private Vehicle Office Vehicle Hired or Shared Present Mode Used Figure 3-7: Passenger Willingness on Premium Service by Present Mode of Travel 29

36 For experiencing the luxury of premium service, users have to pay higher charge for their travel km. Though bus and rail passengers are highly interest on the service, they are not ready to pay a higher charge for additional comfort providing. This is because their present spending capacity is not adequate to allocate higher amount for transport. Similarly the office vehicle users are not ready to spend more for such facility, since they are already enjoying equal comfort through their staff services in free of charge. But people such as hired vehicle users, private vehicle users and private staff transport service users are willing to pay comparatively higher amount for the service since they are already spending much on travel comfort at present Expected Travel Cost/km for a Premium Service 10.0 Average Cost ready pay per Km, Rs Bus Train Staff Transport Office Transport Private Vehicle Office Vehicle Hired or Shared Present Mode Used Figure 3-8: Expected cost/km for a Premium Service by Present Mode of Travel Premium Service Willingness of Additional Trip Makers It is revealed that 84% of interviewees are willing to use the premium service and only 16% are not intended to use such service in general. Many of work trip makers are having certain additional trips on their way to office and also during the work hours. Some of parents are used to carry their children to school while traveling to the office and some are having official trips during work hours. According to the Figure 3-9, 70% of service willing passengers are involved in additional trip during the work trip. It gives the sense that they are in a position to adopt for the premium service adopting alternative for their activities such as dropping child to school. But 60% of additional trip makers during office hours don t like to use this service in the morning since they lose their vehicle for the trips during work hours. Similarly it is shown that majority (68%) of people who are not intended to use premium service are also engaging trips during work hours. Thereby it can be concluded that the office workers who are having trips during 30

37 work hours are more reluctant to use the premium service for their work trip. This issue emphasizes the importance of arranging a comfortable transport service for business and office trip makers during off-peak period for attracting those people for the premium service operated in the peak periods. Additional Trips 70% During Work Trip Service Willingness 84% Yes 40% During Office Hours No 48% During Work Trip 16% 68% During Office Hours Figure 3-9: Additional Trip Makers Willingness on Premium Service 31

38 4 Assessment of Variable Work Hour Program 4.1 Introduction At present most of the government and private sector agencies in Sri Lanka work in five dayeight hour schedule which runs from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm every day. Due to this work schedule, office arrival and leaving trips of all workers incurring at the same time producing a higher travel demand at the peak period of the day. On the other hand, present work schedules are tightened the employees by preventing their personal affairs in these specific time period. Therefore they tend to have more and more leaves to accomplish their personal affairs by decreasing the productivity of the agency. This will cause to induce an unsatisfaction for the employee as well as for the employers regarding their achievements. As a solution for these problems, introducing Variable Work Hours program is tested in this report. Basically there are three types of work hour program are practiced internationally. They are Flex-Hours Compressed Work Week Staggered Work Hours 4.2 Flex-Hours With a flex-time program, employees work five eight- hour days each week, but they are allowed to choose their work arrival and departure times, as well as the length of their lunch break. Flex-time programs generally require employees to be present during a specified core time when meetings or other company-wide events are scheduled. Note that a flex-time schedule allows employees to work early or late, depending on their personal preferences. Some people may come to work at 6 a.m. and leave at 3 p.m., while others will arrive at 9:30 a.m. and work until6:30 p.m. However, all employees must complete their usual number of hours by the end of each workday. Flex-time Variations The chart below shows a conventional eight-hour-day schedule, as well as a commonly used flex-time schedule am 9.00 am noon 2.00 pm 4.00 pm 5.00 pm Flex-Arrival Flex time Work Hours Core Time Flex Lunch Core time Standard Work Hours Flex-Departure 8.30 am 4.30 pm Figure 4-1: Flex time Work Hours Vs Standard Work Hours 32

39 Here are some definitions to help clarify the flex-time scheduling concept, as seen in the accompanying chart: Office Hours The time span within which employees can be on the job: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Starting Flex-time Hours Employees must start work within this period: 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Ending Flex-time Hours Employees must end work within this period: 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Core Time The time when all employees must be on the job: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Lunch Period Employees can take from ½ hour to 2 hours, as long as coverage and total daily/weekly time requirements are met: 12:00 noon. to 2:00 p.m. Following Alternatives also can be adapted to the program for the ease in monitoring purposes. Providing fixed lunch hour instead of flex-lunch Dividing flex- arrival and flex-departure duration in to 10 minit intervals. Depending on the employee arrive time interval, departure interval is decided as it covers 8 hour working day. One flex-time variation, called maxiflex, is even more flexible. This option allows employees to work any number of hours within a 24-hour period. If employees choose to work more than eight hours, they can bank the extra hours, thereby earning credit that enables them to shorten a workday or work week in the future. In this scenario, some employers require that all employees be present during core time; others drop even this requirement. Of course, employers considering the maxiflex option need to determine how many hours an employee can work and still be productive; it will vary according to job responsibilities. 4.3 Compressed Work Week In a compressed work week, employees complete their required number of work hours in fewer-than-normal days per week (or per pay period). This arrangement allows employees to have one or two days off each week or one day off every other week, depending upon which type of compressed work week program you prefer. The two most popular compressed work week schedules are the 4/40 and 9/80 programs, although other variations also exist. 4/40 Program Employees work four 10-hour days each week, with the fifth day off. To ensure five-day 33

40 coverage, you may want to consider having half the company takes Mondays off and half take Fridays off. Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat. Sun. 8 hr Schedule on on on on on off off 10 hr Schedule on on on on off off off Figure 4-2: Compressed Work Week-4/40 Program As an example, employees in a 4/40 program may be asked to select one of the following schedules for their four workdays each week: 7.00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. with ½ hour lunch 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. with ½ hour lunch 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. with 1 hour lunch 7:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. with 1 hour lunch Compressed work week schedules typically do not vary from day to day. 9/80 Program Employees work 80 hours in nine days, with the 10th day off. This schedule usually translates to eight 9-hour days and one 8-hour day (this shorter day is often the Friday that the employee works). In a company with two major work groups, each group might take off alternating Fridays. 3/12 Program Employees work three 12-hour days each week, with two days off. (Employees often get the four additional hours to make a 40 hour work week as credit for working longer days.) Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat. Sun. 8 hr Schedule on on on on on off off 12 hr Schedule on on on off off off off Figure 4-3: Compressed Work Week- 3/12 Program 4.4 Staggered Work Hours This concept involves spreading out employee arrival and departure times by anywhere from 15 minutes to two hours (These durations can be altered as accordance to the requisitions). By staggering these shifts, you can help reduce bottlenecks in employee parking lots, in streets at the entrance to your office park or building, and even in elevators. Reducing congestion through staggered work hours, benefits air quality by reducing vehicle idling time in congested conditions or by allowing employees to avoid the peak travel period. A company that is staggering work hours may be open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with the following schedule choices: 34

41 Group A Group B Group C Arrival Core Time Lunch Core Time Gr. A Gr. B Gr. C Departure 7.30 am 8.00 am 8.30 am pm 1.30 pm 4.30 pm 5.00 pm 5.30 pm Figure 4-4: Schedule of Staggered Work Hours Group A 7:30-4:30 with 1 hour lunch Group B 8:00-5:00 with 1 hour lunch Group C 8:30-5:30 with 1 hour lunch Once employees have chosen (or been assigned to) a group, their schedule does not vary daily. 4.5 Variable Work Hour Programs impact on Transportation As described in Chapter 2, higher number of passengers coming to the city in the peak period is home based work trip makers. Since each and every employee try to enter and leave the city at same time duration of the day, both public and private transport modes are used heavily for these work trips especially during the morning and evening peak periods. This envisages indicate that present work hour schemes are caused to induce traffic congestions as well as the bus congestions in the peak period of the day. Introduction of variable work hour program is caused to reduce the traffic and bus congestion by distributing work trips during comparatively larger period of time. Following figure shows morning peak traffic flow variation of all city entering corridors if all city entering work trip are given one hour flexibility for reporting their work. Private Vehicular Flow to CMC,2004 Total Trips Existing HBW Trips with Flexible Work Hour HBW Trips Existing Probable Total Trips with Flexible Work Hour Flow/30 minits Figure 4-5: Private Vehicular Flow at CMC boundary, 2004 T ime 35

42 In addition to the distribution of private vehicle users, work trips incurring in public modes are also subjected to spread in a wider range of time period due to the introduction of variable work hour programs. Therefore congestion in the public modes also expected to be reduced during the peak period of the day. Similarly program such as compressed work week, staggered working hours are also be effective in terms of distributing peak period travel demand. 4.6 Administrative Considerations Flex-Hour Considerations Even if it is chosen the typical flex-time schedule shown above, there are still some choices to be made within this structure. When setting office hours, select a time frame that is long enough to let employees avoid the worst rush-hour traffic, but short enough so that you don t seriously increase lighting, heating and security costs. For many work places, the ideal workday 8 hours in between 8.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m It is needed to decide whether employees will be allowed to change their starting and ending times each day, or whether they must select a starting time within the flexible morning hours and follow that schedule every day. Companies that implement the permanent starting time option may want to give employees a two-week trial period during which they can experiment with different schedules. At the end of this period, employees must commit to a starting and ending time. However, it is necessary to give employees the opportunity to change their starting and ending times once or twice a year, and/or allow them to alter their schedule when necessary by giving at least one day s advance notice. Flex-time should fix as it becomes easy for those employees who need to accommodate a ridesharing arrangement. A Note on Monitoring Employee Attendance and Work: Two issues inevitably come up at any company seriously considering variable work hours: How do we monitor employee attendance and supervise work flow when people are coming and going at so many different times? Introduction of electronic time-keeping systems or sign-in/sign-out ledgers is one option of accounting for employees. Another possibility is for supervisors to begin evaluating employees on their performance and productivity, rather than their attendance. The other important issue is that employees usually monitor each other quite effectively. Inducing peer pressure to great advantage by gently reminding employees that variable work hours are a privilege- a privilege that can be taken away if employees abuse the system. 36

43 4.6.2 Compressed Work Week Considerations In any compressed work week program, there must be adequate coverage in the office for employees who are taking their day off. Generally, this means that not everyone takes the same day off. Given the choice, most employees elect to take Friday as their day off, followed in order of preference by Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Tuesday. It is required to rotate days off every six months so that every employee gets a threeday weekend. Another option is for small departments or work groups to have everyone take the same day off and simply close down the department for the day. This is common for public agencies that want to extend customer hours during work days. To encourage ridesharing, you may want to give carpoolers and vanpoolers day off preference over non-rideshares. Employees who must attend important meetings may change their scheduled day off with advance notice. Some employees may need to be exempt from the compressed work week program because of child- care duties, medical reasons, transportation problems or conflicts with school. There are some employees who cannot follow a compressed work week schedule because of their job duties. These may include customer service representatives or computer operators who are required to maintain 24-hour coverage Staggered Work Hour Considerations When implementing a staggered work hours program, it is necessary to determine whether participation will be voluntary or mandatory. In either case, it is wise to offer as many shift choices as possible so that employees can select a schedule that is convenient for them. There are several ways to divide up employees between shifts. It is possible to assign each individual employee a staggered starting time; you can assign different starting times to entire departments or work groups; or in some cases, staggered work hours can be organized on an area-wide basis to reduce traffic congestion around office parks, for example. Another option is to let employees choose their own staggered starting time, although it is required a supervisory approval to ensure that employees are evenly distributed among the available shifts. Employees who commute to work using alternative transportation can be given preference in their selection of shifts. 37

44 4.7 Execution of Program Considering the importance of the program for the improvement of the transport sector, Ministry of Transport initiates the project providing introduction to the program. But they are not in a position to specify the appropriate program for each individual organization (private or government sector) since the managerial structure and its functionality is too complicated for an external party to study. Therefore each individual organization can select and design the variable work hour program which is best-fitted to their structure. In this process Ministry of Transport can assist them through Chamber of Commerce and Ministry of Public Administration for the private and government sector respectively. It is must to obtain the legislative approval from the Labor Department for the designed program prior to the implementation. Following diagram illustrate the stakeholder involvement and their activities in each process of executing the program. Ministry of Transport Introducing the Program concept Providing Conceptual Assistance Chamber of Commerce Public Admin. Ministry Conceptual Assistance Legislative Assistance Conceptual Assistance Legislative Assistance Labor Department Legal approval for the program Private Sector Agency Gvnt. Sector Agency Choosing a Program Designing the program Legalizing the program Implementing the program Selection of a Program Designing the program Legalizing the program Implementing the program Figure 4-6: Stake holder Responsibilities in executing Variable Work Hour Program 38

45 Private or government sector agencies who are expecting to implement one of these programs has to choose and design the program by themselves as it suit for them. In general following steps has to be followed for the successful implementation of the program. 1. Choosing a Program 1. Discussion of top level managers (Directors, Deputy Directors) and middle level managers regarding the possible options among 3 types of variable wok hour programs. Key points for the discussion Is it necessary to work five days? (if the conclusion is yes, give up the Compressed Work Week option) Decide the most probable work program under each category to offer for the choice of staff. 2. Consult legal counsel and labor unions Before go to the staff member interest test regarding selected variable work hours program, ask organizational legal counsel to review the labor legislation influence. There may be certain laws and requirements that relate to alternative work schedules. Usually, non-exempt or hourly employees must be compensated at time and a half for work in excess of 40 hours in the designated work week (check with your legal counsel for details). In addition, labor unions may have concerns about variable work hours programs. Some unions do not support an end to the eight-hour workday, and instead prefer that employees get overtime pay for working beyond eight hours. Consult your local union representative about their general policy toward such programs, and be sure to keep them involved throughout the process. Above all, always promote the program as an employee benefit. 3. With above pre-defined programs, Questionnaire should be forwarded to the staff members for their responses. This questionnaire is testing the following issues which are required to choose the best-fitted program and to design the program What types of work employees perform? How do employees interact with the customers? How much internal coordination is required among employees or departments? What is the organization management style? Is back-up support available? How big is the organization? Will additional security be required? Along with these measures, the reduction of traffic congestion should also be addressed What is the modal share of workers? How many of them are using their private vehicles for work trip? What are the origins and destination of private vehicle users? Do they travel in peak period of the day? Is there any ridesharing opportunities are available? 39

46 2. Designing a Program 1. Establish a project design mechanism. Prepare a questionnaire for staff responses 2. Address the critical program design issues Need to answer a number of important questions before developing policies and procedures for your variable work hours program, such as: Can employees bank (carry over) hours from day to day? What is the range of hours during which employees may be at work? What are core times? Will employees be allowed to choose their own starting and ending times and/or days off? How will employee attendance and hours be monitored? If a program is mandatory, a hardship petition process should be created for existing employees. 3. Identify the job functions that may not be eligible for variable work hours. Some employees perform jobs that require they be present during regular business hours. These may include receptionists, mailroom staff, customer service representatives, computer support personnel, or staff members who need to match their boss s schedule. To prevent these employees from feeling left out of the program, you may want to arrange a rotating coverage system to increase their flexibility. Employees go on and off the program based on scheduling needs. Other category of this group is supportive staff such as peons, drivers and security officers. Separate rotating work schedule scheme also has to be introduced for them. 4. Formalize policies and procedures Create a written set of policies and procedures to govern your variable work hour program. Make sure that your company s accounting department is involved to establish policies for payroll, vacation pay, overtime, absences, and other issues. (See sample policies and procedures at the end of this handbook) 5. Inform the finalized schedule to the staff members and address the employee concerns and hardships. Make modification if necessary. 3. Legalize the program Obtain the approval for a pilot project from the Labor Department 4. Implementation of the program 1. Start the pilot project with a prior notice which is enough for adjusting new schedule 2. Monitor the program and make changes as necessary Survey employees after the pilot program have been in effect for six to 12 months. Make adjustments as needed based on employee attitudes and areas of concern, then introduce the new, improved version to appropriate departments and employees throughout the company 40

47 4.8 Public Opinions on Variable Work Hours National Transport Commission Carried out surveys in institute where the variable work hours are presently implemented and not-implemented for investigating their opinions on such program National Transport Commission National Transport Commission introduced Flexible Work Hour Scheme in year 2004 and still they are working under this scheme. Survey form no.1 appeared in Appendix 1 is distributed among staff members of NTC to check their interest on this program compared to the fixed schedules exist before In addition, survey form no.2 appeared in Appendix 2 is distributed among the Department Heads to clarify the overall impact of the Flexible Work Hours (FWH) in succeeding their operational activities. NTC staff members are having different types of mode choice for traveling to the office at Narahenpita. Sometimes they use more than one mode daily, or else they use different types of modes in different week days. Considering their responses, it is observed that NTC staff use following modes for their work trip 1. Bus (daily) 2. Train (daily) 3. Personal mode (daily) 4. Staff Van (daily) 5. Bus & Train (daily) 6. Bus and Private mode (daily or in different days) 7. Train and Private mode(daily or in different days) Personal mode is considered to be the office vehicle or their private vehicle. Staff Van 5% Personal Mode 11% Bus & Train 8% Bus & Personal Mode 6% Train & Personal Mode 1% Train 4% Figure 4-7 Traveling modes of NTC staff Bus 65% 41

48 Staff opinions were analyzed to check the program impact on Traveling Comfort, Personal Attainments and finally the overall impact combining both of above issues 1. Traveling Comfort Questionnaire is tested the level of convenience in arrival and return work trip in terms of 1. Traffic congestion 2. Congestion in buses 3. Ability to compatible with train schedules 4. Ability to compatible with bus schedules and 5. Ability to compatible with staff van schedules. Arrival Trip: According to the responses 54% of staff members are enjoying convenience in their arrival trip. In addition, 14% are experiencing inconvenience while the rest of staff members (32%) are experiencing no change compared to the early status of non-flexibility in working hours. No Change 32% Satisfacto ry 54% No Change 42% Convenie nt 54% Unsatsfac tory 14% Inconveni ent 4% Figure 4-8 Analysis of arrival & return trip convenience level- NTC, 2008 Return Trip: According to the responses 54% of staff members are enjoying convenience in their arrival trip. In addition, 4% are experiencing inconvenience while the rest of staff members (42%) are experiencing no change compared to the early status of non-flexibility in working hours. In Total Trips (Arriving & Leaving): Total trip assessment is done considering the both arrival and return trip together. Therefore 160 trips are counted (produced by 80 passengers) for the analysis 42

49 % of No Change by Mode No Change % by Total of Each Mode % 38% 40 29% 25% 20 0 Bus Train Personal Staff Van % of the Convenients by Mode Convenient % by Total of Each Mode % 80 53% 57% 60 50% Bus Train Personal Staff Van No Change 37% Conveneient 54% Inconvenient 9% Inconvenient % of the Inconvenients % by Total by of Each Mode Mode % 10% 4% 0% 0 Bus Train Personal Staff Van Sample Description of Figure: Considering arrival and return trip together, 54% of trips are convenient for the travelers.53% of bus commuters are experiencing convenience and 10% of them are subjected to inconvenience in traveling. Remaining 38% of bus travelers are not experiencing any change before and after the introduction of FWH program. Figure 4-9 Analysis of work trip convenience level- NTC,2008 NTC Staff members are experiencing different types of travel comfort level in their arrival and leaving trip in accordance with the FWH program. Table 4-1 illustrates the proportion of staff members experiencing different types travel comfort during their work trips. Table 4-1: Percentages of different types of trip experiences-ntc,2008 Trip Experience % by Total Staff Members Both trips are convenient 44% At least single trip is convenient 64% Not experiencing inconvenience at any trip 84% Both trips are inconvenient 1% At least one trip is inconvenient 16% Not experiencing convenience at any trip 36% Both trips are not changed 21% At least one trip is not changed 53% Both trips are changed 46% 43

50 According to the responses given to the questionnaire, only bus passengers are mentioned several reasons for their travelling experiences. The travelling convenience and inconvenience of bus commuters are tested with respect to the traffic congestion, bus congestion and ability to compatible with bus schedules. Train commuters have concentrated about their ability to adjust to train schedules in giving reason for their convenience level in travelling. In addition to them, personal mode users have measured their convenience level with respect to traffic congestion while staff van commuters have considered about their ability to adjust for staff van schedules. Larger proportion of staff members are bus commuters (65%) and 53% of them are experiencing convenience in traveling to match with flexible working hours (Figure 2.4). Those who are experiencing convenience forwarded various reasons for their convenience of travelling. Figure 2.5 analyzes their explanations of convenience. Traffic congestion 57% 32% 8% 18% 12% 5% 5% 43% Bus congestion 20% Adjustability to bus schedules 42% Figure 4-10 Analyses of reasons for travel convenience-ntc, Personal Attainment This section analyses the influence of FWH program in personal and official affairs of NTC staff. Personal Affairs: FWH impact in personal affairs is tested with respect to following scenarios 1. Psychological tension 2. Handling of children s schooling 3. Freedom to engage in personal matters 4. Travel cost saving Responses to the question no.9 in questionnaire clearly indicate the level of their convenience in handling their personal affairs. 44

51 No Change 20% Convenient 62% Inconvenient 18% Figure 4-11 Analysis of FWH impact in personal affairs- NTC,2008 According to the Figure 3.1, 62% of NTC workers are experiencing convenience in handling their day-to-day personal affairs. Question 10 is tested the primary issue which they most interested in Save the travelling cost 8% Other 4% Psychological tension is reduced 46% More freedom to engage in personal matters 34% Handling of children s schooling is easy 8% Figure 4-12 Primary reasons for the convenience of personal affairs-ntc, 2008 Official Affairs: Question 11 is tested the influence made by the FWH program to the NTC staff in engaging their office work. 45

52 No Change 46% Conveneient 51% Inconvenient 3% Figure 4-13: Analysis of FWH impact in official affairs- NTC, Overall Impact As a whole, questionnaire assesses the FWH impact to the NTC staff members under three different scenarios Scenario 1: Convenience/inconvenience/No change of arrival trip Scenario 2: Convenience/inconvenience/No change of return trip Scenario 3: Convenience/inconvenience/No change in personal affairs Scenario 4: Convenience/inconvenience/No change in official affairs Table 4-2 Percentages of different types of scenarios experiences-ntc,2008 Scenario Experiences % by Total Staff Members All four scenarios are convenient 34% At least three scenarios are convenient 49% At least two scenarios are convenient 62% At least one scenario is convenient 76% Not experiencing convenience in any single scenario 24% All four scenarios are inconvenient 1% At least three scenarios are inconvenient 3% At least two scenarios are inconvenient 8% At least one scenario is inconvenient 26% Not experiencing inconvenience in any single scenario 74% All four scenarios are not changed 7% At least three scenarios are not changed 25% At least two scenarios are not changed 43% At least one scenario is not changed 60% All are changed 40% 46

53 At present, NTC has provided flexible working hours from Hrs. in the morning and Hrs. in the afternoon. The Satisfaction of the staff member regarding the length and the duration of flexible hours is also assessed (question 12). Question 14 tested the NTC staff overall view about FWH considering all the benefits and losses Unsatisfactory 3% Acceptable 20% Extremely Unsatisfactory 1% No Idea 5% Extremely Satisfactory 20% Satisfactory 51% Figure 4-14 Analysis of overall view about present FWH program- NTC, Ceylon Electricity Board & Department of Inland Revenue These two organizations have implemented the Flexible Work Hour scheme for their staff since several years as National Transport Commission. Therefore similar formats of Survey forms (Appendix 1 & 2) are used for obtaining their responses and the same criterions were applied in the analysis. Analysis is done considering the responses of both organizations in together. Majority of staff members are coming in public transport modes as 35% on buses and 43% on Trains. There are 6% of staff is using hired vehcles such as staff vans and remaining 14% are are used travel on personel and office vehicles. 47

54 Office Vehicle 7% Personal Mode 8% Staff Van 6% Foot 1% Bus 35% Train 43% Figure 4-15: Traveling modes of CEB & IRD staff The convenience of traveling is mainly depends on the mode of travel. It is observed that after introduction of the scheme public and shared transport users feel comfort, compared to the office and personal mode users. This can be expected since FWH programs facilitate to workers to find their own schedule which provide them comfort in traveling as well as in their personal affairs. There are higher percentages of travelers who do not experience any travel comfort compared to the earlier schedule of working. Obviously the most of personal and staff vehicle users do not experiences any difference in the travel comfort since there is no change in the way of traveling under present and past working schemes. However, since new working schedule allows them to adjust their journey according to personal schedule and traffic congestion, the small percent of workers feel comfort under FWH scheme. 100 % of Convenience % 42% 36% 15% 25% 0 Bus Train Staff Van Personal Mode travelled Mode Office Vehicle Figure 4-16: Comparison of Traveling Ease by Mode of Travel in Arrival Trip 48

55 100 % of Convenience % 36% 36% 31% 8% 0 Bus Train Staff Van Personal Mode travelled Mode Office Vehicle Figure 4-17: Comparison of Traveling Ease by Mode of Travel in Return Trip In general, irrespective of the mode of travel, 22% experiences inconvenience in reaching to the office while only 18% experiences travelling un-comfort in their return trip under the FWH scheme. There are about 44% in arrival trip and 42% in return trip feels comfort in traveling after implementing the flexible working hour program in these two organizations. No Change 34% Convenient 44% No Change 40% Convenient 42% Inconvenie nt 22% Arrival Trip Inconvenie nt 18% Return Trip Figure 4-18: Percentage of Passengers Experiencing Convenience The given reasons for experiencing convenience are assessed in terms of the traffic congestion, congestion in buses and adjustability ease to the schedules of their mode of transport. About 68% of them are now able to adjust to the schedule of buses, trains and staff vehicles more easily compared to the earlier working scheme. Additionally 48% and 29% of workers feel comfort in terms of traffic congestion and bus congestion respectively. Most of them have given multiple reasons in explaining their comfort as shown in Figure

56 Traffic congestion 48% 21% 6% 6% 15% 6% 2% 29% Bus congestion Adjustability to mode schedules 45% 68% Figure 4-19: Reasons for Travel Comfort under FWH scheme Level of Convenience in Personal and Official Affairs In addition to the travel comfort, workers also experience numerous benefits in terms of their personal and official affairs under flexible working hour scheme. Breakdown of responses given with regards to the convenience of engaging personal and official affairs are given Figure No Change 46% Convenient 42% No Change 44% Convenient 45% Inconvenie nt 12% Inconvenie nt 11% Figure 4-20: Level of Convenience in Personal and Official Affairs National Chamber of Commerce, Sri Lanka Awareness of workers about Variable Work Hours is greatly affected to their responses. Some of responders are having their own experience about variable work hours and some known about it by knowledge. Questionnaire appeared in Appendix 4 is mainly tested the experiences of workers on their present work hours and their preference of work schedules. 50

57 There are two types of responders 1. Responders who are experiencing Variable Work Hours at present (Aware by experience group) 2. Responders Who are not experiencing Variable Work Hours at present (Aware by knowledge & not aware group) 28% of staff in both these agencies are experiencing variable work schedules at present. Also there are 33% of workers are aware on these schemes by knowledge though they haven t experienced. Only 39% of both agencies are not known of such working hour schemes. Responders who are experiencing Variable Work Hours at present 72% among 28% of responders who are currently experiencing the variable work hour schedules are enjoying their schedules. Only 28% does not interest on variable work hour schedules. Additionally there are 32% of worker who are working under variable work hour schedules are having schooling childrens.65% of them are responded in favour of variable work hour schedules since they can adopt to pick and drop their children to school. In general people like to have Variable work hour schedules to adjust their work trips during uncongested period of the day. 100% % 76% 85% 71% Bus Train Personal Vehicle Office Vehicle Staff Van Figure 4-21: Interest on variable work hours by mode of travel 51

58 % of Interst workers % 100% 84% 72% 67% 50% 50% x<5 5<x<15 15<x<25 25<x<35 35<x<45 45<x<55 x>55 Distance Travelled(x) Figure 4-22: Interest on variable work hours by trip length Responders who are experiencing Normal Work Hours at present At present, 72% of responders are not experiencing variable work hours and they work under normal working hour system. 74% of them feel comfort with these normal work hour schedules while 26% feel uncomforting. Additionally, 46% of workers who are working under normal work hour schedules are having schooling childrens.68% of them are responded in favour of normal work hour schedules % 68% 62% 65% 90% Bus Train Personal Vehicle Office Vehicle Staff Van Figure 4-23: Interest on normal work hours by mode of transport 52

59 % of Interst workers % 76% 79% 82% 70% 66% 64% x<5 5<x<15 15<x<25 25<x<35 35<x<45 45<x<55 x>55 Distance Travelled(x) Figure 4-24: Interest on normal work hours by trip length 53

60 5 Assessment of Present Route Network & Re- routing 5.1 Introduction Colombo city is served by provincial and inter-provincial bus services operated by private and state sector buses. Both types of state sector buses are operated by Sri Lanka Transport Board while inter and intra provincial private sector buses are operated by individual private operators under the supervision of National Transport Commission and Western Province Passenger Transport Authority respectively. At present 166 of inter provincial bus routes and 98 of intra provincial bus routes enters to fort and Pettah area. Variation of Load Factor, Parliament Road, Rajagiriya 2.0 Inbound Outbound Load Factor Time Figure 5-1: Variation of Load Factor at Rajagiriya, Parliament Road Even though the Colombo serving buses and their capacities were increased in last few decades, it is clearly observed that both private and public sector operators still have not been able to handle the increasing travel demand especially in the peak periods of the day. In addition to the demand increase, being private sector operators are highly profit oriented, all the buses serving Colombo in peak periods are highly congested giving unpleasant experiences for the travelers. Furthermore road revenue conflict among operators adds higher degree of contribution for the traffic congestion as well. These issues confirmed that increasing passenger carrying capacities is not a solution for the inherited problems of the bus services at present. With the intention of mitigating higher load factor and other inherited problems in public transport sector, Strategic Plan for Greater Colombo Traffic Management has proposed to introduce code ethics for operators, re-routing and re-scheduling of bus services. This section 54

61 demonstrates the existing route network and its performance as it support to decision making process of afore-mentioned approaches of the strategic plan. 5.2 Present Bus Route Network in CMC Orientation of the Network Among 98 intra-provincial bus services serving CMC, 95 are used the bus stands in Fort and Pettah area as their one end of the route. Arrangement of western provincial bus route which are serving Pettah and Fort is as illustrated in the following diagram. Inter and intra provincial bus route network within the city limits is arranged in the radial pattern concentrated towards pettah and fort area with the higher amount of overlapping of routes particularly in close to the city centre. Overlapping of routes decreases the utilization of overall network and also gives rise to the traffic congestion and higher fuel consumption especially in the peak periods. As mentioned earlier, the orientation of the bus routes in CMC is more or less a radial network with minimum distributional routes. It is confirmed by several examples appeared in following diagram. As an example it can be highlighted that 66 routes are operated between out of Colombo and Fort/Pettah while only having 2 routes between CMC and Fort / Pettah area. As a result of that, trip length and the travel time of bus passengers are higher compared to the private vehicular users since most of the time they have to travel upto city centre to catch a bus which runs to their anticipated destination. Increasing the trip length of passengers cause to increase the congestion in buses since travelers has to occupy buses in longer duration of time until reach to his destination. Figure 5-2: Distribution of Present Route Network 55

62 Inter-provincial buses don t serve the shorter distance travelers within the city. It just only carries the passengers between the Fort /Pettah bus terminals and outstations in basically. Therefore the local services are operated to facilitate such services for the travelers in CMC. Bus route map appeared in Appendix VI shows the Intra Provincial bus services of Western Province which are serving Greater Colombo Area. This map doesn t include the interprovincial bus routes serving Greater Colombo area Bus Routes and Frequencies Passenger buses enter to Pettah and Fort area by five major access roads namely Sangaraja Mawatha, Sir Chithampalam Gardiner Mawatha, D.R. Wijewardana Mawatha,Maradana Road and Central Road. After entering to the city limits, the paths of these services are arranged depending on the type of operator, type of operation and the location of their main terminal. There are about 19 different such arrangements or circuits available in the Pettah and Fort area as indicated in Appendix V. Total of 8245 buses are followed these circuits during a week day. Table 5-1 summarizes the bus flow attached to each circuit. Circuit No. Table 5-1: Pettah/Fort Originated Bus Routes and Their Frequencies Services Operator : SLTB Operation: Intra-Province Buses/day (One-way of Circuit) 1 138,143,148,152,3/1,180,187,188,200,210,224,225,226,227,228,230,23 1,234,235, 260,261,265,275,333,332,343,356,514, ,171, ,122,125,162,170,174, ,100,101,137,138,400, Operator : SLTB Operation: Inter-Province 5 01,03,04,05,06,07,08,09,15,16,18,19,21,22,38,48, 49,57, 67,78,79, ,92,98, ,122,122/ ,26,32,60, Operator : Private Operation: Intra-Province 3/1,143,148,152,180,200,226,227,240, ,187,188,210,218,235,275,333,343,356,514,332, ,225,228,230,231,234,260,261, ,144,

63 12 170,174, (Kesbewa -Pettah), ,100,101,120,122,125,138,400, Operator : Private Operation: Inter-Province 1/3,1/4,03,04,05,06,07,15,16,18,21, 48,49, 57, 67,87,92, 98, ,08,09,19,22,38,78, ,122,122/ ,26,32,60, * Some of SLTB bus services are not currently under operation eventhough they appeared in the schedules Additionally there are about idle bus trips which are traveling to and from overflow parking slots. These are not having specific parking slots and consequently follow different paths for reaching these slots Bus Stopping and Terminals Three major bus terminals in Pettah serve different types of bus services as Central bus stand for SLTB buses, Bastian Mawatha and Gunasinghapura bus stands for private buses. In addition to these terminals, identified 8 road-way bus stops are located close to the passenger generating and attracting areas for the convenience of passenger boarding and alighting functions. Terminals are mainly served by the long distance buses while the bus stops are frequently served by the short distance services. Figure 5-3 shows the distribution of all bus stops and terminals within the Fort and Pettah city limits. 57

64 Figure 5-3: Bus Stops and Terminal in Fort and Pettah Area Each of afore-mentioned 19 circuits uses one of these bus stops or terminals as its prime passenger boarding point. Summary of major stoppings and terminals associated with each circuit is tabulated in the following table. Table 5-2: Bus Stops and Terminals in Pettah and Fort Area Terminals/ Stops Circuits associated as its primary stop Terminal 1_T1 (Central Bus Stand) 1,5,6,7 Terminal 2_T2 (Gunasinghapura Bus Stand) 8 (excluding route Nos. 226,152),16,18 Terminal 3_T3 (Bastian Mawatha Bus Stand) 14(Excluding route no. 138),17,19 Stop 1_S1 12 Stop 2_S2 2,11 Stop 3_S3 9 Stop 4_S4 14 (Only route no. 138) Stop 5_S5 8 (Route nos.226,152) Stop 6_S6 3,4,13 Stop 7_S7 10 Stop 8_S % of Fort and Pettah entering buses uses 3 major terminals while rest of 33% uses eight road way parking for their passenger boarding and alighting functions. Even though road way parkings serve only lesser amount of passengers it contributes to induce higher traffic congestion especially on the vicinity of Olcott Mw. 58

65 Table 5-3: Daily Bus Parkings in Pettah and Fort Bus Stands CBS Bastian MW Gunasingpura Road way Total Daily Parking 554 4, ,711 8, Behavior of Bus & Rail Passengers Bus/Rail passenger interviews conducted by University of Moratuwa in 2007 reveal following issues which reflect the behavior of passengers coming to CMC. 53% of bus passengers and 37% of rail passengers are coming to Fort/Pettah to have a transfer to a bus going out of CMR. Greater portion of these travelers are coming to city during the day time. It reveals that there is a demand to decentralize long distance bus services. Majority of trips between CMC and outside CMC can be considered as HBW & Schooling trips and travelers of 43.2% by bus and 46.9% by rail are having transfers at Pettah/ Fort to local services from intra & inter provincial services. Table 5-4: Origin- Destinations of Pettah/Fort Bus Travelers Table 5-5: Origin- Destinations of Pettah/Fort Rail Travelers 59

66 5.4 Considerations for Re-Routing Developing bus terminals/stops in the Fort/Pettah area is a pre-requisition to establish a good route network in the Colombo city. This should be done for centralizing or interlinking all the bus stops which are presently spread all over the place of the city. New developing schemes must include appropriate arrangement for entry, exit and parking for the buses as well. This would cause to remove the unorganized pattern of passenger boarding and alighting functions and consequently reduce the traffic congestion in the city centre in considerably. On the other hand, people coming to the Colombo city by rail or bus have to walk considerable distance to have their next transfer due to the decentralization of bus terminals, stops and railway stations. Developing inter-connectivity among these transport nodes would also reduce the walking distance for the passengers providing higher comfortable transfer. Overflow parks should also be developed in parallel to the development of bus terminals. These areas should also be designed in close to the bus terminal and also there must be proper negotiation mechanism between the bus terminal and the overflow park. If these overflow parks are located in reasonably away from the terminal, there must be a specific traffic arrangement for the movement of buses. This will reduce the unnecessary bus circulation in the city and help to smooth the traffic flow. Building new road links in identified locations would also support to establish an efficient route network. Especially close to the Fort and Pettah area, buses are circulating considerably long distance in congested road sections only with the intention of reaching to their terminal. Buses coming on Galle road and DR Wijewardana Mawatha are perfect example is for this. Figure 5-4: Routing of Buses coming in Galle Road and DR Wijewardana Following figure illustrate the possible arrangement can be adopted for the afore-mentioned routes by building a new link between Olcot Mw. and DR Wijewardana Mw. This will cause to reduce the traffic in Olcot Mawatha as well as the pedestrian crossings infront of Fort railway station. 60

67 Figure 5-5: Probable arrangement of bus routings with Link provided Re-routing must be focused in providing by-passes for long distance travellers to avoid transfers at the city centre. As discussed in early in this chapter there are larger number of passengers who are travelling between outside of CMC have to touch the city centre to transfer from one bus to another. This will cause to increase the trip length, travel time and also the congestion in the buses to a certain extend. In this context it is worthy to arrange several routes which are crossing long distance routes close to the CMC boundary. Re-routing scheme must be integrated with origins and destinations of the passengers. Though existing route network has been developed unsystematically, it has elements of passenger generation and attraction considerations relevant to the several years before. But in recent years the origins and destinations of passengers has been drastically changed with the development of city suburb. But prevailing route network is not subject to changes accordingly for catering this varied demand pattern. Therefore at present the passengers have to follow several routes to travel between their origin and destinations with the prevailing old network of bus routes. Therefore it is important to identify passenger origins and destinations at present for bus re-routing and adjust prevailing network accordingly. This would cause to reduce the trip length, travel time and consequently the congestion in public buses. For the success of bus re-routing program, it is compulsorily needed to assign required level of passenger carrying capacity and prepare fine tuned time schedule for the new routes introduced. 61