Transport Sector

Performance Indicators:
Sri Lanka Existing Situation

Amal S. Kumarage
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa
Chairman, National Transport Commission
kumarage@sltnet.lk

21st April 05
Overview of Land Transport & the Economy-
2003

 GDP – Rs 1,400 billion

 Value Addition to Economy Rs 178 billion (12%)

 Employment Direct 700,000 (11% of national)

 Government Capital Allocation Rs 300 bn

 Government Expenditure on Transport Sector

 Highways Rs 13.5 bn (4.5%)
 Transport Rs 6.5 bn (2%)
Sri Lanka Transport:
The Demand
 Population 19 million
 Distribution 70% in rural areas
 Metro Areas – Colombo 3 million
 Town Centres – 50,000 to 300,000
 GDP per capita US$ 980
 Employment (Agricultural based 45%,
industries 25%, services 30%)
Sri Lanka Transport:
The Supply
 Transport Infrastructure
 Transport Services
Transport Infrastructure
 Highways
 Expressways -None
 National Highways -11,760 kms
 Provincial Highways -15,743 kms
 Rural Roads -68,843 kms
 Footpaths & Tracks – estimated at 120,000 kms

 Railways 1,449 kms

 Navigable Inland Waterways – less than 100 kms

 1st Cent. Road Network based on connectivity of Anuradhapura to
BC ports in the North-East and connection between the
kingdoms and places of worship mostly in dry zone
11th
Ancient

Century Coastal roads in the southwest after migration of people

17th
Century Dutch Canal System in southwest develops it further
  Access Access
Year RDA Provincial Urban Rural Total
1815 Commencement of Road Building by British
1905 6,024 6,024
 
Modern

1959 7,034  12,070 19,104

1990 10,447 14,916 2,791 66,054 94,208

2002 11,760 15,743 5,200 77,800 110,503

 Motor Vehicle Fleet
Estimated Operational Vehicle Fleet by Province and Type
Province Motor Three Cars & Lorries Buses Land Other Total
Cycles Wheelers Vans Vehicles
Western 192,194 177,004 53,634 15,351 11,981 N/A 450,164
Central 21,491 11,712 21,403 12,718 4,196 2,780 N/A 74,300
Southern 63,678 12,444 15,478 9,092 3,006 11,534 N/A 115,232
North East 41,952 3,183 2,542 1,107 6,379 856 56,019
North
82,932 5,752 18,276 12,135 3,037 12,620 685 135,437
Western
North
25,114 1,581 4,457 3,658 914 5,612 5 41,341
Central
S’gamuwa 25,242 6,922 9,961 7,350 2,996 3,127 394 55,992
Uva 12,307 1,457 4,389 4,147 1,267 3,180 6 26,753
Total 464,910 294,019 105,276 31,874 57,213 1,946 955,238
Vehicle Ownership per 100 households (Central Bank, Consumer Finance Surveys)

1978/79 1981/82 1986/87 1996/97

Bicycle 21.5 31.5 34.0 41.5

Motor Cycle 0.9 2.4 5.3 12.0

Motor Car/Van 1.9 2.3 3.0 3.4

45

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5 Bicycle
0 Motor Cycle
1978/79 Motor Car/Van
1981/82
1986/87
1996/97
 Modal Share of Land Transport- 2001
Sector Vehicle Estimated Estimated Estimated Estimated
Operational Kilometres Person Ton-Kms
Fleet Operated Kms Carried
(mn) Carried (mn)
(mn)
Road Bicycle 2,000,000 2000 2,100
(NMT) Other
s N/ a N/ a N/ a

Motor 539,094 2,738 3286

Cars
Cycles 135,050 1,304 2869
Roads Utility 186,717 2,616 8894 130
(Motorised) Buses
Vehicle 24,360 981 38410
Trucks 66,499 1,498 1498 1498
sLand 76,225 280 363 70
Three
vehicle 75,233 1,432 1,432
Sub Total RoadWheele 3,103,178 12,849 58,852 1698
Rail s 3,103
Total Road andrsRail 63,964
 National Modal Share - 2003
Mode Vehicle Kms Passenger Kms Ton Kms Carried

Operated (mn) Carried (mn) (mn)

Bus 966 (08%) 45,407 (68%)

Private Vehicles 7,861 (64%) 15,831 (24%)

Railways 11 (00%) 3,600 (5%) 102 (02%)

Three Wheelers 1,548 (13%) 1,161 (2%)

Lorry/Land Veh. 1,813 (15%) 907 (1%) 4,532 (97%)

Water Transport 3 (00%) 32 (01%)

Total 12,202 (100%) 66,906 (100%) 4,666 (100%)

 80
70
60
50
%Share

40
30
20
Public Bus
10
Private
0
Railway
75
80 Para Transit
92
Years 96
Priorities in Land Transport

 Reduce Total Transport & Externality Cost for Economy.

 Improve Quality/Service Levels of Public Transport.

 Reduce Financial Burden of Public Transport on Treasury through

Strategic Reform of SLR and Cluster Cos.

 Managing Road Space & Traffic Flow by Levying charges to

recover actual cost of Road Use

 Reduce the burden from road accidents and environmental impacts

Description of Sub Sectors

 Buses
 Railways
 Three Wheelers
 Trucking
 Private Transport
 Rural Transport
Bus Transport In Sri Lanka
Private Individual Operators (1907)

Re-entry of Private Individual Operators (1978)

Formation of Companies (1942)

Formation of Companies?

Nationalization (1958)
 Impact of Bus Transport on
Sri Lankan Society & Economy

 50 billion passenger kms per year  65% of all travel

 30 billion Rupees in economic value  3% of GDP

 10 million trips per day 2 trips per household per day

 80 % households use the bus at least 1 time per week

 Also 84,000 persons directly employed

What are the basic problems facing the
industry?

 Inadequate fares Inadequate investment in buses?

 Weak regulation  Lack of Enforcement
 Weak Market Structure Unmanageable number of operators
 Abandonment of professional practices  poorly managed
industry

Although regulated fares, and the single bus ownership have been the most
quoted reasons for this state of affairs, recent study and documentation reveals
that a host of regulatory lapses are in fact the primary cause of this situation.
Performance Indicators- Buses
 Quality – Load Factor, Journey Speeds, Directness, Availability during
unprofitable times, routes. Reliability

 Efficiency: Bus Utilisation, Revenue/Cost per km.

 Fare – Affordability to lower income deciles.

 Cost to Society: Net Subsidy

 Safety- crew standards, accidents, bus standards

 Convenience & Comfort- value additions.

 Niche Markets: Schools, Offices, Industries served

 Infrastructure: Terminals, Stops, Busways

Railway Transport

 Fully regulated since inception

 Problem areas
 Lack of commercial/passenger interest
 Pre-occupation with employee rights
 High financial losses

 Abortive attempts on unbundling or private

investment/management
Performance Indicators- Trains
 Quality – Load Factor, Journey Speeds.

 Efficiency: Track & Rolling Stock Utilization

 Fare – Affordability to lower income deciles.

 Cost to Society: subsidies less externality benefits

 Safety- track & rolling stock standards,

 Convenience & Comfort- value additions.

 Niche Markets: Freight, Tourism

 Infrastructure: Land Utilisation, Station Development

Three Wheelers

 Popularity rising due to deterioration of public transport

 Primary reason being attractive as means of self-

employment

 Presently 142,000 vehicles, but transport 2% of share.

 Problem areas:

 Cartelisation
 Inefficiency
Performance Indicators-
Three Wheelers

 Quantity & Efficiency: Vehicle Utilisation

 Fare – Affordability to middle income deciles.

 Cost to Society: pollution and parking costs

Trucking
 Has always been fully deregulated

 Efficient in corporate settings

 In informal settings, poor productivity, high fares,

externalities

 Trucking is subsidized by the Govt.

Performance Indicators-
Trucks
 Efficiency: Vehicle Utilization

 Cost to shippers.

 Cost to Society: externalities due to pavement

damage, congestion, pollution

 Safety- vehicle and crew standards,

 Infrastructure: Logistics Centres, Warehousing

 Private Vehicles
Estimated Operational Vehicle Fleet by Province and Type
Province Motor Three Cars & Lorries Buses Land Other Total
Cycles Wheelers Vans Vehicles
Western 192,194 177,004 53,634 15,351 11,981 N/A 450,164
Central 21,491 11,712 21,403 12,718 4,196 2,780 N/A 74,300
Southern 63,678 12,444 15,478 9,092 3,006 11,534 N/A 115,232
North East 41,952 3,183 2,542 1,107 6,379 856 56,019
North
82,932 5,752 18,276 12,135 3,037 12,620 685 135,437
Western
North
25,114 1,581 4,457 3,658 914 5,612 5 41,341
Central
S’gamuwa 25,242 6,922 9,961 7,350 2,996 3,127 394 55,992
Uva 12,307 1,457 4,389 4,147 1,267 3,180 6 26,753
Total 464,910 294,019 105,276 31,874 57,213 1,946 955,238
Vehicles/Traffic in Colombo
City
 140,000 vehicle enter the city daily

 1,000,000 passengers enter the city daily

 64% arrive by bus (takes 25% of road space)

 10% arrive by railway

 26% arrive by private transport (takes 65% of road

space)
The Problems of Road Safety
 Costs 2200+ lives, disables 4,000+, injures a further
12,000.
 Damage only accidents 38,848.
 Total accidents 57,618

 Only 700 (4%) receive any compensation.

 Economic Cost of accidents Rs. 10 billion ++

 Risk of death due to road accident has risen from 1

in 115 (1977) to 1 in 51 (2002)
Performance Indicators-
Private Vehicles
 Efficiency: Network Speed, Vehicle Occupancy

 Cost to users as VOC.

 Cost to Society: externalities due to congestion,

pollution and accidents

 Safety & Environment- vehicle and crew standards,

 Infrastructure: User Separation, Intersection Control

Performance Indicators Rural
Transport
 Accessibility (to basic services, employment
opportunities and markets)

 Ownership of vehicles

 Affordability of services
Performance Indicators-
Overall Transport
 Efficiency: Network Speeds (rail, roads, bus)

 Cost to Government: Net Subsidies

 Resource Utilization: Energy Efficiency, Land Utilization,

 Affordability of different modes to different sectors of society

 Cost to Society: inputs plus externalities due to congestion, pollution

and accidents

 Employment Generation

 Safety & Environment- minimum standards,

THANK YOU
Economic Cost of Transport 2003
Direct Operating Costs
 Railways Rs 4,700 mn
 Buses Rs 36,288 mn
 Three Wheelers Rs 13,230 mn
 Private Vehicles Rs 71,875 mn
 Goods Transport Rs 61,000 mn
 TOTAL Rs 178,393 mn

Cost of Externalities
 Time Value > 30 km/hr Rs 77,500 mn
 Time Value <30km/hr Rs 16,250 mn

 Unpaid Accident Costs Rs 10,000 mn

 Environmental Rs 2,000 mn
 TOTAL Rs. 105,750 mn
Fuel Consumption-2003

 Diesel 2,700 mn litres – Rs. 91,000 mn

 Petrol 400 mn litres – Rs. 12,000 mn

 Fuel Cost for railways - Rs 3,500 mn

 Fuel Cost for buses - Rs. 3,000 mn

 10% of fuel for railways/buses – but they carry 73% of

passengers.

 Over the last few months all these costs have increased by
around 60%.
 Economic Direct Costs in Land Transport
(2003)

PASSENGER Vehicles Veh Kms Pax Kms Cost Rs. Cost per
Pax Km
Railways - - 4,258 6,500 1.53
Buses 25,000 1,296 49,112 36,288 0.73
3Wheeler-Taxi 167,764 1,890 1,328 13,230 9.96
Private Vehs. 880,034 10,125 17,784 71,875 2.73 MC
5.26 C/V
FREIGHT Vehicles Veh Kms Ton Kms Cost Rs.

Railway - - 128
Trucks/Vans 173,643 3,000 5286
Government Expenditure 2003

Expenditure
 Roads – National Rs.11,300 mn
 Roads – Provincial Rs. 2,151 mn
 Railways Rs 3,500 mn
 Buses Rs 3,000 mn
TOTAL Rs 20,000 mn

Income
 Vehicle taxes etc. Rs 12,000 mn
 Import Taxes Rs 5,000 mn
 Taxes on Fuel Rs 5,000 mn
 Registration/Annual License Rs 2,000 mn
TOTAL Rs 24,000 mn