DETERMINATION OF CONGESTION CHARGE FOR CAR USERS IN CBD AREA OF THIRUVANANTHAPURAM CITY

Tina Maria Sunny, Jomy Thomas

Abstract: Congestion is a situation in which demand for road space exceeds supply and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, higher transportation costs and increased vehicular queuing. Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, is the second largest and most populous city in the state.The roads and neighbourhoods of the city experiences more chronic congestion and serious crashes than ever before due to higher share of personalized transport and para-transit modes in traffic stream. The present study conducted in Central Business District (CBD) area of Thiruvananthapuram city. The periods of peak congestion in Thiruvananthapuram now last for 4 hours from 8.00 to 10.00 in the morning and from 4.00 to 6.00 in the evening. In this paper, an attempt has been made to assess the congestion level experienced on major road corridors of the city and to determine congestion charge for car users in Mahatma Gandhi Road, which is the most congested road corridor of Thiruvanathapuram city. The method used for the determination of optimal pricing is related to the point of pricing where the external costs are met by the revenue generated by the pricing level.

Keywords: Congestion pricing, External costs of congestion, Travel time, Demand elasticity.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15623/ijret.2015.0411038