Abstract:
Vehicle volume on roadways has rapidly increased over the past few decades due to increasing
urbanisation. Limited road capacity and rising vehicular traffic in emerging nations like India
have an adverse impact on urban life in terms of externalities like traffic congestion, vehicular
emissions and road accidents to name a few. It is time for rejuvenating existing potential modes
of transport other than road transport infrastructure to develop a sustainable transportation
system. Inland Water Transport is known to be the cheapest mode of transport, has low
environmental pollution agents and low carbon emission. However, the lack of service quality
results in poor patronage in IWT. The present study documents a rational approachto shifting
travelers to IWT by enhancing its quality and attractiveness. A travel behavioural approach is
proposed which includes the development of a mode choice model and generalized cost model
and identification of operational viability of IWT with the improvements in service quality. The
outcomes of this study will be crucial for enhancing IWT services in Alappuzha, Kerala, India.
The methodology and strategy given shall be replicated in other areas to develop IWT as a
demand management device, despite the fact that the study is case-specific.
