Feasibility Study and Demand Estimation for Ferry Service from Hazira to Alang

Abstract

India has an extensive network of inland waterways in the form of rivers, canals, backwaters and creeks. The total navigable length is 14,500 km, out of which about 5200 km is of the river and 4000 km is of canals that can be used by mechanized crafts. Water transportation by waterways is highly under-utilized in India compared to other large countries. So, it causes unsustainable transport and more pressure on road and rail. In this study, demand estimation of regional transport from Surat to Saurashtra region is carried out with Do-Nothing condition and after applying ferry service. Home interview survey is carried out in particular zones of Surat, and data collected are income, vehicle ownership, working members for each household and travel time and travel cost of current mode of travel from Surat to Saurashtra region. Stated preference survey is carried out with designed travel time and travel cost for ferry service to check behaviour of people to shift to ferry or not. Multinomial logit model (MNL) is applied by considering travel time, travel cost, income and vehicle ownership as variables, and it is found from model that people will shift to ferry services with designed travel time and cost.