Policy-driven strategic transport planning for the Western Province, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Sri Lanka’s transport sector strives for efficient and effective mobility solutions in terms of the quality and quantity of services provided. However, the modal share of public transport continues to decrease with increasing personal incomes, resulting in the deterioration in service quality of all transport systems in the Western Province. This occurs despite significant government investments in expressways and plans for rapid transit projects. The recent economic crisis in Sri Lanka and the consequent fuel crisis have forced the government to limit investment on transport projects that would be sustainable and bring maximum return on investment. Such selection requires careful consideration of appropriate transport policies and plans. Based on a critical review of existing transport policies and programs, this paper proposes selecting policy-based projects found to be best suited to the Western Province. Several proposals to improve the service quality in different transport modes through better regulation integration of IT and other modern technologies are discussed in terms of selecting policy parameters.