Travel Probability Fields – An approach to understand travel behavior: Case study of slum dwellers in Kolkata, India

Abstract

Transport is an important contributor to the well-being of individuals and communities. Lack of suitable and affordable transportation can be a significant barrier to participation of different groups of population in a developing society. The current approach for planning for informal population in developing countries such as India is sadly not based on informed policy decisions backed up by scientific investigation of travel behavior of such communities. As a result, the transport investment decisions are more political in nature, which do not adequately address the needs of the informal community in their day-to-day mobility requirements. In this context, Travel Probability Fields offer a potential analytical tool to understand the travel behavior of population under study and evolve need-based transport investment decisions particularly when the resources are scarce in the context of developing countries. The present paper is an attempt to assess the mobility needs of slum dwellers in the city of Kolkata in east India to identify their travel behavior using Travel Probability Fields (TPF) in order to arrive at scientific based transport policy intervention for urban poor. The paper based on mobility patterns of slum dwellers located in different locations in the city of Kolkata develops Travel Probability Fields for various trip purposes and travel modes in order to assess the impact of location of slums and accessibility to public transport on travel patterns.