Abstract:
In the past, Sri Lanka had a very systematic, developed and effective transport system
compared to other Asian countries. The transportation modes like trains, buses, boats
and tram cars provided a good interconnected transport system even in absence of
sophisticated technology and information.
Public transport is an essential service and is one of the most important components
for well-being of growing and expanding areas. Public transport is a public service
which is meant to provide service levels that comply with public demand. Since this is
an industry, the sustainability purely depends on the organic cash generation of the
business (internal flow).
It is known and accepted that bus fares have to keep with rising prices ofinput to the
bus industry and therefore fares have to be revised accordingly from time to time. The
absence ofproper system to decide the rate ofthe fare revision, introduced a scientific
way to decide the rate on the basis of operating cost through the bus fare policy in
2002.
Currently the fare is decided on the basis of operating cost per km. The absence of a
proper scientific revenue calculation creates an uncertainty about the fares based on
costs.
This study is an initial attempt to Formulation of Revenue Formula Based on
Passenger Demand Pattern Analysis.
Data for this study were gathered through past (historic) data extracted from ticket
machines and way bills of Sri Lanka Transport Board and use of actual boarding
alighting count data by conducting two onboard surveys.
The first step is to analyze the current bus fares in different aspects such as historical
view, current bus fares, section wise increments etc. Fares are the one and only
contributor for revenue in bus industry. The identification of maximum load points
carried out next.
Main variables of Revenue Formula are number of passengers and coefficients.
Coefficients mean the average incremental fare amounts applicable to each section
additionally travelled by a passenger. The number of passengers was approximated
using maximum load points and coefficients were calculated using probability
matrices which show both the sections wise increments and passenger alighting
patterns.
On the basis of the results of this research, it can be concluded that the approximate
revenue can be assessed based on passenger demand patterns.
Citation:
Ratnayake, S. (2014). Formulation of revenue formula based on passenger demand pattern analysis [Master's theses,University of Moratuwa]. University of Moratuwa Intutitional Repository. http://dl.lib.mrt.ac.lk/handle/123/13880