Travel Characteristics and Vehicle Kilometres Travelled in Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Abstract

In the Northern Province most of the roads are rehabilitated in recent years as they were heavily deteriorated during the Guerrilla war. Therefore, a little is known about travel characteristics in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. This study investigates the characteristics of travel in Jaffna district estimating Vehicle Kilometres Travelled (VKT) and Personal Kilometres Travelled (PKT). Data were collected through the household travel surveys. The demographic information of traveller, mode of travel, and travel distance were recorded. The considered travel modes were car, van, jeep, motorbike, three-wheeler, and bicycle. VKT per year for every category of vehicles was estimated and considering a weighed factor VKT and PKT per person were estimated. Results showed that yearly VKT/PKT per male is higher than that of female and VKT/PKT values of an employed person is higher than others. Also VKT and PKT values of people with low household income travel less than people with high household income.