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MOTORINDIA
l
August 2012
revenues generated from export
and import of trade at the ports and
airport totalled Rs. 17,000 million
in 2010-11.
Goods & freight movement
The road, rail and the arterial
network of Chennai shown in figure
1 indicates the highways and the
important roads in green, railway
lines in blue and the arterial roads
in red. Whenever there is move-
ment of goods to the points of trade
the loads are carried by trucks pass-
ing through the arterial roads to the
points along the major roads.
In addition to the airport and
railway heads there are many places
of importance that spread across the
city to and from which goods are
transported.
Figure 2 shows the places of
high importance in Chennai. They
include sea ports located on the east
coast, the Ambattur and Guindy
industrial estates in the centre, the
IT corridor on the south-east and
the automobile manufacturing
industries located in the south-west.
Movement of goods from these
centres primarily takes place on
lorries and trucks along with other
means of road transport, including
auto rickshaws. The materials that
are transported include manufac-
tured goods, building materials,
industrial raw materials, perishables
and parcels.
In Chennai, over the
last few years there has
been a big surge in the
number of vehicles ply-
ing on roads, resulting
in an increase in per
capita trip rates (costs)
as well as increase in
the travel time. Accom-
panying the increase in
traffic on roads, there
is pollution from these
vehicles that affects the
environment as well as
people. In this scenario,
it has become impor-
tant to understand the
changes occurring in the vehicular
population and the after-effects of
such an increase.
Motor vehicle movement &
pollution
The use of motor vehicles for
transport of passengers and goods
has increased significantly during
the last few years. As against 12.5
lakh registered vehicles in Chennai
in 2001, there are approximately
35 lakh vehicles registered in 2012.
The annual growth of vehicles on
an average has been around 10.8
per cent over the last 10 years.
The State Transport Author-
ity notes that while the number of
buses routing in Chennai remained
almost stagnant, two-wheelers
experienced a remarkable increase
in number from 87,000 (1984) to
17,52,101 (2012) registering an
annual growth rate of 12 per cent.
Similarly, the number of goods car-
riages increased from 6,671 in 1980
to 79,203 in 2005, also registering
a growth of 12 per cent. Such an in-
crease has not however correspond-
ed with a proportionate expansion
of road infrastructural facilities.
The expansion in road network has
not been commensurate with the
rising vehicular traffic, resulting in
an explosion in vehicular density,
increase in peak hour traffic leading
to traffic jams and an increase in
pollution and delays in movement
of goods.
The multiplier effect of such an
increase has been visible not only
on the arterial network but also on
the secondary city network. This is
because of the mixed land use pat-
terns observed in the metropolitan
area. The trucks that carry loads to
shipment centers often pass through
the same commercial areas and
markets that already experience
logistics
Location of a few wholesale markets within and around the city also means
that there is a continuous movement of vehicles that carry loads through
the community points to the receiving and dispatch centres. Community
points include commercial as well as the moving points for ordinary citi-
zens. An important factor to be considered during transportation of freight
is the traffic congestion caused.