Big City Transport

The book is meant as a case study of different modes of transport provided by different agencies, under public and private ownership, in the Calcutta metro­politan area, and the economic and operational efficiency of these modes and agencies. The Calcutta State Transport Corporation, being the principal agency responsible for the road-based transpor­tation system, attracts special attention and forms the theme of this study in a large measure. Unlike in Bombay and Madras, private buses have been playing an important role in the overall transpor­tation system of Calcutta. The growth of private bus transport has been primarily due to the inadequacy of the nationalized transport system. The author attempts a comparative study of the economic and operational efficiency of the Corporation and that of private operators with a view to proposing measures for improvement in the Corporation’s performance and to justify the continuance of private opera­tors. Future plans for mass transportation facilities too have been dealt with. Pro­gramming models for efficient allocation of buses and illustrative application of the models have also been touched upon.