Authors

• Rajasree Banerjee, Former Research Scholar, Humanities and Social Sciences Department, IIEST, Shibpur, Howrah, West Bengal
• Saptarshi Sen, Research Scholar, Civil Engineering Department, II EST,Shibpur, Howrah, West Bengal
• Sudip Kumar Roy, Civil Engineering Department, IIEST, Shibpur, Howrah, West Bengal
• Suranjan Sinha, Professor, Mining Department, IIEST, Shibpur, Howrah, West Bengal
• Madhumati Dutta, Former Professor, Humanities and Social Sciences Department, IIEST, Shibpur, Howrah, West Bengal

In the metropolitan cities of India, demographic growth has enormously increased the number of vehicles for passenger transport. Yet, the transport infrastructure to accommodate this growing fleet is lacking. This situation needs to be tackled scientifically by implementing proper policies. The main objectives of this study are to: (i) identify the different cost components of the congestion externalities; (ii) estimate the external costs of congestion using various methods; and (iii) design policies by sensitivity analysis to reduce the congestion. As a case study, Kolkata, the capital city of West Bengal and one of the oldest metropolitan cities in India has been selected. Hypothetical traffic flow data has been utilised to evaluate the cost of congestion externalities at design and congested Level of Service. The analysis is classified on the basis of different types of carriageways and transport modes. The cost of congestion externalities is found to be higher in a four-lane two-way road as compared to the other carriageways. The mode shift from personalised vehicles to public transport reduces the cost of congestion significantly. Moreover, reduction of work trips during peak hours and replacing by telecommuting has also been reviewed as an effective option to reduce the cost of congestion.