1.1 Introduction
In this article, I have highlighted the engineering activities I have undertaken during my one-year undergraduate thesis project in 2015, a mandatory task to fulfill the requirement for awarding the Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Civil Engineering (CE) degree in Islamic University of Technology (IUT), Bangladesh. I received my degree after completing the project successfully along with other courses during the last two semesters. The academic coursework in this four-year undergraduate degree laid the groundwork for me, and I was able to demonstrate my skills during the final-year thesis project. The project was carried out to identify the role of unconventional modes (UCMs) of transport in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, to meet mobility demand. I tried to outline a correlational framework through observational studies. I used both qualitative and quantitative approaches to determine a range of factors affecting the sustainability and competitiveness of UCMs in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Based on the data I produced through my research project, my fellow classmates, along with another lecturer from the CE department of IUT were able to publish a peer-reviewed conference paper titled “A Framework for Analyzing the Competitiveness of Unconventional Modes of Transportation in Developing City” in the proceedings of the 97th Annual Meeting of Transportation Research Board (TRB), Washington, D.C, 2018.
1.2 Background
At the beginning of my thesis project, I studied numerous papers, journals, and articles to dive deeper into the background of climate change and transportation sector. During my research I found that several anthropogenic sources of carbon were well-recognized to contribute to climate change that had led to global warming and potentially threatened about 20 million people living along the coastline of Bangladesh and other countries vulnerable to climate change conditions. One of the major sources of carbon emission is the transportation sector with a global primary energy consumption of 20% and total anthropogenic GHG emissions of about 18% (Holmberg et al., 2012)[1]. I realized that carbon emission from the transportation sector can be reduced by modal and policy intervention. For my investigation, I chose three different but popular UCM routes inside and at the outskirts of Dhaka and three most common UCMs locally known as – Rickshaw, Easy-Bike, and Leguna. It is noteworthy that Dhaka city has a population of 7 million people, with a population density of over 23 thousand people square kilometres. This high population density has contributed to my chosen UCMs which fit perfectly within the tortuous roads of the city. I realized that a proper investigation on the competitiveness of these sustainable UCMs was necessary; some of them do not use any fossil fuel-based energy sources (e.g., Legunas), run on battery (e.g. Easy-Bike) or are hand-pulled (e.g. Rickshaw). A comprehensive understanding of their effectiveness could promote their acceptance within the evolving social structure.
1.2.1 Objectives
I was determined to achieve the following objectives for the research:
a. To assess the competitiveness and long-term viability of various co-existing UCMs in terms of cost, time, comfort, safety, convenience, and environmental consequences from a holistic viewpoint.
b. To offer useful information for transportation planners and engineers for the design of traditional public transportation systems.
c. To assist transportation planners, engineers and policy makers in the gradual integration of UCMs into the primary modes of transportation in Bangladesh by resolving their limitations.
1.3 Personal Engineering Activity
1.3.1 Qualitative Approach
Selecting the best methods to evaluate competitiveness and sustainability was challenging. I commenced the research by conducting an initial observational study. The study was conducted using the ‘complete participation’ method, in which I travelled by the three UCMs chosen for the study in the study area and engaged in discussions with passengers and drivers to gain a better understanding of their daily operations and the role that these UCMs play in their lives. The observation study was combined with a qualitative research framework where I involved major stakeholders and people with knowledge about UCMs – the operators, drivers, and users of UCMs, officials from law enforcement agencies, road transport authorities, transportation planners, and academicians. This approach helped me to determine the industry’s key challenges and how UCMs impact others such as the alternative modes, businesses built around them, and the authorities responsible for managing traffic.
Since I had considered the UCMs as products, I employed methods commonly used in business and operations research. Though a popular technique in the world of business is to use the SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat) framework, it lacks the environmental dimension. So, I studied more enhanced qualitative approaches, such as sSWOT (Sustainability SWOT), DPSIR (Driving forces, Pressures, States, Impacts, Responses), and PESTLE (Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal and Environmental). Among all the methods that I learned, I found that PESTLE covered the impact of key features of the external environment on various alternatives.
To understand the factors that play important role in influencing service providers’ business and the users’ experience, I first developed a questionnaire and then conducted separate interviews including service providers and the users of Leguna, Easy-Bike, and Rickshaws. I realized that I must involve road traffic authorities, law enforcement agencies, transportation planners, and researchers to get a comprehensive perspective. I spent about 3 weeks running the on-site survey in different areas of Dhaka city. Later I compiled all the data and gathered it in one figure (Fig-1) to better understand the factors affecting competitiveness of Leguna, Easy-Bike and Rickshaws in Dhaka city and its surrounding areas.
1.3.2 Quantitative Approach
I used PESTLE criteria with Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to generate a general decision-making framework for my project. But I needed to combine this with a quantitative method to evaluate the competitiveness and sustainability of Rickshaw, Easy-bike, and Leguna. Therefore, I learned another simple multi-criterion decision-making method TOPSIS (Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) which was first introduced by Yoon and Hwang in 1981[1]. I applied AHP to calculate the relative weights of the six external factors (Figure-1) which were later used in TOPSIS. The subjective rating of PESTLE was replaced with TOPSIS to recalculate the overall score as well as scores in other aspects for each of the UCMs. I followed a 6-step approach to find the ideal alternative using TOPSIS which is described below:
1.3.3 Data Collection, Analysis, and Major Findings
In the study, I did not analyse the competitiveness of UCMs separately from the supply or demand perspective; instead, I combined these two variables into one to evaluate their overall competitiveness holistically. I obtained the necessary information from the following sources: driver, operator, passenger, and specialists (researchers/authorities) and direct calculations. From the observation study, I found various aspects of UCM’s operation. In terms of health and safety, 47% respondents had chosen Leguna over the other two modes, as it had a well and strong body shape. I also noticed that most people did not know about the benefits of Electric vehicles. In fact, some people had no idea about electric vehicles. They just used it because they had to.
When I compared Easy-Bike and Leguna, the data show that respondents believed rickshaws were less susceptible to political instability. Between the two, about 80% of respondents said Legunas had a high or moderate risk of being influenced by political instability, whereas Easy-Bikes had a moderate or low impact in comparable conditions. This was acceptable since Legunas ran on higher road classifications than rickshaws and Easy-Bikes, and traffic on major roads was more likely to be affected during political unrest.
Most Rickshaw’s parts and accessories were made locally. It also ran without the need for fossil fuels or electricity. As a result, tariffs and taxes had a minimal (52.6%) or no (35.5%) influence on them. Because just a few parts and accessories had to be imported, the impact on Easy-Bikes was moderate (40.8 percent) to low (44.7 percent). On the other hand, I identified severe (28.9%) or moderate (38.2%) impact on Legunas due to the high gasoline tax and taxes on parts and machinery. According to the respondents, if the city’s general economy improved, it would have a little influence on rickshaws, with 51.3 percent and 31.6 percent identifying the impact as low and medium, respectively. According to 50 percent of respondents, the impact on Leguna was moderate, while the impact on Easy-Bike was low (22.4 percent) to moderate (43.4 percent). Also, Leguna was the most efficient in terms of per-kilometre fare, followed by Easy-Bike.
The TOPSIS analysis showed that the relative closeness value for rickshaw was the greatest, resulting in the top ranking, followed by Easy-Bike and Leguna. Based on that, I concluded that among these three UCMs, Rickshaw was the most sustainable, followed by Easy-Bike. The Rickshaw’s long-term viability was ascribed to its endurance in the face of political upheaval, unemployment, and lesser sensitivity to tariffs and taxes, among other factors. Furthermore, the mode saved energy, made less noise, and did not appear to contribute to air pollution. However, when I compared Rickshaw to the other two modes, it performed poorly in terms of health, safety, and security. In addition, I found that among the three forms of transportation, rickshaw riding had the highest per-kilometre cost. Despite having these flaws, and the rickshaw remained the most competitive method of transportation in my study. Because Legunas’ parts were not made locally, tariffs and taxes were also high for Leguna. I also pointed out the increased unemployment in the unskilled labour market which made more drivers accessible for Easy-Bikes.
To my sheer surprise, I found that Rickshaw was the most competitive UCM in Dhaka, followed by Easy-Bike and Leguna, according to the results of the AHP-TOPSIS research. This was because, compared to other modes of UCMs, Rickshaws are regarded to be more environmentally friendly, fuel-efficient, and more robust to political upheaval. Although Leguna was more vulnerable to political and environmental variables, it offered fewer operating and maintenance costs and provided more safety and security.
1.4 Summary
The findings of my research were anticipated to aid policymakers in making informed decisions that will ensure the long-term dissemination and acceptance of public transportation modes in areas where external influences might impact the sector. If UCMs cannot be substituted with traditional public transportation in the short term, the research methodology may be used to shine a light on their flaws and highlight issues on which more suitable emphasis can be made to make them viable. The engineering judgment behind this research may be expanded in the future by adding a broader study region that includes additional UCMs as well as traditional public transportation, which will aid policymakers in determining how to enhance public transportation service quality. I feel accomplished as an engineer as my thesis project was considered one of the best and unique projects by the thesis evaluation committee.
Glossary of Terms
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UCMs |
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Unconventional modes |
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PESTLE |
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Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal and Environmental |
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AHP |
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Analytic Hierarchy Process |
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TOPSIS |
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Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution |
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SWOT |
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Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat |
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sSWOT |
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Sustainability SWOT |
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DPSIR |
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Driving forces, Pressures, States, Impacts, Responses |