[sustran] traffic pollution in Calcutta

[John Whitelegg]

Dear Sustran discussants,

I am currently writing a report on my recent field work in Calcutta where I interviewed rickshaw pullers/pedallers throughout the city and have put together a summary of miles travelled, passengers carried, income, living conditions, hours worked etc.  This is part of a longer term project on the definition and implementation of sustainable transport principles in this city.  I am now calculating the environmental significance of rickshaws by estimating how much additional pollution would be generated if rickshaw passenger-kilometres were transferred at different rates to bus/taxi/auto-rickshaw.  To do this reliably I need specific emission data for these modes in situations that are as close to Calcutta  as possible.  I have some data from IIEC (1992) on Varanasi but I want to check this out on some other sources.  Do you have any such data or are you aware of any source of data for Indian cities?  The data must show specific emissions in g/km for different modes of transport.

I will happily send the report (ready in 2 weeks time) to any kind person who can help.



Very best wishes


John Whitelegg