Study on impacts of auto-rickshaws on fuel consumption and delay of personal vehicles

Present study attempts to quantify the effect shared auto-rickshaws (SAs) assert on driving pattern of motorcycles (MCs) and passenger cars (PCs) in terms of fuel consumption and exhaust emission. A three day long SA strike was used to compare the driving pattern of MCs and PCs with that of a regular busy day. Driving cycles (DCs) for all three vehicle classes were generated using on-board measurement of speed profiles prior the strike. Similarly, DCs for MCs and PCs were generated during the strike. About 88% reduction in idle time period and 50% reduction in cruising period were observed for MCs during the strike. For PCs the reductions were about 71% and 36% respectively. Average speeds were increased by 42% and 23% for MCs and PCs respectively, which contributes in significant amount of fuel savings. Efficiency of a separate SA lane as an alternative way to improve the fuel consumption scenario was also evaluated in this study. It was seen that about 48% fuels can be saved by the SAs if a separate lane is used and if they follow strict rules about pick up and drop services.