Report

How Does Intermediate Public Transport (IPT) System Operate in Lucknow?

Udit Narayan Mall, Samradh Singh Chauhan, Nilanshu Ghosh, Himani Jain
April 2023 | Sustainable Mobility

Suggested citation: Mall, Udit Narayan, Samradh Singh Chauhan, Nilanshu Ghosh, Himani Jain. 2023. How does Intermediate Public Transport (IPT) system operate in Lucknow? New Delhi: Council on Energy, Environment and Water.

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Overview

Intermediate Public Transport (IPT) caters to 17% of the daily trips in Lucknow. This short report offers an overview of IPT vehicles i.e. auto-rickshaws, tempos and e-rickshaws in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The team conducted a survey in Lucknow, covering 322 IPT drivers to understand their vehicular, operational and economic characteristics. It also collects insights into the mobility landscape of Lucknow through stakeholders’ perceptions. This study provides data for transport planners and policymakers to effectively plan IPT services in the city, and to gauge their electrification potential.

Key Highlights

Tempos operating on 44 fixed routes cover almost half of the city municipal area, within 500m walking distance, while autorickshaws and e-rickshaws cover all the areas as their operations are flexible.
80 per cent of tempos and autorickshaws are rented by drivers for daily operations as compared to only 37 per cent of e-rickshaws.
60 per cent of the tempos are older than 9 years, while the average age is 7 years for autorickshaws and 4 years for e-rickshaws.
Most of the IPT vehicles park on the road-side during non-operational hours.
One third of the autorickshaws in Lucknow travel between 200 to 250 km daily, whereas the average daily travel distance for tempos and e-rickshaws are 120 km and 90 km respectively.
E-rickshaw drivers spend the lowest on fuel cost (charging), INR 80 per day while tempo drivers and autorickshaw drivers spend INR 280 and INR 250 per day on fuel.
More than three fourth of tempo and autorickshaw drivers earn more than INR 800 daily, compared to 47 per cent of e-rickshaw drivers.

Occupancy chart

Source: Authors’ analysis; Kumar, Megha, Seema Singh, Akshima T. Ghate, Sarbojit Pal, and Sangeetha Ann Wilson. 2016. “Informal Public Transport Modes in India: A Case Study of Five City Regions.” IATSS Research 39 (2). Elsevier B.V.: 102–9. doi:10.1016/j.iatssr.2016.01.001

"Intermediate Public Transport (IPT) plays a pivotal role in the urban mobility landscape by addressing a considerable portion of the daily commute demand in urban areas. It is crucial to discern the operational and financial intricacies of IPT in order to effectively design urban mobility networks, devise multimodal transportation strategies, and formulate electric transition roadmaps that account for future transport trends."