Traffic gains speed in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: The road traffic in the state is growing by leaps and bounds, though it is mostly concentrated on district and city roads leaving the villages and remote areas virtually unconnected.

This has been revealed in a study titled ‘Opportunities and challenges of road transportation in Kerala conducted by Dr. B.G. Sreedevi, Director, National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC), Thiruvananthapuram, for Assocham.

The road traffic has been increasing by 10 to 11 percent every year.  The vehicle density in the state during 2013-14 was very high compared to that in many other states in the country. The growth was 6.2 percent over the previous year.

The most important challenge in the road sector involved building all-weather roads connecting every village. This is essential to promote the development of backward regions and integrate them with the mainstream economy by opening them to trade and investment, the study said.

The number of motor vehicles having valid registration as on March 31, 2014  was  85, 47,966 as against 80,48,673 in the previous year. The newly registered vehicles numbered  9, 22,432 during 2013-14.  The  number of two-wheelers increased from 50.41 lakhs in 2013, to 52.89 lakhs in 2014.