Managing urban freight transport in an expanding city — Case study of Ahmedabad

Urban freight transport is important because efficient flow of goods is essential for the effective functioning of the urban economy and sustaining existing lifestyles. In Indian cities, urban freight transport research has received limited attention from policymakers. Using the case study of Ahmedabad, this paper attempts to understand the characteristics of freight transport movements in the city and identify the main freight generating centres within the city. By linking property tax data with cordon survey data the main freight generating centres were identified and functionally categorised as warehouse clusters, wholesale markets and industrial areas. Field visits were conducted at 3 prominent clusters in the city to assess surrounding land use and transport infrastructure as well as identify main issues affecting access and evacuation of goods vehicles to these important freight generating centres.The main issues identified were outdated zoning and rent control regulations, conflicting land use mix, time and access restrictions on heavy goods vehicles and severe lack of adequate parking facilities around freight generating areas. The paper concludes with recommendations of a set of interventions based on successful replication in other cities.