Many growing cities in developing countries have hardly any semblance of public mass transport system and people depend on modes like human pulled cycle rickshaws. taxis. auto rickshaws etcetera, in addition to low cost personalized modes like mopeds. scooters, and bicycles. These modes are commonly grouped in the family of Intermediate Public Transport (IPT). To understand the role of these modes, the Vadodara city, India has been selected as a case study. The IPT system in this area, comprising of auto rickshaws, taxis and tempos is the backbone of the present transport system for this urban region. With all their limitations and drawbacks, these modes are keeping the case study area mobile and active. From the study, various aspects of the IPT role have clearly indicated the significance of IPT in the development of the case study area. An attempt has been made to analyze the characteristics of both the operator and user, and relevant policy directions have been suggested. (A) The French title of this paper is: "Rôle d'un système de transport public intermédiaire dans une grande zone urbaine".
Abstract