Estimation of Vehicle Operating Cost for Pakistan

Abstract

Vehicle Operating Costs (VOC) is important considered vital for transport planning to appraise and compare the Highway Improvement alternatives. The major components of this cost include fuel consumption, engine oil, tyres, maintenance and repairs, and depreciation cost. The comprehensive literature review was done to understand different VOC models adopted by other countries. In this study, local data was collected to develop VOC model for Pakistan. National Transport Research Centre (NTRC) has carried out VOC studies for Pakistan in the last three decades. It was based on the Ministry of Communication (MOC) data which in turn used the study carried out in Kenya and Yugoslavia. The parameters required for the estimation of VOC using the selected VOC models were identified. The parameter includes the Vehicle parameters, market prices for different VOC components and road characteristics. VOC in the study were estimated using the NTRC model, the Nepal VOC model and the HDM-4 model. The financial and economic estimates produced after these studies were compared and the composition of different VOC components were analyzed. A separate survey was also carried out from the vehicle operators or drivers for the Hi-aces, Buses and Trucks. The survey was based on a questionnaire formulated to ask the questions about the expenditure incurred during the operation of the vehicle. The results from the survey were used to validate the VOC estimates from the model. Finally, the VOC sensitivity to speed and roughness was analyzed using the HDM-4 model.