IMPACT OF TRAFFIC ON SURROUNDING AIR QUALITY– A CASE STUDY OF MAJOR INTERCITY BUS STOPS AND BUS TERMINAL IN JAIPUR

Abstract

Due to urbanization and the increasing traffic, vehicular air pollution has become a major cause of concern for the environment with deteriorating air quality despite the efforts put in by the government as well as by the policy makers. The mass transportation system helps in reducing the same, to some extent since bus terminals and bus stops are an essential part of the road-based mass transit system. Hence, these locations become the major traffic generators and attractors in the city, at the same time these locations become air pollution hotspots. Out of all sources contributing to air pollution, the contribution of vehicular emission is 28 percent in Jaipur as reported in Jaipur Metro DPR 2013.This is a major cause of concern for the traffic planners and transport engineers as daily more than 25 million people travel in bus to their destinations in a country like India and have considerable effect of air quality on them. As the quality of air at these bus terminal/stops is unhealthy and polluted due to the emissions caused by vehicles, especially buses, so it is necessary to study the impact of traffic on surrounding air quality at bus terminals and other major intercity bus stops of the city in order to reduce the effect of polluted air on passengers’ health thus increasing passenger comfort. In this study the impact of traffic on surrounding air quality is analyzed by estimating dispersion of the emission at bus terminals and major intercity bus stops in the city using EPA approved AERMOD View 9.6 model. The daily traffic is computed by traffic survey at these locations. Input in the model is daily peak traffic, climate data at these locations and emission for different types of air pollutants like the NOX, CO, PM10, PM2.5 and SO2. They are found at receptor locations by considering their emission factors, type of fuel consumption and the type of vehicle. Other environmental factors have also been taken into account while calculating the ground level concentrations. Finally, measures are suggested for improving the quality of air at and near the bus stops which can be further utilized for planning and design of bus stops.