Project appraisal Questions and answers part 1 (brief proposal)

Identify a social or commercial issue in your area emerging due to Covid-19 Pandemic and think about a solution to implement as a new project. Write a brief proposal of your project including a background of the identified issue, objectives of the project, proposed solution (method) and your own justification of project feasibility.

* Name of the project - Establishment of a new disinfection system to ensure the health and safety of public transport.

* Execution location – Central province of sri lanka

* Project duration – six months

Problem statement (Background of the issue)

The current COVID-19 epidemic has caused many major social and economic crises in the world and in Sri Lanka. Among them is the crisis situation in the public transport sector. Due to this epidemic, the public transport sector in Sri Lanka suffered a severe collapse. Private bus owners even decided to quit from the bus service. SLTB and Sri Lanka Railways also suffered heavy losses during the corona season. Also, there are a lot of workers in the workforce, including office workers and general workers who use public transport, were severely inconvenienced.

                                              The main reason for the collapse of the public transport sector with the COVID was the lack of a proper system for hygienic passenger transport. Due to the high risk of the spread of COVID on public transport and the fears associated with it, the public began to turn away from public transport and turn to private transport. As a result, the revenue of the public transport sector fell sharply. It was also impractical to carry out passenger transport within the limits imposed by the government. This is due to the fact that there are not enough buses to limit the number of passengers and it is not profitable on the existing fares. At present, those rules do not seem to be working. The increase in private vehicles has led to an increase in traffic congestion, an increase in unsafe modes of transport such as three-wheelers / motorcycles, an increase in road accidents, and an increase in the risk of COVID due to overcrowding on buses during peak hours.

Solution (project description)

As a solution to this problem, the project proposes to establish a mechanical disinfection system with the primary objective of ensuring the corona free public transport sector. In three steps, the health of the passengers during the journey is ensured. The first thing to do here is to disinfect through a Disinfection Chambers near railway stations and bus stops. Only those disinfected in this way will be loaded onto buses and trains. The second step is to check the body temperature of the passengers as they board the train or bus. This allows only people with a good body temperature to enter the relevant mode of transport. Body temperature gauge equipments are provided to the conductors. The third step is to disinfect the bus or train at the end of each trip using the Disinfection fog machines.  As the disinfection takes place in three stages, the public transport service will be able to maintain a completely corona-free transport service. By providing such a service at a slightly higher price or charge, public transport services will be able to attract a large number of customers.

The project is planned to be implemented in the Central Province and with the success, it is expected to be implemented in other parts of the country as well. This is expected to take effect over a period of 6 months, during which time the effects of COVID pandemic are expected to gradually subside. The project is expected to receive financial and technical assistance from the government, Security forces, NGOs dedicated to corona control and associations in the public transport sector.

Objectives of the project

The main objective of this project is to create a Corona free public transport service and thereby encourage people to use public transport. Other than that,

·         Development of the public transport sector from a loss to a profit

·         Minimize private bus owners leaving the bus industry

·         Reduce traffic congestion and unnecessary fuel wastage 

·         Minimize the use of unsafe modes of transport by passengers and reduce road accidents

·         Reducing the risk of COVID pandemic spread through public transport

·         Maintaining a continuous passenger transport service fulfilling the needs of the public  

·         Minimize the possibility of government restrictions on travel 

·         Familiarize the general public with the use of modern technology

·         Encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship

·         Creating a situation where public transportation can continue even if the corona situation worsens

 

Justification

The risk of COVID-19 virus  has increased in Sri Lanka as well as in the world and there is still no specific cure for this pandemic. It also shows an uncontrolled spread of the disease in neighboring India. In this situation, if the COVID situation escalates again in Sri Lanka, it will have to face a serious economic and social collapse. Therefore, it is time to make the public transport service, one of the main sources of spreading the epidemic, safer through such a project.

Considering the industrial feasibility of this project, the low cost Disinfection Chambers recently introduced by the Sri Lanka military police can be used to construct at bus stands and railway stations. This will enable the project to be implemented at a lower cost and will also provide an opportunity for innovators. Also, there is no foreign exchange outflow.  Disinfect fog machines can also be used to disinfect buses and trains. These too can be manufactured by Sri Lankan technicians at a low cost.

                                                             A small increase in public transport fares to cover the cost of these services would not be a problem. This is because the small fare increase is not significant when comparing the cost of using a private vehicle. No additional staff is required to implement this and it can be done with the cooperation of the security forces.

                When think about the financial feasibility of this project, the ability to bring back passengers who have discontinued public transportation services due to the risk of COVID will increase revenue, and will also attract people who have not previously used public transportation but are financially distressed by the pandemic.