T000 India and Iceland PKT do not seem to be reasonable

[soniayeh]

PKT seems to be too high for India and Iceland. https://github.com/transportenergy/database/blob/master/item/historical/scripts/T000.py

[khaeru]

P. Cazzola notes that the India high values may be due to the inclusion of 2-wheelers, which are more pervasive there than in most other countries.

[RachelePoggi]

@soniayeh I am working on it. I will keep you updated.

[RachelePoggi]

I have a preliminary explanation for India given by our data provider. I will investigate further since this explanation does not solve the problem.

Pan India survey on road traffic flows (both passenger and freight) was last conducted by the National Transport Development Policy Committee set up under the then, Planning Commission, Government of India for the year 2004-05. Thereafter, for the years 2005-06 to 2015-16 these figures have been estimated by the Transport Research Wing (TRW) of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India. For these years the passenger kilometres have been arrived by the TRW using elasticity of road passenger movement of 1.9 with respect to the GDP. For the years 2014-15 to 2017-18 these have been estimated by us using elasticity of passenger movement of 1.9 in conjunction with the actual GDP growth rates for the years concerned. However, for the years 2014-15 to 2017-18 there is some revision as the GDP growth rates have been revised using a new base by the Central Statistical Organisation, Government of India. Accordingly, the figures have undergone some change compared to what we have given earlier for the years 2014-15 to 2017-18

As regards the query why Indian figures of passenger kilometres are much greater than those of China and the USA. The reasons for this are as follows:
a) In India, both freight and passenger flows are heavily skewed in favour of road (road freight accounts for more than two third and passenger more than four-fifth in terms of total freight kilometres and passenger kilometres respectively);
b) Air and Waterway account for a very small fraction unlike China and he U.S. Most of the intercity passenger movement is carried by buses and vans (both state owned buses and the private operators). In India rail mainly carries freight and its capacity is severely constrained, makes it very difficult to put additional passenger trains.