Wide gap between the application of Sri Lankan research in transport and logistics projects

The first Conference on Research for Transport and Logistics Industry (R4TLI) 2016 organised by the Sri Lanka Society of Transport and Logistics (SLSTL) and The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (TCILT) was held last week at a time when critical transportation issues are emerging in Sri Lanka.

A major finding at the R4TLI was the huge gap that exists between the practice and research of transport and logistics in Sri Lanka as well in developing countries. Research findings don't generally find its way to policy planning nor in industrial application.

Prof. Amal S Kumarage, University of Moratuwa and Chairman, Conference Joint Organising committee, said that Sri Lanka needs to reach the state of the art operational levels to compete with the already well-established and rapidly advancing hubs both to the east and west of Colombo, if it is to re-establish as a transport hub.

He remarked that the poor choice of investment in logistics infrastructure, lack of cutting edge research or development does not auger well for its ambitions to become a logistics hub.

In the backdrop where Sri Lanka's, transport passenger rights are apparently non-existent, joint paper presented by Maheshika M. Sakalasuriya and Prof. Kumarage both from Moratuwa University, on "'User Rights in Passenger Transport" noted that in many informal markets common in developing countries, there are only broad consumer protection laws at best, in contrast to the existence of legally binding agreements between the users and the providers in formal and regulated markets.

The study indicated that the user rights in transport can be viewed as a subset within the large picture of human rights. The current trend in literature has been limited to identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the existing legal framework regarding passenger rights or to evaluate the passenger needs within a specific sector. The Study stressed, "Sri Lanka, like many other developing countries, has a strong legislative framework pertaining to rights in general, but the rights of transport users are not explicitly set out.

It indicated that due to the complicity of the complaint and redress processes many users refrain from seeking legal solutions. This lack of protection is also associated with the poor governance issues and vulnerabilities of people.

In conclusion the study indicated that it is necessary to integrate passenger expectations into policy circles in order to ensure the rights of passengers are protected. It is important to ensure that passengers have adequate information about their rights and easy access to the rights protection processes and the difference between developing and developed countries arises mainly due to the lack of awareness and of information.

In the inaugural session there were three keynote speeches - "International Cooperation in Transport Research in Asia: Experience of the Eastern Asia" by Prof. Tetsuo Yai, Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology, President of Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies (EASTS); "Recent Industry Initiatives for R&D in Sri Lanka" by Dr. Tilak Siyambalapitiya, Energy Consultant, Resource Management Associates (Pvt) Ltd, Sri Lanka; and "Journey to Zero Road Fatalities and Beyond" by Gayan Fernando, Head of Safety, Lafarge Holcim Sri Lanka.

Holcim Lanka said they have conducted research on fatal accidents caused by their drivers. Explaining further, Mr Fernando described how the research findings led to sharply cutting fatal accidents caused by their drivers to zero.

Dr. Siyambalapiiya said the Government as the policy maker needs research, should think differently and raise professional standards.

He stressed that state or related industries and regulators generally do not look for research which is limited to universities.

Pointing out that Sri Lanka is rich in wind and solar energy, he said that renewable energy development requires a lot of prior research - interdisciplinary research and cautioned that without research, investments go wrong. He said that research projects are largely initiated and funded by foreign agencies and have developed good resource maps.