The Sri Lanka Transport Sector Strategy Study (World Bank, 1997) notes that poverty alleviation requires a transport policy that is focused on the poor. The lack of such a policy and of relevant information has made it difficult to analyze how the transport sector is serving and helping the poor. It has been assumed that the mobility needs of the poor could be resolved by improving transport networks and public transport services in both rural and urban areas.
Policies should address, among other things, the best ways to provide adequate and affordable access for the poor to get to work, particularly in rural and marginal urban areas, opportunities for generating employment through the transport sector, and the strategic use of transport to reduce regional disparities. There are no studies where the transport needs of the poor have been studied specifically.
This paper examines the relationship between employment of the low income earners their places of residence and the transport linkages that are made available.