[sustran] SUSTRAN News Flash 32

[SUSTRAN Resource Centre]

Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia and the Pacific (SUSTRAN)

SUSTRAN News Flashes are produced for the network by
the SUSTRAN Resource Centre
P.O. Box 11501,  50748 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Fax/Phone: +603 274 2590,  E-mail: <sustran at po.jaring.my>
URL: http://www.geocities.com/Rainforest/Canopy/2853

SUSTRAN News Flash #32                             21 December 1998


 CONTENTS
1.      Season's Greetings
2.      Alarm Bells over World Bank/Vehicle Industry Meeting??
3.      Sustran Assembly Members
4.      Congratulations to Samjin Lim
5.      Opposition to Mumbai-Pune Expressway
6.      Indonesia's Public Transport Crippled
7.      Tips on Access to Public Transport For Persons With Disabilities
8.      More Roads in Beijing
9.      Chinese Pollution Clampdown Worries Auto Industry, Sparks Debate
10.    Delhi's Motorcycle Taxis Banned
11.    "Women Can't Ride"
12.    Contacts List
13.    On The Lighter Side:  LRT Station Prayers
14.    Resources
15.    Web Sites
16.    Events


1. SEASON'S GREETINGS
1998 is coming to an end and a spiritual and festive time of the year is
here for many with the arrival of Ramadan and the Christmas season and
Chinese/Lunar New Year preparations are just around the corner. We wish
everyone all the best in their various observances and festivities! The
SUSTRAN Resource Centre is happy to have been in touch with so many people
who are actively working towards people-centred and sustainable transport.
Thank you so much to all of you who have contacted us. It has been an
eventful year for some, painful for others. We wish everyone peace and love
for the new year.


2. ALARM BELLS OVER WORLD BANK/VEHICLE INDUSTRY MEETING?
A recent meeting, "Vehicle Industry/World Bank Roundtable on Pollution and
CO2 Emissions in Developing Countries, Oct 29-30 1998" was recently
highlighted in the sustran-discuss list.  The meeting follows up on a paper
commissioned by the Environment Department of the Bank (and completed in
August, 1998): "Transport and CO2 Emissions -- Flexing the Link: A Path for
the World Bank" (Environment Department, World Bank, forthcoming). A major
finding is that initiatives to restrain GHG emissions should be aligned
closely with overall strategies to reform the transport sector. It also
argues that vigorous research and marketing of new low-fuel, clean vehicles
is a key element of a durable strategy to combat both air pollution and
rising CO2 emissions in developing countries. Recently, vehicle
manufacturers have entered into discussions with the Bank Group to explore
options for leveraging lending to achieve the pollution reduction and CO2
restraint goals. The ensuing seminar was attended by representatives and
experts from motor vehicle manufacturers (Chrysler, Ford, GM, Toyota,
Honda, Daimler-Benz, Fiat, Volvo, Skoda, Bajaj, and the Association of
Indian Automobile Manufacturers). They were joined by several divisions of
the Bank, the IFC, the GEF, and a limited number of officials of outside
organizations with similar interests.
                COMMENT FROM THE SUSTRAN RESOURCE CENTRE: Discussions
between various "stakeholders" are welcome, but it is alarming to see hints
here that the World Bank and GEF may see "cleaner" vehicle technology as
THE solution to the environmental impacts of transport. It will be even
more alarming if this leads to a large proportion of Bank and GEF funds for
this issue going to vehicle manufacturers. Many of us are adamant that
cleaning up vehicles is only one of a wide range of policies to bring
transport closer to sustainability (in both North and South) - and in many
cases, not the most important one. We urge anyone who is concerned about
this to visit the web site (see end of this item) to judge for yourselves.
We welcome your comments - as would the meeting organisers, we are sure.
[A detailed description of the meeting by Lee Schipper and Robin Segal and
other additional information is on the web (at
http://www.back-to-work.com/clearingtheair.html).]


3. SUSTRAN ASSEMBLY MEMBERS
SUSTRAN is a light and participatory network - We welcome everyone who
demonstrates commitment to our goals by becoming active in the "networking"
process. However, SUSTRAN does now also have a core group of formal members
as a result of the General Assembly meeting in June 1998 in Manila. This
group with a say on the running of the network is known as the SUSTRAN
Assembly. Here is the current list of SUSTRAN  Assembly members:
        INDIA
* Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) (Ms Shefali Verma);
* Mr Debasish Bhattacharyya (public transport campaigner, Calcutta);
* People's Science Institute (PSI) (represented by Dr Rajeev Saraf of
Transport Research & Injury Prevention Program (TRIPP) see below);
* Save Bombay Committee (Mr Kisan Mehta and Ms Priya Salvi);
* Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP) (Ms Prema Gopalan);
* Transport Research & Injury Prevention Program (TRIPP), Indian Institute
of Technology (IIT) Delhi (Dr Rajeev Saraf);
        INDONESIA
* Lembaga Pengembangan Inisiatif Strategis untuk Transformasi (LPIST) (Mr
Abdul Hakim and Mr Dharmaningtyas);
* Yayasan Lembaga Konsumen Indonesia (YLKI) (Indonesian Consumers
Organization) (Ms Tini Hadad);
        KOREA
* Networks for Green Transport (Mr Samjin Lim);
        MALAYSIA
* Sustainable Transport Environment Penang (STEP) (Mr Ganesh Rasagam);
        PHILIPPINES
* Alternative Planning Initiatives (Alterplan) (Ms Anna Maria Gonzales
Biglang-awa and Ms. Sylvia P. Lagunoy);
* Citizens Alliance for Consumer Protection (CACP) (Mr Francis Joseph de la
Cruz);
* Co Multiversity/COTRAIN (Ms Fides Bagasao and Ms Luz Malibiran);
* Cycling Advocates (CYCAD) (Mr Ramon Fernan and Ms Dazzle Rivera);
* Green Forum (Mr Sam Ferrer and Mr Gil Reoma);
* Philippine Greens (Mr Robert Verzola);
        THAILAND
* Thailand Cycling Club (Mr Vivat Songsasen and Thongchai Panswad (President));
        INTERNATIONAL
* Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (ITDP) (Dr Walter Hook);
* International Forum for Rural Transport and Development (IFRTD), Ms
Priyanthi Fernando (Executive Secretary);
* SUSTRAN Resource Centre (Mr A. Rahman Paul Barter and Ms Sreela Kolandai)
{this is the Secretariat of the Network);
* Transport Working Group, International Forum on Urban Poverty (Mr Brian
Williams);
* Dato' Anwar Fazal of Asia Pacific 2000 and Sahabat Alam Malaysia;
* Ms Sri Husnaini Sofjan of Asia Pacific 2000 and the SUSTRAN Resource
Centre, Malaysia.


4. CONGRATULATIONS TO SAMJIN LIM
Last month Mr Samjin Lim resigned as Secretary General of the strong Korean
sustainable transport advocacy group, Network for Green Transport. He has
taken up a new position as Assistant Secretary to the President. He will
assist President Kim Dae Jung with his recently launched "Rebuilding Korea
Movement" for fundamental reform. This is a well-deserved recognition of
Samjin's remarkable organising and advocacy skills. We hope that Network
for Green Transport will continue to thrive and be involved in the SUSTRAN
network and that Samjin might be able to bring sustainable transport issues
into the mainstream national reform agenda in his new role. Samjiin's
enthusiastic  presentation at the June SUSTRAN meeting on the achievements
of his organisation was a great inspiration to everyone who was there.
Congratulations to Samjin Lim on his new appointment!


5. OPPOSITION TO MUMBAI-PUNE EXPRESSWAY
A number of non-governmental organisations are coming out in opposition to
the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, including the Save Bombay Committee and
PARISAR, a Pune-based group. The Times of India (by Gunavanthi Balaram, 16
November 1998) has exposed the impact of the expressway on Katkari tribal
groups. PARISAR's Mr Sujit Patwardhan further criticised the project in a
letter to the newspaper (and distributed to environmental groups throughout
India). He alleges that the hugely expensive project is to be constructed
without proper study of all the facts and impact on the environment or
social structures. He describes it as an unaffordable white elephant,
saying that the present National Expressway NH4 between Mumbai and Pune has
already been widened to four lanes and will meet the needs of essential
road traffic for the next decade if growth in private vehicles is
controlled. Several NGOs have been asking for documents and details about
this project but they say that the authorities, particularly the
Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), refuse to release
information and continue to spread misinformation about the benefits of the
project. [Contact: Sujit Patwardhan, PARISAR, Yamuna, ICS Colony,
Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007, India. Tel: + 91 212 327955, Email:
sujit at vsnl.com].


6. INDONESIA'S PUBLIC TRANSPORT CRIPPLED
Many of Jakarta's buses will stop running if fares are not raised to offset
increased operational costs, according to Priyatmedi of the Jakarta chapter
of the Association of Land Transport Entrepreneurs. He said that following
the rupiah's drastic fall, prices of spare parts and maintenance had soared
while fares had not been raised for the past two years. If the demand for a
fare hike was rejected, the government might have to take over all city bus
lines. Although most bus lines are operated by private companies, the fares
are set by the government. Operations have already been halted on 79 of the
690 public transport routes in Jakarta in the past year. The minibus fleet
in Jakarta operated by a cooperative, Kopaja, has dropped to 600 vehicles
from 1,500 in pre-crisis times and is facing imminent collapse, according
to Syarifuddin, heads of Kopaja operations. Demonstrations by public
transport workers and drivers have occurred in Medan, Banjarmasin and
Samarinda in recent months to demand a subsidy for spare parts and other
assistance [Sources: AFP news service, October 1998, The Sun (Malaysia),
December 1998].


7. TIPS ON ACCESS TO PUBLIC TRANSPORT FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
Several interesting items from the recent TRANSED Conference in Perth,
Australia were kindly passed to the SUSTRAN Resource Centre by Naziaty
Yaacob of Universiti Malaya. Among them is a briefing sheet by Access
Exchange International that provides a very useful 2-page introduction to
the basics of accessibility to public transport for people with
disabilities in the South. Some of these ideas are virtually without cost,
others are very low-cost, while some are moderate cost. The SUSTRAN
Resource Centre can email a copy to anyone who is interested. See also the
longer booklet, "Mobility For All: Accessible Transportation Around the
World", from Access Exchange International which is listed in the resources
section below along with their contact details.


8. MORE ROADS IN BEIJING
A series of major road improvement projects have been launched in Beijing.
Deputy Mayor Wang Guangtao said that the Second (33 km) and Third (48 km)
ring roads are to be upgraded and 10 major routes linked to the ring roads
will be transformed into expressways, 13 overpasses will be added and 22
additional feeder roads will be improved or widened in areas between the
ring roads. New express lanes for buses will be linked to the existing city
network. The project will be completed by the end of July 1999. The
authorities hope the project will raise the average speed of vehicles by as
much as 30 percent [This sounds a little optimistic unless the predictions
in the next item come true, Eds.]. The two ring roads were built in the
late 1970s when there were 400,000 motor vehicles in the Chinese capital.
The number has now increased to more than 1.3 million. [Source: Xinhua
newsagency, 12 Nov. 1998].


9. CHINESE POLLUTION CLAMPDOWN WORRIES AUTO INDUSTRY, SPARKS DEBATE
The China Daily has questioned tougher emissions standards, a new fuel tax
and tight bank loans for car purchases, saying these factors may stall
China's automobile sales next year. In a response to choking air pollution
in China's cities, the central government has been pressuring auto
manufacturers to produce cleaner cars. In 1999, Beijing and Shanghai plan
to enforce new standards requiring that cars be outfitted with electronic
fuel injection systems and catalytic converters, thus forcing tens of
thousands of outdated automobiles and tractors off city roads.
Manufacturers argue that the rules would put car prices out of reach and
point to the poor quality of locally made unleaded gasoline, saying it
would stall fuel-injected engines. A proposal to replace road maintenance
fees with a fuel tax could also make the cost of operating an automobile
prohibitively high, since it would concentrate the burden of funding road
repairs on car owners. [Source: Reuters].


10. DELHI'S "MOTORCYCLE TAXIS" BANNED
Delhi's 600 motorcycle taxis (Harley Davidson bikes fitted with three
wheels and seating for 8 or more people at a squeeze) have been banned by
an early October Supreme Court order to phase out the old commercial
vehicles because of their contribution to pollution. Popularly known as
"phat-phattiyas" after the noise their engines make, they first appeared in
the 1940s. Some are nostalgic over the loss of the "historic"vehicles and
the now-jobless drivers are pressing the government to fulfil its promise
to replace their junked vehicles with new jeeps and to lower the cost of
the transition. [Source: Outlook (Indian weekly news magazine) October
18,1998]


11.  "WOMEN CAN'T RIDE"
In many parts of Africa, where bicycles often represent the only viable
alternative to miles of walking, women who ride bicycles are often
considered altogether TOO independent. When asked why so few women in
Beira, Mozambique ride bicycles, the following were among the responses:
"Women don't know how to ride bikes";  "It's not ladylike for women to
spread their legs";  "Women are afraid to ride bikes";  "Women can't be
trusted to ride bikes because they may go off and have affairs"; and  "The
man of the house deserves to ride a bike more than the women". [Source:
"Breadwinners, Homemakers and Beasts of Burden"  Paper by Dieke Peters,
ITDP, New York.  Email: mobility at igc.apc.org].


12.  CONTACTS LIST
Thank you to those who have sent in your details for inclusion in our
Contacts List. The initial (short) version of SUSTRAN's Contacts Directory
is posted on our web site. Apologies to a few of you who sent your details
but have not yet been included. We will be constantly updating and
expanding the list. Please help us to keep our records up to date. If your
contacts details have changed recently or if you notice any errors, please
let us know. As always, any other comments and ideas on SUSTRAN, its
mission and on SUSTRAN News Flashes are most welcome.


13. ON THE LIGHTER SIDE:  LRT STATION PRAYERS
On Fridays just after midday, the foyer of one of Kuala Lumpur's LRT
stations is put to an unusual use. The Masjid Jamek Station in central
Kuala Lumpur is next to the Jamek Mosque (as its name suggests) and during
Friday prayers the large congregation overflows from the mosque compound
into the LRT station foyer and onto nearby footpaths. Passengers emerging
from the LRT at that time are greeted by the impressive and perhaps
surprising sight of ranks of Muslim men praying the Jumaat (Friday
congregational) prayers in unison. So far, there is no problem with this
since the station is not very busy at that time and passengers need make
only a small detour to avoid the congregation.


14. RESOURCES
a.  " National Cycle Network: Guidelines and Practical Details" by
Sustrans, UK and Ove Arup & Partners (Issue 2, March 1997). £29.50 plus
£5.90  post and packing. This set of guidelines is rich in illustrations
and accessible diagrams and is slightly less technical than the similar set
of Dutch Guidelines from CROW that were highlighted in an earlier news
flash. [Contact: SUSTRANS, 35 King Street, Bristol BS1 4DZ, UK. Tel: +44
117 929 0888, Fax: +44 117 929 4173, E-mail: Rachel_Bromley at sustrans.org.uk
or philipi at sustrans.org.uk].

b.  "Mobility For All: Accessible Transportation Around the World" by Tom
Rickert. A guide to making transportation accessible for persons with
disabilities and elders in countries around the world. [Contact: Access
Exchange International (AEI), 112 San Pablo Avenue, San Francisco,
California 94127 USA. Tel: 415  661 6355, Fax: 415 661 1543, Email:
globalride-s at worldnet.att.net].

c.  "Inland Water Transport" by Colin Palmer 1998, IFRTD Issues Paper on
country boat operations in Bangladesh, Peruvian Amazon and the Niger
delta.[Contact: IFRTD, New Premier House (2nd Floor) 150 Southampton Row
London WC1B 5AL UK. Tel: +44 171 278 3670, Fax: +44 171 278 6880, Email:
ifrtd at gn.apc.org, Web: http://www.gn.apc.org/ifrtd].

d.  "Networking for Development" by Paul Starkey 1998  Comprehensive survey
and synthesis of networking issues and animal traction networks in Africa.
[Contact: IFRTD, details as above].

e.  "Chasing Rickshaws" by Tony Wheeler and Richard l'Anson, Lonely Planet
Publications, 1998. Documentation of rickshaw culture, stories of NMV
pullers, riders and artists. Proceeds help ITDP. [Contact: ITDP, 115 W.30th
St., Suite 1205, New York, NY10001.USA. Email: mobility at igc.apc.org, Web:
http:www.itdp.org].

f.  Three Publications from IBF: -"The Bicyclist's Dilemma in African
Cities, "Transportation, Bicycles And Development in Africa: Progression or
Regression", "Transportation Patterns in Nairobi"  [Contact: International
Bicycle Fund, 4887 Columbia Drive South, Seattle, WA 98108-1919 USA Tel &
Fax: +1 206 767 0848, Email: ibike at ibike.org., http://www.ibike.org].

g.  "Transportation Planning and Management in Tokyo, Japan" by Katsuaki
Takai. UNCRD Discussion Papers [Contact: Publication and Information
Dissemination Office, United Nations Centre for Regional Development
(UNCRD), Nagono 1-47-1, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya 450-0001, Japan. Tel: +81 52
561 9379, Fax: +81 52 561 9458, Email: info at uncrd.or.jp].

h.  "Traffic Impact Of Highway Capacity Reduction: Assessment of the
Evidence"  by Sally Cairns, Carmen Hass-Klau and Phil Goodwin. ISBN 1
899650 10 5 A4  [Contact: Landor Publishing, Quadrant House, 250 Kennington
Lane, London SE11 5RD, UK. Tel: +44 171 582 6626, Fax +44 171 735 1299,
Email: landor at compuserve.com].

i.  "Car Busters Bulletin" [Contact: Car Busters, 44 rue Burdeau, 69001
Lyon, France. Tel: +33 4 72 00 23 57, Fax: +33 4 78 28 57 78, Email:
carbusters at wanadoo.fr].

j.  "Our Cities our Homes: A to Z Guide on Human Settlements Issues" by Sri
Husnaini  Sofjan and Eugene Raj Arokiasamy. [Contact: Asia Pacific
2000-UNDP, Wisma UN Block C, Complex Pejabat Damansara, Jalan Dungun,
Damansara Heights, 50490 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tel: +603 2559122, Fax:
+603 2532361, Email: umpap at po.jaring.my,
http://www.undp.org/undp/fomys/regproj2.htm#ap2000].

k.  "GATE magazine", Special Issue on "Mobility for the Majority", 3/98
September 1998. [Contact: GTZ, GmbH, Post Box 5180 D-65726 Eschbom,
Germany. Fax: +49 6196 79 73 52, Email: gate-isat at gtz.de,  Web:
http://gate.gtz.de/isat/].

l.  "Urban Transport Models: A Review", Working Paper 39. By the Australian
Bureau of Transport Economics. It includes a comparative analysis of
various types of transport models and concludes that integrated land
use-transport models incorporating behavioral relationships are most
accurate. A good overview of available models. [Available for free by email
(bte at dot.gov.au) or from the website
(www.dot.gov.au/programs/bte/bethome.htm)].

m.  "Habitat Debate" Volume 4 No.2 1998, Journal of The UNCHS. This is a
special issue on "The Missing Link: Towards Sutainable Urban Transport".
[Contact: UNCHS (Habitat), PO Box 30030 Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 2
623988/623147, Fax: +254 2 624060/624333, Email: rasna.warah at unchs.org,
Web: http://www.unhabitat.org/ or http://habitat.unchs.org/home.htm].

n.  "Benefits of Mileage Based Auto Insurance" by Economic Policy
Institute, December 10, 1998, Washington DC. [Contact: Stephanie
Scott-Steptoe, Tel: +1 202-775-8810 or Todd Litman, Victoria Transport
Policy Institute, 1250 Rudlin Street Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada.
Tel/Fax: +1 250-360-1560, E-mail: litman at islandnet.com, Website:
http://www.islandnet.com/~litman]


15. WEB SITES
*  CarShare Consortium WebSite, HotLine and Chat facility:
http://www.ecoplan.org/carshare/cs_index.htm
*  CarShare Discussion List: via http://egroups.com/list/carsharing/
*  Transport-Prof, a new international e-mail group for professionals
working in Public transport in urban areas: http://www.kopke.net/list.
*  The transport Web provides interesting information and services
available to the transport world. Web: http://www.transportweb.com
*  Copy of Phil Goodwin's Inaugural Lecture  'Solving Congestion':  via
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/transport-studies/
*  New Discussion Forum in support of the International Car Free Day
Consortium: http://www.ecoplan.org/carfreeday or
http://egroups.com/list/carfreeday/


16. EVENTS
"VELOZITY" Australasian Cycling Conference, February 17-19, 1999, Adelaide,
Australia. [Contact: VeloZity, PO Box 2617, Kent Town, South Australia
5071, Australia. Tel: +61 8 8227 2055, Fax: +61 8 8227 2044,
http://www.velozity.adelaide.net.au].

"Urban Public Transportation Systems" ASCE's First International
Conference, March, 1999. [http://www.asce.org/conferences/upts/index.html].

"Velo-City '99" International Cycle Planning Conference April 13-16, 1999,
Graz, Austria. [Contact: Semaco ges.m.b.H, Firmianstrasse 3, A-5020
Salzburg, Austria. Fax: +43 662 826 8784, Web:
http://kamen.uni.mb.si/velo-city99].

"53rrd UITP International Congress 1999", May 23-28, 1999, Toronto, Canada.
[Contact: International Union of public Transport-UITP, Avenue
Herrmann-Debroux 17, B-1160 Bruxelles, Belgium. Tel: +32 2 673 61 00, Fax:
+32 2 660 10 72, Email: events at uitp.com].

"Riding for Life"  June 6 - 11, 1999. An 800 km ride from Singapore to
Penang, Malaysia, organized by Action for AIDS  to raise money for AIDS
patients. [Contact: George Bishop, National University of Singapore,
E-mail: swkgb at leonis.nus.edu.sg,  Web: http://www1.swk.nus.edu.sg/swk/gb/].


"DEALS ON WHEELS: SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION INITIATIVES SUPPORTING THE
ECONOMY AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES" July28-30 (tentative
dates), 1999, San Salvador, El Salvador. This meeting seems set to become
the major meeting on sustainable transport in the South for 1999. [Contact:
Maria J. Figueroa., UNEP Collaborating Centre on Energy and Environment,
Risoe National Laboratory, P.O. Box 49, Roskilde, DK-4000 Denmark.  Fax:
+45 46 32 19 99,  E-mail: maria.figueroa at risoe.dk]

"City Trans Asia '99 Conference", September 16-19, 1999, Singapore.
[Contact: Ms Josephine Tay or Ms Yap Lai Cheng, The Conference Secretariat,
City Trans Asia Management Pte Ltd, 20, Kallang Avenue, 2nd Floor, Pico
Creative Centre, Singapore 339411. Tel: +65 297 2822, fax: 65 292 7577 /
296 2670, Email: mpconven at singnet.com.sg].

"Velo Mondiale 2000" World Bicycle Conference, June 18-22, 2000, Amsterdam,
The Netherlands. This one will be a whopper! [Contact: Congress
Organisation Services, PO Box 1558, 6501 BN Nijmegen,  The Netherlands,
Fax: +31 24 360 1159].

"URBAN 21" Global Conference on the Urban Future, July 4-6, 2000.
International Congress Centre, Berlin, Germany. [Contact: Federal Office
for Building and Regional Planning, URBAN 21, Am Michaelshof 8, D-53177
Bonn, Germany. Fax: +49 228 826 315 Email: info at urban21.de,  Web:
http://www.urban21.de].



Written and compiled by A. Rahman Paul Barter and Sreela Kolandai.

The SUSTRAN Resource Centre is grateful for assistance from UNDP's Asia
Pacific 2000 programme and from the Embassy of the Netherlands in Malaysia.



The Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia & the Pacific (SUSTRAN)
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