[sustran] SUSTRAN News Flash #35: People-centred and sustainable transport news

[SUSTRAN Resource Centre]

Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia and the Pacific
(The SUSTRAN Network)
P.O. Box 11501, 50748  Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 
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SUSTRAN News Flash #35		11 December 1999
People-centred and sustainable transport news

CONTENTS
1.	Becaks threatened again in Jakarta
2.	Nepal bans import of two-stroke motorcycles
3.	Chilean Coalition Takes anti-Highway Campaign to Investors
4.	PROFILE: Save Bombay Committee
5.	PROFILE: New Zealand Sustainable Transport Network
6.	Ho Chi Minh City to Boost Buses Amidst Swarm of Motorcycles
7.	Delhi Buses conversion to natural gas
8.	Bangkok community resists demolition for expressway
9.	Hong Kong Third Comprehensive Transport Study Released
10.	INFORMATION RESOURCES
11.	INTERNET RESOURCES
12.	EVENTS AND CONFERENCES
13.	LIGHTER SIDE


1. BECAKS (PEDICABS) THREATENED AGAIN IN JAKARTA

An international letter campaign has been launched to appeal to the
Indonesian Government to allow pedicabs to continue to operate in Jakarta.
In late November, the Jakarta Post reported that President Abdurrahman
Wahid addressed a protest organised by the Urban Poor Coalition on Saturday
20 November which included hundreds of becak drivers.  He defended the 1988
ban on becaks "on humanitarian grounds" saying the drivers work "like
horses" and that they need to be found other jobs ("President Abdurrahman
defends ban on 'becak'', Jakarta Post, 21 November 1999, p.1). This
prompted Jakarta Mayor Sutiyoso to order authorities to "begin cleansing
the city's streets of becak" ("Sutiyoso firm on 'becak' raids", Jakarta
Post, 22 November 1999, p3). This follows a reprieve of more than a year in
which becaks had been returning to the city. 

The Urban Poor Consortium in Jakarta, the Institute for Transportation and
Development Policy (ITDP) and the Environmental Defense Fund have launched
an action alert to appeal to the Indonesian authorities to allow the becaks
to operate in Jakarta. For more information on how to take action see:
http://www.egroups.com/group/sustran-discuss/86.html or contact ITDP at
mobility at igc.org. Letters of protest to the Indonesian President can also
be sent via a special email address set up by the Urban Poor Consortium
(UPC) in Jakarta (becak at urbanpoor.or.id). 


2. NEPAL BANS IMPORT OF TWO-STROKE MOTORCYCLES

1 Sept. Kathmandu: Nepal has banned the import of two-stroke motorcycles in
a bid to improve air quality in the Himalayan kingdom, a newspaper report
said. Bhakta Bahadur Balayar, a junior minister in charge of population and
environment, told the daily Kathmandu Post that the ban would be enforced
immediately.  - Reuters.


3. COALITION IN SANTIAGO DE CHILE TAKES ITS CAMPAIGN AGAINST URBAN HIGHWAY
HOME TO INVESTORS

A coalition of community organisations opposed to a major urban highway
project has launched an international campaign directed at companies
interested in the project (to be offered as a concession), potential
investors and public opinion in the companies' countries of origin. The
project is the controversial "Costanera Norte" or "East-West System",
sponsored by the Chilean Public Works Ministry, a 33 km highway that would
cut the capital city of Santiago in half, devastating some of its most
historical and culturally significant neighbourhoods. France, Spain and
Italy are the main countries of origin for companies interested in the
project. Among the companies are the world giants, Egis Bouygues and Suez
Lyonnais-owned GTM.

The freeway would basically serve Santiago's well-heeled upper-class
neighbourhoods, allowing drivers to reach the city centre, the airport or
connections to their homes on the beach at speeds of 80-100 km/hour. Only
one out of every five daily commutes is made in a car, but cars contribute
50-80% of Santiago's worst pollutants, ozone, carbon monoxide and volatile
hydrocarbons.  "Living City" (Ciudad Viva),  the 25-member coalition,
opposing the project, plans to take its case straight to investors and
consumers if necessary.

[For more information, please contact:  Rosa Moreno, Greenpeace Chile, Tel:
562/343 7788, Fax 204 0162, email: climate at greenpeace.cl;  Rodrigo Mellado,
Codeff/Friends of the Earth, Tel: 562/251 0262, Fax: 251 8433, email:
info at codeff.mic.cl; Patricio Lanfranco (English), Living City, Tel: 562/777
7673, Fax: 732 3079, email: lanfrancopato at hotmail.com; Céline Désramés
(Français), Ciudad Viva, email: comptoir at netline.cl; Web:
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Andes/1583/; Email:
ciudadviva at lake.mic.cl]. 


4. PROFILE: SAVE BOMBAY COMMITTEE

Save Bombay Committee (SBC) was set up in 1972 as a public trust and
registered society of members agitating for better quality of life in
Mumbai (then Bombay). On transport, SBC stands for a policy geared around
the pedestrian and public transport. They lobby for charging the full cost
of road construction and maintenance to the motorist "who should also pay a
tax for pollution and congestion". SBC has been lobbying the World Bank and
other multilateral agencies. An example is the Mumbai Urban Transport
Project II (MUTP II). SBC urged the Bank to put more stress on public
transport in the project.  SBC has also used Public Interest Litigation on
issues of public interest when lobbying does not succeed. [Contact: Save
Bombay Committee (SBC), Mr Kisan Mehta (President), 620 Jame Jamshed Road,
Fourth Floor, Dadar East, Mumbai 400 014,  India. Tel: 91-22-414-9688,
Fax:91-22-415-5536, Email: kisansbc at bom5.vsnl.net.in]. 


5. PROFILE: NEW ZEALAND SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT NETWORK

The New Zealand Sustainable Transport Network (STN) is a "loose" network of
250 New Zealand organisations and individuals (principally local
sustainable transport advocacy groups and local government) with an
interest in pedestrian issues, cycling, telecommuting, ridesharing and
public transport. STN produces an e-mail newsletter every two months.
[Contact: Elizabeth Yeaman, Transport and Local Government Executive,
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), PO Box 388,
Wellington, New Zealand. Email: Elizabeth.Yeaman at moc.govt.nz, Web:
http://www.eeca.govt.nz/content/ew_government/Sustainable_Transport/Sustaina
ble_Network.htm]


6. HO CHI MINH CITY TRIES TO BOOST BUSES AMIDST SWARM OF MOTORCYCLES

Ho Chi Minh City's hopes to improve its fading public transport and
increase the use of buses sixfold in the next few years. There are now more
than two million motorbikes in the city - a major factor in the decline of
the public bus system (and of bicycle use).  Nearly 1,000 tri-wheeled
Lambrettas will be changed into mini-buses and 700 large buses converted to
1,700 medium-sized buses. A new fleet of 12 to 25 seater vehicles will also
be introduced. France's RATP bus company will also set up a joint venture
with 100-seater buses travelling four routes. The city now has only 500
buses. Authorities have also proposed that those who own buses and cars
used for public travel be given tax breaks and preferential interest rate
bank loans to renovate their old vehicles. They will also be encouraged to
use 12 seater vehicles suited to the city's streets. - VNA. 


7. DELHI BUSES CONVERSION TO NATURAL GAS

The Delhi Transport Corporation is looking for excuses and more time to
meet the deadline for converting its entire bus fleet to compressed natural
gas.  April 1, 2001 is the date set by the Supreme Court (SC) for the Delhi
Transport Corporation (DTC) to convert its entire bus fleet to compressed
natural gas (CNG). Faced with the challenge of reducing particulate matter
in Delhi, in July 1998, the apex court ordered buses more than eight years
old to be converted to run on CNG or other "clean fuels" by April 1, 2000
and the entire bus fleet by April 2001. So far, DTC has done little in
terms of framing an action plan for its implementation. With the deadline
approaching, the target seems to be getting increasingly unachievable.
Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit has already started seeking more time.
"We are neither confident nor sure whether we will be able to supply over
1,800 CNG buses (more than eight years old) by March 31, 2000. We may even
have to approach the Court at a later stage," she told the media recently.
[Contact: Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), 41 Tughlakabad
Institutional Area, New Delhi 110-062, India. Tel: 91 11 698-1110,
698-1124, 698-3394, 698-6399, Fax: 91 11 698 5879, Email: cse at cseindia.org,
URL: http://www.cseindia.org,  For details on this report see
http://www.oneworld.org/cse/html/dte/dte990831/dte_srep1.htm]


8. BANGKOK COMMUNITY RESISTS DEMOLITION FOR EXPRESSWAY

September, 1999. Bangkok. The Muslim Saphan Hua Chang community at Bang
Khrua successfully resisted another attempt to begin construction of the
controversial section B of the Second Stage Bangkok Expressway.  Project
owner, Bangkok Expressway Plc (BECL), sent 50 workers and engineers into
the area to demolish buildings. After a tense five-hour standoff the
construction teams were forced out of the area. The villagers plan to
consult the Law Society of Thailand in a bid to file a lawsuit against
BECL.  - The Nation, Bangkok.


9. HONG KONG THIRD COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORT STUDY RELEASED

The Third Comprehensive Transport Study is entitled, "Hong Kong Moving
Ahead". Some highlights include: 
- Siting intensive developments and employment centres within easy
pedestrian reach of rail stations
- Railway will form the backbone of Hong Kong's transport system.
- Greater efforts will be made to explain the importance of an
environmentally sustainable transport system for Hong Kong and the need for
public support in this endeavour.
More details are at: http://www.info.gov.hk/tb/


10. RESOURCES

"Road Designs for Improving Traffic Flow: A Bicycle Master Plan for Delhi",
by Geetam Tiwari.  [Payment by bank draft - US$5 plus $1.75 postage and
handling ($1 for each extra copy). Order from: Transportation Research and
Injury Prevention Programme (TRIPP), Main Building (Room MS808),Indian
Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT), Hau Khas New Delhi - 110016, INDIA.
Fax. +91 11 685 8703, Email: maheshgaur at hotmail.com]. 

"Urban mobility in the developing world", by R Gakenheimer Transportation
Research Part A, Vol.33, No. 7-8, Aug-1999, pp 671-689

"The trouble with minimum parking requirements", by DC Shoup.
Transportation Research Part A, Vol.33, No. 7-8, Aug-1999, pp 549-574

"Demand management as an element of transportation policy: using carrots
and sticks to influence travel behavior", by MD Meyer. Transportation
Research Part A, Vol.33, No. 7-8, Aug-1999, pp 575-599

"Transformation of transport policy in Great Britain", by P Goodwin.
Transportation Research Part A, Vol.33, No. 7-8, Aug-1999, pp 655-669

"Patterns of automobile dependence in cities: an international overview of
key physical and economic dimensions with some implications for urban
policy", by JR Kenworthy and FB Laube. Transportation Research Part A,
Vol.33, No. 7-8, Aug-1999, pp 691-723

"Transport sector in India: an analysis in the context of sustainable
development", by R Ramanathan, JK Parikh. Transport Policy, Vol. 6, No. 1,
Aug. 1999, pp 35-45


11. INTERNET RESOURCES

Pednet's International Pedestrian Lexicon (glossary):
http://user.itl.net/~wordcraf/lexicon.html

Developing a walking strategy. Downloadable report from the UK's Department
of the Environment Transport and the Regions.
http://www.local-transport.detr.gov.uk/walk/walk.htm

"Children on the Move" site on children and transport:
http://www.ecoplan.org/children

Smogbusters Australian National Website:
http://www.environment.gov.au/smogbusters

World Transport Policy and Practice Electronic Edition
http://www.ecoplan.org/wtpp 

The Victoria Transport Policy Institute website (featured in several
previous SUSTRAN News Flashes) has been reorganised, expanded, and has a
new address (URL): http://www.vtpi.org, Director Todd Litman's new email
address is litman at vtpi.org.

GENDER AND TRANSPORT web-site and Social Exclusion & Transport web-site.
Maintained by Jeff Turner, Research Fellow, Dept. of Planning, University
of Manchester: http://www.art.man.ac.uk/transres

TR Update (Free Elsevier Science Transportation Research Newsletter) is now
available online: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/trupdate or
http://www.elsevier.nl/locate/trupdate. If you would like to be alerted
whenever a new issue goes live on the web send an email to:
s.iannacci at elsevier.co.uk

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) Guide to Cleaner Vehicle Production, Use
and Disposal: http://www.edf.org/programs/PPA/vlc/index.html

Some pictures of bicycles and pedicabs in Indonesia:
http://www.geocities.com/~tadrake/bicycle.html


12. EVENTS

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION: SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION & CLEAN
AIR, MAY 31ST- JUNE 2ND 2000, JAKARTA, INDONESIA. Organised with the
support of the support of the SUSTRAN Network and the Institute for
Transport and Development Policy (ITDP). [For more information: Sustainable
Transportation and Clean Air Conference Secretariat c/o Clean Air Project,
Jakarta, Jalan Wijaya XII, No. 44, 12160 Jakarta, Indonesia. Phone: +62 21
739 40 41, Fax: +62 21 722 30 37, E-mail: cap at swisscontact.or.id]. 

"WalkC21" International Walking Conference, Guildhall, London, UK, 21 and
22 February 2000. "Walking is the glue binding together the transport
system" say the organisers. See:
http://www.ottawalk.org/pednet/lists/h-pednet/month1099/msg00192.html

"CODATU IX World Congress on Urban Transportation" - central theme: Urban
Transportation and the Environment, Mexico City 11-14 April 2000 [Contact:
CODATU IX Scientific Committee, Christian JAMET, 9/11, Av. De Villars 75007
Paris, France. Fax: +33 1 44 18 78 04, E-mail: christian.jamet at stp-paris.fr].

First International Conference on Urban Regeneration and Sustainability, 25
- 27 April 2000. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Organised by UniverCidade, Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil and Wessex Institute of Technology, Southampton, UK.
[Contact: Conference Secretariat, The Sustainable City, Wessex Institute of
Technology, Ashurst Lodge, Ashurst, Southampton, SO40 7AA, UK. Tel: 44 (0)
23 80 293223, Fax: 44 (0) 23 80 292853, Email: wit at wessex.ac.uk, Web:
http://www.witpress.com/authors.htm

VELO MONDIALE 2000 World Bicycle Conference, June 18-22, 2000, Amsterdam,
The Netherlands. [Contact: Congress Organisation Services, PO Box 1558,
6501 BN Nijmegen,  The Netherlands, Fax: +31 24 360 1159,
http://www.velomondial2000.nl/]

Interface for Cycling Expertise (I-ce) is planning an Intensive Bicycle
Training Programme to follow the Velo Mondiale conference in the
Netherlands in June 2000. [For more information contact: I-ce,
Predikherenstraat 17,  3512 TL Utrecht, The Netherlands. Tel. +31 - 30 -
230 45 21, Fax  +31 - 30 - 230 45 21, Email: i-ce at cycling.nl, Web:
http://www.cycling.nl].

Global Cities 21, ICLEI World Congress of Local Governments: transformation
for a sustainable future, June 28 - July 2, 2000, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. 

The Sixth International Conference on Urban Transport and the Environment
for the 21st Century, 26 - 28 July 2000, at Cambridge University, UK.
Organised by:  Wessex Institute of Technology (WIT), Southampton, UK.
Abstract deadline ASAP. [Contact:  Karen Neal, WIT Marketing Co-ordinator,
Wessex Institute of Technology (WIT), Ashurst Lodge, Ashurst, Southampton
SO40 7AA, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 238 029 3223,  Fax: +44 (0) 238 029 2853, Email:
kneal at wessex.ac.uk, Web: http://www.wessex.ac.uk/conferences/2000]

XI Panamerican Conference in Traffic and Transportation Engineering , 19-23
November,  2000, Gramado, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. [Contact: Dr.
Luis Antonio Lindau, President of the Organising Committee, Escola de
Engenharia/UFRGS, Praça Argentina n.9 Sala 408, 90040-020 Porto Alegre,
Brasil. Tel: + 55 51 316 3596, Fax : + 55 51 316 4007, email:
panam at orion.ufrgs.br, Web: http://www.ufrgs.br/panam]

First Call for Papers for the 9th World Conference on Transport Research
(WCTR) to be held at ASEM International Convention Center, Seoul, July
22-27, 2001. Co-organisers: Korean Society of Transportation & The Korea
Transport Institute.  Deadline for submission of abstracts April 15, 2000.
[For further information, contact: Secretariat of 9th WCTR Conference, The
Korea Transport Institute, 2311 Daehwa-Dong, Ilsan-Gu, Koyang-city,
Kyonggi-Do, 411-410, KOREA. Tel : +82-344-910-3100, Fax: +82-344-910-3200,
Email: wctr at cis.koti.re.kr, Web: http://www.koti.re.kr/~wctr]

13. LIGHTER SIDE

A pro-Green Transport Dinosaur joined the November race for Mayor of
Vancouver in Canada. Mr T. Raax ran with the support of the Dinosaurs
Against Fossil Fuels (the Dino Party). Calling themselves "the only party
honest enough to admit it's out of date", the main plank of the Dino
platform is sane transportation and opposition to burning of fossils (in
the engines of cars). The suave and reptilian Mr. T. Raax has been a
transportation activist and all-around Party animal since the late
Cretaceous. Raax vows that if elected he will lead Vancouver back to the
past, when reptiles ruled the earth and fossil-burning was punishable by
being eaten. Their slogans include: "Every Dinosaur Knows: Extinction
Stinks", "Don't be a foSSiL fooL, Stop burning fossil fuels!!" and "Vote
for a real dinosaur: Vote Dino." [See pictures and details of the campaign
at: http://www.sustainability.com/dinos].

The Victoria Transport Policy Institute web site (http://www.vtpi.org) has
also started a small collection of transport humour. Check it out!


-----------------------------------------------------
Written and compiled by A. Rahman Paul Barter 

We rely on you, the participants in the network, for our news. Thank you to
all those who have contributed. Please keep the contributions coming. We
welcome brief news and announcements from all over the world. 

The Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia & the Pacific (the
SUSTRAN Network) promotes and popularises people-centred, equitable and
sustainable transport with a focus on Asia and the Pacific.