[sustran] SUSTRAN News Flash #39: Transport in the 'South'

[SUSTRAN Resource Centre]

I forgot to send this to sustran-discuss last week. Sorry. Also please note
we now have an alternate web site, http://www.geocities.com/sustrannet,
since the usual one has unfortunately been down for the last week. 
------------------------

SUSTRAN News Flash #39		23 July 2000
News update on people-centred, equitable and sustainable 
transport with a focus on countries in the global 'South'.  

Produced for the Sustainable Transport Action Network for 
Asia and the Pacific (the SUSTRAN Network) 
by the SUSTRAN Resource Centre, P.O. Box 11501,  
50748 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. E-mail: sustran at po.jaring.my,  
URL: http://www.malaysiakini.com/sustran/ or
http://www.geocities.com/sustrannet

Please send contributions to sustran at po.jaring.my

CONTENTS
1.	South Asia Starts to Tackle Auto Rickshaw Pollution
2.	Expressway Sceptics Arrested in Bangalore
3.	Research on Public Transport for the Urban Poor
4.	Car Free Day Updates
5.	First International Walk to School Day (iwalk)
6.	Economic Benefits of Cycling
7.	Safety as a Human Right?
8.	Spotlight on Aviation Impacts
9.	INFORMATION RESOURCES AND LINKS
		Car Lines Newsletter
		UK DETR Documents Online
		UITP Resources
		Call for Papers on Barrier Free Transport
		Spanish version of "Mobility for All"
		Reforms in estimation of traffic generation
		Open Research Group on Transport
		A Key Contact: ITDG's Transport Programme
		Other web sites of interest
10.	COMING EVENTS AND MEETINGS
11.	LIGHTER SIDE



1.  SOUTH ASIA STARTS TO TACKLE AUTO RICKSHAW POLLUTION
Air pollution from South Asia's 3-wheeler taxis (known as
Auto Rickshaws or "baby taxis") is prompting action. These 
vehicles are South Asia's version of Thailand's "Tuk Tuk" 
or the Philippines' "tricycles". 

In India, Bajaj auto, the manufacturer of the three wheeled 
autorickshaws, has announced that it will stop production of 
its two-stroke model, as it had developed a less polluting 
four stroke engine. In addition, a four stroke CNG autorickshaw 
is being released. The vehicle is claimed to deliver 50 km per 
kg of CNG.  A three litre stand-by petrol tank is also included, 
for emergencies.  Bajaj hopes to produce the vehicle at the 
rate of 1000 a month by July at its Pune plant. 

In Nepal, diesel-run auto-rickshaws, have been banned altogether 
after a campaign by environmentalists against them. They have 
been at least partially replaced by battery-operated three-
wheelers, called "safa tempo" (clean tempo), which do not emit 
smoke or the loud noises associated with diesel auto-rickshaws. 

In Dhaka, about 400 auto rickshaw mechanics recently took part 
in the first of a series of training programs. It focused on 
maintaining and repairing engines, and advising drivers on the 
proper quality and quantity of lubricant oils. These are two 
simple practices that can drastically reduce emissions. For 
example, baby taxi drivers typically use as much as 10 percent 
four-stroke engine oil with their petrol. But by using only 
3 percent of quality two-stroke engine oil, they could save 
money and reduce emissions. The workshops are being run by an 
NGO, the Society for Urban Environmental Protection and Uttara 
Motors, with funding from the World Bank and the Energy Sector 
Management Assistance Program, a global technical assistance 
effort funded by the World Bank, UNDP, and 15 public and 
private donors. There are an estimated 50,000 auto rickshaws in 
Dhaka, most of them using two-stroke engines. They contribute 
approximately 35 percent of particles and nearly half of 
hydrocarbons emitted by all vehicles. 

Sources: compiled from forwarded stories from Press Trust of 
India; BBC World Service News, and the World Bank's Daily Webzine, 
Development News, http://www.worldbank.org/developmentnews/ 


2.  EXPRESSWAY SCEPTICS ARRESTED IN BANGALORE
On 5 July several activists were violently arrested as they 
protested a lack of public information on a major proposed 
expressway project in Karnataka State in southern India. The 
event took place during a statutory "Environmental Public 
Hearing" on the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor - 
an 111km expressway between the cities of Bangalore and Mysore 
with a 9.1Km link road into downtown Bangalore. In addition, it 
involves setting up seven townships. The anticipated  cost is 
US$ 500 million. A number of civic groups are concerned, among 
other things, that the project is being pushed forward with 
undue secrecy, that alternatives have not been realistically 
considered and that there are worrying signs that resettlement 
of people in the path of the project will not be handled 
properly. At a similar hearing at Mysore on 30 June a pro-
project crowd of thugs prevented any discussion on the merits 
and demerits of the project - anyone raising questions was 
shouted down by the rowdy crowd. Sceptics have expressed concern 
that project may simply a huge real estate development for 
corporate gain but implemented at great public expense and 
social cost.  For more information contact: Environment Support 
Group (R), S-3, Rajashree Apartments, 18/57, 1st Main Road, 
S.R.K. Gardens, Jayanagar, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore 560 041, 
INDIA. Telefax: +91-80-6341977, Fax: +91-80-6723926 (PP), 
Email: esg at bgl.vsnl.net.in, http://www.altindia.net/esg/index.htm 


3.  RESEARCH ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT FOR THE URBAN POOR
Low-income areas of Karachi are the subject of a research 
project investigating critical issues in public transport 
for the urban poor. The team is led by the Water, Engineering 
and Development Centre (WEDC) of Loughborough University in UK 
and includes the Urban Resource Centre (URC) Karachi, Transport 
Research Laboratory (TRL) and the International Institute for 
Environment and Development (IIED). The focus is on how to 
improve access to public transport by the urban poor in general, 
and especially women, children and the aged.  Contact: Dr M. 
Sohail, WEDC, Loughborough University, Leicestershire, 
LE11 3TU, UK. Fax: +44 1509 211079, Email: M.Sohail at lboro.ac.uk,  
Outputs of the research can be seen at the project website:
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/cv/wedc/projects/ptup/index.htm


4.  CAR FREE DAY UPDATES
A diversity of activities and events are being planned in cities 
on several continents for the proposed World Car Free Day on 
Thursday Sept 21 and the European Car Free Day on Friday 
September 22. In addition, Chengdu in China is now said to be 
planning an similar event for October. For more information on 
how your city or organisation can become involved please see
http://www.ecoplan.org/carfreeday/world/wc_home.htm and the 
somewhat more radical http://www.carbusters.ecn.cz - follow the 
links to World Car Free Day, and then to the articles "Past, 
Present and Future of Car Free Days". 

In a related initiative, Ecoplan is calling for nominations to 
a "CarFree Honour Roll" and a corresponding "Badge of Shame 
Award". If you think your city (or any city you are familiar 
with) deserves a place of honour or shame in one of these lists 
as a result of its efforts or failures in transport planning 
and policy then please visit http://www.ecoplan.org and from 
there follow the menu to CarFree Honor Roll where you can 
express your views. You can also express your views on what 
criteria should be used in choosing cities for each of the 
lists. With luck the lists will be used in a high profile 
announcement on September 21 and 22.   Contact: Eric Britton, 
The Commons, Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, 
France. E-mail: Eric.Britton at ecoplan.org,  
URL http://www.ecoplan.org


5.  FIRST INTERNATIONAL WALK TO SCHOOL DAY (IWALK)
Meanwhile, October 4 is the first International Walk to School 
Day (iwalk for short). "The ultimate goal is to create a more 
walkable world, community by community." Try these sites for 
more information: http://www.goforgreen.ca, 
http://www.dorset-cc.gov.uk/walktoschool/wts.htm, 
http://www.walktoschool-usa.org/


6.  ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF CYCLING
The Interface for Cycling Expertise has published results of a 
study on the Economic Benefits of Cycling with case studies 
from several cities around the world (Bogota, Delhi and Morogoro 
in Tanzania, and Amsterdam). The study was launched at the 
recent Velo Mondiale conference in Amsterdam. Benefits were 
divided into internal benefits of cycling policy (better health, 
employment opportunities, less travel time for cyclists, fewer 
stolen bikes and less travel costs) and reduced external costs 
of other modes (less investment in other modes, less congestion 
and use of space, better quality of life, less pollution, less 
road accidents). The study faced formidable challenges in 
obtaining data but nevertheless reached clear conclusions. 
Benefits exceed costs in all cities and the greatest benefits 
come from improved mobility of cycling (internal benefits are 
higher than reduced external costs). The results indicate that 
improved mobility and lower user costs contribute most to the 
economic significance of cycling facilities. The report costs 
12.50 Euro plus postage.  Contact: Interface for Cycling 
Expertise (I-ce), Predikherenstraat 17, 3512 TL Utrecht, The 
Netherlands. Fax  +31 30 231 23 84, E-mail: i-ce at cycling.nl,
http://www.cycling.nl/start.htm


7.  SAFETY AS A HUMAN RIGHT?
Those who attended the 5th World Conference on Injury Prevention 
and Control held in New Delhi in March 2000 declared their 
support for a human rights approach to be taken to the issue of 
safety and injury control. If successful, such an initiative 
could have great implications for our approach to transport 
safety. The Delhi Declaration on Peoples' Right to Safety argues 
that much greater action and accountability is needed on safety, 
given that injury is a huge global burden as measured by its 
impact on disability-adjusted life years.  
Contact: 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  or the 
South Asia Forum for Human Rights, GPO Box 12855, Kathmandu, 
Nepal


8.  SPOTLIGHT ON AVIATION IMPACTS
The environmental impacts of aviation are receiving increasing 
attention. The IGFR Open Research Program Research Group 
<20. transport> (contact: igfr at igfr.org) recently drew our 
attention to Issue No. 3 of the Sustainable Transportation 
Monitor which focuses on aviation. It states that  '...of all 
transport modes, aviation is the least environmentally 
sustainable at present, and shows the least promise of becoming 
sustainable.' At currently typical vehicle occupancies and fuel 
efficiencies, air travel fuel use per person is similar to the 
rate for car travel. However, the climate change impact of air 
travel is estimated at about three times the rate of car travel 
- primarily because engine emissions at altitudes of 10-11 km 
appear to have a more potent greenhouse effect than the same 
emissions at sea level. For example, high altitudes enhance the 
formation and greenhouse potency of ozone from NOx emissions. 
Global air travel is growing at about 5 percent annually. The 
Sustainable Transportation Monitor is available in pdf format 
at http://www.web.net/~cstctd from the Sustainable 
Transportation Centre in Canada.  Contact: Centre for Sustainable 
Transportation, 15 Borden Street, Toronto, Ontario, 
Canada M5S 2M8. Phone (1 416) 923-9970, Fax (1 416) 923-6531, 
E-mail: cstctd at web.net



9. INFORMATION RESOURCES AND LINKS

Car Lines Newsletter
Back Issues of the Car Lines newsletter on transport-related 
emissions and pollution issues are now available at 
http://walshcarlines.com  Contact: Michael P. Walsh, 
3105 N. Dinwiddie Street, Arlington, Virginia 22207, USA. 
Tel: +1 703 241 1297 Fax: +1 703 241 1418, E-mail: 
mpwalsh at igc.org


UK DETR) Documents Online
A wealth of informative documents (mostly in pdf format) from 
the United Kingdom Dept. of Transport and Environment (DETR) 
are available on-line including: Traffic Advisory Leaflet on 
Traffic Calming on Major Roads; Framework for a local walking 
strategy (2/00); and a series of bibliographies including on 
Cycling Bibliography (4/00), Traffic Calming (5/00), Walking 
(3/00). The URL is 
http://www.roads.detr.gov.uk/roadnetwork/ditm/tal/index.htm


UITP Resources
The MOBI+ on-line documentation centre is an extremely rich 
source of information about urban/regional public transport 
and its environment. For a fee it is accessible via UITP's 
website http://www.uitp.com
UITP has also published a series of conference proceedings in 
book form and CD-ROM. Recent titles include: Automatic Fare 
Collection (Bologna, Feb. 2000); Organisation of Transport and 
Quality of Service (Florence, Sept. 1999); Urban Public 
Transport Funding (Paris, Oct. 1999); Urban Structure and Modal 
Split (Vienna, 1998); The challenge of Urban Mobility. Contents 
pages can be seen at http://www.uitp.com/pubs/pubslist.htm (see 
conference proceedings)  Contact: UITP, Avenue Herrmann-
Debroux 17, B-1160   BRUXELLES. Fax: +32 2 660 10 72, 
E-mail: publications at uitp.com


Call for Papers on Barrier Free Transport
Calling for the Submission of Papers on Special Feature of IATSS 
RESEARCH Vol.25, No.1 (Spring 2001) on "Transportation for 
Handicapped People: Barrier-Free". Abstracts are due by 
August 31, 2000 to: IATSS Research Editorial and Advisory Board, 
International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences, 6-20, 
2-chome, Yaesu, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0028 JAPAN. 
Fax: +81-3-3272-7054, E-mail: iatss at db3.so-net.ne.jp 


Spanish version of "Mobility for All"
"Mobility for All: Accessible Transportation around the world" 
is now available in Spanish and on the web. "Movilidad para 
Todos: Transportación Accessible Alrededor del Mundo" is 
available at http://www.independentliving.org/ (under the 
download texts link) along with the English version. 
Arrangements are also being made for Japanese, Portuguese 
and Malay versions. Contact: Access Exchange International (AEI), 
112 San Pablo Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94127-1536, USA. 
Fax: +(1 415) 661 1543, E-mail: globalride-sf at worldnet.att.net


Reforms in estimation of traffic generation
At http://www.vtpi.org see "Estimation of Generated Traffic by 
New Developments: Current Practice and Possible Improvements 
Based on Bangkok Experience" by Shihana Sulaiha Mohamed and 
Kazunori Hokao.  It critiques current traffic generation 
prediction models based on ITE methods and data and recommends 
better approaches that take into account additional factors 
that may be particularly important for use in developing 
countries.


Open Research Group on Transport
The Institute for Global Futures Research (IGFR) has an on-line 
Open Research Program and their Research Group #20 is on 
TRANSPORT. There is a growing list of collaborators and they 
are also providing a contact point for the purchase of relevant 
publications.  Contact: Institute for Global Futures Research 
(IGFR), P.O. Box 263E, Earlville, QLD 4870, Australia. 
E-mail: igfr at igfr.org 


A Key Contact: ITDG's Transport Programme
Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG), which is a 
development agency and British registered charity, has a growing 
Transport Programme under its Senior Specialist, Ranjith de 
Silva, who is based in Sri Lanka. ITDG currently has transport 
programs in Kenya, Nepal, Peru, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Zimbabwe.  
For more information contact: Ranjith de Silva, Senior Transport 
Specialist, International Transport Programme, c/o Intermediate 
Technology Development Group, South Asia Regional Office, 
5 Lionel Edirisinghe Mawatha, Kirulapone, Colombo 5, Sri Lanka. 
Fax:	(++ 94 1) 856188, Email: ranjith at itdg.lanka.net, Web: 
http://www.oneworld.org/itdg/itatwork/transpor.html 


Other web sites of interest

Sierra Club sprawl and transportation website 
http://www.sierraclub.org/sprawl

Australian Pedestrian Charter is available at 
http://www.walk.com.au/pedcouncil/summit_charter.html



10. COMING EVENTS AND MEETINGS

"6th International Conference on Urban Transport and the 
Environment for the 21st Century", July 26-28, 2000, Cambridge, 
UK. Contact: Sally Walsh, Conference Secretariat, UT 2000, 
Wessex Institute of Technology, Ashurst Lodge, Ashurst, 
Southampton, SO40 7AA, United Kingdom. Fax: +44 238 029 2853, 
Email: slwalsh at wessex.ac.uk

"10th Road Engineering Association of Asia and Australasia", 
4-8 September 2000, Tokyo, Japan.  Contact: REAAA Conference 
Secretariat, Fax: +81 3 3519 5092, E-mail: reaaa at extec.or.jp, 
URL: http://www.extec.or.jp/reaaa/eng/index.html 

"Traffic Safety on Three Continents", September 20-22, 2000, 
CSIR Conference Centre, Pretoria, South Africa. Contact: 
Dr Richard Pain, Transportation Research Board, 2101 
Constitution Ave. NW, Washington DC, 204 18 USA. 
Fax: +1 202 334 2003, Email: rpain at nas.edu

"UITP Melbourne 2000 Public Transport Conference Event", 8-13 
October 2000, includes both the International Union of Public 
Transport (UITP) Light Rail Conference and the Asia/Pacific 
Congress and City Transport Exhibition. Additional information 
is available on the website of the Government of Victoria 
(Australia) at: www.lightrail2000.vic.gov.au   Contact: 
International Association of Public Transport (UITP), Avenue 
Herrmann-Debroux 17, B-1160 Brussels, Belgium, 
Tel +32 2 673 6100, Fax +32 2 660 1072, E-mail: 
administration at uitp.com, URL: http://www.uitp.com

"Smart Urban Transport - Using Transitways and Busways" 
conference, 17-20 October 2000, Brisbane, Australia.  Contact: 
Ozaccom Conference Services, PO Box 164, Fortitude Valley QLD, 
Australia 4006. Tel: +617-38541611 Fax: +617-38541507, Email: 
ozaccom at ozaccom.com.au

"Regional Policy Seminar on Transport and Communication 
Challenges for Urban Local Governments in the 21st Century", 
Organised by CITYNET, UN-ESCAP and the City of Kuala Lumpur, 
8-10 November 2000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  Contact: CITYNET 
Secretariat, 5F, International Organizations Center, Pacifico 
Yokohama, 1-1-1 Minato Mirai,  Nishi-ku, Yokohama 220-0012 Japan. 
Tel: 81-45 223-2161, Fax: 81-45 223-2162, E-mail: 
citynet at po.iijnet.or.jp, http://www2.itjit.ne.jp/~citynet

"Seminar on Accessible Transport in South China", November 9-14, 
Shenzen, Guangdong, China.  Contact Access Exchange International 
(AEI), 112 San Pablo Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94127-1536, USA. 
Fax: +1 415  661 1543, E-mail: globalride-sf at worldnet.att.net 

"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

"4th International Workshop on Transportation Planning & 
Implementation Methodologies for Developing Countries: Transport 
Infrastructure" 5-7, December, 2000.  Contact: Prof. S. L. 
Dhingra / Dr  K. V. Krishna Rao, Co-ordinators, TPMDC-2000, 
Transportation Systems Engineering Group, Civil Engineering 
Department, Indian Institute of Technology  Bombay, Powai, 
Mumbai - 400 076, India. Fax: +91 22 5767302/5783480,  Email: 
tpmdc2k at civil.iitb.ernet.in

"Australia: Walking the 21st Century - An International Walking 
Conference", 20-22 February 2001. Perth, Western Australia.  
Contact: John Seaton, Manager, Pedestrian Strategy, Metropolitan  
Division, Department of Transport, PO Box 7272 Cloisters Square,  
Perth  6850, Western Australia, Australia. Tel: +61 8 9313 8680,  
Fax: +61 8 9320 9497, e-mail: jseaton at transport.wa.gov.au

"54th UITP International Congress" to be held in London, 20-25 
May 2001. International Exhibition of Public Transport - City 
Transport 2001. London, England, 21-24 May 2001. In conjunction 
with the 54th UITP International Congress.  Contact: 
International Association of Public Transport (UITP), Avenue 
Herrmann-Debroux 17, B-1160 Brussels, Belgium, Tel +32 2 673 6100, 
Fax +32 2 660 1072, E-mail: administration at uitp.com, URL: 
http://www.uitp.com

"Transed 2001: Towards Safety, Independence and Security. 9th 
International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly 
and Disabled People." Warsaw, Poland, 2-5 July 2001.  Contact: 
TRANSED, PO Box 10, 02-783 Warsaw 59, Poland. 
Fax: +48 22 8316526, Email: transed2001 at idn.org.pl, 
Web: http://transed2001.idn.org.pl 

"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

"Fourth Conference of the Eastern Asian Society for 
Transportation Studies (EASTS)", Hanoi, Vietnam, 24-26 October, 
2001 hosted by the Transportation Science Society of Vietnam 
(TSSV).  Contact: Office of the EASTS Secretary General, c/o 
Association for Planning and Transportation Studies, K-Wing 6F, 
5-2-1 Kojimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0083, Japan. 
Tel: +81 3 32651774, Fax: +81 3 32215489, Email: 
easts at sa2.so-net.ne.jp, http://ichini.cv.titech.ac.jp/~easts/



11. LIGHTER SIDE
Bangkok residents vote Sunday (23 July) for a new Governor. The 
nightmarish traffic and related pollution problems are among the 
main issues and the BBC World News (23 July 2000) reported that 
there has been no shortage of transport-related promises. One 
candidate proposes having Bangkok's children study at home via 
TV in order to reduce traffic generated by parents taking 
children to school. Another candidate, who is currently a 
motorbike taxi-operator, promises to allow round-the-clock 
opening of motorcycle repair shops. With an estimated 900,000 
motorbikes owned in the city the "motorcycle lobby" might be 
significant...  Are any of the candidates keen on the well-known 
policies that could actually put Bangkok onto a sustainable path 
to getting safe, efficient, clean and equitable transport? 


-----------------------------------------------------
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 them 
coming. 

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.