From kisansbc at vsnl.com Mon Apr 1 02:10:15 2002 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (kisan mehta) Date: Sun, 31 Mar 2002 22:40:15 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: transit in Mexico city References: <1017341671.3ca366e7a7bc3@www.courrier.umontreal.ca> Message-ID: <003901c1d8d6$ed171b40$3226020a@im.eth.net> Dear Sustran colleagues, We have been reading exchanges on the cycleways and cycling facilities for the poor in Mexico City.. We are a late entrant in the exhange and hence are rushing mail to draw the attention of our colleagues to the fact that for large megalopolises like Mexico City and for that matter Mumbai no one alternative can be the only way out for smooth movement of men and goods. Large cities need to have comprehensive and integrated movement programme comprising of suburban trains, public road buses, taxies, safe cycleways, non-motorised traffic, safe and direct pedestrian walking facilities. To make these modes work perfectly and in harmony, there has to be severe curbs on movement and parking of personal vehicles. Experience in Mumbai and other cities in the poor countries shows motorways, expressways, elevated roads, flyovers have increased the number of personal vehicles on narrow roads and increased traffic jams. Another aspect is affordability by bulk of residents. Importance of cycling cannot never be understimated and cycleways can be used for short journeys too. Poor countries are being asked to build more roads, expressways, etc for smooth flow of personal vehicles despite the fact that only a small %age of citizens use or afford personal cars. The split up in Mumbai is 86% journeys are by public road and suburban trains, 6 % by taxies and rikshaws and balance by private cars. (no traffic study ever takes into account walking and cycling as traffic). Authorities still spend disproportionately large part of public revenues on roads that suits the personal car. Result is increase in road fatalities and citizen hardship. Best wishes. Priya Salvi and Kisan Mehta From APHOWES at dm.gov.ae Mon Apr 1 12:59:06 2002 From: APHOWES at dm.gov.ae (Alan Patrick Howes) Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2002 07:59:06 +0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: transit in Mexico city Message-ID: I certainly don't claim to be any sort of expert on cycling, but having observed it both in the UK and the Gulf, my views are: 1) Certain basic safety standards have to be enforced. I have never yet seen a cyclist in the Gulf with lights, whereas in the UK no-one would ride without them - both from self-preservation, and because they would be stopped by the police. I dread to think what the accident rate here must be for cycles. 2) Cyclways are worth providing if by doing so you can provide cyclists with a more direct or level route than by following the road, e.g. going through a park rather than round it. 3) Most importantly, bikes need special attention at some junctions, where otherwise they can be very vulnerable. -- Alan P Howes, Special Transport Advisor, Dubai Municipality Public Transport Department aphowes@dm.gov.ae Tel: +971 4 286 1616 ext 214 Mobile: +971 50 5989661 > -----Original Message----- > From: Ramon [mailto:bayk@quickweb.com.ph] > Sent: Sun, March 31, 2002 5:24 PM > To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org > Subject: [sustran] Re: transit in Mexico city > > > I am not familiar with the situation in Mexico DF but I would > guess that 25 > km is the longest trip from home to work? If that's so, then > it is a stretch > to cycle but certainly not impossible. I cycle 15 km to work > daily and it > takes me about an hour to do so. Add another 10 km and that's > much less than > the 2-3 hours of commute by public transport (I'm assuming) > that has been > reported. I do not generally advocate separate bikeways for > cyclists because > I think they are unnecessary. What I do advocate is for > cyclists to undergo > proper training so that: 1) they can cycle safely on roads; > and 2) they can > enjoy cycling as an activity in itself -- something that will > sustain their > cycling more than the usually good-intentioned but usually > poorly designed > and implemented bikeways. > > Ramon > From tr_saranathan at hotmail.com Mon Apr 1 13:16:25 2002 From: tr_saranathan at hotmail.com (TR Saranathan) Date: Mon, 01 Apr 2002 04:16:25 +0000 Subject: [sustran] Re: transit in Mexico city Message-ID: Dear Sustranians, I have been reading many views regarding "No Car Day and Cycle Lanes etc." These concepts have to be included at the time of new Town Planning Areas. This is possible in India since new Townships will be coming up. Still, Public Transport will be most effective. In some parts of the country we find people coming from their homes to the nearst Railway Station to catch local trains to their official destinies. I have seen this in Chennai(Madras). Regarding private cars 'pooling' and a combination of private cars and public transport will be useful All these are possible only all the stake holdrs and players come together to propose an integrated formula. So far each one is expressing their views independently. I wish Sustran takes it up as an exercise in collecting all the information available and edit and send to all the other members and experts to elicit their valued opinion. Dr.T.R.Saranathan >From: Alan Patrick Howes >Reply-To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org >To: "'sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org'" >Subject: [sustran] Re: transit in Mexico city >Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2002 07:59:06 +0400 > >I certainly don't claim to be any sort of expert on cycling, but having >observed it both in the UK and the Gulf, my views are: > >1) Certain basic safety standards have to be enforced. I have never yet >seen >a cyclist in the Gulf with lights, whereas in the UK no-one would ride >without them - both from self-preservation, and because they would be >stopped by the police. I dread to think what the accident rate here must be >for cycles. > >2) Cyclways are worth providing if by doing so you can provide cyclists >with >a more direct or level route than by following the road, e.g. going through >a park rather than round it. > >3) Most importantly, bikes need special attention at some junctions, where >otherwise they can be very vulnerable. > > >-- >Alan P Howes, Special Transport Advisor, > Dubai Municipality Public Transport Department >aphowes@dm.gov.ae >Tel: +971 4 286 1616 ext 214 >Mobile: +971 50 5989661 > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Ramon [mailto:bayk@quickweb.com.ph] > > Sent: Sun, March 31, 2002 5:24 PM > > To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org > > Subject: [sustran] Re: transit in Mexico city > > > > > > I am not familiar with the situation in Mexico DF but I would > > guess that 25 > > km is the longest trip from home to work? If that's so, then > > it is a stretch > > to cycle but certainly not impossible. I cycle 15 km to work > > daily and it > > takes me about an hour to do so. Add another 10 km and that's > > much less than > > the 2-3 hours of commute by public transport (I'm assuming) > > that has been > > reported. I do not generally advocate separate bikeways for > > cyclists because > > I think they are unnecessary. What I do advocate is for > > cyclists to undergo > > proper training so that: 1) they can cycle safely on roads; > > and 2) they can > > enjoy cycling as an activity in itself -- something that will > > sustain their > > cycling more than the usually good-intentioned but usually > > poorly designed > > and implemented bikeways. > > > > Ramon > > _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com From kisansbc at vsnl.com Mon Apr 1 17:27:47 2002 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (kisan mehta) Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2002 13:57:47 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Fallacy of constructing infrastrure facilities for motorists. Message-ID: <001401c1d957$1b0fffa0$3226020a@im.eth.net> Dear Sustran Colleagues, We give hereunder a report published in the Times of India on the longest elevated road-flyover- that the government is constructing in Mumbai. The govt has constructed more than 50 flyovers in last three years in Mumbai creating irreparable damage to the residents. That the flyovers etc would also cause problems to motorists, for whom these are built at an undisclosed cost of Rs 20 billion, was not anticipated earlier. We append below our letter to the Editor which hopefully the Editor would publish though the press is supporting such infrastructure projects to meet the World Bank dictat. This exchange would show the futility of constructing the flyovers which public road busescannot use. The govt is now pursuing with the Sealink within the congested Island City (average density of population of 55,000 persons per sq km). The cost is not disclosed. It cannot be lower than Rs 70 billion for the use of 20,000 personal vehicle owers per day. Best wishes. Priya Salvi and Kisan Mehta _____________________________ Ground reality may be unpleasant for motorists using J.J.Marg flyover The Times of India, Mumbai Edition, dated 23, 2002 MUMBAI : The cruise on the flyover may well end in a long crawl on the road. This is one apprehension motorists are nursing regarding the 2.4km-long J.J.marg flyover, which will be thrown open to the public next month. Motorists using the viaduct, which links the J.J.hospital area with Crawford market, will be able to fly over as many as 13 traffic signals and important junctions. The question that is being raised is whether the superfast flow of vehicles will result in a massive traffic jam at the foot of the flyover near Crawford Market. The traffic police and officials of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) have ruled out the possibility of major traffic snarls at any of two ends. "The traffic flow from Crawford market towards CST is fast and there will not be a problem of congestion," MSRDC joint managing director S.S.Momin told TNN, adding that the stretch from Crawford market towards CST had eight lanes and had a higher capacity to carry vehicles. Another worry for motorists and pedestrians alike is the presence of hawkers and the unregulated parking of taxis and private tourist buses on the MRA marg, close to the police commissionerate. The exploitation of the open space under the approach road to the flyover from the Crawford market side is another worrisome factor. The open space is to be let out for approximately 84 shops and hawker pitches on invitation of tenders. " This is still in a preliminary stage and a definite proposal has not been finalised," Mr Momin said. However, shops or hawkers under the flyover would not lead to traffic congestion, he said. Pay-and-park facilities too had been provided under the flyover, he noted. Traffic police officials also echoed similar sentiments. "We will ensure that the traffic flows smoothly from the southern and northern ramps of the flyovers." said deputy commissioner (traffic) Himanshu Roy. When asked about the possibility of traffic congestion on either end of flyover, he said that, he did not apprehend any such problem but "if there is any problem we will deal with it. Such a problem has not occurred in the case of the other flyovers in city." _______________________________________________ Letter to the Editor from Kisan Mehta The report "Ground reality may be unpleasant for motorists using JJ Marg flyover" published in the Times of India dated 23 March obviously does not refer to the travails of citizens and vehicles who cannot use the 2.4 km long elevated road though they will be victims of this totally illadvised venture. Experience at much shorter Dadar Flyover can show as to what will happen to non-users of flyovers and elevated roads. Less than 30% of vehicles use the Dadar flyover with the balance 70% left to fight for space on the drastically narrowed down ground level carriageways crowded with non-motorised vehicles, handcarts, hawkers, hundreds of pedestrians running helterskelter to save themselves while crossing the road. Two, three and four wheeler vehicles illegally parked on pavements and carriageways plus 200 parked authorisedly underneath the flyover create serious problems for the movement of BEST, State Transport, intercity and school buses. The area through which the elevated road passes is always congested. In addition to resident density of 90,000 persons per sq km, this area draws millions of visitors as all wholesale trading markets are located right there. Only insensive and ignorant bureaucrats unconcerend about citizen safety can think of providing more shops underneath the elevated road. Worst sufferers would always be the non-users of the elevated road, public transport and citizens, who would be exposed to suffocating pollution trapped by the elevated road. Kisan Mehta Save Bombay Committee email kisansbc@vsnl.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20020401/6417cf4c/attachment.htm From debi at beag.net Mon Apr 1 22:37:37 2002 From: debi at beag.net (Debi Goenka) Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2002 19:07:37 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Flyovers in Mumbai Message-ID: <002101c1d982$639d17a0$2c9944ca@desktop> Hi Sustraners Things in Bombay are really livening up - this is another article that appeared in the Times of India yesterday, re another proposed flyover over Pedder Road in Bombay. (For all the non-Indian music lovers, Lata and Asha are sisters, and perhaps the best known singers in India). Cheers Debi -------------------------------------------------------- 'Lata, Asha are not singing out of tune' RADHA RAJADHYAKSHA [ SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 2002 12:44:32 AM ] MUMBAI: 'Peddar Roadcha vichar tumhi sodun dya (Drop the idea of a flyover on Peddar Road)'-Lata Mangeshkar to Vilasrao Deshmukh. If a flyover spirals up before my flat, I will leave the country'- Asha Bhosle The Mangeshkar sisters, with a little help from the aggressive Peddar Road Residents' Association, have achieved what the government couldn't have hoped to in its wildest dreams: they have converted an entire city to the cause of the flyover. Suddenly, Mumbaikars-even those who under normal circumstances would denounce the government's blinkered approach to development'-are joining hands to sneer at the 'elitism' of the Peddar Road brigade and underlining the fact that the residents of other localities which were inflicted with similar structures didn't have a choice. Logical corollary: why should Peddar Road be spared? This unfortunate creamy layer-versus-plebs spin on the issue-valid as it may be-has served to detract from the original argument that imposing flyovers on residential areas in an artificial solution to the city's problems is an infringement of citizens' environmental rights. Worse, there's increasingly an unthinking corollary being added to the anti-Peddar Road rhetoric-that it is everyone's duty to endure development which is for the good of the city. Result: overnight, the Peddar Road flyover, or any other flyover, has moved from bad' to 'good' in the perception of the average citizen. A perception which certainly didn't exist when the battles over the Dadar and Andheri flyovers or the proposed one at Tardeo were being fought. "It's a problem of ignorance," says Bombay Environmental Action Group president Debi Goenka. "Though I'm not very sympathetic to the Peddar Road lobby myself-the charge of elitism does stick here-the problem is that most Mumbaikars aren't even aware that there are far more viable alternatives to flyovers. And since the government itself is not prepared to think along alternative lines, it is happy that people are in the dark." Goenka quotes a study by international firm W. S. Atkins, commissioned by the MMRDA in 1994, which divides city commuters into four categories. "According to the study, 88 per cent of commuters use public transport (buses and trains), 7 per cent use what they call intermediate transport like taxis and rickshaws while only 5 per cent use private transport," he says. "It is for this meagre fraction that flyovers and freeways are built-even buses cannot use them since you can't have bus-stops here. So the upshot is that we are spending thousands of crores of public money on something that will benefit less than 10 per cent of the population." The solution, says Goenka, is to spend the money on mass rapid transport systems. "All this has been said a hundred times over but it's important to reiterate it to make a dent in people's consciousness," he says. "Instead of spending money on flyovers, the government should invest in the Mumbai Urban Transport Project which is estimated to cost about Rs 6,000 crore and will improve the railways and bus systems infinitely. But even though the World Bank is pitching in with a substantial loan on the project, the government is not interested-public transport has never been a priority for it.Why else would the project be stuck for 13 years while the railways and politicians fight their turf battles?" Remedy No 2 is the creation of a separate lane for BEST buses."This was actually tried out about eight years ago, though very few people are aware of it," says Goenka. "One lane was reserved exclusively for BEST buses on Marine Drive and another on Mohammad Ali Road.The experiment failed because the attitude of the authorities was that they were doing BEST a favour-lanes were reserved only in places where there was ample space for cars as well, and violations were not cracked down on. The point is, if your buses are carrying the lion' s share of your commuters, they deserve priority-you're not doing them a favour. And unlike other solutions, reserving a bus lane doesn't even cost anything." One way of ensuring more space on the streets for this, says Goenka, is to reduce the number of private cars. "If you remember, when there was a taxi strike recently, the streets seemed almost empty and commuting time was cut down by virtually half," he says. "If 55,000 registered taxis off the road make such a difference, why can't we apply this to private cars-a car owner would have to car-pool or use public transport on only one day of the week. With additional space on the streets, BEST buses could move from the 12 km per hour that they normally travel to 25 kmph or more-this way, you're doubling your bus output without having to spend more money. You also increase fuel-efficiency, have cleaner air...the benefits are immense." But isn't this a contentious issue which the Western India Automobile Association had vociferously opposed when it was mooted some time ago? "Objections will always be there to everything," says Goenka. "That's where good governance comes in.Why can't the government try it out for, say, three months, and then fine-tune the scheme? It won't because all decision-makers commute by car." Goenka assails the government's obdurate continuation of the Bandra-Worli sea link project, which is the main reason for the Peddar Road flyover. "Two international studies commissioned by the government have said the Bandra-Worli freeway will not work because all you're doing is postponing your traffic problems to the next junction," he says. "Despite that, they went ahead-without environmental clearance or money for the Worli-Nariman Point leg, to boot. In the circumstances, the Peddar Road flyover becomes the only option. And when governments compound one mistake with another, citizens have no choice but to suffer." ------------------------------------------------------- This e-mail may contain confidential and/or privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient (or have received this e-mail in error) please notify the sender immediately and destroy this e-mail. Any unauthorised copying, disclosure or distribution of the material in this e-mail is strictly forbidden. -------------------------------------------------------- Debi Goenka Bombay Environmental Action Group e-mail: debi@beag.net /&\ debi@powersurfer.net Environmental Education Office Kalbadevi Municipal School # 54, 2nd floor, Mumbai 400002 Tel:91-22-2423126 Tfax:91-22-2426385 Residence B 502 Glengate, Hiran Gardens Powai Mumbai 400076 Tel:91-22-5700638 Tfax:91-22-5701459 ---------------------------------------------- From p.negron-poblete at UMontreal.CA Tue Apr 2 00:42:44 2002 From: p.negron-poblete at UMontreal.CA (Paula Negron-Poblete) Date: Mon, 01 Apr 2002 10:42:44 -0500 Subject: [sustran] Re: transit in Mexico city References: <1017341671.3ca366e7a7bc3@www.courrier.umontreal.ca> <004101c1d6bb$1b8c6a20$57b601c8@q8v1n7> <3CA4C761.62D915DD@umontreal.ca> <00cf01c1d8b7$6887ce70$0101a8c0@Computer1> Message-ID: <3CA87FF4.9B2C96C6@umontreal.ca> The problem in Mexico city with cycling is not only the distance, but if public transport buses and vehicles in general do not respect other vehicles in the street, then imagine a person on a bike! Besides that, runing a bike in a city at 2400 meters on the sea level, is not like at sea level. I'm actually making a research about work distances to the main center ad distances are far away from 20 kilometers, at that distance you are not yet in the periphery of the city. For more information about the subject, you can check the work of Bernardo Navarro or Victor Islas. -- Paula Negron Facult? de l'Am?nagement Universit? de Montr?al p.negron-poblete@umontreal.ca From sujit at vsnl.com Tue Apr 2 02:18:02 2002 From: sujit at vsnl.com (Sujit Patwardhan) Date: Mon, 01 Apr 2002 22:48:02 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Urban Traffic_Citizens' Perspective In-Reply-To: <001401c1d957$1b0fffa0$3226020a@im.eth.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020401222017.03110d20@202.54.10.1> 1 April 2002 Personal and confidential: Please do not send to others as this is still not published ============================================================ Dear Kisanbhai, We need to mobilize citizens to oppose these anti-people projects being steamrolled by decision makers with help from chosen "experts". I think your messages in the Sustran fraternity were very effective and though all of them have their own pet topics for debating (mostly related to the experience of the first world) the key people are certainly interested in what we are saying from this part of the globe. In Pune things are going much better than I would have guessed a year or two back. Though the perspective hasn't changed, the mounting evidence and pressure from the common people is beginning to have its effect even if minute. On 31 March the major paper Sakal (owned by Sharad Pawar) organised a cycle rally from four or five different points in the city converging at the New English School on Tilak Road. I joined the batch starting from the Pune University (distance of 4.5 Km to NE School) and was surprised to see the newly elected Mayor of Pune Dipti Chowdhary, Pratap Pawar MD Sakal, and many other "dignitaries" who normally keep a safe distance from such "environmentalist's pet projects". There was a big crowd at the NE School as groups from all other parts of the city had also reached the grounds. Leaders made speeches of how Pune has always spearheaded all major movements and in the fight against pollution too it will take the lead. Following demands/statements were made from the dais by all who spoke: -- Cycle more for health and less pollution -- Reduce the use of personal vehicles --Improve public transport (though some of the leaders have an eye on the SkyBus golden goose) -- Open up the riverbed road (stayed by us through court action) for cyclists ... which is an excellent idea. Sakal is now talking about organizing such a cycle rallies on the last Sunday of each month and also seems keen on the the concept of a CarFree day as part of the World Environment Day Celebrations on 5th June 2002. Too good to be true? Sure but it did happen. Politicians don't mean everything they say? True but they did say these things which means our views can no longer be ignored and at least need to be paid lip service to. The media is also beginning to give space to our perspective on traffic. I am enclosing a write up showing our perspective... as part of the exhibition I'm preparing. I would be happy if you could let me have your views comments, criticism etc as soon as possible. With warm regards, -- Sujit At 01:57 PM 4/1/02 +0530, you wrote: >Dear Sustran Colleagues, > >We give hereunder a report published in the Times of India >on the longest elevated road-flyover- that the government >is constructing in Mumbai. The govt has constructed more >than 50 flyovers in last three years in Mumbai creating >irreparable damage to the residents. That the flyovers etc would >also cause problems to motorists, for whom these are built at an etc etc etc. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sujit Patwardhan. PARISAR, Yamuna, ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007 Tel: 5537955 Email: sujit@vsnl.com ***************************************************************** In nature there are neither Rewards nor Punishments--- there are Consequences. ***************************************************************** -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20020401/9ddf59fe/attachment.htm From sujit at vsnl.com Tue Apr 2 02:41:07 2002 From: sujit at vsnl.com (Sujit Patwardhan) Date: Mon, 01 Apr 2002 23:11:07 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: transit in Mexico city In-Reply-To: <00cf01c1d8b7$6887ce70$0101a8c0@Computer1> References: <1017341671.3ca366e7a7bc3@www.courrier.umontreal.ca> <004101c1d6bb$1b8c6a20$57b601c8@q8v1n7> <3CA4C761.62D915DD@umontreal.ca> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020401083222.00ac1500@202.54.10.1> >>>> I do not generally advocate separate bikeways for cyclists because >>>> I think they are unnecessary. 1 April 2002 Dear Ramon, Can you elaborate? We in Pune (population 3 million), India are trying to make cycling more popular and safer through creation of cycle tracks, better public transport and efforts to reduce personal vehicle population which is growing at the rate of 90,000 vehicles annually and adding to the present (already high) vehicle population of 1.2 million. The present trend is to make wider and newer roads, fly overs and other very costly infrastructure while the only public transport in the city (buses) languishes for want of funds, priority and leadership. The buses are owned by the Municipal Corporation and run by its Municipal Transport and controlled by elected representatives act as though they are not answerable to the public. Presently there are about 800 buses out of which only about 650 are roadworthy on any given day and even some of these break down as over 160 are more than 15 years old. For 3 million population, experts say we need at least 1,200 buses plying on the roads, so we have just over half that number. Inefficient service has spurred the growth of private vehicles (about 70% are two wheelers) and pushed the cyclists off road. Average occupancy of buses is as low as 9 persons for a bus with capacity of 45 seats, so no wonder the transport organization is losing money and has fares higher than auto-rickshaws seating three passengers. We feel priority should be given to improving buses, making them efficient, reliable and affordable (like Curitiba) so that eventually many presently going in for personal vehicles (mostly 2 wheelers) will be tempted to try out and stay with public transport. Cycling can be compatible with public transport so we are pressing for cycle tracks (for safety) and opposing flyovers (bad for cycling as well as for buses), wider roads and high tech pies in the sky like the SkyBus. -- Sujit Patwardhan Pune, India At 09:23 PM 3/31/02 +0800, you wrote: >I am not familiar with the situation in Mexico DF but I would guess that 25 >km is the longest trip from home to work? If that's so, then it is a stretch >to cycle but certainly not impossible. I cycle 15 km to work daily and it >takes me about an hour to do so. Add another 10 km and that's much less than >the 2-3 hours of commute by public transport (I'm assuming) that has been >reported. I do not generally advocate separate bikeways for cyclists because >I think they are unnecessary. What I do advocate is for cyclists to undergo >proper training so that: 1) they can cycle safely on roads; and 2) they can >enjoy cycling as an activity in itself -- something that will sustain their >cycling more than the usually good-intentioned but usually poorly designed >and implemented bikeways. > >Ramon -- Sujit Patwardhan sujit@vsnl.com From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Tue Apr 2 13:46:17 2002 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2002 12:46:17 +0800 Subject: [sustran] FW: Final Conf Call: 'Automobility', 8-10 Sept, CSTT, Keele Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB10340CF6@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> Dear sustran-discussers Priyanthi Fernando kindly forwarded this call for papers, although fearing that it may not be right for our 'practical' list. It's a little late to send an abstract but take a look... interesting that the heavy social theorists are taking an interest in 'automobility'. And how...! Paul --------------------- Automobility A conference hosted by the Centre for Social Theory & Technology at Keele University, UK, September 8th-10th, 2002. Final call for Abstracts and Interest Our initial call for abstracts has greatly exceeded our expectations. We have had submissions from throughout Europe, North and South America and Australasia, from people working in areas including history, philosophy, sociology, literature, cultural criticism, film and television studies, defence, gender studies, geography and planning and, of course, transport research. We have confirmed papers from, amongst others, Nigel Thrift, J. Hillis Miller and John Urry. This is our final call for abstracts and indications of interest to attend what promises to be a very exciting event. Note that abstracts and indications of interest must be received by 31 March 2002. Outline Automobiles, their production, consumption and semiology, have vexed and intrigued theorists, governments, businesses, unions, protestors and activists from their inception in the late 19th century to the present day. As a figure of the contemporary landscape, the automobile coalesces the dominant concerns and themes of modernity, whether it be the rationalized, automated production line of Henry Ford, or the seemingly insatiable appetite for speed and movement that is its counterpoint. As undoubtedly important as the automobile is, the aim of this conference is to look beyond the car itself to consider the basic conception of automobility that underlies it. To be automobile is to feel simultaneously autonomous and to have, at least the potential for, movement. Yet paradoxically the automobile subject is anything but independent and autonomous. The lines of subjectivization that automobilities traverse draw together complex webs of governance, desire, capital and resistances in order to produce the phenomenon of an automobile self. Even further, automobility is characterised as much by motility as by mobility: the potential for movement and independence seems to be indefinitely deferred as a future promise that perpetually reproduces the desire for automobility. To explore the idea of automobility further, we invite expressions of interest from across the disciplines, dealing with any of the questions, issues and difficulties raised by this concept. We would particularly encourage contributions in the following broad themes, though these should be treated as an open invitation to discussion, rather than a closed statement of focus. Automobilising desire. Automobility is a form of auto-eroticism. Inscribed in advertising, film and popular culture the car performs an extension of the body through which flows are produced and cathected. Speed, sound, sex and violence conjoin in the most mundane of circuits, whether adolescent performances on the drag-strip or a weekly trip to the supermarket: always political, always economic, always libidinal and always productive. Technologies of automobility. Although the car has long been the paradigmatic technology of automobility, others are parasitic upon its logic. The internet has been characterised as a super-highway on which one can instantly travel anywhere in the global village. Laptops and mobile phones now offer instant access to anyone anywhere through voice, text and image ^ automobility on the move, as it were. The cinema is a space where the spectacle of movement and speed is projected onto the retinal screen of a mass audience. More than infrastructural (though that too) these technologies of automobility are technologies of the self, productive movements of cyborganization that splice and connect, but always in-between. Ecologies of automobility. It is all but impossible to consider the automobile without recognising the ecological implications of this mode of mobilisation: pollution, the ^out of town^ experience, death and injury on the roads, noise, congestion, obesity... But already this ecology is wider than ^the environment^: it partakes of the whole spectrum of social relations and forms of subjectivity. Logics of automobility. What are the logics of automobility? Is it extensive - power in the hands of the driver? Or do automobiles open up the intensive, our communicational dependence on forms of logic and perhaps rhetoric? Might the rules of engagement themselves be changing? How much easier, for example to 'overtake' someone else's position rather than go through all that wearisome business of rebuttal and refutation. Who has time for all that? The human as automotile. Automobility helps surface ideas of embodiment and extension. Narrative, the chorale, there are many ways to transport the body. In other activities such as walking, painting or reading are we not equally auto-mobile? It is easy to dwell on the laptop or the car as paradigmatic of contemporary culture but how much are these actually revealing of the human condition? One moment driving around in our cars, the next moment back in our heads. Or should we be talking here rather about being auto-motile? Conference Organisation Indications of interest should be sent to the conference administrator, Tracey Wood (t.wood@mngt.keele.ac.uk), stating whether you intend to contribute a paper, participate as a discussant or just come along to join in. If you would like to submit a paper, please include a short abstract of up to 200 words. Abstracts should include full contact details and be sent by email to the conference administrator by 31 March 2002. Prospective discussants should also include a short (200 words) outline of their interests so that the convenors can match discussants and papers. Other participants are also welcomed and it is hoped that the conference will stimulate much productive dialogue. The cost of the conference will be 225, postgraduates 125 including meals and two nights accommodation. Places are still currently available, but in order to avoid disappointment, immediate booking is recommended. Conference Administrator: Tracey Wood, Keele University - t.wood@mngt.keele.ac.uk Conference Convenors: Steffen Bhm, University of Warwick Campbell Jones, Keele University Chris Land, University of Warwick Rolland Munro, Keele University Matthew Paterson, Keele University From bayk at quickweb.com.ph Tue Apr 2 11:38:04 2002 From: bayk at quickweb.com.ph (Ramon) Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2002 10:38:04 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Re: transit in Mexico city References: <1017341671.3ca366e7a7bc3@www.courrier.umontreal.ca> <004101c1d6bb$1b8c6a20$57b601c8@q8v1n7> <3CA4C761.62D915DD@umontreal.ca> <5.1.0.14.0.20020401083222.00ac1500@202.54.10.1> Message-ID: <000401c1da03$630566e0$0100a8c0@COMPUTER3> Dear Sujit Patwardhan, Thank you for asking but I must tell you that I am not an expert in transport as others in this list are. However, I think I can speak with some authority on using bicycles for transportation since I have been doing it for at least fifteen years -- generally accident free and without the need for cycle tracks. The web is full of sites on cycling safety so you can just point your favorite search again to that topic (I won't recommend sites as people would think I was biased since this is somewhat a heated subject between cycling advocates and cyclists. But, if you mean by cycle tracks those that are totally separate from the regular roadway, then the general consensus is that they are not at all safe for transportation cycling (although they might be useful for slow, leisurely recreational cycling). Lanes on the road that are reserved for bikes also have their problems particularly when they come to intersections, something that even the most expert of bike and transport planners have not managed to solve (that I know of). If you're thinking about China. well there was cycling before there were tracks and the tracks were put in to keep the bikes out of the way of the MVs. Even the Western European countries are having problems with their cycle tracks. The thing is, people will generally take the transportation option that is most convenient for them. If we want to keep them from using private automobiles, then we will have to make it as inconvenient for them to drive them as possible (as in Amsterdam; "traffic calming" measures are designed to have the same effect; but the real deterrent would be to dramatically increase the cost of owning and driving a car, but how practical and realizable is that?). As for public transport versus bicycles -- if public transport is good and relatively inexpensive, then most people will take that option. To get people to ride bicycles for the real distances that they have to travel to get to work, then we have to make cycling as convenient (meaning just as time saving, and then compensate for the sweat and effort with good parking and showers and changing facilities) as good public transport. I prefer to ride my bike most of the time because I can travel faster than taking public transport (public transport is probably just as bad over there as here), although not faster (and certainly less convenient) than taking a car. But I also enjoy cycling for itself and so I am willing to make the little sacrifice. Experience has taught me how to ride safely in traffic -- and riding on the road is the only way I will do my commuting cycling. (I also ride back country, offroad trails but that is for my recreation.) If we want to encourage cycling, then we have to invest in teaching people how to do it safely. I agree with you that flyovers are terrible for cyclists, public transport riders and pedestrians. That money could be better spent by widening the lane that cyclists commonly use -- the outside, curbside lane on the roadway, fixing potholes and other obstructions on the streets, and building houses for the poor. Ramon From bayk at quickweb.com.ph Tue Apr 2 11:08:24 2002 From: bayk at quickweb.com.ph (Ramon) Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2002 10:08:24 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Re: transit in Mexico city References: <1017341671.3ca366e7a7bc3@www.courrier.umontreal.ca> <004101c1d6bb$1b8c6a20$57b601c8@q8v1n7> <3CA4C761.62D915DD@umontreal.ca> <00cf01c1d8b7$6887ce70$0101a8c0@Computer1> <3CA87FF4.9B2C96C6@umontreal.ca> Message-ID: <000301c1da03$62838cb0$0100a8c0@COMPUTER3> The problem with MVs disrespecting bikes and other MVs is the same everywhere -- it's a common lament from both cyclists and non-cyclists. But people even in MVs generally follow road rules -- if not they end up crushed to death. The same is true with bikes. Of course altitude makes a difference -- to those not used to it. I'm sure the city's cyclist don't mind it. Nor the distances they have to ride. Only cycling advocates who don't usually do as they preach find this a problem. From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Tue Apr 2 16:03:12 2002 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2002 15:03:12 +0800 Subject: [sustran] FW: Smart Urban Transport Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB10340D2B@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> Dear sustran-discussers A reminder of this rich information service on urban transport in Asia & Pacific... . For the moment it is free but soon will be charged. Their web site is also rich in detail relevant to the debate over rail versus busways among other issues. Paul =================================================== = Smart Urban Transport Issue #7 April 2002 = =================================================== SUT is the modern communication medium for developers, regulators, operators and financiers of passenger and freight traffic systems in our increasingly urbanised world. SUT's focus is to highlight solutions for cost-effective and environmentally-friendly transportation movements within the cities of the Asian triangle encompassing Japan, India and New Zealand. Monthly (except January) the SUT email provides links to six Information Silos, soon to be available only to SUT subscribers, who will also receive the SUT magazine three times a year. These news services are supported by SUT conferences. **SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE DETAILS AT THE BASE OF THIS MAIL CONTENTS - Buses - safer than many think - Sell out of Manila's Metrostar denied - China rail awards contracts - Korea prepares for Green World Cup - New traffic plan for LRT construction Manila - Japan-Thai consortium wins BMTA restructure job + lots more..... +++++++++++++++++++++++++ + STRATEGY AND POLICY + +++++++++++++++++++++++++ BUSES - SAFER THAN MANY THINK Of the 17,840 road fatalities between 1990 and 1998 on Australian roads, bus occupants accounted for just 0.6%. Of the 178,567 hospitalisations from road accidents between 1990 and 1997, bus occupants accounted for just 0.6%. And the figures have improved since then. To read this story and more, visit http://www.smarturbantransport.com/index.cfm?li=silodisplay.cfm&siloID=1 TOP STRATEGY STORIES (at the above link)... - More Thai pedestrians going to heaven - Reinventing public transport - Fight with freight for road space - Analysis of NZ government's transport funding - Road v Rail: let the battle begin - Translink before government ========================================================= ===== By using the best of each technology, Smart ===== ==== Urban Transport delivers the best communication ==== ===== solution for Smart Transport Professionals. ===== ========================================================= ++++++++++++++++++++++++ + PEOPLE & COMPANIES + ++++++++++++++++++++++++ SELL OUT OF MANILA'S METROSTAR DENIED Metro Rail Transit Corporation (MRTC), Metro Manila, Philippines strongly denies early March 2002 press reports the consortium is looking to get out of the MRT3 project known as Metrostar, the 17-kilometre elevated-rail project running along Manila's major circumferential ring road, Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). To read this story and more, visit http://www.smarturbantransport.com/index.cfm?li=silodisplay.cfm&siloID=2 TOP PEOPLE & COMPANIES STORIES... - New CEO for Image Sensing Systems - Neoplan agent for Compak - Super partnership - ERG/Transurban joint-venture making progress - MIG ups investment in Canada's 407 toll road --advertisement-------------------------------- Looking for an effective Intelligent Transport System that delivers centralised visibility, management, control and automation of complex high volume traffic systems resulting in unparalleled utilisation and optimisation of new and existing traffic infrastructure? You need MI Transport Systems. 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For more information visit http://www.trafficsystems.com or mailto:info@trafficsystems.com or Tel +46-36-19 43 00 ------------------------------------------------ +++++++++++++++++++++ + ENVIRONMENT + +++++++++++++++++++++ SOUTH KOREA PREPARES FOR GREEN WORLD CUP In the lead up to the South Korea/Japan Fifa World Cup 2002, Korea is undertaking serious measures to ensure the competition will be known as the Green World Cup. Unnecessary idling of buses and cars, irresponsible waste disposal, and dirty public toilets will no longer be tolerated under new guidelines. To read this story and more, visit http://www.smarturbantransport.com/index.cfm?li=silodisplay.cfm&siloID=4 TOP ENVIRONMENT STORIES... - Denso develops new diesel particulate filter - Pakistan moves closer to lead-free gasoline - Orbital receives Clean Air award - Chinese motorcycles invade Vietnam - ADB Workshop discusses barriers to change - US$3bn Credits for US energy savers - Submissions for new ambient air quality standard - Gas on the busway - Mexico research points at taxis as major polluters --advertisement-------------------------------- PicoPass - A NEW CONTACTLES SMART CARD FOR TRANSPORT COMBINING TWO STANDARDS, PROXIMITY (ISO 14443 TYPE B) AND VICINITY (ISO 15693 ). 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To read this story and more, visit http://www.smarturbantransport.com/index.cfm?li=silodisplay.cfm&siloID=5 TOP INFRASTRUCTURE & OPERATIONS STORIES... - Manila North Rail project - Never mind the quality - Major Sydney transport projects proceed - Profile of Kuala Lumpur's Monorail project - Singapore launches new transport Smart Card - High Speed train back to fill Ansett hole --advertisement-------------------------------- Are you looking for an innovative way to communicate to 10,000 key decision-makers involved in improving urban transport in Pacific Rim countries? Then book this space for the next three months. Contact David Sweedman +61 7 3854 1286, 1800 649 578 (Australia only) or mailto:dsweed@pubserv.com.au. ------------------------------------------------ ++++++++++++++++++++++++ + BUSINESS INFORMATION + ++++++++++++++++++++++++ JAPAN-THAI CONSORTIUM WINS BMTA RESTRUCTURE JOB Thailand's Office of the Commission for Land Transport (OCMLT) has commenced negotiations with a consortium led by Almec of Japan and Plan Pro of Thailand for the US$800,000 review of the bus routes, services and operations of the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA). 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Ultimately bus and mass transit of all types will be judged on their ability to attract significant patronage - recent experience with new mass transit systems opened in the Asia-Pacific region provides some insight into how they are perceived by potential riders. For more information see the Transport Roundtable Australasia website at http://www.transportroundtable.com.au/. -------------------------- ITS IN ASIA: MARKET TRENDS AND PROSPECTS TO 2010 A comprehensive three part study of the emerging ITS market. * Part One: ITS in ASEAN: Market Trends and Prospects to 2010 * Part Two: ITS in China: Market Trends and Prospects to 2010 * Part Three: Overview For more information see the Transport Roundtable Australasia website at http://www.transportroundtable.com.au/. ------------------------------------------------ --------- SUBSCRIBE --------- For our subscription rates and details on how to subscribe, go to http://www.smarturbantransport.com and click on the "Subscribe" link on the left. To change the email address that we send this newsletter to, or to add other email addresses for colleagues, email us at mailto:subs@pubserv.com.au .... ------------------------------------ Copyright 2002 Transport Roundtable All rights reserved ------------------------------------ Transport Roundtable Australasia Pty Ltd PO Box 3224 South Brisbane QLD 4101 AUSTRALIA Tel: +61 7 3365 1569 Fax: + 61 7 3844 5501 http://www.smarturbantransport.com/ From papon at inrets.fr Tue Apr 2 18:33:33 2002 From: papon at inrets.fr (Francis Papon) Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2002 11:33:33 +0200 Subject: [sustran] [sustran] Cycling in cities In-Reply-To: <000701c1d5b0$6f7b5a80$92b601c8@q8v1n7> References: <007c01c1d520$d6ff2640$49b601c8@q8v1n7> <000701c1d5b0$6f7b5a80$92b601c8@q8v1n7> Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20020402/44d368cf/attachment.htm From papon at inrets.fr Tue Apr 2 19:04:06 2002 From: papon at inrets.fr (Francis Papon) Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2002 12:04:06 +0200 Subject: [sustran] [sustran] Cycling in cities (continued) Message-ID: Hello dear sustran list members, Sorry for sending the first part of my message before it was completed. I go on. One way of assessing the lack of interest of authorities in cycling is when they do not record non motorized traffic in statistics: ? (At) 22:40 +0530 31/03/02, kisan mehta ?crivait (wrote) : >no traffic study ever takes into account >walking and cycling as traffic) In fact, a comprehensive transport policy in cities should combine measures favouring environmental friendly modes such as public transport or bicycles, and measures aiming at curbing car use. An example of such policies is to be found in the Netherlands. As much has been said in the debate about cycling, I would just add one point: intermodality. ? (At) 4:16 +0000 1/04/02, TR Saranathan ?crivait (wrote) : >Regarding private cars 'pooling' and a combination of private cars >and public transport will be useful Access to public transport is a key issue for sustainable transport in cities. But I don't think park and ride is the best way of using scare space around stations and public money. Bicycles are a more efficient way of increasing public transport patronage and reducing travel times. They need less dense public transport networks which then can be more efficient. Everybody agrees that rapid mass transit systems (mainly rail, but I not entering in the rail vs bus debate again) are the backbone of the transportation systems of large cities. Bicycles can efficiently complement these systems, and then the issue of distances raised at the beginning is solved. Many countries such as Japan, the Netherlands, have build good bicycle facilities at railway stations. Sometimes even towers are built to store bicycles at main station, such as at Innsbruck hbf. If you feel concerned with issues of cycling in cities, I give you an anticipated information. Velocity conference will be held in Paris on September, 23-26, 2003. The main theme will be "the bicycle as an indispensable tool for reclaiming town space". The call for papers will be issued later on this year, and I shall keep you informed. But you can think about it from now. It would be nice to have contributions from all over the world to exchange experience. Best regards, -- ????Francis Papon, mailto:francis.papon@inrets.fr tel +33147407270 Ing?nieur en Chef des Ponts et Chauss?es, charg? de recherche ? INRETS/DEST/EEM, 2, av. du G?n?ral Malleret-Joinville, F-94114 Arcueil France http://www.inrets.fr/ From bfinn at singnet.com.sg Tue Apr 2 19:49:12 2002 From: bfinn at singnet.com.sg (Brendan Finn) Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2002 18:49:12 +0800 Subject: [sustran] [sustran] Cycling in cities References: <007c01c1d520$d6ff2640$49b601c8@q8v1n7><000701c1d5b0$6f7b5a80$92b601c8@q8v1n7> Message-ID: <001e01c1da34$1fe5e840$07d315a5@bfinn> [sustran] Cycling in citiesTo begin, 'well done' to Francis Papon for a concise summarisation of the discussion so far. In my opinion, the key point is that cycling offers possibilities for a segment of the travel demand, and that this will vary very much from city to city. As already said, it is part of the solution, but not all of it. Still, if American cities can get excited about transit having a 3-5% share of the total travel movements, then if we can get 1 trip in 20 made by bike it should be seen as a big achievement. And it won't require so much investment at public or personal level. The cost of one kilometre of urban motorway or underground rail would buy an awful lot of cycle facilities, which in turn would help to free up some existing roadspace. I agree fully that the real knowledge to release the potential of cycling as a mode lies with those who actually cycle (or have tried and given up) than with the transport experts. From the existing cyclists - across the different types of user - what things make it successful for them, and what things make it painful even if they continue? For those who have given up, what were the barriers, and what would give them the courage to try again ? >From my personal experience of cycling to work in Dublin in 1987-1993, a trip of about 10 km through traffic took 20 minutes, one third of the time by bus and less than half that by car. There were no cycle facilities then, but using a bit of common sense you learn to avoid the dangers. (I think slower careful cyclists were treated with zero respect by motorists, and became very discouraged). Since I had shower and locker facilities at my workplace, I could arrive in ahead of my car-driving colleagues (the vast majority - ironic, given that I worked with the city's bus company), fresh and wide-awake. I have to admit, in mid-winter I sometimes needed have a little talk with myself to get onto the bike. Depending on circumstances, I would take the bike or bus, but never the car. Since then, a substantial cycle-path network has been developed, either on footpaths or kerbside reservaton on the road, and cyclists are allowed use the greatly expanded buslanes. Check the website of the Dublin Transportation Office http://www.dto.ie When I came to Singapore two years ago I thought I could save time by cycling to the university, about 26 km., although clearly at the limit of a daily cycle commute. It's a flat city and seems very suitable. However, there is very high humidity and occasional torrential downpours. So even for medium-length trips, a person needs to wear sports gear, bring a change of clothes and absolutely must have shower and changing facilities at both trip ends. When it rains heavily, conditions are treacherous and horrible for cyclists. And the Singaporean drivers are, let us politely say, not world-renowned for their respect for cyclists. I relate these experiences, since many of the countries where cycling should play a major role have hot climatic conditions, often with high humidity. On paper it looks great, but on the road it's not so nice. Being realistic, I could not use the bike for most trips (visiting friends, shopping, library, downtown) that I make since it would always mean a change of clothes and a shower. Fortunately, there is a good public transport system and cheap taxis. Should we give up on cycling ? Certainly not, but let's be realistic about which trips by which people can be made comfortably by bicycle. As I say, if we can get an extra one in twenty trips by bike, it changes the face of transport in a city for very little cost. Let us recognise that there is a vast toolbox of cycling possibilities, and that each city needs to figure out the best mix, and promote it. And let us also recognise that the number of cyclists is not a percentage of the demographics. It is the collective of individual people facing the opportunities, encouragement, barriers and dangers in their environment, and making their personal choice. With best wishes to all on the Sustrans forum, Brendan Finn. ______________________________________________________ Please note that from 1st March 2002, all Singapore phone lines become 8-digit Please place the number "6" in front of the current 7-digit number in your address books Address : 28, Leonie Hill, #02-28 Leonie Towers, Singapore 239227 Mobile : +65.94332298 Tel : +65.67340260 Fax/Tel : +65.67340412 e-mail : bfinn@singnet.com.sg Website : http://www.europrojects.ie/etts ----- Original Message ----- From: Francis Papon To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org Sent: 02 April 2002 17:33 Subject: [sustran] [sustran] Cycling in cities Hello dear sustran list members, I first want to thank Carlos Cordero V. for rising the issue of cycling in cities: ? (At) 11:55 -0500 27/03/02, Carlos Cordero V. ?crivait (wrote) : For those of you who does not have the pleasure to talk in Spanish, the information regarding Mexico D.F tells that there is no planned investment for cycleways from 2000 till 2006. The governemnt excluded this possibility even the environmental groups strongly opposed this kind of approach to urban transport. At the same time the budget goes to elevated highways in a city with problems to breathe fresh air. Beyond the anecdote what we would like to stress that every year is more difficult to find a place for cyclist in cities since the investement pattern increase the phisical and social segreation in the city. This raised a number of interesting contributions. ? (At) 13:54 -0500 28/03/02, Paula Negron-Poblete ?crivait (wrote) : distances in Mexico are too important for being travelled by bike. Then, all have agreed that bicycles alone were not the solution, but that they were part of the solution. ? (At) 22:40 +0530 31/03/02, kisan mehta ?crivait (wrote) : no one alternative can be the only way out for smooth movement of men and goods. One of the reason is that bicycles are efficient and fast: ? (At) 21:23 +0800 31/03/02, Ramon ?crivait (wrote) : I cycle 15 km to work daily and it takes me about an hour to do so. Even, if not everybody like Ramon or myself travel long distances to work, it is admitted by Dutch planners that trips up to 8 km can easily be managed by bicycle. Another reason is that bicycles are not expensive, which should be a relevant point in developping countries. But on the other side of the the coin, this can hinder the development of cycling, as it gives a poor image of cycling. Only in the richest countries this problem has been overcome. But the more serious issue about cycling is of course safety concerns: ? (At) 7:59 +0400 1/04/02, Alan Patrick Howes ?crivait (wrote) : Certain basic safety standards have to be enforced. The debate about safety and cycle tracks has a long history. In some cases facilities can be useful: ? (At) 23:11 +0530 1/04/02, Sujit Patwardhan ?crivait (wrote) : we are pressing for cycle tracks (for safety) But often, separate facilities does not improve safety. ? (At) 10:38 +0800 2/04/02, Ramon ?crivait (wrote) : then the general consensus is that they are not at all safe for transportation cycling Often, experienced cyclists appear to know more about cyclists'safety than so-called transport experts who never travel by bicycle: some key points are developping road skills of cyclists, providing a smooth surface and a wide curb lane, and enforcing parking restrictions. Often, separate facilities appear to be a way of pushing cyclists off the way of motor vehicles. -- Francis Papon, mailto:francis.papon@inrets.fr tel +33147407270 Ing?nieur en Chef des Ponts et Chauss?es, charg? de recherche ? INRETS/DEST/EEM, 2, av. du G?n?ral Malleret-Joinville, F-94114 Arcueil France http://www.inrets.fr/ From hjk at rincon.net Tue Apr 2 19:58:57 2002 From: hjk at rincon.net (Harshad Kamdar) Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2002 16:28:57 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: transit in Mexico city In-Reply-To: <3CA87FF4.9B2C96C6@umontreal.ca> Message-ID: <000d01c1da35$6414ef60$07c8c8c8@mercury> Dear Paula, I have been following the exchanges re Cycling and Mexico which is 2400 M above MSL. Even in Khatmandu (Nepal) I was reading that they are trying to provide Cycleways. Even as an experimentation they have started a Mountain Cycle mounted Police for controlling traffic. A bicycle is a poor man's vehicle and it also lends mobility to the youth Kanu Kanu H J Kamdar Tel: +91 22 4010041 Fax: +91 22 4021590 E Mail: hjk @rincon.net -----Original Message----- From: owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org [mailto:owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org]On Behalf Of Paula Negron-Poblete Sent: Monday, April 01, 2002 09:13 PM To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org Subject: [sustran] Re: transit in Mexico city The problem in Mexico city with cycling is not only the distance, but if public transport buses and vehicles in general do not respect other vehicles in the street, then imagine a person on a bike! Besides that, runing a bike in a city at 2400 meters on the sea level, is not like at sea level. I'm actually making a research about work distances to the main center ad distances are far away from 20 kilometers, at that distance you are not yet in the periphery of the city. For more information about the subject, you can check the work of Bernardo Navarro or Victor Islas. -- Paula Negron Facult? de l'Am?nagement Universit? de Montr?al p.negron-poblete@umontreal.ca From litman at vtpi.org Tue Apr 2 23:18:19 2002 From: litman at vtpi.org (Todd Litman) Date: Tue, 02 Apr 2002 06:18:19 -0800 Subject: [sustran] Cycling in cities In-Reply-To: <001e01c1da34$1fe5e840$07d315a5@bfinn> References: <007c01c1d520$d6ff2640$49b601c8@q8v1n7> <000701c1d5b0$6f7b5a80$92b601c8@q8v1n7> Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.20020402061819.012ac6a0@pop.islandnet.com> Here are some resources from our Online TDM Encyclopedia on ways to evaluate, improve and promote cycling in cities: Bicycle Improvements - http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm93.htm Walking and Cycling Encouragement - http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm3.htm Nonmororized Transportation Planning - http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm25.htm Nonmotorized Transportation Evaluation - http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm63.htm Bicycle Parking - http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm85.htm Please let me know if you have information to add. At 06:49 PM 4/2/02 +0800, Brendan Finn wrote: >Let us recognise that there is a vast toolbox of cycling possibilities, and >that each city needs to figure out the best mix, and promote it. Sincerely, Todd Litman, Director Victoria Transport Policy Institute "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" 1250 Rudlin Street Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560 E-mail: litman@vtpi.org Website: http://www.vtpi.org From p.negron-poblete at UMontreal.CA Tue Apr 2 23:27:52 2002 From: p.negron-poblete at UMontreal.CA (Paula Negron-Poblete) Date: Tue, 02 Apr 2002 09:27:52 -0500 (EST) Subject: [sustran] Re: transit in Mexico city In-Reply-To: <000d01c1da35$6414ef60$07c8c8c8@mercury> References: <000d01c1da35$6414ef60$07c8c8c8@mercury> Message-ID: <1017757672.3ca9bfe82dfa1@www.courrier.umontreal.ca> Dear Kano and others, I think in big metropolis as Mexico city isolated solutions are not the best ones. I used to live in Mexico city and even if I would love to make my everyday travel by bike, it wasn't possible. It's really too dangerous! since I've been living in Montreal I do my travel by bike (when the weather allows me that), and I certainly enjoy it. But in big cities I think we can only travel by using several transit modes, the question that rises then is how to coordinate these modes. Paula Negron En r?ponse ? Harshad Kamdar : > Dear Paula, > > I have been following the exchanges re Cycling and Mexico which is 2400 > M > above MSL. Even in Khatmandu (Nepal) I was reading that they are trying > to > provide Cycleways. Even as an experimentation they have started a > Mountain > Cycle mounted Police for controlling traffic. > > A bicycle is a poor man's vehicle and it also lends mobility to the > youth > > Kanu > > Kanu H J Kamdar > > Tel: +91 22 4010041 > Fax: +91 22 4021590 > E Mail: hjk @rincon.net > From ecoplan.adsl at wanadoo.fr Tue Apr 2 23:41:29 2002 From: ecoplan.adsl at wanadoo.fr (Eric Britton) Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2002 16:41:29 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Cycling in Third World Mega-Cities In-Reply-To: <1017757672.3ca9bfe82dfa1@www.courrier.umontreal.ca> Message-ID: <001b01c1da54$7a59fb70$6501a8c0@home> May I suggest that the most useful concrete example and leads here may be available from the extensive Bogota experience of the last years, during which time cycling has been developed into a real transportation means for a Third World mega city whose initial cycle endowment was nothing less than awful. You can find a good English language lead on this if you go to the Stockholm Partnerships for Sustainable Cities site at www.partnerships.stockholm.se/, click The Projects, Original Nominations, and then Search for Bogota. You'll see it. Complete with extensive links to direct sources. With all good wishes, Eric Britton The Commons __ technology, economy, society__ Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France Day phone: +331 4326 1323 Mobile: +336 80 96 78 79 24 hour Fax/Voicemail hotline: +1 888 677-4866 http://ecoplan.org/ IP Videoconference: 193.252.199.213 Email: ecoplan.adsl@wanadoo.fr URL www.ecoplan.org From sagaris at terra.cl Wed Apr 3 00:10:42 2002 From: sagaris at terra.cl (Lake Sagaris) Date: Tue, 02 Apr 2002 11:10:42 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: transit in Mexico city In-Reply-To: <1017757672.3ca9bfe82dfa1@www.courrier.umontreal.ca> References: <000d01c1da35$6414ef60$07c8c8c8@mercury> <000d01c1da35$6414ef60$07c8c8c8@mercury> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020402105146.02b80c60@pop3.norton.antivirus> Hi everyone I've come in on this toward the end, because I've just got back from a meeting in Nairobi about successful urban transportation solutions from around the world. Bogota, Quito, Curitiba, are the logical examples from Latin America, and I'm glad that Eric mentioned Bogota and provided such useful links as well. It seems to me that either / or debates are not as fruitful as integrated solutions and Bogota is the best example I know of of that (anywhere in the world, actually, except perhaps Amsterdam). For our countries in the developing world, urban transport problems are compounded by an enormous number of trips as families cross the city several times daily as children commute to schools in "better" neighbourhoods, and the fact that cars (used by a small, but powerful minority) are choking out essential routes and infrastructure that should be dedicated to transport modes that serve the majority. This reality, compounded by the really disgusting quality of diesel fuels used by many vehicles, particularly buses, means that urban transport tends to be inefficient, unpleasant, stratified by income level, age and gender, and highly damaging to the environment, particularly in terms of noise and air pollution, but dirt is a serious problem -- and cost -- to the quality of life in all its aspects. Oddly enough, we have countries the world over (as this list has illustrated), which prefer to spend millions on highway infrastructure, which is extremely expensive, rather than on relatively cheap, more socially fair and more environmentally successful option. From Lloyd, in reference to a Chilean transport "authority" arguing that a Bogota type solution was too "expensive" for Santiago: "Incredible how there is enough money to build $60 million per kilometer systems, but there is nothing for $2 million per kilometer systems (that actually serve more people)." We need -- and have a right to, if we look at the modal distribution of transportation in most of our cities -- to cities where more of existing infrastructure is dedicated and adapted to the majority modes. In Santiago, 20% of trips are done by car, 20% by foot or bike, 60% by public transport, mostly buses. This means (and again, Bogota has done this wonderfully well) that: 1) When parking is eliminated from streets, SIDEWALKS and not roads used by cars, should be widened; 2) More space should go to dedicated busways 3) More space should go to pedestrians and bikes. 4) Where possible this should add up to more GREENSPACE, to improve usage, safety, quality and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Cyclists should have the use of an enormous network of bikelanes that not only are NOT shared with cars, but are PHYSICALLY SEPARATED from them. Otherwise, we will continue to see the disproportionate number of accidents and fatalities involving bikes, and these will grow with bike use. Even in Toronto, which is a relatively bike-friendly city, sharing bike lanes with car lanes without a physical separation does not work. Typically, cars park in the bike lanes or stop there illegally. While I congratulate the hardy souls who risk their lives daily to bike in Latin American or other cities where traffic is insanely careless of human life, this does not make bikes an option for millions of school children who could find more freedom and better health by biking rather than bussing or carring to school. It is particularly important, and often overlooked, that these new systems DISPLACE cars from roads. Otherwise, as we have learned over and over again, newly created space on roads used by cars will constantly be filled up by them (studies indicate that within four to five years, 90% of new road space is choked up again by cars). There is no such thing as "discouraging" car use, as so many national or municipal policies state, as long as new infrastructure is being built for them, particularly in a context where mass transit, bikeways and pedestrians are sadly neglected. By the way, for anyone who would like to carry on this discussion more in Spanish, please feel free to join innovacionurbana, our Latin America-based list, in Spanish, that exists expressly for this purpose. All best Lake Sagaris Living City - Ciudad Viva Santiago PD Para participar en este grupo, por favor enviar un correo-e a Innovacionurbana-subscribe@yahoogroups.com At 09:27 AM 4/2/02 -0500, you wrote: >Dear Kano and others, > >I think in big metropolis as Mexico city isolated solutions are not the best >ones. I used to live in Mexico city and even if I would love to make my >everyday travel by bike, it wasn't possible. It's really too dangerous! since >I've been living in Montreal I do my travel by bike (when the weather >allows me >that), and I certainly enjoy it. But in big cities I think we can only travel >by using several transit modes, the question that rises then is how to >coordinate these modes. > > >Paula Negron > >En r?ponse ? Harshad Kamdar : > > > Dear Paula, > > > > I have been following the exchanges re Cycling and Mexico which is 2400 > > M > > above MSL. Even in Khatmandu (Nepal) I was reading that they are trying > > to > > provide Cycleways. Even as an experimentation they have started a > > Mountain > > Cycle mounted Police for controlling traffic. > > > > A bicycle is a poor man's vehicle and it also lends mobility to the > > youth > > > > Kanu > > > > Kanu H J Kamdar > > > > Tel: +91 22 4010041 > > Fax: +91 22 4021590 > > E Mail: hjk @rincon.net > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20020402/dd4396e5/attachment.htm From kisansbc at vsnl.com Wed Apr 3 01:55:58 2002 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (kisan mehta) Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2002 22:25:58 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: transit in Mexico city References: <000d01c1da35$6414ef60$07c8c8c8@mercury><000d01c1da35$6414ef60$07c8c8c8@mercury> <5.1.0.14.2.20020402105146.02b80c60@pop3.norton.antivirus> Message-ID: <008401c1da67$433c5a80$3226020a@im.eth.net> We are happy that the Transit in Mexico city has really brought about lot of discussions and new ideas. We observe that as cities grow bigger and turn into metropolises, they need and should need wider choice of modes however both importance of walking and cycling as independent mode for movement cannot be reduced or rather should not be reduced. However authorities in the developing (poor) countries opt for motorised modes in place of cycling and non-motorised modes instead of developing all modes in harmony with cycles and public transport. Substantial portion of public resources are used for motor cars, motorways, expressways, fly overs and what not. In Mumbai(population 12 million), 88% of journeys are performed by public transport, 7% by private vehicles and 5% by taxies. This breakup would continue substantially with the %age for public transport declining to 86% in the year 2011. Yet public money is being used on motor roads. Public transport services run always in loss, yet they are being taxed more. No tax on private vehicles. The classic example of public transport being given the lowest priority is observed on the JJ Hospital to Jyotiba Phule Market elevated road now under construction. Construction requires diversion of motorised traffic at one point. Detour for motor cars is about 200 metres while public road buses providing 4.6 million journeys are made to detour involving 2 km longer travel. Cycles have a definite role to play in movement in human settlements. This role is not diminished with cities becoming larger yet all restrictions are being placed and excuses of safety brought to the fore for cyclists only. Importance of cycling cannot be discounted with cities being larger. Cycles like motor cars are used for movement. Nobody asks a motorist the question on the distance then why for the cyclist? He may like to use for many other journeys such as shopping or taking the child to school, Best wishes. PriyaSalvi and Kisan Mehta ---- Original Message ----- From: Lake Sagaris To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2002 8:40 PM Subject: [sustran] Re: transit in Mexico city Hi everyone I've come in on this toward the end, because I've just got back from a meeting in Nairobi about successful urban transportation solutions from around the world. Bogota, Quito, Curitiba, are the logical examples from Latin America, and I'm glad that Eric mentioned Bogota and provided such useful links as well. It seems to me that either / or debates are not as fruitful as integrated solutions and Bogota is the best example I know of of that (anywhere in the world, actually, except perhaps Amsterdam). For our countries in the developing world, urban transport problems are compounded by an enormous number of trips as families cross the city several times daily as children commute to schools in "better" neighbourhoods, and the fact that cars (used by a small, but powerful minority) are choking out essential routes and infrastructure that should be dedicated to transport modes that serve the majority. This reality, compounded by the really disgusting quality of diesel fuels used by many vehicles, particularly buses, means that urban transport tends to be inefficient, unpleasant, stratified by income level, age and gender, and highly damaging to the environment, particularly in terms of noise and air pollution, but dirt is a serious problem -- and cost -- to the quality of life in all its aspects. Oddly enough, we have countries the world over (as this list has illustrated), which prefer to spend millions on highway infrastructure, which is extremely expensive, rather than on relatively cheap, more socially fair and more environmentally successful option. From Lloyd, in reference to a Chilean transport "authority" arguing that a Bogota type solution was too "expensive" for Santiago: "Incredible how there is enough money to build $60 million per kilometer systems, but there is nothing for $2 million per kilometer systems (that actually serve more people)." We need -- and have a right to, if we look at the modal distribution of transportation in most of our cities -- to cities where more of existing infrastructure is dedicated and adapted to the majority modes. In Santiago, 20% of trips are done by car, 20% by foot or bike, 60% by public transport, mostly buses. This means (and again, Bogota has done this wonderfully well) that: 1) When parking is eliminated from streets, SIDEWALKS and not roads used by cars, should be widened; 2) More space should go to dedicated busways 3) More space should go to pedestrians and bikes. 4) Where possible this should add up to more GREENSPACE, to improve usage, safety, quality and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Cyclists should have the use of an enormous network of bikelanes that not only are NOT shared with cars, but are PHYSICALLY SEPARATED from them. Otherwise, we will continue to see the disproportionate number of accidents and fatalities involving bikes, and these will grow with bike use. Even in Toronto, which is a relatively bike-friendly city, sharing bike lanes with car lanes without a physical separation does not work. Typically, cars park in the bike lanes or stop there illegally. While I congratulate the hardy souls who risk their lives daily to bike in Latin American or other cities where traffic is insanely careless of human life, this does not make bikes an option for millions of school children who could find more freedom and better health by biking rather than bussing or carring to school. It is particularly important, and often overlooked, that these new systems DISPLACE cars from roads. Otherwise, as we have learned over and over again, newly created space on roads used by cars will constantly be filled up by them (studies indicate that within four to five years, 90% of new road space is choked up again by cars). There is no such thing as "discouraging" car use, as so many national or municipal policies state, as long as new infrastructure is being built for them, particularly in a context where mass transit, bikeways and pedestrians are sadly neglected. By the way, for anyone who would like to carry on this discussion more in Spanish, please feel free to join innovacionurbana, our Latin America-based list, in Spanish, that exists expressly for this purpose. All best Lake Sagaris Living City - Ciudad Viva Santiago At 09:27 AM 4/2/02 -0500, you wrote: Dear Kano and others, I think in big metropolis as Mexico city isolated solutions are not the best ones. I used to live in Mexico city and even if I would love to make my everyday travel by bike, it wasn't possible. It's really too dangerous! since I've been living in Montreal I do my travel by bike (when the weather allows me that), and I certainly enjoy it. But in big cities I think we can only travel by using several transit modes, the question that rises then is how to coordinate these modes. Paula Negron En r?ponse ? Harshad Kamdar : > Dear Paula, > > I have been following the exchanges re Cycling and Mexico which is 2400 M above MSL. Even in Khatmandu (Nepal) I was reading that they are trying to provide Cycleways. Even as an experimentation they have started a Mountain Cycle mounted Police for controlling traffic. > > A bicycle is a poor man's vehicle and it also lends mobility to the youth > > Kanu > > Kanu H J Kamdar > > Tel: +91 22 4010041 > Fax: +91 22 4021590 > E Mail: hjk @rincon.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20020402/f096abc5/attachment.htm From townsend at central.murdoch.edu.au Wed Apr 3 12:24:20 2002 From: townsend at central.murdoch.edu.au (Craig Townsend) Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 11:24:20 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Re: transit in Mexico city In-Reply-To: <000d01c1da35$6414ef60$07c8c8c8@mercury> References: <3CA87FF4.9B2C96C6@umontreal.ca> Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.0.20020403111555.009fd780@central.murdoch.edu.au> Dear Kanu, While bicycles are good for the poor, it is worth noting that in the places such as Tokyo and Amsterdam where cycling and walking are prominent and well-integrated with other forms of urban transport, they are used by rich men (and women) as well. This point is made in the document "Poverty and Urban Transport" (available online) prepared for the World Bank Urban Transport Strategy Review. They advise that "the attention paid to non motorized transport has to be viewed as an element in a more global policy where efforts are made also on public transport supply. So that these policies have a chance to be implemented successfully, it is essential that they do not solely concern the poorest but also other population categories." Craig At 04:28 PM 02/04/02 +0530, you wrote: >Dear Paula, > >I have been following the exchanges re Cycling and Mexico which is 2400 M >above MSL. Even in Khatmandu (Nepal) I was reading that they are trying to >provide Cycleways. Even as an experimentation they have started a Mountain >Cycle mounted Police for controlling traffic. > >A bicycle is a poor man's vehicle and it also lends mobility to the youth > >Kanu > >Kanu H J Kamdar > >Tel: +91 22 4010041 >Fax: +91 22 4021590 >E Mail: hjk @rincon.net ________________________________________________ Craig Townsend Institute for Sustainability & Technology Policy Murdoch University South Street, Murdoch Perth, Western Australia 6150 tel: (61 8) 9360 6278 fax: (61 8) 9360 6421 email: townsend@central.murdoch.edu.au From bayk at quickweb.com.ph Wed Apr 3 11:26:22 2002 From: bayk at quickweb.com.ph (Ramon) Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 10:26:22 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Re: [sustran] Cycling in cities References: <007c01c1d520$d6ff2640$49b601c8@q8v1n7><000701c1d5b0$6f7b5a80$92b601c8@q8v1n7> <001e01c1da34$1fe5e840$07d315a5@bfinn> Message-ID: <000301c1dac9$cebae100$0100a8c0@COMPUTER3> Francis wrote: "Often, experienced cyclists appear to know more about cyclists'safety than so-called transport experts who never travel by bicycle: some key points are developping road skills of cyclists, providing a smooth surface and a wide curb lane, and enforcing parking restrictions. Often, separate facilities appear to be a way of pushing cyclists off the way of motor vehicles." The "theoretical" benefits of cycling are well known. What matters is how to promote it on the ground. I've had "transportation (even sustainable transportation) experts" telling me what's good for me -- separate cycleways or a mix of paths and lanes -- even if all they do is cycle the perfunctory 8 km per year in order to feel "integrated". And until late last year I was naive enough to believe them, or at least gave them the benefit of the doubt, even when I had been cycling on the road with MVs for over a decade, and feeling none the worse for it. But my involvement with the Marikina Bikeways Project forced me to do in-depth research on bike safety, and after looking at the major arguments, I believe that I, and most of the cyclists I've met or observed on the roads (ok, on the roads of Manila and New York City where I've done most of my cycle commuting -- can't properly speak for other cities), are best served by riding on the road, not relegated to a separate or segregated facility. I also believe that we should rather advocate that those $hundreds per km., or whatever is the cost for building "cycleways," be put to better use, such as training and education for proper riding, parking and shower/changing facilties, widening the outside lane, fixing the potholes, "sharing the road" campaigns, better law enforcement, and other practical measures that actually matter to cyclists' wellbeing. No more useless infrastructure! Hey, and Brendan's right, weather does matter -- at least for those who need to keep their collars clean. Ramon From tk at thomaskrag.com Wed Apr 3 16:21:29 2002 From: tk at thomaskrag.com (Thomas Krag) Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 09:21:29 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Re: Cycling in cities References: <007c01c1d520$d6ff2640$49b601c8@q8v1n7><000701c1d5b0$6f7b5a80$92b601c8@q8v1n7> <001e01c1da34$1fe5e840$07d315a5@bfinn> <000301c1dac9$cebae100$0100a8c0@COMPUTER3> Message-ID: <00c101c1dae0$2d3593e0$a66f9dd9@toshiba> Dear Sustran-members, many very true and interesting points have already been raised in the discussion about cycling in cities. I would like to add two findings, both from the rich part of the world. One is that high rather than low temperatures seems to be a deterrent for cycling. Northern Europe has generally much more cyclists than Southern Europe. The city of Oulu in Finland is famous for having many cyclists also at wintertime where temperatures drop below -20 degree celcisus. Another is that the discussion about safety is often mixing perceptions and misunderstandings with facts. In Denmark, a small northern country in Europe, 15% of all trips are done by cycling, but many still perceive cycling as unsafe compared to driving. One fact is that per kilometre the risk of getting killed is about 5 times as high when riding a bicycle as when driving a car. Another approach is to look into whether those people, who ride bikes, actually face big risks. Epidemiological studies prove this not to be the case, the health benefits far outweigh the potential extra risks. Interestingly, calculations on the all-over risk of getting killed in transport per year shows that people in Denmark with access to cars to be exposed to bigger risks than those without a car. The reason is that the car is used also for long trips while public transport (which is much safer than cardriving) usually replaces cycling and walking for the long distances. Moreover, several studies shows that the risk of cycling in a given area decrease with incresing numbers of bicycle users. There are also a number of projects showing that it is possible to get an all-over increase in cycle use without an increase in accidents with cyclists. Unfortunately the study I made on the all-over safety for Danish road users at present is only available in Danish. Before I manage to provide a translation those familier with nordic languages can get a copy by e-mail on request. Best regards Thomas Krag -- Thomas Krag Wilhelm Marstrands Gade 11 2100 K?benhavn ? tel +45 35 42 86 24, mobil +45 27 11 86 24 tk@thomaskrag.com, www.thomaskrag.com From kisansbc at vsnl.com Wed Apr 3 14:24:50 2002 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (kisan mehta) Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 10:54:50 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: transit in Mexico city References: <3CA87FF4.9B2C96C6@umontreal.ca> <5.0.2.1.0.20020403111555.009fd780@central.murdoch.edu.au> Message-ID: <000001c1daeb$ab97b320$3226020a@im.eth.net> Dear Sustran Friends inc Paula, Kanu and Craig, The discussion on the Transit in Mexico City leads, I submit, to aconcensus that various modes of traffic including walking and cycling to say the least have to be provided support even as cities grow (rather explode in population) to cater with increasing personal car ownership. Authorities spend considerable part of public resources for building carriageways, expressways, flyovers without charging the users of such facilities. In Mumbai a car owner pays not even a farthing (this word should not be used now that even the British have changed to pence) while bus commuters are forced to pay passenger tax (upto 15% of the fare) for maintaining these facilities. There is no attempt to curb the movement of personal vehicles, heavy duty and intercity buses in the congested areas. Parking is permitted (authorities collect parking fees where caught). On the other hand pavements are removed or drastically narrowed down. Pedestrians die in road accidents. Cycling is discouraged. At one time, Mumbai Traffic Policeman would appprehend a cyclist and remove air from both tyres. We had to take up this invasion on the right to cycle at the highest level and wait for 6 months to reform the Police. It is good to see that the World Bank lays down policies to assist cyclists, pedestrians, non-motorised traffic. In Mumbai, the Bank wants to assist Mumbai Authorities for the Mumbai Urban Transport Project costing Rs 60 billion which proposes to build 6 lane carriageways without pavements passing through crowded residential areas and slums where the poor stay. Talking to the Bank team and even to the Bank President has not made the Bank to insist on the Bank policy. Conditions in the poor countries are very much different. Laying down the policy and its implementation are two distinct matters not to be thought together. Continuing to talk of policy but no implementation. I am reimnded of the situation when Switzerland was considering whether to join the World Bank. The Swiss Govt sought our view when we suggested that the govt ask for applying of uniform policy to the rich and poor nations equally and had hinted to the Bhopal Tragedy. The Bank President on visit to Switzerland declared that the same policy can not be applied as the poor nations cannot afford the high norms. In the Mumbai case, it could be surmised that the poor countries cannot afford constructing pavcments or providing cycling safety. Why not support pavementless dangerous roads only? Craig, Can we request you to guide us as to how we can access the Bank policy document? Best wishes. Priya Salvi and Kisan Mehta ----- Original Message ----- From: Craig Townsend To: Sent: Wednesday, April 03, 2002 8:54 AM Subject: [sustran] Re: transit in Mexico city > Dear Kanu, > While bicycles are good for the poor, it is worth noting that in the places such as Tokyo and Amsterdam where cycling and walking are prominent and well-integrated with other forms of urban transport, they are used by rich men (and women) as well. This point is made in the document "Poverty and Urban Transport" (available online) prepared for the World Bank Urban Transport Strategy Review. They advise that "the attention paid to non- motorized transport has to be viewed as an element in a more global policy where efforts are made also on public transport supply. So that these policies have a chance to be implemented successfully, it is essential that they do not solely concern the poorest but also other population categories." > > Craig > > At 04:28 PM 02/04/02 +0530, you wrote: > >Dear Paula, > > I have been following the exchanges re Cycling and Mexico which is 2400 M above MSL. Even in Khatmandu (Nepal) I was reading that they are trying to provide Cycleways. Even as an experimentation they have started a Mountain Cycle mounted Police for controlling traffic. > > > >A bicycle is a poor man's vehicle and it also lends mobility to the youth > > > >Kanu > > > >Kanu H J Kamdar > > > >Tel: +91 22 4010041 > >Fax: +91 22 4021590 > >E Mail: hjk @rincon.net > > ________________________________________________ > Craig Townsend > Institute for Sustainability & Technology Policy > Murdoch University > South Street, Murdoch > Perth, Western Australia 6150 > tel: (61 8) 9360 6278 fax: (61 8) 9360 6421 > email: townsend@central.murdoch.edu.au From townsend at central.murdoch.edu.au Wed Apr 3 18:32:18 2002 From: townsend at central.murdoch.edu.au (Craig Townsend) Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 17:32:18 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Re: transit in Mexico city In-Reply-To: <000001c1daeb$ab97b320$3226020a@im.eth.net> References: <3CA87FF4.9B2C96C6@umontreal.ca> <5.0.2.1.0.20020403111555.009fd780@central.murdoch.edu.au> Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.0.20020403170050.00a0fb10@central.murdoch.edu.au> Dear Priya and Kisan, Yes, among discussants there seems to be a consensus that walking and cycling are good for cities and citizens and should be encouraged. From my (limited) experience, this state of the affairs is the norm in developing countries where there are high levels of social exclusion and where walkers and NMT users in outdoor, public spaces, are extremely marginalized. This is not merely a technical error, but is due to their lack of influence in the political system, as compared to elite and middle class car owners (who do a fair bit of walking, but usually in air con private spaces such as shopping malls) who have better access and participation, and representation in politics. Undoubtedly it will be the insistent and vigorous political efforts of advocates such as yourselves which could lead to better conditions for all Indians in the future. >On the other hand pavements are removed or drastically >narrowed down. Pedestrians die in road accidents. >Cycling is discouraged. At one time, Mumbai Traffic >Policeman would appprehend a cyclist and remove air >from both tyres. We had to take up this invasion on the >right to cycle at the highest level and wait for 6 months >to reform the Police. Some Sustran-discussers would probably take issue with your first statement below. >It is good to see that the World Bank lays down policies >to assist cyclists, pedestrians, non-motorised traffic. In >Mumbai, the Bank wants to assist Mumbai Authorities Alternatively, it could be surmised that while democratic, Mumbai's political system provides less representation for poor people who would benefit from pavements and cycling safety. Other possibilities could be that large road projects generate significant patronage opportunities and visible signs that the government is "doing something" while widening pavements might take away road space from rich motorists who will complain to their local political representatives. I would guess that affordability likely plays a small role, if at all in these calculations. In the Mumbai case, it could be surmised that the poor >countries cannot afford constructing pavcments or >providing cycling safety. Why not support pavementless >dangerous roads only? The document I referred to (Poverty and Urban Transport, prepared by a French team) is located at the World Bank's Urban Transport Strategy Review website (go to www.worldbank.org, then to Development Topics, then to Urban Transport, then to Urban Transport Strategy Review). It is one of a number of excellent consultant reports commissioned by the World Bank (and all available in full as PDF documents online) as inputs to the formulation of their strategy, which is currently in draft form. However, while you and I may wish otherwise, the contents of that and some of the other reports are not necessarily Bank policy, although they probably reflect the inclinations of some individuals within that institution. It is my understanding that the policies will emerge from the final Strategy paper, and that comments on the strategy paper are still being taken, so it may be worth making some submission in order to influence Bank policy. Best of luck, Craig >Craig, Can we request you to guide us as to how we can >access the Bank policy document? Best wishes. > >Priya Salvi and Kisan Mehta > >----- Original Message ----- >From: Craig Townsend >To: >Sent: Wednesday, April 03, 2002 8:54 AM >Subject: [sustran] Re: transit in Mexico city > > > > Dear Kanu, > > > While bicycles are good for the poor, it is worth noting that in >the places such as Tokyo and Amsterdam where cycling and >walking are prominent and well-integrated with other forms >of urban transport, they are used by rich men (and women) >as well. This point is made in the document "Poverty and > Urban Transport" (available online) prepared for the World >Bank Urban Transport Strategy Review. They advise that >"the attention paid to non- motorized transport has to be >viewed as an element in a more global policy where efforts >are made also on public transport supply. So that these > policies have a chance to be implemented successfully, it is >essential that they do not solely concern the poorest but also >other population categories." > > > > Craig > > > > At 04:28 PM 02/04/02 +0530, you wrote: > > >Dear Paula, > > > >I have been following the exchanges re Cycling and Mexico which is 2400 M >above MSL. Even in Khatmandu (Nepal) I was reading that they are trying to >provide Cycleways. Even as an experimentation they have started a Mountain >Cycle mounted Police for controlling traffic. > > > > > >A bicycle is a poor man's vehicle and it also lends mobility to the youth > > > > > >Kanu > > > > > >Kanu H J Kamdar > > > > > >Tel: +91 22 4010041 > > >Fax: +91 22 4021590 > > >E Mail: hjk @rincon.net > > > > ________________________________________________ > > Craig Townsend > > Institute for Sustainability & Technology Policy > > Murdoch University > > South Street, Murdoch > > Perth, Western Australia 6150 > > tel: (61 8) 9360 6278 fax: (61 8) 9360 6421 > > email: townsend@central.murdoch.edu.au From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Thu Apr 4 09:49:09 2002 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2002 08:49:09 +0800 Subject: [sustran] FW: CSE on 'intelligent adulteration' Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB10340EB3@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> More on Delhi's fuel debate from CSE. Apologies for the less than readable formatting, which is how I received it. Paul ---- What's new at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi, India? ... Other items snipped ... A message from the Editor: "INTELLIGENT" ADULTERATION It could be seen as the best tribute the government could pay our colleague Anil Agarwal. At the hearing of the air pollution case in the Supreme Court when the report on fuel adulteration done by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) was being discussed, the counsel for the Union government, Mukul Rohtagi, thundered. "The report should be rejected, because CSE is not a 'technical body'. Only Anil Agarwal had some technical knowledge and now that he is not there, the organisation is not competent anymore." Why do I call this a tribute? Because sitting in court, I realised that the counsel was stooping so low because we had hurt his client, and hurt it hard. Anil would have expected nothing less from us. Standing behind Rohatgi were two officials of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), Shivraj Singh and A P Ram - both instrumental in the ministry's efforts to derail the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) and to push for diesel. We had been their bugbear for long and now their desperation was showing. This time the issue was adulteration. The court was concerned that gaseous fuels - CNG or LPG - were not accepted because these could not be adulterated, while petrol or diesel could. The government denied this. Its affidavit maintained that "all samples tested for adulteration in Delhi met the specifications laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)" and that the government had "ensured that the right quality of auto fuel was being dispensed in the city". CSE found otherwise. The court had asked the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) to conduct an independent investigation. EPCA, in turn asked CSE. The report - based on surprise collections and testing of samples in the same laboratory mentioned in the government's affidavit - found that over 28 per cent of the samples failed to meet the specifications laid down by the BIS. But the investigations found much more alarming things. CSE purposely (and quietly) adulterated diesel with kerosene. The laboratory passed the sample adulterated with 20 per cent kerosene. The sample with 10 per cent adulteration also passed. But the sample with 15 per cent adulteration failed, in one parameter. Its sulphur level was found to be high - understandable because sulphur content in kerosene is substantially higher than the diesel being supplied to Delhi. But then why did the sample adulterated with 20 per cent kerosene pass? The report also found that sulphur levels in both diesel and petrol astonishingly went down as the fuel travelled from the refinery, to the depot and then to the retail outlet. At the refinery, in this case Mathura refinery, the sulphur levels ranged from 300 parts per million (ppm) to 400 ppm. But at Bijwasan - the depot where the pipeline brought the oil from the refinery - the sulphur content dropped to 200-300 ppm and then at retail outlet, further dropped to 100-300 ppm. Clearly, with no "desulphurisation" possible on route, something else was happening. Could it be dilution with an adulterant? A definite possibility. The oil industry had no clear and convincing explanation. But as the tests only need the fuel to meet the standards - in this case 500 ppm of sulphur - not being able to explain does not matter. It is legal, so what if it could be adulterated. In fact, the fuel specifications made adulteration a legal business, we found. The fuel specifications laid down by the BIS allow for a range wide enough to allow for "intelligent" adulteration. Thus it is possible to adulterate carefully without violating the specifications. My colleagues, who worked on this report, calculated to their horror that it was possible to adulterate petrol with up to 20 per cent naphtha and still meet the BIS specifications. And given the price difference, an outlet could earn a daily profit of Rs 32,000 if it substituted just 15 per cent naphtha in petrol. Then key parameters are not regulated - aromatics and olefins in petrol and polycyclic hydrocarbons in diesel. So what if this makes detecting adulteration impossible. In reality, we found nobody is serious about detecting adulteration. The paraphernalia of tests and specifications have been laid down with the purpose of loosely monitoring fuel quality, not to check adulteration. Not even in the expensive laboratories specifically set up for this purpose. Why does this happen? We have large numbers of technically competent people who are responsible for setting up this system. Did they not know that the system fails to do what it is supposedly designed for? Is it simply that our bombastic scientific establishment has failed once again, in finding solutions to things that affect us in our daily lives. Or is there more to this seeming lack of competence? Is there scientific "intelligence" behind the business of "intelligent" adulteration? Incompetence or corruption? Will we ever know for certain? - Sunita Narain (This article is also available online at http://www.cseindia.org/html/dte/dte20020331/dte_edit.htm ) ************************************************* Visit our website at www.cseindia.org and check out what's new. The website carries our science and environment fortnightly Down To Earth, a daily environment news flash by subject categories, a catalogue of books and publications, and all of our recent press releases. We also give regular updates about all of our campaigns like vehicular pollution, climate change, biodiversity, water resources, wildlife, forests, environment education etc. Our online library of books, journals, images and videos is searchable through a thesaurus of environmental keywords http://data.cseindia.org ... From bfinn at singnet.com.sg Thu Apr 4 10:02:51 2002 From: bfinn at singnet.com.sg (Brendan Finn) Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2002 09:02:51 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Cycling in cities References: <007c01c1d520$d6ff2640$49b601c8@q8v1n7><000701c1d5b0$6f7b5a80$92b601c8@q8v1n7> <001e01c1da34$1fe5e840$07d315a5@bfinn> <000301c1dac9$cebae100$0100a8c0@COMPUTER3> Message-ID: <003a01c1db74$7298f280$3dc515a5@bfinn> From: "Ramon" Sent: 03 April 2002 10:26 > I also believe that we should rather advocate that those $hundreds per km., or whatever is > the cost for building "cycleways," be put to better use, such as training and > education for proper riding, parking and shower/changing facilties, widening > the outside lane, fixing the potholes, "sharing the road" campaigns, better > law enforcement, and other practical measures that actually matter to > cyclists' wellbeing. No more useless infrastructure! I'm agreed on all these points. A little money spent wisely goes a long way for cyclists. I should have pointed out that much of the cycle facilities in Dublin have been in the suburban areas, and are effectively sharing the pavements with pedestrians in clearly marked strips. Since in suburban areas there are usually grass verges (1-2m) between the kerbside and the pavement, this has not been too difficult to achieve, or taken away too much space from the pedestrians. The main target here is schoolchildren, allowing them to use their normal route but with a safe path for moderate speed cycling, guiding them to signalised crossing points, but without making them use out-of-the-way or deserted facilities. Of course, the more schoolchildren that cycle, the less parents are bringing them to school by car (creating death-traps around the schools, using the perverse logic that it's too dangerous to let them go any other way). The "grown-up" cyclists generally won't use these facilities and prefer to mix it with general traffic. For them, the quality of the road paving, especially in the metre closest to kerbside, the orientation and recessing of drains, and the removal of obstructions (illegally parked cars, skips, etc.) are key to safe cycling. On some streets, especially the main arterials to the city centre, a coloured strip reserved for cyclists has been laid down in this kerbside area. It's a beginning, and each new cyclist is also a voter and potential lobbyist for further changes and better balance among the modes. There are still serious problems for cyclists in general traffic, and a lot of driver education needs to be done. Unfortunately since the 1980's era of Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche, we haven't had world-class cycling athletes to give profile and shape perception, but there's a few new guys coming through now with potential. I think this does make a difference. As previously suggested, visit the Dublin Transportation Office at http://www.dto.ie or contact them directly. They can give far more information than I can, and can also provide some results and impacts data (I hope). You can also see where cycling fits in to the overall transportation strategy. With best wishes. Brendan Finn. ______________________________________________________ Please note that from 1st March 2002, all Singapore phone lines become 8-digit Please place the number "6" in front of the current 7-digit number in your address books Address : 28, Leonie Hill, #02-28 Leonie Towers, Singapore 239227 Mobile : +65.94332298 Tel : +65.67340260 Fax/Tel : +65.67340412 e-mail : bfinn@singnet.com.sg Website : http://www.europrojects.ie/etts From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Thu Apr 4 10:09:33 2002 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2002 09:09:33 +0800 Subject: [sustran] FW: UPC Jakarta (becak campaigners) attacked by militia Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB10340EBA@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> Please see below. This is only peripherally a transport item, in that the victims of the attacks include one of the groups that is campaigning on and organising with pedicab drivers in Jakarta. UPC and Wardah Hafidz and their efforts have been discussed (and sometimes criticised) here several times in recent years. Even if critical of their tactics I think we would all agree that no-one deserves to be assaulted and threatened by thugs over our political activity. Paul -----Original Message----- From: hyowoo na [mailto:locoa2000@yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, 4 April 2002 3:39 AM To: ... Subject: Urgent - Attacked the Urban poor again [LOCOA] Dear Friends, Below is a report by Wardah Hafidz. This is very alarming and all who work for human rights (economic, social, political, civil and cultural) should do something before the armed militias and their military backers run wild again as what happened in East Timor Hyo Woo NA More information and Picture ; Http://www.locoa.net ------------------- Around 400 men from a group called Forum Betawi Rempug (United Betawi Forum), a Jakarta militia, armed with dagger, stone and wood attacked the urban poor group in front of the office of the National Commission of Human Rights in Jakarta last Thursday, 28 March 2002. Around 50 people from the urban poor group, women, children, and men, were injured, 20 of which injured badly. Around 5 children from age 5 - 12 and many women were bleeding on their heads, trampled on, hit by stones, and stabbed. One becak driver got 16 stiches on his head, another one had to undergo a surgery from having blood clot on the back of his head. A lawyer of LBH APIK was injured on her head and was bleeding very badly. Six of the UPC activists were injured. Wardah Hafidz was choked and thrown to the ground, was about to be hit by a piece of wood when a becak driver saved her and he was hit twice instead. The sound system and get set that belong to the upc, a van, and the glass windows of the Commission office shattered. Many women lost their jewelry, wallet and money. Around 400 hundred urban poor people, men, women and children, organised a peaceful dialog with the National Commission on Human Rights, National Commission on Women's Rights and National Commission on Children Rights on that day. The purpose of the dialog was to find ways to urge the Jakarta government to respect the court decision that they have to stop the violence against the urban poor of Jakarta. When the dialog was over and they were about to leave, the militia arrived in 9 minibuses, three open trucks and one van. They shouted that they looked for Wardah Hafidz, and immediately after assaulted the urban poor group. The group is the same militia group that attacked the UPC demonstration last 13 March 2002. Please mobilize support and protest. I am afraid this is, again, a part of the big scenario of the military to cause riots in Jakarta, to prevent the urban poor from being strongly organised and to use upc and the urban poor as the shooting targets. Please help find ways to prevent this from happening. In solidarity, Wardah Hafidz ===== LOCOA Leaders and Organizers of Community Organization in Asia 28-B, Matino cor, Malumanay Street, Sikatuna Village, Brgy Malaya, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines Tel: (632) 925-8432,426-4118 Fax :(632) 426-4132 E-mail: locoa2000@yahoo.com http://www.locoa.net From sagaris at terra.cl Fri Apr 5 03:04:35 2002 From: sagaris at terra.cl (Lake Sagaris) Date: Thu, 04 Apr 2002 14:04:35 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Fwd: [Innovacionurbana] Entrevista de Bicitekas a Enrique =?iso-8859-1?Q?Pe=F1alosa?= Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020404140157.02e91df0@pop3.norton.antivirus> Hi Everyone I'm sending on this link, recently posted on InnovacionUrbana, to an extremely interesting interview with Pe?alosa, the former mayor of Bogot?, on the subject on public space, bicycles and other relevant topics. The interview is in Spanish, but since several of the people involved in this discussion in English seem to be native Spanishspeakers, I thought you might find it handy. All best Lake Living City - Ciudad Viva From: Xavier "Trevi?o" >Mailing-List: list Innovacionurbana@yahoogroups.com; contact >Innovacionurbana-owner@yahoogroups.com >Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2002 08:14:39 -0800 (PST) >Subject: [Innovacionurbana] Entrevista de Bicitekas a Enrique Pe?alosa >Reply-To: Innovacionurbana@yahoogroups.com > >Saludos a los bicitercos del mundo. Les mandamos la >liga de la entrevista que le hizo Tom de Bicitekas a >Enrique Pe?alosa, exalcalde de Bogot?. > >http://www.laneta.apc.org/bicitekas/proyectobogota/penalosa.html > >Saludos desde M?xico. Xavier, Bicitekas. From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Fri Apr 5 09:35:49 2002 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2002 08:35:49 +0800 Subject: [sustran] FW: Findings from research into transport, social exclusion and t he Internet Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB10340FB3@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> -----Original Message----- From: Susan Kenyon [mailto:S.Kenyon@SOTON.AC.UK] Sent: Thursday, 4 April 2002 10:13 PM To: UTSG@JISCMAIL.AC.UK Subject: Findings from research into transport, social exclusion and the Internet Dear all Apologies for cross posting. You may be interested to read the findings from research into the links between transport, social exclusion and the Internet. The Transportation Research Group at the University of Southampton has recently concluded a one-year LINK FIT study into the possibility that virtual mobility, via the Internet, could help to alleviate some of the problems faced by people who do not have access to adequate physical mobility. Many of you participated in the research by completing an online survey, which was conducted in October of last year. You can read about the project and the project findings at http://www.trg.soton.ac.uk/vm. You can also download reports, including the report on the online consultation; conference presentations; and you can find out about project publications. If you have any queries about the research, please contact me by replying to this email, or using the contact details below. Thank you for your time, Susan Ms Susan Kenyon Transportation Research Group Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Southampton SO17 1BJ Tel: 023 8059 2834 Email: s.kenyon@soton.ac.uk Virtual Mobility research: http://www.trg.soton.ac.uk/vm Internet Best Practice research: http://www.trg.soton.ac.uk/bpg From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Fri Apr 5 09:59:45 2002 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2002 08:59:45 +0800 Subject: [sustran] RE: bus lanes research Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB10340FC0@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> Dear Luis Fernando Di Pierro I am replying to your message sent to sustran@po.jaring.my. Here are a few suggestions to help you track down more information. (Although the rest of the world tends to look to Brazil as a leader in this area!) 1. I am forwarding this reply to sustran-discuss email discussion list. Someone else in that discussion may have some suggestions for you. There has been much discussion on the list at various times on this issue, including news of Bogota's success with the Transmilenio project. You can view the archives of these discusssions via http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sustran-discuss/ 2. The Asia-Pacific cities with major busway projects or existing busways to my knowledge include: Taipei, Taiwan; Nagoya, Japan; Kunming, China; Brisbane, Australia; Adelaide, Australia (guided busway); and there are apparently proposals for Bangalore in southern India. Karachi in Pakistan considered an elevated 'transitway' but has apparently abandoned the idea. In addition numerous cities in the region have networks of bus lanes of varying quality and size. Among the most significant (to my limited knowledge) are: Seoul, Korea; Hong Kong SAR, China; Bangkok, Thailand (including some successful contra-flow lanes); Singapore; but there are many others of course. 3. A web site that seems to have a lot of information and news on busways and bus priority in this region (Asia and Pacific) is http://www.smarturbantransport.com/ I hope this helps a little, Paul Dr Paul A. Barter Visiting Fellow, Department of Geography National University of Singapore 1 Arts Link, Singapore 117570 NOTE NEW PHONE & FAX NUMBERS: Tel: +65-6874 3860; Fax: +65-6777 3091 E-mail: geobpa@nus.edu.sg PS I am still volunteer contact point for SUSTRAN Network information services http://www.geocities.com/sustrannet But for all other SUSTRAN Network matters contact the NEW SECRETARIAT: Dr Bambang Susantono and Ms Moekti H. Soejachmoen Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia and the Pacific (SUSTRAN Network) c/o Pelangi Indonesia, Jl. Danau Tondano No. A-4, Jakarta 10210, Indonesia. Tel. +(62 21) 573 5020, 571 9360 Fax +(62 21) 573 2503 csti@pelangi.or.id > -----Original Message----- > From: curiotransport [mailto:curiotransport@yahoo.com.br] > Sent: Thursday, 4 April 2002 7:39 PM > To: sustran@po.jaring.my > Subject: bus lanes research > > > > I am carrying out a research about state of art in bus lanes for > urban public transport in Brazil and need information about THE MOST > IMPORTANT systems in Asia, Europe and Latin America. I?m trying to > put some indicators together in order to provide recommendations for > future studies in Brazil. I would like to know about source of > information concerning those more important cities in Asia. The data > needed concerns at the city profile (configuration, population, > demand for public transport, fleet, number of lines, etc.) as well as > data related to the bus lanes or bus priority measures teken > (investment, costs, operational, management and infrastructure data). > Ex post evaluation would be very useful as speed, level of service > etc. > > The research is been supported by a nationa association of buses > private operators companies Called NTU. I woud be very pleased if you > could help me in this matter. > Luis Fernando Di Pierro > curio@uol.com.br > curio@fespsp.com.br > > From ecologic at gn.apc.org Fri Apr 5 23:00:46 2002 From: ecologic at gn.apc.org (John Whitelegg) Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2002 15:00:46 +0100 Subject: [sustran] travel plans Message-ID: <00ac01c1dcaa$5ce2c100$458bf8d4@lancs.ac.uk> Dear Colleagues, Those of you interested in the potential of travel plans/demand management/soft policies to reduce car trips and switch travel choices into walk/cycle and public transport will be interested in 2 related reports both of which will be launched at a seminar in London on Thursday 11th April. One of the main conclusions will be of particular interest: A UK government report on the effectiveness of company transport plans (DTLR, 2002) concluded: "Averaged overall these organisations managed to reduce the numbers of cars arriving at their sites by more than 14 per 100 staff- more than an 18% reduction in the number of cars that were previously there. Sixteen of the travel plans cut car use by more than 10%, five by more than a fifth and two by more than 50%" Source: DTLR (2002) Making Travel Plans Work. Lessons from UK case studies The above quote is from the first of these reports. The second report is: "Using the planning process to secure travel plans: best practice guidance". These reports are not yet finalised so keep an eye on the DTLR web site for final versions. very best wishes John Whitelegg -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20020405/fdaab91f/attachment.htm From APHOWES at dm.gov.ae Sat Apr 6 14:19:33 2002 From: APHOWES at dm.gov.ae (Alan Patrick Howes) Date: Sat, 6 Apr 2002 09:19:33 +0400 Subject: [sustran] FW: [UTSG] Conference on 'Achieving Cycle-friendly Infrastructure ' (repeat): 27 June Message-ID: OK, not very Asia-Pacific, but perhaps worth forwarding in view of recent cycling discussions. -- Alan P Howes, Special Transport Advisor, Dubai Municipality Public Transport Department aphowes@dm.gov.ae Tel: +971 4 286 1616 ext 214 Mobile: +971 50 5989661 -----Original Message----- From: Hugh Mcclintock [mailto:Hugh.Mcclintock@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK] Sent: Fri, April 05, 2002 12:17 PM To: UTSG@JISCMAIL.AC.UK Subject: [UTSG] Conference on 'Achieving Cycle-friendly Infrastructure' (repeat): 27 June Conference on 'Achieving Cycle-friendly Infrastructure: The Practical Application of Design Guidance', organised by Hugh McClintock, Institute of Urban Planning, School of the Built Environment, Nottingham University Conference fixed for Tuesday 16 April now fully booked but a repeat event, with the same programme, has now been fixed for Thursday 27 June, also to be opened by Mr. Steven Norris, MP, in his capacity as Chairman of the National Cycling Strategy Board. The Conference is being organised in collaboration with Tony Russell, the Project Director of the CTC Cycle Benchmarking Project, with the support of the DTLR under the National Cycling Strategy Promotion programme. Speakers from Transport for London, Babtie plc and the Cycle Campaigns Network, and workshops on a series of specific technical topics, to help generate ideas for revised cycle planning guidance. Conference fees: ?110, with a limited number of concessionary places at ?25 for members of voluntary groups. Further details from:- Mrs. Lynn Cooper, Conference Secretary, Institute of Urban Planning, School of the Built Environment, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD. tel. (0115) 951 4132, fax. (0115) 951 3159, email: Lynn.Cooper@nottingham.ac.uk Hugh McClintock Institute of Urban Planning School of the Built Environment University Park Nottingham (GB-) NG7 2RD tel. +44 115 951 4875 fax. +44 115 951 3159 From APHOWES at dm.gov.ae Sat Apr 6 14:21:29 2002 From: APHOWES at dm.gov.ae (Alan Patrick Howes) Date: Sat, 6 Apr 2002 09:21:29 +0400 Subject: [sustran] FW: [UTSG] Fwd: Report on Cycling for People with Disabilities an d Differing Needs 2002 Message-ID: [Again] OK, not very Asia-Pacific, but perhaps worth forwarding in view of recent cycling discussions. ("Contents List" missing from utsg post) -- Alan P Howes, Special Transport Advisor, Dubai Municipality Public Transport Department aphowes@dm.gov.ae Tel: +971 4 286 1616 ext 214 Mobile: +971 50 5989661 -----Original Message----- From: Susan Kenyon [mailto:S.Kenyon@SOTON.AC.UK] Sent: Fri, April 05, 2002 12:13 PM To: UTSG@JISCMAIL.AC.UK Subject: [UTSG] Fwd: Report on Cycling for People with Disabilities and Differing Needs 2002 I have been asked to circulate this - you may find it useful. >From: "Cycling Project for the North West" > >Please can you circulate this widely for us? > >Dear Susan > >You may be interested in the above report, we have just published. It >has109 pages useful information - an invaluable resource handbook. Full >colour, drilled with studs and laminated cover so it can stand alone or you >can use it as the basis for your own file on cycling. It covers virtually >all aspects with everything from funding to manufacturer lists, hire, useful >contacts etc etc. Lots of colour photographs of special cycles and >entertaining drawings. I have attached a contents list to give you an >idea. We are retailing it for just ?8.00 for concessions and ?11.50, >postage and packing included. > >It is relevant whether you are individual wishing to get into cycling, a >professional in health, sport, education or government, student, or a >group/organisation wishing to set up a cycling centre or run a cycling >activity for disabled people. > >Cheques/card purchases > >Cycling Project >1 Enterprise Park >Agecroft Road >Pendlebury >Manchester >M27 8WA > >Tel: 0161 745 9099 > >Fax 0161 745 9088 > >Or send an order number/details so that we can invoice your organisation >.............................................................. From bfinn at singnet.com.sg Tue Apr 9 12:32:23 2002 From: bfinn at singnet.com.sg (Brendan Finn) Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 11:32:23 +0800 Subject: [sustran] [sustran] RE: bus lanes research References: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB10340FC0@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> Message-ID: <001101c1df7a$e1bf4f60$eae015a5@bfinn> Dear Sustran colleagues, An additional Asia-Pacific city which has an active busways project is Sydney, Australia. This aims to implement six linked sections of busway in western suburban Sydney, in a district which is served mostly by private bus operators with historic operating rights. The website is www.transitways.nsw.gov.au I bring this example to your attention since it has been the subject of lawsuits by the existing bus operators, based on their interpretation of their historic rights. They have had some success in the courts, and this could have very serious impacts on the project, on the services which will be operated on the busways, and the extent to which the incumbent operators can dictate access to the market. It ties into the need for significant restructuring of the regulatory and institutional approach to bus services in New South Wales (the state in which Sydney is located). For those of you who are more interested in the transportation issues than the civil engineering aspects of busways, I suggest that you examine the Sydney case. It offers some very interesting lessons of the advance preparation you may need to do in your home country (or application site if you are a consultant or adviser). A busway is simply a piece of infrastructure, and there needs to be an appropriate framework to stimulate and integrate the transport services offered to the users. For those who are interested in the functioning of a busway, I strongly recommend a visit to Adelaide. Although I have worked in the bus industry for more than 20 years, I was not prepared for the impact of being able to travel at 100 kph on an urban bus. In my opinion, it totally negates the argument that only light-rail etc. can attract users. With best wishes, Brendan Finn. ______________________________________________________ Please note since 1st March 2002, all Singapore phone lines became 8-digit Please place the number "6" in front of the current 7-digit number in your address books Address : 28, Leonie Hill, #02-28 Leonie Towers, Singapore 239227 Mobile : +65.94332298 Tel : +65.67340260 Fax/Tel : +65.67340412 e-mail : bfinn@singnet.com.sg Website : http://www.europrojects.ie/etts ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Barter" To: "'curiotransport'" Cc: Sent: 05 April 2002 08:59 Subject: [sustran] RE: bus lanes research 2. The Asia-Pacific cities with major busway projects or existing busways to my knowledge include: Taipei, Taiwan; Nagoya, Japan; Kunming, China; Brisbane, Australia; Adelaide, Australia (guided busway); and there are apparently proposals for Bangalore in southern India. Karachi in Pakistan considered an elevated 'transitway' but has apparently abandoned the idea. In addition numerous cities in the region have networks of bus lanes of varying quality and size. Among the most significant (to my limited knowledge) are: Seoul, Korea; Hong Kong SAR, China; Bangkok, Thailand (including some successful contra-flow lanes); Singapore; but there are many others of course. From APHOWES at dm.gov.ae Tue Apr 9 13:52:42 2002 From: APHOWES at dm.gov.ae (Alan Patrick Howes) Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 08:52:42 +0400 Subject: [sustran] FW: Looking for Transport issues for Academic Project Message-ID: I'm forwarding this to sustran-discuss, where Rajesh may get more assistance. -- Alan P Howes, Special Transport Advisor, Dubai Municipality Public Transport Department aphowes@dm.gov.ae Tel: +971 4 286 1616 ext 214 Mobile: +971 50 5989661 -----Original Message----- From: kheni_r2002 [mailto:kheni_r2002@yahoo.co.in] Sent: Mon, April 08, 2002 10:38 PM To: Transit-Prof@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Transit-Prof] Looking for Transport issues for Academic Project Dear sir/Madam i am Rajesh kheni, First Yr.Student of School of Planning, Cept, Ahmedabad, Looking for some Current issues In urabn Transport . I am Interest in Uran Transport which may involve Financial Ananlysis ( May be Public-private Partenership Modal ) or Some transporatation Modal which help in better perfomance of Public Transport . I wants to do my final yr. project on this subject . If Someone can suggest some hot issues which can be relevant to Indian Metro city or Possible to explore than i would be grateful to u. looking for Positive Reply from Transit-prof group Thanking u yours sincerely rajesh From APHOWES at dm.gov.ae Tue Apr 9 14:02:12 2002 From: APHOWES at dm.gov.ae (Alan Patrick Howes) Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 09:02:12 +0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: bus lanes research Message-ID: And UK is worse, in terms of regulatory/ legislative frameworks inhibiting busway development. The public authorities have no interest in building busways unless they can control the quality of the buses and services on them - which is difficult. -- Alan P Howes, Special Transport Advisor, Dubai Municipality Public Transport Department aphowes@dm.gov.ae Tel: +971 4 286 1616 ext 214 Mobile: +971 50 5989661 > -----Original Message----- > From: Brendan Finn [mailto:bfinn@singnet.com.sg] > Sent: Tue, April 09, 2002 7:32 AM > To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org > Subject: [sustran] [sustran] RE: bus lanes research > > > Dear Sustran colleagues, > > An additional Asia-Pacific city which has an active busways project is > Sydney, Australia. This aims to implement six linked sections > of busway in > western suburban Sydney, in a district which is served mostly > by private bus > operators with historic operating rights. The website is > www.transitways.nsw.gov.au > > I bring this example to your attention since it has been the > subject of > lawsuits by the existing bus operators, based on their > interpretation of > their historic rights. They have had some success in the > courts, and this > could have very serious impacts on the project, on the > services which will > be operated on the busways, and the extent to which the > incumbent operators > can dictate access to the market. It ties into the need for > significant > restructuring of the regulatory and institutional approach to > bus services > in New South Wales (the state in which Sydney is located). > > For those of you who are more interested in the > transportation issues than > the civil engineering aspects of busways, I suggest that you > examine the > Sydney case. It offers some very interesting lessons of the advance > preparation you may need to do in your home country (or > application site if > you are a consultant or adviser). A busway is simply a piece of > infrastructure, and there needs to be an appropriate > framework to stimulate > and integrate the transport services offered to the users. > > For those who are interested in the functioning of a busway, > I strongly > recommend a visit to Adelaide. Although I have worked in the > bus industry > for more than 20 years, I was not prepared for the impact of > being able to > travel at 100 kph on an urban bus. In my opinion, it totally > negates the > argument that only light-rail etc. can attract users. > > With best wishes, > > > Brendan Finn. From kisansbc at vsnl.com Tue Apr 9 17:07:33 2002 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (kisan mehta) Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 13:37:33 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: FW: Looking for Transport issues for Academic Project References: Message-ID: <000b01c1df9d$9a85bd00$3226020a@im.eth.net> Dear Rajesh, Our Sustran Member Alan forwarded your enquiry to Sustran and that is how we came to know about your interest. Mumbai Urban Transport Project developed by various service agencies under the monitoring of Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority has just been finalised. The estimated cost is in the vicinity of Rs 6,000 crores (Rs 60 billion) The World Bank is considering giving a loan of Rs 4,000 to 4,500 crores. This is largish and highly involved. We do not know whether it can be a good study for the First Year Student. We have basic info on the MUTP. We could help you in studying it. This may require your staying and working in Mumbai for 2 to 4 weeks. You can either study the working of the BEST Undertaking, a municipalised agency providing electricty to 3.5 million conumers and 4.6 million bus journeys in Mumbai having a population of over 12 million. Though the study of BEST is not that highly complicated, one has to study from the scratch requiring possibly 2 weeks stay. Pls let us knowas to how we could help you. Alan, Would Transit-Prof@yahoogroups.com colleagues be interested in Mumbai's issues? Best wishes. Priya Salvi and Kisan Mehta ----- Original Message ----- From: Alan Patrick Howes To: 'Sustran-Discuss (E-mail) Cc: Sent: Tuesday, April 09, 2002 10:22 AM Subject: [sustran] Looking for Transport issues for Academic Project > I'm forwarding this to sustran-discuss, where Rajesh may get more assistance. > -- > Alan P Howes, Special Transport Advisor, > Dubai Municipality Public Transport Department > aphowes@dm.gov.ae > Tel: +971 4 286 1616 ext 214 > Mobile: +971 50 5989661 > > -----Original Message----- > From: kheni_r2002 [mailto:kheni_r2002@yahoo.co.in] > Sent: Mon, April 08, 2002 10:38 PM > To: Transit-Prof@yahoogroups.com > Subject: [Transit-Prof] Looking for Transport issues for Academic Project > Dear sir/Madam i am Rajesh kheni, First Yr.Student of School of Planning, Cept, Ahmedabad, Looking for some > Current issues In urabn Transport . I am Interest in > Uran Transport which may involve Financial Ananlysis ( > May be Public-private Partenership Modal ) or Some > transporatation Modal which help in better perfomance > of Public Transport . I wants to do my final yr. > project on this subject . If Someone can suggest some > hot issues which can be relevant to Indian Metro city > or Possible to explore than i would be grateful to u. > looking for Positive Reply from Transit-prof group > Thanking u > yours sincerely > rajesh From APHOWES at dm.gov.ae Tue Apr 9 17:40:04 2002 From: APHOWES at dm.gov.ae (Alan Patrick Howes) Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 12:40:04 +0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: FW: Looking for Transport issues for Academic P roject Message-ID: My suspicion is that the transit-prof people would not be particularly interested in Mumbai. I have to say that, whie I am well aware through Sustran-discuss that Mumbai's UTP is a hot topic, it has been too big an issue for me to get to grips with, bearing in mind it is not relevant to my particular field of work. This would apply even more to the transit-proffers, whose focus is even more exclusively "First World" than mine. The focus tends to be North American, with other areas getting a look in only where conditions are comparable with N Am. -- Alan P Howes, Special Transport Advisor, Dubai Municipality Public Transport Department aphowes@dm.gov.ae Tel: +971 4 286 1616 ext 214 Mobile: +971 50 5989661 > -----Original Message----- > From: kisan mehta [mailto:kisansbc@vsnl.com] > Sent: Tue, April 09, 2002 12:08 PM > To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org; kheni_r2002@yahoo.co.in > Cc: Alan Patrick Howes > Subject: [sustran] Re: FW: Looking for Transport issues for > Academic Project > > > Dear Rajesh, > > Our Sustran Member Alan forwarded your enquiry to Sustran > and that is how we came to know about your interest. > > Mumbai Urban Transport Project developed by various > service agencies under the monitoring of Mumbai > Metropolitan Region Development Authority has just > been finalised. The estimated cost is in the vicinity of Rs > 6,000 crores (Rs 60 billion) The World Bank is considering > giving a loan of Rs 4,000 to 4,500 crores. > > This is largish and highly involved. We do not know whether > it can be a good study for the First Year Student. We have > basic info on the MUTP. We could help you in studying it. > This may require your staying and working in Mumbai for > 2 to 4 weeks. You can either study the working of the > BEST Undertaking, a municipalised agency providing > electricty to 3.5 million conumers and 4.6 million bus > journeys in Mumbai having a population of over 12 > million. Though the study of BEST is not that highly > complicated, one has to study from the scratch requiring > possibly 2 weeks stay. Pls let us knowas to how we could > help you. > > Alan, Would Transit-Prof@yahoogroups.com colleagues > be interested in Mumbai's issues? > > Best wishes. > > Priya Salvi and Kisan Mehta > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Alan Patrick Howes > To: 'Sustran-Discuss (E-mail) > Cc: > Sent: Tuesday, April 09, 2002 10:22 AM > Subject: [sustran] Looking for Transport issues for Academic > Project > > > > I'm forwarding this to sustran-discuss, where Rajesh may get > more assistance. > > -- > > Alan P Howes, Special Transport Advisor, > > Dubai Municipality Public Transport Department > > aphowes@dm.gov.ae > > Tel: +971 4 286 1616 ext 214 > > Mobile: +971 50 5989661 > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: kheni_r2002 [mailto:kheni_r2002@yahoo.co.in] > > Sent: Mon, April 08, 2002 10:38 PM > > To: Transit-Prof@yahoogroups.com > > Subject: [Transit-Prof] Looking for Transport issues for > Academic Project > > > Dear sir/Madam > > i am Rajesh kheni, First Yr.Student of > School of Planning, Cept, Ahmedabad, Looking for some > > Current issues In urabn Transport . I am Interest in > > Uran Transport which may involve Financial Ananlysis ( > > May be Public-private Partenership Modal ) or Some > > transporatation Modal which help in better perfomance > > of Public Transport . I wants to do my final yr. > > project on this subject . If Someone can suggest some > > hot issues which can be relevant to Indian Metro city > > or Possible to explore than i would be grateful to u. > > looking for Positive Reply from Transit-prof group > > Thanking u > > yours sincerely > > rajesh > > > > From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Tue Apr 9 19:56:41 2002 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 18:56:41 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Fwd: BBC on Delhi bus fuel issue again Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB103412A9@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> BBC News Tuesday, 9 April, 2002, 10:28 GMT 11:28 UK Delhi tussles with transport chaos The authorities in the Indian capital Delhi are struggling to find a way out of the transport crisis that has forced thousands of buses off the roads. The Chief Minister of Delhi, Shiela Dixit, is due to meet shortly the central ministers for home, law and environment in an effort to circumvent a Supreme Court order which banned the use of polluting diesel-run buses. The court order has grounded half the city's bus fleet stranding thousands of commuters. Last week the court said it would fine transport operators who had failed to meet a deadline to switch to cleaner fuel. The court also rejected an appeal by the bus owners seeking extra time to convert their fleet to environmentally friendly compressed natural gas (CNG). Full story at http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1918000/1918638.stm From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Thu Apr 11 16:19:35 2002 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2002 15:19:35 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Fwd: Worldwide Grist on Bogota Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB10341413@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> 4. BOGOTA PROMOTES ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION Think about Bogota, the capital city of Colombia, and what comes to mind? Most likely violence, murder, mayhem, drugs, corruption, traffic, and smog. But think again. Two highly unconventional mayors, Enrique Penalosa and Antanus Mockus, have helped turn one of Latin America's most infamous cities into a model of progressive urban development. By radically limiting car traffic, heavily funding alternative transportation, and advocating for (and enabling) biking and walking, the mayors have given the city back to the people, and done the environment a good turn in the process. Lisa Jones reports, only on the Grist Magazine website. only in Grist: A tale of two mayors -- the improbable story of how Bogota, Colombia, became somewhere you might actually want to live From ecoplan.adsl at wanadoo.fr Thu Apr 11 22:01:04 2002 From: ecoplan.adsl at wanadoo.fr (Eric Britton) Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2002 15:01:04 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Fremantle CFD and Regional Practicum for mayors and their representatives - Asia In-Reply-To: <5D0A25B43F7BD111BC8800A0C92B86220247692C@venus.townhall.fremantle.wa.gov.au> Message-ID: <005501c1e158$f38d9b40$6501a8c0@home> Paris, Thursday, April 11, 2002 Dear Friends, This is to let you know that the web site in support of the Fremantle Car Free Day and the Asia/Pacific Regional Practicum for mayors and city representatives is now fully on line. And as you will see if you check into the site in the next seconds ;-) there are something like 27 days, 9 ours and 21 minutes until the doors open on this first United Nations Car Free Days Programme event in the region. Up to now, the contact effort has primarily been confined to mayors and groups in the Australia/New Zealand area, as a first wave effort to ensure that there was going to be a sound background of support there and in the process ensure that the Practicum element was going to have interesting and capable participants. It is now time however to spread our wings and to see if we can extend the participants list to bring in mayors and their representative of a number of the towns and cities in the Asian region. You may well ask: what is there to be learned by looking at how a small town on the coast of a prosperous place like Australia in its attempt to find a way to move toward a more sustainable mobility system, including by just taking comes of the cars off of some of the streets for a few hours. Is not an example like the Bogota project that was at the center of the first UN CFD Practicum in February much more to the point for our Third World cities, many of which are fast sinking under the weight of their egregiously unsustainable transport arrangements? The answer may surprise you. It is our view at any rate that there is in fact a great deal to be learned by versatile minds from the sort of bottom up, almost neighborhood approach that our Australian friends are taking in this case. There may be cities in the Third World that are going to be able to follow the Bogota example right out of the box and rip 800, 00 cars off the road for most of a working day. But there risk to be many more than are going to have to try to find something rather different, and perhaps a bit ?softer?. For them, there is quite possibly a lot to be learned in Fremantle. And wouldn?t you believe it, but there is not as yet any money earmarked to pay for the transport and lodging of our visiting mayors and representatives from the Third World. But I hope that will not stop you in your efforts to get this message out and expressions of interest rolling in. Because I am confident that if we begin to have concrete expressions of interest from people in Third World cities, we shall be able to dig up the funding support that is going to be needed to bring them to Fremantle for the events. Most often in these cases of course, they start with the money and then the people come. But in this case I am betting that if we start with the good idea and the right people, we will be able to find the support to make it work. Quite possibly with your good support. If you have any questions on all this, you know where to turn. And if I can?t handle them myself, I will at least be able to channel them on to someone who should be able to give you satisfaction. With all good wishes, ? Eric Britton? ? Senior International Advisor United Nations Car Free Days Program at http://www.uncfd.org ? The Commons __ technology, economy, society__ Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France Day phone: +331 4326 1323 Mobile: +336 8096 7879 24 hour Fax/Voicemail hotline: +1 888 677-4866 http://ecoplan.org/?? IP Videoconference: 193.252.199.213 Email: ecoplan.adsl@wanadoo.fr?? URL www.ecoplan.org From ecoplan.adsl at wanadoo.fr Thu Apr 11 22:01:58 2002 From: ecoplan.adsl at wanadoo.fr (Eric Britton) Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2002 15:01:58 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Fremantle CFD and Regional Practicum for mayors and their representatives - Asia In-Reply-To: <5D0A25B43F7BD111BC8800A0C92B86220247692C@venus.townhall.fremantle.wa.gov.au> Message-ID: <005b01c1e159$11fbd420$6501a8c0@home> Paris, Thursday, April 11, 2002 Dear Friends, This is to let you know that the web site in support of the Fremantle Car Free Day and the Asia/Pacific Regional Practicum for mayors and city representatives is now fully on line. And as you will see if you check into the site in the next seconds ;-) there are something like 27 days, 9 ours and 21 minutes until the doors open on this first United Nations Car Free Days Programme event in the region. Up to now, the contact effort has primarily been confined to mayors and groups in the Australia/New Zealand area, as a first wave effort to ensure that there was going to be a sound background of support there and in the process ensure that the Practicum element was going to have interesting and capable participants. It is now time however to spread our wings and to see if we can extend the participants list to bring in mayors and their representative of a number of the towns and cities in the Asian region. You may well ask: what is there to be learned by looking at how a small town on the coast of a prosperous place like Australia in its attempt to find a way to move toward a more sustainable mobility system, including by just taking comes of the cars off of some of the streets for a few hours. Is not an example like the Bogota project that was at the center of the first UN CFD Practicum in February much more to the point for our Third World cities, many of which are fast sinking under the weight of their egregiously unsustainable transport arrangements? The answer may surprise you. It is our view at any rate that there is in fact a great deal to be learned by versatile minds from the sort of bottom up, almost neighborhood approach that our Australian friends are taking in this case. There may be cities in the Third World that are going to be able to follow the Bogota example right out of the box and rip 800, 00 cars off the road for most of a working day. But there risk to be many more than are going to have to try to find something rather different, and perhaps a bit ?softer?. For them, there is quite possibly a lot to be learned in Fremantle. And wouldn?t you believe it, but there is not as yet any money earmarked to pay for the transport and lodging of our visiting mayors and representatives from the Third World. But I hope that will not stop you in your efforts to get this message out and expressions of interest rolling in. Because I am confident that if we begin to have concrete expressions of interest from people in Third World cities, we shall be able to dig up the funding support that is going to be needed to bring them to Fremantle for the events. Most often in these cases of course, they start with the money and then the people come. But in this case I am betting that if we start with the good idea and the right people, we will be able to find the support to make it work. Quite possibly with your good support. If you have any questions on all this, you know where to turn. And if I can?t handle them myself, I will at least be able to channel them on to someone who should be able to give you satisfaction. With all good wishes, ? Eric Britton? ? Senior International Advisor United Nations Car Free Days Program at http://www.uncfd.org ? The Commons __ technology, economy, society__ Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France Day phone: +331 4326 1323 Mobile: +336 8096 7879 24 hour Fax/Voicemail hotline: +1 888 677-4866 http://ecoplan.org/?? IP Videoconference: 193.252.199.213 Email: ecoplan.adsl@wanadoo.fr?? URL www.ecoplan.org From hertel at zedat.fu-berlin.de Fri Apr 12 21:33:38 2002 From: hertel at zedat.fu-berlin.de (Christof Hertel) Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 14:33:38 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Re: [sustran] RE: bus lanes research In-Reply-To: <001101c1df7a$e1bf4f60$eae015a5@bfinn> Message-ID: Dear Sustran colleagues, Berlin/Germany is celebrating 32 years of bus lanes and has now more than 100 Km of them in the city. http://www.bvg.de/news/newspage301001.html As in Hamburg/Germany the right wing politicans are destroying bus lanes in the Stresemannstra?e, to give lorries and cars more space on the streets. There is a big political debate around that bus lane so it is quite interesting to study. Since some months there is every Friday a demonstration on the Stresemannstrasse. The homepage from a citizen initative for the bus-lane gives a good overview for those familiar with the german language. http://www.strese-ini.de/neue_seite_1.htm For more information try e-mailing to mail@strese-ini.de With best wishes Christof From sagaris at terra.cl Fri Apr 12 22:16:59 2002 From: sagaris at terra.cl (Lake Sagaris) Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 09:16:59 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: Fwd: Worldwide Grist on Bogota In-Reply-To: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB10341413@exs04.ex.nus.edu. sg> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020412091543.02a790d0@pop3.norton.antivirus> Paul, This is a great link and a good, well-written summary of Bogota's achievements. Thanks very much. If anyone knows of more of this kind of material in Spanish, I would be grateful to have it. We are circulating the latest information (this article and a copy of a Pe?alosa speech in California) in English, but Spanish would reach further. Thanks to all. Lake Sagaris Living Citiy - Ciudad Viva Santiago, Chile At 03:19 PM 4/11/02 +0800, you wrote: >4. >BOGOTA PROMOTES ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION >Think about Bogota, the capital city of Colombia, and what comes to >mind? Most likely violence, murder, mayhem, drugs, corruption, >traffic, and smog. But think again. Two highly unconventional >mayors, Enrique Penalosa and Antanus Mockus, have helped turn one of >Latin America's most infamous cities into a model of progressive >urban development. By radically limiting car traffic, heavily >funding alternative transportation, and advocating for (and enabling) >biking and walking, the mayors have given the city back to the >people, and done the environment a good turn in the process. Lisa >Jones reports, only on the Grist Magazine website. > >only in Grist: A tale of two mayors -- the improbable story of how >Bogota, Colombia, became somewhere you might actually want to live > From priyanthi.fernando at ifrtd.org Fri Apr 12 22:58:35 2002 From: priyanthi.fernando at ifrtd.org (priyanthi.fernando@ifrtd.org) Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 14:58:35 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Improving mobility for the rural poor Message-ID: <3CB6F61B.6498.10F331E@localhost> Improving mobility for the rural poor: achieving sustainable motorised and non-motorised rural transport First announcement of a workshop to be held 17-20 June 2002 in Pilani (Rajasthan), India THE CHALLENGE OF INADEQUATE RURAL TRANSPORT Eliminating poverty requires reducing isolation and social exclusion. It means improving mobility and access so that poor women, men and children can build their assets, reduce their vulnerability and develop sustainable livelihoods. Transport investment has concentrated on infrastructure, neglecting transport services. Using conventional economic investment criteria, efforts have focused on maximising the efficiency of transport systems in areas with relatively high density of demand for transport. These are usually areas with medium to high populations, irrigated or cash crop agriculture, efficient markets and non-agricultural employment. A large percentage of the world's poor, however, continues to live in more marginal lands, often in dispersed settlements, with economies based on traditional agriculture or herding, with little access to alternative employment or to developed markets. Population density in these areas is low, rural infrastructure is poor, cash flows are seasonal and transport is generally arduous and time-consuming. Motor transport is barely viable due to high costs and low economic demand and there is little diversity in means of transport. 'Low density' areas such as these are found in much of rural Africa and in remoter areas of Latin America and Asia. In areas of low transport availably, poor people's inability to easily access their daily needs (water, fuel, food and housing) and services (education, health), to reach markets, gain income or participate in social and political activity constrains their efforts to develop sustainable livelihoods. It contributes to their vulnerability and locks them into a vicious circle of poverty and transport deprivation. Low mobility restricts income generation and economic demand; low demand constrains the provision of cheap transport and the use of intermediate means of transport. This circle must be broken, and changed to a virtuous spiral of greater mobility stimulating more productive activities and diverse, sustainable transport services. MEETING THE CHALLENGE An integrated approach is needed, with investment in transport infrastructure being complemented by a favourable environment for adopting and operating a range of sustainable and profitable transport types (motorised and non-motorised) that allow poor rural people to develop their livelihoods. The processes and actions required to stimulate more favourable conditions for rural transport will be discussed in series of linked workshops held in Asia, Eastern and Southern Africa, West Africa and Latin America. This initiative builds on the consultations that led to the publication 'Improving rural mobility: options for developing motorised and non-motorised transport in rural areas' prepared for the World Bank by P Starkey, S Ellis, J Hine and A Ternell (2002). The workshops are organised by the Secretariat of the International Forum for Rural Transport and Development, in association with World Bank, the UK Department of International Development and other partner organisations. They will encourage thinking beyond conventional frameworks, to find creative yet practical ways of building on existing experience and adapting tested solutions to the particular needs of rural people trapped in vicious circles of transport deprivation and poverty. OBJECTIVES The workshops will bring together people, of various professions, sectors and countries, who are concerned with rural transport, planning and poverty reduction, in order to: * Widen the debate on inadequate rural transport services, deepen the analysis and focus on poverty reduction. * Identify key stakeholders in rural transport systems in the different regions, the disadvantaged groups, possible conflicts of interest and ways to initiate inclusive processes. * Share knowledge and experiences on practical ways of overcoming constraints. * Critically review past and present initiatives (private, public, NGO) and the options available for improving rural transport. * Identify examples of best practices, potential pitfalls and knowledge gaps. * Develop strategies to increase rural mobility using motorised and non-motorised transport. * Identify channels and means to influence key stakeholders, and specific information resources or methodologies required for particular audiences. * Propose realistic individual and collaborative actions within the countries represented and also at regional/international levels. * Create greater awareness of the value of participatory workshops and the factors influencing their success. THEMES Participants will, through participatory processes and group work, determine the key themes of the workshop discussions. Some of the key questions that will influence the discussions will be: * Who are the stakeholders? How should they be involved? How can users, suppliers and operators organise themselves to provide more efficient services? * How can the use of intermediate means of transport be increased and a critical mass of means of transport be stimulated? What strategies are there to expand sustainable transport services? * What actions can be taken to enable rural people to afford transport services? * How can transport investment be more equitable? What strategies are there for providing transport to those who cannot afford it? Are subsidies realistic and desirable? * How can transport supply and demand be matched and costs lowered? * What can be done to develop complementary infrastructure and transport services, including motorised, non-motorised and water transport? * What changes are necessary in policy and in regulation? How can these be stimulated? * What systems exist for sharing information and increasing capacity? How can these be supported and developed? PARTICIPANTS Each workshop will be limited to about thirty participants in order to maximise discussion and sharing of information. They will be transport professionals, policy makers and representatives of NGOs, civil society groups and the private sector (formal or informal). Development professionals outside the transport sector will be welcome. Most participants will * have experience of transport provision and constraints and/or * have experience of addressing some or all of the questions above and/or * work with, or represent, poor people that have transport constraints, particularly poor people in 'low density' areas and/or * be in a position to influence policy and practice relating to poverty and transport. All participants will be expected to contribute actively to rigorous analysis, in-depth discussion, strategic planning and the development of workshop outputs. Demand for places is expected to be high, and it is regretted that not all applicants will be able to attend. Selection will be based on the need to achieve a creative mix of participants, taking into consideration occupation, experience, gender and country/region of work. Where practical, each workshop will be attended by a small number of people from other regions. Crucial to the selection, will be the application letters stating how people expect to contribute to and benefit from the workshop. PARTICIPATORY METHODOLOGY AND OUTLINE PROGRAMME Most of the detailed work will take place in small working groups, feeding into joint planning sessions. Formal papers will not be required, but simple 'poster displays' illustrating one or more of the workshop themes are strongly encouraged. On Day 1, selected participants will be asked to stimulate discussion by highlighting relevant experience/information relating to one of the workshop themes. These will be short (3-5 minute) summaries of key issues. The field visit (Day 3) will be present an opportunity to discuss with local stakeholders how specific actions (as prioritised on Day 2) might be implemented and influence their livelihoods. On Day 4, participants will work mainly in output-orientated groups, concentrating on realistic proposals for individual and joint action. Day 1: Situation review and problem analysis. Defining and understanding the limiting factors that can be addressed Day 2: How to address the problems? Prioritising options for relevant interventions Day 3: Considering local practicalities and priorities (Small group field visits and discussions with key stakeholders) Day 4: Making an impact. Defining practical ways participants can influence the situation, separately and in collaboration. Realistic commitments to practical action to achieve objectives. IMPACT AND OUTPUTS A report containing key lessons of the workshop, together with related recommendations and proposals, will be prepared and circulated. It is envisaged that this will be valuable to national and local programmes and to donor organisations. A major impact of the workshop will come from the subsequent activities of the participants, and their colleagues, who will be a constituency in the region with the motivation and the capacity to use available knowledge for promoting and implementing strategies for providing efficient and more appropriate rural transport services. ASIA WORKSHOP DATES, LOCATION, ORGANISATION The first of the four workshops will be held in Pilani (Rajasthan), India from 17th June to 20th June 2002 (both days inclusive). Pilani is located about 200 km from New Delhi and also 200 km from Jaipur, the state capital of Rajasthan. The workshop will be organised by the Rajasthan Forum Group at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani. Most people will be sponsored by their own organisations or their supporting organisations. The IFRTD has very limited funds for sponsorship. Cost of participation for the Asia workshop is estimated at about US$500, inclusive of the workshop fees, a five-night stay and local transport to and from New Delhi. All costs relating to travel to and from New Delhi from the participant's location will be in addition to this. ACTIONS NEEDED NOW Applications to the Asia workshop are being entertained now. Organisations and individuals need to circulate this information and identify suitable participants, as soon as possible. Applicants should be working in countries in the Asia region Applications should describe what participants expect to contribute to the workshop, what they expect to learn from it, and how they expect to use their learning in their work. They should indicate also which workshop questions they have particular interest and/or experience in (this will not affect subsequent choice of working groups). Applications for participation in this workshop should be sent by 10 May 2002 by email or fax to the address below: Email: Improving mobility workshops Fax: +44 20 77138290 IFRTD Secretariat Spitfire Studios, 63-71 Collier Street London N1 9BE, United Kingdom -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: - Type: application/octet-stream Size: 11435 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20020412/b96c1bc9/-.bin From robertc at uclink.berkeley.edu Sat Apr 13 00:30:46 2002 From: robertc at uclink.berkeley.edu (Robert Cervero) Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 08:30:46 -0700 Subject: [sustran] Another Penalosa link In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20020412091543.02a790d0@pop3.norton.antivirus> References: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB10341413@exs04.ex.nus.edu. sg> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020412081256.00ad3100@uclink.berkeley.edu> Mr. Penalosa gave a talk this week at the University of California's Center for Latin American studies. You can find the presentation at: http://socrates.berkeley.edu:7001/Events/spring2002/04-08-penalosa/index.html I'm teaching a course on comparative international transport this semester, and took my 25 graduate students to Mr. Penalosa's talk. The students seemed almost spellbound. Mr. Penalosa definitely won over some converts to his vision of the sustainable metropolis. What I found most telling was his perception that what people most value -- happiness, quality of life, security for kids -- are things that can't be quantified. Yet we in the transportation profession are taught to express everything as metrics -- V/C ratios, accessibility indices, net densities, etc. Mr. Penalosa challenges us not only to rethink how we envisage cities of the future, but also how we evaluate programs, monitor progress, and package things so as to allow elected officials to make informed judgements. My first visit to Curitiba was in 1992. I recall being bowled over by their seminal BRT system, but also being struck how the city was, outside of the CBD, utterly un-walkable and un-bikable. Subsequent visits haven't changed my opinion. What most impresses me about Bogata is that it's move the cliche of "balanced, multi-modal" transportation from theory to practice. It's a place where indeed one finds multiple respectable mobility options to the car. I suspect meteorological conditions are just as favorable to biking/walking in southern Brazil as the highlands of Columbia. Political leadership and thoughtfully ploughing resources into NMT, I suspect, largely account for the difference. From sujit at vsnl.com Sat Apr 13 04:29:15 2002 From: sujit at vsnl.com (Sujit Patwardhan) Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 00:59:15 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: [sustran] RE: bus lanes research In-Reply-To: References: <001101c1df7a$e1bf4f60$eae015a5@bfinn> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020413005458.01e42700@202.54.10.1> 12 April 2002 Christof, And for those NOT familiar with the German language? Anywhere this is available in English (or in Hindi or Marathi) **smile**. Would be a pity if the right wing politicians succeed, as we often quote examples of what is being done in urban Europe to control the ravages of the motorcar. -- Sujit Patwardhan At 02:33 PM 4/12/02 +0200, you wrote: >Dear Sustran colleagues, >Berlin/Germany is celebrating 32 years of bus lanes and has now more than >100 Km of them in the city. >http://www.bvg.de/news/newspage301001.html >As in Hamburg/Germany the right wing politicans are destroying bus lanes >in the Stresemannstra?e, to give lorries and cars more space on the >streets. There is a big political debate around that bus lane so it is >quite interesting to study. Since some months there is every Friday a >demonstration on the Stresemannstrasse. >The homepage from a citizen initative for the bus-lane gives a good >overview for those familiar with the german language. >http://www.strese-ini.de/neue_seite_1.htm >For more information try e-mailing to >mail@strese-ini.de > >With best wishes >Christof ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sujit Patwardhan. PARISAR, Yamuna, ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007 Tel: 5537955 Email: sujit@vsnl.com ***************************************************************** In nature there are neither Rewards nor Punishments--- there are Consequences. ***************************************************************** From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Sat Apr 13 11:40:29 2002 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 10:40:29 +0800 Subject: [sustran] FW: News on the Sustainable Mobility Project: WBCSD MOBILITY REPO RT ATTRACTS FIRE FROM NGOs Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB10341511@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> The WBCSD has responded to comments prepared by our friends at ITDP and circulated earlier via sustran-discuss. Take a look. What do you think? Walter? Paul -----Original Message----- From: WBCSD Sustainable Mobility [mailto:mobility@wbcsd.org] Sent: Friday, 12 April 2002 8:44 PM To: geobpa@nus.edu.sg Subject: News on the Sustainable Mobility Project: WBCSD MOBILITY REPORT ATTRACTS FIRE FROM NGOs WBCSD mobility report attracts fire from NGOs Mobility 2001, the recent sustainable transport report prepared for the WBCSD Sustainable Mobility Project, has come under fire from some of the leading Non-Governmental Organisations working in the field, although they acknowledged the report was not unduly biased towards interests of the auto and oil industries. The NGOs broadly welcomed the report as a snapshot of the current sustainable mobility debate. But they said the report failed to break new ground, was too US-centric in its conclusions and missed the opportunity to explain Business views on a range of crucial issues. Please click here for the complete article. http://212.43.128.169/news/cat_2/news_84 Mobility report authors answer critics The authors of Mobility 2001, the sustainable transport report produced for the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, have defended their work in the face of criticism from a Non Governmental Organisation. They say that the report was designed to provide a launch pad for more radical work by business in the field of sustainable mobility and that the first tangible results of that work would emerge in a second report due to be published at the end of next year. Please click here for the complete article. http://212.43.128.169/news/cat_2/news_85 "Sustainable Mobility News" is a service from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) - the Sustainable Mobility Project (www.wbcsdmobility.org). ... From kisansbc at vsnl.com Sun Apr 14 14:08:13 2002 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (kisan mehta) Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 10:38:13 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Fwd: Worldwide Grist on Bogota References: <5.1.0.14.2.20020412091543.02a790d0@pop3.norton.antivirus> Message-ID: <009b01c1e372$61487540$3226020a@im.eth.net> Dear Sustran friends, Our authorities- Maharashtra State Government, Indian Railways, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, Mumbai Municipality, Traffic Police etc are anxious to develop a traffic system in Mumbai (12 million residents) based on pavementless carriageways, elevated roads, flyovers etc to help private motorists at public cost. These programmes cause severe hardship to the common man. As if this is not enough, the government is out to construct Sea Link costing (not disclosed) cost of Rs 10 billion (Ind Rs 48 make a US $) The World Bank is all set to legitimise this flamboyant Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) by extending a loan to the resource strapped government which has withdrawn social welfare programmes in education and public health on the grounds of paucity of funds. Motorists will pay anything for the facilities and the burden will fall on common man. Mumbai has the highest road fatality rate in the world. Pedestrians form 81% of the fatalieis. Ministers and bureaucrats use govt limousinces with blaring lights. So they are not affected by rising road accident rate. We wish to do a last ditch effort to bring sense to the authorities. We thought we shall place verious untraditional programmes similar to what have worked in Curitoba, Bogota and elsewhere to promote walking, cycling, public transport etc. We seek detailed info on these programmes. Many of you are intimately involved and follow such programmes. Can you kindly forward data to us through email, published literature. etc. Our authorties feign ignorance to data on email, fax etc to avoid public exposure. Thanks in advance. Best wishes. Kisan Mehta mailto:kisansbc@vsnl.com and Priya Salvi priya_salvi@yahoo.com Save Bombay Committee 620 Jame Jamshed Road, Dadar East, Mumbai 400 014 India Tel: 00 91 22 414 9688 Fax:00 91 22 415 5536 From kisansbc at vsnl.com Sun Apr 14 14:36:04 2002 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (kisan mehta) Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 11:06:04 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Soliciting Information on Sustrainable Transport worldwide Message-ID: <00a401c1e376$46103d40$3226020a@im.eth.net> ----- Original Message ----- From: kisan mehta To: Eric Britton ; ; Lake Sagaris Sent: Sunday, April 14, 2002 10:38 AM Subject: Re: [sustran] Soliciting Information on Sustrainable Transport worldwide > Dear Sustran friends, > > Our authorities- Maharashtra State Government, Indian > Railways, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development > Authority, Mumbai Municipality, Traffic Police etc are > anxious to develop a traffic system in Mumbai (12 > million residents) based on pavementless carriageways, > elevated roads, flyovers etc to help private motorists at > public cost. These programmes cause severe hardship > to the common man. As if this is not enough, the > government is out to construct Sea Link costing (not > disclosed) cost of Rs 10 billion (Ind Rs 48 make a US $) > The World Bank is all set to legitimise this flamboyant Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) by extending a loan to the resource strapped government that has withdrawn social welfare programmes in education and public health on the grounds of paucity of funds. As motorists will pay nothing for the facilities, the burden will fall on common man. > > Mumbai has the highest road fatality rate in the world. Pedestrians form 81% of the fatalieis. Ministers and bureaucrats use govt limousines with blaring lights. So they are not affected by rising road accident rate. > > We wish to do a last ditch effort to bring sense to the authorities. We thought we shall place verious untraditional programmes similar to what have worked in Curitoba, Bogota and elsewhere to promote walking, cycling, public transport etc. We seek detailed info on these programmes. Many of you are intimately involved and follow such programmes. Can you kindly forward data to us through email, published literature. etc. from the scratch > > Our authorties feign ignorance to data on email, fax etc to avoid public exposure. They are backed by the World Bank so hardly worry about citizen hardship. Thanks in advance. Best wishes. > > Kisan Mehta mailto:kisansbc@vsnl.com > and Priya Salvi priya_salvi@yahoo.com > Save Bombay Committee > 620 Jame Jamshed Road, Dadar East, > Mumbai 400 014 India > Tel: 00 91 22 414 9688 > Fax:00 91 22 415 5536 From ecoplan.adsl at wanadoo.fr Mon Apr 15 02:17:06 2002 From: ecoplan.adsl at wanadoo.fr (Eric Britton) Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 19:17:06 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Earth Car Free Day 2002 is on April 22nd Message-ID: <004301c1e3d8$35151620$6501a8c0@home> Paris, Sunday, April 14, 2002 ? Dear Friends, ? This is a reminder that Earth Car Free Day 2002 will take place one week from tomorrow on April 22nd.? You are invited to check into The Commons special ECFD website at http://www.earthcfd.org, to view the information on the events already planned and announced on the parallel forum of the Earth Day Network. ??If you click the ?What?s New?? link on the top menu you will see what else is taking place on the world CFD scene.? (More perhaps than you may have thought?) ? Traditionally Car Free Days have been organized in many places from the "top down", with government authorities proclaiming the Day and then taking the lead to make it work. When carefully prepared and broadly supported, this approach has worked well, and the ECFD team is working hand in hand to support projects coming out of cooperating City Halls. But we are also hard at work to support grass-roots movements and demonstrations led by other actors on the local scene, creating new partnerships with local government. ? Earth Car Free Day 2001 is a joyful, wide-open, non-bureaucratic, 100% volunteer event. It does not use a drop of taxpayer money and takes a vigorous "Big House" approach to CFD organization: celebrating diversity and active local commitment above all.? We see it as a shining model for? citizen consultation and action, and for democracy, for the 21st century. ? If you are planning something for the Day, we invite you to share your project information with us.? You can enter it directly into the database on the site, which has been laid out to make this an easy chore. ??Your postings will encourage and help others as they consider how they too might give this a try. ? ? With all good wishes, ? Eric Britton ? Earth Car Free Day at http://www.earthcfd.org, ? The Commons __ technology, economy, society__ Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France Day phone: +331 4326 1323 Mobile: +336 8096 7879 24 hour Fax/Voicemail hotline: +1 888 677-4866 IP Videoconference: 193.252.199.213 or 195.132.93.13 Email: mail@worldcarshare.com?or ecoplan.adsl@wanadoo.fr?? ? ?? From litman at vtpi.org Thu Apr 18 13:58:54 2002 From: litman at vtpi.org (Todd Litman) Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2002 21:58:54 -0700 Subject: [sustran] VTPI News - Spring 2002 Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.20020417215854.0171bb60@pop.islandnet.com> ----------- VTPI NEWS ----------- Victoria Transport Policy Institute "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" ------------------------------------ Spring 2002 Vol. 5, No. 1 ---------------------------------- The Victoria Transport Policy Institute is an independent research organization dedicated to developing innovative solutions to transportation problems. The VTPI website has many resources addressing a wide range of transport planning and policy issues. VTPI also provides consulting services. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VTPI ONLINE TDM ENCYCLOPEDIA - EXPANSION AND UPDATE =================================================== The VTPI "Online TDM Encyclopedia" is the most comprehensive resource available anywhere to help identify and evaluate innovative solutions to transportation problems. It has dozens of chapters with hundreds of pages of text and thousands of Internet links, providing convenient information for Transportation Demand Management (TDM) planning, evaluation and implementation. It is available free at http://www.vtpi.org/tdm. We have been busy expanding and updating the Encyclopedia. Nearly every chapter has been revised. Below are some highlights. NEW CHAPTERS ------------ ? Transit Evaluation (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm62.htm) This chapter (which replaces the "Social Benefits of Public Transit" chapter) provides comprehensive information on methods and data sources for evaluating public transit service. ? Context Sensitive Design (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm57.htm) "Context Sensitive Design" (CSD) refers to roadway standards and development practices that are flexible and sensitive to community values. This supports TDM and Smart Growth implementation. CSD is increasingly applied by transportation planning agencies. ? Land Use Evaluation (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm104.htm) This chapter examines how transportation decisions affect land use patterns, and the economic, social and environmental impacts that result. It summarizes the latest research on the costs of sprawl and the benefits of smart growth development. ? Speed Reductions (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm105.htm) This chapter discusses ways to reduce traffic speeds and their ability to help achieve TDM objectives, including safety, emission reductions, improved mobility for non-drivers and community livability. ? Basic Access (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm103.htm) This chapter describes the concepts of "Basic Access" and "Basic Mobility," which refer to transport activities that society values highly. It discusses how these concepts can be applied in transport planning. ? Health and Fitness (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm102.htm) Describes strategies that improve public health and fitness through physical activity. ? Automobile Dependency (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm100.htm) This chapter discusses "automobile dependency," which refers to transportation and land use patterns that cause high levels of automobile use and reduced transport options. ? Clustered Land Use (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm81.htm) This chapter discusses the transportation impacts of locating common destinations close together. ? Prestige and Pleasure (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm91.htm) This chapter discusses mobility as a prestige good and as a pleasurable activity, and the implications for transport planning. UPDATED CHAPTERS ---------------- ? Wit and Humor (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm94.htm) We now include jokes in almost every chapter. This chapter introduces each joke, but you must follow the links to reach the punchlines. Approximately 100 non-offensive jokes. ? Transportation Elasticities (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm11.htm) Significantly expanded and updated, this chapter describes how changes in user costs (fuel, fees, fares, etc.) affect travel behavior and how this information can be used to predict the effects of TDM strategies. We have incorporated the results of our recent review of transit elasticities, which suggests that transit ridership is more sensitive to price and service quality than is commonly assumed (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm11.htm#_Toc5666155). ? Evaluating Safety Impacts (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm58.htm) This chapter discusses how TDM strategies impact traffic safety, personal security and health. It has been significantly expanded and updated. It suggests that safety is often one of the primary benefits of TDM, and that TDM can be one of the most cost-effective ways of increasing transportation safety. ? Transportation Costs and Benefits (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm66.htm) This chapter provides information on various transportation costs and benefits, including definitions, data source and estimates. ? Land Use Impacts on Transport (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm20.htm) This chapter describes how land use patterns affect travel behavior. It includes the results of recent studies that examine how factors such as density, clustering, land use mix and roadway design affect travel patterns, and the implications for transportation planning. ? Energy Conservation and Emission Reductions Strategies (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm59.htm) This chapter identifies strategies that are particularly effective at reducing vehicle energy consumption and pollution emissions. It has been significantly expanded and updated. ? Measuring Transportation (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm55.htm) This chapter describes various methods for measuring transport activity and quality, and how they affect transportation planning decisions. In particular, common measurement units such as vehicle traffic speeds and roadway level of service (LOS) tend to bias planning decisions toward automobile-oriented solutions and away from accessibility-oriented solutions to transportation problems. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NEW & UDATED REPORTS ==================== The following new documents are posted at the VTPI website: http://www.vtpi.org. "Bicycle Parking Guidelines - DRAFT," by the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP) This document provides current and detailed advice to help select and site bicycle racks for short-term parking. It discusses bicycle rack design features, and how to locate racks so they are convenient and safe to use. "The Potential for Further Changes to the Personal Taxation Regime to Encourage Modal Shift," by The Open University/WS Atkins/Napier University. This paper describes how current tax policy tends to encourage automobile commuting, and describes potential reforms to encourage more balanced travel patterns. "Cycling Safety on Bikeways vs. Roads," by John Pucher, reply to John Forester's Spring 2001 Transportation Quarterly article "The Bikeway Controversy." This short article, published in the Autumn 2001 issue of Transportation Quarterly, replies to arguments by John Forester opposing all separate facilities and other special provisions for cyclists. "William Vickrey's Congestion Pricing Guidelines" summarizes thoughts on road and parking pricing by Nobel Prize winning economist William Vickrey. "Does Public Transit Raise Site Values Around Its Stops Enough To Pay For Itself, Were The Value Captured?" by Jeffery J. Smith. This paper has been updated to include more information on the effects that transit accessibility has on property values. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BEEN THERE - DONE THAT ====================== VTPI direct Todd Litman has participated in several recent conferences and workshops. Below are some highlights. "Overview of Variable-Priced Auto Insurance," presented at the Pay-As-You-Drive Workshop, sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, March 20, 2002, Reno, Nevada. "Clearing the Way for a Healthy City - Opening Forum," panel discussion, at the Moving Beyond Planning: Implementing Transportation Solutions Conference, sponsored by Transport Canada and TransLink (www.best.bc.ca/conference), March 6-8, 2002, Vancouver, BC. "Transportation Demand Management - Best Practices," presented at the State Roundtable on Global Climate Change, sponsored by the Center for Clean Air Policy (www.ccap.org), March 12, 2002, Washington DC. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UPCOMING EVENTS =============== Todd Litman plans to present "Economic Development Impacts of Transportation Demand Management" at the Transportation Research Board Conference on Transportation And Economic Development (www.ted2001.com), May 5-7, 2002, Portland, OR. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONSULTING ========== We are involved in several interesting consulting projects: ? TDM Program Evaluation Developing a framework for evaluating the travel impacts, benefits and costs of the city of Seattle's various "Way To Go" programs, which encourage the use of transportation alternatives. (Project Manager: CH2M Hill. Client: City of Seattle) ? Transit Elasticity Values Review Reviewed and summarized information on transit price, service and cross-elasticities for modeling and planning applications in the Vancouver, BC region. (Client: TransLink) ? Demand Management Emission Reduction Strategy Evaluation Identifying and evaluating potential transportation demand management strategies for reducing energy consumption and pollution emissions in the Vancouver region. This includes developing a model that predicts and compares the potential energy conservation and emission reduction benefits of each strategy, and identifying additional benefits (congestion reduction, traffic safety, consumer savings, etc.), implementation costs and barriers. (Client: Environment Canada) ? Vanpool Program Development Opportunities Examining ways to improve and expand vanpooling in the Puget Sound region. This project involves refining estimates of vanpool market potential, identifying strategies to increase vanpool formation and improve vanpool program operations. The project includes research on other transportation demand management strategies that can support and encourage vanpool use. (Project Manager: 2Plus, Inc. Client: Washington State Department of Transportation) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OTHER NEWS: =========== "Tools of Change" (http://www.toolsofchange.com), is a free-of-charge Web site for people who plan and run programs that promote healthy, environmentally sustainable actions. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please let us know if you have comments or questions about any information in this newsletter, or if you would like to be removed from our mailing list. And please pass this newsletter on to others who may find it useful. Sincerely, Todd Litman, Director Victoria Transport Policy Institute "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" 1250 Rudlin Street Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560 E-mail: litman@vtpi.org Website: http://www.vtpi.org From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Fri Apr 19 11:45:35 2002 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 10:45:35 +0800 Subject: [sustran] FW: Transport Lessons from the Fuel Tax Protests of 2000 Message-ID: <0709A702109DA844B290CEAA959078BD039C9D@MBXSRV04.stf.nus.edu.sg> -----Original Message----- From: Kiron Chatterjee [mailto:K.Chatterjee@SOTON.AC.UK] Sent: Thursday, 18 April 2002 9:13 PM To: UTSG@JISCMAIL.AC.UK Subject: Transport Lessons from the Fuel Tax Protests of 2000 Dear All, This week sees the publication by Ashgate of the book 'Transport Lessons from the Fuel Tax Protests of 2000' - a collection of articles examining the transport implications surrounding the September 2000 fuel crisis. The fourteen chapters, many of which are written by UTSG members, cover a range of transport topics including fuel taxation, transport pricing, policy acceptability, travel behaviour and goods distribution. For those interested to know more about the book, it is summarised below. Also this week, the Transportation Research Group of the University of Southampton has made publicly available the full datasets from its fuel crisis survey of car users. These are now available to download from its web site at http://www.soton.ac.uk/~trgwww/fuel/fuel.htm. If you have any queries about the book or fuel crisis survey, please contact me by replying to this email, or using the contact details below. Kiron Dr Kiron Chatterjee Transportation Research Group Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Southampton SO17 1BJ Tel: 023 8059 2345 Email: K.Chatterjee@soton.ac.uk Fuel crisis research: http://www.soton.ac.uk/~trgwww/fuel/fuel.htm -------- For one week in September 2000 the pumps ran dry in filling stations across the UK as protests against high petrol and diesel prices prevented tanker drivers from leaving oil refineries. The events generated considerable debate about fuel prices and taxation. There was also shock as to how quickly the 'crisis' took hold and the extent to which it revealed our reliance on road transport. Briefly transport was in the media spotlight. For transport researchers, however, the events offered the chance to carefully compile and study the facts, to re-examine key transport issues and to identify the implications for future transport policy. The book 'Transport Lessons from the Fuel Tax Protests of 2000' published by Ashgate this week is a definitive collection of articles written by researchers examining the transport implications of the events of September 2000. In the fourteen chapters of the book there are lessons on many different aspects of transport - insights from the chapters are provided below. For the book's University of Southampton editors, Glenn Lyons and Kiron Chatterjee, the events were a rare, possibly one-off, opportunity to study on a large scale how car users cope when their mobility is restricted and to assess what this tells us about promoting alternatives to the car. Chatterjee and Lyons describe the results of a national survey of car users that they undertook immediately after the protests. They found that three-quarters of car users made a change to their car use during the fuel crisis. A lot of leisure, business and shopping travel was simply not undertaken. For commuting a third of car users changed mode or car shared. A quarter of parents walked or cycled their children to school instead of driving them. One in seven grocery shopping car users shopped more locally than usual, either going by car or walking or cycling. Although the researchers find that "the majority of car travel is not amenable to change in the short term and will require sustained policy initiatives in transport and other policy areas if it is to be reduced", they conclude that "...alternative modes are presently viable for many people who usually use the car for commuting and school travel..." and identify "...aspects of these alternatives that need to be addressed to increase their use". Many of the findings of Chatterjee and Lyons are consistent with those from another car users' survey conducted by Thorpe et al., the results of which are also contained in the book. Beatty et al. examined car user behaviour and attitudes before and after the fuel crisis using the transtheoretical model from psychology. They provide "suggestions as to how different groups of drivers might be targeted" in car use reduction campaigns, identifying 'preparers' (those car users who have made some attempt to reduce their car use in the recent past and are making plans to reduce their future car use) as a priority group to target. The impacts of the fuel tax protests on three of the UK's motorways were analysed by Eves et al. They show that substantial reductions in motorway traffic flow levels occurred during the fuel crisis with reductions in flow generally of less magnitude in the peak periods. The findings also support the popular perception at the time of the crisis that people were driving more slowly to conserve fuel. Whiteing et al. turn to the road haulage sector and consider the impact on freight transport operators both of high fuel prices generally and the shortage of fuel during the fuel tax protests. They conclude "that the trend towards fuel saving interventions is a notable case of an industry 'running just to stand still'." Oil refinery blockades in France were the catalyst for the UK fuel tax protests. Salini finds that the French blockades were precipitated by European integration and regulatory reforms that have forced the French haulage industry to massively improve its productivity, set against rising road transport prices. There were four previous occasions during the 20th century when shortages in petrol have had a significant impact on the UK and other countries. Harman draws together the details of events and circumstances on these occasions, which enables some interesting parallels and distinctions to be drawn when compared with the events of 2000. Rosen looks at how political pressure and activist groups have influenced the direction of transport policy in the years leading up to and including the fuel crisis. He notes "the fuel tax crisis seems to have hardened motorists away from environmental considerations..." but "...the fragility of support for the protesters after the initial action had ended raises questions about the extent to which it is feasible to regard ... motorists as a distinct interest group". Goodwin considers two different sensitivities to fuel prices. He finds that "politically, we have experienced an upheaval serious enough to constrain policy discussion, due, in part, to underestimating the 'sensitivity' of fuel price as a political issue" and that "analytically, we have a forecasting problem, affecting the way in which the transport policy and projects are evaluated, which may be due, in part, to underestimating the 'sensitivity' of demand to fuel price". He concludes that "rethinking our assumptions on this should usefully contribute to political and professional intuition, neither of which seems to have led us in quite the right direction". Fuel taxation policy is the subject of two of the book chapters. Marsden finds that environmental reasons have been prominent in Government justification of the fuel tax escalator after its introduction in 1993 but were conspicuous by their absence in the Government's defence of fuel tax levels during the fuel crisis. Marsden shows that congestion costs dominate the total external costs of road transport and that it is impossible to reflect environmental or congestion externalities in a tax based on the consumption of fuel. Parkhurst looks at the implications of the fuel tax protests for future motoring taxation policy. As a result of ongoing increases in fuel efficiency coupled with the hypothesis that a ceiling of acceptability for duty rates has been reached, he suggests that "government can no longer depend on tax revenues from motoring continuing to increase ... they are likely to peak and decline in the next decade". He concludes that "road pricing, already promoted by many policy actors for traffic restraint purposes, may emerge as the 'natural' solution for restoring lost tax revenues". As an unplanned event there was no coordinated effort to study the consequences of the fuel tax protests. Marsden and Beecroft present information obtained from a range of sources in order to draw further observations and lessons to complement those provided elsewhere in the book. They identify those who were winners and losers in retail, business, leisure, telecommunications, media and transport. Bonsall finishes the book by assessing the value of research carried out during crisis events like those of September 2000. He notes "the resources and influence required to provide full observation and experimental control are inconceivable in normal circumstances. The experimenter would never be allowed to interrupt fuel supplies or otherwise severely restrict peoples' lifestyles without their consent". He concludes that "the fuel crisis of September 2000 stimulated an investment of intellectual effort and resources which has yielded a very useful body of data and some very valuable analyses. It served to concentrate attention and resources on important issues and to take forward our thinking in these areas further and faster than would otherwise have been the case". In September 2000 the UK found out just how much it depends on having an adequate supply of fuel. The fear of disruption to fuel supplies, for whatever reason, hangs heavily over our present-day economies and lifestyles. This book contributes new understandings of this dependency and identifies possible ways of tackling it. -------- The book contents are listed at http://www.soton.ac.uk/~trgwww/fuel/fuel_book.htm. To order the book contact: Ashgate Publishing Direct Sales Bookpoint Limited 130 Milton Park Abingdon Oxon OX14 4SB Tel: +44 (0) 1235 827730 Fax: +44 (0) 1235 400454 E-mail: orders@bookpoint.co.uk From sagaris at terra.cl Fri Apr 19 22:38:21 2002 From: sagaris at terra.cl (Lake Sagaris) Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 09:38:21 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Fwd: [chilebookclub] urban verse from the southern cone Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020419093406.02a617a0@pop3.norton.antivirus> Perhaps we should all be starting this sort of movement? Or at least the writers amongst us (there seem to be a lot of writers involved in transport for some reason...) Best, Lake Lake Sagaris Living City - Ciudad Viva Santiago, Chile Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 08:42:04 -0300 >Subject: [chilebookclub] urban verse from the southern cone > >Homemade Honku (see below) > >====== >Car alarms >pierce my ears. >Chile's national anthem. >++++++++++++ > >And my own coinage: a Smonku: > >The Andes, invisible. >smog lifts, but not the highrises > > >============= >Egging on urban poets (from NYTimes) > >The honking of horns, as anyone who has tried to get more than a few >consecutive minutes of sleep in New York will testify, is one of the city's >most widely enjoyed communal pastimes. But Aaron Naparstek has had enough >of it. >On one occasion, the 31-year-old website developer approached the open >window of a 4x4, waited for the driver to finish honking, offered a polite >"excuse me" and then yelled "Ho-o-o-o-o-o-onk!" in his face. (The response >was blind fury.) Then a few months ago he snapped and threw three eggs from >the window of his Brooklyn apartment on to the windscreen of a car honking >loudly below. But the driver threatened to kill him. So, nobly, he chose >the path of non-violence. He started writing anti-honking haiku verses - >honku, he called them - and taped them to local lampposts: > > Oh, forget Enron >The problem around here is >All the damn honking > >"Then this really weird thing started happening," Naparstek says, as we >stroll down his street in the Cobble Hill district. "All these other haiku >started appearing that I hadn't written." Naparstek's section of Brooklyn >is now covered in anti-honking poetry, written by everyone from scary >environmental activist types to militant revolutionaries: > > Patience slowly fades >Residents stock up their eggs > >That day is coming soon. Inevitably Naparstek has started a website - >www.honku.org - and now people from across the country send him news of >their own anti-honking campaigns. Poetry, it turns out, can change the >world after all (if you've got enough Sellotape). > >Then, just recently, anti-anti-honking haiku started to appear, taped up by >locals who thought Naparstek should stop worrying about honking and start >worrying about starving children, say, or war in the Middle East instead. >Naparstek has an answer for that. "Stop me if this is too tenuous," he >says, "but they talk about the violence in the Middle East like it's a >force of nature, like it's beyond our control. But actually it's kind of >like the honking - the violence is man-made. If we can figure out how to >stop honking on Clinton Street, I think we could learn some things that we >could use on a macro level." He pauses for a moment. "I told you it was >tenuous." From sagaris at terra.cl Sat Apr 20 02:01:32 2002 From: sagaris at terra.cl (Lake Sagaris) Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 13:01:32 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Fwd: more on street noise -- Humor Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020419125858.02aa5670@pop3.norton.antivirus> Hey folks I hope a lighter approach to urban transport sits well with your Friday activities. Have a good weekend, everyone. Best, Lake >The >Car Alarm Dance >======= > > I got a nice letter from an across the street neighbor. She wanted to >share some thoughts on how she has learned to deal with Clinton Street >motorist mayhem over the years. She included a >quote from John Cage, the avant garde composer most famous for his piece >entitled 4'33''. All of the notes of >4'33'' are silent. The composition takes its name from the fact that it >requires four minutes and thirty-three seconds >to perform. When performed in concert, a piano player sits at a bench >with a stopwatch and doesn't touch the keys. > > Anyway, the Cage quote -- I don't know where it comes from -- is this: > "The most recent change in my attitude > toward sound has been in relation to loud sustained sounds such as > car alarms or burglar alarms, which used to > annoy me, but which I now accept and even enjoy... Sounds which stay > in one location and don't change can > produce a sonorous sculpture, a sound sculpture that lasts in time. > Isn't that beautiful?" > > As I often find with avant garde art stuff, yes, the concept is > beautiful. But the actual tangible reality of the car > alarm "sonic sculpture" -- that's not a piece of art that I'd want in my > living room. Nevertheless, I know what my > neighbor means. There are all kinds of good ways to sublimate these > minor but persistent urban annoyances and > turn them into something fun and creative. > As far as car alarms go, my girlfriend Joanne and I have ocassionally > played this game we call the Car Alarm > Dance. When you're walking down the street and you pass a car with its > alarm blasting (for no good reason, as > always), you pretend that you are the car alarm and you're the one > making the noises. You and your partner can > switch off each time the car alarm noise changes so that it's sort of > like you're having a dialogue with each other in car alarm language. > Maybe you're having a fight with each other. Maybe you're madly in love > with each other. Or maybe you're robots. Each individual can interpret > the car alarm sounds however he or she wants. > > Can you picture what I'm talking about? Basically, the first person > stands there and lip-synchs "Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo?" and maybe shoots > his hands up in the air repeatedly on each "Whoo" like a football ref > signaling touchdown. When the noise changes to "Eeep Eeep Eeep Eeep > Eeep?" the second person starts lip-synching and adding some unique > "Eeep" body >movement and facial expressions to go along with it. It's a really great game. > > Another fun car alarm game I've played, I guess would be called Car > Alarm Conductor. That's when you stand in > front of the blaring vehicle and conduct it as though you were > conducting a symphony orchestra. > > Both of these games make you feel better because they give you the > momentary illusion that you're actually in > control of the car alarm sounds -- that you're producing the noise. > And you also get to jump around and blow off > steam instead of just getting all pissed and annoyed and stewing over > how inconsiderate people are who actually > have these useless alarms in their vehicles. Because, really, do they do > anything? Does anyone know of any > instance where a car alarm actually did some good? > > -- Aaron From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Sat Apr 20 14:20:14 2002 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 13:20:14 +0800 Subject: [sustran] FW: CAR BUSTERS BULLETIN #33 / APRIL 2002 Message-ID: <0709A702109DA844B290CEAA959078BD039CCA@MBXSRV04.stf.nus.edu.sg> I don't think this got through to the list when Car Busters tried to send it recently. So forwarding now, a little late. -----Original Message----- From: owner-englishbulletin-l@ecn.cz [mailto:owner-englishbulletin-l@ecn.cz] On Behalf Of Car Busters Sent: Saturday, 6 April 2002 2:23 AM To: englishbulletin-l@ecn.cz Subject: CAR BUSTERS BULLETIN #33 / APRIL 2002 For sending messages to Car Busters use carbusters@ecn.cz , please. Do NOT just hit "reply." =================================== -- -- -- -- CAR BUSTERS BULLETIN -- -- -- -- -- =================================== Edition no. 33 - April 2002 - English version ............................................................................ ....... CARBUSTERS Magazine and Resource Centre Kratka 26, 100 00 Praha 10, Czech Republic tel: +(420) 2-7481-0849 ; fax: +(420) 2-7481-6727 - Thanks to all of you who are sending us your contributions. This bulletin was actually made using so much of the stuff that there was hardly any room left for our witty original writing. To avoid the inevitable formatting problems, read this bulletin on-line at . ========== CONTENTS WORLD NEWS - PIES FROM THE SKY - CLIMATE ACTIVISTS VISIT POST-KYOTO CONFERENCE - CRITICAL MASSACRE IN MINNEAPOLIS - SECOND LEVEL FOR MEXICO CITY MOTORWAYS - MAJOR U.S. BICYCLE ACTIVIST KILLED IN TRAFFIC - COLLAPSE OF ANTARCTIC ICE SHELF - TWO STEPS TOWARDS CAR-FREE CHICAGO UPCOMING GATHERINGS - "END OF THE ROAD" GATHERING TAKES ON U.K. ROAD BUILDING - WALK 21: THIRD INTERNATIONAL PEDESTRIAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTS AND JOBS - TOWARDS CAR-FREE CITIES III CONFERENCE - DISGUSTING PLEA FOR MONEY - SEND IT ALL TO BELGRADE - JOB OFFER: Climate change activism INTERNET INTERNET - TWO CAR BUSTERS ON-LINE DISCUSSION FORA - REGISTER YOUR WORLD CAR-FREE DAYS 2002 EVENT ON-LINE - NEW WORLDWIDE CRITICAL MASS ON-LINE RESOURCES - NEW ITALIAN CRITICAL MASS WEB SITE ============= WORLD NEWS 1) PIES FROM THE SKY - CLIMATE ACTIVISTS VISIT POST-KYOTO CONFERENCE [submitted by Mark B., London] People from "Pie in the Sky" walked into a second London high-profile emissions trading conference on March 5, distributing leaflets, having impassioned discussions with various delegates and declaring the whole event a profiteering charade that also wouldn't make a significant dent in carbon emissions. One person was forcibly ejected by security, while others stuck around for a brief chat. The conference made no bones about its sense of priorities, seeing as it was called "Profiting from Opportunities Presented by the Kyoto Mechanisms," and featuring the quote "Position yourself to grasp the outstanding opportunities offered to business and finance by the Kyoto Protocol." Web: . 2) CRITICAL MASSACRE IN MINNEAPOLIS [submitted by Andy Singer, St. Paul, MN, USA - excuse the sensationalist headline] A Critical Mass bike ride in Minneapolis, Minnesota, turned into a show of police violence on Friday, March 29, when at least five squad cars descended on the 75 or so bicycle riders. Police confiscated 30 to 40 bikes, which they heaped onto a waiting flatbed truck. They beat and pepper sprayed many riders, sending two of them to the hospital, and arrested at least ten. On Tuesday, April 2, over 30 people met with the Mayor of Minneapolis and demanded, among other things, an end to police brutality, return of confiscated bikes, the dropping of charges against cyclists, and compensation for hospital bills and damaged bikes. We hope that the mayor and city council are able to rein Minneapolis police in. Web: . 3) SECOND LEVEL FOR MEXICO CITY MOTORWAYS TO SORT OUT JAMS [submitted by Areli Carreon, Cuernavaca, Mexico] Believe it or not Mexico City's new chief of government has proposed the construction of a second level for two of the major most congested big avenues in the world's most polluted and chaotic city. According to the mayor, Andr?s Manuel L?pez Obrador, the construction of a second level to the Avenidas Periferico and Viaducto will solve the traffic jams and will reduce air pollution, because "the cars will go faster, so they will burn less petrol." This will cost the city 8,000 million pesos (aproximately US$8 million). Unmentioned is the danger to the motorists themselves in the event of an earthquake. As was demonstrated by the 1989 collapse of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, California, and an adjacent double-decker freeway, building "up" in a seismically active zone merely increases the risk of instant death. Mexico City was devasted by an earthquake in 1985 that killed tens of thousands. That was without elevated highways! Many Mexican ecologist groups had questioned this project with numbers: the 42 millons of litres of petrol burned daily in Mexico City produce 2,100,000 tons per year of toxic emissions. With the second level's increase of speed the emissions could be reduced to 5,292 ton/year, which does not justify a expenditure that could provide almost a bike to every inhabitant of the city, or that could be best invested in improve the city's chaotic public transport system. The Mexican group Bicitekas invites you to write to AMLO, Mexico City Mayor, to invite him to reconsider this proposal. Visit our page or write to us directly at . 4) MAJOR U.S. BICYCLE ACTIVIST KILLED IN TRAFFIC [submitted in various forms by some half dozen U.S. bike activists] Susie Stevens, an alternative transport activist based in Seattle, was run over and killed by a bus while crossing a street in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. It happened in the morning of March 21. She was 36 years old. Stephens was famous around the country as one of the top leaders of the movement. She was both one of the most hard-working and competent people you'd ever want to work with, and one of the most fun. She often would get crowds singing in unison to the tune of civil rights songs with new bicycle-oriented words. Susie was a founder and former Managing Director of the Thunderhead Alliance (national coalition of bicycle organisations) and also served as Executive Director of the Bicycle Alliance of Washington. Chris Morfas, executive director of the California Bicycling Coalition, said in a phone interview that Stephens "had a remarkable vision for a world in which people who want to walk or ride a bicycle can do so in safety." "Susie was one of the most passionate people I know, and her passion carried over to others," said Amy Carlson, a founding member of the Bicycle Alliance. Susie's family is planning a memorial service for May, in Winthrop, WA. The Bicycle Alliance of Washington has planned a wake in Seattle. For more information, contact the Bicycle Alliance of Washington at (206) 224-9252. 5) COLLAPSE OF ANTARCTIC ICE SHELF [submitted by Novi Dyen] During a five-week period in February and March, a piece of the Larsen B-22 Ice Shelf with a surface area of 3,000 square kilometres dramatically splintered into a plume of drifting icebergs. Although the ice shelf has persisted through 12,000 years of climate changes, scientists hesitate to say whether the collapse was due to human-induced climate change. Even so, the event should serve as another wake up call. Web: . 6) TWO STEPS TOWARDS A CAR-FREE CHICAGO [submitted by Michael Burton, and Lisa Phillips ] An eight-lane superhighway in Chicago will be closed to automobile traffic for a day on June 9 for the "Ride the Drive" bicycle ride. The complete closure of Lake Shore Drive will not happen in the foreseeable future, but this serves as an important first step. The highway is stupidly located in a beatiful area next to a lake, as there is a parallel highway only about a mile away. Planners have proposed re-routing traffic, but this far no action has been taken. "While Chicagoans enjoy a shoreline free of the usual noise, dangers and pollution posed by automobile traffic on June 9," said Michael Burton, secretary of the Camapign for a Free and Clear Lakefront,"Riders will no doubt realize how tragic it is to violate our beautiful shoreline with an eight-lane superhighway the other 364 days of the year." Another step for Car-Free Chicago was called by the local Critical Mass group, who staged pro-bicycle/anti-car message booth at last weekend's Subaru (!?) "BIKE" Show, held at Chicago's monument to excessive tourism, Navy Pier. The action was very well received by everyone but the sponsors. Web: . ====================== UPCOMING GATHERINGS 1) "END OF THE ROAD" GATHERING TAKES ON U.K. ROAD BUILDING [submitted by Earth First! Manchester and others] Direct Action Gathering to build resistance to the new roads programme and the corporate dominance it fuels, April 19-21, Nottingham, UK. This gathering is being organised to provide a forum for those interested in a direct action response to the resurrection of Britain's road building programme. The previous roads programme became the front-line for radical ecological resistance, and opposition to capitalist expansion. Now it's time to learn from past struggles and go on. Friday - arrivals, food, preliminary meeting. Saturday - update briefing on new road schemes and corporate links. Planning tactics and response. Sunday - no formal organisation, but meeting space will be provided for those wishing to take the opportunity to build further on the day before. Arrivals will be met on the Friday evening from 5 pm at The Sumac Centre, 245 Gladstone St, Nottingham. NG7 6HX. Contact: tel: +(44) 0781- 350-5480; e-mail: . 2) WALK 21: THIRD INTERNATIONAL PEDESTRIAN CONFERENCE [submitted by Blanca, Walk 21 Technical Secretariat, ] Organised by the Federation of European Pedestrian Associations (FEPA) in collaboration with the Donostia ? San Sebasti?n City Council, and due to be held from May 8-11, 2002, in San Sebasti?n's Kursaal Conference Centre. Web: ; tel: +(34) 943-430-569; fax: +(34) 943-431-069; e-mail: . ========================= ANNOUNCEMENTS AND JOBS 1) TOWARDS CAR-FREE CITIES III [submitted by Randy Ghent, Car Busters] Car Busters is starting to organise the third Towards Car-Free Cities conference, to be hopefully held in March 2003 in Prague. So we're looking for partner organisations and individuals to join the organisation team. After successful rounds in Lyon and Timisoara, we're going to take Praha by storm. There is still plenty of time to contribute to the programme. Just contact us to get involved... 3) DISGUSTING PLEA FOR MONEY [who could have possibly submitted this?!] Here it is. The announcement you haven't been waiting for. The one where we urge you to give your hard-earned money away to some fanatical organisation on the other side of the planet. Well, this is it: Now more than ever, Car Busters needs your support. We're a team of six energetic, self-exploited, hard-working international activists here in Prague, sweating away (at least when it's hot out) day after day to provide information, resources and inspiration for transport activists and others. So of course we hope, therefore, that you can join us as a member, magazine subscriber or donator. A little goes a long way here in the Czech Republic. And if you have friends who might wish to support us, please send them our way, force them to write a cheque at gunpoint, or give them gift subscriptions/memberships. You can order by credit card on our web site: . Otherwise, cheques in US$ / EUR / GBP / AU$ can be sent to Car Busters, Kratka 26, 100 00 Prague 10, Czech Republic. See, it's not so hard... MEMBER [includes a one-year magazine subscription, a copy of Andy Singer's "CARtoons," and an assortment of bike stickers]: US$30 / EUR30 / GBP20 / AU$40 SUPPORTER [includes a one-year magazine subscription, a copy of "CARtoons," and a copy of "Roadkill Bill" by Ken Avidor]: US$50 / EUR50 / GBP30 / AU$60 SAVIOUR [includes a two-year magazine subscription, a copy of "CARtoons" and a copy of "The End of the Road" by Wolfgang Zuckermann]: US$100 / EUR100 / GBP60 / AU$120 DONATOR [economic liberty rate]: __________ ONE-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION [magazine only]: US$15 / EUR15 / GBP7.50 / AU$18.50 TWO-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION [magazine only]: US$26 / EUR26 / GBP13 / AU$32.50 3) SEND IT ALL TO BELGRADE [submitted by Branka Zgonjanin, ul. Momcila Zivojinovica 28, 11400 Mladenovac, Serbia, ] Hello people! Some news from the Serbia ghetto: Okay, some people from Belgrade have gathered to set up an info shop [we don't have info shops here], very seriously planning to develop that idea into something like a meeting point for all kinds of activism, for all groups and individuals. It's gonna be a house with two rooms and kitchen/cafe. One room will be a library and info shop, another we will use for meetings, workshops, video projections, discussions, places for sleeping for people from other places, etc. The house will be in the centre of the town so it will be very practical, also useful, we hope so... So what we need from you, if you want to support our project: issues, 'zines, books, videotapes, audios, everything printed or xerox with/for @ purposes... also, contacts, distros, individuals who can help... put our contact somewhere visable, let everybody informed about our project, send send stuff, everything you think is important. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 4) JOB OFFER: Climate change activism position: rising tide international co-ordinator [submitted by Walter Markov, Rising Tide Germany, . If interested, contact the e-mail address above. =========== INTERNET 1) TWO CAR BUSTERS ON-LINE DISCUSSION FORA [submitted by Juho Vuori, Car Busters] Following upon our "Whatever Happened to the Great British Road Protests" article in Car Busters magazine 13, we've set up an on-line forum to continue the discussion. Take a look, join the debate, and participate in shaping the future of anti-roads movement. Web: . On top of that, we've set up a second forum for sharing ideas, tactics and strategies for the upcoming World Car-Free Days 2002, two weeks of actions and events from September 13 to 27. Same web address applies. 2) REGISTER YOUR WORLD CAR-FREE DAYS 2002 EVENT ON-LINE [submitted by Petr Kurfurst, Car Busters] Just letting you know that some more resources for World Car-Free Days 2002 are available on our web site, such as an updated logo. We want to especially call your attention to an on-line form we designed, so that you can announce to the world your plans for September. This way people can get inspiration from your action plans, and we will have someone to contact for post-event reports, etc. Go to and click on "World Car-Free Days." 3) NEW WORLDWIDE CRITICAL MASS ON-LINE RESOURCES [submitted by Jym Dyer, San Francisco] There are two new on-line Critical Mass resources of note: A worldwide Critical Mass e-mail list: . (Note the hyphen; there's also a "criticalmass" and a "critical_mass" list, which has nothing to do with our Critical Mass.) Check the Worldwide Critical Mass Flyer Exchange at . Also, a number of locations in the U.S. are holding an "Earth Car-Free Day Critical Mass." Be sure to check your local Earth Day activities for one - and to hold a Critical Mass if there isn't one listed. 4) NEW ITALIAN CRITICAL MASS WEB SITE [submitted by Paolo Zanon, somewhere in Italy, ] Here in Italy we have a brand-new Critical Mass web site: . Some actions are now happening weekly in Milan, soon in Rome (next on June 1), some in Naples... On April 13 a meeting of Critical Mass Italy will be held in Milan, and a Critical Mass will ride from Bulk BSO (where a bike workshop is under construction) to the Milan Chinatown to defend Chinese bike lanes (and to promote Italian ones still existing...). =========== DISCLAIMER Since the person delegated to handle the bulletin has no idea what to say in the disclaimer, let's do it the usual way: Car Busters doesn't feel responsible for anything that's written here. It's all your fault, anyway. From bayk at quickweb.com.ph Tue Apr 23 14:02:05 2002 From: bayk at quickweb.com.ph (=?iso-8859-1?B?UmFt824=?=) Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 13:02:05 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Earth Day News from Asia Message-ID: <003101c1ea84$03a1e9d0$0100a8c0@COMPUTER3> Below is news from all around Asia are reported by Reuters. Our Tour of Fireflies was mentioned. It seems the Singapore Car Free Day bombed? Students Block Cars, Monks Pray on Earth Day April 22, 2002 03:19 PM ET By Arshad Mohammed WILMINGTON, N.Y. (Reuters) - President Bush, stung by a fresh defeat by pro-environment forces in the U.S. Congress, on Monday marked Earth Day by repairing a hiking trail and preaching the virtues of conservation in the rugged, snowy Adirondack Mountains. Under fire from his 2000 Democratic presidential rival, Al Gore, and others for abandoning the Kyoto treaty on global warming and advocating oil drilling in an Alaskan wildlife refuge, Bush visited the pine trees and pristine lakes of New York's Adirondack Park to burnish his environmental record. "We have a duty in our country to make sure our land is preserved, our air is clean, our water is pure, our parks are accessible and open and well preserved," Bush said in a speech driven indoors by a heavy snowfall on a cold, blustery day. Bush hailed the Adirondacks, among the first protected wilderness areas in the United States, as an example of the cooperative efforts between the government, private sector and volunteers he wants to preserve the nation's wilderness. Critics like Gore, a possible White House rival in 2004, suggested Bush's deeds belied his words and many honed in on his plan -- rejected by the U.S. Senate last week -- to drill for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. "The environmental and energy policies of our government are completely dominated by a group of current and former oil and chemical company executives who are trying to dismantle America's ability to force them to reduce the extremely dangerous levels of pollution in the Earth's atmosphere," Gore wrote in a New York Times opinion piece published on Sunday. Gore accused Bush of committing environmental "sabotage" by rejecting the Kyoto global warming treaty that would require industrial nations to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and by voiding an agreement requiring automakers boost fuel efficiency. ASIAN ACTIVISTS PROTEST, PLANT TREES On Indonesia's Sumatra island earlier on Monday, students at the University of Lampung blocked all vehicles from entering the campus in a 10-hour campaign that snarled traffic, the Antara news agency reported. Environmentalists elsewhere in Indonesia, home to the world's second largest expanse of rainforests after Brazil, held tree-planting programs, clean-ups and seminars. In Thailand, some 15,000 Buddhist monks and devotees gathered at a temple on the outskirts of Bangkok to mark the day with prayers for the earth and world peace. Saffron-robed monks gathered from various parts of the mainly Buddhist country for a special day of chanting and alms-giving. In Singapore, a campaign to get people to use public transportation fell flat, prompting "Car Free Day" organizers to complain it would take years for the city-state to go green. Penelope Phoon, executive director of the Singapore Environment Council (SEC), estimated around 5,000 car owners gave up using their cars to mark Earth Day -- a little over one percent of the 403,000 private and rental cars. THIRTY DECADE HISTORY Earth Day was first marked in 1970 by American organizers Gaylord Nelson and Denis Hayes. Thirty decades on, the pioneers head an Earth Day Network based in Seattle, which coordinates global Earth Day activities, and acts as a prominent vehicle to stimulate environmental responsibility. Their Web site (http://www.earthday.net) says the worldwide network has grown to include 5,000 organizations in 184 countries. A spokesman for the United Nations regional office in Bangkok said the U.N. supported Earth Day, but noted his organization observed its own "World Environment Day" June 5. "These days, however, serve to remind us all to renew our commitment to the environment," he told Reuters. In the Philippines Sunday, thousands of cyclists took to the streets of the capital Manila to press for more bicycle-friendly streets and to protest against the city's horrendous air pollution. The ride, covering 50 km (31 miles) through seven cities in the greater metropolitan Manila region was also held to highlight the plight of fireflies. The Firefly Brigade, a volunteer citizens action group that organized the cycle ride, claims the city's fireflies have all fled Manila because of the high level of toxins in the air. Bush's visit to the vast state forest preserve in the Adirondacks, covering almost 10,0000 square miles, follows last week's defeat of the President's plan to allow oil drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In a blow to Bush's energy plan, pro- environment forces blocked the effort in the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate. Democrats view protection of the environment as a key issue in this year's pivotal congressional elections in which control of both houses will be at stake. Ram?n From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Thu Apr 25 12:03:50 2002 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 11:03:50 +0800 Subject: [sustran] FW: Dinesh Mohon - CNG a big mistake? Message-ID: <0709A702109DA844B290CEAA959078BD09D7DA@MBXSRV04.stf.nus.edu.sg> -----Original Message----- From: Jack Peckham [mailto:jpeckham@chemweek.com] Sent: Thursday, 25 April 2002 1:19 AM To: Clean Air Initiative -- Asia Subject: [cai-asia] Fw: Air Pollution News Digest #7 > > From: The Economic Times (India), Tues. April 16, 2002 > CNG: A big mistake? > > PROF DINESH MOHAN > > [ TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2002 12:19:00 AM ] > > The Supreme Court has reaffirmed that buses in Delhi shall use only > CNG as fuel, and this has started off another round of anti and > pro-CNG debates. > > This is unfortunate. To be fair, one must look not only at the > pollution caused per vehicle but also at the pollution caused per > passenger transported over a kilometre. > > This is why it is very important that fuel policies must be > accompanied by other policies that ensure that use of public transport > does not decrease. > > Our estimates show that even if all buses in Delhi used CNG, and if > only 5 per cent people stopped using buses and shifted to private > modes, total carbon monoxide and hydro-carbon pollution would increase by 10-20 per cent. > > If 15 per cent of bus users start using two-wheelers then the > particulate pollution will also increase even if all buses use CNG. > > A recent study by Lew Fulton of the International Energy Agency states that "Dramatic reductions in road space, fuel use, and most emissions can be achieved just with (shifts to) standard buses. The additional reduction from improving this bus is mostly trivial, except in the case of NOX and to a lesser extent particulate matter." > > What Dr Fulton is saying is that pollution reductions are very > significant if you use large vehicles instead of small vehicles like > two-wheelers, cars and vans. > > Newspaper reports in Delhi suggest a large number of families have > already formed car pools to transport their children to school as bus > fares have increased. Similarly, many others who were using chartered > buses to go to work have reverted to their cars and two-wheelers. > > A very large number of rural transport vehicles have been introduced > in Delhi because they come equipped with CNG engines. > > But these vehicles carry only 12 passengers. So instead of using one engine (in a bus) to transport 60-80 people we will be using 6 engines on the roads of Delhi. > > These changes will increase pollution, congestion and accidents. While other cities are trying to get rid of vans and mini-buses, we are bringing in new ones! > > We will now have the bus fleet of Delhi operating on outdated engine > technology but using CNG as a fuel. > > Further, all 10,000 buses in Delhi will be of the same age and > preclude us from adopting new engine technologies or fuels as they develop over the next ten years. > > All these buses will have the same old truck chassis with high floors > instead of convenient low floor modern urban buses with automatically > closing doors for the next 10 years. > > This one decision has the potential of destroying the public transport > facility of Delhi for a very long time to come. > > Policies that are complex in nature should never be put in place > through antagonistic processes like courts. Such processes end up > destroying institutions, governance procedures and trust in systems. > > The committee under the chairmanship of Dr R M Mashelkar, Director-General,CSIR had very sensibly recommended that the government should only specify the quality of the exhaust to be emitted by the bus and not the fuel. > > When this is done, everyone competes to give you the most efficient > engine at the lowest price that meets the emission norms. They also > suggested a phase in timetable so that we don't have all buses of the > same vintage. > > The recommendations of this committee seem to have been ignored. This > is a very serious matter. No one questions the fact that Dr Mashelkar > is one of the most outstanding scientists in India. I have also never > heard any backroom chat questioning his integrity. > > But when his committee report is ignored, it puts into disrepute the > competence of such scientists in the country and questions his > competence and integrity. > > No society can do well and take well thought out decisions when we > promote such cynicism among the public. (The author is with > Transportation Research, IIT Delhi) > ... From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Thu Apr 25 12:18:19 2002 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 11:18:19 +0800 Subject: [sustran] FW: [NGOForum] ADB REJECTS STDP (GSS) Inspection Request - Sri La nka Message-ID: <0709A702109DA844B290CEAA959078BD09D7DD@MBXSRV04.stf.nus.edu.sg> Dear sustran-discussers Here is information on a hot highway issue in Sri Lanka that may be of interest to some on this list. I have not attached the zipped filed mentioned below but if any of you are interested in this case then I can forward them. Paul -----Original Message----- From: Bobet Corral [mailto:vpcorral@pacific.net.ph] Sent: Wednesday, 24 April 2002 9:43 AM To: forumonadb@yahoogroups.com Subject: [NGOForum] ADB REJECTS STDP (GSS) Inspection Request - Sri Lanka On March 14, 2002, villagers from all along the planned route of the Southern Expressway Matara came to Colombo to protest against the building of the road. They came to show the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), who are the main financiers of the road, how much they are suffering because of the road project. Hundreds of people from 12 villages -- Akmeemana in the South, Kurundugaha-hatekma, Bandaragama, Polgasovita, Galanigama, Palpola, Gamagoda, Dodangoda, Pantota, Elpitiya, Etkadura, Kokmadoowa, Sultanagoda -- are angry with the way the Road Development Authority (RDA) had thrown aside the original project plans as a result of alleged influence by the past Government to make the road avoid the land of Government ministers and friends. This campaign was organised by the Sri Lankan Working Group on ADB. Representatives of the Villagers met with Mr John Cooney, Resident Representative of ADB, and Mr Naomi Miwa, Chief Representative of JBIC. They were able to explain at least to some extent their problems. Road project description The STDP Project is an ADB co-financed project, which includes the construction of a 128-km controlled access expressway from Colombo to the southern city of Galle, which will link up with an existing coastal road in Matara. ADB is providing a US$ 90 million loan approved in November 1999 for 55 km of this expressway, with JBIC providing funds for the rest of the stretch. The construction of the road aims to help catalyze economic growth in the southern region of Sri Lanka in general and reduce traffic and accidents on the coastal road. Houses, paddy lands, home gardens to be destroyed The number of houses to be destroyed under the RDA plans has now reached 1100 before counting those in Akmeemana and Bandaragama. The estimate is for a further 600 at least from these two places which, when added, will be a total of 1700 houses to be destroyed, from the original consultants' estimate of a maximum 622 houses. The RDA has also put the road through highly productive paddy and home gardens rather than unused lands. Residents say that the RDA Officers do this so that they can sell or use the timber and the materials from the destroyed houses. Villagers say that the Government is being totally misled by the RDA. The Government position seems to be that the people are unaware of the 'wonderful' compensation package and that if they knew, they would give up their lands and homes. The villagers have been cheated and harassed by the RDA and are in no mood to co-operate with them. The ADB and JBIC are giving long term loans to cover the cost. Although the Bank insists that their guidelines for minimum house destruction be included in their contract with the government, so far it has not insisted that the RDA follow these same guidelines. The people feel that it is a duty of the Bank to protect them from Government Officers' misdeeds. Other violations of ADB policies Public consultation that the EIA process has entirely broken down. In at least two places the Road is being run in areas where no Environmental Impact Assessment has been done. These are the biggest villages on the route. There are four human rights cases pending on the issue of the road. Breaking the law to destroy their communities is wrong, the villagers say. They claim they were cheated of their rights. Villagers file ADB Inspection Request Affected communities from Kahatuduwa, Gelenigama and Akmeemana have filed separate requests from Inspection at the ADB. The first of four Requesters -- Gama Surakeema Sanvidhanaya (GSS) - filed a formal complaint in August 2001, addressed to ADB President Tadao Chino. In order to send the actual Inspection Request, the community of Gelanigama had to ask for the ADB to send them the policies relevant to the project. These policies were not available in the community's local language and due to the lack of resources, the community had to ask for help from an environmental lawyer from outside Sri Lanka. There have been delays in the inspection process, which give the RDA a chance to acquire all the land before even inspection has started. The Land Officer had informed the complainants that RDA will complete the southern 50% of the acquisition by end-March. ADB rejects Inspection Request ADB Management responded to the GSS complaint on February 11, 2002 dismissing the allegations as unfounded and not attributable to the Bank. The Bank claimed that the allegations against the ADB were not supported by sufficient evidence, and that the GSS failed to demonstrate "direct and material adverse effect caused by ADB." On April 15, the villagers of Gelanigama received word that their Inspection Request had been rejected by the ADB. GSS maintains that the grounds for the Bank's response are incorrect, and have promptly conveyed this to the Bank. GSS also feels that the Bank management's response was extremely legalistic and showed little sense of duty or regard for the Requesters. Meanwhile, the second request from families living in the Akmeemana district is up for ADB Board decision on April 29. Compiled by the NGO Forum on ADB with information from Sri Lanka Working Group on ADB, Heather and Cyril Mundy of GSS and Jessica Rossien of Bank Information Center. ! ; For more information, contact: Heather and Cyril Mundy Gama Surakeema Sanvidhanaya (GSS) Gelanigama, Bandaragama, Sri Lanka email: ggama@mail.ewisl.net or cyrilmundy@mail.ewisl.net Attached zipped files -- 1- STDP Briefer, Prepared by NGO FORUM, April 2002 (with pictures from Sri Lanka Working Group on ADB) 2- GSS response to ADB rejection of Inspection Request (16 April 2002) 3- ADB Board Inspection Report on GSS Inspection Request (21 March 2002), excerpts prepared by NGO Forum on ADB 4- Fax from ADB BICommittee Secretary Jill Drilon to GSS (26 Feb 2002) 5- ADB Management Response to GSS Inspection Request (Feb 2002), excerpts prepared by NGO Forum on ADB 6- STDP Timeline 1992- April 2002, prepared by NGO Forum on ADB, April 2002 ---------------- Dr Paul A. Barter Visiting Fellow, Department of Geography National University of Singapore 1 Arts Link, Singapore 117570 NOTE NEW PHONE & FAX NUMBERS: Tel: +65-6874 3860; Fax: +65-6777 3091 E-mail: geobpa@nus.edu.sg (I'm also known as A Rahman Paul Barter) PS I am still volunteer contact point for SUSTRAN Network information services http://www.geocities.com/sustrannet But for all other SUSTRAN Network matters contact the NEW SECRETARIAT: Dr Bambang Susantono and Ms Moekti H. Soejachmoen Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia and the Pacific (SUSTRAN Network) c/o Pelangi Indonesia, Jl. Danau Tondano No. A-4, Jakarta 10210, Indonesia. Tel. +(62 21) 573 5020, 571 9360 Fax +(62 21) 573 2503 csti@pelangi.or.id From kisansbc at vsnl.com Fri Apr 26 01:57:21 2002 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (kisan mehta) Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 22:27:21 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Fw: [sustran] FW: Dinesh Mohon - CNG a big mistake? Message-ID: <002e01c1ec7a$4490f380$3226020a@im.eth.net> ----- Original Message ----- From: kisan mehta To: Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2002 12:37 PM Subject: Re: [sustran] FW: Dinesh Mohon - CNG a big mistake? > Dear Sustran, Clean Air Initiative Asia colleagues and Jack, > Prof Dinesh Mohan has brought out pertinent issues via-a-vis branding public road buses as polluters in Delhi. It is not only the number of buses but, as stated by Prof Dinesh Mohan `one must look not only at the pollution caused per vehicle but also at the pollution caused per passenger transported over a kilometre.' No control is exercised on personal vehicles which though serving an extremely small sector of the community have a high polution rate. They affect the efficiency of public transport. > > He has very rightly dealt with the backlash that may come up on urban public transport and detrimental change over to private vehicles. Central and State Governments are already using public resources to promote private vehicle ownership and usage. The Supreme Court directive restricted to public road buses only would go to support ownership and usage of private vehicles and introduction of smaller non-efficient vehicles like rural mini buses, the cumulative effect of which would be marked deterioration of air quality. > > We fail to understand as to why buses only and no other polluting vehicles are being targeted and penalised. Low price for diesel has resulted in many motorists changing over to diesel operated vehicles which pollutes more. The air quality in India and more particularly in urban centres is very poor and is fast deteriorating due to increasing number of 2, 3 and 4 wheelers and absence of strict monitoring. Vehicles now enter, dock and get repaired in highly congested areas and thus affect larger number of people. Suffocating congestion, traffic jams, air quality deterioration are everywhere. Controlling and curbing the movement and docking of vehicles and of air quality are the need of the hour. Vehicles pay nothing for use of roads and polluting the environment. It would be prudent to levy congestion and pollution tax at 10% each on fuel at the fuel outlets. Parking on roads and pavements should be banned. Incentives now extended for owning vehicles should be withdrawn. What is required is to discourage residents from using vehicles. Best wishes. Priya Salvi and Kisan Mehta > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Paul Barter > To: > Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2002 8:33 AM > Subject: [sustran] FW: Dinesh Mohon - CNG a big mistake? > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Jack Peckham [mailto:jpeckham@chemweek.com] > > Sent: Thursday, 25 April 2002 1:19 AM > > To: Clean Air Initiative -- Asia > > Subject: [cai-asia] Fw: Air Pollution News Digest #7 From czegras at MIT.EDU Mon Apr 29 23:41:53 2002 From: czegras at MIT.EDU (Chris Zegras) Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 10:41:53 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Theft of "intelligence" Message-ID: <5.0.0.25.2.20020429103611.032f6590@po9.mit.edu> From Wired (http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,52114,00.html) Crooks Cause Chilean Car Chaos By Ricardo Sametband 2:00 a.m. April 26, 2002 PDT New Yorkers think they have traffic jams, but sorting them out is child's play compared to what Chilean commuters awoke to on Thursday -- a morning of mayhem and chaos. In Santiago de Chile, 800 of the city's 1,800 traffic lights went haywire after thieves stole 15 PCs and 2 servers from the Unidad Operativa de Control de Tr?nsito ( UOCT), the office that manages the traffic flow of the city. Without the computer system, the traffic lights continued working but at their own pace, losing all synchronization between one crossroad and the others. Five million citizens were in fear of crossing the streets, whether on foot or by car. The thieves that broke into the offices of the UOCT, late at night last Wednesday, seem to have had a good knowledge of the place. They entered the building through the kitchen in the backyard, deactivated the alarm system and disconnected security cameras. But while stealing the goods, valued at US$90,000, they took their time. According to police reports, these peculiar robbers smoked some cigarettes, ate a snack, and drank a few cups of joe, taking it easy before leaving the scene of the crime. The motives behind the theft remain unknown. It was a thorough job: After they loaded the computers into a van, the alarm was also taken. The only equipment they left in the UOCT were the live cameras that show the way the traffic moves ?- or, rather, does not move. Although police are re-routing vehicles around the city, traffic is far from becoming organized. Long queues of cars were observed all over Santiago, especially in the wealthy neighborhoods of the southern and western parts of the city, where most of the derelict traffic lights are installed. Patricio Tambolini, subsecretary of transportation, told the local media that drivers should not expect a normal green light until Monday, when things may be straightened out. About half of the 800 derelict traffic lights were operational by Thursday evening, thanks to a backup version of the software that controls the lights, but no word on when the job will be completed. Luckily, this will occur during the weekend, so Santiago should not expect even more trouble as the traffic lights synchronization software is tested. "We thought we had deployed all normal security measures," Tambolini said. "You never know if you've covered all security holes until this kind of thing happens." He also pleaded to the almost 1 million befuddled drivers for some patience and understanding. In an effort to lower the number of circulating cars and calm down bewildered drivers, the authorities are urging citizens to take public transportation and the subway, even when buses now take three times as long to complete their journey. Local newspaper La Tercera reported that Javier Etcheberry, minister of transport and telecommunications, announced that even though installing a back-up traffic control system would be expensive, the government is giving the proposal some serious thought. -------------------------------------------------- Christopher Zegras Research Associate MIT * Laboratory for Energy & the Environment * Room E40-468 1 Amherst Street * Cambridge, MA 02139 Tel: 617 258 6084 * Fax: 617 253 8013 From sagaris at terra.cl Tue Apr 30 00:08:49 2002 From: sagaris at terra.cl (Lake Sagaris) Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 11:08:49 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: Theft of "intelligence" In-Reply-To: <5.0.0.25.2.20020429103611.032f6590@po9.mit.edu> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20020429110701.02a85a20@pop3.norton.antivirus> What a different take on this from the official reports in Santiago that same day (I work at home so didn't have the pleasure of a firsthand view) -- according to live television coverage, the system had full backup computers and these were shown, fully functioning, along with commentaries to the effect that everything was working normally. Just goes to show, you should always check things out for yourself rather than believing the media (at this point, I couldn't tell you which view is the correct one!). Best Lake At 10:41 AM 4/29/02 -0400, you wrote: > From Wired (http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,52114,00.html) > >Crooks Cause Chilean Car Chaos > By Ricardo Sametband > >2:00 a.m. April 26, 2002 PDT >New Yorkers think they have traffic jams, but sorting them out is child's >play compared to what Chilean commuters awoke to on Thursday -- a morning >of mayhem and chaos. > >In Santiago de Chile, 800 of the city's 1,800 traffic lights went haywire >after thieves stole 15 PCs and 2 servers from the Unidad Operativa de >Control de Tr?nsito ( UOCT), the office that manages the traffic flow of >the city. > >Without the computer system, the traffic lights continued working but at >their own pace, losing all synchronization between one crossroad and the >others. Five million citizens were in fear of crossing the streets, >whether on foot or by car. > >The thieves that broke into the offices of the UOCT, late at night last >Wednesday, seem to have had a good knowledge of the place. They entered >the building through the kitchen in >the backyard, deactivated the alarm system and disconnected security cameras. > >But while stealing the goods, valued at US$90,000, they took their time. >According to police reports, these peculiar robbers smoked some >cigarettes, ate a snack, and drank a few cups of joe, taking it easy >before leaving the scene of the crime. > >The motives behind the theft remain unknown. >It was a thorough job: After they loaded the computers into a van, the >alarm was also taken. The only equipment they left in the UOCT were the >live cameras that show the way the traffic moves ?- or, rather, does not move. > >Although police are re-routing vehicles around the city, traffic is far >from becoming organized. > >Long queues of cars were observed all over Santiago, especially in the >wealthy neighborhoods of the southern and western parts of the city, where >most of the derelict traffic lights are installed. > >Patricio Tambolini, subsecretary of transportation, told the local media >that drivers should not expect a normal green light until Monday, when >things may be straightened out. About half of the 800 derelict traffic >lights were operational by Thursday evening, thanks to a backup version of >the software that controls the lights, but no word on when the job will be >completed. > >Luckily, this will occur during the weekend, so Santiago should not expect >even more trouble as the traffic lights synchronization software is tested. > >"We thought we had deployed all normal security measures," Tambolini said. >"You never know if you've covered all security holes until this kind of >thing happens." He also pleaded to the almost 1 million befuddled drivers >for some patience and understanding. > >In an effort to lower the number of circulating cars and calm down >bewildered drivers, the authorities are urging citizens to take public >transportation and the subway, even when buses now take three times as >long to complete their journey. > >Local newspaper La Tercera reported that Javier Etcheberry, minister of >transport and telecommunications, announced that even though installing a >back-up traffic control system would be expensive, the government is >giving the proposal some serious thought. > >-------------------------------------------------- >Christopher Zegras >Research Associate >MIT * Laboratory for Energy & the Environment * Room E40-468 >1 Amherst Street * Cambridge, MA 02139 >Tel: 617 258 6084 * Fax: 617 253 8013 > From ericbruun at earthlink.net Tue Apr 30 03:36:41 2002 From: ericbruun at earthlink.net (Eric Bruun) Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 14:36:41 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: Fw: [sustran] FW: Dinesh Mohon - CNG a big mistake? References: <002e01c1ec7a$4490f380$3226020a@im.eth.net> Message-ID: <008b01c1efac$cf78d320$ab282940@net> The reason that buses are singled out in India is probably the same as why they are singled out in the US of A. They are not backed by politically powerful corporations nor do the politicians use buses. In the US, they are outnumbered by truck and long-distance buses by 100 to 1 and large personal SUVS keep proliferating, yet transit agencies are being singled out to lead the fight for cleaner air. Eric Bruun ----- Original Message ----- From: "kisan mehta" To: Cc: "Jack Peckham" Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2002 12:57 PM Subject: [sustran] Fw: [sustran] FW: Dinesh Mohon - CNG a big mistake? > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: kisan mehta > To: > Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2002 12:37 PM > Subject: Re: [sustran] FW: Dinesh Mohon - CNG a big mistake? > > > > Dear Sustran, Clean Air Initiative Asia colleagues and Jack, > > > Prof Dinesh Mohan has brought out pertinent issues via-a-vis > branding public road buses as polluters in Delhi. It is not only > the number of buses but, as stated by Prof Dinesh Mohan `one > must look not only at the pollution caused per vehicle but also > at the pollution caused per passenger transported over a > kilometre.' No control is exercised on personal vehicles > which though serving an extremely small sector of the > community have a high polution rate. They affect the > efficiency of public transport. > > > > He has very rightly dealt with the backlash that may come > up on urban public transport and detrimental change over > to private vehicles. Central and State Governments > are already using public resources to promote private > vehicle ownership and usage. The Supreme Court directive restricted to > public road buses only would go to support > ownership and usage of private vehicles and introduction > of smaller non-efficient vehicles like rural mini buses, > the cumulative effect of which would be marked > deterioration of air quality. > > > > We fail to understand as to why buses only and no other > polluting vehicles are being targeted and penalised. > Low price for diesel has resulted in many motorists > changing over to diesel operated vehicles which pollutes > more. > > The air quality in India and more particularly in urban centres > is very poor and is fast deteriorating due to increasing number > of 2, 3 and 4 wheelers and absence of strict monitoring. > Vehicles now enter, dock and get repaired in highly congested > areas and thus affect larger number of people. > > Suffocating congestion, traffic jams, air quality deterioration > are everywhere. Controlling and curbing the movement and > docking of vehicles and of air quality are the need of the hour. Vehicles > pay nothing for use of roads and polluting the environment. It would be > prudent to levy congestion and > pollution tax at 10% each on fuel at the fuel outlets. > Parking on roads and pavements should be banned. > Incentives now extended for owning vehicles should be > withdrawn. What is required is to discourage residents > from using vehicles. Best wishes. > > Priya Salvi and Kisan Mehta > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: Paul Barter > > To: > > Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2002 8:33 AM > > Subject: [sustran] FW: Dinesh Mohon - CNG a big mistake? > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: Jack Peckham [mailto:jpeckham@chemweek.com] > > > Sent: Thursday, 25 April 2002 1:19 AM > > > To: Clean Air Initiative -- Asia > > > Subject: [cai-asia] Fw: Air Pollution News Digest #7 > > From APHOWES at dm.gov.ae Tue Apr 30 16:50:48 2002 From: APHOWES at dm.gov.ae (Alan Patrick Howes) Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2002 11:50:48 +0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: Dinesh Mohon - CNG a big mistake? Message-ID: But the US situation is at least a little more understandable, as the proportion of voters who use buses there is pretty low. But that is not the case in India, at least on the basis of my perceptions. I haven't yet read Dinesh's original posting - having trouble with our email here, I will have to check it out at home. I would have hoped that, if Indian democracy is worthy of the name, it would be possible to get the right message over to the PTB ... But even as I write this, my natural optimism is fading. -- Alan P Howes, Special Transport Advisor, Dubai Municipality Public Transport Department aphowes@dm.gov.ae Tel: +971 4 286 1616 ext 214 Mobile: +971 50 5989661 > -----Original Message----- > From: Eric Bruun [mailto:ericbruun@earthlink.net] > Sent: Mon, April 29, 2002 10:37 PM > To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org > Subject: [sustran] Re: Fw: [sustran] FW: Dinesh Mohon - CNG a > big mistake? > > > > The reason that buses are singled out in India is probably > the same as why > they are singled out in the US of A. They are not backed by > politically > powerful corporations nor do the politicians use buses. In > the US, they are > outnumbered by truck and long-distance buses by 100 to 1 and large > personal SUVS keep proliferating, yet transit agencies are > being singled out > to lead the fight for cleaner air. > > Eric Bruun > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: kisan mehta > > To: > > Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2002 12:37 PM > > Subject: Re: [sustran] FW: Dinesh Mohon - CNG a big mistake? > > > > > > > Dear Sustran, Clean Air Initiative Asia colleagues and Jack, > > > > > Prof Dinesh Mohan has brought out pertinent issues via-a-vis > > branding public road buses as polluters in Delhi. It is not only > > the number of buses but, as stated by Prof Dinesh Mohan `one > > must look not only at the pollution caused per vehicle but also > > at the pollution caused per passenger transported over a > > kilometre.' No control is exercised on personal vehicles > > which though serving an extremely small sector of the > > community have a high polution rate. They affect the > > efficiency of public transport. > > > > > > He has very rightly dealt with the backlash that may come > > up on urban public transport and detrimental change over > > to private vehicles. Central and State Governments > > are already using public resources to promote private > > vehicle ownership and usage. The Supreme Court directive > restricted to > > public road buses only would go to support > > ownership and usage of private vehicles and introduction > > of smaller non-efficient vehicles like rural mini buses, > > the cumulative effect of which would be marked > > deterioration of air quality. > > > > > > We fail to understand as to why buses only and no other > > polluting vehicles are being targeted and penalised. > > Low price for diesel has resulted in many motorists > > changing over to diesel operated vehicles which pollutes > > more. > > > > The air quality in India and more particularly in urban centres > > is very poor and is fast deteriorating due to increasing number > > of 2, 3 and 4 wheelers and absence of strict monitoring. > > Vehicles now enter, dock and get repaired in highly congested > > areas and thus affect larger number of people. > > > > Suffocating congestion, traffic jams, air quality deterioration > > are everywhere. Controlling and curbing the movement and > > docking of vehicles and of air quality are the need of the hour. > Vehicles > > pay nothing for use of roads and polluting the > environment. It would be > > prudent to levy congestion and > > pollution tax at 10% each on fuel at the fuel outlets. > > Parking on roads and pavements should be banned. > > Incentives now extended for owning vehicles should be > > withdrawn. What is required is to discourage residents > > from using vehicles. Best wishes. > > > > Priya Salvi and Kisan Mehta > > > >