[sustran] Re: (fwd) [UTSG] transport strategy transfer

[Karl Fjellstrom]

I'd like to just reply on the issue of bus sector reform studies in Bangkok,
because have been involved recently with this.

The consultants who I've been familiar with who worked on bus sector reform
in Bangkok were well attuned to the political realities.  Many of them speak
Thai and were based in Thailand for many years. Also, several of the bus
sector reform studies have also been done by Thai companies and consultants.
I think it largely misses the point to say that the reason bus sector reform
(not talking here about other areas) studies in Bangkok aren't implemented
is because the consultants don't understand the local situation. As Craig
points out the consultants are constrained in what they can write, but even
this does not I think go the whole way in explaining why reforms aren't
implemented.

I'm also not convinced that corruption is the main obstacle to reform. After
all, if the bus sector is revitalised, highly profitable, and growing (the
opposite to the current situation), this will mean much more money around
for everybody.

Rather, my own speculation on why reforms haven't been implemented is that
the proposed reforms have not been something 'exciting' which the
policy-makers could latch onto. The problem with the recommendations to date
- all technically very sensible - was that they mostly involved far reaching
but necessary bus sector reforms which were politically very difficult (e.g.
restructuring the state operator BMTA which has 20,000 employees, combine
that with 4 dependents per employee and you have a large constituency...) to
implement, but which had a political 'payback' which was not particulary
quick or crystal clear to them. This is a major reason for recent efforts at
promotion of BRT in Bangkok as opposed to developing yet more unimplemented
proposals for 'incremental' bus sector reforms.

Best rgds, Karl

PS: Actually there's some good data and recent studies on bus operating
costs in Bangkok, including a recent study by Chulalongkorn University.
Though Craig's right that it does get sensitive when one delves into things
like maintenance costs at the state owned operator and why they are so much
higher than a market rate would suggest.

-----Original Message-----
From: sustran-discuss-bounces+karl=dnet.net.id at list.jca.apc.org
[mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+karl=dnet.net.id at list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf
Of Craig Townsend
Sent: Monday, 26 April 2004 11:06 AM
To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport
Subject: [sustran] Re: (fwd) [UTSG] transport strategy transfer

Jonathan,

I agree, but the lack of attention to political factors by consultants has a
lot to do with who they are working for. Also, discussion of political
questions which could lead to an examination of who holds power and how (and
questions about winners and losers) is generally excluded from consultancies
which involve bilateral or multilateral development assistance. In the case
of the World Bank, Article IV of its Articles of Association clearly states
this:

"The bank and its officers shall not interfere in the political affairs of
any member; nor shall they be influenced in their decisions by the political
characteristics of the member or members concerned. Only economic
considerations shall be relevant to their decisions, and these
considerations shall be weighted impartially"

It is also very difficult to conduct research on a topic like the politics
of bus service costs in Bangkok because there are powerful people who
collect rents from each route and identifying them could be dangerous for
the researcher!

> I think that BRT could have an important role in improving bus 
> functionality in Bangkok, but I also think that much more of a basic 
> nature needs to be done first to bring discipline to bus operations 
> and basic levels of quality to services as a whole. Political issues 
> do have to be incorporated into planning -- they are generally 
> neglected by Western consultants, and that is a prime cause of 
> dysfunctionality in the implementation which ensues. My concern is for 
> the lowest-income users, who constitute the largest group but who are 
> the most liable to be left out when any kind of modernization program 
> comes into effect --Jonathan
> 

Craig