[sustran] Re: Tata Nano: Criminalizing Mobility or Mobilizing Crime

[Walter Hook]

I was interviewed by a few reporters on this, and I said I didn't think that
the low cost of the vehicle was in and of itself a problem.  If the vehicle
is not fully road worthy, crash worthy, or up to minimum tailpipe emission
standards, those are serious social problems.  Other than this, it is great
if the cost of vehicles goes down.  However, it will create pressure on the
governments to charge prices that more accurately reflect the full social
cost of the use of the vehicle, through coherent parking charges and road
user charges.  Cheap cars do not generate any more congestion than expensive
ones.  I suppose this was not what they wanted to hear, so maybe it wasn't
picked up. 

-----Original Message-----
From: sustran-discuss-bounces+whook=itdp.org at list.jca.apc.org
[mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+whook=itdp.org at list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf
Of Lee Schipper
Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 3:21 PM
To: bruun at seas.upenn.edu; sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org
Subject: [sustran] Re: Tata Nano: Criminalizing Mobility or Mobilizing Crime

 WE had a discussion of these issues on "On Point" , a US radio show,
today which you
Can hear at wbur.org. Email me if you have problems as I know where
there is an mp3 of the 50 minute broadcast. Anumita Roychowdry of CSE
and a Professor from MIT were also on the show and there were call ins
as well.

lee


Lee Schipper
EMBARQ Fellow
EMBARQ, the WRI Center for Sustainable Transport
www.embarq.wri.org
and
Visiting Scholar
UC Transportation Center
Berkeley CA USA www.uctc.net
skype: mrmeter
+1 510 642 6889
Cell +1 202 262 7476
 

-----Original Message-----
From: sustran-discuss-bounces+schipper=wri.org at list.jca.apc.org
[mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+schipper=wri.org at list.jca.apc.org] On
Behalf Of bruun at seas.upenn.edu
Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 12:17 PM
To: sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org
Subject: [sustran] Re: Tata Nano: Criminalizing Mobility or Mobilizing
Crime

Hassaan

The reason people are alarmed is because they can see where this is
going -- in the wrong direction against sustainable development and
livable cities. But mostly the discussion in the press has been about
fuel consumption, greenhouse gasses, and air pollution.

One thing that has been under-reported is the consequences to
pedestrians and biyclists. Far more are killed than motorists themselves
in India. An increase in cars will increase the death and maiming to
them far more than to motorists. But being piles of junk built to a very
lax safety standard, these TATAs will no doubt be killing a lot of their
users as well, and bring the ratio up.

This negative impact will only be temporary. One of the things people
haven't talked about in the press at all, as this is not as well known,
is the sheer physical impossibility of accommodating so many cars.
Within a short period of time, all the parking and road space within
many cities will be used up and traffic will move to slowly to cause
many serious accidents. Look at Chinese cities already, with only 2.5
percent auto ownership.

On the other hand, how can this be stopped? You are certainly right that
the regulatory oversight is not yet in place. But if India's government
works even remotely like the US government, the auto interests will be
working behind the scenes to slow this oversight down as much as
possible. If the rich are allowed to drive around, why can't other
people? Until some restraints are put on cars in general, it would be
class warfare to only ban these small cheap cars.

Eric Bruun




Quoting Hassaan Ghazali <hghazali at gmail.com>:

> Friends,
>
> There was a time when a Model T rolled off the Ford assembly line 
> every few seconds. I do believe that was probably the most exciting 
> and the most positive time for the US economy. Now, it seems Tata's 
> mobility breakthrough has everyone on the edge and I am surprised to 
> see so many negative sentiments being expressed within South Asia. I 
> don't remember so many issues abounding when Daimler-Chrysler's Smart 
> car came out. Regardless of the fact that the Smart car was probably 
> one major reason for the eventual divorce between Daimler and 
> Chrysler, how does the economic and social disparity between the 
> developed and developing world create the context to despise such an
incredible product?
>
> Shall we all begin by shunning technology which aims to empower the 
> masses or shall we encourage its uptake and ensure that the whole 
> suite of technological constructs (institutions, policies, regulatory 
> oversight,
> etc.) are also provided.
>
> Regards,
>
> Hassaan
>
>
> --
> Institutional Development Specialist
> Urban Sector Policy and Management Unit (The Urban Unit) Planning & 
> Development Department, Government of the Punjab
>
> A: 4-B Lytton Road, Lahore, Pakistan
> T: 9213579-84 (Ext.116)
> F: 9213585
> M: 0345 455 6016
> Skype: halgazel
> http://hghazali.googlepages.com
>
> *When conditions are right, everything will go wrong*
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like you can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement.

================================================================
SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred,
equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries
(the 'Global South'). 
-------------------------------------------------------- 
IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via
YAHOOGROUPS. 

Please go to http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to join
the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The yahoogroups
version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to the real
sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like you can).
Apologies for the confusing arrangement.

================================================================
SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred,
equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries
(the 'Global South').