<html> <head> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> <meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 10 (filtered)"> <style>  </style> </head> <body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple> <div class=Section1> Dear Simon,   It is always such a real pleasure to exchange these ideas with you.   The situation in many cities of the Global South as far as mortised two/three wheelers is – and in particular with reference to convention bus and public transport services is concerned –nothing if not surprising, anomalous and quite confusing in our tradition-laden North context.   The trick line is here: For many people it is not only faster and more convenient to buy a banger and head out into the traffic stream, but it is also a whole lot cheaper. Ouch! This is real tough competition and if you look at the short films posted yesterday you will see where the on-street action is. There is nothing, zero, surprise in this.   And as to what we call “xTransit” (and how sometimes I regret this bit of cleverness), the idea there is to open up the spectrum to a wide range of services, that will in part, no doubt, replace some of the less effective main line publicly run and subsidized traditional bus, etc. services. IF I sound like an enemy of waiting for that red bus in the rain, please excuse me. There is a real future for all those services too -- but in a radically different context.   The motorized two/three wheeler is what one long time observer has called the Great White Whale of transport in the cities of the Global South. But the next time you go to London, have a look. They are out on the street there too, more in number and more anomalous every day. While the mainline transportation fraternity continues to look the other way.   Ain’t life very surprising in its insistence simply to not stand still for us?   Eric Britton   <div style='border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm'>   </div>   On Behalf Of Simon Norton Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 6:08 PM To: lotslesscars@yahoogroups.com Subject: [LotsLessCars] RE: motorcycles shut down in Lagos   I don't understand what Eric means by saying that traditional public transport may be unsuitable on cost grounds, the context being the Global South. This is a disease of rich countries, where demand has been abstracted away from public transport by uncontrolled car ownership and usage, where staff have to be paid at the prevailing rates, and where the demand for high tech systems and safety and disability requirements may have pushed costs up. One thing is certain: if conventional public transport is too expensive, there is no way that xTransit can substitute. Its role is where there is a need for transport intermediate between buses and taxis, or where demand is insufficient to support a conventional bus service. </div> </body> </html>