<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <meta content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type"> <title></title> </head> <body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000"> <font face="Franklin Gothic Book">Very nice, and yes the Indian scenario and it is pretty much the same in most of the developing countries. The problem is projecting car as a "need". This is clearly visible thru the lack of (improvement of) infrastructure for other modes. Further, there is also this widespread belief in developing countries that high car ownership means a good economy (see newman and kenworthy or litman). Which is proved wrong by wealthier countries in Asia eg. in Singapore and Hong Kong and also in many countries in Europe.  <br> <br> The lack of alternative and safe transport pushes the middle class towards car ownership. While, at the same time the transport poor are still becoming poorer. As long as the country or the city; to be more specific, does not improve other means of travel cars will always be a need and interlope in our daily lives. <br> <br> Sunny<br> </font> <div class="moz-signature"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; "> <meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"> <meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"> <meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12">  <link rel="themeData" href="signature_files/themedata.thmx"> <link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="signature_files/colorschememapping.xml">  <style>  </style> <div class="Section1"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; color: rgb(84, 141, 212);" lang="EN-US">Santhosh K. (Sunny) Kodukula<br> </span></b><b><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";" lang="EN-US">Project Assistant<br> </span></b><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";" lang="EN-US">GTZ Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP) <br> Room 0942, Transport Division, UN-ESCAP ESCAP UN Building <br> Rajadamnern Nok Rd. Bangkok 10200, Thailand<br> Tel:  +66 (0) 2 - 288  1321<br> Fax: +66 (0) 2 - 280  6042<br> Mobile: +66 (0) 84–113-0181<br> </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";" lang="PT-BR">e-mail: <a href="mailto:santhosh.kodukula@sutp.org">santhosh.kodukula@sutp.org</a><br> </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";" lang="EN-US">Website: <a href="http://www.sutp.org">www.sutp.org</a><br> </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">Skype: sunny_nwho<o:p></o:p></span></p> </div> </div> <br> <br> Anjali Mahendra wrote: <blockquote cite="mid:003a01c7c56d$aff49f60$9600a8c0@AnjaliBala" type="cite"> <pre wrap="">Yes, I see the point about the relationship between household car ownership and use not being the same in all places. On Lee's point about the Danes, I have heard that those who own cars in Danish cities use them less within cities, where transit and bicycles are used much more. Total VMT are higher because cars are used for weekend trips, esp. visits to homes in the countryside. Is that right? The low car ownership seems correlated with income given that ownership taxes are so high. But you look at a city like Delhi in India where transit options have been dismal so far and worsened by the fast-paced spread of the city--and you find car ownership directly correlated with use. Cars are considered a "necessity". People consider themselves "handicapped" without a car. All working members of a household need a car--it's the only way they can get to work--and the way land is being developed has contributed to it. So you see dense apartment blocks with 4 cars per household and parking designed for a car per household. Chuwa's story of Penang sounds very familiar. The picture of car ownership in Mumbai is not as bad though it is worsening as the suburbs become denser (new laws for higher FSI in the suburbs are contributing to this). The richest of households own multiple cars where the minivan may be used mostly on weekends and not in the city, but by and large, car owners will use their cars in Indian cities. The prestige of owning a car and incentives provided through low-rate auto ownership loans coupled with close-to-nil parking (or other usage) charges for driving in the city, poor transit in many cases, and most importantly, the land development patterns make people own their car and drive it too. -Anjali -------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via YAHOOGROUPS. Please go to <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss">http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss</a> 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'). </pre> </blockquote> </body> </html>