[sustran] SUSTRAN News Flash #39: Transport in the 'South'
SUSTRAN Resource Centre
sustran at po.jaring.my
Sat Jul 29 12:34:11 JST 2000
I forgot to send this to sustran-discuss last week. Sorry. Also please note
we now have an alternate web site, http://www.geocities.com/sustrannet,
since the usual one has unfortunately been down for the last week.
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SUSTRAN News Flash #39 23 July 2000
News update on people-centred, equitable and sustainable
transport with a focus on countries in the global 'South'.
Produced for the Sustainable Transport Action Network for
Asia and the Pacific (the SUSTRAN Network)
by the SUSTRAN Resource Centre, P.O. Box 11501,
50748 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. E-mail: sustran at po.jaring.my,
URL: http://www.malaysiakini.com/sustran/ or
http://www.geocities.com/sustrannet
Please send contributions to sustran at po.jaring.my
CONTENTS
1. South Asia Starts to Tackle Auto Rickshaw Pollution
2. Expressway Sceptics Arrested in Bangalore
3. Research on Public Transport for the Urban Poor
4. Car Free Day Updates
5. First International Walk to School Day (iwalk)
6. Economic Benefits of Cycling
7. Safety as a Human Right?
8. Spotlight on Aviation Impacts
9. INFORMATION RESOURCES AND LINKS
Car Lines Newsletter
UK DETR Documents Online
UITP Resources
Call for Papers on Barrier Free Transport
Spanish version of "Mobility for All"
Reforms in estimation of traffic generation
Open Research Group on Transport
A Key Contact: ITDG's Transport Programme
Other web sites of interest
10. COMING EVENTS AND MEETINGS
11. LIGHTER SIDE
1. SOUTH ASIA STARTS TO TACKLE AUTO RICKSHAW POLLUTION
Air pollution from South Asia's 3-wheeler taxis (known as
Auto Rickshaws or "baby taxis") is prompting action. These
vehicles are South Asia's version of Thailand's "Tuk Tuk"
or the Philippines' "tricycles".
In India, Bajaj auto, the manufacturer of the three wheeled
autorickshaws, has announced that it will stop production of
its two-stroke model, as it had developed a less polluting
four stroke engine. In addition, a four stroke CNG autorickshaw
is being released. The vehicle is claimed to deliver 50 km per
kg of CNG. A three litre stand-by petrol tank is also included,
for emergencies. Bajaj hopes to produce the vehicle at the
rate of 1000 a month by July at its Pune plant.
In Nepal, diesel-run auto-rickshaws, have been banned altogether
after a campaign by environmentalists against them. They have
been at least partially replaced by battery-operated three-
wheelers, called "safa tempo" (clean tempo), which do not emit
smoke or the loud noises associated with diesel auto-rickshaws.
In Dhaka, about 400 auto rickshaw mechanics recently took part
in the first of a series of training programs. It focused on
maintaining and repairing engines, and advising drivers on the
proper quality and quantity of lubricant oils. These are two
simple practices that can drastically reduce emissions. For
example, baby taxi drivers typically use as much as 10 percent
four-stroke engine oil with their petrol. But by using only
3 percent of quality two-stroke engine oil, they could save
money and reduce emissions. The workshops are being run by an
NGO, the Society for Urban Environmental Protection and Uttara
Motors, with funding from the World Bank and the Energy Sector
Management Assistance Program, a global technical assistance
effort funded by the World Bank, UNDP, and 15 public and
private donors. There are an estimated 50,000 auto rickshaws in
Dhaka, most of them using two-stroke engines. They contribute
approximately 35 percent of particles and nearly half of
hydrocarbons emitted by all vehicles.
Sources: compiled from forwarded stories from Press Trust of
India; BBC World Service News, and the World Bank's Daily Webzine,
Development News, http://www.worldbank.org/developmentnews/
2. EXPRESSWAY SCEPTICS ARRESTED IN BANGALORE
On 5 July several activists were violently arrested as they
protested a lack of public information on a major proposed
expressway project in Karnataka State in southern India. The
event took place during a statutory "Environmental Public
Hearing" on the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor -
an 111km expressway between the cities of Bangalore and Mysore
with a 9.1Km link road into downtown Bangalore. In addition, it
involves setting up seven townships. The anticipated cost is
US$ 500 million. A number of civic groups are concerned, among
other things, that the project is being pushed forward with
undue secrecy, that alternatives have not been realistically
considered and that there are worrying signs that resettlement
of people in the path of the project will not be handled
properly. At a similar hearing at Mysore on 30 June a pro-
project crowd of thugs prevented any discussion on the merits
and demerits of the project - anyone raising questions was
shouted down by the rowdy crowd. Sceptics have expressed concern
that project may simply a huge real estate development for
corporate gain but implemented at great public expense and
social cost. For more information contact: Environment Support
Group (R), S-3, Rajashree Apartments, 18/57, 1st Main Road,
S.R.K. Gardens, Jayanagar, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore 560 041,
INDIA. Telefax: +91-80-6341977, Fax: +91-80-6723926 (PP),
Email: esg at bgl.vsnl.net.in, http://www.altindia.net/esg/index.htm
3. RESEARCH ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT FOR THE URBAN POOR
Low-income areas of Karachi are the subject of a research
project investigating critical issues in public transport
for the urban poor. The team is led by the Water, Engineering
and Development Centre (WEDC) of Loughborough University in UK
and includes the Urban Resource Centre (URC) Karachi, Transport
Research Laboratory (TRL) and the International Institute for
Environment and Development (IIED). The focus is on how to
improve access to public transport by the urban poor in general,
and especially women, children and the aged. Contact: Dr M.
Sohail, WEDC, Loughborough University, Leicestershire,
LE11 3TU, UK. Fax: +44 1509 211079, Email: M.Sohail at lboro.ac.uk,
Outputs of the research can be seen at the project website:
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/cv/wedc/projects/ptup/index.htm
4. CAR FREE DAY UPDATES
A diversity of activities and events are being planned in cities
on several continents for the proposed World Car Free Day on
Thursday Sept 21 and the European Car Free Day on Friday
September 22. In addition, Chengdu in China is now said to be
planning an similar event for October. For more information on
how your city or organisation can become involved please see
http://www.ecoplan.org/carfreeday/world/wc_home.htm and the
somewhat more radical http://www.carbusters.ecn.cz - follow the
links to World Car Free Day, and then to the articles "Past,
Present and Future of Car Free Days".
In a related initiative, Ecoplan is calling for nominations to
a "CarFree Honour Roll" and a corresponding "Badge of Shame
Award". If you think your city (or any city you are familiar
with) deserves a place of honour or shame in one of these lists
as a result of its efforts or failures in transport planning
and policy then please visit http://www.ecoplan.org and from
there follow the menu to CarFree Honor Roll where you can
express your views. You can also express your views on what
criteria should be used in choosing cities for each of the
lists. With luck the lists will be used in a high profile
announcement on September 21 and 22. Contact: Eric Britton,
The Commons, Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris,
France. E-mail: Eric.Britton at ecoplan.org,
URL http://www.ecoplan.org
5. FIRST INTERNATIONAL WALK TO SCHOOL DAY (IWALK)
Meanwhile, October 4 is the first International Walk to School
Day (iwalk for short). "The ultimate goal is to create a more
walkable world, community by community." Try these sites for
more information: http://www.goforgreen.ca,
http://www.dorset-cc.gov.uk/walktoschool/wts.htm,
http://www.walktoschool-usa.org/
6. ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF CYCLING
The Interface for Cycling Expertise has published results of a
study on the Economic Benefits of Cycling with case studies
from several cities around the world (Bogota, Delhi and Morogoro
in Tanzania, and Amsterdam). The study was launched at the
recent Velo Mondiale conference in Amsterdam. Benefits were
divided into internal benefits of cycling policy (better health,
employment opportunities, less travel time for cyclists, fewer
stolen bikes and less travel costs) and reduced external costs
of other modes (less investment in other modes, less congestion
and use of space, better quality of life, less pollution, less
road accidents). The study faced formidable challenges in
obtaining data but nevertheless reached clear conclusions.
Benefits exceed costs in all cities and the greatest benefits
come from improved mobility of cycling (internal benefits are
higher than reduced external costs). The results indicate that
improved mobility and lower user costs contribute most to the
economic significance of cycling facilities. The report costs
12.50 Euro plus postage. Contact: Interface for Cycling
Expertise (I-ce), Predikherenstraat 17, 3512 TL Utrecht, The
Netherlands. Fax +31 30 231 23 84, E-mail: i-ce at cycling.nl,
http://www.cycling.nl/start.htm
7. SAFETY AS A HUMAN RIGHT?
Those who attended the 5th World Conference on Injury Prevention
and Control held in New Delhi in March 2000 declared their
support for a human rights approach to be taken to the issue of
safety and injury control. If successful, such an initiative
could have great implications for our approach to transport
safety. The Delhi Declaration on Peoples' Right to Safety argues
that much greater action and accountability is needed on safety,
given that injury is a huge global burden as measured by its
impact on disability-adjusted life years.
Contact: Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme
(TRIPP), Main Building (Room MS808),Indian Institute of
Technology Delhi (IIT), Hau Khas New Delhi - 110016, INDIA.
Fax. +91 11 685 8703, Email: maheshgaur at hotmail.com or the
South Asia Forum for Human Rights, GPO Box 12855, Kathmandu,
Nepal
8. SPOTLIGHT ON AVIATION IMPACTS
The environmental impacts of aviation are receiving increasing
attention. The IGFR Open Research Program Research Group
<20. transport> (contact: igfr at igfr.org) recently drew our
attention to Issue No. 3 of the Sustainable Transportation
Monitor which focuses on aviation. It states that '...of all
transport modes, aviation is the least environmentally
sustainable at present, and shows the least promise of becoming
sustainable.' At currently typical vehicle occupancies and fuel
efficiencies, air travel fuel use per person is similar to the
rate for car travel. However, the climate change impact of air
travel is estimated at about three times the rate of car travel
- primarily because engine emissions at altitudes of 10-11 km
appear to have a more potent greenhouse effect than the same
emissions at sea level. For example, high altitudes enhance the
formation and greenhouse potency of ozone from NOx emissions.
Global air travel is growing at about 5 percent annually. The
Sustainable Transportation Monitor is available in pdf format
at http://www.web.net/~cstctd from the Sustainable
Transportation Centre in Canada. Contact: Centre for Sustainable
Transportation, 15 Borden Street, Toronto, Ontario,
Canada M5S 2M8. Phone (1 416) 923-9970, Fax (1 416) 923-6531,
E-mail: cstctd at web.net
9. INFORMATION RESOURCES AND LINKS
Car Lines Newsletter
Back Issues of the Car Lines newsletter on transport-related
emissions and pollution issues are now available at
http://walshcarlines.com Contact: Michael P. Walsh,
3105 N. Dinwiddie Street, Arlington, Virginia 22207, USA.
Tel: +1 703 241 1297 Fax: +1 703 241 1418, E-mail:
mpwalsh at igc.org
UK DETR) Documents Online
A wealth of informative documents (mostly in pdf format) from
the United Kingdom Dept. of Transport and Environment (DETR)
are available on-line including: Traffic Advisory Leaflet on
Traffic Calming on Major Roads; Framework for a local walking
strategy (2/00); and a series of bibliographies including on
Cycling Bibliography (4/00), Traffic Calming (5/00), Walking
(3/00). The URL is
http://www.roads.detr.gov.uk/roadnetwork/ditm/tal/index.htm
UITP Resources
The MOBI+ on-line documentation centre is an extremely rich
source of information about urban/regional public transport
and its environment. For a fee it is accessible via UITP's
website http://www.uitp.com
UITP has also published a series of conference proceedings in
book form and CD-ROM. Recent titles include: Automatic Fare
Collection (Bologna, Feb. 2000); Organisation of Transport and
Quality of Service (Florence, Sept. 1999); Urban Public
Transport Funding (Paris, Oct. 1999); Urban Structure and Modal
Split (Vienna, 1998); The challenge of Urban Mobility. Contents
pages can be seen at http://www.uitp.com/pubs/pubslist.htm (see
conference proceedings) Contact: UITP, Avenue Herrmann-
Debroux 17, B-1160 BRUXELLES. Fax: +32 2 660 10 72,
E-mail: publications at uitp.com
Call for Papers on Barrier Free Transport
Calling for the Submission of Papers on Special Feature of IATSS
RESEARCH Vol.25, No.1 (Spring 2001) on "Transportation for
Handicapped People: Barrier-Free". Abstracts are due by
August 31, 2000 to: IATSS Research Editorial and Advisory Board,
International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences, 6-20,
2-chome, Yaesu, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0028 JAPAN.
Fax: +81-3-3272-7054, E-mail: iatss at db3.so-net.ne.jp
Spanish version of "Mobility for All"
"Mobility for All: Accessible Transportation around the world"
is now available in Spanish and on the web. "Movilidad para
Todos: Transportación Accessible Alrededor del Mundo" is
available at http://www.independentliving.org/ (under the
download texts link) along with the English version.
Arrangements are also being made for Japanese, Portuguese
and Malay versions. Contact: Access Exchange International (AEI),
112 San Pablo Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94127-1536, USA.
Fax: +(1 415) 661 1543, E-mail: globalride-sf at worldnet.att.net
Reforms in estimation of traffic generation
At http://www.vtpi.org see "Estimation of Generated Traffic by
New Developments: Current Practice and Possible Improvements
Based on Bangkok Experience" by Shihana Sulaiha Mohamed and
Kazunori Hokao. It critiques current traffic generation
prediction models based on ITE methods and data and recommends
better approaches that take into account additional factors
that may be particularly important for use in developing
countries.
Open Research Group on Transport
The Institute for Global Futures Research (IGFR) has an on-line
Open Research Program and their Research Group #20 is on
TRANSPORT. There is a growing list of collaborators and they
are also providing a contact point for the purchase of relevant
publications. Contact: Institute for Global Futures Research
(IGFR), P.O. Box 263E, Earlville, QLD 4870, Australia.
E-mail: igfr at igfr.org
A Key Contact: ITDG's Transport Programme
Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG), which is a
development agency and British registered charity, has a growing
Transport Programme under its Senior Specialist, Ranjith de
Silva, who is based in Sri Lanka. ITDG currently has transport
programs in Kenya, Nepal, Peru, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Zimbabwe.
For more information contact: Ranjith de Silva, Senior Transport
Specialist, International Transport Programme, c/o Intermediate
Technology Development Group, South Asia Regional Office,
5 Lionel Edirisinghe Mawatha, Kirulapone, Colombo 5, Sri Lanka.
Fax: (++ 94 1) 856188, Email: ranjith at itdg.lanka.net, Web:
http://www.oneworld.org/itdg/itatwork/transpor.html
Other web sites of interest
Sierra Club sprawl and transportation website
http://www.sierraclub.org/sprawl
Australian Pedestrian Charter is available at
http://www.walk.com.au/pedcouncil/summit_charter.html
10. COMING EVENTS AND MEETINGS
"6th International Conference on Urban Transport and the
Environment for the 21st Century", July 26-28, 2000, Cambridge,
UK. Contact: Sally Walsh, Conference Secretariat, UT 2000,
Wessex Institute of Technology, Ashurst Lodge, Ashurst,
Southampton, SO40 7AA, United Kingdom. Fax: +44 238 029 2853,
Email: slwalsh at wessex.ac.uk
"10th Road Engineering Association of Asia and Australasia",
4-8 September 2000, Tokyo, Japan. Contact: REAAA Conference
Secretariat, Fax: +81 3 3519 5092, E-mail: reaaa at extec.or.jp,
URL: http://www.extec.or.jp/reaaa/eng/index.html
"Traffic Safety on Three Continents", September 20-22, 2000,
CSIR Conference Centre, Pretoria, South Africa. Contact:
Dr Richard Pain, Transportation Research Board, 2101
Constitution Ave. NW, Washington DC, 204 18 USA.
Fax: +1 202 334 2003, Email: rpain at nas.edu
"UITP Melbourne 2000 Public Transport Conference Event", 8-13
October 2000, includes both the International Union of Public
Transport (UITP) Light Rail Conference and the Asia/Pacific
Congress and City Transport Exhibition. Additional information
is available on the website of the Government of Victoria
(Australia) at: www.lightrail2000.vic.gov.au Contact:
International Association of Public Transport (UITP), Avenue
Herrmann-Debroux 17, B-1160 Brussels, Belgium,
Tel +32 2 673 6100, Fax +32 2 660 1072, E-mail:
administration at uitp.com, URL: http://www.uitp.com
"Smart Urban Transport - Using Transitways and Busways"
conference, 17-20 October 2000, Brisbane, Australia. Contact:
Ozaccom Conference Services, PO Box 164, Fortitude Valley QLD,
Australia 4006. Tel: +617-38541611 Fax: +617-38541507, Email:
ozaccom at ozaccom.com.au
"Regional Policy Seminar on Transport and Communication
Challenges for Urban Local Governments in the 21st Century",
Organised by CITYNET, UN-ESCAP and the City of Kuala Lumpur,
8-10 November 2000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Contact: CITYNET
Secretariat, 5F, International Organizations Center, Pacifico
Yokohama, 1-1-1 Minato Mirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama 220-0012 Japan.
Tel: 81-45 223-2161, Fax: 81-45 223-2162, E-mail:
citynet at po.iijnet.or.jp, http://www2.itjit.ne.jp/~citynet
"Seminar on Accessible Transport in South China", November 9-14,
Shenzen, Guangdong, China. Contact Access Exchange International
(AEI), 112 San Pablo Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94127-1536, USA.
Fax: +1 415 661 1543, E-mail: globalride-sf at worldnet.att.net
"XI Panamerican Conference in Traffic and Transportation
Engineering" , 19-23 November, 2000, Gramado, state of Rio
Grande do Sul, Brazil. Contact: Dr. Luis Antonio Lindau,
President of the Organising Committee, Escola de Engenharia/UFRGS,
Praça Argentina n.9 Sala 408, 90040-020 Porto Alegre, Brasil.
Tel: + 55 51 316 3596, Fax : + 55 51 316 4007, email:
panam at orion.ufrgs.br, Web: http://www.ufrgs.br/panam
"4th International Workshop on Transportation Planning &
Implementation Methodologies for Developing Countries: Transport
Infrastructure" 5-7, December, 2000. Contact: Prof. S. L.
Dhingra / Dr K. V. Krishna Rao, Co-ordinators, TPMDC-2000,
Transportation Systems Engineering Group, Civil Engineering
Department, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai,
Mumbai - 400 076, India. Fax: +91 22 5767302/5783480, Email:
tpmdc2k at civil.iitb.ernet.in
"Australia: Walking the 21st Century - An International Walking
Conference", 20-22 February 2001. Perth, Western Australia.
Contact: John Seaton, Manager, Pedestrian Strategy, Metropolitan
Division, Department of Transport, PO Box 7272 Cloisters Square,
Perth 6850, Western Australia, Australia. Tel: +61 8 9313 8680,
Fax: +61 8 9320 9497, e-mail: jseaton at transport.wa.gov.au
"54th UITP International Congress" to be held in London, 20-25
May 2001. International Exhibition of Public Transport - City
Transport 2001. London, England, 21-24 May 2001. In conjunction
with the 54th UITP International Congress. Contact:
International Association of Public Transport (UITP), Avenue
Herrmann-Debroux 17, B-1160 Brussels, Belgium, Tel +32 2 673 6100,
Fax +32 2 660 1072, E-mail: administration at uitp.com, URL:
http://www.uitp.com
"Transed 2001: Towards Safety, Independence and Security. 9th
International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly
and Disabled People." Warsaw, Poland, 2-5 July 2001. Contact:
TRANSED, PO Box 10, 02-783 Warsaw 59, Poland.
Fax: +48 22 8316526, Email: transed2001 at idn.org.pl,
Web: http://transed2001.idn.org.pl
"9th World Conference on Transport Research (WCTR)" to be
held at ASEM International Convention Center, Seoul, July 22-27,
2001. Co-organisers: Korean Society of Transportation & The Korea
Transport Institute. Deadline for submission of abstracts
April 15, 2000. For further information, contact: Secretariat
of 9th WCTR Conference, The Korea Transport Institute,
2311 Daehwa-Dong, Ilsan-Gu, Koyang-city, Kyonggi-Do, 411-410,
KOREA. Tel : +82-344-910-3100, Fax: +82-344-910-3200, Email:
wctr at cis.koti.re.kr, Web: http://www.koti.re.kr/~wctr
"Fourth Conference of the Eastern Asian Society for
Transportation Studies (EASTS)", Hanoi, Vietnam, 24-26 October,
2001 hosted by the Transportation Science Society of Vietnam
(TSSV). Contact: Office of the EASTS Secretary General, c/o
Association for Planning and Transportation Studies, K-Wing 6F,
5-2-1 Kojimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0083, Japan.
Tel: +81 3 32651774, Fax: +81 3 32215489, Email:
easts at sa2.so-net.ne.jp, http://ichini.cv.titech.ac.jp/~easts/
11. LIGHTER SIDE
Bangkok residents vote Sunday (23 July) for a new Governor. The
nightmarish traffic and related pollution problems are among the
main issues and the BBC World News (23 July 2000) reported that
there has been no shortage of transport-related promises. One
candidate proposes having Bangkok's children study at home via
TV in order to reduce traffic generated by parents taking
children to school. Another candidate, who is currently a
motorbike taxi-operator, promises to allow round-the-clock
opening of motorcycle repair shops. With an estimated 900,000
motorbikes owned in the city the "motorcycle lobby" might be
significant... Are any of the candidates keen on the well-known
policies that could actually put Bangkok onto a sustainable path
to getting safe, efficient, clean and equitable transport?
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Written and compiled by A. Rahman Paul Barter
We rely on you, the participants in the network, for our news.
Thank you to all those who have contributed. Please keep them
coming.
The Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia & the Pacific
(the SUSTRAN Network) promotes and popularises people-centred,
equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on Asia and
the Pacific.
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