From sagaris at lake.cl Wed Aug 1 08:28:29 2001 From: sagaris at lake.cl (Lake Sagaris) Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 19:28:29 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: Successful campaigns againts roads - info request In-Reply-To: <3B5DB3B8.68483DCC@actrix.gen.nz> References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20010731192543.00a44060@127.0.0.1> Hi Roland Our organization, Living City (Ciudad Viva) in Santiago Chile formed five years ago as the result of a major coalition to fight a highway project. We're still fighting -- that's the way these things go as we discovered when we did a survey similar to yours -- but have generally been credited with changing urban history in the city. We continue to oppose the highway project, which looks like it will die unless we stop our efforts for some reason, but we've gone on to develop our own proposals -- a Citizen's' Agenda for Transport, Citizens' management of garbage project, campaigns to protect heritage (tangible and intangible) and efforts to fight noise pollution, security issues, and so on. We're just working on an article on this experience for Sustainable Transport, so I will send you a copy once it's done. All best, Lake Living City Ciudad Viva At 05:43 AM 25/07/01 +1200, you wrote: >Hi > >Campaign for a Better City in Wellington New Zealand is collating >information on >successful public campaigns against major roading projects. We are aware of >Portland in the US, Brisbane in Australia, and Toronto in Canada (though would >appreciate any sources of detailed info on these) and are looking for other >examples from around the globe. > >Any information or pointers to sources of information would be great. > >Thanks in anticipation >Roland > >-- >Roland Sapsford > >roland@actrix.gen.nz; (+64-4)934-1106;(+64-21)65-1105(m) >PO Box 11-708, Manners St, Wellington, New Zealand > >"The most insidious form of ignorance is misplaced certainty" >(Robert Costanza) From rogerh at foe.co.uk Wed Aug 1 22:33:17 2001 From: rogerh at foe.co.uk (Roger Higman) Date: Wed, 01 Aug 2001 14:33:17 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Re: Successful campaigns againts roads - info request References: <5.1.0.14.2.20010731192543.00a44060@127.0.0.1> Message-ID: <3B68051D.CB017E31@foe.co.uk> Roland There are lots of examples from the UK. Between 1994 and 1998, successive British governments cut about 250 road projects from their national programmes - many of which had been subject to vociferous campaigns. Famous examples include: the East London River Crossing through Oxleas wood, the M62-M1 link road in West Yorkshire, the Aylesbury bypass, the M12 in Essex, the whole of the east-west route, the Preston Western bypass, the Ilkley bypass, two bypasses north of Oxford, large chunks of the M25 widening etc etc. More recent victories include the defeat of the Hastings bypasses which were scrapped only a month ago. Roger Higman Lake Sagaris wrote: > > Hi Roland > > Our organization, Living City (Ciudad Viva) in Santiago Chile formed five > years ago as the result of a major coalition to fight a highway project. > We're still fighting -- that's the way these things go as we discovered > when we did a survey similar to yours -- but have generally been credited > with changing urban history in the city. We continue to oppose the highway > project, which looks like it will die unless we stop our efforts for some > reason, but we've gone on to develop our own proposals -- a Citizen's' > Agenda for Transport, Citizens' management of garbage project, campaigns to > protect heritage (tangible and intangible) and efforts to fight noise > pollution, security issues, and so on. We're just working on an article on > this experience for Sustainable Transport, so I will send you a copy once > it's done. > > All best, > > Lake > Living City > Ciudad Viva > > At 05:43 AM 25/07/01 +1200, you wrote: > >Hi > > > >Campaign for a Better City in Wellington New Zealand is collating > >information on > >successful public campaigns against major roading projects. We are aware of > >Portland in the US, Brisbane in Australia, and Toronto in Canada (though would > >appreciate any sources of detailed info on these) and are looking for other > >examples from around the globe. > > > >Any information or pointers to sources of information would be great. > > > >Thanks in anticipation > >Roland > > > >-- > >Roland Sapsford > > > >roland@actrix.gen.nz; (+64-4)934-1106;(+64-21)65-1105(m) > >PO Box 11-708, Manners St, Wellington, New Zealand > > > >"The most insidious form of ignorance is misplaced certainty" > >(Robert Costanza) -- Roger Higman Senior Campaigner (Climate and Transport) Friends of the Earth (E,W+NI), 26-28 Underwood Street, London, N1 7JQ Tel + 44 207 566 1661 Fax + 44 207 490 0881 Mobile + 44 7780 661807 E-mail rogerh@foe.co.uk http://www.foe.co.uk From townsend at central.murdoch.edu.au Thu Aug 2 11:56:10 2001 From: townsend at central.murdoch.edu.au (Craig Townsend) Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2001 10:56:10 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Re: Successful campaigns againts roads - info request In-Reply-To: <3B5DB3B8.68483DCC@actrix.gen.nz> References: Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.0.20010730185410.009f26f0@central.murdoch.edu.au> Roland Two more cases: In Vancouver, Canada, a freeway passing through an inner city community (Chinatown) was defeated in the late 1960s/early 1970s and since that time no freeway has been built through the urban core (City of Vancouver). While the battle involved one community (predominantly ethnic minority) they were able to mobilize wider support against freeway-building and this was translated into regional planning that emphasized public transport and compact communities (the "Liveable Region Plan"). A young lawyer (Michael Harcourt) who represented the community against the city went on to become the mayor of the City of Vancouver and then the Premier of the Province of British Columbia. He is now at the Sustainable Development Research Institute at the University of British Columbia. Also at the time of the freeway battle a reformist city council was elected, and it included transport planner Setty Pendakur. I can't provide you with any references at this time but this story is quite well documented. Another case of an inner-city ethnic-minority community fighting freeway building is the case of Baan Krua in Bangkok. Recently, a 2.5 km elevated expressway linking to the larger network has been indefinitely postponed after a 13 year battle. While this has been a success for the Muslim community, it probably won't change the expressway-building transport development trajectory in Bangkok. However, indirectly it may contribute toward less road building because the private company holding the concession for the project is now suing the already severely-indebted Expressway and Rapid Transit Authority (which has only ever built expressways!). If you are interested in more information on this case, please contact me directly. In both cases community solidarity was a key to the successful defeat of freeway-building. In Vancouver there were wider political implications which have shaped transport planning and infrastructure development for more than a quarter of a century since. In Bangkok there are no wider implications of the case, although a greater emphasis on community participation and moves toward more democratization could in theory prevent these kind of mega-projects in the future. ________________________________________________ Craig Townsend Institute for Sustainability & Technology Policy Murdoch University South Street, Murdoch Perth, Western Australia 6150 tel: (61 8) 9360 6293 fax: (61 8) 9360 6421 email: townsend@central.murdoch.edu.au From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Thu Aug 2 11:46:04 2001 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 10:46:04 +0800 Subject: [sustran] From Eric Britton on Successful campaigns againts roads - databas e, website, whatever Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0B86F45B@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> Forwarding this because I think Eric sent it from an alternative email account ... "BOUNCE sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org: Non-member submission from ["Eric Britton" ]" Paul -------- Subject: Successful campaigns againts roads - database, website, whatever Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 17:01:56 +0200 This strikes me as an area in which our academic brethren (and sistren) could make some wonderful contributions. * Why is it that a given set of projects gets cut from the national programme? * Are there common denominators that we should know and use? We certainly would be pleased to house such a program, database or reference point somehow under @New Mobility Agenda, or link to it if it resides elsewhere. Eric Britton The @New Mobility Forum is permanently at http://newmobility.org The Commons ___Sustainable Development and Social Justice___ Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France Eric.Britton@NewMobility.org Tel: +331 4326 1323 -----Original Message----- From: owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org [mailto:owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org]On Behalf Of Roger Higman Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2001 3:33 PM To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org Subject: [sustran] Re: Successful campaigns againts roads - info request Roland There are lots of examples from the UK. Between 1994 and 1998, successive British governments cut about 250 road projects from their national programmes - many of which had been subject to vociferous campaigns. Famous examples include: the East London River Crossing through Oxleas wood, the M62-M1 link road in West Yorkshire, the Aylesbury bypass, the M12 in Essex, the whole of the east-west route, the Preston Western bypass, the Ilkley bypass, two bypasses north of Oxford, large chunks of the M25 widening etc etc. More recent victories include the defeat of the Hastings bypasses which were scrapped only a month ago. Roger Higman Lake Sagaris wrote: > > Hi Roland > > Our organization, Living City (Ciudad Viva) in Santiago Chile formed five > years ago as the result of a major coalition to fight a highway project. > We're still fighting -- that's the way these things go as we discovered > when we did a survey similar to yours -- but have generally been credited > with changing urban history in the city. We continue to oppose the highway > project, which looks like it will die unless we stop our efforts for some > reason, but we've gone on to develop our own proposals -- a Citizen's' > Agenda for Transport, Citizens' management of garbage project, campaigns to > protect heritage (tangible and intangible) and efforts to fight noise > pollution, security issues, and so on. We're just working on an article on > this experience for Sustainable Transport, so I will send you a copy once > it's done. > > All best, > > Lake > Living City > Ciudad Viva > > At 05:43 AM 25/07/01 +1200, you wrote: > >Hi > > > >Campaign for a Better City in Wellington New Zealand is collating > >information on > >successful public campaigns against major roading projects. We are aware of > >Portland in the US, Brisbane in Australia, and Toronto in Canada (though would > >appreciate any sources of detailed info on these) and are looking for other > >examples from around the globe. > > > >Any information or pointers to sources of information would be great. > > > >Thanks in anticipation > >Roland > > > >-- > >Roland Sapsford > > > >roland@actrix.gen.nz; (+64-4)934-1106;(+64-21)65-1105(m) > >PO Box 11-708, Manners St, Wellington, New Zealand > > > >"The most insidious form of ignorance is misplaced certainty" > >(Robert Costanza) ... From wzainab at usm.my Thu Aug 2 14:40:37 2001 From: wzainab at usm.my (Zainab Wahidin) Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 13:40:37 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Re: Successful campaigns againts roads - info request References: <5.0.2.1.0.20010730185410.009f26f0@central.murdoch.edu.au> Message-ID: <003501c11b15$a8b3bfa0$7a0c8ea1@usm.my> Dear Craig, I am very interested in the documentation of the efforts in Chinatown, Vancouver as well as Bangkok against building expressways. If the article are to be sent by surfce mail please address it to: Zainab Wahidin School of Social Sciences Universti Sains MAlaysia Glugor 11800 P. Pinang. With the best regrds! ----- Original Message ----- From: Craig Townsend To: Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2001 10:56 AM Subject: [sustran] Re: Successful campaigns againts roads - info request > Roland > > Two more cases: > > In Vancouver, Canada, a freeway passing through an inner city community > (Chinatown) was defeated in the late 1960s/early 1970s and since that time > no freeway has been built through the urban core (City of Vancouver). While > the battle involved one community (predominantly ethnic minority) they were > able to mobilize wider support against freeway-building and this was > translated into regional planning that emphasized public transport and > compact communities (the "Liveable Region Plan"). A young lawyer (Michael > Harcourt) who represented the community against the city went on to become > the mayor of the City of Vancouver and then the Premier of the Province of > British Columbia. He is now at the Sustainable Development Research > Institute at the University of British Columbia. Also at the time of the > freeway battle a reformist city council was elected, and it included > transport planner Setty Pendakur. I can't provide you with any references > at this time but this story is quite well documented. > > Another case of an inner-city ethnic-minority community fighting freeway > building is the case of Baan Krua in Bangkok. Recently, a 2.5 km elevated > expressway linking to the larger network has been indefinitely postponed > after a 13 year battle. While this has been a success for the Muslim > community, it probably won't change the expressway-building transport > development trajectory in Bangkok. However, indirectly it may contribute > toward less road building because the private company holding the > concession for the project is now suing the already severely-indebted > Expressway and Rapid Transit Authority (which has only ever built > expressways!). If you are interested in more information on this case, > please contact me directly. > > In both cases community solidarity was a key to the successful defeat of > freeway-building. In Vancouver there were wider political implications > which have shaped transport planning and infrastructure development for > more than a quarter of a century since. In Bangkok there are no wider > implications of the case, although a greater emphasis on community > participation and moves toward more democratization could in theory prevent > these kind of mega-projects in the future. > > ________________________________________________ > Craig Townsend > Institute for Sustainability & Technology Policy > Murdoch University > South Street, Murdoch > Perth, Western Australia 6150 > > tel: (61 8) 9360 6293 > fax: (61 8) 9360 6421 > email: townsend@central.murdoch.edu.au > From sagaris at lake.cl Thu Aug 2 21:52:27 2001 From: sagaris at lake.cl (Lake Sagaris) Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2001 08:52:27 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: From Eric Britton on Successful campaigns againts roads - databas e, website, whatever In-Reply-To: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0B86F45B@exs04.ex.nus.edu. sg> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20010802084524.03379350@127.0.0.1> Roberto Brandes Gratz, in her book "Cities Back from the Edge", which I already mentioned to the list, speaks of many cases of fights against highways that eventually led to significant movements for changes and improvements to cities. Offhand, I can remember a few (not all from her book) -- The newspaper The Village Voice originally started as part of an anti-highway movement; Brandes' chapter "The Soho Syndrome" illustrates how the fight against a highway project eventually led to the highly successful urban renewal of Soho, then a New York industrial district in decline. She provides a long list of US and Canadian cities where a similar phenomenon has occurred. "The highway defeat (in Soho) gave heart to urbanists, community defenders, and all other opponents of misguided urban renewal projects." San Francisco's experience with the Embarcadero highway is particularly important, since they have now torn down sections and turned them back into very successful park areas. Something similar is happening with Toronto's Gardiner Expressway (See Robert Fulford, Accidental City, a beautifully written, insightful and informative book on Toronto). Philadelphia underwent a similar process, ie defeat of a highway project followed by grassroots work to improve the city. Best, Lake l >account ... >"BOUNCE sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org: Non-member submission >from ["Eric Britton" ]" >Paul >-------- > >Subject: Successful campaigns againts roads - database, website, whatever >Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 17:01:56 +0200 > >This strikes me as an area in which our academic brethren (and sistren) >could make some wonderful contributions. > >* Why is it that a given set of projects gets cut from the national >programme? >* Are there common denominators that we should know and use? > >We certainly would be pleased to house such a program, database or reference >point somehow under @New Mobility Agenda, or link to it if it resides >elsewhere. > > >Eric Britton > >The @New Mobility Forum is permanently at http://newmobility.org >The Commons ___Sustainable Development and Social Justice___ >Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France >Eric.Britton@NewMobility.org Tel: +331 4326 1323 > > > >-----Original Message----- >From: owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org >[mailto:owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org]On Behalf Of Roger Higman >Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2001 3:33 PM >To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org >Subject: [sustran] Re: Successful campaigns againts roads - info request > >Roland > >There are lots of examples from the UK. Between 1994 and 1998, >successive British governments cut about 250 road projects from their >national programmes - many of which had been subject to vociferous >campaigns. > >Famous examples include: the East London River Crossing through Oxleas >wood, the M62-M1 link road in West Yorkshire, the Aylesbury bypass, the >M12 in Essex, the whole of the east-west route, the Preston Western >bypass, the Ilkley bypass, two bypasses north of Oxford, large chunks of >the M25 widening etc etc. > >More recent victories include the defeat of the Hastings bypasses which >were scrapped only a month ago. > >Roger Higman > >Lake Sagaris wrote: > > > > Hi Roland > > > > Our organization, Living City (Ciudad Viva) in Santiago Chile formed five > > years ago as the result of a major coalition to fight a highway project. > > We're still fighting -- that's the way these things go as we discovered > > when we did a survey similar to yours -- but have generally been credited > > with changing urban history in the city. We continue to oppose the highway > > project, which looks like it will die unless we stop our efforts for some > > reason, but we've gone on to develop our own proposals -- a Citizen's' > > Agenda for Transport, Citizens' management of garbage project, campaigns >to > > protect heritage (tangible and intangible) and efforts to fight noise > > pollution, security issues, and so on. We're just working on an article on > > this experience for Sustainable Transport, so I will send you a copy once > > it's done. > > > > All best, > > > > Lake > > Living City > > Ciudad Viva > > > > At 05:43 AM 25/07/01 +1200, you wrote: > > >Hi > > > > > >Campaign for a Better City in Wellington New Zealand is collating > > >information on > > >successful public campaigns against major roading projects. We are aware >of > > >Portland in the US, Brisbane in Australia, and Toronto in Canada (though >would > > >appreciate any sources of detailed info on these) and are looking for >other > > >examples from around the globe. > > > > > >Any information or pointers to sources of information would be great. > > > > > >Thanks in anticipation > > >Roland > > > > > >-- > > >Roland Sapsford > > > > > >roland@actrix.gen.nz; (+64-4)934-1106;(+64-21)65-1105(m) > > >PO Box 11-708, Manners St, Wellington, New Zealand > > > > > >"The most insidious form of ignorance is misplaced certainty" > > >(Robert Costanza) > >... From a.j.plumbe at Bradford.ac.uk Fri Aug 3 06:10:08 2001 From: a.j.plumbe at Bradford.ac.uk (Antony J Plumbe) Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 22:10:08 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Re: Successful campaigns againts roads - info request In-Reply-To: <3B5DB3B8.68483DCC@actrix.gen.nz> References: <3B5DB3B8.68483DCC@actrix.gen.nz> Message-ID: Roland, There is a Guide on Road Campaigning published in the UK by Transport 2000/Friends of the Earth/Council for the Protection of Rural England. It is a bit old now, is rather specific to the UK, and may well be out of print. Roger Higman, who has also replied to this email will be able to give you the full bibliographic details. There is also a very academic book written by a Earth First activist regarding direct action taken against roads in the UK - published by Routledge about 2 years ago and in print. This is PhD write-up. I do not have the full bibliographic details to hand right now. Also you might look at some of the literature written on campaigns that were NOT successful. The classic one here in the UK is Twyford Down - there is book by that name written by one of the main opponents (sorry name escapes me this evening). Hope this gives you some 'leads'. Tony Plumbe On Wed, 25 Jul 2001 05:43:20 +1200 Roland Sapsford wrote: > > > Hi > > Campaign for a Better City in Wellington New Zealand is collating information on > successful public campaigns against major roading projects. We are aware of > Portland in the US, Brisbane in Australia, and Toronto in Canada (though would > appreciate any sources of detailed info on these) and are looking for other > examples from around the globe. > > Any information or pointers to sources of information would be great. > > Thanks in anticipation > Roland > > -- > Roland Sapsford > > roland@actrix.gen.nz; (+64-4)934-1106;(+64-21)65-1105(m) > PO Box 11-708, Manners St, Wellington, New Zealand > > "The most insidious form of ignorance is misplaced certainty" > (Robert Costanza) ---------------------- A. J. Plumbe, Co-ordinator M.Sc. in Project Planning and Management, email: a.j.plumbe@bradford.ac.uk Fax: International: +44-1274-235280 Domestic : 01274-235280 Phone: International : +44-1274-235264 Domestic : 01274-235264 Mailing Address: DPPC, Bradford University, Richmond Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire, U.K., BD7 1DP. From ifrtd at gn.apc.org Fri Aug 3 19:36:19 2001 From: ifrtd at gn.apc.org (Priyanthi Fernando) Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2001 11:36:19 +0100 Subject: [sustran] COLIN RELF AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE WORK ON RURAL TRANSPORT -a reminder In-Reply-To: References: <3B5DB3B8.68483DCC@actrix.gen.nz> Message-ID: <200108031040.LAA11194@nfs1.gn.apc.org> Dear Colleagues A note to remind you that the closing date for the Colin Relf Award is the 31st August 2001 - so if you are intending to encourage colleagues and students to apply of if you are intending to apply yourself you need to send those letters in soon! The terms of the award is given below in case you missed the earlier communication. Best wishes Priyanthi Fernando Executive Secretary, IFRTD _________________________________________ COLIN RELF AWARD Applications are invited by the Secretariat of the International Forum for Rural Transport and Development (IFRTD) for the Colin Relf Award for innovative work on rural transport. In 1985, Colin Relf initiated the idea for the Forum, he helped establish it and continued to support its work till his death last year. He was also a pioneer in highlighting the fact that large-scale investments in transport infrastructure were not improving the lives of rural people. This award celebrates Colin?s interest in rural transport and his concern with promoting and motivating the people with whom he worked. The award, worth 250 UK pounds (approximately 350 US dollars), will be given to a student or young professional from a developing country whose study/project/proposal, the panel of judges considers the most interesting and exciting in terms of furthering the current thinking on rural transport. There is no standard application form. Applicants need to outSYMBOL? ARIALsubmit a letter explaining why they think they would be a good candidate for the award outSYMBOL? ARIALattach a piece of their work in support of their letter. This could be in the form of out - a paper or essay left - a report of work carried out left - a proposal for future research outSYMBOL? ARIALattach a brief curriculum vitae with two referees and their contact details, including email address where possible. All applications must be in English, and preferably typewritten or word processed. They should reach the IFRTD Secretariat by post or by email (see address below) no later than August 31, 2001. The successful candidate will be announced at the IFRTD Advisory Committee Meeting at the end of September and details will appear in the Forum News. Colin Relf Award IFRTD Secretariat 2 Spitfire Studios 63-71 Collier Street London N1 9BE UK Email:0000,8000,0000ifrtd@gn.apc.org0000,0000,0000 ________________________________________________________________________ Priyanthi Fernando Executive Secretary International Forum for Rural Transport and Development 2 Spitfire Studios 63-71 Collier Street London N1 9BE UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7713 6699 Fax: +44 (0)20 7713 8290 email: ifrtd@gn.apc.org OR priyanthi.fernando@mcmail.com Web page: http://www.gn.apc.org/ifrtd From ifrtd at gn.apc.org Fri Aug 3 20:03:05 2001 From: ifrtd at gn.apc.org (Priyanthi Fernando) Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2001 12:03:05 +0100 Subject: [sustran] (Fwd) COLIN RELF AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE WORK ON RURAL TRANSPORT Message-ID: <200108031108.MAA13758@nfs1.gn.apc.org> Dear Colleagues With apologies for the unreadable formatting of this message sent earlier - here is a more readable repeat A note to remind you that the closing date for the Colin Relf Award is the 31st August 2001 - so if you are intending to encourage colleagues and students to apply of if you are intending to apply yourself you need to send those letters in soon! The terms of the award is given below in case you missed the earlier communication. Best wishes Priyanthi Fernando Executive Secretary, IFRTD _________________________________________ COLIN RELF AWARD Applications are invited by the Secretariat of the International Forum for Rural Transport and Development (IFRTD) for the Colin Relf Award for innovative work on rural transport. In 1985, Colin Relf initiated the idea for the Forum, he helped establish it and continued to support its work till his death last year. He was also a pioneer in highlighting the fact that large-scale investments in transport infrastructure were not improving the lives of rural people. This award celebrates Colin?s interest in rural transport and his concern with promoting and motivating the people with whom he worked. The award, worth 250 UK pounds (approximately 350 US dollars), will be given to a student or young professional from a developing country whose study/project/proposal, the panel of judges considers the most interesting and exciting in terms of furthering the current thinking on rural transport. There is no standard application form. Applicants need to outSYMBOL? ARIALsubmit a letter explaining why they think they would be a good candidate for the award outSYMBOL? ARIALattach a piece of their work in support of their letter. This could be in the form of left - a paper or essay left - a report of work carried out left - a proposal for future research out SYMBOL? ARIALattach a brief curriculum vitae with two referees and their contact details, including email address where possible. All applications must be in English, and preferably typewritten or word processed. They should reach the IFRTD Secretariat by post or by email (see address below) no later than August 31, 2001. The successful candidate will be announced at the IFRTD Advisory Committee Meeting at the end of September and details will appear in the Forum News. Colin Relf Award IFRTD Secretariat 2 Spitfire Studios 63-71 Collier Street London N1 9BE UK Email:0000,8000,0000ifrtd@gn.apc.org ________________________________________________________________________ Priyanthi Fernando Executive Secretary International Forum for Rural Transport and Development 2 Spitfire Studios 63-71 Collier Street London N1 9BE UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7713 6699 Fax: +44 (0)20 7713 8290 email: ifrtd@gn.apc.org OR priyanthi.fernando@mcmail.com Web page: http://www.gn.apc.org/ifrtd From mobility at igc.org Sat Aug 4 03:51:18 2001 From: mobility at igc.org (mobility) Date: Fri, 03 Aug 2001 14:51:18 -0400 Subject: [sustran] MOBILIZING AFRICA #2 Message-ID: <3B6AF2A6.4B699E52@igc.org> MOBILIZING AFRICA A Bi-Weekly Bulletin from ITDP and Africa Sustainable Transport (SusTran) Advocates ============================================================= Electronic Edition Number 2 July 27, 2001 ============================================================= HEADLINES ============================================================== * OVERHEARD IN THE CORRIDORS OF POWER * NIGERIA?S ANTIDOTE TO MERCEDES ?WABENZI? * THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB: BOOSTING BIKE DEALERS AT THE ACCRA BIKE MARKET (PT I) * MAINSTREAMING LOW-COST MOBILITY IN TANZANIA * RWANDAN ?BONESHAKERS? VITAL TO ECONOMY, MARRIAGE * 30 CYCLISTS ARRESTED IN UGANDA BODA BODA PROTEST ============================================================== ** To learn more about ITDP visit http://www.itdp.org *** To submit your articles to Mobilizing Africa, or to (un)subscribe: steely@igc.org **** CORRECTION: To contact Tom Opiyo, an architect of Nairobi?s emerging bicycle network: otopiyo@yahoo.com * * * OVERHEARD IN THE CORRIDORS OF POWER ? Road construction no longer takes care of anyone else except the car users. There used to be pedestrian crossings and walkways on the sides. But these days, we have one gutter to another. That's not right the elites have imbibed the wrong concept of luxury. And of course being well to do, they have abandoned simplicity.? --Dr. Okey Okechukwu, a renowned journalist and Special Assistant to the Nigerian Minister of Transport, Chief Ojo Maduekwe * * * NIGERIA?S ANTIDOTE TO MERCEDES ?WABENZI? Nigerian Transport Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, is emerging as one of Africa?s most vocal proponents of cycling. In a refreshing departure from the ?Wabenzi? (a local colloquial term for African civil servants who travel in Mercedes Benzes) Maduekwe and his staff can regularly be seen pedaling through the streets of Abuja en route to meetings, with their formal clothes and papers strapped to their rear carriers. Maduekwe maintains that Nigerians should embrace cycling as a partial solution to growing gridlock that is crippling Nigeria?s economy. His zeal for cycling is neither diminished by naysayers who accuse him of pursing quixotic ends, nor by bad weather, as he recently cycled through a torrential downpour on his way to a cabinet meeting. "Rain doctors did their worst, I defied them. In this business, rain does not really matter," said Maduekwe. In June, Maduekwe was even hit by a bus and into a ditch while cycling to work. This only led him to redouble his efforts to establish bicycle route networks in Abuja and Lagos. Adapted from articles printed in The Vanguard: www.vanguardngr.com * * * BOOSTING BIKE DEALERS AT THE ACCRA BICYCLE MARKET (Pt. I) Through the introduction of specialty bicycle tools, skills training, small loans, and community outreach and marketing, bicycle dealers in Ghana are increasing their profits. When Ghana eliminated the tax and tariff on the importation of bicycles in 1989, the Accra Bicycle Market only housed a handful of small bike dealers. Today the market is an informal gathering of scores of used bicycle dealers, attracting buyers from all over Ghana, and from neighboring Cote d? Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, and Niger. The Tens of thousands of used bicycles per year that are sold here are imported from Europe and North America. Most dealers buy several bicycles at a time from the importers, then fix them up and resell them to individuals and other dealers at a small profit. The Right Tool for the Job Until recently, dealers, lacking specialty bicycle tools, refurbished used bicycles with hammers, chisels, and nails. In March 2000, ITDP and Village Bicycle Project started the ?Specialty Bike Tools Program? with support from Park Tool USA, a Minnesota based tools manufacturer. At first the dealers were wary to pay for tools, as many had never even seen freewheel removers, chain breakers, chain pullers, and pin spanners, much less used one. To surmount this initial obstacle, about $1,000 worth of tools was made available to dealers at a special introductory price. Still, only a handful of dealers and mechanics showed interest; only five out of the Accra Bicycle Markets? 25 main dealers bought tools. One dealer who did show interest was George Kofi Aidoo, the proprietor of Geofaido Enterprises. ?These tools help my business very much,? said George. ?It was very difficult to rebuild a rear wheel before, you usually would break the free [freewheel] before it would come off a new free [freewheel] costs 22,000 Cedis [US $4]. I use the free remover twice and it is paid for.? Samson Ayine is another bicycle dealer who has benefited from the tools program. ?I used to have to throw them [wheels] away or sell broken wheels for small money. Now I can make them like new again we still have not enough rear wheels, but not like before.? After the value of the tools began to be recognized, the prices of the second tranche of tools were raised to market value in March 2001. These tools were sold mostly by Mr. Aidoo, who purchased the tools from ITDP with 60 days terms. Though demand had dropped off a bit due to the increased price, all the tools were sold and Mr. Aidoo was able to repay the cost of the tools and make a tidy profit. Now George wants to import increasing amounts of specialty bicycle tools, and meet increasing demand from dealers throughout West Africa who come to the Accra Bicycle Market. ITDP is linking George with suppliers in Asia, and providing financing so that George can import increasing quantities of specialty bicycle tools. (continued in next issue) * * * MAINSTREAMING LOW COST MOBILITY IN TANZANIA Mainstreaming is one of the priority issues of Association for Advancing Low Cost Mobility- AALOCOM. From June 2001 AALOCOM is set to influence inclusion of LCM facilities in one of the country?s secondary cities: Shinyanga Municipality. Shinyanga Municipality is located in the central part of Tanzania occupying approximately 548 square kilometers out of which 25 square kilometers are proper urban and the rest urban rural. The Municipality with a population of approximately 150,000 inhabitants is preparing its first Strategic Urban Development Plan. Municipal consultative held Mid July 2001 identified Managing LCM/NMT as one of the key environmental issues. AALOCOM intends to support residents to protect the Municipality from vehicle dominancy; fortunately one of its members is a member of the Coordinating Team (Ministry of Lands and Human Settlements). Preliminary findings reveal that LCM is the most dependable means of transport in the Municipality. Majority of people move from one place to another by walking or cycling. The use of pushcarts and ox- cart is also common particularly for transporting goods. Studies to establish composition of LCM users in the Municipality are yet to be done. However, ocular surveys show that pedestrians constitute about 70% of all road users in the Municipality. Cycling is another common and most dependable mode for longer distances although safety of cyclists is not guaranteed because the existing roads have been paved with no regard to LCM users. It is estimated that the Municipality has about 50,000 bicycles. By: AALOCOM Tanzania * * * BONESHAKER SCOOTERS ARE RWANDAN BOYS? BEST FRIEND GATARAGA, Rwanda, July 16 (Reuters) - What moves like lightning, costs almost nothing and may help you find a wife? In the hillside villages of the tiny central African country of Rwanda, a growing army of ramshackle wooden scooters are turning out to be a boy's best friend. Whizzing downhill at hair-raising speeds, the two-wheeled mean machines Whisk huge sacks of produce to market, earning a tidy sum for their teenage owners and providing a homemade solution to a transport problem common across the continent. "It's like an aero plane," said 14-year-old Emmanuel Bizimana, posing with his "steed" on a grassy verge near the tiny hamlet of Gataraga. "When I'm driving without any baggage not even a car can catch up with me." There is only one flaw. "I have to push it on the way back, because it has no engine," he said. Hundreds of riders career downhill on market days, sending passers-by scurrying out of the way as they zip along roads snaking through the lush foothills of the colossal Virunga volcano chain in the fertile northeast. The ingenious devices are not only lots of fun, but one of the few ways for young landless men to scratch a living and a means of transport that plays an important role in feeding a burgeoning population in areas too poor to afford trucks. BONESHAKERS Known as "Igicugutu" in Rwandan, which can be loosely translated as "boneshaker," the scooters may be a little bumpy, but they are masterpieces of improvised engineering. Riders stand on a heavy plank resting on two wooden wheels coated in rubber treads, steering with handlebars as wide as the horns of the cattle browsing amid the banana groves. Fortunately for pedestrians, owners add a brake fashioned from a piece of tyre that rests loosely over the rear wheel until pressed with the back foot, causing the scooter, hopefully, to grind to a halt. Most machines are simply nailed together out of pieces of wood, but ambitious designers use ball bearings to reduce axle friction and increase speed, while some add bicycle bells and perhaps a lick of go-faster paint. "When you see the boy active like this, there's no way you can't feel proud," said 60-year-old Madeleine Gicakara, as her 15-year-old son Theogene saddled up sacks of sorghum, used to brew beer, in Gataraga. "Instead of becoming robbers or pickpockets, boys spend some time making a scooter to earn money honestly," she said. Theogene's father is dead, so like many riders he is a key breadwinner for his 11 brothers and sisters and their mother, who said she was too old to farm. FARMERS' DELIGHT The exact origins of the scooters are unclear, but locals said they first appeared in the 1960s and have expanded into an important part of village life in the last few years. Farmers pay owners to carry more than 100 kg (221 lb) of vegetables in one go, allowing more efficient delivery in one of Africa's most densely-populated countries where food supplies can be finely balanced. "There are thousands and thousands of people whose life has been improved because of the work done by these scooters," said 45-year-old farmer Pierre Nyangabose, as boys cruised past on a flat stretch of road. Inevitably, scooters do sometimes end up on the wrong side of the minibuses and lorries that speed down the winding routes, and forlorn young men can occasionally be seen trudging uphill with a crippled machine draped across a wheelbarrow. Serious injuries are rare, although farmers spoke of a fatal scooter crash near Gataraga in February when a heavily-laden rider smashed into another and crushed him to death. A short ride down the road in the town of Ruhengeri, the market is bursting with tomatoes, beans and maize delivered in the early morning by boys from the villages. "Without the scooters the people in the town would die of hunger and the farmers would not make any money," said cabbage seller Eliza Mujawamariya, speaking above the hubbub of the vegetable section of the covered market. Nodding agreement, her friend Mama Nadia said that in the villages a scooter-less suitor may be hard-pressed to woo a wife. "We definitely would want someone with a scooter," she said. "We cannot marry a man who cannot feed us." * * * 30 CYCLISTS ARRESTED IN UGANDA BODA BODA PROTEST The fight raged for about 30 minutes before the police gunpower subdued the boda boda stone-throwers. The riots began when the cyclists stormed the streets in large numbers protesting against what they say is unfair taxation by Mbale municipal council. The cyclists have been on strike for two months demanding to pay Shs 100 in taxes daily instead of Shs 200 levied by the Municipal Council. They have been operating without seat cushions on their bicycles. The main battles took place in the town center and along Pallisa Road where a combined force of Municipal law enforcement officers and police met the boda boda, reinforced by Jua Kali artisans. The Monitor saw the District Police Commander, Oire Eyagu and his OC CID Marcellino Wanitho pelted with stones. Wanitho took cover in a tree as the police fired in the air. Over 30 cyclists were arrested and bundled in trucks to Mbale central police station. Oire said the police was forced to act because the cyclists had gone on rampage, beating law enforcement officers and damaging people's property. "They even beat up the OC Malukhu Prisons Mr. Enatu because they found him being carried on a bicycle. That is bad," Oire said. When contacted about the strike, Mbale town clerk, Fred Jabi Bukeni said the cyclists were placing unrealistic demands to council. He said at first they were complaining against the extra-judicious punishment by Universal Co. which runs the tender to collect taxes and the council stopped the tender. "We put our own people to collect revenue but they are now beating them also. They have not told us what they want," he said. Bukeni says the boda boda men wanted to collect revenue themselves but their application has to go through the normal procedure. During the riot they stormed Mbale Municipal council offices and later attacked Mbale Municipal court offices on Kumi road, and destroyed property including vehicles parked there. The Monitor (Kampala) July 19, 2001 --------------------------------------------------------- * CALENDAR * Convenci?n Internacional Transporte 2001 Conference dates and venue: September 17-21, 2001, La Habana, Cuba. Contact: Huberto Vald?s Riios, Secretario Ejectivo, Convenci?n Internacional Transporte 2001, Grupo IT, Cuba. Tel: 537 62-3051/58 ext.230, Fax:537 33-8250, Email: iitransport@transnet.cu Velo City Conference 2001 Conference dates and venue: September 17-21 2001, Glasgow & Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Contact: Organisers Email: velo_city@meetingmakers.co.uk, Website: http://www.velo_city2001.org PABIC Pan African Bicycle Conference Conference dates and venue: 21-25 November 2001, Conference Centre Jinja, Uganda. Contact: FABIO, First African Bicycle Information Office, Jinja Uganda, PO Box 1537 Jinja, Uganda. Email:fabio@source.co.ug * * * NEXT ISSUE: * HIV/AIDS OUTREACH GETS BIG BOOST FROM BIKES * A NEW BICYCLE FOR AFRICA? * CYCLING: COST EFFECTIVE REMEDY FOR GLOBAL WARMING? * BOOSTING BIKE DEALERS AT THE ACCRA BIKE MARKET, PT II MOBILIZING AFRICA ---------------------------------------------------------- MA#2 Editor: Paul S. White steely@igc.org ---------------------------------------------------------- Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) 115 West 30th Street, New York, NY 10001 tel. (212) 629-8001 fax (212) 629-8033 mobility@igc.org Paul Steely White Director, Africa Programs Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (ITDP) 115 W. 30th St. Suite 1205, New York, NY 10001 Tel +212 629 8001, Fax -8033, www.ITDP.org From mobility at igc.org Sat Aug 4 03:51:18 2001 From: mobility at igc.org (mobility) Date: Fri, 03 Aug 2001 14:51:18 -0400 Subject: [sustran] MOBILIZING AFRICA #2 Message-ID: <3B6AF2A6.4B699E52@igc.org> MOBILIZING AFRICA A Bi-Weekly Bulletin from ITDP and Africa Sustainable Transport (SusTran) Advocates ============================================================= Electronic Edition Number 2 July 27, 2001 ============================================================= HEADLINES ============================================================== * OVERHEARD IN THE CORRIDORS OF POWER * NIGERIA?S ANTIDOTE TO MERCEDES ?WABENZI? * THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB: BOOSTING BIKE DEALERS AT THE ACCRA BIKE MARKET (PT I) * MAINSTREAMING LOW-COST MOBILITY IN TANZANIA * RWANDAN ?BONESHAKERS? VITAL TO ECONOMY, MARRIAGE * 30 CYCLISTS ARRESTED IN UGANDA BODA BODA PROTEST ============================================================== ** To learn more about ITDP visit http://www.itdp.org *** To submit your articles to Mobilizing Africa, or to (un)subscribe: steely@igc.org **** CORRECTION: To contact Tom Opiyo, an architect of Nairobi?s emerging bicycle network: otopiyo@yahoo.com * * * OVERHEARD IN THE CORRIDORS OF POWER ? Road construction no longer takes care of anyone else except the car users. There used to be pedestrian crossings and walkways on the sides. But these days, we have one gutter to another. That's not right the elites have imbibed the wrong concept of luxury. And of course being well to do, they have abandoned simplicity.? --Dr. Okey Okechukwu, a renowned journalist and Special Assistant to the Nigerian Minister of Transport, Chief Ojo Maduekwe * * * NIGERIA?S ANTIDOTE TO MERCEDES ?WABENZI? Nigerian Transport Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, is emerging as one of Africa?s most vocal proponents of cycling. In a refreshing departure from the ?Wabenzi? (a local colloquial term for African civil servants who travel in Mercedes Benzes) Maduekwe and his staff can regularly be seen pedaling through the streets of Abuja en route to meetings, with their formal clothes and papers strapped to their rear carriers. Maduekwe maintains that Nigerians should embrace cycling as a partial solution to growing gridlock that is crippling Nigeria?s economy. His zeal for cycling is neither diminished by naysayers who accuse him of pursing quixotic ends, nor by bad weather, as he recently cycled through a torrential downpour on his way to a cabinet meeting. "Rain doctors did their worst, I defied them. In this business, rain does not really matter," said Maduekwe. In June, Maduekwe was even hit by a bus and into a ditch while cycling to work. This only led him to redouble his efforts to establish bicycle route networks in Abuja and Lagos. Adapted from articles printed in The Vanguard: www.vanguardngr.com * * * BOOSTING BIKE DEALERS AT THE ACCRA BICYCLE MARKET (Pt. I) Through the introduction of specialty bicycle tools, skills training, small loans, and community outreach and marketing, bicycle dealers in Ghana are increasing their profits. When Ghana eliminated the tax and tariff on the importation of bicycles in 1989, the Accra Bicycle Market only housed a handful of small bike dealers. Today the market is an informal gathering of scores of used bicycle dealers, attracting buyers from all over Ghana, and from neighboring Cote d? Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, and Niger. The Tens of thousands of used bicycles per year that are sold here are imported from Europe and North America. Most dealers buy several bicycles at a time from the importers, then fix them up and resell them to individuals and other dealers at a small profit. The Right Tool for the Job Until recently, dealers, lacking specialty bicycle tools, refurbished used bicycles with hammers, chisels, and nails. In March 2000, ITDP and Village Bicycle Project started the ?Specialty Bike Tools Program? with support from Park Tool USA, a Minnesota based tools manufacturer. At first the dealers were wary to pay for tools, as many had never even seen freewheel removers, chain breakers, chain pullers, and pin spanners, much less used one. To surmount this initial obstacle, about $1,000 worth of tools was made available to dealers at a special introductory price. Still, only a handful of dealers and mechanics showed interest; only five out of the Accra Bicycle Markets? 25 main dealers bought tools. One dealer who did show interest was George Kofi Aidoo, the proprietor of Geofaido Enterprises. ?These tools help my business very much,? said George. ?It was very difficult to rebuild a rear wheel before, you usually would break the free [freewheel] before it would come off a new free [freewheel] costs 22,000 Cedis [US $4]. I use the free remover twice and it is paid for.? Samson Ayine is another bicycle dealer who has benefited from the tools program. ?I used to have to throw them [wheels] away or sell broken wheels for small money. Now I can make them like new again we still have not enough rear wheels, but not like before.? After the value of the tools began to be recognized, the prices of the second tranche of tools were raised to market value in March 2001. These tools were sold mostly by Mr. Aidoo, who purchased the tools from ITDP with 60 days terms. Though demand had dropped off a bit due to the increased price, all the tools were sold and Mr. Aidoo was able to repay the cost of the tools and make a tidy profit. Now George wants to import increasing amounts of specialty bicycle tools, and meet increasing demand from dealers throughout West Africa who come to the Accra Bicycle Market. ITDP is linking George with suppliers in Asia, and providing financing so that George can import increasing quantities of specialty bicycle tools. (continued in next issue) * * * MAINSTREAMING LOW COST MOBILITY IN TANZANIA Mainstreaming is one of the priority issues of Association for Advancing Low Cost Mobility- AALOCOM. From June 2001 AALOCOM is set to influence inclusion of LCM facilities in one of the country?s secondary cities: Shinyanga Municipality. Shinyanga Municipality is located in the central part of Tanzania occupying approximately 548 square kilometers out of which 25 square kilometers are proper urban and the rest urban rural. The Municipality with a population of approximately 150,000 inhabitants is preparing its first Strategic Urban Development Plan. Municipal consultative held Mid July 2001 identified Managing LCM/NMT as one of the key environmental issues. AALOCOM intends to support residents to protect the Municipality from vehicle dominancy; fortunately one of its members is a member of the Coordinating Team (Ministry of Lands and Human Settlements). Preliminary findings reveal that LCM is the most dependable means of transport in the Municipality. Majority of people move from one place to another by walking or cycling. The use of pushcarts and ox- cart is also common particularly for transporting goods. Studies to establish composition of LCM users in the Municipality are yet to be done. However, ocular surveys show that pedestrians constitute about 70% of all road users in the Municipality. Cycling is another common and most dependable mode for longer distances although safety of cyclists is not guaranteed because the existing roads have been paved with no regard to LCM users. It is estimated that the Municipality has about 50,000 bicycles. By: AALOCOM Tanzania * * * BONESHAKER SCOOTERS ARE RWANDAN BOYS? BEST FRIEND GATARAGA, Rwanda, July 16 (Reuters) - What moves like lightning, costs almost nothing and may help you find a wife? In the hillside villages of the tiny central African country of Rwanda, a growing army of ramshackle wooden scooters are turning out to be a boy's best friend. Whizzing downhill at hair-raising speeds, the two-wheeled mean machines Whisk huge sacks of produce to market, earning a tidy sum for their teenage owners and providing a homemade solution to a transport problem common across the continent. "It's like an aero plane," said 14-year-old Emmanuel Bizimana, posing with his "steed" on a grassy verge near the tiny hamlet of Gataraga. "When I'm driving without any baggage not even a car can catch up with me." There is only one flaw. "I have to push it on the way back, because it has no engine," he said. Hundreds of riders career downhill on market days, sending passers-by scurrying out of the way as they zip along roads snaking through the lush foothills of the colossal Virunga volcano chain in the fertile northeast. The ingenious devices are not only lots of fun, but one of the few ways for young landless men to scratch a living and a means of transport that plays an important role in feeding a burgeoning population in areas too poor to afford trucks. BONESHAKERS Known as "Igicugutu" in Rwandan, which can be loosely translated as "boneshaker," the scooters may be a little bumpy, but they are masterpieces of improvised engineering. Riders stand on a heavy plank resting on two wooden wheels coated in rubber treads, steering with handlebars as wide as the horns of the cattle browsing amid the banana groves. Fortunately for pedestrians, owners add a brake fashioned from a piece of tyre that rests loosely over the rear wheel until pressed with the back foot, causing the scooter, hopefully, to grind to a halt. Most machines are simply nailed together out of pieces of wood, but ambitious designers use ball bearings to reduce axle friction and increase speed, while some add bicycle bells and perhaps a lick of go-faster paint. "When you see the boy active like this, there's no way you can't feel proud," said 60-year-old Madeleine Gicakara, as her 15-year-old son Theogene saddled up sacks of sorghum, used to brew beer, in Gataraga. "Instead of becoming robbers or pickpockets, boys spend some time making a scooter to earn money honestly," she said. Theogene's father is dead, so like many riders he is a key breadwinner for his 11 brothers and sisters and their mother, who said she was too old to farm. FARMERS' DELIGHT The exact origins of the scooters are unclear, but locals said they first appeared in the 1960s and have expanded into an important part of village life in the last few years. Farmers pay owners to carry more than 100 kg (221 lb) of vegetables in one go, allowing more efficient delivery in one of Africa's most densely-populated countries where food supplies can be finely balanced. "There are thousands and thousands of people whose life has been improved because of the work done by these scooters," said 45-year-old farmer Pierre Nyangabose, as boys cruised past on a flat stretch of road. Inevitably, scooters do sometimes end up on the wrong side of the minibuses and lorries that speed down the winding routes, and forlorn young men can occasionally be seen trudging uphill with a crippled machine draped across a wheelbarrow. Serious injuries are rare, although farmers spoke of a fatal scooter crash near Gataraga in February when a heavily-laden rider smashed into another and crushed him to death. A short ride down the road in the town of Ruhengeri, the market is bursting with tomatoes, beans and maize delivered in the early morning by boys from the villages. "Without the scooters the people in the town would die of hunger and the farmers would not make any money," said cabbage seller Eliza Mujawamariya, speaking above the hubbub of the vegetable section of the covered market. Nodding agreement, her friend Mama Nadia said that in the villages a scooter-less suitor may be hard-pressed to woo a wife. "We definitely would want someone with a scooter," she said. "We cannot marry a man who cannot feed us." * * * 30 CYCLISTS ARRESTED IN UGANDA BODA BODA PROTEST The fight raged for about 30 minutes before the police gunpower subdued the boda boda stone-throwers. The riots began when the cyclists stormed the streets in large numbers protesting against what they say is unfair taxation by Mbale municipal council. The cyclists have been on strike for two months demanding to pay Shs 100 in taxes daily instead of Shs 200 levied by the Municipal Council. They have been operating without seat cushions on their bicycles. The main battles took place in the town center and along Pallisa Road where a combined force of Municipal law enforcement officers and police met the boda boda, reinforced by Jua Kali artisans. The Monitor saw the District Police Commander, Oire Eyagu and his OC CID Marcellino Wanitho pelted with stones. Wanitho took cover in a tree as the police fired in the air. Over 30 cyclists were arrested and bundled in trucks to Mbale central police station. Oire said the police was forced to act because the cyclists had gone on rampage, beating law enforcement officers and damaging people's property. "They even beat up the OC Malukhu Prisons Mr. Enatu because they found him being carried on a bicycle. That is bad," Oire said. When contacted about the strike, Mbale town clerk, Fred Jabi Bukeni said the cyclists were placing unrealistic demands to council. He said at first they were complaining against the extra-judicious punishment by Universal Co. which runs the tender to collect taxes and the council stopped the tender. "We put our own people to collect revenue but they are now beating them also. They have not told us what they want," he said. Bukeni says the boda boda men wanted to collect revenue themselves but their application has to go through the normal procedure. During the riot they stormed Mbale Municipal council offices and later attacked Mbale Municipal court offices on Kumi road, and destroyed property including vehicles parked there. The Monitor (Kampala) July 19, 2001 --------------------------------------------------------- * CALENDAR * Convenci?n Internacional Transporte 2001 Conference dates and venue: September 17-21, 2001, La Habana, Cuba. Contact: Huberto Vald?s Riios, Secretario Ejectivo, Convenci?n Internacional Transporte 2001, Grupo IT, Cuba. Tel: 537 62-3051/58 ext.230, Fax:537 33-8250, Email: iitransport@transnet.cu Velo City Conference 2001 Conference dates and venue: September 17-21 2001, Glasgow & Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Contact: Organisers Email: velo_city@meetingmakers.co.uk, Website: http://www.velo_city2001.org PABIC Pan African Bicycle Conference Conference dates and venue: 21-25 November 2001, Conference Centre Jinja, Uganda. Contact: FABIO, First African Bicycle Information Office, Jinja Uganda, PO Box 1537 Jinja, Uganda. Email:fabio@source.co.ug * * * NEXT ISSUE: * HIV/AIDS OUTREACH GETS BIG BOOST FROM BIKES * A NEW BICYCLE FOR AFRICA? * CYCLING: COST EFFECTIVE REMEDY FOR GLOBAL WARMING? * BOOSTING BIKE DEALERS AT THE ACCRA BIKE MARKET, PT II MOBILIZING AFRICA ---------------------------------------------------------- MA#2 Editor: Paul S. White steely@igc.org ---------------------------------------------------------- Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) 115 West 30th Street, New York, NY 10001 tel. (212) 629-8001 fax (212) 629-8033 mobility@igc.org Paul Steely White Director, Africa Programs Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (ITDP) 115 W. 30th St. Suite 1205, New York, NY 10001 Tel +212 629 8001, Fax -8033, www.ITDP.org From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Tue Aug 7 14:26:31 2001 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric.britton@ecoplan.org) Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 07:26:31 +0200 Subject: [sustran] FW: Screw up in Bogota Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, I would very much like to have the benefit of your reactions and thoughts as to what is currently going on in Bogota. I personally and professionally find it extremely distressing. Have a look at today's El Tiempo at http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/06-08-2001/prip83036.html to get the latest. (I attach the usual horrible machine translation, without apologies for anyone who needs a bit of help in making their way through the Spanish text.) If you look around through the recent issues of El Tiempo, you can see this storm coming. And if you want a flavour for how things are looking out there on the streets, check out http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/proyectos/ultimahora/trancon/. Those of us who follow transport matters in the Third World are well aware of what a dynamite keg it can be. That's on the one hand. But then there is all the careful work that has been done over these last years to make progress in building a new model of r in Third World cities. If the present administration gets this one any wronger, that could be the real victim of all this. There is an expression that I remember from German when I was little, which went that as soon as a child says something clever at the table it's time to put him to bed. This situation reminds me sadly of that: the original Pico y Placa (Odd/Even) scheme of the previous (Pe?alosa) administration was extremely well thought out and has worked admirably with private cars for several years. Admirably! And now the new mayor (a fine and intelligent man, as it happens) and his advisors (ahem!) have decided that, since it works so well and they still want less traffic, well why not apply it to private buses and taxis? Ouch! But hey! maybe I have this all horribly wrong. I'd love to think that's the case and that they have really thought all this through and that the Bogota Model is going to come through this unscathed. Comments? Eric Britton The @New Mobility Forum is permanently at http://newmobility.org The Commons ___Sustainable Development and Social Justice___ Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France Eric.Britton@NewMobility.org Tel: +331 4326 1323 = = = = BOGOT?, ANOTHER TIME TO HALF MARCH FOR UNEMPLOYMENT OF TRANSPORT The transporters again carry out an unemployment to protest against the pick measure and badge for the public service vehicles. Hundreds of citizens crowd together in the stations of the service of massive transport Transmilenio, the only one that usually works. Others carry out big walks to arrive to their working place. Today there are not classes in the district and private schools. For the time being, there are not blockades. To the edge of the midnight they broke the conversations among the Mayor Antanas Mockus and the transporters of Bogot?, with that which was firm the measure of the pick and badge for the public transportation and today Monday an unemployment will be presented on the part of taxis and buses in the capital, fair the day of its birthday number 463. With mutual accusations of intransigence, Mockus and the transporters gave end at eight hours of negotiation after which there were not agreements. The Mayor's office asked to the from Bogot? ones not to take today buses, busetas, taxis or collective whose badges finish in 1, 2, 3 or 4, and the Metropolitan Police gets ready to make complete the restriction to the public transportation that began a.m. at 5:30 o'clock The drivers announced protests with the use of the call 'Operation turtle '. Miguel ?ngel P?rez, spokesman of Apetrans, accused Mockus of working with " bad faith " in front of the union transporter, but the Minister of the Interior, Armando Estrada, assured to be witness of the conciliatory spirit of the burgomaestre. They carry to an extreme safety measures The director of the National, general Police Luis Ernesto Gilibert, noticed yesterday that the institution to its position already adopted the necessary measures to prevent that the city is paralyzed by the transporters again. According to Gilibert, their men have the order of impeding the blockade of main and secondary roads of the city, and he/she said that in this occasion the authorities won't be consequent with the drivers. To avoid any incident, the number of agents of the Metropolitan Police was reinforced with troops of the Police of Highways and the Police of Cundinamarca. About 3.000 men travel from last night the city. Likewise, a strict control will be made to the use of radio frequencies for judicializar those companies that allow the drivers to use this means to perturb the public order. Yesterday he/she took place a safe-deposit advice in the biggest Mayor's office to which attended Government's secretary, Soraya Montoya; the commandant of the Metropolitan, general Police Jorge Enrique Linares; the commandant of the Unit of Traffic, colonel Pedro Molano; the commandant of the Tenth Third Brigade, general Reynaldo Castellanos, and the adviser for the security, Hugo Steel. Linares said that there are 60 control positions in the city and 40 cranes will be available to move away the vehicles that obstruct the roads. The objective of the advice was to review the contingency stockings that are had foreseen to avoid alterations of the public order in Bogot?. Troops of the Army are bet around the city with the purpose of preventing that the guerrilla's urban militias can infiltrates in the possible manifestations that are carried out. Of another side, yesterday the Defender of the Town, Eduardo Cifuentes, said that the taponamiento of the citizens' roads viola fundamental rights. According to the Defender, to impede the normal flow of vehicles and people in the city, it is an attack against the free mobilization. Cifuentes said that the drivers are in all its right of protesting provided they make it for the road of the I dialogue and the agreement, and not through measures that affect to the rest of the society. The Mayor's office announced that that of today will be an ordinary day and that therefore the scheduled activities are not suspended with reason of the celebration of the 463 years of the capital. Even, Mockus will be at 7 in the morning in a journey for TransMilenio that today gives a new line of the system in the North Freeway. He/she also enters in operation in Portal of Usme, in the south end of the city. The new stations will allow the mobilization of at least 80 thousand passengers. Recommendations Avoid to take the taxis or buses whose registrations finish in 1, 2, 3 and 4, because the surest thing is that the authorities will immobilize him and you won't be able to follow their journey. To avoid that he/she repeats that of last Thursday, when children's thousands were caught by several hours in the blockades promoted by the taxi drivers, call to the school of their children and discover if there are classes. Limit their activities of the day, carry out alone those that it considers really important. Try not to traffic for the places where they concentrate the protests, as downtown, for example. If it can go out with their particular vehicle, ask if some neighbor or relative goes for his same route and bring near it. If today's journey is not very long, use bicycle or put on comfortable clothes and walk. Remember that TransMilenio will lend its ordinary service, starting from 5:30 o'clock including the new ones truncates them a.m., and park in the North Freeway and the Portal of Usme. In the event of an emergency, don't doubt to communicate with the Police. From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Wed Aug 8 02:27:58 2001 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric.britton@ecoplan.org) Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 19:27:58 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Finding a win-win strategy for Bogota In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20010807085049.00abc9f0@127.0.0.1> Message-ID: * (This note contains the earlier correspondence on the Bogota crisis of the last day's, placed here for those who have not had access to it. For the latest direct, check out http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/. For history, try http://www.ecoplan.org/votebogota2000/.) Dear Lake, Christopher and Group, Thanks for those fine heads-up Christopher and Lake. Let me run this through you and the others as I understand it. Since it is quite possible that I am at error in some part if not all of this, it will be with pleasure to hear from you all so that we get this important story in its full and necessary perspective. And at the same time, we have to be aware that time is very short here if there is anything that we might do to attenuate this situation. 1. Wow! One does has to wonder about what goes on in the mind of purportedly sentient person in a Third World city who would be prepared to take on the couple of hundred thousand people who work in the private bus and taxi sector. History is littered with the corpses of those who have tried, whether in Chile, in Colombia itself a decade and a half before Salvador Allende has his face-off with the truckers, or... and the list goes on. 2. We must be careful to keep a balanced perspective on all this. The transportation and public space accomplishments of the city and its administrators over these last few years have been of a very high levels, and against all the odds. I think we have given excellent coverage of this here in The Commons, as well as our active, world-level support. No problem there. We love Bogota and we love certainly no less the emerging Bogota Model for Third World Cities. But we also need to be very sure that we have the right model, and that as we are seeing is a terrific challenge indeed. Work for which many hands are needed! 3. I would tend to be very careful however about seeing this as an "us" (good TransMilenio, bike paths, walking and pubic spaces, Ciclov?as (car free Sundays), and all that other good stuff) and "them" (all those filthy, polluting, half criminal, dangerous and the list goes on vehicles) issue. This is however, I am afraid, the sub-text of what has been going on in Bogota more or less all along- and is on area in which I was in strong opposition with previous administration (but apparently without being vociferous enough about it to make my point). 4. By the way, let's ponder for a moment who's the "them" there. Let's see -- bearing in mind that these are very rough figures since the actual number of vehicles out there on the streets is subject to all kinds fo real world stuff - we have something like 55,000 taxis and 35,000 or so buses of various types and sizes. Figure anywhere from 3 to 5 support people (AKA jobs) for each of those vehicles, and we quickly are moving up toward half a million. Then factor in families of 3, 4 or more dependents? Hey, that's a pretty big number of people to be playing with. Working people with no safety net. 5. The point needs to be made about these operators that there is nothing superfluous about the services they are providing. While they maybe didn't get doctorates in transportation planning from some splendid First World schools, they nonetheless are succeeding in providing services that people want and are willing to pay for - without the great sucking sound of public subsidy. 6. Is this to say that the transport planners and the city do not have a point? Of course they do -- there are a real set of problems and challenges out there that have to be resolved. There are, for example, a lot of empty buses roaming around once the peak hour traffic has passed, and sure that's a problem. And they are old and pollute in FULL CAPS. And they run illegally pretty much as they wish. And and... But there are ways, and there are ways. 7. I for one was looking forward to resolving these dangerous contradictions with careful discussions and well thought out positions before going to bat on this one. It had been my hope (and I guess it still is) to create a High Level Task Force, whose job it would be to work with, follow and advice the city and all those concerned about their transport-related policies over the 15 year period which has been targeted by the successful October Referendum (which as you ay recall we vociferously and with high profile supported from here). But months have passed and there is still no Task Force in sight. 8. This next sentence, you either go with or you don't. In the latter instance, there is surely no reason to read beyond it. 9. The future of transport in Third World cities must (MUST!) take the form of a dynamic, innovative, and patient partnership that brings together "new" concepts such as the TransMilenio, waling and cycling as transport, in parallel with a steady upgrading and INCLUSION of the very large number of people and small groups who today are making their livings and providing needed services in the city. 10. Anything less than that will be a victory for the authoritarian central planners and a defeat for access, efficiency and social justice. The problem with folks who learned everything they know about life in universities and then get nice jobs in administrations or as consultants, is that they very often don't know much about life on the street. Nor apparently much about concepts such as love, community, responsibilities to family and dignity. And yet these are central issues here. 11. You see, people such as the taxistas and small bus operators have to be seen as OWNING THEIR JOBS, which means that we as advisors or administrators cannot simply take them away from them. Nor introduce unilateral and large changes in their working environment, without some sort of tit for tat. And where's the tit for tat in Bogota today? 12. The weakness of the Transmilenio et al plan until now is that it presumes a certain vision of the future of the city which is essentially cloistered, academic and unreal. It has its strong points, and its weaker points. And this is probably the weakest of all. 13. What Bogota needs (if I may) is a well thought out network of TMs, cycle paths and the rest, plus draconian parking and private car control limitations plus lots of small vehicles scooting around providing cheap and flexible transportation for people of all economic groups - and lots of good jobs! The potential for upgrading these private systems is enormous and many sided. 14. And are the people who are the drivers, operators, owners, etc. easy to work with? You bet they aren't! Life is tough out there on the street and most of the time they meet a guy in a suit it's because the suited one is going to make things worse for them. And here, dear friends, we have one more example. 15. I am dead sure that this whole thing can be resolved, but the first step in this process has to be wisdom and not wounded honor. And it has to be taken by the administration. 16. Mayor Mockus has a terrific opportunity here. At the same time while backing away from their ill planned (and rotten) idea of extending the Pico y Placa by fiat, he can first declare a hiatus, let the guys get back to work in a normal way, while announcing that the government is now ready to enter into a New Mobility Partnership with the small service providers - with the backing (if it can be done in the needed hurry, if only in principle as a first step) of folks such as the UNDP, WB, IADB and the other usual suspects.. including bilateral aid programs. By doing this they will snatch victory out of the jaws of the defeat which they are sure to meet if they keep playing for the win at all costs. Hey, this is a great opportunity for them, and for the Bogota Model. So, what do you have to say about that? And what can we do with this next? Eric PS. Incidentally, I have a hard time in agreeing with your criticism, Lake, of El Tiempo's coverage. Let's not forget they have been consistent supporters of positive transport innovation over these last years, including for the first (and second) award winning Car Free Day. If they are not lining up behind the planners, does this necessarily mean that they are wrong or mean spirited? I doubt it on both scores. I have checked carefully, including today, and find the coverage quite balanced and fair. = = = = = Letter 1 from Christian Dunkerley from Bogota on Mon 8/6/2001 10:56 PM Dear Eric, I am writing to you from an internet cafe in Bogota... I was caught in the mess on Thursday, and the blockage was massive. In fact, it was the worst that Bogota has experienced in its entire life. Most of the main intersections and roads were blocked. Rich and poor had to walk: there was no other way out. It was very democratic: everyone was affected. In my case, I had to walk around 6 miles to get back home. Not even schools or emergency services were spared. The funny thing is that I spent 5 years in a research project at ITS-Leed University studying the impact of road infrastructure closures in Colombia!!! If you want more precise details of the closures(and my publications on this area), I can send them when I get back to the UK... my other email address is cdunkerley@trl.co.uk Regards, Christian Dunkerley Transport Economist TRL Limited = = = = Letter 2 from Lake Sagaris [sagaris@terra.cl] on Tue 8/7/2001 3:08 PM Hi Eric Patricio and I just got back from Bogota where we spent quite a bit of time with the folks at TransMilenio, Ciclov?as, etc. They're doing an amazing job in very difficult conditions. It was quite clear, however, that El Tiempo has taken a very strong editorial line against TransMilenio itself and that there is an enormous and very important debate going on about what should happen with the rest of the transportation system in the city. I'm not sure that you should be so pessimistic -- rather than a "screw up" in Bogota, I'd characterize this as a "Crucial debate" in that it is very important that the positive initiatives taken by authorities past and present be recognized and receive broad and increasingly active support from the citizens. Otherwise, in the conditions (33,000 buses!!!, not to mention taxis, etc.) existing in Bogot? it will be very difficult to expand the benefits of TransMilenio beyond the current 340,000 -- 1 million by years end -- daily passenger trips (this should end up being about 1/7 of those who move by bus, which in turn is 80% of daily commutes). One problem is that authorities in general and in Latin America in particular constantly underestimate the importance of citizens' participation and hence support for their transportation policies. They think they can change the city without the citizens, a deadly assumption. If you look at the letters to the editor section of the same issue of El tiempo which you posted, most of the letters are very sensible and express support for "Pico y Placa" and, in general, the measures being taken by the authorities. There is also widespread approval of TransMilenio, which is also (miracle of miracles!!!) making money, and these are crucial elements to the debate. Anyway, I may be missing something as I haven't read the papers from Bogot? in the past week, but in general we found people on the street were also very happy with TransMilenio. We found it was still being underestimated in the sense of what it could do for local business (same with the Ciclov?as) and that is an important gap, but everything takes time and it will surely come eventually. All best Lake PS I'm cc'ing this to you because I suspect the list won't take the new address I'm sending from. At 07:26 AM 07/08/01 +0200, you wrote: >Dear Colleagues, > >I would very much like to have the benefit of your reactions and thoughts as >to what is currently going on in Bogota. I personally and professionally >find it extremely distressing. > >Have a look at today's El Tiempo at >http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/06-08-2001/prip83036.html to get the latest. >(I attach the usual horrible machine translation, without apologies for >anyone who needs a bit of help in making their way through the Spanish >text.) > >If you look around through the recent issues of El Tiempo, you can see this >storm coming. And if you want a flavour for how things are looking out >there on the streets, check out >http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/proyectos/ultimahora/trancon/. > >Those of us who follow transport matters in the Third World are well aware >of what a dynamite keg it can be. That's on the one hand. But then there >is all the careful work that has been done over these last years to make >progress in building a new model of r in Third World cities. If the present >administration gets this one any wronger, that could be the real victim of >all this. > >There is an expression that I remember from German when I was little, which >went that as soon as a child says something clever at the table it's time to >put him to bed. This situation reminds me sadly of that: the original Pico >y Placa (Odd/Even) scheme of the previous (Pe?alosa) administration was >extremely well thought out and has worked admirably with private cars for >several years. Admirably! And now the new mayor (a fine and intelligent >man, as it happens) and his advisors (ahem!) have decided that, since it >works so well and they still want less traffic, well why not apply it to >private buses and taxis? Ouch! > >But hey! maybe I have this all horribly wrong. I'd love to think that's the >case and that they have really thought all this through and that the Bogota >Model is going to come through this unscathed. > >Comments? > >Eric Britton > >The @New Mobility Forum is permanently at http://newmobility.org >The Commons ___Sustainable Development and Social Justice___ >Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France >Eric.Britton@NewMobility.org Tel: +331 4326 1323 > > > > >= = = = > >BOGOT?, ANOTHER TIME TO HALF MARCH FOR UNEMPLOYMENT OF TRANSPORT > >The transporters again carry out a work stoppage to protest against extending the Odd/Even scheme for public service vehicles. Hundreds of citizens >crowd together in the stations of the service of the mass transport >Transmilenio, the only one that currently works. Others carry out long walks to >arrive to their working place. Today there are no classes in the district >and private schools. For the time being, there are no blockades. > > >To the edge of the midnight they broke the conversations among the Mayor >Antanas Mockus and the transporters of Bogot?, with that which was firm the >measure of the pick and badge for the public transportation and today Monday >an unemployment will be presented on the part of taxis and buses in the >capital, fair the day of its birthday number 463. > >With mutual accusations of intransigence, Mockus and the transporters gave >end at eight hours of negotiation after which there were not agreements. The >Mayor's office asked to the from Bogot? ones not to take today buses, >busetas, taxis or collective whose badges finish in 1, 2, 3 or 4, and the >Metropolitan Police gets ready to make complete the restriction to the >public transportation that began a.m. at 5:30 o'clock > >The drivers announced protests with the use of the call 'Operation turtle '. >Miguel ?ngel P?rez, spokesman of Apetrans, accused Mockus of working with " >bad faith " in front of the union transporter, but the Minister of the >Interior, Armando Estrada, assured to be witness of the conciliatory spirit >of the burgomaestre. > >They carry to an extreme safety measures > >The director of the National, general Police Luis Ernesto Gilibert, noticed >yesterday that the institution to its position already adopted the necessary >measures to prevent that the city is paralyzed by the transporters again. > >According to Gilibert, their men have the order of impeding the blockade of >main and secondary roads of the city, and he/she said that in this occasion >the authorities won't be consequent with the drivers. > >To avoid any incident, the number of agents of the Metropolitan Police was >reinforced with troops of the Police of Highways and the Police of >Cundinamarca. About 3.000 men travel from last night the city. > >Likewise, a strict control will be made to the use of radio frequencies for >judicializar those companies that allow the drivers to use this means to >perturb the public order. > >Yesterday he/she took place a safe-deposit advice in the biggest Mayor's >office to which attended Government's secretary, Soraya Montoya; the >commandant of the Metropolitan, general Police Jorge Enrique Linares; the >commandant of the Unit of Traffic, colonel Pedro Molano; the commandant of >the Tenth Third Brigade, general Reynaldo Castellanos, and the adviser for >the security, Hugo Steel. > >Linares said that there are 60 control positions in the city and 40 cranes >will be available to move away the vehicles that obstruct the roads. > >The objective of the advice was to review the contingency stockings that are >had foreseen to avoid alterations of the public order in Bogot?. Troops of >the Army are bet around the city with the purpose of preventing that the >guerrilla's urban militias can infiltrates in the possible manifestations >that are carried out. > >Of another side, yesterday the Defender of the Town, Eduardo Cifuentes, said >that the taponamiento of the citizens' roads viola fundamental rights. > >According to the Defender, to impede the normal flow of vehicles and people >in the city, it is an attack against the free mobilization. > >Cifuentes said that the drivers are in all its right of protesting provided >they make it for the road of the I dialogue and the agreement, and not >through measures that affect to the rest of the society. > >The Mayor's office announced that that of today will be an ordinary day and >that therefore the scheduled activities are not suspended with reason of the >celebration of the 463 years of the capital. > >Even, Mockus will be at 7 in the morning in a journey for TransMilenio that >today gives a new line of the system in the North Freeway. He/she also >enters in operation in Portal of Usme, in the south end of the city. The new >stations will allow the mobilization of at least 80 thousand passengers. > >Recommendations > >Avoid to take the taxis or buses whose registrations finish in 1, 2, 3 and >4, because the surest thing is that the authorities will immobilize him and >you won't be able to follow their journey. > >To avoid that he/she repeats that of last Thursday, when children's >thousands were caught by several hours in the blockades promoted by the taxi >drivers, call to the school of their children and discover if there are >classes. > >Limit their activities of the day, carry out alone those that it considers >really important. > >Try not to traffic for the places where they concentrate the protests, as >downtown, for example. > >If it can go out with their particular vehicle, ask if some neighbor or >relative goes for his same route and bring near it. > >If today's journey is not very long, use bicycle or put on comfortable >clothes and walk. > >Remember that TransMilenio will lend its ordinary service, starting from >5:30 o'clock including the new ones truncates them a.m., and park in the >North Freeway and the Portal of Usme. > >In the event of an emergency, don't doubt to communicate with the Police. From kerry.wood at paradise.net.nz Wed Aug 8 06:31:39 2001 From: kerry.wood at paradise.net.nz (Kerry Wood) Date: Wed, 08 Aug 2001 09:31:39 +1200 Subject: [sustran] Heavy truck rules References: <008f01c108d8$22a9dc40$3ee6f2d4@oemcomputer> Message-ID: <3B705E39.2CA21C0B@paradise.net.nz> Hi everybody Another information request please. The local main highway body, Transit New Zealand, is proposing revised rules to allow larger and heavier trucks on New Zealand roads, and submissions close at the end of the month. In the more radical scenario the increases are from maxima of 44 tonnes to 62 tonnes. About a sixth of the claimed benefits are for safety. They don't elaborate much, but the idea seems to be that the same goods will be carried on fewer trucks, and fewer trucks will make the roads safer. But cheaper transport (which is the whole idea) will tend to bring more transport in absolute terms, as well as more road transport because of a transfer from rail to road. Just-in-time deliveries are an issue too, and my recollection is that average loads have been falling. Has anybody got information on what happened in other countries, when larger and/or heavier trucks were permitted? Many thanks -- Kerry Wood Sustainable Transport Consulting Engineer 76 Virginia Road, Wanganui 5001, New Zealand Phone and fax (+64 6) 347 2307 Mobile 021 115 9346 From dmohan at cbme.iitd.ernet.in Wed Aug 8 14:25:25 2001 From: dmohan at cbme.iitd.ernet.in (Dinesh Mohan) Date: Wed, 08 Aug 2001 10:55:25 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobility] Finding a win-win strategy for Bogota References: Message-ID: <3B70CD44.E06BFA95@cbme.iitd.ernet.in> I must say that I agree with the spirit behind Eric's observations. All of us want clean air. But sometimes we forget that it is human beings (and other living organisms) that need the clean air. If some policies harm human beings then we have to decide who, when and how. In many less motorised countries the most vociferous and influential sustainable development advocates belong to the upper class, and their bias shows: 1. They are willing to pass laws to shut down workshops and factories in cities, limit traffic, make public transport more expensive (by requiring more expensive technonolgy), etc. because they have to breathe the same air as every one else. But hey don't really care if thousands of poorer citizens lose their jobs, go hungry or are forced to migrate. 2. On the other hand, the same concerned activists rarely demand that every one must get clean and bacteria free water in their taps (if and when they get it) because the upperclass can afford to buy bottled water. From my experience in India, letters to newspapers only represent upper class views. Street protests reflect the views of the "other". I am afraid the "other " does not see our views as benign. Citizens hearings in Delhi have brought ot the fact that some of our clean air policies have made life difficult for hundreds of thousands, many of them have pulled thier children out of school, others have sent their familiesd back to villages, still others are forced into prostitution, and so on. They certainly don't believe that we want a better world. Sustainable transport policies will have to keep human beings in the centre and not just chemically clean air. Dinesh Mohan eric.britton@ecoplan.org wrote: > * (This note contains the earlier correspondence on the Bogota crisis of the > last day's, placed here for those who have not had access to it. For the > latest direct, check out http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/. For history, try > http://www.ecoplan.org/votebogota2000/.) > > Dear Lake, Christopher and Group, > > Thanks for those fine heads-up Christopher and Lake. Let me run this > through you and the others as I understand it. Since it is quite possible > that I am at error in some part if not all of this, it will be with pleasure > to hear from you all so that we get this important story in its full and > necessary perspective. And at the same time, we have to be aware that time > is very short here if there is anything that we might do to attenuate this > situation. > > 1. Wow! One does has to wonder about what goes on in the mind of > purportedly sentient person in a Third World city who would be prepared to > take on the couple of hundred thousand people who work in the private bus > and taxi sector. History is littered with the corpses of those who have > tried, whether in Chile, in Colombia itself a decade and a half before > Salvador Allende has his face-off with the truckers, or... and the list goes > on. > > 2. We must be careful to keep a balanced perspective on all this. The > transportation and public space accomplishments of the city and its > administrators over these last few years have been of a very high levels, > and against all the odds. I think we have given excellent coverage of this > here in The Commons, as well as our active, world-level support. No problem > there. We love Bogota and we love certainly no less the emerging Bogota > Model for Third World Cities. But we also need to be very sure that we have > the right model, and that as we are seeing is a terrific challenge indeed. > Work for which many hands are needed! > > 3. I would tend to be very careful however about seeing this as an "us" > (good TransMilenio, bike paths, walking and pubic spaces, Ciclov?as (car > free Sundays), and all that other good stuff) and "them" (all those filthy, > polluting, half criminal, dangerous and the list goes on vehicles) issue. > This is however, I am afraid, the sub-text of what has been going on in > Bogota more or less all along- and is on area in which I was in strong > opposition with previous administration (but apparently without being > vociferous enough about it to make my point). > > 4. By the way, let's ponder for a moment who's the "them" there. Let's > see -- bearing in mind that these are very rough figures since the actual > number of vehicles out there on the streets is subject to all kinds fo real > world stuff - we have something like 55,000 taxis and 35,000 or so buses of > various types and sizes. Figure anywhere from 3 to 5 support people (AKA > jobs) for each of those vehicles, and we quickly are moving up toward half a > million. Then factor in families of 3, 4 or more dependents? Hey, that's a > pretty big number of people to be playing with. Working people with no > safety net. > > 5. The point needs to be made about these operators that there is nothing > superfluous about the services they are providing. While they maybe didn't > get doctorates in transportation planning from some splendid First World > schools, they nonetheless are succeeding in providing services that people > want and are willing to pay for - without the great sucking sound of public > subsidy. > > 6. Is this to say that the transport planners and the city do not have a > point? Of course they do -- there are a real set of problems and challenges > out there that have to be resolved. There are, for example, a lot of empty > buses roaming around once the peak hour traffic has passed, and sure that's > a problem. And they are old and pollute in FULL CAPS. And they run > illegally pretty much as they wish. And and... But there are ways, and > there are ways. > > 7. I for one was looking forward to resolving these dangerous contradictions > with careful discussions and well thought out positions before going to bat > on this one. It had been my hope (and I guess it still is) to create a High > Level Task Force, whose job it would be to work with, follow and advice the > city and all those concerned about their transport-related policies over the > 15 year period which has been targeted by the successful October Referendum > (which as you ay recall we vociferously and with high profile supported from > here). But months have passed and there is still no Task Force in sight. > > 8. This next sentence, you either go with or you don't. In the latter > instance, there is surely no reason to read beyond it. > > 9. The future of transport in Third World cities must (MUST!) take the form > of a dynamic, innovative, and patient partnership that brings together "new" > concepts such as the TransMilenio, waling and cycling as transport, in > parallel with a steady upgrading and INCLUSION of the very large number of > people and small groups who today are making their livings and providing > needed services in the city. > > 10. Anything less than that will be a victory for the authoritarian central > planners and a defeat for access, efficiency and social justice. The problem > with folks who learned everything they know about life in universities and > then get nice jobs in administrations or as consultants, is that they very > often don't know much about life on the street. Nor apparently much about > concepts such as love, community, responsibilities to family and dignity. > And yet these are central issues here. > > 11. You see, people such as the taxistas and small bus operators have to be > seen as OWNING THEIR JOBS, which means that we as advisors or administrators > cannot simply take them away from them. Nor introduce unilateral and large > changes in their working environment, without some sort of tit for tat. And > where's the tit for tat in Bogota today? > > 12. The weakness of the Transmilenio et al plan until now is that it > presumes a certain vision of the future of the city which is essentially > cloistered, academic and unreal. It has its strong points, and its weaker > points. And this is probably the weakest of all. > > 13. What Bogota needs (if I may) is a well thought out network of TMs, cycle > paths and the rest, plus draconian parking and private car control > limitations plus lots of small vehicles scooting around providing cheap and > flexible transportation for people of all economic groups - and lots of good > jobs! The potential for upgrading these private systems is enormous and > many sided. > > 14. And are the people who are the drivers, operators, owners, etc. easy to > work with? You bet they aren't! Life is tough out there on the street and > most of the time they meet a guy in a suit it's because the suited one is > going to make things worse for them. And here, dear friends, we have one > more example. > > 15. I am dead sure that this whole thing can be resolved, but the first step > in this process has to be wisdom and not wounded honor. And it has to be > taken by the administration. > > 16. Mayor Mockus has a terrific opportunity here. At the same time while > backing away from their ill planned (and rotten) idea of extending the Pico > y Placa by fiat, he can first declare a hiatus, let the guys get back to > work in a normal way, while announcing that the government is now ready to > enter into a New Mobility Partnership with the small service providers - > with the backing (if it can be done in the needed hurry, if only in > principle as a first step) of folks such as the UNDP, WB, IADB and the other > usual suspects.. including bilateral aid programs. > > By doing this they will snatch victory out of the jaws of the defeat which > they are sure to meet if they keep playing for the win at all costs. Hey, > this is a great opportunity for them, and for the Bogota Model. So, what do > you have to say about that? And what can we do with this next? > > Eric > > PS. Incidentally, I have a hard time in agreeing with your criticism, Lake, > of El Tiempo's coverage. Let's not forget they have been consistent > supporters of positive transport innovation over these last years, including > for the first (and second) award winning Car Free Day. If they are not > lining up behind the planners, does this necessarily mean that they are > wrong or mean spirited? I doubt it on both scores. I have checked carefully, > including today, and find the coverage quite balanced and fair. > > = = = = = > Letter 1 from Christian Dunkerley from Bogota on Mon 8/6/2001 10:56 PM > > Dear Eric, > > I am writing to you from an internet cafe in Bogota... I was caught in the > mess on Thursday, and the blockage was massive. In fact, it was the worst > that Bogota has experienced in its entire life. Most of the main > intersections and roads were blocked. Rich and poor had to walk: there was > no other way out. It was very democratic: everyone was affected. In my > case, I had to walk around 6 miles to get back home. Not even schools or > emergency services were spared. > > The funny thing is that I spent 5 years in a research project at ITS-Leed > University studying the impact of road infrastructure closures in > Colombia!!! If you want more precise details of the closures(and my > publications on this area), I can send them when I get back to the UK... my > other email address is cdunkerley@trl.co.uk > > Regards, > > Christian Dunkerley > Transport Economist > TRL Limited > > = = = = > Letter 2 from Lake Sagaris [sagaris@terra.cl] on Tue 8/7/2001 3:08 PM > > Hi Eric > > Patricio and I just got back from Bogota where we spent quite a bit of time > with the folks at TransMilenio, Ciclov?as, etc. They're doing an amazing > job in very difficult conditions. It was quite clear, however, that El > Tiempo has taken a very strong editorial line against TransMilenio itself > and that there is an enormous and very important debate going on about what > should happen with the rest of the transportation system in the city. I'm > not sure that you should be so pessimistic -- rather than a "screw up" in > Bogota, I'd characterize this as a "Crucial debate" in that it is very > important that the positive initiatives taken by authorities past and > present be recognized and receive broad and increasingly active support > from the citizens. Otherwise, in the conditions (33,000 buses!!!, not to > mention taxis, etc.) existing in Bogot? it will be very difficult to expand > the benefits of TransMilenio beyond the current 340,000 -- 1 million by > years end -- daily passenger trips (this should end up being about 1/7 of > those who move by bus, which in turn is 80% of daily commutes). > > One problem is that authorities in general and in Latin America in > particular constantly underestimate the importance of citizens' > participation and hence support for their transportation policies. They > think they can change the city without the citizens, a deadly assumption. > > If you look at the letters to the editor section of the same issue of El > tiempo which you posted, most of the letters are very sensible and express > support for "Pico y Placa" and, in general, the measures being taken by the > authorities. There is also widespread approval of TransMilenio, which is > also (miracle of miracles!!!) making money, and these are crucial elements > to the debate. > > Anyway, I may be missing something as I haven't read the papers from Bogot? > in the past week, but in general we found people on the street were also > very happy with TransMilenio. We found it was still being underestimated in > the sense of what it could do for local business (same with the Ciclov?as) > and that is an important gap, but everything takes time and it will surely > come eventually. > > All best > Lake > > PS I'm cc'ing this to you because I suspect the list won't take the new > address I'm sending from. > > At 07:26 AM 07/08/01 +0200, you wrote: > >Dear Colleagues, > > > >I would very much like to have the benefit of your reactions and thoughts > as > >to what is currently going on in Bogota. I personally and professionally > >find it extremely distressing. > > > >Have a look at today's El Tiempo at > >http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/06-08-2001/prip83036.html to get the latest. > >(I attach the usual horrible machine translation, without apologies for > >anyone who needs a bit of help in making their way through the Spanish > >text.) > > > >If you look around through the recent issues of El Tiempo, you can see this > >storm coming. And if you want a flavour for how things are looking out > >there on the streets, check out > >http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/proyectos/ultimahora/trancon/. > > > >Those of us who follow transport matters in the Third World are well aware > >of what a dynamite keg it can be. That's on the one hand. But then there > >is all the careful work that has been done over these last years to make > >progress in building a new model of r in Third World cities. If the > present > >administration gets this one any wronger, that could be the real victim of > >all this. > > > >There is an expression that I remember from German when I was little, which > >went that as soon as a child says something clever at the table it's time > to > >put him to bed. This situation reminds me sadly of that: the original Pico > >y Placa (Odd/Even) scheme of the previous (Pe?alosa) administration was > >extremely well thought out and has worked admirably with private cars for > >several years. Admirably! And now the new mayor (a fine and intelligent > >man, as it happens) and his advisors (ahem!) have decided that, since it > >works so well and they still want less traffic, well why not apply it to > >private buses and taxis? Ouch! > > > >But hey! maybe I have this all horribly wrong. I'd love to think that's the > >case and that they have really thought all this through and that the Bogota > >Model is going to come through this unscathed. > > > >Comments? > > > >Eric Britton > > > >The @New Mobility Forum is permanently at http://newmobility.org > >The Commons ___Sustainable Development and Social Justice___ > >Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France > >Eric.Britton@NewMobility.org Tel: +331 4326 1323 > > > > > > > > > >= = = = > > > >BOGOT?, ANOTHER TIME TO HALF MARCH FOR UNEMPLOYMENT OF TRANSPORT > > > >The transporters again carry out a work stoppage to protest against > extending the > Odd/Even scheme for public service vehicles. Hundreds of citizens > >crowd together in the stations of the service of the mass transport > >Transmilenio, the only one that currently works. Others carry out long > walks to > >arrive to their working place. Today there are no classes in the district > >and private schools. For the time being, there are no blockades. > > > > > >To the edge of the midnight they broke the conversations among the Mayor > >Antanas Mockus and the transporters of Bogot?, with that which was firm the > >measure of the pick and badge for the public transportation and today > Monday > >an unemployment will be presented on the part of taxis and buses in the > >capital, fair the day of its birthday number 463. > > > >With mutual accusations of intransigence, Mockus and the transporters gave > >end at eight hours of negotiation after which there were not agreements. > The > >Mayor's office asked to the from Bogot? ones not to take today buses, > >busetas, taxis or collective whose badges finish in 1, 2, 3 or 4, and the > >Metropolitan Police gets ready to make complete the restriction to the > >public transportation that began a.m. at 5:30 o'clock > > > >The drivers announced protests with the use of the call 'Operation turtle > '. > >Miguel ?ngel P?rez, spokesman of Apetrans, accused Mockus of working with " > >bad faith " in front of the union transporter, but the Minister of the > >Interior, Armando Estrada, assured to be witness of the conciliatory spirit > >of the burgomaestre. > > > >They carry to an extreme safety measures > > > >The director of the National, general Police Luis Ernesto Gilibert, noticed > >yesterday that the institution to its position already adopted the > necessary > >measures to prevent that the city is paralyzed by the transporters again. > > > >According to Gilibert, their men have the order of impeding the blockade of > >main and secondary roads of the city, and he/she said that in this occasion > >the authorities won't be consequent with the drivers. > > > >To avoid any incident, the number of agents of the Metropolitan Police was > >reinforced with troops of the Police of Highways and the Police of > >Cundinamarca. About 3.000 men travel from last night the city. > > > >Likewise, a strict control will be made to the use of radio frequencies for > >judicializar those companies that allow the drivers to use this means to > >perturb the public order. > > > >Yesterday he/she took place a safe-deposit advice in the biggest Mayor's > >office to which attended Government's secretary, Soraya Montoya; the > >commandant of the Metropolitan, general Police Jorge Enrique Linares; the > >commandant of the Unit of Traffic, colonel Pedro Molano; the commandant of > >the Tenth Third Brigade, general Reynaldo Castellanos, and the adviser for > >the security, Hugo Steel. > > > >Linares said that there are 60 control positions in the city and 40 cranes > >will be available to move away the vehicles that obstruct the roads. > > > >The objective of the advice was to review the contingency stockings that > are > >had foreseen to avoid alterations of the public order in Bogot?. Troops of > >the Army are bet around the city with the purpose of preventing that the > >guerrilla's urban militias can infiltrates in the possible manifestations > >that are carried out. > > > >Of another side, yesterday the Defender of the Town, Eduardo Cifuentes, > said > >that the taponamiento of the citizens' roads viola fundamental rights. > > > >According to the Defender, to impede the normal flow of vehicles and people > >in the city, it is an attack against the free mobilization. > > > >Cifuentes said that the drivers are in all its right of protesting provided > >they make it for the road of the I dialogue and the agreement, and not > >through measures that affect to the rest of the society. > > > >The Mayor's office announced that that of today will be an ordinary day and > >that therefore the scheduled activities are not suspended with reason of > the > >celebration of the 463 years of the capital. > > > >Even, Mockus will be at 7 in the morning in a journey for TransMilenio that > >today gives a new line of the system in the North Freeway. He/she also > >enters in operation in Portal of Usme, in the south end of the city. The > new > >stations will allow the mobilization of at least 80 thousand passengers. > > > >Recommendations > > > >Avoid to take the taxis or buses whose registrations finish in 1, 2, 3 and > >4, because the surest thing is that the authorities will immobilize him and > >you won't be able to follow their journey. > > > >To avoid that he/she repeats that of last Thursday, when children's > >thousands were caught by several hours in the blockades promoted by the > taxi > >drivers, call to the school of their children and discover if there are > >classes. > > > >Limit their activities of the day, carry out alone those that it considers > >really important. > > > >Try not to traffic for the places where they concentrate the protests, as > >downtown, for example. > > > >If it can go out with their particular vehicle, ask if some neighbor or > >relative goes for his same route and bring near it. > > > >If today's journey is not very long, use bicycle or put on comfortable > >clothes and walk. > > > >Remember that TransMilenio will lend its ordinary service, starting from > >5:30 o'clock including the new ones truncates them a.m., and park in the > >North Freeway and the Portal of Usme. > > > >In the event of an emergency, don't doubt to communicate with the Police. > > The @New Mobility Forum is permanently at http://newmobility.org > To post messages to list: newmob@egroups.com > To get off this list: newmob-unsubscribe@egroups.com > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ -- ======================================================================= Send your response to DRAFT CHARTER ON PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO SAFETY, GO TO TRIPP website http://www.iitd.ac.in/tripp/ [IMORTANT: if this server gives you trouble in sending a mail to me, you can use temporarily.] ======================================================================= Dinesh Mohan Henry Ford Professor for Biomechanics and Transportation Safety Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme Room MS 808, Main Building Indian Institute of Technology Hauz Khas New Delhi 110016 Phone: (+91 11) 659 1147 & 659 6361 FAX: (+91 11) 685 8703 & 685 1169 Home: (+91 11) 649 4910 Email: dmohan@cbme.iitd.ernet.in ======================================================================= From intlbike at ibike.org Wed Aug 8 14:58:43 2001 From: intlbike at ibike.org (David Mozer) Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 22:58:43 -0700 Subject: [sustran] Re: Heavy truck rules In-Reply-To: <3B705E39.2CA21C0B@paradise.net.nz> Message-ID: One USA group that has been involved in these issues is CRASH: a nonprofit compassionate service provider to heavy truck crash survivors and families of victims and advocates for stronger truck safety laws. www.trucksafety.org/ INTERNATIONAL BICYCLE FUND -- www.ibike.org Promoting sustainable transport and understanding worldwide. -----Original Message----- From: owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org [mailto:owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org]On Behalf Of Kerry Wood Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2001 2:32 PM To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org Subject: [sustran] Heavy truck rules Hi everybody Another information request please. The local main highway body, Transit New Zealand, is proposing revised rules to allow larger and heavier trucks on New Zealand roads, and submissions close at the end of the month. In the more radical scenario the increases are from maxima of 44 tonnes to 62 tonnes. About a sixth of the claimed benefits are for safety. They don't elaborate much, but the idea seems to be that the same goods will be carried on fewer trucks, and fewer trucks will make the roads safer. But cheaper transport (which is the whole idea) will tend to bring more transport in absolute terms, as well as more road transport because of a transfer from rail to road. Just-in-time deliveries are an issue too, and my recollection is that average loads have been falling. Has anybody got information on what happened in other countries, when larger and/or heavier trucks were permitted? Many thanks -- Kerry Wood Sustainable Transport Consulting Engineer 76 Virginia Road, Wanganui 5001, New Zealand Phone and fax (+64 6) 347 2307 Mobile 021 115 9346 From sagaris at terra.cl Wed Aug 8 22:19:01 2001 From: sagaris at terra.cl (Lake Sagaris) Date: Wed, 08 Aug 2001 09:19:01 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobility] Finding a win-win strategy for Bogota In-Reply-To: <3B70CD44.E06BFA95@cbme.iitd.ernet.in> References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20010808091607.030f49b0@127.0.0.1> Hi Eric and everyone on the list (I'm reposting this because it didn't go through yesterday) Your observations are interesting and worthwhile, although I'd like to clarify a few points. On El Tiempo, I was referring to their incredibly biased coverage (Banner headlines "Chaos is coming!" in reference to the August 6th expansion of TransMilenio) while we were in Bogota. (I worked as a foreign correspondent for 20 years before switching to translation two years back, so have some sense of fair and biased ways of handling controversy in the media). This was primarily in another paper owned by the same group, although there were several articles in El Tiempo itself and I was amazed at how one-sided it was. Both Pato and I thought that probably one of the most important successes of Transmilenio was the fact that not only has it created what we consider a "metro-quality" (ie first rate, egalitarian transport for all) means of transportation, it has done so by working with private bus firms. We see this as being of incredible importance because of the highly fragmented structure of bus ownership in Santiago and indeed most Latin American cities. There's not much point in simply blaming the buses for the poor quality of public transport -- they are primarily PYMEs, the small and medium-sized firms that are so in fashion today because they create employment etc. What Transmilenio did, however, which may end up being its most significant contribution was to restructure the way private ownership functions, and that constitutes a breakthrough for all of us grappling with these issues in this continent. The reason there is such strong anti-bus sentiment in most Latin American cities comes from a variety of sources. Undoubtedly, the resentment is fueled by the fact that the buses are in such bad shape, are involved in a disproportionate number of serious, crippling and fatal accidents, and as a system treat their basically captive customers very poorly. This does not endear a system to its users, potential or actual. Users have not only the right, but the obligation to criticize and from there go on to demand and work for improvements to the buses they are forced to ride in. This is where much of the anti-bus sentiment comes from, because it is the overwhelming perception of the system -- and it corresponds to reality (unfortunately, for all us bus advocates, because there are some wonderful things about buses in LA, mainly related to short waiting times, because the coverage is so high). That said, one of the points we have brought up often is that it makes no sense for the public works ministry or other governmental bodies to be willing to subsidize a single highway project like the Costanera Norte to the tune of US$120 million, then turn around and say there's no money for public transit, as has happened in Santiago in recent years. Our local proposals include the idea of taxi lanes to bring customers to restaurants in Bellavista, for example, precisely because of their importance to the local economy (many of our residents -- ie members of Living City -- are taxi owners/drivers) and because while taxis may not be as efficient as buses on some levels, they are more practical for some uses and more efficient than having the area overrun with people trying to park during rush periods. They are also a practical alternative when linked to our market areas, where again they are an essential part of our urban ecology and economy. By the way, I don't think your comments on the "us" and "them" dichotomy or characterizing people as "suits" vs. "non-suits" is very helpful, to be honest, at least not in the Latin American context. We don't think like that at Living City and that doesn't strike me as the attitude we have found among transport engineers, urban planners and others we have ended up working with over the years. (It is in fact amazing who wears suits and who doesn't in these cultures.) And virtually everybody uses buses (60-80%), with a lot of working and poor people using bicycles... So bike lanes are extremely important to improving equality through transport mechanisms. We thought that one of the weaknesses of the TransMilenium and bike lanes approach used in Bogota was the lack of integration of small and medium-scale local commerce, which is extremely important to creating thriving economies, especially in the cities of Latin America. The bike lanes in Bogota have created an incredible network of mobile stands offering juice to people out on their bikes on Sundays, but small caf?s (with some exceptions) and other commerce were mostly closed. This is good from the mental health point of view, no doubt, as everyone has a right to rest, but poor because it keeps the road-as-the-place-for-bikes approach restricted to bikes-for-fun, rather than bikes-for-serious-urban transportation, which is where many many people would like to see them. Bikes, in flat cities like Santiago, are an excellent option for moving young people to and from school and, if organized well, can improve safety levels on streets. Anyway, these are a few thoughts based on our recent visit and these comments. I would add that we're not really into looking for "models" to bring home and try on whole (most people are pretty fed up with the economic "model" that has been forced down peoples' throats over the past 20 years), but rather looking at, and learning from the experience of other cities, particularly those facing similar challenges. Again, we thought that Bogota has made a major contribution by overcoming the private vs. public administration models and offers a breakthrough in that sense -- if individual bus owners can be brought together so as to make some management of the system possible. That would create win-win situation for everyone. Best Lake -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20010808/280575fb/attachment.htm From kisansbc at vsnl.com Sun Aug 12 20:41:00 2001 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (kisan) Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 17:11:00 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Anti Spam restrictions from VSNL Message-ID: <005201c12323$a99f4720$e34fc5cb@u9w6e4> Dear Shri Tiwari, Your directions to restrict a single message to maximum 15 addresses appears to be not only unusual but illegal. How can you decide on the no. of recipients when many of your clients are accustomed to discuss with many parties on the same subject at the same time.. For instance, I am involved in UNDP programme where I am supposed to reach out to many more. We are subscribing to networks where the membership of each of them exceeds a 100. We wish you had understood that such bureaucratic decisions are against the VSNL interest.. You are cutting down world class services. And what advantage will your users derive from such restriction. I was not informed at the time of my taking VSNL connection. We oppose your illegal instructions which restrict our right to remain in touch with large groups and networks. Please withdraw such senseless restrictions. ----- Original Message ----- From: Shri.K.P.Tiwari To: Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2001 8:25 PM Subject: Anti Spam restrictions from VSNL > > > Dear Users > > VSNL in its endeavor to provide you world class Internet services is > continuously upgrading and enhancing its service offerings. In this effort > VSNL has recently implemented anti spamming policies in its server. This > has been done in order to reduce the number of junk mails so far being > received by the users. Some of the steps in this direction are: > > 1. Restricting max number of recipients per mail to 15 i.e. in any > mail users can define maximum of 15 users in To, Cc and Bcc combined. > > 2. Dialup users will be able to send mails only using VSNL email id > and dialing VSNL number only. > > > We would also take this opportunity to request all users, not to send any > unsolicited commercials mails to others. In case VSNL receives complaint > against any email id, the account may be terminated. > > During implementation of these anti-spam policies, it has come to our > notice that some users who were using some other email id are now not able > to send mails through VSNL's server. All such users are requested to > change the "From" address to the VSNL email-id. > > Alternatively you may subscribe to the VSNL's recently launched V-MAIL > services. This lets you send unlimited mails using your own domain name. > The details are available at our site http://internet.vsnl.com/vmail > > We solicit your co-operation in providing you world-class trouble free > service. > > Regards > K P Tiwari > Director (O) I/C > From pendakur at interchange.ubc.ca Sun Aug 12 21:35:00 2001 From: pendakur at interchange.ubc.ca (pendakur@interchange.ubc.ca) Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 05:35:00 -0700 Subject: [sustran] Anti Spam restrictions from VSNL Message-ID: <7436719.997619700165.JavaMail.portal@regi2> Surprising that that ISP should take such an attitude. I would have thought it normal for a government babu to think like this. But the "Babu" lives in many bodies!! This is a mistake. Please cancel this restriction and simply move on. Cheers. Dr. V. Setty Pendakur, Canada. -----Original Message----- > Date: Sun Aug 12 04:41:00 GMT-07:00 2001 > From: kisan > Subject: [sustran] Re: Anti Spam restrictions from VSNL > To: helpdesk@vsnl.com > > Dear Shri Tiwari, > > Your directions to restrict a single message to maximum 15 addresses appears > to be not only unusual but illegal. How can you decide on the no. of > recipients when many of your clients are accustomed to discuss with many > parties on the same subject at the same time.. For instance, I am involved > in UNDP programme where I am supposed to reach out to many more. We are > subscribing to networks where the membership of each of them exceeds a 100. > We wish you had understood that such bureaucratic decisions are against the > VSNL interest.. You are cutting down world class services. > > And what advantage will your users derive from such restriction. I was not > informed at the time of my taking VSNL connection. We oppose your illegal > instructions which restrict our right to remain in touch with large groups > and networks. Please withdraw such senseless restrictions. > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Shri.K.P.Tiwari > To: > Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2001 8:25 PM > Subject: Anti Spam restrictions from VSNL > > > > > > > > Dear Users > > > > VSNL in its endeavor to provide you world class Internet services is > > continuously upgrading and enhancing its service offerings. In this effort > > VSNL has recently implemented anti spamming policies in its server. This > > has been done in order to reduce the number of junk mails so far being > > received by the users. Some of the steps in this direction are: > > > > 1. Restricting max number of recipients per mail to 15 i.e. in any > > mail users can define maximum of 15 users in To, Cc and Bcc combined. > > > > 2. Dialup users will be able to send mails only using VSNL email id > > and dialing VSNL number only. > > > > > > We would also take this opportunity to request all users, not to send any > > unsolicited commercials mails to others. In case VSNL receives complaint > > against any email id, the account may be terminated. > > > > During implementation of these anti-spam policies, it has come to our > > notice that some users who were using some other email id are now not able > > to send mails through VSNL's server. All such users are requested to > > change the "From" address to the VSNL email-id. > > > > Alternatively you may subscribe to the VSNL's recently launched V-MAIL > > services. This lets you send unlimited mails using your own domain name. > > The details are available at our site http://internet.vsnl.com/vmail > > > > We solicit your co-operation in providing you world-class trouble free > > service. > > > > Regards > > K P Tiwari > > Director (O) I/C > > > From kisansbc at vsnl.com Mon Aug 13 10:44:05 2001 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (kisan) Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 07:14:05 +0530 Subject: [sustran] : Urgent Info Request: ADB and Waste Incineration References: <003301c11fe5$78bcde60$0200a8c0@gaia2> Message-ID: <000d01c12399$7107f580$1f37c5cb@u9w6e4> Dear Gaia and etoxic colleagues, Apologies for responding to your Gaia One request after the cut off date. You agree that it is better late than never. So this message. I am including our colleagues in the Sustran because it was with this group that I had occasion to meet the ADB officials a couple of years ago. I know that our Sustran colleagues are equally interested in developing sustainable programmes that affect the poor the least. We all talk of poverty alievation but do the otherwise. In response to my letter earlier to Dr Heckler opposing the ADB promoting incineration and `burn all' gadgets, he had appreciated our Integrated Solid Waste Management Programme (ISWMP) and promised to write again however that opportunity of knowing as to how the ADB will support sustainable programmes never came as he has not written again as assured. For the developing (frankly poor) countries, the most critical issue is the paucity of financial resources. Multilateral financial agencies like the World Bank, IMF and of course the ADB pump in large loans that poor countries find it difficult to pay back. Though some of these loans are extended at very low interest, burden of interest on people becomes very heavy as high government costs, corruption, favouritism etc increase the burden. It is this burden that breaks the back of the poor. The state selects programmes that gives them credit but no help to the poor. The multilateral agencies do not extend loans to NGOs for carrying out really sustainable programmes of long term interest to the people. They have started giving loans to private sector but no help to citizen groups. The WB President Mr Wolfensohn categrorically refused support to NGOs in our meeting with him. As Dr Heckler accepted that the ISWMP was interesting, would the ADB support NGOs to implement it to assure jobs as well as respect to poor rag pickers who would lose all chance of living if the `burn all' comes up with the ADB support? Philipines and all Asian, African and Latin American countries have sizeable population at `below the poverty line' level. The poor will ensure higher level of cleanliness and regard for environment and public health than the higher ups and `burn all' programmes. In discussion with the ADB then, I had drawn their attention to a number of road-expressway- programmes in the Western India which were likely to affect the environment. The ADB officers in discussion with us first pleaded that the ADB was not involved with any assistance for expressways. Then they changed over to saying that expressway assistance was handled by another ADB Dept with which they have no connection. In response to our persistent insistence, they were good enough to assure that they would contact us after consulting their colleagues. This was in 1997. We have not heard anything till today. In the meantime, the expressway from Mumbai to Ahmedabad is fast coming up. In a patch of 60 km distance, the authorities cut down over 70,000 trees even before the road alignment was finalised. Clear felling of 100 year old trees within 15 metre distance either side of present alignment took place. Now the expressway, under construction, at some points pass through distances far off so fresh cutting of trees. The Govt of India does not allow (it claims) cutting of trees in forests however they permit cutting when a project is backed by multilateral agencies. Can we not ask as to why it should support any project where the environment is affected and where finite natural resources are destroyed beyond redemption? Would the ADB insist on involving people in projects itproposes to support? Can we not ask the ADB to evaluate viable alternatives from the point of burden on the people, susatainability, involvement of the poor in implementing the projects while considering and supporting wasteful state projects? Is this system is carried out and full degree of transparency maintained, then `burn all' programmes will disqualify for loans from them. We all talk of transparency. citizens have a stake in programmes and yet they are not involved. Will the ADB ensure total transparency in its functioning as well as of borrowers with their citizens? Easy liquidity of money emboldens the states to ask for more loans without realising that every loan is aburden on people and not on the politicians. Best wishes for successful and effective discussion with the ADB President and his colleagues. Kisan Mehta mailto:kisansbc@vsnl.com. . ----- Original Message ----- From: One-GAIA To: csaro@forum.org.kh ; Berrie Straatman ; Paul Tobiason ; Miranda Yip ; Perry Yam ; thanal@md4.vsnl.net.in ; Madhumita Dutta ; Toxics Link Delhi ; ravig@de16.vsnl.net.in ; kisansbc@vsnl.com ; waste21@chollian.net ; ?????? ; mannaza@hanmail.net ; Kim Eun-Kyung ; ?????? ; Mageswari Sangaralingam ; laltin@hotmail.com ; mingma ; Asma Hussain ; priscy@edsamail.com.ph ; Sasanka Dev Disha ; manu gopalan ; azastigor@yahoo.com ; kpbb ; Nur Hidayati ; Koa Tasaka ; Kawana Hideyuki ; Ayako SEKINE ; QZG07170@nifty.ne.jp ; rei-sato@hh.iij4u.or.jp ; Sonia Mendoza ; motherearth@surfshop.net.ph ; Planet Earth ; George Cheng ; g6438@ms26.hinet.net ; Jian Zhi Chen ; mepu@pchome.com.tw ; Penchom Tang ; varoon@dialb.greenpeace.org ; Tara Buakamsri ; nbinh@nea.gov.vn ; Warren Snow ; Leslie B ; gaia.sec@surfshop.net.ph ; Mohan Mainali Cc: Ann Leonard ; Neil Tangri ; marcia@essential.org ; Olinca Marino ; Bobby Peek ; Jindrich Petrlik ; Madhumita Dutta ; Von Hernandez ; Jim Puckett ; S. Altamira Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2001 1:50 PM Subject: Urgent Info Request: ADB and Waste Incineration Dear Friends, Greetings from the GAIA Secretariat. We are pleased to inform you that Dr. Jorge Emmanuel will meet officials of the Asian Development Bank next week on 15 August 2001, 3:00 pm at the ADB Headquarters here in the Philippines. The meeting was initiated by the GAIA Secretariat and facilitated by the Partnership for Clean Air (an ADB-civil society forum). We were informed this morning by a bank staff that Mr. Tadao Chino, ADB President, will probably attend the said meeting where Dr. Emmanuel is expected to make a presentation on non-burn approaches to waste management. Dr. Emmanuel, as some of you may know, is a US-based environmental consultant, chemical engineer and chemist specializing in the management of hazardous and bio-hazardous waste, including the testing and evaluation of medical waste treatment technologies. He has been a consultant to Health Care Without Harm (a global coalition campaigning for environmentally responsible health care) and several hospitals and biomedical laboratories in the USA. He will be in the Philippines for a 5-day speaking engagement to discuss with health and environment officials, hospital administrators, facility managers and NGO activists about non-incineration medical waste disposal methods. His trip is organized by Greenpeace Southeast Asia. We write to seek your URGENT ADVICE as regards issues and cases that we should raise to the attention of the ADB President and his colleagues. In particular, we need information pertaining to any ADB-assisted or funded waste incineration projects in Asia and the Pacific and what local communities and groups are saying about these projects. We need the information by 11 AUGUST 2001 at the latest. We apologize for the rush. The meeting was only confirmed today. Thank you for your immediate reply. Best wishes. -------------------------------------------------------- Manny C. Calonzo GAIA Secretariat Unit 320, Eagle Court Condominium 26 Matalino St., Barangay Central Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Tel. + 632 9290376 Tel/Fax: +632 4364733 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20010813/39f82299/attachment.htm From pendakur at interchange.ubc.ca Mon Aug 13 23:29:22 2001 From: pendakur at interchange.ubc.ca (Dr. V. S. Pendakur) Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 07:29:22 -0700 Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobility] Finding a win-win strategy for Bogota References: <3B70CD44.E06BFA95@cbme.iitd.ernet.in> Message-ID: <013a01c12406$7a1e62e0$845e17cf@novustelecom.net> Hi, Dinesh. Good point. We are planning to be in India during November-December 2001. Tentatively, we will visit delhi for a few days. Hope you will be in town and will have a chance to meet. Best wishes. Setty. ----- Original Message ----- From: Dinesh Mohan To: Cc: ; Lake Sagaris ; Oscar Edmundo Diaz ; ; Z UTSG Mailing List - ; Christian Dunkerley Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2001 10:25 PM Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobility] Finding a win-win strategy for Bogota > I must say that I agree with the spirit behind Eric's observations. All of us > want clean air. But sometimes we forget that it is human beings (and other > living organisms) that need the clean air. If some policies harm human beings > then we have to decide who, when and how. In many less motorised countries the > most vociferous and influential sustainable development advocates belong to the > upper class, and their bias shows: > > 1. They are willing to pass laws to shut down workshops and factories in > cities, limit traffic, make public transport more expensive (by requiring more > expensive technonolgy), etc. because they have to breathe the same air as every > one else. But hey don't really care if thousands of poorer citizens lose their > jobs, go hungry or are forced to migrate. > > 2. On the other hand, the same concerned activists rarely demand that every > one must get clean and bacteria free water in their taps (if and when they get > it) because the upperclass can afford to buy bottled water. > > From my experience in India, letters to newspapers only represent upper > class views. Street protests reflect the views of the "other". I am afraid the > "other " does not see our views as benign. Citizens hearings in Delhi have > brought ot the fact that some of our clean air policies have made life > difficult for hundreds of thousands, many of them have pulled thier children out > of school, others have sent their familiesd back to villages, still others are > forced into prostitution, and so on. They certainly don't believe that we want a > better world. > > Sustainable transport policies will have to keep human beings in the centre and > not just chemically clean air. > > Dinesh Mohan > > > > eric.britton@ecoplan.org wrote: > > > * (This note contains the earlier correspondence on the Bogota crisis of the > > last day's, placed here for those who have not had access to it. For the > > latest direct, check out http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/. For history, try > > http://www.ecoplan.org/votebogota2000/.) > > > > Dear Lake, Christopher and Group, > > > > Thanks for those fine heads-up Christopher and Lake. Let me run this > > through you and the others as I understand it. Since it is quite possible > > that I am at error in some part if not all of this, it will be with pleasure > > to hear from you all so that we get this important story in its full and > > necessary perspective. And at the same time, we have to be aware that time > > is very short here if there is anything that we might do to attenuate this > > situation. > > > > 1. Wow! One does has to wonder about what goes on in the mind of > > purportedly sentient person in a Third World city who would be prepared to > > take on the couple of hundred thousand people who work in the private bus > > and taxi sector. History is littered with the corpses of those who have > > tried, whether in Chile, in Colombia itself a decade and a half before > > Salvador Allende has his face-off with the truckers, or... and the list goes > > on. > > > > 2. We must be careful to keep a balanced perspective on all this. The > > transportation and public space accomplishments of the city and its > > administrators over these last few years have been of a very high levels, > > and against all the odds. I think we have given excellent coverage of this > > here in The Commons, as well as our active, world-level support. No problem > > there. We love Bogota and we love certainly no less the emerging Bogota > > Model for Third World Cities. But we also need to be very sure that we have > > the right model, and that as we are seeing is a terrific challenge indeed. > > Work for which many hands are needed! > > > > 3. I would tend to be very careful however about seeing this as an "us" > > (good TransMilenio, bike paths, walking and pubic spaces, Ciclov?as (car > > free Sundays), and all that other good stuff) and "them" (all those filthy, > > polluting, half criminal, dangerous and the list goes on vehicles) issue. > > This is however, I am afraid, the sub-text of what has been going on in > > Bogota more or less all along- and is on area in which I was in strong > > opposition with previous administration (but apparently without being > > vociferous enough about it to make my point). > > > > 4. By the way, let's ponder for a moment who's the "them" there. Let's > > see -- bearing in mind that these are very rough figures since the actual > > number of vehicles out there on the streets is subject to all kinds fo real > > world stuff - we have something like 55,000 taxis and 35,000 or so buses of > > various types and sizes. Figure anywhere from 3 to 5 support people (AKA > > jobs) for each of those vehicles, and we quickly are moving up toward half a > > million. Then factor in families of 3, 4 or more dependents? Hey, that's a > > pretty big number of people to be playing with. Working people with no > > safety net. > > > > 5. The point needs to be made about these operators that there is nothing > > superfluous about the services they are providing. While they maybe didn't > > get doctorates in transportation planning from some splendid First World > > schools, they nonetheless are succeeding in providing services that people > > want and are willing to pay for - without the great sucking sound of public > > subsidy. > > > > 6. Is this to say that the transport planners and the city do not have a > > point? Of course they do -- there are a real set of problems and challenges > > out there that have to be resolved. There are, for example, a lot of empty > > buses roaming around once the peak hour traffic has passed, and sure that's > > a problem. And they are old and pollute in FULL CAPS. And they run > > illegally pretty much as they wish. And and... But there are ways, and > > there are ways. > > > > 7. I for one was looking forward to resolving these dangerous contradictions > > with careful discussions and well thought out positions before going to bat > > on this one. It had been my hope (and I guess it still is) to create a High > > Level Task Force, whose job it would be to work with, follow and advice the > > city and all those concerned about their transport-related policies over the > > 15 year period which has been targeted by the successful October Referendum > > (which as you ay recall we vociferously and with high profile supported from > > here). But months have passed and there is still no Task Force in sight. > > > > 8. This next sentence, you either go with or you don't. In the latter > > instance, there is surely no reason to read beyond it. > > > > 9. The future of transport in Third World cities must (MUST!) take the form > > of a dynamic, innovative, and patient partnership that brings together "new" > > concepts such as the TransMilenio, waling and cycling as transport, in > > parallel with a steady upgrading and INCLUSION of the very large number of > > people and small groups who today are making their livings and providing > > needed services in the city. > > > > 10. Anything less than that will be a victory for the authoritarian central > > planners and a defeat for access, efficiency and social justice. The problem > > with folks who learned everything they know about life in universities and > > then get nice jobs in administrations or as consultants, is that they very > > often don't know much about life on the street. Nor apparently much about > > concepts such as love, community, responsibilities to family and dignity. > > And yet these are central issues here. > > > > 11. You see, people such as the taxistas and small bus operators have to be > > seen as OWNING THEIR JOBS, which means that we as advisors or administrators > > cannot simply take them away from them. Nor introduce unilateral and large > > changes in their working environment, without some sort of tit for tat. And > > where's the tit for tat in Bogota today? > > > > 12. The weakness of the Transmilenio et al plan until now is that it > > presumes a certain vision of the future of the city which is essentially > > cloistered, academic and unreal. It has its strong points, and its weaker > > points. And this is probably the weakest of all. > > > > 13. What Bogota needs (if I may) is a well thought out network of TMs, cycle > > paths and the rest, plus draconian parking and private car control > > limitations plus lots of small vehicles scooting around providing cheap and > > flexible transportation for people of all economic groups - and lots of good > > jobs! The potential for upgrading these private systems is enormous and > > many sided. > > > > 14. And are the people who are the drivers, operators, owners, etc. easy to > > work with? You bet they aren't! Life is tough out there on the street and > > most of the time they meet a guy in a suit it's because the suited one is > > going to make things worse for them. And here, dear friends, we have one > > more example. > > > > 15. I am dead sure that this whole thing can be resolved, but the first step > > in this process has to be wisdom and not wounded honor. And it has to be > > taken by the administration. > > > > 16. Mayor Mockus has a terrific opportunity here. At the same time while > > backing away from their ill planned (and rotten) idea of extending the Pico > > y Placa by fiat, he can first declare a hiatus, let the guys get back to > > work in a normal way, while announcing that the government is now ready to > > enter into a New Mobility Partnership with the small service providers - > > with the backing (if it can be done in the needed hurry, if only in > > principle as a first step) of folks such as the UNDP, WB, IADB and the other > > usual suspects.. including bilateral aid programs. > > > > By doing this they will snatch victory out of the jaws of the defeat which > > they are sure to meet if they keep playing for the win at all costs. Hey, > > this is a great opportunity for them, and for the Bogota Model. So, what do > > you have to say about that? And what can we do with this next? > > > > Eric > > > > PS. Incidentally, I have a hard time in agreeing with your criticism, Lake, > > of El Tiempo's coverage. Let's not forget they have been consistent > > supporters of positive transport innovation over these last years, including > > for the first (and second) award winning Car Free Day. If they are not > > lining up behind the planners, does this necessarily mean that they are > > wrong or mean spirited? I doubt it on both scores. I have checked carefully, > > including today, and find the coverage quite balanced and fair. > > > > = = = = = > > Letter 1 from Christian Dunkerley from Bogota on Mon 8/6/2001 10:56 PM > > > > Dear Eric, > > > > I am writing to you from an internet cafe in Bogota... I was caught in the > > mess on Thursday, and the blockage was massive. In fact, it was the worst > > that Bogota has experienced in its entire life. Most of the main > > intersections and roads were blocked. Rich and poor had to walk: there was > > no other way out. It was very democratic: everyone was affected. In my > > case, I had to walk around 6 miles to get back home. Not even schools or > > emergency services were spared. > > > > The funny thing is that I spent 5 years in a research project at ITS-Leed > > University studying the impact of road infrastructure closures in > > Colombia!!! If you want more precise details of the closures(and my > > publications on this area), I can send them when I get back to the UK... my > > other email address is cdunkerley@trl.co.uk > > > > Regards, > > > > Christian Dunkerley > > Transport Economist > > TRL Limited > > > > = = = = > > Letter 2 from Lake Sagaris [sagaris@terra.cl] on Tue 8/7/2001 3:08 PM > > > > Hi Eric > > > > Patricio and I just got back from Bogota where we spent quite a bit of time > > with the folks at TransMilenio, Ciclov?as, etc. They're doing an amazing > > job in very difficult conditions. It was quite clear, however, that El > > Tiempo has taken a very strong editorial line against TransMilenio itself > > and that there is an enormous and very important debate going on about what > > should happen with the rest of the transportation system in the city. I'm > > not sure that you should be so pessimistic -- rather than a "screw up" in > > Bogota, I'd characterize this as a "Crucial debate" in that it is very > > important that the positive initiatives taken by authorities past and > > present be recognized and receive broad and increasingly active support > > from the citizens. Otherwise, in the conditions (33,000 buses!!!, not to > > mention taxis, etc.) existing in Bogot? it will be very difficult to expand > > the benefits of TransMilenio beyond the current 340,000 -- 1 million by > > years end -- daily passenger trips (this should end up being about 1/7 of > > those who move by bus, which in turn is 80% of daily commutes). > > > > One problem is that authorities in general and in Latin America in > > particular constantly underestimate the importance of citizens' > > participation and hence support for their transportation policies. They > > think they can change the city without the citizens, a deadly assumption. > > > > If you look at the letters to the editor section of the same issue of El > > tiempo which you posted, most of the letters are very sensible and express > > support for "Pico y Placa" and, in general, the measures being taken by the > > authorities. There is also widespread approval of TransMilenio, which is > > also (miracle of miracles!!!) making money, and these are crucial elements > > to the debate. > > > > Anyway, I may be missing something as I haven't read the papers from Bogot? > > in the past week, but in general we found people on the street were also > > very happy with TransMilenio. We found it was still being underestimated in > > the sense of what it could do for local business (same with the Ciclov?as) > > and that is an important gap, but everything takes time and it will surely > > come eventually. > > > > All best > > Lake > > > > PS I'm cc'ing this to you because I suspect the list won't take the new > > address I'm sending from. > > > > At 07:26 AM 07/08/01 +0200, you wrote: > > >Dear Colleagues, > > > > > >I would very much like to have the benefit of your reactions and thoughts > > as > > >to what is currently going on in Bogota. I personally and professionally > > >find it extremely distressing. > > > > > >Have a look at today's El Tiempo at > > >http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/06-08-2001/prip83036.html to get the latest. > > >(I attach the usual horrible machine translation, without apologies for > > >anyone who needs a bit of help in making their way through the Spanish > > >text.) > > > > > >If you look around through the recent issues of El Tiempo, you can see this > > >storm coming. And if you want a flavour for how things are looking out > > >there on the streets, check out > > >http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/proyectos/ultimahora/trancon/. > > > > > >Those of us who follow transport matters in the Third World are well aware > > >of what a dynamite keg it can be. That's on the one hand. But then there > > >is all the careful work that has been done over these last years to make > > >progress in building a new model of r in Third World cities. If the > > present > > >administration gets this one any wronger, that could be the real victim of > > >all this. > > > > > >There is an expression that I remember from German when I was little, which > > >went that as soon as a child says something clever at the table it's time > > to > > >put him to bed. This situation reminds me sadly of that: the original Pico > > >y Placa (Odd/Even) scheme of the previous (Pe?alosa) administration was > > >extremely well thought out and has worked admirably with private cars for > > >several years. Admirably! And now the new mayor (a fine and intelligent > > >man, as it happens) and his advisors (ahem!) have decided that, since it > > >works so well and they still want less traffic, well why not apply it to > > >private buses and taxis? Ouch! > > > > > >But hey! maybe I have this all horribly wrong. I'd love to think that's the > > >case and that they have really thought all this through and that the Bogota > > >Model is going to come through this unscathed. > > > > > >Comments? > > > > > >Eric Britton > > > > > >The @New Mobility Forum is permanently at http://newmobility.org > > >The Commons ___Sustainable Development and Social Justice___ > > >Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France > > >Eric.Britton@NewMobility.org Tel: +331 4326 1323 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >= = = = > > > > > >BOGOT?, ANOTHER TIME TO HALF MARCH FOR UNEMPLOYMENT OF TRANSPORT > > > > > >The transporters again carry out a work stoppage to protest against > > extending the > > Odd/Even scheme for public service vehicles. Hundreds of citizens > > >crowd together in the stations of the service of the mass transport > > >Transmilenio, the only one that currently works. Others carry out long > > walks to > > >arrive to their working place. Today there are no classes in the district > > >and private schools. For the time being, there are no blockades. > > > > > > > > >To the edge of the midnight they broke the conversations among the Mayor > > >Antanas Mockus and the transporters of Bogot?, with that which was firm the > > >measure of the pick and badge for the public transportation and today > > Monday > > >an unemployment will be presented on the part of taxis and buses in the > > >capital, fair the day of its birthday number 463. > > > > > >With mutual accusations of intransigence, Mockus and the transporters gave > > >end at eight hours of negotiation after which there were not agreements. > > The > > >Mayor's office asked to the from Bogot? ones not to take today buses, > > >busetas, taxis or collective whose badges finish in 1, 2, 3 or 4, and the > > >Metropolitan Police gets ready to make complete the restriction to the > > >public transportation that began a.m. at 5:30 o'clock > > > > > >The drivers announced protests with the use of the call 'Operation turtle > > '. > > >Miguel ?ngel P?rez, spokesman of Apetrans, accused Mockus of working with " > > >bad faith " in front of the union transporter, but the Minister of the > > >Interior, Armando Estrada, assured to be witness of the conciliatory spirit > > >of the burgomaestre. > > > > > >They carry to an extreme safety measures > > > > > >The director of the National, general Police Luis Ernesto Gilibert, noticed > > >yesterday that the institution to its position already adopted the > > necessary > > >measures to prevent that the city is paralyzed by the transporters again. > > > > > >According to Gilibert, their men have the order of impeding the blockade of > > >main and secondary roads of the city, and he/she said that in this occasion > > >the authorities won't be consequent with the drivers. > > > > > >To avoid any incident, the number of agents of the Metropolitan Police was > > >reinforced with troops of the Police of Highways and the Police of > > >Cundinamarca. About 3.000 men travel from last night the city. > > > > > >Likewise, a strict control will be made to the use of radio frequencies for > > >judicializar those companies that allow the drivers to use this means to > > >perturb the public order. > > > > > >Yesterday he/she took place a safe-deposit advice in the biggest Mayor's > > >office to which attended Government's secretary, Soraya Montoya; the > > >commandant of the Metropolitan, general Police Jorge Enrique Linares; the > > >commandant of the Unit of Traffic, colonel Pedro Molano; the commandant of > > >the Tenth Third Brigade, general Reynaldo Castellanos, and the adviser for > > >the security, Hugo Steel. > > > > > >Linares said that there are 60 control positions in the city and 40 cranes > > >will be available to move away the vehicles that obstruct the roads. > > > > > >The objective of the advice was to review the contingency stockings that > > are > > >had foreseen to avoid alterations of the public order in Bogot?. Troops of > > >the Army are bet around the city with the purpose of preventing that the > > >guerrilla's urban militias can infiltrates in the possible manifestations > > >that are carried out. > > > > > >Of another side, yesterday the Defender of the Town, Eduardo Cifuentes, > > said > > >that the taponamiento of the citizens' roads viola fundamental rights. > > > > > >According to the Defender, to impede the normal flow of vehicles and people > > >in the city, it is an attack against the free mobilization. > > > > > >Cifuentes said that the drivers are in all its right of protesting provided > > >they make it for the road of the I dialogue and the agreement, and not > > >through measures that affect to the rest of the society. > > > > > >The Mayor's office announced that that of today will be an ordinary day and > > >that therefore the scheduled activities are not suspended with reason of > > the > > >celebration of the 463 years of the capital. > > > > > >Even, Mockus will be at 7 in the morning in a journey for TransMilenio that > > >today gives a new line of the system in the North Freeway. He/she also > > >enters in operation in Portal of Usme, in the south end of the city. The > > new > > >stations will allow the mobilization of at least 80 thousand passengers. > > > > > >Recommendations > > > > > >Avoid to take the taxis or buses whose registrations finish in 1, 2, 3 and > > >4, because the surest thing is that the authorities will immobilize him and > > >you won't be able to follow their journey. > > > > > >To avoid that he/she repeats that of last Thursday, when children's > > >thousands were caught by several hours in the blockades promoted by the > > taxi > > >drivers, call to the school of their children and discover if there are > > >classes. > > > > > >Limit their activities of the day, carry out alone those that it considers > > >really important. > > > > > >Try not to traffic for the places where they concentrate the protests, as > > >downtown, for example. > > > > > >If it can go out with their particular vehicle, ask if some neighbor or > > >relative goes for his same route and bring near it. > > > > > >If today's journey is not very long, use bicycle or put on comfortable > > >clothes and walk. > > > > > >Remember that TransMilenio will lend its ordinary service, starting from > > >5:30 o'clock including the new ones truncates them a.m., and park in the > > >North Freeway and the Portal of Usme. > > > > > >In the event of an emergency, don't doubt to communicate with the Police. > > > > The @New Mobility Forum is permanently at http://newmobility.org > > To post messages to list: newmob@egroups.com > > To get off this list: newmob-unsubscribe@egroups.com > > > > > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > > -- > > > ======================================================================= > Send your response to DRAFT CHARTER ON PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO SAFETY, GO TO > TRIPP website http://www.iitd.ac.in/tripp/ > > [IMORTANT: if this server gives you trouble in sending a mail to me, > you can use temporarily.] > ======================================================================= > Dinesh Mohan > Henry Ford Professor for Biomechanics and Transportation Safety > Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme > Room MS 808, Main Building > Indian Institute of Technology > Hauz Khas > New Delhi 110016 > > Phone: (+91 11) 659 1147 & 659 6361 > FAX: (+91 11) 685 8703 & 685 1169 > Home: (+91 11) 649 4910 > Email: dmohan@cbme.iitd.ernet.in > ======================================================================= > > > From esg at bgl.vsnl.net.in Tue Aug 14 21:34:06 2001 From: esg at bgl.vsnl.net.in (ESG) Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 18:04:06 +0530 Subject: [sustran] ESG Release: Indian Ministry of Environment shirks responsibility in reviewing massive environmental and social impacts of Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project In-Reply-To: <013a01c12406$7a1e62e0$845e17cf@novustelecom.net> References: <3B70CD44.E06BFA95@cbme.iitd.ernet.in> Message-ID: <5.0.0.25.1.20010814180127.00a76eb0@202.54.12.47> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20010814/43bcf25e/attachment.htm From dmohan at cbme.iitd.ernet.in Wed Aug 15 15:30:19 2001 From: dmohan at cbme.iitd.ernet.in (Dinesh Mohan) Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 12:00:19 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobility] Finding a win-win strategy for Bogota References: <3B70CD44.E06BFA95@cbme.iitd.ernet.in> <013a01c12406$7a1e62e0$845e17cf@novustelecom.net> Message-ID: <3B7A16FA.B3B1395@cbme.iitd.ernet.in> Great! Do get in touch just before arrival. Dinesh Dr. V. S. Pendakur wrote: > Hi, Dinesh. Good point. > > We are planning to be in India during November-December 2001. Tentatively, we > will visit delhi for a few days. Hope you will be in town and will have a > chance to meet. > > Best wishes. Setty. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Dinesh Mohan > To: > Cc: ; Lake Sagaris ; Oscar > Edmundo Diaz ; ; Z UTSG > Mailing List - ; Christian Dunkerley > > Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2001 10:25 PM > Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobility] Finding a win-win strategy for Bogota > > > I must say that I agree with the spirit behind Eric's observations. All of us > > want clean air. But sometimes we forget that it is human beings (and other > > living organisms) that need the clean air. If some policies harm human beings > > then we have to decide who, when and how. In many less motorised countries the > > most vociferous and influential sustainable development advocates belong to > the > > upper class, and their bias shows: > > > > 1. They are willing to pass laws to shut down workshops and factories in > > cities, limit traffic, make public transport more expensive (by requiring more > > expensive technonolgy), etc. because they have to breathe the same air as > every > > one else. But hey don't really care if thousands of poorer citizens lose their > > jobs, go hungry or are forced to migrate. > > > > 2. On the other hand, the same concerned activists rarely demand that every > > one must get clean and bacteria free water in their taps (if and when they get > > it) because the upperclass can afford to buy bottled water. > > > > From my experience in India, letters to newspapers only represent upper > > class views. Street protests reflect the views of the "other". I am afraid the > > "other " does not see our views as benign. Citizens hearings in Delhi have > > brought ot the fact that some of our clean air policies have made life > > difficult for hundreds of thousands, many of them have pulled thier children > out > > of school, others have sent their familiesd back to villages, still others are > > forced into prostitution, and so on. They certainly don't believe that we want > a > > better world. > > > > Sustainable transport policies will have to keep human beings in the centre > and > > not just chemically clean air. > > > > Dinesh Mohan > > > > > > > > eric.britton@ecoplan.org wrote: > > > > > * (This note contains the earlier correspondence on the Bogota crisis of the > > > last day's, placed here for those who have not had access to it. For the > > > latest direct, check out http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/. For history, try > > > http://www.ecoplan.org/votebogota2000/.) > > > > > > Dear Lake, Christopher and Group, > > > > > > Thanks for those fine heads-up Christopher and Lake. Let me run this > > > through you and the others as I understand it. Since it is quite possible > > > that I am at error in some part if not all of this, it will be with pleasure > > > to hear from you all so that we get this important story in its full and > > > necessary perspective. And at the same time, we have to be aware that time > > > is very short here if there is anything that we might do to attenuate this > > > situation. > > > > > > 1. Wow! One does has to wonder about what goes on in the mind of > > > purportedly sentient person in a Third World city who would be prepared to > > > take on the couple of hundred thousand people who work in the private bus > > > and taxi sector. History is littered with the corpses of those who have > > > tried, whether in Chile, in Colombia itself a decade and a half before > > > Salvador Allende has his face-off with the truckers, or... and the list goes > > > on. > > > > > > 2. We must be careful to keep a balanced perspective on all this. The > > > transportation and public space accomplishments of the city and its > > > administrators over these last few years have been of a very high levels, > > > and against all the odds. I think we have given excellent coverage of this > > > here in The Commons, as well as our active, world-level support. No problem > > > there. We love Bogota and we love certainly no less the emerging Bogota > > > Model for Third World Cities. But we also need to be very sure that we have > > > the right model, and that as we are seeing is a terrific challenge indeed. > > > Work for which many hands are needed! > > > > > > 3. I would tend to be very careful however about seeing this as an "us" > > > (good TransMilenio, bike paths, walking and pubic spaces, Ciclov?as (car > > > free Sundays), and all that other good stuff) and "them" (all those filthy, > > > polluting, half criminal, dangerous and the list goes on vehicles) issue. > > > This is however, I am afraid, the sub-text of what has been going on in > > > Bogota more or less all along- and is on area in which I was in strong > > > opposition with previous administration (but apparently without being > > > vociferous enough about it to make my point). > > > > > > 4. By the way, let's ponder for a moment who's the "them" there. Let's > > > see -- bearing in mind that these are very rough figures since the actual > > > number of vehicles out there on the streets is subject to all kinds fo real > > > world stuff - we have something like 55,000 taxis and 35,000 or so buses of > > > various types and sizes. Figure anywhere from 3 to 5 support people (AKA > > > jobs) for each of those vehicles, and we quickly are moving up toward half a > > > million. Then factor in families of 3, 4 or more dependents? Hey, that's a > > > pretty big number of people to be playing with. Working people with no > > > safety net. > > > > > > 5. The point needs to be made about these operators that there is nothing > > > superfluous about the services they are providing. While they maybe didn't > > > get doctorates in transportation planning from some splendid First World > > > schools, they nonetheless are succeeding in providing services that people > > > want and are willing to pay for - without the great sucking sound of public > > > subsidy. > > > > > > 6. Is this to say that the transport planners and the city do not have a > > > point? Of course they do -- there are a real set of problems and challenges > > > out there that have to be resolved. There are, for example, a lot of empty > > > buses roaming around once the peak hour traffic has passed, and sure that's > > > a problem. And they are old and pollute in FULL CAPS. And they run > > > illegally pretty much as they wish. And and... But there are ways, and > > > there are ways. > > > > > > 7. I for one was looking forward to resolving these dangerous contradictions > > > with careful discussions and well thought out positions before going to bat > > > on this one. It had been my hope (and I guess it still is) to create a High > > > Level Task Force, whose job it would be to work with, follow and advice the > > > city and all those concerned about their transport-related policies over the > > > 15 year period which has been targeted by the successful October Referendum > > > (which as you ay recall we vociferously and with high profile supported from > > > here). But months have passed and there is still no Task Force in sight. > > > > > > 8. This next sentence, you either go with or you don't. In the latter > > > instance, there is surely no reason to read beyond it. > > > > > > 9. The future of transport in Third World cities must (MUST!) take the form > > > of a dynamic, innovative, and patient partnership that brings together "new" > > > concepts such as the TransMilenio, waling and cycling as transport, in > > > parallel with a steady upgrading and INCLUSION of the very large number of > > > people and small groups who today are making their livings and providing > > > needed services in the city. > > > > > > 10. Anything less than that will be a victory for the authoritarian central > > > planners and a defeat for access, efficiency and social justice. The problem > > > with folks who learned everything they know about life in universities and > > > then get nice jobs in administrations or as consultants, is that they very > > > often don't know much about life on the street. Nor apparently much about > > > concepts such as love, community, responsibilities to family and dignity. > > > And yet these are central issues here. > > > > > > 11. You see, people such as the taxistas and small bus operators have to be > > > seen as OWNING THEIR JOBS, which means that we as advisors or administrators > > > cannot simply take them away from them. Nor introduce unilateral and large > > > changes in their working environment, without some sort of tit for tat. And > > > where's the tit for tat in Bogota today? > > > > > > 12. The weakness of the Transmilenio et al plan until now is that it > > > presumes a certain vision of the future of the city which is essentially > > > cloistered, academic and unreal. It has its strong points, and its weaker > > > points. And this is probably the weakest of all. > > > > > > 13. What Bogota needs (if I may) is a well thought out network of TMs, cycle > > > paths and the rest, plus draconian parking and private car control > > > limitations plus lots of small vehicles scooting around providing cheap and > > > flexible transportation for people of all economic groups - and lots of good > > > jobs! The potential for upgrading these private systems is enormous and > > > many sided. > > > > > > 14. And are the people who are the drivers, operators, owners, etc. easy to > > > work with? You bet they aren't! Life is tough out there on the street and > > > most of the time they meet a guy in a suit it's because the suited one is > > > going to make things worse for them. And here, dear friends, we have one > > > more example. > > > > > > 15. I am dead sure that this whole thing can be resolved, but the first step > > > in this process has to be wisdom and not wounded honor. And it has to be > > > taken by the administration. > > > > > > 16. Mayor Mockus has a terrific opportunity here. At the same time while > > > backing away from their ill planned (and rotten) idea of extending the Pico > > > y Placa by fiat, he can first declare a hiatus, let the guys get back to > > > work in a normal way, while announcing that the government is now ready to > > > enter into a New Mobility Partnership with the small service providers - > > > with the backing (if it can be done in the needed hurry, if only in > > > principle as a first step) of folks such as the UNDP, WB, IADB and the other > > > usual suspects.. including bilateral aid programs. > > > > > > By doing this they will snatch victory out of the jaws of the defeat which > > > they are sure to meet if they keep playing for the win at all costs. Hey, > > > this is a great opportunity for them, and for the Bogota Model. So, what do > > > you have to say about that? And what can we do with this next? > > > > > > Eric > > > > > > PS. Incidentally, I have a hard time in agreeing with your criticism, Lake, > > > of El Tiempo's coverage. Let's not forget they have been consistent > > > supporters of positive transport innovation over these last years, including > > > for the first (and second) award winning Car Free Day. If they are not > > > lining up behind the planners, does this necessarily mean that they are > > > wrong or mean spirited? I doubt it on both scores. I have checked carefully, > > > including today, and find the coverage quite balanced and fair. > > > > > > = = = = = > > > Letter 1 from Christian Dunkerley from Bogota on Mon 8/6/2001 10:56 PM > > > > > > Dear Eric, > > > > > > I am writing to you from an internet cafe in Bogota... I was caught in the > > > mess on Thursday, and the blockage was massive. In fact, it was the worst > > > that Bogota has experienced in its entire life. Most of the main > > > intersections and roads were blocked. Rich and poor had to walk: there was > > > no other way out. It was very democratic: everyone was affected. In my > > > case, I had to walk around 6 miles to get back home. Not even schools or > > > emergency services were spared. > > > > > > The funny thing is that I spent 5 years in a research project at ITS-Leed > > > University studying the impact of road infrastructure closures in > > > Colombia!!! If you want more precise details of the closures(and my > > > publications on this area), I can send them when I get back to the UK... my > > > other email address is cdunkerley@trl.co.uk > > > > > > Regards, > > > > > > Christian Dunkerley > > > Transport Economist > > > TRL Limited > > > > > > = = = = > > > Letter 2 from Lake Sagaris [sagaris@terra.cl] on Tue 8/7/2001 3:08 PM > > > > > > Hi Eric > > > > > > Patricio and I just got back from Bogota where we spent quite a bit of time > > > with the folks at TransMilenio, Ciclov?as, etc. They're doing an amazing > > > job in very difficult conditions. It was quite clear, however, that El > > > Tiempo has taken a very strong editorial line against TransMilenio itself > > > and that there is an enormous and very important debate going on about what > > > should happen with the rest of the transportation system in the city. I'm > > > not sure that you should be so pessimistic -- rather than a "screw up" in > > > Bogota, I'd characterize this as a "Crucial debate" in that it is very > > > important that the positive initiatives taken by authorities past and > > > present be recognized and receive broad and increasingly active support > > > from the citizens. Otherwise, in the conditions (33,000 buses!!!, not to > > > mention taxis, etc.) existing in Bogot? it will be very difficult to expand > > > the benefits of TransMilenio beyond the current 340,000 -- 1 million by > > > years end -- daily passenger trips (this should end up being about 1/7 of > > > those who move by bus, which in turn is 80% of daily commutes). > > > > > > One problem is that authorities in general and in Latin America in > > > particular constantly underestimate the importance of citizens' > > > participation and hence support for their transportation policies. They > > > think they can change the city without the citizens, a deadly assumption. > > > > > > If you look at the letters to the editor section of the same issue of El > > > tiempo which you posted, most of the letters are very sensible and express > > > support for "Pico y Placa" and, in general, the measures being taken by the > > > authorities. There is also widespread approval of TransMilenio, which is > > > also (miracle of miracles!!!) making money, and these are crucial elements > > > to the debate. > > > > > > Anyway, I may be missing something as I haven't read the papers from Bogot? > > > in the past week, but in general we found people on the street were also > > > very happy with TransMilenio. We found it was still being underestimated in > > > the sense of what it could do for local business (same with the Ciclov?as) > > > and that is an important gap, but everything takes time and it will surely > > > come eventually. > > > > > > All best > > > Lake > > > > > > PS I'm cc'ing this to you because I suspect the list won't take the new > > > address I'm sending from. > > > > > > At 07:26 AM 07/08/01 +0200, you wrote: > > > >Dear Colleagues, > > > > > > > >I would very much like to have the benefit of your reactions and thoughts > > > as > > > >to what is currently going on in Bogota. I personally and professionally > > > >find it extremely distressing. > > > > > > > >Have a look at today's El Tiempo at > > > >http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/06-08-2001/prip83036.html to get the latest. > > > >(I attach the usual horrible machine translation, without apologies for > > > >anyone who needs a bit of help in making their way through the Spanish > > > >text.) > > > > > > > >If you look around through the recent issues of El Tiempo, you can see this > > > >storm coming. And if you want a flavour for how things are looking out > > > >there on the streets, check out > > > >http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/proyectos/ultimahora/trancon/. > > > > > > > >Those of us who follow transport matters in the Third World are well aware > > > >of what a dynamite keg it can be. That's on the one hand. But then there > > > >is all the careful work that has been done over these last years to make > > > >progress in building a new model of r in Third World cities. If the > > > present > > > >administration gets this one any wronger, that could be the real victim of > > > >all this. > > > > > > > >There is an expression that I remember from German when I was little, which > > > >went that as soon as a child says something clever at the table it's time > > > to > > > >put him to bed. This situation reminds me sadly of that: the original Pico > > > >y Placa (Odd/Even) scheme of the previous (Pe?alosa) administration was > > > >extremely well thought out and has worked admirably with private cars for > > > >several years. Admirably! And now the new mayor (a fine and intelligent > > > >man, as it happens) and his advisors (ahem!) have decided that, since it > > > >works so well and they still want less traffic, well why not apply it to > > > >private buses and taxis? Ouch! > > > > > > > >But hey! maybe I have this all horribly wrong. I'd love to think that's the > > > >case and that they have really thought all this through and that the Bogota > > > >Model is going to come through this unscathed. > > > > > > > >Comments? > > > > > > > >Eric Britton > > > > > > > >The @New Mobility Forum is permanently at http://newmobility.org > > > >The Commons ___Sustainable Development and Social Justice___ > > > >Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France > > > >Eric.Britton@NewMobility.org Tel: +331 4326 1323 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >= = = = > > > > > > > >BOGOT?, ANOTHER TIME TO HALF MARCH FOR UNEMPLOYMENT OF TRANSPORT > > > > > > > >The transporters again carry out a work stoppage to protest against > > > extending the > > > Odd/Even scheme for public service vehicles. Hundreds of citizens > > > >crowd together in the stations of the service of the mass transport > > > >Transmilenio, the only one that currently works. Others carry out long > > > walks to > > > >arrive to their working place. Today there are no classes in the district > > > >and private schools. For the time being, there are no blockades. > > > > > > > > > > > >To the edge of the midnight they broke the conversations among the Mayor > > > >Antanas Mockus and the transporters of Bogot?, with that which was firm the > > > >measure of the pick and badge for the public transportation and today > > > Monday > > > >an unemployment will be presented on the part of taxis and buses in the > > > >capital, fair the day of its birthday number 463. > > > > > > > >With mutual accusations of intransigence, Mockus and the transporters gave > > > >end at eight hours of negotiation after which there were not agreements. > > > The > > > >Mayor's office asked to the from Bogot? ones not to take today buses, > > > >busetas, taxis or collective whose badges finish in 1, 2, 3 or 4, and the > > > >Metropolitan Police gets ready to make complete the restriction to the > > > >public transportation that began a.m. at 5:30 o'clock > > > > > > > >The drivers announced protests with the use of the call 'Operation turtle > > > '. > > > >Miguel ?ngel P?rez, spokesman of Apetrans, accused Mockus of working with " > > > >bad faith " in front of the union transporter, but the Minister of the > > > >Interior, Armando Estrada, assured to be witness of the conciliatory spirit > > > >of the burgomaestre. > > > > > > > >They carry to an extreme safety measures > > > > > > > >The director of the National, general Police Luis Ernesto Gilibert, noticed > > > >yesterday that the institution to its position already adopted the > > > necessary > > > >measures to prevent that the city is paralyzed by the transporters again. > > > > > > > >According to Gilibert, their men have the order of impeding the blockade of > > > >main and secondary roads of the city, and he/she said that in this occasion > > > >the authorities won't be consequent with the drivers. > > > > > > > >To avoid any incident, the number of agents of the Metropolitan Police was > > > >reinforced with troops of the Police of Highways and the Police of > > > >Cundinamarca. About 3.000 men travel from last night the city. > > > > > > > >Likewise, a strict control will be made to the use of radio frequencies for > > > >judicializar those companies that allow the drivers to use this means to > > > >perturb the public order. > > > > > > > >Yesterday he/she took place a safe-deposit advice in the biggest Mayor's > > > >office to which attended Government's secretary, Soraya Montoya; the > > > >commandant of the Metropolitan, general Police Jorge Enrique Linares; the > > > >commandant of the Unit of Traffic, colonel Pedro Molano; the commandant of > > > >the Tenth Third Brigade, general Reynaldo Castellanos, and the adviser for > > > >the security, Hugo Steel. > > > > > > > >Linares said that there are 60 control positions in the city and 40 cranes > > > >will be available to move away the vehicles that obstruct the roads. > > > > > > > >The objective of the advice was to review the contingency stockings that > > > are > > > >had foreseen to avoid alterations of the public order in Bogot?. Troops of > > > >the Army are bet around the city with the purpose of preventing that the > > > >guerrilla's urban militias can infiltrates in the possible manifestations > > > >that are carried out. > > > > > > > >Of another side, yesterday the Defender of the Town, Eduardo Cifuentes, > > > said > > > >that the taponamiento of the citizens' roads viola fundamental rights. > > > > > > > >According to the Defender, to impede the normal flow of vehicles and people > > > >in the city, it is an attack against the free mobilization. > > > > > > > >Cifuentes said that the drivers are in all its right of protesting provided > > > >they make it for the road of the I dialogue and the agreement, and not > > > >through measures that affect to the rest of the society. > > > > > > > >The Mayor's office announced that that of today will be an ordinary day and > > > >that therefore the scheduled activities are not suspended with reason of > > > the > > > >celebration of the 463 years of the capital. > > > > > > > >Even, Mockus will be at 7 in the morning in a journey for TransMilenio that > > > >today gives a new line of the system in the North Freeway. He/she also > > > >enters in operation in Portal of Usme, in the south end of the city. The > > > new > > > >stations will allow the mobilization of at least 80 thousand passengers. > > > > > > > >Recommendations > > > > > > > >Avoid to take the taxis or buses whose registrations finish in 1, 2, 3 and > > > >4, because the surest thing is that the authorities will immobilize him and > > > >you won't be able to follow their journey. > > > > > > > >To avoid that he/she repeats that of last Thursday, when children's > > > >thousands were caught by several hours in the blockades promoted by the > > > taxi > > > >drivers, call to the school of their children and discover if there are > > > >classes. > > > > > > > >Limit their activities of the day, carry out alone those that it considers > > > >really important. > > > > > > > >Try not to traffic for the places where they concentrate the protests, as > > > >downtown, for example. > > > > > > > >If it can go out with their particular vehicle, ask if some neighbor or > > > >relative goes for his same route and bring near it. > > > > > > > >If today's journey is not very long, use bicycle or put on comfortable > > > >clothes and walk. > > > > > > > >Remember that TransMilenio will lend its ordinary service, starting from > > > >5:30 o'clock including the new ones truncates them a.m., and park in the > > > >North Freeway and the Portal of Usme. > > > > > > > >In the event of an emergency, don't doubt to communicate with the Police. > > > > > > The @New Mobility Forum is permanently at http://newmobility.org > > > To post messages to list: newmob@egroups.com > > > To get off this list: newmob-unsubscribe@egroups.com > > > > > > > > > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > > ======================================================================= > > Send your response to DRAFT CHARTER ON PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO SAFETY, GO TO > > TRIPP website http://www.iitd.ac.in/tripp/ > > > > [IMORTANT: if this server gives you trouble in sending a mail to me, > > you can use temporarily.] > > ======================================================================= > > Dinesh Mohan > > Henry Ford Professor for Biomechanics and Transportation Safety > > Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme > > Room MS 808, Main Building > > Indian Institute of Technology > > Hauz Khas > > New Delhi 110016 > > > > Phone: (+91 11) 659 1147 & 659 6361 > > FAX: (+91 11) 685 8703 & 685 1169 > > Home: (+91 11) 649 4910 > > Email: dmohan@cbme.iitd.ernet.in > > ======================================================================= > > > > > > -- ======================================================================= Send your response to DRAFT CHARTER ON PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO SAFETY, GO TO TRIPP website http://www.iitd.ac.in/tripp/ [IMORTANT: if this server gives you trouble in sending a mail to me, you can use temporarily.] ======================================================================= Dinesh Mohan Henry Ford Professor for Biomechanics and Transportation Safety Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme Room MS 808, Main Building Indian Institute of Technology Hauz Khas New Delhi 110016 Phone: (+91 11) 659 1147 & 659 6361 FAX: (+91 11) 685 8703 & 685 1169 Home: (+91 11) 649 4910 Email: dmohan@cbme.iitd.ernet.in ======================================================================= From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Wed Aug 15 19:05:11 2001 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 18:05:11 +0800 Subject: [sustran] FW: RELEASE: MoEF shirks responsibility in reviewing massive envi ronmental and social impacts of Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0B86F484@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> -----Original Message----- From: Environment Support Group [mailto:esg@bgl.vsnl.net.in] Sent: Wednesday, 15 August 2001 1:56 To: sustran@po.jaring.my Subject: RELEASE: MoEF shirks responsibility in reviewing massive environmental and social impacts of Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project Importance: High MoEF shirks responsibility in reviewing massive environmental and social impacts of Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project Peculiarly decides to review only the "Expressway" Component 14 August, 2001 Press Release The Ministry of Environment and Forests has washed its hands off reviewing the environmental and social impacts of the massive Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor project promoted by M/s Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise. Without any logic or rationale and taking an extremely narrow and technical view of its role the Ministry has decided "the scope of the project for the purpose of this clearance under reference is limited to the road/expressway component of the BMIC project". It has thus completely shrugged off its responsibility in applying its mind to the extensive and adverse environmental and social impacts anticipated, including the diversion of large tracts of forest-land for the project. The Expressway is only a very small component of this project for it includes the building of five major cities to locate very large industrial developments, tourism destinations, large golf courses and entertainment centres for the 'global elite' and extravagant housing projects. This project is proposed in the densely populated and highly irrigated major agricultural zone between Bangalore and Mysore. The 5 lakhs population anticipated to live in these new cities would be in addition to the combined population of 75 lakhs that presently live in Bangalore and Mysore and the cities in between (major ones being Ramnagar, Channapatna, Maddur, Mandya and Srirangapatna). Over 170 villages will be directly affected by this project and the potential displacement when all components of the project are ready would be in the region of 200,000 according to preliminary estimates. All along the project has been wrapped in secrecy wherein the Government of Karnataka has defended the right of the company to not share public domain documents pertaining to the project. This is stark contrast to the progressive image Karnataka Government attempts to project for itself by claiming it is a government that values transparency. People's demand for information on this project has been met with brutal attacks by the Police, including in Statutory Public Hearings, and the case of human rights excesses by the State is presently being reviewed by the National Human Rights Commission. Massive Displacement deliberately underplayed: The state subsidies to this project are shocking indeed. 21,000 acres of land will be acquired by the State for the Project of which 7,000 acres are Government land in the form of forest areas and other revenue land. This land will be passed on to NICE at Rs. 10 an acre! The remaining land will be acquired from the farmers and sold to NICE at a highly subsidised rate, presumably Rs. 1 lakh an acre. Should NICE fail to implement the project, and there are enough and more clauses in the Framework Agreement for it to slip out of its commitment, the land will continue to vest with the company. Also in variance to normal practice, NICE has been waived the responsibility of undertaking the rehabilitation and settlement of the displaced communities. NICE has deliberately underplayed the extent of displacement by distorting questionnaires on base level socio-economic information and ridiculous collecting details of some affected persons that include only: the name of the household, its address and the person conducting the survey! Water Supply committed without consultation of downstream cities: The Government of Karnataka has committed to supply the project 150 million litres of water per day to begin with. This has been done without regard to the fact that such an allotment is about a quarter of the water presently supplied by Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board to the entire 70 lakh population of Bangalore. Considering that NICE would be allowed to draw this water upstream of the location where Bangalore draws its water from River Cauvery, the highly crisis of water supply to Bangalore will worsen further. Per capita consumption of water in Bangalore today is 80 litres per capita per day (lpcd) when the NICE settlements will be assured over 300 lpcd. Fraudulent Claims of the techno-economic capacity of the developer: NICE has consistently claimed including in all its official correspondence and project documentation that M/s Vanasse Hangen Brustlin of Boston (VHB) is a part of the company and consortium developing the project. VHB Executive Richard Hangen has asserted that his company has never been involved in the project except for a brief period in the project inception during 1995. He has even controversially threatened action against the undersigned if they implicated his company in this controversial project. This matter has been brought to the attention of both the Government and the media. The Government has not ever bothered to verify this issue, and NICE now claims VHB is involved in the project, and thus sought financing for the project from ICICI. Needless to say, that it is such whimsical treatment of techno-economic considerations of public funding advanced to so-called private financed projects that has brought many a financial institution to ruin. Frittering away public savings thus is nothing short of a criminal act. Viable alternatives not examined, perhaps deliberately ignored: The Government of Karnataka is proposing upgradation of the existing Bangalore Mysore State Highway to a four lane expressway and several experts have confirmed that the existing broad gauge railway corridor could easily and without further land acquisition be doubled. Not only would this make the NICE 'expressway' redundant, but the public support for the same highly controversial and questionable. Clearly public interest has not formed the basis of this project gaining support of the Karnataka Government and now the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The Ministry of Environment and Forests could have claimed exemption from being responsible for reviewing the financial and techno-economic considerations of the project, but it certainly cannot do the same when there is a clear responsibility vested with it to review environemntal and social impacts of infrastructure projects. Sec 2 (I) of the Environment Protection Act clearly makes it the inescapable responsibility of the Ministry to coordinate "actions by the State Governments, officers and other authorities _ (a) under this Act, or the rules made thereunder; or (b) under any law for the time being in force which is relatable to the objects of this Act" And the object clearly includes taking "appropriate steps for the protection and improvement of human environment". The Ministry has also failed to appreciate the fact that the process of review of the project has been mired in controversy, and serious human rights violations have marked the Public Hearings "held" on the project last year. The National Human Rights Commission has taken cognisance of this and is due to give its decision soon. But without waiting for the decision of this Statutory Authority, the Ministry seems to have taken a decision to clear the "Expressway" component of the project, claiming the impacts of the other components of the project are not within its realm. This is a specious claim given the ambit of the Environment Protection Act. The Ministry's Executive also seems to have not taken into confidence the Expert Committee reviewing Infrastructure Projects, who recently officially acknowledged that a large number of representations questioning the project had been received and were being reviewed. No evidence has also been presented in the clearance whether this review of the representations was ever conducted as committed. Not only has the Ministry betrayed the public trust reposed in them in taking a competent decision, but has also abandoned its mandate. We challenge this decision as being unconstitutional and will undertake civil and legal action to ensure the project does not proceed on the basis of such questionable review and decisions. Leo F. Saldanha Maj. Gen S. G. Vombatkere Dr. H. V. Vasu Coordinator Convenor Convenor Environment Support Group Mysore Grahakara Parishat Karnataka Vimochana Ranga Esg@bgl.vsnl.net.in sgvombatkere@hotmail.com kaviram89@hotmail.com PS: For more documentation on the project and its impacts a and a copy of the clearance letter please visit: http://www.indiatogether.org/campaigns/bmic Address for further contact: Environment Support Group ? 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@bgl.vsnl.net.in Website: http://www.altindia.net/esg/index.htm Environment Support Group (R) S-3, Rajashree Apts., 1st Main, SRK Gardens Bannerghatta Road, Jayanagar Bangalore 560 041. INDIA Telefax: 91-80-6341977 Fax: 91-80-6723926 (PP) Email: esg@bgl.vsnl.net.in From ghawkes at sover.net Wed Aug 15 20:23:29 2001 From: ghawkes at sover.net (Gerry Hawkes) Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 07:23:29 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Air Pollution - Global & Serious Message-ID: <015301c1257c$b6181ad0$9c5fc6d1@gerry> Over the years I have been compiling forest health and air pollution observations and from time to time sharing them with you. As you know, much of the pollution is produced by the transportation sector. I have been most alarmed by what I have seen and by the information I have gathered. Links to some of this information can be found by going to http://www.biketrack.com/pollution.htm A number of people have recently asked who else was observing similar air pollution and forest health impacts, so I pulled together a Web page titled Air Pollution and Forest Health Notes from Other Places and put it up on the web at http://www.biketrack.com/air_pollution_notes_from_other_places.htm . This is the first time I have tried to assemble an overview of notes onto one Web page and when it all came together, even I was shocked by how pervasive and serious air pollution is globally. Please take a close look at the site and forward the address on to anyone else who may be even the least bit interested. Nothing I can say will properly convey the urgent need for global action. If you have any information or ideas you would like to share, please let me know. Thanks, Gerry Hawkes Eco Systems, Inc. & Bike Track, Inc. Woodstock, Vermont, USA ghawkes@biketrack.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20010815/85ab447b/attachment.htm From kisansbc at vsnl.com Thu Aug 16 09:51:28 2001 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (kisan) Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2001 06:21:28 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Fw: MoEF shirks responsibility in reviewing massive environmental and social impacts of Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project Message-ID: <001501c125ed$963028e0$e138c5cb@u9w6e4> ----- Original Message ----- From: kisan To: Cc: <>; <>; <>; <; > Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2001 5:30 PM Subject: MoEF shirks responsibility in reviewing massive environmental and social impacts of Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project > Dear Leo, Maj Gen. Vombatkere and Dr. Vasu, > > Your 14.08 email. I do not find anything unusual in MoEF response. > This is how the apex env protection authority does in all issues. > Every State Env Dept copies with vengence. We sometimes feel > disappointed as to how these authorities cause and abet disasters. > > There is no basis for building Bangalore-Mysore expressway when direct > Bang=My railway corridor exists. Trains can run at 15 minute interval and > be upgraded for our fast emerging vehicle owning elite who `shirk' to bear > the cost of expressway. It is again our non car owning citizens who are > burdened with cost for providing comfort to our rich citizens. > > In Maharashtra situation is no different. The Govt of Maharashtra (GOM) is > going ahead with construction of West Island Expressway (conceived by > foreign consultants in 1962-63) connecting Bandra to Nariman Point at a > staggering cost of Rs 30 billion (no cost data given to citizens in this > world > of free access to information and transparency. When the EIA of independent > consutants pointed out the hazards, the GOM got the expressway designer as > consultants to show that no damage would come up and is out to squander 30 > billion when 50% of Maharashtra is under severe draught at the height of the > monsoons and when it is cutting down allocations on eduction and public > health to meet day-to-day expenditure. > > All this is coming due to the GOI commitment to link principal Indian > cities by expressways likely to cost Rs 25,000 trillion. This is World > Bank/IMF dictat which our protectors cannot ignore. You are aware that the > WB > now insists on the proper Rehabilitation and Resettlement so you can > ask the ICICI or other funding agency to go into the environmental, social > and R&R aspects. The MoEF public hearings is a sham and we cannot > depend on them to place the real situation before the MoEF. The > MoEF does not consider issues objectively. The GOM has changed > the WIE alignment three times still the MoER minister comes to Mumbai > to assure early clearance on the first alignment. > > What is the way out? Law Courts? Our High Court takes long to take > up the PIL yet does not give interim injunction. It appears to be the last > ray of hope. Can you not presuade the Indian Railways to optimise this > corridor? Now it is highly underutlised. The GOM and Raiways have > set up joint ventrue to upgrade Mumbai's suburban railway service. This > can be a possibility to defeat the Bang-My expressway. Best wishes. > > Kisan Mehta > > From: Environment Support Group > To: > Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2001 6:39 PM > From sagaris at terra.cl Thu Aug 16 21:43:38 2001 From: sagaris at terra.cl (Lake Sagaris) Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2001 08:43:38 -0400 Subject: [sustran] =?iso-8859-1?Q?Innovaci=F3n_Urbana?= In-Reply-To: <001501c125ed$963028e0$e138c5cb@u9w6e4> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20010816084009.02fd2ec0@pop.terra.cl> For any Spanish speakers lurking on this list, we will be launching a similar, but slightly broader group, Innovaci?n Urbana, in Spanish next week. We're also setting up a space within our web site, www.ciudadviva.cl, where people can include reports, pictures, news, and other documents that can serve as a kind of virtual library for people looking for resources, primarily in Spanish, although our links area will include as much of the good stuff available in English as we can, as well. This is all volunteer labour, so forgive any glitches, but it is finally coming together and will start with some of the information from our recent trip to Bogota, which was very very inspiring. To join this list: Adem?s, invitamos a participar en ?Innovaci?n Urbana?, grupo latinoamericano de conversaci?n sobre las ciudades de nuestro continente, enviando un correo a Innovacionurbana-subscribe@yahoogroups.com And we also very strongly recommend the virtual magazine on transport, put together by a group of post-graduate students at the Unviersity of Chile: Para excelente cobertura de temas de transporte urbano en general, recomendamos la revista Tranv?a http://www.cec.uchile.cl/~tranvivo/tranvia/ All best Lake Lake Sagaris Comunicaciones Ciudad Viva, Santiago, Chile -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20010816/d5284700/attachment.htm From esg at bgl.vsnl.net.in Thu Aug 16 22:49:08 2001 From: esg at bgl.vsnl.net.in (ESG) Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2001 19:19:08 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Fw: MoEF shirks responsibility in reviewing massive environmental and social impacts of Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project In-Reply-To: <001501c125ed$963028e0$e138c5cb@u9w6e4> Message-ID: <5.0.0.25.1.20010816191257.02108a70@202.54.12.47> Dear Mehta ji, Your concerns on policy implications and their impact locally are as relevant to us. The Prime Minister's Golden Quadrilateral Project is the motto of all road infrastructure developments. I have found the BMIC project to be the most explicit in extorting all subsidies possible and consider this project to amongst the first to have modelled justification of public subsidy for clearly private profit. In short the BMIC project is nothing short of a land scam. You will notice in the enclosed article that the Karnataka Government is waiving Town Planning levies to aid this project, revenue that is bread and butter for the good maintenance of our urban areas. I will be interested in knowing if such projects have been conceived before in Asia and what has been the experience. Leo Saldanha Hindu Businessline Karnataka mega core projects to get more sops Madhumathi D.S. BANGALORE, July 11 MEGA infrastructure projects coming up in Karnataka are slated to get a bounty in the form of exemption from urban levies and cesses under a forthcoming amendment to the Karnataka Town & Country Planning Act, 1961. An immediate beneficiary of its enactment will be the Kalyani-promoted Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project (BMICP). At least, two other private promoted ventures that may also be eligible for the exemption are the international airport at Devanahalli and the city's elevated light rail project that is being promoted by the UB consortium. The waiver for BMICP, for one, can easily amount to Rs 300-500 crore, sources said. This project is currently awaiting MoEF's green clearance. BMICP's promoter consortium, Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) Ltd, has sought the waivers on the ground that it is developing some 20,000 acres of land on its own for a 111-km toll road and five abutting townships. NICE officials said concessions for the Rs 2000-crore project were sought and conceded in the 1997 initial agreement with the Government. A new Section 18 A added to the Act contains the exemption clause for a clutch of cesses towards betterment, BDA, change of land use, Cauvery water and Ring Road among others. The Bill had been returned by the governor last year for clarifications. According to officials, exemptions under the amendment will apply only to key proposals which have been declared by the Government as infrastructure projects. The revenue would, however, accrue from third and eventual buyers downstream. At 06:21 AM 8/16/01 +0530, kisan wrote: >----- Original Message ----- >From: kisan >To: >Cc: <>; ><>; <>; ><; > >Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2001 5:30 PM >Subject: MoEF shirks responsibility in reviewing massive environmental and >social impacts of Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project > > > > Dear Leo, Maj Gen. Vombatkere and Dr. Vasu, > > > > Your 14.08 email. I do not find anything unusual in MoEF response. > > This is how the apex env protection authority does in all issues. > > Every State Env Dept copies with vengence. We sometimes feel > > disappointed as to how these authorities cause and abet disasters. > > > > There is no basis for building Bangalore-Mysore expressway when direct > > Bang=My railway corridor exists. Trains can run at 15 minute interval >and > > be upgraded for our fast emerging vehicle owning elite who `shirk' to >bear > > the cost of expressway. It is again our non car owning citizens who are > > burdened with cost for providing comfort to our rich citizens. > > > > In Maharashtra situation is no different. The Govt of Maharashtra (GOM) >is > > going ahead with construction of West Island Expressway (conceived by > > foreign consultants in 1962-63) connecting Bandra to Nariman Point at a > > staggering cost of Rs 30 billion (no cost data given to citizens in this > > world > > of free access to information and transparency. When the EIA of >independent > > consutants pointed out the hazards, the GOM got the expressway designer >as > > consultants to show that no damage would come up and is out to squander 30 > > billion when 50% of Maharashtra is under severe draught at the height of >the > > monsoons and when it is cutting down allocations on eduction and public > > health to meet day-to-day expenditure. > > > > All this is coming due to the GOI commitment to link principal Indian > > cities by expressways likely to cost Rs 25,000 trillion. This is World > > Bank/IMF dictat which our protectors cannot ignore. You are aware that >the > > WB > > now insists on the proper Rehabilitation and Resettlement so you can > > ask the ICICI or other funding agency to go into the environmental, social > > and R&R aspects. The MoEF public hearings is a sham and we cannot > > depend on them to place the real situation before the MoEF. The > > MoEF does not consider issues objectively. The GOM has changed > > the WIE alignment three times still the MoER minister comes to Mumbai > > to assure early clearance on the first alignment. > > > > What is the way out? Law Courts? Our High Court takes long to take > > up the PIL yet does not give interim injunction. It appears to be the >last > > ray of hope. Can you not presuade the Indian Railways to optimise this > > corridor? Now it is highly underutlised. The GOM and Raiways have > > set up joint ventrue to upgrade Mumbai's suburban railway service. This > > can be a possibility to defeat the Bang-My expressway. Best wishes. > > > > Kisan Mehta > > > > From: Environment Support Group > > To: > > Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2001 6:39 PM > > Environment Support Group (R) S-3, Rajashree Apartments 18/57, 1st Main, S. R. K. Gardens Jayanagar, Bannerghatta Road Bangalore 560 041. INDIA Telefax: 91-80-6341977 Fax: 91-80-6723926 (PP) Email: esg@bgl.vsnl.net.in -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20010816/ee72d7fa/attachment.htm From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Fri Aug 17 09:13:33 2001 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 08:13:33 +0800 Subject: [sustran] FW: [msia-plan-transp] fwd: Planned bridge to go through troubled waters Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0B86F48B@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> -----Original Message----- From: Paul Barter [mailto:geobpa@nus.edu.sg] Sent: Thursday, 16 August 2001 7:20 To: 'msia-plan-transp@egroups.com' Subject: [msia-plan-transp] fwd: Planned bridge to go through troubled waters Feature article on the Penang second link issue on www.malaysiakini.com today. Thursday August 16 Planned bridge to go through troubled waters Anil Netto 12:57pm, Thu: (IPS) analysis Like a mammoth concrete serpent with a shimmering central hump, the 8.5km-long Penang Bridge stretches out across the channel separating the mainland peninsula from the south-east of Malaysia's 'Silicon Island'. The bridge complements a decades-old, neglected but still charming ferry service further north. So when authorities announced plans last month to start work on a third link to the mainland peninsula - a proposed bridge-tunnel - in 2003, concerned groups rose up in protest over the financial, environmental and traffic implications of the project. ... see the whole article at http://www.malaysiakini.com/News/2001/08/2001081603.php3 From adavis at trl.co.uk Fri Aug 17 17:33:00 2001 From: adavis at trl.co.uk (Miss A Davis) Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 9:33:00 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Fwd: Free Electronic Journal Subscriptions to Developing Countr Message-ID: Apologies for cross-posting........... this sounds like a good idea. Regards Annabel Miss Annabel Davis Project Manager TRL Limited Old Wokingham Road Crowthorne Berkshire RG45 6AU E-mail: adavis@trl.co.uk Tel: +44 (0) 1344 770398 Fax: +44 (0) 1344 770354/6 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Original Message - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To: iSMTP@TRLX@Servers[] From: "Julie Woodfield" Date: Thursday, August 16, 2001 at 4:16:51 pm BST Attached: None We would be grateful for any help in circulating the following information. Particularly in or to those countries affected. Press Release Free Electronic Journal Subscriptions to Developing Countries: Multilingual Matters & Channel View Publications to Restructure Pricing Policy Date: 17.08.2001 Contact: Mike Grover, Managing Director Multilingual Matters Ltd Frankfurt Lodge Clevedon, England, BS21 7HH mike@multilingual-matters.com Tel: +44 (0)1275 876519 Mobile: +44 (0)7779 156794 Fax: +44 (0)1275 871673 Multilingual Matters/Channel View Publications are to offer free electronic access to journals for institutional subscribers in countries of "low human development" as defined by the Human Development Index (see below). The company will also offer subscriptions at a substantially reduced rate to institutional subscribers in countries of "medium human development". Altogether libraries in over 100 countries will be able to receive our journals either completely free of charge or at substantially reduced cost. Multilingual Matters is one of the world leaders in research on multilingualism and minority language rights. Recently, under the Channel View Publications imprint, the company has been developing a number of publications on sustainability in tourism, agriculture and transport. We firmly believe that adequate access to academic materials is a vital aspect of sustainable development. By increasing access to our publications, Multilingual Matters believe we can help academics in these countries to further realise their potential as equal members of the international academic community. We hope that our new pricing policy will encourage other publishers to adopt similar schemes to support academic activity in the developing world. The new policy will apply to all of the company's existing journals, as well as any new journals being developed and will be implemented from the subscription year 2002 onwards. The pricing structure will be calculated according to the Human Development Index (HDI) published annually by the United Nations Development Project (http://www.undp.org). A list of countries graded according to the HDI is provided as an appendix to this press release. The full pricing structure will be as follows: Countries of Low Human Development Electronic version: Free of charge. Print version (if required): ?20.00 Countries of Medium Human Development All journals (print or electronic): ?50.00 Depending on the particular journal, this represents a discount of between 40% and 80% on our standard prices. Countries of High Human Development Standard cost as published in our journals price list. Libraries wishing to take up this offer should contact: Email: info@multilingual-matters.com Tel: +44 (0)1275 876519 Fax: +44 (0)1275 871673 Multilingual Matters Ltd Frankfurt Lodge Clevedon, England, BS21 7HH JOURNAL TITLES AFFECTED For further details see: http://www.multilingual-matters.com MULTILINGUAL MATTERS International Journal of BILINGUAL EDUCATION & BILINGUALISM ISSN 1367-0050 CURRENT ISSUES IN LANGUAGE PLANNING ISSN 1466-14208 ERiE (EVALUATION & RESEARCH in EDUCATION) ISSN 0950-0790 LANGUAGE AWARENESS ISSN 0965-8416 LANGUAGE CULTURE and CURRICULUM ISSN 0790-8318 LANGUAGE and EDUCATION ISSN 0950-0782 LANGUAGE and INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION ISSN 1470-8477 Journal of MULTILINGUAL and MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT ISSN 0143-4632 Classification of countries Countries in the human development aggregates High human development (HDI 0.800 and above) Argentina Australia Austria Bahamas Bahrain Barbados Belgium Brunei Darussalam Canada Chile Costa Rica Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Grenada* Hong Kong,China (SAR) Hungary Iceland Ireland Israel Italy Japan Korea,Rep.of Kuwait Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands New Zealand Norway Poland Portugal Qatar Saint Kitts and Neviss* Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay (50 countries and areas) Medium human development (HDI 0.500 -0.799) Algeria Antigua and Bermuda* Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Belize Bolivia Botswana Brazil Bulgaria Cambodia Cameroon Cape Verde China Colombia Comoros Congo Cuba* Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Fiji Gabon Georgia Ghana Grenada* Guatemala Guyana Honduras India Indonesia Iran,Islamic Rep.of Iraq* Jamaica Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kyrgyzstan Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Macedonia,TFYR Malaysia Maldives Mauritius Mexico Moldova,Rep.of Mongolia Morocco Myanmar Namibia Nicaragua Oman Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Romania Russian Federation Saint Lucia* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines* S?o Tom? and Principe* Samoa (Western) Saudi Arabia Seychelles* Solomon Islands* South Africa Sri Lanka Suriname Swaziland Syrian Arab Republic Tajikistan Thailand Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Ukraine Uzbekistan Vanatu* Venezuela Viet Nam Zimbabwe (88 countries and areas) Low human development (HDI below 0.500) Angola Bangladesh Benin Bhutan Burkina Faso Burundi Central African Republic Chad Congo,Dem.Rep.of the Cote d 'Ivoire Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Gambia Guinea Guinea-Bissau Haiti Lao People 's Dem.Rep. Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mozambique Nepal Niger Nigeria Pakistan Rwanda Senegal Sierra Leone Sudan Tanzania,U.Rep.of Togo Uganda Yemen Zambia (36 countries and areas) * Country's HDI value estimated by UNDP -- Tommi Grover Multilingual Matters Ltd Frankfurt Lodge, Clevedon Hall Clevedon BS21 7HH, England. Tel: +44 1275-876519; Fax: +44 1275-871673 E-mail: tommi@multilingual-matters.com www.multilingual-matters.com FOR LATEST INFORMATION ON MULTILINGUAL MATTERS TITLES AND TO ORDER OUR BOOKS VIA THE INTERNET, VISIT WWW.MULTILINGUAL-MATTERS.COM -- Tommi Grover +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Dr. Julie Woodfield, Research Associate Urban Services Unit Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) Loughborough University, Leics, LE11 3TU England, UK Tel: +44 (0)1509 222393 Fax: +44 (0) 1509 211079 http://www.lboro.ac.uk/wedc/ (WEDC) http://www.lboro.ac.uk/garnet/ (GARNET) _________________________________________________________________ This communication contains information sent from the TRL Limited email system which is confidential, and may also be privileged. It is for the exclusive use of the addressee. If you are not the addressee, please note that any distribution, copying or use of this communication, or the information therein, is prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender by return email. TRL Limited reserves the right to monitor emails in accordance with the Telecommunications Lawful Business Practice - Interception of Communications Regulations 2000. From sagaris at terra.cl Fri Aug 17 22:28:01 2001 From: sagaris at terra.cl (Lake Sagaris) Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 09:28:01 -0400 Subject: [sustran] CBC series on Urban sprawl In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20010817092632.00a9e820@pop.terra.cl> Hi folks Just ran across a very interesting series on CBC radio dealing with urban sprawl in Canada and the US that deals with a lot of transport issues. You can pick it up with Real Audio, at: http://cbc.ca/news/indepth/urban_sprawl/ Hope it's useful. Also, I'm going to Toronto at the end of the month and would appreciate any contacts there with people/groups working on sustainable cities/transportation. All best Lake Lake Sagaris Living City Santiago, Chile From kisansbc at vsnl.com Mon Aug 20 00:01:49 2001 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (kisan) Date: Sun, 19 Aug 2001 20:31:49 +0530 Subject: [sustran] [sustran] CBC series on Urban sprawl References: <5.1.0.14.2.20010817092632.00a9e820@pop.terra.cl> Message-ID: <003c01c128bf$ef2db820$894bc5cb@u9w6e4> Dear Lake, We were certainly interersted in the CBC series on Urban Sprawl. We cannot however access CBC programmes from Mumbai. Urban areas in the developing and poor countries suffer from rural influx of people in search of jobs. Agriculture no more provides jobs due to increase in farming mechanisation and in food processing. Cities sprawl beyond their designated boundaries such that these boundaries get oblitarated with civic amenities not reaching them. The Mumbai's population was 800.000 in 1901 and touched in March 2001 12 million, about 1,2% of India's population huddled in 437 sq km, equal to tenthousandeth of India's landmass. With an average density of 27,000 persons per sq. km, Mumbai is definitely the most suffocating city in the world. About 65% of the population is condemned to live and procreate in abominable slums. Average per capita space is 2.5 sq m. Distances between different urban areas are reducing, Pune and Nashik which were about 160 and 180 km away will be a part of Mumbai in next fifty years with farming squeezed out. This would have been acceptable if the rulers and politicians had the foresight and sensitive planning. Nothing of the sort so civic services suffer. I know this is not the situation in the developed countries. Possibly Latin and South American nations are not ready for this sprawl. In many of your nations substantial proportion of population stays in the capital or major cities with large countryside areas neglected. This situation too speaks of disaster. Job of activists is to lobby with politicians to ensure that avoidable hardship is not caused to citizens. Bulk of the population is poor and it is this bulk that suffers. Situation in countries like the US and Canada where a car is shared by less than two persons and about 22% of landmass is used for roads. Gap between the have and havenot is wide. We shall have to look for sustainable development. I would be most happy to hear about your city, country and continent. Best wishes. Kisan Mehta mailto: kisansbc@vsnl.com Reply to Lake Sagaris To: Sent: Friday, August 17, 2001 6:58 PM Subject: [sustran] CBC series on Urban sprawl From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Mon Aug 20 08:55:25 2001 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2001 07:55:25 +0800 Subject: [sustran] fwd: Jakarta pedicab drivers protest against raids Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0B86F48E@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> Jakarta Post http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20010819.A01 'Becak' drivers yet to enjoy independence City News - August 19, 2001 By Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Fitri JAKARTA (JP): "Being a becak driver is easy. I just have to use my muscles," said Yatim. The 30-year-old man decided to become a becak (pedicab) driver four years ago after his hard efforts to find work proved fruitless. Yatim, who dropped out of vocational school in his hometown in Cirebon, West Java, came to the capital 10 years ago to seek a new future. He worked as a janitor in a state department on Jl. Gatot Soebroto, Central Jakarta, for three years before the job contract was terminated in 1997. Being unskilled and with no capital, he was left jobless for six months. Finally, he made up his mind to drive the three-wheeled pedicab, as did some people in his neighborhood, a slum area in Gemblok, North Jakarta. But now, a few days after a violent protest against a becak crackdown that killed a civilian guard, he worries should the administration conduct a crackdown in Gemblok market, where he and other fellow drivers operate every day. "How will I feed my family? It's hard to get a job here," Yatim remarked. Yatim lives by the railway line across from the Gemblok market, where he has erected a 1.5 meter by 1.5 meter shack made from cardboard. Here he lives with his wife, a baby and five rabbits. According to a veteran driver, Suwarno, 52, becak has been in existence in the Gemblok market area since 1967. At that time, there were only a dozen of becak in the area, but currently there are around 100 becak operating there. Most becak drivers in the Gemblok market area come from Tegal and Brebes in Central Java as well as from Cirebon. So far, the administration has never conducted a becak raid in the area, although Bylaw No. 11/1988 bans them from the city. In 1998, however, Governor Sutiyoso said that becak could operate in certain parts of the city. He retracted the statement the following day, but the news had already reached hundreds of kilometers away and many becak drivers started to come to the capital. Since then, the city administration and the becak drivers, who gained support from the Urban Poor Consortium, have been engaged in a tug of war. While the becak drivers persist in maintaining their existence in the city, the government tries to drive them out. The drivers insist that they need a job to survive and they believe it is their right to work as a becak driver in the city. "I only ask to be allowed to peddle my becak in the housing complexes or around the market, as I do now. Is that too much to ask?" Suwarno asked. He said becak drivers did not believe in the administration's promise to help them change their profession. The administration once promised to give some capital and driver licenses to those who wanted to become bajaj (three-wheeled motor vehicle) drivers. "But it was only an empty promise," said Suwarno. Suwarno did not agree with the criticism that his job was "inhumane", arguing that the drivers peddle the pedicab, which has wheels and chains, they don't push it like a rickshaw. He also denied the accusation that becak was a source of traffic jams, pointing out that there were traffic jams in some major thoroughfares where there are no becak. "We only want to do a halal job, we don't want to be thieves or robbers," he asserted. Comfort Meanwhile, Marni, a housewife living about 500 meters from Gemblok market, said that she always goes to the market by becak because the fare was cheap. She felt that becak helped her, particularly after she shopped in the market, since she did not have to carry the heavy shopping bags home. "It only costs Rp 1,000 for such a convenience," she remarked. Most becak drivers in Gemblok market area earn between Rp 10,000 to Rp 15,000 a day. They rent the becak for Rp 3,500 a day from the owner, who usually owns between five to 10 becak. The drivers work seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Their passengers are the residents around Gemblok market. One has to pay Rp 1,000 for a short route of less than one kilometer. The fares are quite low as even the residents around the area are from lower income groups. Becak are also found in some other parts of the city, like in Bendungan Hilir, Central Jakarta, where middle-and-higher income people live. Yanto, 27, went to Jakarta to leave behind hardship in his village in Pati, East Java. "It's really hard to earn a living in my village. I didn't continue my school because I didn't want to burden my parents," he said, adding that people in the village make meager income from farming and fishing. When he arrived in the capital in 1994, his first job was as a shop attendant at a drug store in Glodok West Jakarta. At that time, he earned Rp 200,000 a month. Since then, Yanto has had two or three different jobs, before finally in 1998, his friend offered him a job as a becak driver around the Bendungan Hilir market, Central Jakarta. "I was hooked to the profession the minute my friend offered me the job. I think being a becak driver is really cool. I can be my own boss," he said smiling broadly. Yanto got his first becak by renting it from the owner. But later on, he bought it out of his own savings for Rp 600,000. He said that he can pocket between Rp 20,000 to Rp 30,000 a day. Apparently, for Yanto being a becak driver is not just a job, it is a career. "If someday I have money and an opportunity for a 'decent' job, I won't give up my profession as a becak driver," said Yanto. His love for his job also gives him courage. He was not afraid when he came face to face with the city's security and public order officers in a becak crackdown. "I'm not doing anything wrong. I don't kill or steal," he said. But, his choice of career was not without a cost. He separated from his wife because she wanted him to have a more stable job. "I couldn't always bring home money. So, she decided to go back to her parents in the village and took my son with her," Yanto said bitterly. Support He also lamented the lack of support from the government. Hundreds of becak drivers staged a rally on Wednesday at the North Jakarta mayoralty office and also in front of the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-Perjuangan) headquarters in Central Jakarta. "It claimed to be the poor people's party, but it was only words," said one of them. The becak drivers felt that the administration hated poor people so much, that it felt compelled to conduct becak raid ahead of the 56th Independence Day. "Independence only caters to the haves, not for the poor people like us," he concluded. As for the city administration, it is quite clear. The law bans becak from the capital and governor Sutiyoso has declared war against becak. This time, he and his officers, backed by the police, want to show the public that they will uphold the law at whatever cost. This Website is designed for The Jakarta Post by CNRG ITB. All contents copyright ? of The Jakarta Post. webmaster@thejakartapost.com ---------- forwarded for the purposes of education and research. From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Mon Aug 20 08:56:17 2001 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2001 07:56:17 +0800 Subject: [sustran] fwd: more on Jakarta pedicab raids and violence Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0B86F48F@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> The Jakarta Post August 15, 2001 Man dies as pedicab raid turns violent JAKARTA (JP): One official was killed and two others were injured when a crackdown by city public order officials on becak (pedicab) drivers turned violent in Roxy and nearby Grogol on Tuesday. Hundreds of angry pedicab drivers aided by crowds of people armed themselves with molotov cocktails, machetes, steel bars and stones. They set fire to two pick-up trucks belonging to the city administration and beat an official to death in the riot provoked by an attempt by the authorities to evict them from the main streets in the area. The riot also caused damage to eight other cars and a motorcycle and prompted Roxy Mas International Trade Center to suspend its business. Eyewitnesses said the riot started when the becak drivers and the crowds attacked some 500 officials from the city administration arriving at Jl. Zainul Arifin, West Jakarta, to raid pedicabs operating there. Raya Siahaan, the head of the city's center for monitoring social disorder, said the becak drivers apparently had prior knowledge of the raid and greeted officials with all weapons they had. They stoned five cars dropping off officials coming for the crackdown at 10.30 am. The officials responded by trying to hit rioters with their batons. They fled, however, when they realized they were outnumbered. The rioters chased the officials and set fire to a Toyota Kijang car owned by the city administration. Central Jakarta Police officers tried to disperse the mob by firing tear gas. Some continued to chase officials escaping toward Jl. Hashim Asyari, Central Jakarta, while some others marched toward Jl. Kiyai Tapa and Jl. S. Parman in Grogol, West Jakarta. On Jl. Hashim Asyari near Roxy Mas International Trade Center, they badly beat an official named Matsani and burned down another car belonging to the municipal administration. Matsani, 52, died after being treated at a nearby hospital. The crowd moving toward Grogol destroyed two cars also owned by the city administration. After reaching the former West Jakarta mayoralty building on Jl. S. Parman they destroyed several cars and a motorcycle. Siahaan insisted that the municipal administration would continue to crackdown on becak. "The incident will not stop us from conducting raids on pedicabs," he said, arguing that the city administration had banned becak from operating in the city through Regulation No. 11/1988. Central Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Mathius Salempang said that they had yet to arrest any suspect in the incident. "We will continue to investigate the case," he said. On Monday, some 74 pedicab drivers set up a union with the support of Urban Poor Consortium, a non-governmental organization, to fight attempts to evict them from the city. The Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) condemned the raid saying it was against the law. The becak drivers intend to fight for their right to operate in the capital. "We have received information that becak drivers and street vendors from Greater Jakarta will hold a rally at the City Council on Wednesday," Paulus R. Mahulette, the operational director of LBH's Jakarta chapter, was quoted by Antara as saying. In a related development, about 200 native Jakartans grouped under the Betawi Security Movement (Gerak Betawi), staged a rally at the Central Jakarta mayoralty building as a display of support for the ban on becak in the city. Lulung, the leader of the group, told The Jakarta Post that the operation of becak was against city regulations, "that's why we oppose their operation." The authorities phased out the pedicabs in 1988 due to worsening traffic jams in the city, claiming they were inhumane to the drivers. But, economic conditions have caused an influx of people from outside the city seeking work as becak drivers. (04) From kuki at pelangi.or.id Thu Aug 23 18:34:35 2001 From: kuki at pelangi.or.id (Kuki Soejachmoen) Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 16:34:35 +0700 Subject: [sustran] Re: fwd: more on Jakarta pedicab raids and violence In-Reply-To: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0B86F48F@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> Message-ID: Dear all: A short update on what happen in Jakarta at the moment. As Paul mentioned in his last email, the local government of Jakarta wanted to evict the pedicab from Jakarta. The first effort was conducted at 01.00 am, August 14th, 2001 as 70 pedicabs inside their garage were picked-up. This was followed by a riot in the next morning. The eviction was based on Local Regulation no. 11/1988 (known as Perda no.11/1988), Article 18 that prohibit the production and supply of pedicabs in Jakarta which also prohibit the provision of motorized and non-motorized public transport services of unlisted types. (It is not clear for us either, even the one in Bahasa Indonesia is confusing). The riot did not stop the local government of doing the eviction of pedicabs. Responding the situation at the moment, NGOs in Jakarta are now working harder as a continuation of advocacy and other efforts started in the beginning of July 2001. Media campaign (both written and audio-visual) is already showing some results, for example polling done by a radio in Jakarta showed that 75% of respondents demanded the existent of pedicabs in Jakarta. This morning, representatives of NGOs and pedicabs drivers have met two main parties at the parliament, namely PDI-P and PKB. Both are taking the result of discussion into account and will bring the issue to the meeting between the parliament and the Minister of Home Affair on Monday with one important point that is to stop the eviction of pedicabs. Rally of meeting will continue tomorrow by having meeting with the Coordinating Minister for Public-welfare to address the concept of managing the operation of pedicabs in Jakarta. Should any of you have input related to this issue, i.e., paratransit management and community-based transport system, please address your email to me (by replying this) and cc-ing to my colleague at andi_rahmah@pelangi.or.id. Your valuable input would mean a lot to our movement in keeping the existent of pedicabs as an environmental-friendly transport mode. Cheers, Moekti Handajani Soejachmoen (Kuki) PELANGI - Indonesia Jl. Danau Tondano no. A4, Pejompongan Jakarta 10210, INDONESIA phone: (6221) 5735020 fax: (6221) 5732503 -----Original Message----- From: owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org [mailto:owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org]On Behalf Of Paul Barter Sent: Monday, August 20, 2001 6:56 AM To: 'sustran-discuss@jca.apc.org' Subject: [sustran] fwd: more on Jakarta pedicab raids and violence The Jakarta Post August 15, 2001 Man dies as pedicab raid turns violent JAKARTA (JP): One official was killed and two others were injured when a crackdown by city public order officials on becak (pedicab) drivers turned violent in Roxy and nearby Grogol on Tuesday. Hundreds of angry pedicab drivers aided by crowds of people armed themselves with molotov cocktails, machetes, steel bars and stones. They set fire to two pick-up trucks belonging to the city administration and beat an official to death in the riot provoked by an attempt by the authorities to evict them from the main streets in the area. The riot also caused damage to eight other cars and a motorcycle and prompted Roxy Mas International Trade Center to suspend its business. Eyewitnesses said the riot started when the becak drivers and the crowds attacked some 500 officials from the city administration arriving at Jl. Zainul Arifin, West Jakarta, to raid pedicabs operating there. Raya Siahaan, the head of the city's center for monitoring social disorder, said the becak drivers apparently had prior knowledge of the raid and greeted officials with all weapons they had. They stoned five cars dropping off officials coming for the crackdown at 10.30 am. The officials responded by trying to hit rioters with their batons. They fled, however, when they realized they were outnumbered. The rioters chased the officials and set fire to a Toyota Kijang car owned by the city administration. Central Jakarta Police officers tried to disperse the mob by firing tear gas. Some continued to chase officials escaping toward Jl. Hashim Asyari, Central Jakarta, while some others marched toward Jl. Kiyai Tapa and Jl. S. Parman in Grogol, West Jakarta. On Jl. Hashim Asyari near Roxy Mas International Trade Center, they badly beat an official named Matsani and burned down another car belonging to the municipal administration. Matsani, 52, died after being treated at a nearby hospital. The crowd moving toward Grogol destroyed two cars also owned by the city administration. After reaching the former West Jakarta mayoralty building on Jl. S. Parman they destroyed several cars and a motorcycle. Siahaan insisted that the municipal administration would continue to crackdown on becak. "The incident will not stop us from conducting raids on pedicabs," he said, arguing that the city administration had banned becak from operating in the city through Regulation No. 11/1988. Central Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Mathius Salempang said that they had yet to arrest any suspect in the incident. "We will continue to investigate the case," he said. On Monday, some 74 pedicab drivers set up a union with the support of Urban Poor Consortium, a non-governmental organization, to fight attempts to evict them from the city. The Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) condemned the raid saying it was against the law. The becak drivers intend to fight for their right to operate in the capital. "We have received information that becak drivers and street vendors from Greater Jakarta will hold a rally at the City Council on Wednesday," Paulus R. Mahulette, the operational director of LBH's Jakarta chapter, was quoted by Antara as saying. In a related development, about 200 native Jakartans grouped under the Betawi Security Movement (Gerak Betawi), staged a rally at the Central Jakarta mayoralty building as a display of support for the ban on becak in the city. Lulung, the leader of the group, told The Jakarta Post that the operation of becak was against city regulations, "that's why we oppose their operation." The authorities phased out the pedicabs in 1988 due to worsening traffic jams in the city, claiming they were inhumane to the drivers. But, economic conditions have caused an influx of people from outside the city seeking work as becak drivers. (04) From litman at vtpi.org Fri Aug 24 09:20:41 2001 From: litman at vtpi.org (Todd Litman) Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 17:20:41 -0700 Subject: [sustran] Re: Public transport as a social phenomenon In-Reply-To: <4.3.1.0.20010723210324.00a7ebd0@mail.cmb.ac.lk> References: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0B86F48F@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.20010823172041.012c7760@pop.islandnet.com> At 09:05 PM 7/23/01 +0600, you wrote: >A student of ours is writing her dissertation on Urban Transport as a >social phenomenon. she is examining the impact of poor urban transport >facilities on the lives of ordinary women and men both while in transit and >outside. I wonder whether you could direct us to some relevant literature on this. Dear Kumudu Kusum Kumara You might start with the chapter on "TDM in Developing Regions" of our Online TDM Encyclopedia, available at http://www.vtpi.org. It references several studies of transportation impacts in developing countries, and ways to create more affordable and balanced transportation systems, meaning that there are a variety of modes to choose from. Also see chapters on nonmotorized transportation, transit improvements, shuttle services, transportation choice, and equity impacts. Best wishes. Sincerely, Todd Litman, Director Victoria Transport Policy Institute "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" 1250 Rudlin Street Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560 E-mail: litman@vtpi.org Website: http://www.vtpi.org From kuki at pelangi.or.id Fri Aug 24 21:26:35 2001 From: kuki at pelangi.or.id (Kuki Soejachmoen) Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2001 19:26:35 +0700 Subject: [sustran] Support for pedicabs in Jakarta In-Reply-To: <3.0.5.32.20010823172041.012c7760@pop.islandnet.com> Message-ID: Dear all, Following-up our email yesterday, we really appreciate if you would send a pedicabs-support fax and a protest fax of pedicabs eviction to the related authorities in Jakarta. It will be helpful if you can also give your input based on your expertise ... Here are the fax numbers that you can contact: - Local government of West Jakarta - (6221) 582 1720 - Local government of East Jakarta - (6221) 487 02159 - Local government of Central Jakarta - (6221) 344 0610 - Local government of North Jakarta - (6221) 490 581 - Local government of South Jakarta - (6221) 739 5920 - Governor of Jakarta - (6221) 384 8653 - Minister of Home Affair - (6221) 352 4043 - Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia - (6221) 381 0104 - President of the Republic of Indonesia - (6221) 344 1061 or (6221) 384 8653 Thanks for your support ... Andi Rahmah and Moekti Handajani Soejachmoen (Kuki) PELANGI - Indonesia Jl. Danau Tondano no. A4, Pejompongan Jakarta 10210, INDONESIA phone: (6221) 5735020 fax: (6221) 5732503 -----Original Message----- From: owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org [mailto:owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org]On Behalf Of Todd Litman Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 7:21 AM To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org Subject: [sustran] Re: Public transport as a social phenomenon At 09:05 PM 7/23/01 +0600, you wrote: >A student of ours is writing her dissertation on Urban Transport as a >social phenomenon. she is examining the impact of poor urban transport >facilities on the lives of ordinary women and men both while in transit and >outside. I wonder whether you could direct us to some relevant literature on this. Dear Kumudu Kusum Kumara You might start with the chapter on "TDM in Developing Regions" of our Online TDM Encyclopedia, available at http://www.vtpi.org. It references several studies of transportation impacts in developing countries, and ways to create more affordable and balanced transportation systems, meaning that there are a variety of modes to choose from. Also see chapters on nonmotorized transportation, transit improvements, shuttle services, transportation choice, and equity impacts. Best wishes. Sincerely, Todd Litman, Director Victoria Transport Policy Institute "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" 1250 Rudlin Street Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560 E-mail: litman@vtpi.org Website: http://www.vtpi.org From kisansbc at vsnl.com Sat Aug 25 09:50:14 2001 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (kisan) Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2001 06:20:14 +0530 Subject: [sustran] [sustran] Public transport as a social phenomenon References: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0B86F48F@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> <4.3.1.0.20010723210324.00a7ebd0@mail.cmb.ac.lk> Message-ID: <000701c12cff$e77b88c0$074bc5cb@u9w6e4> Dear Kumudu Kusum Kumara, Your email of 23 July came to us on 22 August. We cannot recommend any literature however if your student wants to study Public Transport as a social phenomenon in operation, then Mumbai can be a very live and articulating area to study. Public road transport and rail transport each provide 5 million journeys a day at probably the lowest rate in the most congested areas and most suffocating condition. Bus service is municipalised while rail is India Government owned. Every (so called) development displaces slum and pavement dwellers, about 65% of Mumbai's population of 12 million (Census of India 2001). Quite often a few elite using public interest litigation forum add to the hardship to the poorest of the poor. We have been involved in traffic and transport as a part of urban and regional development for over 30 years. We would be most happy to help your student if she chooses to visit to study Mumbai for her dissertation. A week's stay may be adequate. Best wishes. Kisan Mehta mailto: President, Save Bombay Committee, 620 Jame Jamshed Road, Dadar East, Mumbai 400 014 Tel: 00 91 22 414 9688 Fax: 00 91 22 415 5536 ----- Original Message ----- From: Kumudu Kusum Kumara To: Sent: Monday, July 23, 2001 8:35 PM Subject: [sustran] re: Public transport as a social phenomenon From akiladinakar at hotmail.com Sun Aug 26 15:14:26 2001 From: akiladinakar at hotmail.com (Akila Dinakar) Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 06:14:26 +0000 Subject: [sustran] Re: Public transport as a social phenomenon Message-ID: Please ask her to get in touch with me: akiladinakar@hotmail.com or akilad@thehindu.co.in. I am following the subject and have addresses she can communicate with. Thank you. >From: Kumudu Kusum Kumara >Reply-To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org >To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org >Subject: [sustran] re: Public transport as a social phenomenon >Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2001 21:05:56 +0600 > >A student of ours is writing her dissertation on Urban Transport as a >social phenomenon. she is examining the impact of poor urban transport >facilities on the lives of ordinary women and men both while in transit and >outside. >I wonder whether you could direct us to some relevant literature on this. >Thank you very much. > >Kumudu Kusum Kumara >Dept of Sociology >University of Colombo > _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp From sujit at vsnl.com Mon Aug 27 00:44:33 2001 From: sujit at vsnl.com (Sujit Patwardhan) Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 21:14:33 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re:(Sustran):Public transport as a social phenomenon In-Reply-To: <4.3.1.0.20010723210324.00a7ebd0@mail.cmb.ac.lk> References: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0B86F48F@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20010826193312.00a971e0@202.54.10.1> 26 August 2001 Dear Kumudu Kusum Kumara, We have been studying the Urban Transport Issue in Pune, India and would be happy to share our experiences insights with your student, who welcome to get in touch with us. -- Sujit Patwardhan Hon Secretary PARISAR A brief write up on Parisar PARISAR Parisar, which means 'surroundings' in Marathi, was formed on 5th June (the World Environment Day) 1981. Since inception Parisar has been working as a non-political, independent citizen's group for the cause of environmental awareness and education. Though started informally by a group of concerned individuals wanting to educate themselves and actively do something about the deterioration in the quality of urban life, Parisar is now a full-fledged registered body with about 150 members. It is no longer restricted merely to the narrow focus of improving the quality of the Urban Environment but also in to trying to understand 'Environment' in its totality - from its global ramifications to its rural and local implications. Though active participation has been mainly restricted to local issues relevant to the Pune city, we have tried, both through the Parisar Varta, our news bulletin, as well as an exhibition of posters, to reach people all over Maharashtra. Whenever open spaces -- be they lakes, ponds or hills, are threatened to be encroached upon by unthinking or vested interests of powerful lobbies, Parisar has tried to stall the encroachment by building up public pressure through signature campaigns, press releases, handouts, demonstrations, dharnas etc. and has often had to resort to legal intervention, mainly in the instance of violation of FSI and other building control rules. Today high rise buildings without adequate infrastructure of water, drainage, roads and parking facilities have led to an unplanned skewed growth of our city. With the builders increasingly taking charge of the land-use pattern of the city and the government lacking in political will, scarce urban resources are being diverted to the better-off sections of the population, leaving the majority in unhealthy deteriorating environmental condition. Parisar believes that environmental concern should not merely be restricted to planting trees, beautifying the surroundings and creating sanctuaries for endangered species. Environmental orientation questions the very model of 'development', which exploits the natural resources and people at large for the benefit of a few. This conviction has led Parisar into diverse issues such as natural farming, urban planning, sustainable urban transport, the present mode of industrialisation, dangers of atomic energy, destruction caused by large dams and above all to evolving a model for environmentally sustainable development. -------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- At 09:05 PM 7/23/01 +0600, you wrote: >A student of ours is writing her dissertation on Urban Transport as a >social phenomenon. she is examining the impact of poor urban transport >facilities on the lives of ordinary women and men both while in transit >and outside. >I wonder whether you could direct us to some relevant literature on this. >Thank you very much. > >Kumudu Kusum Kumara >Dept of Sociology >University of Colombo From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Mon Aug 27 16:42:29 2001 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 15:42:29 +0800 Subject: [sustran] fwd: A New Bike for Africa - a highlight from Mobilizing Africa # 4 Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0B86F4AC@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> MOBILIZING AFRICA A Bi-Weekly Bulletin from ITDP and Africa Sustainable Transport (SusTran) Advocates ============================================================= Electronic Edition Number 4 August 24, 2001 ============================================================= HEADLINES ============================================================== * A NEW BIKE FOR AFRICA (Part 1 of 2) * BICYCLES KEY TO SURVIVAL IN UGANDA (Part 1 of 2) * KENYA'S 'QUICK AND DEADLY' MATATUS * COUPLE TREKS NEW ZEALAND FOR TANZANIA BIKE PROJECT * SUPER COMMUTER: U.S. CONGRESS REP. EARL BLUMENAUER * WANTED: SHOP MANAGER FOR RECYCLE-A-BICYCLE NYC: $30,000/yr ============================================================== ** To learn more about ITDP visit http://www.itdp.org *** To submit your articles to Mobilizing Africa, or to (un)subzcribe: steely@igc.org * * * A NEW BICYCLE FOR AFRICA The Old Black Roadster Africa is the most rapidly urbanizing continent in the world, and the youngest. Each day millions of ambitious young entrepreneurs and wage earners walk to access jobs, inputs and customers in Africa's growing cities. If all of those walking trips were replaced with bicycling trips, all of Africa would reap significant productivity gains. The most widely available bicycle in Africa, the long-standing "Black Roadster" has decades of proven use, and spare parts are widely available. Yet sales of the Black Roadster have been decreasing in many countries, particularly in urban areas. Why is this bicycle being shunned by a new generation of increasingly urban Africans, most all of whom have an acute need for low-cost transportation? First, the Black Roadster is synonymous with the elderly, rural, and poor. Young urban entrepreneurs are moving up in the world, and to travel like an 'old farmer from the village' runs contrary to their aspirations. Second, the Roadster is almost exclusively considered a man's bicycle, presenting aspiring female cyclists with yet another obstacle to riding. The Black Roadster has other problems. Its 1.5-inch wide tires are too thin for many unpaved roads and tracks, and the bicycle itself is too big for women and children. Neither the handlebars nor the seat are easily adjustable. Roadsters rarely have adequate reflectors, and their design does not optimize efficiency. The gearing is generally too high, and thus difficult to pedal, especially for new riders. What do Africa's young, increasingly urban and status conscious consumers want in a bicycle? Like their American and European counterparts they want colorful mountain bikes. The problem is that mountain bikes and mountain bike parts (especially derailleurs) are fragile and oftentimes unavailable, and when parts are available they tend to be prohibitively expensive. There is a dearth of moderately priced modern bicycles and related parts. A Gap in The Urban Market The increasingly global bicycle industry is focused on developing bicycles for competition and recreation, not for utilitarian purposes. This has changed somewhat in recent years with many of the major brands selling increasing numbers of 'comfort' bicycles. Unfortunately, these bicycles target relatively affluent consumers in European and American markets. For low-income consumers in India, Africa, and Asia, the industry has been content to use an old design that has not changed in over 60 years: the Black Roadster. In September 1999, ITDP began consulting with several leading U.S. based bicycle designers, asking the question: "What is an appropriate, low-cost and modern bicycle for Africa?" At the same time, single speed mountain bicycles were gaining adherents because of their elegance, efficiency, simplicity, and low maintenance requirements. Leading high-end bicycle companies like Bianchi, VooDoo, and Kona were all rolling out single-speed bicycles. Also around this time ITDP was learning valuable lessons in India, where the most successfully commercialized innovations made to modernized cycle rickshaws were simple, low-cost "off the shelf" improvements-- not "new-fangled" ones. (continued in next issue) ... From kisansbc at vsnl.com Tue Aug 28 11:09:41 2001 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (kisan) Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2001 07:39:41 +0530 Subject: [sustran] [sustran] Public transport as a social phenomenon References: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0B86F48F@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg><4.3.1.0.20010723210324.00a7ebd0@mail.cmb.ac.lk> <4.3.1.0.20010725075611.00a68960@mail.cmb.ac.lk> Message-ID: <003701c12f68$350c7e40$7a4bc5cb@u9w6e4> Dear Kumudu, I can appreciate your desire to have documentation on conditions pervailing in Mumbai on the transport. Public transport is further burdened by cross subsidies, users of electricity staying in only a part of Mumbai pay out to meet the losses of public road bus service run in the entire city. There are many a points where study would reveal prejudices against public road transport to placate the private car. The fact remains that no academic study is available. We can help your student to verify my submissions. We can show official Census figures to show suffocation. Best wishes Kisan Mehta ----- Original Message ----- From: Kumudu Kusum Kumara To: kisan mehta Sent: Wednesday, July 25, 2001 7:30 AM Subject: Re: [sustran] Public transport as a social phenomenon > Dear Kisan, From kisansbc at vsnl.com Tue Aug 28 11:21:52 2001 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (kisan) Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2001 07:51:52 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: common interests References: Message-ID: <004101c12f68$51b1de00$7a4bc5cb@u9w6e4> Dear Eric amd Sustran friends, We thank you for offering to study difficulties of public transport and pedestrians in Mumbai. It would be great if you could organise such a study. I am rushing this to accept your enticing offer even befoe I have looked at studies you have referred. For a computer illiterate like me, it takes much longer to access this valuable info. Thank you. Best wishes Kisan Mehta ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Cc: John Whitelegg Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2001 11:19 AM Subject: common interests > Dear Mr. Mehta, > > Just the shortest of notes to tell you that I read your latest note to > Sustran with the greatest interest, and I would like to think that the work > of some of the programs under The Commons might be of interest and use to > you. (They are all, of course, entirely free and are made possible through > the work of volunteers). > > Perhaps I can particularly recommend: > > * The @New Mobility Agenda at http://newmobility.org > * Journal of World Transport Policy & Practice at > http://www.ecoplan.org/wtpp > * @World CarFree Day Consortium at http://carfreeday.com > > The Journal has published a special number on transport and related issues > in Calcutta. Perhaps it is time we do the same for Mumbai? > > With all good wishes, > > Eric Britton > > The @New Mobility Forum is permanently at http://newmobility.org > The Commons ___Sustainable Development and Social Justice___ > Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France > Eric.Britton@NewMobility.org Tel: +331 4326 1323 > > >