From ktsourl at mailbox.gr Wed Jun 2 05:27:53 2004 From: ktsourl at mailbox.gr (K. Tsourlakis) Date: Tue, 1 Jun 2004 23:27:53 +0300 Subject: [sustran] Motorcycles summarised Message-ID: <200406012027.XAA15110@mailbox.gr> Perhaps motorcycles is another case where the problem of inappropriate technology transfer from north to south emerge (because traffic engineering is certainly a form of technology). The fact that motorcycle use is limited (if not marginal) compared to car traffic in most of the technologically influential countries (e.g. in 1990 only 0.2% of commuting trips in US were done by motorcycle - http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/journey/usmode90.txt - since then m/c use has been declining further) results to a limited interest for relevant research. For people living in these countries it is often difficult to realise the complexities of extended motorcycle use, and it is very easy to miss the point and e.g. to confuse the market view with the sustainability prospect. For instance is low price an advantage from a sustainability viewpoint? Then why congestion charge, toll roads and other ways to internalise the external cost are considered sustainable? If cars were free, wou! ld this considered as an advantage? It seems that the issue of motorcycle-car comparison can be reduced into two questions: 1. Are motorcycles a more preferable encumbrance on the streets than cars? 2. Do motorcycles really substitute cars on the street? My personal answer to both questions is a clear NO - my arguments follow. 1. The dominant (and unfounded) opinion, that it is better to use motorcycles than cars, is based in a series of myths, which I will try to debunk: * motorcycles pollute less than cars do This is one of the most often as well as the most big myths about motorcycles. It is mostly caused from m/cs having usually smaller engines than cars do, hence they consume less fuel. Although engine size isn't exactly proportional to fuel consumption (rotations rate is also involved and m/c motors work usually on higher rpm) less fuel consumption does not necessarily results to less pollution. The reason this doesn't happen is that m/c engines are less developed than car engines. Many m/cs have 2-stroke engines, which burn lubricants together with fuel. But even on the larger ones (sometimes having engines equal in power to a small or medium sized car - so the smaller engine argument doesn't apply at all) it is difficult to incorporate anti-pollution technology (hybrids, catalyst etc). This will always be so, because it is part of the low-price "advantage" - m/cs will be a step back from cars in "green" technology incorporation. Generally as the size of the vehicle increase! s it is easier to apply pollution prevention technology (e.g. hybrid engines)- this is why it is much easier to implement it to buses and trains (in addition they are run by professionals and are much easier monitored, which facilitates further pollution control) The usual opinion that m/cs pollute less than cars do, is not substantiated by evidence. In Greece, where motorcycles rule, their pollution is not monitored like cars (it is part of their "promotion package"). But take a look for instance on the table at http://www.fuss-ev.de/themen/motorrad.html [http://www.fuss-ev.de/themen/motorrad.gif] where limits of allowed pollutants in Germany are presented, and proves that m/cs are allowed to pollute more than cars. A study trying to estimate the total pollution from every possible source, has shown that in Greece in some pollutants (like unburned hydrocarburates) the total air pollution from m/cs is already heavier than that of cars, although they are half the number of c! ars [http://www.aeat.co.uk/netcen/corinair/94/summgre.html - the situa tion is worse 10 years later because of the proliferation of m/cs]. Also noise, which is another form of pollution (affecting mental rather than physical health) usually is not taken into account in car-m/c comparisons. The most that could be said about motorcycles is that they pollute somehow differently but certainly not less than cars. * motorcycles take up less space on the street This is true of course, if you compare one m/c and one car, but things are more complicated than this. Because what this argument implies is that we can substitute e.g. 1 car with 1 m/c. However in densely populated cities, like those considered as ideal, street space disposed for traffic is normally saturated and every traffic flow improvement activates the well known induced traffic effect (look e.g. at http://www.vtpi.org/gentraf.pdf). So the choice is not between 1 car and 1 m/c, but rather between 1 car and 2 m/cs or 3 m/cs, taking up the same space, but polluting more than 1 car does. Even worse is the case when m/cs do not reduce at all car use, but simply fill the gaps of car flow and pedestrian and free spaces, as the living example of Athens suggests. So, less space taken up from each individual m/c does not necessarily mean less total motorised traffic. What m/cs are good in, is in fact to fill up better than cars the totality of urban space leaving less voids tha! n cars do. Can this feature be considered as "sustainable" or "environmental friendly"? * Motorcycle accidents are caused by the presence of cars Motorcycles are inherently unsafe - more accurately: inherently more unsafe than cars. This is not only because of their smaller mass in the case of a collision, but because of their instability and less protection offered to their riders. In a study done in Germany almost 40% of m/c fatalities are caused from collisions with pedestrians, other m/cs or fixed objects (http://www.swov.nl/rapport/D-2001-05.pdf p.115 table6.2) although the number of m/cs in Germany is less than 10% of the number of cars. In countries where the number of m/cs is higher compared to the number of cars (like Vietnam), this proportion must be much larger. The numbers of m/c accidents are order of magnitudes higher than that of cars not only in countries like Cambodja, where law enforcement is almost non existent, but in every country of the world - look for instance in UK (http://www.begin-motorcycling.co.uk/rospa3.htm) or in the clockwork ordered Switzerland (http://www.bfu.ch/english/statistics/200! 1/usv_t_06.htm). * Motorcycle mix well with pedestrian flows and environments Because of their smaller size, m/cs can run in parallel rows on the same lane. The difficulty of a pedestrian to cross a street grows exponentially with the number of lanes (mathematically equals to p^n where n the number of lanes and p the probability to find a traffic gap in a single lane at a certain time interval). So they virtually double (or triple) the number of lanes and make crossing of the street (exponentially) more difficult for the pedestrians. Also, because of their small size it is difficult to block motorcycle intrusion in pedestrian spaces. While cars can be easily blocked using bollards, pipe frames and other hurdles, every engineering measure inhibiting motorcycle entrance will also inhibit pedestrians, wheelchair users, baby strollers etc. (e.g. http://www.pezh.gr/hmerida/moto1.jpg ) * Motorcycle improves social equity and is an economic medium to improve mobility for everyone Motorcycle is a mode of transport excluding a large part of the population and more particularly the most vulnerable one, not only as drivers (like cars do), but even as simple passengers: disabled and elderly persons, babies, small children etc. Motorcycle is not a low cost but a cheap [in the sense of paltry] transport medium. They are more expensive not only compared to cars (taking into consideration what they really offer), but also compared to public transit and bicycles offering the same mobility. Do the 2 million m/cs of Ho Chi Minh city cost really less than 2 million bicycles or 40.000 buses? (especially if we take into consideration functional costs and other externalities - "accidents", pollution related hospitalisation etc) Does anybody doubt that, in addition, the city would function better, the environment would be healthier and total cost would be less in the latter case? There is no perfect free-market intermodal competition in urban space, because of the externalities of the necessary arrangements. These arrangements (road building, urban planning, facilities placing and pricing etc) affect transport modes and people will choose whatever happens to be cheaper in terms of time and money in each particular place, whether this is car, motorcycle, train, bicycle, donkey or sky rocket. M/c (instead of car) promotion to overcome income shortage is equal to condemn lower classes in an intrinsically unsafe mode of transport. Correctly working administrations take over the responsibility to create a proper public transit network able to serve better and in an egalitarian way the society, and favour mild transport modes (walking - biking). This way they can achieve efficiency (less congestion - better mobility), more equity and better environment for their citizens and the whole planet. 2. Many people in N. America (and other sprawl plagued places) tend to see in motorcycles (or other motorised devices) an alternative to cars, which are connected with this problem. However this seems to be rather wishful thinking than a grounded strategy. Is there any example around the world where motorcycles have ever improved sprawl? On the contrary there are plenty of examples where motorcycles were the first step towards motorization (e.g. currently in China, some years ago in southern Europe). The next step, when income grows further, is the shift to private car. Also, the phenomenon of sprawl seems to be more complicated than the simplistic equation sprawl=cars, and it certainly involves the desire to live alone in a building surrounded by a one acre land plot. Of course when urban densities decline, and quality public transit is not anymore feasible, then cars become a necessity, but a motorcycle can equally well serve this purpose. M/cs will always be the transport medium of a minority. There are plenty of situations where m/c is unsuitable - I don't think anyone would ever reasonably wish to carry his 3-years-old child or his 90-years-old granny with a m/c (at least if there is an alternative like a proper public transit) and I doubt if your wife would ever accept to risk her 100$ coiffure riding a m/c. According to recent studies their modal split share in Athens is still less than 10% despite the favourable conditions and the unconditional promotion by the greek administration (they have now announced new tax breaks [http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=43184]- the second in one year period - and they are preparing special motorcycle lanes!). In Greece, when cities were saturated with cars, the administration instead promoting biking, walking and public transit, they promoted motorcycle use, in order to squeeze even more motorised traffic on the congested streets. The results of th! is strategy can be seen at http://www.pezh.gr/english/photo4.htm ---------------------- A more interesting question is why m/cs are so much favoured, though these shortcomings are almost evident to anybody willing to scrutinise the issue? The usual answer concerning cars is the powerful car lobby (car and oil corporations). But in the case of motorcycles it is something more: _fanaticism_. A large part of motorcycle users are really fanatics. In Athens, whenever some tax raise or other measure affecting m/cs is impending, motorcycles manifestations are organised - so they gain continuously more privileges. In mid 90's the European Commission decided to promote a directive to abolish m/cs with more than 100HP power (I think this still holds in France), because so much power has obviously no other purpose than breaking speed limits. Some fanatics manifested and managed to block it. There is a strategy to present m/cs (which are even more lethal and noxious than cars) as harmless and sympathetic. I strongly recommend, for anybody able to understand german, the afo! rementioned link [http://www.fuss-ev.de/themen/motorrad.html] - I have similar experiences from Greece. So, the proposition that total abolition of motorcycles is a good idea, maybe sounds ridiculous but is not at all (actually nothing IS really ridiculous but always SEEMS ridiculous). What we are talking on this list (and many other places) about limiting motorised traffic would probably also seem ridiculous 50 years ago (and perhaps reactionary thoughts against progress) but now it is mainstream. And perhaps after 50 years all this irrational, wasteful and self-catastrophic way transports are currently oraganised, would seem even more ridiculous. _____________________________________________________________________________________ http://www.mailbox.gr Αποκτήστε δωρεάν το μοναδικό σας e-mail. http://www.thesuperweb.gr Website με Ασφαλές Controlpanel από 6 Euro και δώρο το domain σας! From ecoplan.adsl at wanadoo.fr Wed Jun 2 17:30:41 2004 From: ecoplan.adsl at wanadoo.fr (ecoplan.adsl@wanadoo.fr) Date: Wed, 2 Jun 2004 10:30:41 +0200 Subject: [sustran] World Technology Network 2004 Prize Nomination - Your views Message-ID: <001c01c4487b$e5045460$6501a8c0@home> Wednesday, June 02, 2004, Paris, France, Europe As a number of you know, we have opened up an 'international peer support' panel to gather views on and support of the Mayor of London's Congestion Charging program, to support our nomination of the mayor for the World Technology Network's 2004 Environment Prize. You will find full information on this on the New Mobility Agenda site at http://newmobility.org. A quick reminder of what the WTN prize seeks to commend: "The World Technology Awards have been created to honour those individual leaders or, at times, co-equal teams from across the globe who most contribute to the advance of emerging technologies of all sorts for the benefit of business and society. We especially seek to honour those innovators who have done work recently which has the greatest likely future significance and impact over the long-term. The WTN awards are about those individuals whose work today will, in our opinion, create the greatest "ripple effects" in the future... in both expected and unexpected ways." Our support for this nomination is a function of our firm conviction that massive innovation in many areas is critical if we are ever to break the Sustainable Mobility gridlock. And this, like carsharing, clearing all the cars off the streets for one day and a certain number of other less familiar approaches, is one that in my view should be getting a lot more attention. I invite you to have a look at the issues and views, and make your voice heard. Again, the poll closes on this on 15 June, at which time we submit our collective recommendations and observations to the other members of the WTN jury, of which I have the honor to be one. Make your voice heard! Eric Britton -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 6132 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040602/f256d2e2/winmail.bin From pascaldesmond at eircom.net Wed Jun 2 17:36:39 2004 From: pascaldesmond at eircom.net (Pascal Desmond) Date: Wed, 2 Jun 2004 09:36:39 +0100 Subject: [sustran] World Transport Policy & Practice Volume 10, Number 1, 2004 NOW AVAILABLE Message-ID: Volume 10, Number 1, 2004, of "World Transport Policy & Practice", a quarterly journal edited by Professor John Whitelegg, is available free of charge as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file at http://www.eco-logica.co.uk/WTPPhome.html Contents of Volume 10, Number 1, 2004: Economic Value of Walkability by Todd Alexander Litman U.S. Air Transportation Since 9/11/2001: Disruption or Transformation? by James deBettencourt, Hank Dittmar and Anthony Perl Just how (Travel) Smart are Australian universities when it comes to implementing sustainable travel? by Carey Curtis and Carlindi Holling Practical Lessons for Winning Support for Radical Transport Proposals by Marcus Enoch, Sarah Wixey and Stephen Ison ***** DOWNLOAD ADVICE If you are using Windows, please ensure that you 'right click' your mouse. This will download the file to your desktop for viewing off-line. This is standard Windows procedure for downloading files. ***** World Transport Policy & Practice ISSN 1352-7614 Eco-Logica Ltd., 53 Derwent Road, LANCASTER, LA1 3ES. U.K. telephone +44 1524 63175 Editor: Professor John Whitelegg Business Manager: Pascal Desmond As an anti-spam measure you need to replace the '%' sign with the '@' sign in the above e-mail addresses http://www.eco-logica.co.uk/WTPPhome.html From kisansbc at vsnl.com Thu Jun 3 18:29:24 2004 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (Kisan Mehta) Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 14:59:24 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: World Technology Network 2004 Prize Nomination - Your views References: <001c01c4487b$e5045460$6501a8c0@home> Message-ID: <008501c4494d$41ffa940$3226020a@im.eth.net> We support Kisan Mehta ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2004 2:00 PM Subject: [sustran] World Technology Network 2004 Prize Nomination - Your views Wednesday, June 02, 2004, Paris, France, Europe As a number of you know, we have opened up an 'international peer support' panel to gather views on and support of the Mayor of London's Congestion Charging program, to support our nomination of the mayor for the World Technology Network's 2004 Environment Prize. You will find full information on this on the New Mobility Agenda site at http://newmobility.org. A quick reminder of what the WTN prize seeks to commend: "The World Technology Awards have been created to honour those individual leaders or, at times, co-equal teams from across the globe who most contribute to the advance of emerging technologies of all sorts for the benefit of business and society. We especially seek to honour those innovators who have done work recently which has the greatest likely future significance and impact over the long-term. The WTN awards are about those individuals whose work today will, in our opinion, create the greatest "ripple effects" in the future... in both expected and unexpected ways." Our support for this nomination is a function of our firm conviction that massive innovation in many areas is critical if we are ever to break the Sustainable Mobility gridlock. And this, like carsharing, clearing all the cars off the streets for one day and a certain number of other less familiar approaches, is one that in my view should be getting a lot more attention. I invite you to have a look at the issues and views, and make your voice heard. Again, the poll closes on this on 15 June, at which time we submit our collective recommendations and observations to the other members of the WTN jury, of which I have the honor to be one. Make your voice heard! Eric Britton From whook at itdp.org Thu Jun 3 22:43:01 2004 From: whook at itdp.org (Walter Hook) Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 09:43:01 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: World Technology Network 2004 Prize Nomination - Yourviews References: <001c01c4487b$e5045460$6501a8c0@home> <008501c4494d$41ffa940$3226020a@im.eth.net> Message-ID: <001501c44970$b0523980$6801a8c0@WALTER> we fully support the london congestion charging system and believe it deserves the prize. is there something we need to do? walter hook itdp ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kisan Mehta" To: ; "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2004 5:29 AM Subject: [sustran] Re: World Technology Network 2004 Prize Nomination - Yourviews > We support > > Kisan Mehta > ----- Original Message ----- > From: > To: > Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2004 2:00 PM > Subject: [sustran] World Technology Network 2004 Prize Nomination - Your > views > > > Wednesday, June 02, 2004, Paris, France, Europe > > As a number of you know, we have opened up an 'international peer support' > panel to gather views on and support of the Mayor of London's Congestion > Charging program, to support our nomination of the mayor for the World > Technology Network's 2004 Environment Prize. You will find full information > on this on the New Mobility Agenda site at http://newmobility.org. > > A quick reminder of what the WTN prize seeks to commend: "The World > Technology Awards have been created to honour those individual leaders or, > at times, co-equal teams from across the globe who most contribute to the > advance of emerging technologies of all sorts for the benefit of business > and society. We especially seek to honour those innovators who have done > work recently which has the greatest likely future significance and impact > over the long-term. The WTN awards are about those individuals whose work > today will, in our opinion, create the greatest "ripple effects" in the > future... in both expected and unexpected ways." > > Our support for this nomination is a function of our firm conviction that > massive innovation in many areas is critical if we are ever to break the > Sustainable Mobility gridlock. And this, like carsharing, clearing all the > cars off the streets for one day and a certain number of other less familiar > approaches, is one that in my view should be getting a lot more attention. > > I invite you to have a look at the issues and views, and make your voice > heard. Again, the poll closes on this on 15 June, at which time we submit > our collective recommendations and observations to the other members of the > WTN jury, of which I have the honor to be one. > > Make your voice heard! > > Eric Britton > > From pardinus at yahoo.com Thu Jun 3 23:26:10 2004 From: pardinus at yahoo.com (Carlos Felipe Pardo V.) Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 07:26:10 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] Re: World Technology Network 2004 Prize Nomination - Yourviews In-Reply-To: <001501c44970$b0523980$6801a8c0@WALTER> Message-ID: <20040603142610.80108.qmail@web20313.mail.yahoo.com> The Humane City Foundation also supports the London Congestion Charging System ofr the prize. Carlos F. Pardo Fundaciσn Ciudad Humana- Humane City Foundation cpardo@ciudadhumana.org Walter Hook wrote: we fully support the london congestion charging system and believe it deserves the prize. is there something we need to do? walter hook itdp ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kisan Mehta" To: ; "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2004 5:29 AM Subject: [sustran] Re: World Technology Network 2004 Prize Nomination - Yourviews > We support > > Kisan Mehta > ----- Original Message ----- > From: > To: > Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2004 2:00 PM > Subject: [sustran] World Technology Network 2004 Prize Nomination - Your > views > > > Wednesday, June 02, 2004, Paris, France, Europe > > As a number of you know, we have opened up an 'international peer support' > panel to gather views on and support of the Mayor of London's Congestion > Charging program, to support our nomination of the mayor for the World > Technology Network's 2004 Environment Prize. You will find full information > on this on the New Mobility Agenda site at http://newmobility.org. > > A quick reminder of what the WTN prize seeks to commend: "The World > Technology Awards have been created to honour those individual leaders or, > at times, co-equal teams from across the globe who most contribute to the > advance of emerging technologies of all sorts for the benefit of business > and society. We especially seek to honour those innovators who have done > work recently which has the greatest likely future significance and impact > over the long-term. The WTN awards are about those individuals whose work > today will, in our opinion, create the greatest "ripple effects" in the > future... in both expected and unexpected ways." > > Our support for this nomination is a function of our firm conviction that > massive innovation in many areas is critical if we are ever to break the > Sustainable Mobility gridlock. And this, like carsharing, clearing all the > cars off the streets for one day and a certain number of other less familiar > approaches, is one that in my view should be getting a lot more attention. > > I invite you to have a look at the issues and views, and make your voice > heard. Again, the poll closes on this on 15 June, at which time we submit > our collective recommendations and observations to the other members of the > WTN jury, of which I have the honor to be one. > > Make your voice heard! > > Eric Britton > > Carlos F. Pardo V. Pardinus Research pardinus@yahoo.com --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040603/47dfdf45/attachment.html From ericbruun at earthlink.net Fri Jun 4 00:45:35 2004 From: ericbruun at earthlink.net (Eric Bruun) Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 11:45:35 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: Motorcycles summarised References: <200406012027.XAA15110@mailbox.gr> Message-ID: <010501c44981$d365f5e0$55fc45cf@earthlink.net> Dr. Mr. Tsourlakis: I think that calling motorcylists fanatics is like the pot calling the kettle black. It seems pretty apparent that you are an anti-motorcycle fanatic. I think that you exaggerate the support for motorcycles. I think that almost all of us recognize that there are drawbacks. Like any mode, we should be interested in figuring out what the best policy is from a public policy standpoint. This will vary from one place to the next . I think that it would be totally outrageous to ban motorcycles in developing countries while the elite are driving around in their luxury cars. These same elite are also probably setting public policy to favor their private mobility needs over better public transportation, as well, making motorcycles all the more attractive. I don't think it is a coincidence that fast growing Asian cities that have neglected public transport investments have exceptionally high motorcycle use. If one doesn't own a car, the alternatives are poor. I think that your pollution analysis is somewhat off-base. Motorcycles can and will be a lot cleaner in the future, no matter what the size. In the developing countries, one can blame Japanese companies for much of the current situation by selling obsolete models they would never sell in North America or Europe. But you can also blame dirty fuel, poor maintenance and other factors which also apply to autos and freight vehicles. You are correct that cleaner engines will probably have some impact on the price of smaller motorcycles, and so be it. As you say, it should be more expensive to drive. In the richer countries, some motorcycles are selected because they are cheap transportation, but many are selected for their features and performance, and in fact, overpowered. The price for the larger higher performance vehicles would not change much when they are cleaner, and the performance will still be adequate. As for road space, keep in mind that motorcycles need less parking space than autos. This is not unimportant in some situations. We also have to address the issue of freight and commerce. Motorcycles are not just for commuting and recreation. There might be a role for them if the alternative is autos and lorries. Eric Bruun ----- Original Message ----- From: "K. Tsourlakis" To: Sent: Tuesday, June 01, 2004 4:27 PM Subject: [sustran] Motorcycles summarised > > Perhaps motorcycles is another case where the problem of inappropriate technology transfer from north to south emerge (because traffic engineering is certainly a form of technology). The fact that motorcycle use is limited (if not marginal) compared to car traffic in most of the technologically influential countries (e.g. in 1990 only 0.2% of commuting trips in US were done by motorcycle - http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/journey/usmode90.txt - since then m/c use has been declining further) results to a limited interest for relevant research. For people living in these countries it is often difficult to realise the complexities of extended motorcycle use, and it is very easy to miss the point and e.g. to confuse the market view with the sustainability prospect. For instance is low price an advantage from a sustainability viewpoint? Then why congestion charge, toll roads and other ways to internalise the external cost are considered sustainable? If cars were free, wou! > ld this considered as an advantage? > > It seems that the issue of motorcycle-car comparison can be reduced into two questions: > 1. Are motorcycles a more preferable encumbrance on the streets than cars? > 2. Do motorcycles really substitute cars on the street? > My personal answer to both questions is a clear NO - my arguments follow. > > 1. The dominant (and unfounded) opinion, that it is better to use motorcycles than cars, is based in a series of myths, which I will try to debunk: > > * motorcycles pollute less than cars do > > This is one of the most often as well as the most big myths about motorcycles. It is mostly caused from m/cs having usually smaller engines than cars do, hence they consume less fuel. Although engine size isn't exactly proportional to fuel consumption (rotations rate is also involved and m/c motors work usually on higher rpm) less fuel consumption does not necessarily results to less pollution. The reason this doesn't happen is that m/c engines are less developed than car engines. Many m/cs have 2-stroke engines, which burn lubricants together with fuel. But even on the larger ones (sometimes having engines equal in power to a small or medium sized car - so the smaller engine argument doesn't apply at all) it is difficult to incorporate anti-pollution technology (hybrids, catalyst etc). This will always be so, because it is part of the low-price "advantage" - m/cs will be a step back from cars in "green" technology incorporation. Generally as the size of the vehicle increase! > s it is easier to apply pollution prevention technology (e.g. hybrid engines)- this is why it is much easier to implement it to buses and trains (in addition they are run by professionals and are much easier monitored, which facilitates further pollution control) The usual opinion that m/cs pollute less than cars do, is not substantiated by evidence. In Greece, where motorcycles rule, their pollution is not monitored like cars (it is part of their "promotion package"). But take a look for instance on the table at http://www.fuss-ev.de/themen/motorrad.html [http://www.fuss-ev.de/themen/motorrad.gif] where limits of allowed pollutants in Germany are presented, and proves that m/cs are allowed to pollute more than cars. A study trying to estimate the total pollution from every possible source, has shown that in Greece in some pollutants (like unburned hydrocarburates) the total air pollution from m/cs is already heavier than that of cars, although they are half the number of c! > ars [http://www.aeat.co.uk/netcen/corinair/94/summgre.html - the situa > tion is worse 10 years later because of the proliferation of m/cs]. Also noise, which is another form of pollution (affecting mental rather than physical health) usually is not taken into account in car-m/c comparisons. The most that could be said about motorcycles is that they pollute somehow differently but certainly not less than cars. > > * motorcycles take up less space on the street > > This is true of course, if you compare one m/c and one car, but things are more complicated than this. Because what this argument implies is that we can substitute e.g. 1 car with 1 m/c. However in densely populated cities, like those considered as ideal, street space disposed for traffic is normally saturated and every traffic flow improvement activates the well known induced traffic effect (look e.g. at http://www.vtpi.org/gentraf.pdf). So the choice is not between 1 car and 1 m/c, but rather between 1 car and 2 m/cs or 3 m/cs, taking up the same space, but polluting more than 1 car does. Even worse is the case when m/cs do not reduce at all car use, but simply fill the gaps of car flow and pedestrian and free spaces, as the living example of Athens suggests. So, less space taken up from each individual m/c does not necessarily mean less total motorised traffic. What m/cs are good in, is in fact to fill up better than cars the totality of urban space leaving less voids tha! > n cars do. Can this feature be considered as "sustainable" or "environmental friendly"? > > * Motorcycle accidents are caused by the presence of cars > > Motorcycles are inherently unsafe - more accurately: inherently more unsafe than cars. This is not only because of their smaller mass in the case of a collision, but because of their instability and less protection offered to their riders. In a study done in Germany almost 40% of m/c fatalities are caused from collisions with pedestrians, other m/cs or fixed objects (http://www.swov.nl/rapport/D-2001-05.pdf p.115 table6.2) although the number of m/cs in Germany is less than 10% of the number of cars. In countries where the number of m/cs is higher compared to the number of cars (like Vietnam), this proportion must be much larger. The numbers of m/c accidents are order of magnitudes higher than that of cars not only in countries like Cambodja, where law enforcement is almost non existent, but in every country of the world - look for instance in UK (http://www.begin-motorcycling.co.uk/rospa3.htm) or in the clockwork ordered Switzerland (http://www.bfu.ch/english/statistics/200! > 1/usv_t_06.htm). > > * Motorcycle mix well with pedestrian flows and environments > > Because of their smaller size, m/cs can run in parallel rows on the same lane. The difficulty of a pedestrian to cross a street grows exponentially with the number of lanes (mathematically equals to p^n where n the number of lanes and p the probability to find a traffic gap in a single lane at a certain time interval). So they virtually double (or triple) the number of lanes and make crossing of the street (exponentially) more difficult for the pedestrians. Also, because of their small size it is difficult to block motorcycle intrusion in pedestrian spaces. While cars can be easily blocked using bollards, pipe frames and other hurdles, every engineering measure inhibiting motorcycle entrance will also inhibit pedestrians, wheelchair users, baby strollers etc. (e.g. http://www.pezh.gr/hmerida/moto1.jpg ) > > * Motorcycle improves social equity and is an economic medium to improve mobility for everyone > > Motorcycle is a mode of transport excluding a large part of the population and more particularly the most vulnerable one, not only as drivers (like cars do), but even as simple passengers: disabled and elderly persons, babies, small children etc. > Motorcycle is not a low cost but a cheap [in the sense of paltry] transport medium. They are more expensive not only compared to cars (taking into consideration what they really offer), but also compared to public transit and bicycles offering the same mobility. Do the 2 million m/cs of Ho Chi Minh city cost really less than 2 million bicycles or 40.000 buses? (especially if we take into consideration functional costs and other externalities - "accidents", pollution related hospitalisation etc) Does anybody doubt that, in addition, the city would function better, the environment would be healthier and total cost would be less in the latter case? > > There is no perfect free-market intermodal competition in urban space, because of the externalities of the necessary arrangements. These arrangements (road building, urban planning, facilities placing and pricing etc) affect transport modes and people will choose whatever happens to be cheaper in terms of time and money in each particular place, whether this is car, motorcycle, train, bicycle, donkey or sky rocket. M/c (instead of car) promotion to overcome income shortage is equal to condemn lower classes in an intrinsically unsafe mode of transport. Correctly working administrations take over the responsibility to create a proper public transit network able to serve better and in an egalitarian way the society, and favour mild transport modes (walking - biking). This way they can achieve efficiency (less congestion - better mobility), more equity and better environment for their citizens and the whole planet. > > 2. Many people in N. America (and other sprawl plagued places) tend to see in motorcycles (or other motorised devices) an alternative to cars, which are connected with this problem. However this seems to be rather wishful thinking than a grounded strategy. Is there any example around the world where motorcycles have ever improved sprawl? On the contrary there are plenty of examples where motorcycles were the first step towards motorization (e.g. currently in China, some years ago in southern Europe). The next step, when income grows further, is the shift to private car. Also, the phenomenon of sprawl seems to be more complicated than the simplistic equation sprawl=cars, and it certainly involves the desire to live alone in a building surrounded by a one acre land plot. Of course when urban densities decline, and quality public transit is not anymore feasible, then cars become a necessity, but a motorcycle can equally well serve this purpose. > > M/cs will always be the transport medium of a minority. There are plenty of situations where m/c is unsuitable - I don't think anyone would ever reasonably wish to carry his 3-years-old child or his 90-years-old granny with a m/c (at least if there is an alternative like a proper public transit) and I doubt if your wife would ever accept to risk her 100$ coiffure riding a m/c. According to recent studies their modal split share in Athens is still less than 10% despite the favourable conditions and the unconditional promotion by the greek administration (they have now announced new tax breaks [http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=43184]- the second in one year period - and they are preparing special motorcycle lanes!). In Greece, when cities were saturated with cars, the administration instead promoting biking, walking and public transit, they promoted motorcycle use, in order to squeeze even more motorised traffic on the congested streets. The results of th! > is strategy can be seen at http://www.pezh.gr/english/photo4.htm > > ---------------------- > > A more interesting question is why m/cs are so much favoured, though these shortcomings are almost evident to anybody willing to scrutinise the issue? The usual answer concerning cars is the powerful car lobby (car and oil corporations). But in the case of motorcycles it is something more: _fanaticism_. A large part of motorcycle users are really fanatics. In Athens, whenever some tax raise or other measure affecting m/cs is impending, motorcycles manifestations are organised - so they gain continuously more privileges. In mid 90's the European Commission decided to promote a directive to abolish m/cs with more than 100HP power (I think this still holds in France), because so much power has obviously no other purpose than breaking speed limits. Some fanatics manifested and managed to block it. There is a strategy to present m/cs (which are even more lethal and noxious than cars) as harmless and sympathetic. I strongly recommend, for anybody able to understand german, the afo! > rementioned link [http://www.fuss-ev.de/themen/motorrad.html] - I have similar experiences from Greece. > > So, the proposition that total abolition of motorcycles is a good idea, maybe sounds ridiculous but is not at all (actually nothing IS really ridiculous but always SEEMS ridiculous). What we are talking on this list (and many other places) about limiting motorised traffic would probably also seem ridiculous 50 years ago (and perhaps reactionary thoughts against progress) but now it is mainstream. And perhaps after 50 years all this irrational, wasteful and self-catastrophic way transports are currently oraganised, would seem even more ridiculous. > > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________ _________ > http://www.mailbox.gr ????????? ?????? ?? ???????? ??? e-mail. > http://www.thesuperweb.gr Website ?? ??????? Controlpanel ??? 6 Euro ??? ???? ?? domain ???! From richmond at alum.mit.edu Fri Jun 4 01:15:44 2004 From: richmond at alum.mit.edu (Jonathan E. D. Richmond) Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 23:15:44 +0700 (SE Asia Standard Time) Subject: [sustran] Bangkok Bus Fares In-Reply-To: <010501c44981$d365f5e0$55fc45cf@earthlink.net> References: <200406012027.XAA15110@mailbox.gr> <010501c44981$d365f5e0$55fc45cf@earthlink.net> Message-ID: In today's Bangkok Post it was announced that non-aircon buses are to be phased out and replaced with aircon buses *at existing aircon fares* which are far too high for poor people to afford. There are also plans to change bus routes to terminate at rail stations on systems which are also wildly too expensive for poor people to use... --Jonathan ----- Jonathan E. D. Richmond 02 524-5510 (office) Visiting Fellow Intl.: 662 524-5510 Transportation Engineering program School of Civil Engineering, Room N260B 02 524-8257 (home) Asian Institute of Technology Intl.: 662 524-8257 PO Box 4 Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 02 524-5509 (fax) Thailand Intl: 662 524-5509 e-mail: richmond@ait.ac.th Secretary: Ms. Nisarat Hansuksa richmond@alum.mit.edu 02 524-6051 Intl: 662 524-6051 http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/ From sujit at vsnl.com Fri Jun 4 04:08:30 2004 From: sujit at vsnl.com (Sujit Patwardhan) Date: Fri, 04 Jun 2004 00:38:30 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Motorcycles summarised In-Reply-To: <200406012027.XAA15110@mailbox.gr> References: <200406012027.XAA15110@mailbox.gr> Message-ID: <6.1.0.6.0.20040604002324.032a5040@mail.vsnl.com> 3 June 2004 Dear K. Tsourlakis, Thank you for your message. I agree with you that Motorcycles (along with their cousins the scooters) being less environmentally damaging than motor cars is a myth that will be exposed if proper studies are carried out in how they are flooding the streets in the third world, particularly in India and South East Asia. They are certainly not less polluting, safer nor more sustainable than cars. If anything, due to their exploding numbers they pose a greater threat to sustainable transport in these countries. For making the transport system sustainable there is no shortcut to giving the highest priority to public transport, starting with the bus based systems which are the most economical and easiest to improve, given the financial constrains of poorer nations. -- Sujit Patwardhan Parisar, Pune, India At 01:57 AM 6/2/2004, you wrote: >Perhaps motorcycles is another case where the problem of inappropriate >technology transfer from north to south emerge (because traffic >engineering is certainly a form of technology). The fact that motorcycle >use is limited (if not marginal) compared to car traffic in most of the >technologically influential countries (e.g. in 1990 only 0.2% of commuting >trips in US were done by motorcycle - >http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/journey/usmode90.txt - since then >m/c use has been declining further) results to a limited interest for >relevant research. For people living in these countries it is often >difficult to realise the complexities of extended motorcycle use, and it >is very easy to miss the point and e.g. to confuse the market view with >the sustainability prospect. For instance is low price an advantage from a >sustainability viewpoint? Then why congestion charge, toll roads and other >ways to internalise the external cost are considered sustainable? If cars >were free, wou! > ld this considered as an advantage? > >It seems that the issue of motorcycle-car comparison can be reduced into >two questions: >1. Are motorcycles a more preferable encumbrance on the streets than cars? >2. Do motorcycles really substitute cars on the street? >My personal answer to both questions is a clear NO - my arguments follow. > >1. The dominant (and unfounded) opinion, that it is better to use >motorcycles than cars, is based in a series of myths, which I will try to >debunk: > >* motorcycles pollute less than cars do > >This is one of the most often as well as the most big myths about >motorcycles. It is mostly caused from m/cs having usually smaller engines >than cars do, hence they consume less fuel. Although engine size isn't >exactly proportional to fuel consumption (rotations rate is also involved >and m/c motors work usually on higher rpm) less fuel consumption does not >necessarily results to less pollution. The reason this doesn't happen is >that m/c engines are less developed than car engines. Many m/cs have >2-stroke engines, which burn lubricants together with fuel. But even on >the larger ones (sometimes having engines equal in power to a small or >medium sized car - so the smaller engine argument doesn't apply at all) it >is difficult to incorporate anti-pollution technology (hybrids, catalyst >etc). This will always be so, because it is part of the low-price >"advantage" - m/cs will be a step back from cars in "green" technology >incorporation. Generally as the size of the vehicle increase! > s it is easier to apply pollution prevention technology (e.g. hybrid > engines)- this is why it is much easier to implement it to buses and > trains (in addition they are run by professionals and are much easier > monitored, which facilitates further pollution control) The usual opinion > that m/cs pollute less than cars do, is not substantiated by evidence. In > Greece, where motorcycles rule, their pollution is not monitored like > cars (it is part of their "promotion package"). But take a look for > instance on the table at http://www.fuss-ev.de/themen/motorrad.html > [http://www.fuss-ev.de/themen/motorrad.gif] where limits of allowed > pollutants in Germany are presented, and proves that m/cs are allowed to > pollute more than cars. A study trying to estimate the total pollution > from every possible source, has shown that in Greece in some pollutants > (like unburned hydrocarburates) the total air pollution from m/cs is > already heavier than that of cars, although they are half the number of c! > ars [http://www.aeat.co.uk/netcen/corinair/94/summgre.html - the situa >tion is worse 10 years later because of the proliferation of m/cs]. Also >noise, which is another form of pollution (affecting mental rather than >physical health) usually is not taken into account in car-m/c comparisons. >The most that could be said about motorcycles is that they pollute somehow >differently but certainly not less than cars. > >* motorcycles take up less space on the street > >This is true of course, if you compare one m/c and one car, but things are >more complicated than this. Because what this argument implies is that we >can substitute e.g. 1 car with 1 m/c. However in densely populated cities, >like those considered as ideal, street space disposed for traffic is >normally saturated and every traffic flow improvement activates the well >known induced traffic effect (look e.g. at >http://www.vtpi.org/gentraf.pdf). So the choice is not between 1 car and 1 >m/c, but rather between 1 car and 2 m/cs or 3 m/cs, taking up the same >space, but polluting more than 1 car does. Even worse is the case when >m/cs do not reduce at all car use, but simply fill the gaps of car flow >and pedestrian and free spaces, as the living example of Athens suggests. >So, less space taken up from each individual m/c does not necessarily mean >less total motorised traffic. What m/cs are good in, is in fact to fill up >better than cars the totality of urban space leaving less voids tha! > n cars do. Can this feature be considered as "sustainable" or > "environmental friendly"? > >* Motorcycle accidents are caused by the presence of cars > >Motorcycles are inherently unsafe - more accurately: inherently more >unsafe than cars. This is not only because of their smaller mass in the >case of a collision, but because of their instability and less protection >offered to their riders. In a study done in Germany almost 40% of m/c >fatalities are caused from collisions with pedestrians, other m/cs or >fixed objects (http://www.swov.nl/rapport/D-2001-05.pdf p.115 table6.2) >although the number of m/cs in Germany is less than 10% of the number of >cars. In countries where the number of m/cs is higher compared to the >number of cars (like Vietnam), this proportion must be much larger. The >numbers of m/c accidents are order of magnitudes higher than that of cars >not only in countries like Cambodja, where law enforcement is almost non >existent, but in every country of the world - look for instance in UK >(http://www.begin-motorcycling.co.uk/rospa3.htm) or in the clockwork >ordered Switzerland (http://www.bfu.ch/english/statistics/200! > 1/usv_t_06.htm). > >* Motorcycle mix well with pedestrian flows and environments > >Because of their smaller size, m/cs can run in parallel rows on the same >lane. The difficulty of a pedestrian to cross a street grows exponentially >with the number of lanes (mathematically equals to p^n where n the number >of lanes and p the probability to find a traffic gap in a single lane at a >certain time interval). So they virtually double (or triple) the number of >lanes and make crossing of the street (exponentially) more difficult for >the pedestrians. Also, because of their small size it is difficult to >block motorcycle intrusion in pedestrian spaces. While cars can be easily >blocked using bollards, pipe frames and other hurdles, every engineering >measure inhibiting motorcycle entrance will also inhibit pedestrians, >wheelchair users, baby strollers etc. (e.g. >http://www.pezh.gr/hmerida/moto1.jpg ) > >* Motorcycle improves social equity and is an economic medium to improve >mobility for everyone > >Motorcycle is a mode of transport excluding a large part of the population >and more particularly the most vulnerable one, not only as drivers (like >cars do), but even as simple passengers: disabled and elderly persons, >babies, small children etc. >Motorcycle is not a low cost but a cheap [in the sense of paltry] >transport medium. They are more expensive not only compared to cars >(taking into consideration what they really offer), but also compared to >public transit and bicycles offering the same mobility. Do the 2 million >m/cs of Ho Chi Minh city cost really less than 2 million bicycles or >40.000 buses? (especially if we take into consideration functional costs >and other externalities - "accidents", pollution related hospitalisation >etc) Does anybody doubt that, in addition, the city would function better, >the environment would be healthier and total cost would be less in the >latter case? > >There is no perfect free-market intermodal competition in urban space, >because of the externalities of the necessary arrangements. These >arrangements (road building, urban planning, facilities placing and >pricing etc) affect transport modes and people will choose whatever >happens to be cheaper in terms of time and money in each particular place, >whether this is car, motorcycle, train, bicycle, donkey or sky rocket. M/c >(instead of car) promotion to overcome income shortage is equal to condemn >lower classes in an intrinsically unsafe mode of transport. Correctly >working administrations take over the responsibility to create a proper >public transit network able to serve better and in an egalitarian way the >society, and favour mild transport modes (walking - biking). This way they >can achieve efficiency (less congestion - better mobility), more equity >and better environment for their citizens and the whole planet. > >2. Many people in N. America (and other sprawl plagued places) tend to see >in motorcycles (or other motorised devices) an alternative to cars, which >are connected with this problem. However this seems to be rather wishful >thinking than a grounded strategy. Is there any example around the world >where motorcycles have ever improved sprawl? On the contrary there are >plenty of examples where motorcycles were the first step towards >motorization (e.g. currently in China, some years ago in southern Europe). >The next step, when income grows further, is the shift to private car. >Also, the phenomenon of sprawl seems to be more complicated than the >simplistic equation sprawl=cars, and it certainly involves the desire to >live alone in a building surrounded by a one acre land plot. Of course >when urban densities decline, and quality public transit is not anymore >feasible, then cars become a necessity, but a motorcycle can equally well >serve this purpose. > >M/cs will always be the transport medium of a minority. There are plenty >of situations where m/c is unsuitable - I don't think anyone would ever >reasonably wish to carry his 3-years-old child or his 90-years-old granny >with a m/c (at least if there is an alternative like a proper public >transit) and I doubt if your wife would ever accept to risk her 100$ >coiffure riding a m/c. According to recent studies their modal split share >in Athens is still less than 10% despite the favourable conditions and the >unconditional promotion by the greek administration (they have now >announced new tax breaks >[http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=43184]- the second >in one year period - and they are preparing special motorcycle lanes!). In >Greece, when cities were saturated with cars, the administration instead >promoting biking, walking and public transit, they promoted motorcycle >use, in order to squeeze even more motorised traffic on the congested >streets. The results of th! > is strategy can be seen at http://www.pezh.gr/english/photo4.htm > > ---------------------- > >A more interesting question is why m/cs are so much favoured, though these >shortcomings are almost evident to anybody willing to scrutinise the >issue? The usual answer concerning cars is the powerful car lobby (car and >oil corporations). But in the case of motorcycles it is something more: >_fanaticism_. A large part of motorcycle users are really fanatics. In >Athens, whenever some tax raise or other measure affecting m/cs is >impending, motorcycles manifestations are organised - so they gain >continuously more privileges. In mid 90's the European Commission decided >to promote a directive to abolish m/cs with more than 100HP power (I think >this still holds in France), because so much power has obviously no other >purpose than breaking speed limits. Some fanatics manifested and managed >to block it. There is a strategy to present m/cs (which are even more >lethal and noxious than cars) as harmless and sympathetic. I strongly >recommend, for anybody able to understand german, the afo! > rementioned link [http://www.fuss-ev.de/themen/motorrad.html] - I have > similar experiences from Greece. > >So, the proposition that total abolition of motorcycles is a good idea, >maybe sounds ridiculous but is not at all (actually nothing IS really >ridiculous but always SEEMS ridiculous). What we are talking on this list >(and many other places) about limiting motorised traffic would probably >also seem ridiculous 50 years ago (and perhaps reactionary thoughts >against progress) but now it is mainstream. And perhaps after 50 years all >this irrational, wasteful and self-catastrophic way transports are >currently oraganised, would seem even more ridiculous. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sujit Patwardhan PARISAR "Yamuna", ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411007 Telephone: 255 37955 Email: or ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From richmond at alum.mit.edu Fri Jun 4 12:52:59 2004 From: richmond at alum.mit.edu (Jonathan E. D. Richmond) Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2004 10:52:59 +0700 (SE Asia Standard Time) Subject: [sustran] Re: Motorcycles summarised In-Reply-To: <6.1.0.6.0.20040604002324.032a5040@mail.vsnl.com> References: <200406012027.XAA15110@mailbox.gr> <6.1.0.6.0.20040604002324.032a5040@mail.vsnl.com> Message-ID: I really question the value of generalized policy statements which render extremely complex situations into simple advocacy ones without supplying evidence. It would be useful to see some statistics on the environmental impacts of motorcycles as against cars. Does anyone have the data? Also, are there prospects for an electric or other low or no emission model of motorcycle that would provide personal mobility with less environmental consequences? Even if the motorcycle does cause significant pollution we have to also consider the political issue of whether we should restrict the mobility of low-income people who can afford only motorcycles but not that of wealthier car owners. Surely, we should control both (which might in fact be a good idea) or neither. As regards bus systems being "most economical and easiest to improve," there are a variety of factors which will vary from city to city. We cannot make generalizations. Bus services are indeed worthy of development in many situations, but there are also situations where issues such as high subsidy cost, dispersed demands, or even inadequate institutional structures makes this difficult (note that there is no bus service at all in a national capital such as Phnom Penh despite years of discussion of the subject). Even when bus services are improved, there will remain demands for personal mobility to fill in for those occasions where public transport leaves gaps, and we need to see how that can be accommodated in the most environmentally-friendly way. For now, I have to tell you I use motorcycle taxis in Bangkok as they are the only way to cut through the traffic!!! --Jonathan On Fri, 4 Jun 2004, Sujit Patwardhan wrote: > 3 June 2004 > > > Dear K. Tsourlakis, > > Thank you for your message. I agree with you that Motorcycles (along with > their cousins the scooters) being less environmentally damaging than motor > cars is a myth that will be exposed if proper studies are carried out in > how they are flooding the streets in the third world, particularly in India > and South East Asia. They are certainly not less polluting, safer nor more > sustainable than cars. If anything, due to their exploding numbers they > pose a greater threat to sustainable transport in these countries. > > For making the transport system sustainable there is no shortcut to giving > the highest priority to public transport, starting with the bus based > systems which are the most economical and easiest to improve, given the > financial constrains of poorer nations. > > -- > Sujit Patwardhan > Parisar, > Pune, India > > > > > > At 01:57 AM 6/2/2004, you wrote: > > > >Perhaps motorcycles is another case where the problem of inappropriate > >technology transfer from north to south emerge (because traffic > >engineering is certainly a form of technology). The fact that motorcycle > >use is limited (if not marginal) compared to car traffic in most of the > >technologically influential countries (e.g. in 1990 only 0.2% of commuting > >trips in US were done by motorcycle - > >http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/journey/usmode90.txt - since then > >m/c use has been declining further) results to a limited interest for > >relevant research. For people living in these countries it is often > >difficult to realise the complexities of extended motorcycle use, and it > >is very easy to miss the point and e.g. to confuse the market view with > >the sustainability prospect. For instance is low price an advantage from a > >sustainability viewpoint? Then why congestion charge, toll roads and other > >ways to internalise the external cost are considered sustainable? If cars > >were free, wou! > > ld this considered as an advantage? > > > >It seems that the issue of motorcycle-car comparison can be reduced into > >two questions: > >1. Are motorcycles a more preferable encumbrance on the streets than cars? > >2. Do motorcycles really substitute cars on the street? > >My personal answer to both questions is a clear NO - my arguments follow. > > > >1. The dominant (and unfounded) opinion, that it is better to use > >motorcycles than cars, is based in a series of myths, which I will try to > >debunk: > > > >* motorcycles pollute less than cars do > > > >This is one of the most often as well as the most big myths about > >motorcycles. It is mostly caused from m/cs having usually smaller engines > >than cars do, hence they consume less fuel. Although engine size isn't > >exactly proportional to fuel consumption (rotations rate is also involved > >and m/c motors work usually on higher rpm) less fuel consumption does not > >necessarily results to less pollution. The reason this doesn't happen is > >that m/c engines are less developed than car engines. Many m/cs have > >2-stroke engines, which burn lubricants together with fuel. But even on > >the larger ones (sometimes having engines equal in power to a small or > >medium sized car - so the smaller engine argument doesn't apply at all) it > >is difficult to incorporate anti-pollution technology (hybrids, catalyst > >etc). This will always be so, because it is part of the low-price > >"advantage" - m/cs will be a step back from cars in "green" technology > >incorporation. Generally as the size of the vehicle increase! > > s it is easier to apply pollution prevention technology (e.g. hybrid > > engines)- this is why it is much easier to implement it to buses and > > trains (in addition they are run by professionals and are much easier > > monitored, which facilitates further pollution control) The usual opinion > > that m/cs pollute less than cars do, is not substantiated by evidence. In > > Greece, where motorcycles rule, their pollution is not monitored like > > cars (it is part of their "promotion package"). But take a look for > > instance on the table at http://www.fuss-ev.de/themen/motorrad.html > > [http://www.fuss-ev.de/themen/motorrad.gif] where limits of allowed > > pollutants in Germany are presented, and proves that m/cs are allowed to > > pollute more than cars. A study trying to estimate the total pollution > > from every possible source, has shown that in Greece in some pollutants > > (like unburned hydrocarburates) the total air pollution from m/cs is > > already heavier than that of cars, although they are half the number of c! > > ars [http://www.aeat.co.uk/netcen/corinair/94/summgre.html - the situa > >tion is worse 10 years later because of the proliferation of m/cs]. Also > >noise, which is another form of pollution (affecting mental rather than > >physical health) usually is not taken into account in car-m/c comparisons. > >The most that could be said about motorcycles is that they pollute somehow > >differently but certainly not less than cars. > > > >* motorcycles take up less space on the street > > > >This is true of course, if you compare one m/c and one car, but things are > >more complicated than this. Because what this argument implies is that we > >can substitute e.g. 1 car with 1 m/c. However in densely populated cities, > >like those considered as ideal, street space disposed for traffic is > >normally saturated and every traffic flow improvement activates the well > >known induced traffic effect (look e.g. at > >http://www.vtpi.org/gentraf.pdf). So the choice is not between 1 car and 1 > >m/c, but rather between 1 car and 2 m/cs or 3 m/cs, taking up the same > >space, but polluting more than 1 car does. Even worse is the case when > >m/cs do not reduce at all car use, but simply fill the gaps of car flow > >and pedestrian and free spaces, as the living example of Athens suggests. > >So, less space taken up from each individual m/c does not necessarily mean > >less total motorised traffic. What m/cs are good in, is in fact to fill up > >better than cars the totality of urban space leaving less voids tha! > > n cars do. Can this feature be considered as "sustainable" or > > "environmental friendly"? > > > >* Motorcycle accidents are caused by the presence of cars > > > >Motorcycles are inherently unsafe - more accurately: inherently more > >unsafe than cars. This is not only because of their smaller mass in the > >case of a collision, but because of their instability and less protection > >offered to their riders. In a study done in Germany almost 40% of m/c > >fatalities are caused from collisions with pedestrians, other m/cs or > >fixed objects (http://www.swov.nl/rapport/D-2001-05.pdf p.115 table6.2) > >although the number of m/cs in Germany is less than 10% of the number of > >cars. In countries where the number of m/cs is higher compared to the > >number of cars (like Vietnam), this proportion must be much larger. The > >numbers of m/c accidents are order of magnitudes higher than that of cars > >not only in countries like Cambodja, where law enforcement is almost non > >existent, but in every country of the world - look for instance in UK > >(http://www.begin-motorcycling.co.uk/rospa3.htm) or in the clockwork > >ordered Switzerland (http://www.bfu.ch/english/statistics/200! > > 1/usv_t_06.htm). > > > >* Motorcycle mix well with pedestrian flows and environments > > > >Because of their smaller size, m/cs can run in parallel rows on the same > >lane. The difficulty of a pedestrian to cross a street grows exponentially > >with the number of lanes (mathematically equals to p^n where n the number > >of lanes and p the probability to find a traffic gap in a single lane at a > >certain time interval). So they virtually double (or triple) the number of > >lanes and make crossing of the street (exponentially) more difficult for > >the pedestrians. Also, because of their small size it is difficult to > >block motorcycle intrusion in pedestrian spaces. While cars can be easily > >blocked using bollards, pipe frames and other hurdles, every engineering > >measure inhibiting motorcycle entrance will also inhibit pedestrians, > >wheelchair users, baby strollers etc. (e.g. > >http://www.pezh.gr/hmerida/moto1.jpg ) > > > >* Motorcycle improves social equity and is an economic medium to improve > >mobility for everyone > > > >Motorcycle is a mode of transport excluding a large part of the population > >and more particularly the most vulnerable one, not only as drivers (like > >cars do), but even as simple passengers: disabled and elderly persons, > >babies, small children etc. > >Motorcycle is not a low cost but a cheap [in the sense of paltry] > >transport medium. They are more expensive not only compared to cars > >(taking into consideration what they really offer), but also compared to > >public transit and bicycles offering the same mobility. Do the 2 million > >m/cs of Ho Chi Minh city cost really less than 2 million bicycles or > >40.000 buses? (especially if we take into consideration functional costs > >and other externalities - "accidents", pollution related hospitalisation > >etc) Does anybody doubt that, in addition, the city would function better, > >the environment would be healthier and total cost would be less in the > >latter case? > > > >There is no perfect free-market intermodal competition in urban space, > >because of the externalities of the necessary arrangements. These > >arrangements (road building, urban planning, facilities placing and > >pricing etc) affect transport modes and people will choose whatever > >happens to be cheaper in terms of time and money in each particular place, > >whether this is car, motorcycle, train, bicycle, donkey or sky rocket. M/c > >(instead of car) promotion to overcome income shortage is equal to condemn > >lower classes in an intrinsically unsafe mode of transport. Correctly > >working administrations take over the responsibility to create a proper > >public transit network able to serve better and in an egalitarian way the > >society, and favour mild transport modes (walking - biking). This way they > >can achieve efficiency (less congestion - better mobility), more equity > >and better environment for their citizens and the whole planet. > > > >2. Many people in N. America (and other sprawl plagued places) tend to see > >in motorcycles (or other motorised devices) an alternative to cars, which > >are connected with this problem. However this seems to be rather wishful > >thinking than a grounded strategy. Is there any example around the world > >where motorcycles have ever improved sprawl? On the contrary there are > >plenty of examples where motorcycles were the first step towards > >motorization (e.g. currently in China, some years ago in southern Europe). > >The next step, when income grows further, is the shift to private car. > >Also, the phenomenon of sprawl seems to be more complicated than the > >simplistic equation sprawl=cars, and it certainly involves the desire to > >live alone in a building surrounded by a one acre land plot. Of course > >when urban densities decline, and quality public transit is not anymore > >feasible, then cars become a necessity, but a motorcycle can equally well > >serve this purpose. > > > >M/cs will always be the transport medium of a minority. There are plenty > >of situations where m/c is unsuitable - I don't think anyone would ever > >reasonably wish to carry his 3-years-old child or his 90-years-old granny > >with a m/c (at least if there is an alternative like a proper public > >transit) and I doubt if your wife would ever accept to risk her 100$ > >coiffure riding a m/c. According to recent studies their modal split share > >in Athens is still less than 10% despite the favourable conditions and the > >unconditional promotion by the greek administration (they have now > >announced new tax breaks > >[http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=43184]- the second > >in one year period - and they are preparing special motorcycle lanes!). In > >Greece, when cities were saturated with cars, the administration instead > >promoting biking, walking and public transit, they promoted motorcycle > >use, in order to squeeze even more motorised traffic on the congested > >streets. The results of th! > > is strategy can be seen at http://www.pezh.gr/english/photo4.htm > > > > ---------------------- > > > >A more interesting question is why m/cs are so much favoured, though these > >shortcomings are almost evident to anybody willing to scrutinise the > >issue? The usual answer concerning cars is the powerful car lobby (car and > >oil corporations). But in the case of motorcycles it is something more: > >_fanaticism_. A large part of motorcycle users are really fanatics. In > >Athens, whenever some tax raise or other measure affecting m/cs is > >impending, motorcycles manifestations are organised - so they gain > >continuously more privileges. In mid 90's the European Commission decided > >to promote a directive to abolish m/cs with more than 100HP power (I think > >this still holds in France), because so much power has obviously no other > >purpose than breaking speed limits. Some fanatics manifested and managed > >to block it. There is a strategy to present m/cs (which are even more > >lethal and noxious than cars) as harmless and sympathetic. I strongly > >recommend, for anybody able to understand german, the afo! > > rementioned link [http://www.fuss-ev.de/themen/motorrad.html] - I have > > similar experiences from Greece. > > > >So, the proposition that total abolition of motorcycles is a good idea, > >maybe sounds ridiculous but is not at all (actually nothing IS really > >ridiculous but always SEEMS ridiculous). What we are talking on this list > >(and many other places) about limiting motorised traffic would probably > >also seem ridiculous 50 years ago (and perhaps reactionary thoughts > >against progress) but now it is mainstream. And perhaps after 50 years all > >this irrational, wasteful and self-catastrophic way transports are > >currently oraganised, would seem even more ridiculous. > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Sujit Patwardhan > PARISAR > "Yamuna", ICS Colony, > Ganeshkhind Road, > Pune 411007 > Telephone: 255 37955 > Email: or > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- Jonathan E. D. Richmond 02 524-5510 (office) Visiting Fellow Intl.: 662 524-5510 Transportation Engineering program School of Civil Engineering, Room N260B 02 524-8257 (home) Asian Institute of Technology Intl.: 662 524-8257 PO Box 4 Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 02 524-5509 (fax) Thailand Intl: 662 524-5509 e-mail: richmond@ait.ac.th Secretary: Ms. Nisarat Hansuksa richmond@alum.mit.edu 02 524-6051 Intl: 662 524-6051 http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/ From Arndt at wbcsd.org Fri Jun 4 18:36:04 2004 From: Arndt at wbcsd.org (Arndt@wbcsd.org) Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2004 11:36:04 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Final report of the WBCSD Sustainable Mobility Project to be launched in July Message-ID: Read the article online at http://www.wbcsd.org/plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?type=DocDet&DocId=NTU2OA Geneva, 4 June 2004 - "Mobility 2030: Meeting the Challenge to Sustainability" will be launched in the European Market on 5 July 2004 in Brussels, Belgium. Many leading figures from the automotive and oil industries will attend the launch event, hosted by WBCSD President Bjoern Stigson. Mrs Margot Wallstrom, the EU's Commissioner for the Environment, is the guest of honor at a stakeholder dialogue during the afternoon of 5 July. Mr Louis Schweitzer, President of sponsoring company Renault, will deliver the keynote speech at the gathering. Sir Charles Nicholson of BP and the Chairman of the project's working will present the report to the Brussels' press corps. Bjorn Stigson, project director Per Sandberg, and lead consultant George Eads will be on hand to answer questions from journalists. "After four years of work, we now have the texts approved and at the printer. This was no small task with 12 companies wishing to sign off the report but we have achieved a remarkable consensus with our seven goals or conclusions", says Per Sandberg, "Publishing the final report is of course not the end of the story," he continues."It is the beginning of our putting the case for change to ensure that road transport will be sustainable one day in the future. We cannot continue to live the way we do now if we all want to have a sustainable future." The next stage of the project will be handled by Mr K. Yoshida, who has been seconded by Toyota to the WBCSD in Geneva. With the assistance of Project Coordinator Claudia Schweizer, they will act as a clearing house for requests and will match subject-matter experts from the various sponsors to the requests. The WBCSD team also anticipates a substantial interest from academics and transportation specialists as this report is arguably the most comprehensive study ever carried out on road transportation. The Brussels launch on 5 July is the first of the regional launches of the reports to take place. The Japanese launch will follow later in the week and the US launch will take place in Detroit on 20 July 2004. Distribution of the full report in English will start later in the summer and readers who would like a copy should send an e-mail Claudia Schweizer (schweizer@wbcsd.org) with their name and address. Further information about the launch events will soon be available on the WBCSD website and will be distributed in the Sustainable Mobility newsletter (http://www.wbcsd.org/includes/getTarget.asp?type=w&id=NjE). Contact Claudia Schweizer Project Coordinator E-mail: schweizer@wbcsd.org Tel: +41-22-839-3150 Further information Subscribe to the Sustainable Mobility newsletter (http://www.wbcsd.org/includes/getTarget.asp?type=w&id=NjE) Mobility 2001 - World mobility at the end of the twentieth century and its sustainability (http://www.wbcsd.org/DocRoot/uu8taBpoTDXkvBiJHuaU/english_full_report.pdf) The Sustainable Mobility Project - July 2002 Progress Report (http://www.wbcsd.org/DocRoot/c90I7QagRwv0QWQvRljH/20020724_mobility.pdf) Thorsten Arndt Online Communications Manager World Business Council for Sustainable Development 4, chemin de Conches 1231 Conches, Geneva, Switzerland Phone: +41 (22) 8393 170 Fax: +41 (22) 8393 131 E-mail: arndt@wbcsd.org Visit the "Best source of information on business and SD" (2003 Earthscan survey): www.wbcsd.org Sign up for our Business & Sustainable Development newsletters! http://www.wbcsd.org/plugins/mywbcsd/default.asp From pardinus at yahoo.com Fri Jun 4 22:09:24 2004 From: pardinus at yahoo.com (Carlos Felipe Pardo V.) Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2004 06:09:24 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] Re: Motorcycles summarised In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20040604130924.30801.qmail@web20308.mail.yahoo.com> I've always thought that the problem with motorcycles is that their dangerous, not that they pollute. I agree that if we look at the figures, motorcycles don't have as much emissions as other modes. But what about deaths related to motorcycle use? Just a comment... Carlos F. Pardo "Jonathan E. D. Richmond" wrote: I really question the value of generalized policy statements which render extremely complex situations into simple advocacy ones without supplying evidence. It would be useful to see some statistics on the environmental impacts of motorcycles as against cars. Does anyone have the data? Also, are there prospects for an electric or other low or no emission model of motorcycle that would provide personal mobility with less environmental consequences? Even if the motorcycle does cause significant pollution we have to also consider the political issue of whether we should restrict the mobility of low-income people who can afford only motorcycles but not that of wealthier car owners. Surely, we should control both (which might in fact be a good idea) or neither. As regards bus systems being "most economical and easiest to improve," there are a variety of factors which will vary from city to city. We cannot make generalizations. Bus services are indeed worthy of development in many situations, but there are also situations where issues such as high subsidy cost, dispersed demands, or even inadequate institutional structures makes this difficult (note that there is no bus service at all in a national capital such as Phnom Penh despite years of discussion of the subject). Even when bus services are improved, there will remain demands for personal mobility to fill in for those occasions where public transport leaves gaps, and we need to see how that can be accommodated in the most environmentally-friendly way. For now, I have to tell you I use motorcycle taxis in Bangkok as they are the only way to cut through the traffic!!! --Jonathan On Fri, 4 Jun 2004, Sujit Patwardhan wrote: > 3 June 2004 > > > Dear K. Tsourlakis, > > Thank you for your message. I agree with you that Motorcycles (along with > their cousins the scooters) being less environmentally damaging than motor > cars is a myth that will be exposed if proper studies are carried out in > how they are flooding the streets in the third world, particularly in India > and South East Asia. They are certainly not less polluting, safer nor more > sustainable than cars. If anything, due to their exploding numbers they > pose a greater threat to sustainable transport in these countries. > > For making the transport system sustainable there is no shortcut to giving > the highest priority to public transport, starting with the bus based > systems which are the most economical and easiest to improve, given the > financial constrains of poorer nations. > > -- > Sujit Patwardhan > Parisar, > Pune, India > > > > > > At 01:57 AM 6/2/2004, you wrote: > > > >Perhaps motorcycles is another case where the problem of inappropriate > >technology transfer from north to south emerge (because traffic > >engineering is certainly a form of technology). The fact that motorcycle > >use is limited (if not marginal) compared to car traffic in most of the > >technologically influential countries (e.g. in 1990 only 0.2% of commuting > >trips in US were done by motorcycle - > >http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/journey/usmode90.txt - since then > >m/c use has been declining further) results to a limited interest for > >relevant research. For people living in these countries it is often > >difficult to realise the complexities of extended motorcycle use, and it > >is very easy to miss the point and e.g. to confuse the market view with > >the sustainability prospect. For instance is low price an advantage from a > >sustainability viewpoint? Then why congestion charge, toll roads and other > >ways to internalise the external cost are considered sustainable? If cars > >were free, wou! > > ld this considered as an advantage? > > > >It seems that the issue of motorcycle-car comparison can be reduced into > >two questions: > >1. Are motorcycles a more preferable encumbrance on the streets than cars? > >2. Do motorcycles really substitute cars on the street? > >My personal answer to both questions is a clear NO - my arguments follow. > > > >1. The dominant (and unfounded) opinion, that it is better to use > >motorcycles than cars, is based in a series of myths, which I will try to > >debunk: > > > >* motorcycles pollute less than cars do > > > >This is one of the most often as well as the most big myths about > >motorcycles. It is mostly caused from m/cs having usually smaller engines > >than cars do, hence they consume less fuel. Although engine size isn't > >exactly proportional to fuel consumption (rotations rate is also involved > >and m/c motors work usually on higher rpm) less fuel consumption does not > >necessarily results to less pollution. The reason this doesn't happen is > >that m/c engines are less developed than car engines. Many m/cs have > >2-stroke engines, which burn lubricants together with fuel. But even on > >the larger ones (sometimes having engines equal in power to a small or > >medium sized car - so the smaller engine argument doesn't apply at all) it > >is difficult to incorporate anti-pollution technology (hybrids, catalyst > >etc). This will always be so, because it is part of the low-price > >"advantage" - m/cs will be a step back from cars in "green" technology > >incorporation. Generally as the size of the vehicle increase! > > s it is easier to apply pollution prevention technology (e.g. hybrid > > engines)- this is why it is much easier to implement it to buses and > > trains (in addition they are run by professionals and are much easier > > monitored, which facilitates further pollution control) The usual opinion > > that m/cs pollute less than cars do, is not substantiated by evidence. In > > Greece, where motorcycles rule, their pollution is not monitored like > > cars (it is part of their "promotion package"). But take a look for > > instance on the table at http://www.fuss-ev.de/themen/motorrad.html > > [http://www.fuss-ev.de/themen/motorrad.gif] where limits of allowed > > pollutants in Germany are presented, and proves that m/cs are allowed to > > pollute more than cars. A study trying to estimate the total pollution > > from every possible source, has shown that in Greece in some pollutants > > (like unburned hydrocarburates) the total air pollution from m/cs is > > already heavier than that of cars, although they are half the number of c! > > ars [http://www.aeat.co.uk/netcen/corinair/94/summgre.html - the situa > >tion is worse 10 years later because of the proliferation of m/cs]. Also > >noise, which is another form of pollution (affecting mental rather than > >physical health) usually is not taken into account in car-m/c comparisons. > >The most that could be said about motorcycles is that they pollute somehow > >differently but certainly not less than cars. > > > >* motorcycles take up less space on the street > > > >This is true of course, if you compare one m/c and one car, but things are > >more complicated than this. Because what this argument implies is that we > >can substitute e.g. 1 car with 1 m/c. However in densely populated cities, > >like those considered as ideal, street space disposed for traffic is > >normally saturated and every traffic flow improvement activates the well > >known induced traffic effect (look e.g. at > >http://www.vtpi.org/gentraf.pdf). So the choice is not between 1 car and 1 > >m/c, but rather between 1 car and 2 m/cs or 3 m/cs, taking up the same > >space, but polluting more than 1 car does. Even worse is the case when > >m/cs do not reduce at all car use, but simply fill the gaps of car flow > >and pedestrian and free spaces, as the living example of Athens suggests. > >So, less space taken up from each individual m/c does not necessarily mean > >less total motorised traffic. What m/cs are good in, is in fact to fill up > >better than cars the totality of urban space leaving less voids tha! > > n cars do. Can this feature be considered as "sustainable" or > > "environmental friendly"? > > > >* Motorcycle accidents are caused by the presence of cars > > > >Motorcycles are inherently unsafe - more accurately: inherently more > >unsafe than cars. This is not only because of their smaller mass in the > >case of a collision, but because of their instability and less protection > >offered to their riders. In a study done in Germany almost 40% of m/c > >fatalities are caused from collisions with pedestrians, other m/cs or > >fixed objects (http://www.swov.nl/rapport/D-2001-05.pdf p.115 table6.2) > >although the number of m/cs in Germany is less than 10% of the number of > >cars. In countries where the number of m/cs is higher compared to the > >number of cars (like Vietnam), this proportion must be much larger. The > >numbers of m/c accidents are order of magnitudes higher than that of cars > >not only in countries like Cambodja, where law enforcement is almost non > >existent, but in every country of the world - look for instance in UK > >(http://www.begin-motorcycling.co.uk/rospa3.htm) or in the clockwork > >ordered Switzerland (http://www.bfu.ch/english/statistics/200! > > 1/usv_t_06.htm). > > > >* Motorcycle mix well with pedestrian flows and environments > > > >Because of their smaller size, m/cs can run in parallel rows on the same > >lane. The difficulty of a pedestrian to cross a street grows exponentially > >with the number of lanes (mathematically equals to p^n where n the number > >of lanes and p the probability to find a traffic gap in a single lane at a > >certain time interval). So they virtually double (or triple) the number of > >lanes and make crossing of the street (exponentially) more difficult for > >the pedestrians. Also, because of their small size it is difficult to > >block motorcycle intrusion in pedestrian spaces. While cars can be easily > >blocked using bollards, pipe frames and other hurdles, every engineering > >measure inhibiting motorcycle entrance will also inhibit pedestrians, > >wheelchair users, baby strollers etc. (e.g. > >http://www.pezh.gr/hmerida/moto1.jpg ) > > > >* Motorcycle improves social equity and is an economic medium to improve > >mobility for everyone > > > >Motorcycle is a mode of transport excluding a large part of the population > >and more particularly the most vulnerable one, not only as drivers (like > >cars do), but even as simple passengers: disabled and elderly persons, > >babies, small children etc. > >Motorcycle is not a low cost but a cheap [in the sense of paltry] > >transport medium. They are more expensive not only compared to cars > >(taking into consideration what they really offer), but also compared to > >public transit and bicycles offering the same mobility. Do the 2 million > >m/cs of Ho Chi Minh city cost really less than 2 million bicycles or > >40.000 buses? (especially if we take into consideration functional costs > >and other externalities - "accidents", pollution related hospitalisation > >etc) Does anybody doubt that, in addition, the city would function better, > >the environment would be healthier and total cost would be less in the > >latter case? > > > >There is no perfect free-market intermodal competition in urban space, > >because of the externalities of the necessary arrangements. These > >arrangements (road building, urban planning, facilities placing and > >pricing etc) affect transport modes and people will choose whatever > >happens to be cheaper in terms of time and money in each particular place, > >whether this is car, motorcycle, train, bicycle, donkey or sky rocket. M/c > >(instead of car) promotion to overcome income shortage is equal to condemn > >lower classes in an intrinsically unsafe mode of transport. Correctly > >working administrations take over the responsibility to create a proper > >public transit network able to serve better and in an egalitarian way the > >society, and favour mild transport modes (walking - biking). This way they > >can achieve efficiency (less congestion - better mobility), more equity > >and better environment for their citizens and the whole planet. > > > >2. Many people in N. America (and other sprawl plagued places) tend to see > >in motorcycles (or other motorised devices) an alternative to cars, which > >are connected with this problem. However this seems to be rather wishful > >thinking than a grounded strategy. Is there any example around the world > >where motorcycles have ever improved sprawl? On the contrary there are > >plenty of examples where motorcycles were the first step towards > >motorization (e.g. currently in China, some years ago in southern Europe). > >The next step, when income grows further, is the shift to private car. > >Also, the phenomenon of sprawl seems to be more complicated than the > >simplistic equation sprawl=cars, and it certainly involves the desire to > >live alone in a building surrounded by a one acre land plot. Of course > >when urban densities decline, and quality public transit is not anymore > >feasible, then cars become a necessity, but a motorcycle can equally well > >serve this purpose. > > > >M/cs will always be the transport medium of a minority. There are plenty > >of situations where m/c is unsuitable - I don't think anyone would ever > >reasonably wish to carry his 3-years-old child or his 90-years-old granny > >with a m/c (at least if there is an alternative like a proper public > >transit) and I doubt if your wife would ever accept to risk her 100$ > >coiffure riding a m/c. According to recent studies their modal split share > >in Athens is still less than 10% despite the favourable conditions and the > >unconditional promotion by the greek administration (they have now > >announced new tax breaks > >[http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=43184]- the second > >in one year period - and they are preparing special motorcycle lanes!). In > >Greece, when cities were saturated with cars, the administration instead > >promoting biking, walking and public transit, they promoted motorcycle > >use, in order to squeeze even more motorised traffic on the congested > >streets. The results of th! > > is strategy can be seen at http://www.pezh.gr/english/photo4.htm > > > > ---------------------- > > > >A more interesting question is why m/cs are so much favoured, though these > >shortcomings are almost evident to anybody willing to scrutinise the > >issue? The usual answer concerning cars is the powerful car lobby (car and > >oil corporations). But in the case of motorcycles it is something more: > >_fanaticism_. A large part of motorcycle users are really fanatics. In > >Athens, whenever some tax raise or other measure affecting m/cs is > >impending, motorcycles manifestations are organised - so they gain > >continuously more privileges. In mid 90's the European Commission decided > >to promote a directive to abolish m/cs with more than 100HP power (I think > >this still holds in France), because so much power has obviously no other > >purpose than breaking speed limits. Some fanatics manifested and managed > >to block it. There is a strategy to present m/cs (which are even more > >lethal and noxious than cars) as harmless and sympathetic. I strongly > >recommend, for anybody able to understand german, the afo! > > rementioned link [http://www.fuss-ev.de/themen/motorrad.html] - I have > > similar experiences from Greece. > > > >So, the proposition that total abolition of motorcycles is a good idea, > >maybe sounds ridiculous but is not at all (actually nothing IS really > >ridiculous but always SEEMS ridiculous). What we are talking on this list > >(and many other places) about limiting motorised traffic would probably > >also seem ridiculous 50 years ago (and perhaps reactionary thoughts > >against progress) but now it is mainstream. And perhaps after 50 years all > >this irrational, wasteful and self-catastrophic way transports are > >currently oraganised, would seem even more ridiculous. > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Sujit Patwardhan > PARISAR > "Yamuna", ICS Colony, > Ganeshkhind Road, > Pune 411007 > Telephone: 255 37955 > Email: or > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- Jonathan E. D. Richmond 02 524-5510 (office) Visiting Fellow Intl.: 662 524-5510 Transportation Engineering program School of Civil Engineering, Room N260B 02 524-8257 (home) Asian Institute of Technology Intl.: 662 524-8257 PO Box 4 Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 02 524-5509 (fax) Thailand Intl: 662 524-5509 e-mail: richmond@ait.ac.th Secretary: Ms. Nisarat Hansuksa richmond@alum.mit.edu 02 524-6051 Intl: 662 524-6051 http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/ --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040604/662158dc/attachment-0001.html From caj24 at cornell.edu Fri Jun 4 22:54:49 2004 From: caj24 at cornell.edu (Craig August Johnson) Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2004 09:54:49 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [sustran] Re: Motorcycles summarised In-Reply-To: References: <200406012027.XAA15110@mailbox.gr><6.1.0.6.0.20040604002324.032a5040@mail.vsnl.com> Message-ID: <2097.24.169.79.63.1086357289.squirrel@webmail.cornell.edu> Jonathan, The ADB has done substantial work on vehicle emissions in Asia. They had a conference specifically about two-wheelers and emissions in 2001. Here is the link to that report. http://www.adb.org/documents/guidelines/Vehicle_Emissions/wheelers.asp While it doesn't give a actual comparision of how two-wheelers are compared to cars in terms of emissions, it does summarize some of the main issues regarding emissions and two-wheelers. Does anyone actually know of any data that summarizes differences between pollution levels in cars and two-wheelers? Craig Johnson > > I really question the value of generalized policy statements which > render extremely complex situations into simple advocacy ones without > supplying evidence. > > It would be useful to see some statistics on the environmental impacts of > motorcycles as against cars. Does anyone have the data? Also, are there > prospects for an electric or other low or no emission model of motorcycle > that would provide personal mobility with less environmental consequences? > > Even if the motorcycle does cause significant pollution we have to also > consider the political issue of whether we should restrict the mobility of > low-income people who can afford only motorcycles but not that of > wealthier car owners. Surely, we should control both (which might in fact > be a good idea) or neither. > > As regards bus systems being "most economical and easiest to improve," > there are a variety of factors which will vary from city to city. We > cannot make generalizations. Bus services are indeed worthy of development > in many situations, but there are also situations where issues such as > high subsidy cost, dispersed demands, or even inadequate institutional > structures makes this difficult (note that there is no bus service at all > in a national capital such as Phnom Penh despite years of discussion of > the subject). Even when bus services are improved, there will remain > demands for personal mobility to fill in for those occasions where public > transport leaves gaps, and we need to see how that can be accommodated in > the most environmentally-friendly way. > > For now, I have to tell you I use motorcycle taxis in Bangkok as they are > the only way to cut through the traffic!!! > > > --Jonathan > > > On Fri, 4 Jun 2004, Sujit Patwardhan wrote: > >> 3 June 2004 >> >> >> Dear K. Tsourlakis, >> >> Thank you for your message. I agree with you that Motorcycles (along >> with >> their cousins the scooters) being less environmentally damaging than >> motor >> cars is a myth that will be exposed if proper studies are carried out in >> how they are flooding the streets in the third world, particularly in >> India >> and South East Asia. They are certainly not less polluting, safer nor >> more >> sustainable than cars. If anything, due to their exploding numbers they >> pose a greater threat to sustainable transport in these countries. >> >> For making the transport system sustainable there is no shortcut to >> giving >> the highest priority to public transport, starting with the bus based >> systems which are the most economical and easiest to improve, given the >> financial constrains of poorer nations. >> >> -- >> Sujit Patwardhan >> Parisar, >> Pune, India >> >> >> >> >> >> At 01:57 AM 6/2/2004, you wrote: >> >> >> >Perhaps motorcycles is another case where the problem of inappropriate >> >technology transfer from north to south emerge (because traffic >> >engineering is certainly a form of technology). The fact that >> motorcycle >> >use is limited (if not marginal) compared to car traffic in most of the >> >technologically influential countries (e.g. in 1990 only 0.2% of >> commuting >> >trips in US were done by motorcycle - >> >http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/journey/usmode90.txt - since >> then >> >m/c use has been declining further) results to a limited interest for >> >relevant research. For people living in these countries it is often >> >difficult to realise the complexities of extended motorcycle use, and >> it >> >is very easy to miss the point and e.g. to confuse the market view with >> >the sustainability prospect. For instance is low price an advantage >> from a >> >sustainability viewpoint? Then why congestion charge, toll roads and >> other >> >ways to internalise the external cost are considered sustainable? If >> cars >> >were free, wou! >> > ld this considered as an advantage? >> > >> >It seems that the issue of motorcycle-car comparison can be reduced >> into >> >two questions: >> >1. Are motorcycles a more preferable encumbrance on the streets than >> cars? >> >2. Do motorcycles really substitute cars on the street? >> >My personal answer to both questions is a clear NO - my arguments >> follow. >> > >> >1. The dominant (and unfounded) opinion, that it is better to use >> >motorcycles than cars, is based in a series of myths, which I will try >> to >> >debunk: >> > >> >* motorcycles pollute less than cars do >> > >> >This is one of the most often as well as the most big myths about >> >motorcycles. It is mostly caused from m/cs having usually smaller >> engines >> >than cars do, hence they consume less fuel. Although engine size isn't >> >exactly proportional to fuel consumption (rotations rate is also >> involved >> >and m/c motors work usually on higher rpm) less fuel consumption does >> not >> >necessarily results to less pollution. The reason this doesn't happen >> is >> >that m/c engines are less developed than car engines. Many m/cs have >> >2-stroke engines, which burn lubricants together with fuel. But even on >> >the larger ones (sometimes having engines equal in power to a small or >> >medium sized car - so the smaller engine argument doesn't apply at all) >> it >> >is difficult to incorporate anti-pollution technology (hybrids, >> catalyst >> >etc). This will always be so, because it is part of the low-price >> >"advantage" - m/cs will be a step back from cars in "green" technology >> >incorporation. Generally as the size of the vehicle increase! >> > s it is easier to apply pollution prevention technology (e.g. hybrid >> > engines)- this is why it is much easier to implement it to buses and >> > trains (in addition they are run by professionals and are much easier >> > monitored, which facilitates further pollution control) The usual >> opinion >> > that m/cs pollute less than cars do, is not substantiated by evidence. >> In >> > Greece, where motorcycles rule, their pollution is not monitored like >> > cars (it is part of their "promotion package"). But take a look for >> > instance on the table at http://www.fuss-ev.de/themen/motorrad.html >> > [http://www.fuss-ev.de/themen/motorrad.gif] where limits of allowed >> > pollutants in Germany are presented, and proves that m/cs are allowed >> to >> > pollute more than cars. A study trying to estimate the total pollution >> > from every possible source, has shown that in Greece in some >> pollutants >> > (like unburned hydrocarburates) the total air pollution from m/cs is >> > already heavier than that of cars, although they are half the number >> of c! >> > ars [http://www.aeat.co.uk/netcen/corinair/94/summgre.html - the >> situa >> >tion is worse 10 years later because of the proliferation of m/cs]. >> Also >> >noise, which is another form of pollution (affecting mental rather than >> >physical health) usually is not taken into account in car-m/c >> comparisons. >> >The most that could be said about motorcycles is that they pollute >> somehow >> >differently but certainly not less than cars. >> > >> >* motorcycles take up less space on the street >> > >> >This is true of course, if you compare one m/c and one car, but things >> are >> >more complicated than this. Because what this argument implies is that >> we >> >can substitute e.g. 1 car with 1 m/c. However in densely populated >> cities, >> >like those considered as ideal, street space disposed for traffic is >> >normally saturated and every traffic flow improvement activates the >> well >> >known induced traffic effect (look e.g. at >> >http://www.vtpi.org/gentraf.pdf). So the choice is not between 1 car >> and 1 >> >m/c, but rather between 1 car and 2 m/cs or 3 m/cs, taking up the same >> >space, but polluting more than 1 car does. Even worse is the case when >> >m/cs do not reduce at all car use, but simply fill the gaps of car flow >> >and pedestrian and free spaces, as the living example of Athens >> suggests. >> >So, less space taken up from each individual m/c does not necessarily >> mean >> >less total motorised traffic. What m/cs are good in, is in fact to fill >> up >> >better than cars the totality of urban space leaving less voids tha! >> > n cars do. Can this feature be considered as "sustainable" or >> > "environmental friendly"? >> > >> >* Motorcycle accidents are caused by the presence of cars >> > >> >Motorcycles are inherently unsafe - more accurately: inherently more >> >unsafe than cars. This is not only because of their smaller mass in the >> >case of a collision, but because of their instability and less >> protection >> >offered to their riders. In a study done in Germany almost 40% of m/c >> >fatalities are caused from collisions with pedestrians, other m/cs or >> >fixed objects (http://www.swov.nl/rapport/D-2001-05.pdf p.115 table6.2) >> >although the number of m/cs in Germany is less than 10% of the number >> of >> >cars. In countries where the number of m/cs is higher compared to the >> >number of cars (like Vietnam), this proportion must be much larger. The >> >numbers of m/c accidents are order of magnitudes higher than that of >> cars >> >not only in countries like Cambodja, where law enforcement is almost >> non >> >existent, but in every country of the world - look for instance in UK >> >(http://www.begin-motorcycling.co.uk/rospa3.htm) or in the clockwork >> >ordered Switzerland (http://www.bfu.ch/english/statistics/200! >> > 1/usv_t_06.htm). >> > >> >* Motorcycle mix well with pedestrian flows and environments >> > >> >Because of their smaller size, m/cs can run in parallel rows on the >> same >> >lane. The difficulty of a pedestrian to cross a street grows >> exponentially >> >with the number of lanes (mathematically equals to p^n where n the >> number >> >of lanes and p the probability to find a traffic gap in a single lane >> at a >> >certain time interval). So they virtually double (or triple) the number >> of >> >lanes and make crossing of the street (exponentially) more difficult >> for >> >the pedestrians. Also, because of their small size it is difficult to >> >block motorcycle intrusion in pedestrian spaces. While cars can be >> easily >> >blocked using bollards, pipe frames and other hurdles, every >> engineering >> >measure inhibiting motorcycle entrance will also inhibit pedestrians, >> >wheelchair users, baby strollers etc. (e.g. >> >http://www.pezh.gr/hmerida/moto1.jpg ) >> > >> >* Motorcycle improves social equity and is an economic medium to >> improve >> >mobility for everyone >> > >> >Motorcycle is a mode of transport excluding a large part of the >> population >> >and more particularly the most vulnerable one, not only as drivers >> (like >> >cars do), but even as simple passengers: disabled and elderly persons, >> >babies, small children etc. >> >Motorcycle is not a low cost but a cheap [in the sense of paltry] >> >transport medium. They are more expensive not only compared to cars >> >(taking into consideration what they really offer), but also compared >> to >> >public transit and bicycles offering the same mobility. Do the 2 >> million >> >m/cs of Ho Chi Minh city cost really less than 2 million bicycles or >> >40.000 buses? (especially if we take into consideration functional >> costs >> >and other externalities - "accidents", pollution related >> hospitalisation >> >etc) Does anybody doubt that, in addition, the city would function >> better, >> >the environment would be healthier and total cost would be less in the >> >latter case? >> > >> >There is no perfect free-market intermodal competition in urban space, >> >because of the externalities of the necessary arrangements. These >> >arrangements (road building, urban planning, facilities placing and >> >pricing etc) affect transport modes and people will choose whatever >> >happens to be cheaper in terms of time and money in each particular >> place, >> >whether this is car, motorcycle, train, bicycle, donkey or sky rocket. >> M/c >> >(instead of car) promotion to overcome income shortage is equal to >> condemn >> >lower classes in an intrinsically unsafe mode of transport. Correctly >> >working administrations take over the responsibility to create a proper >> >public transit network able to serve better and in an egalitarian way >> the >> >society, and favour mild transport modes (walking - biking). This way >> they >> >can achieve efficiency (less congestion - better mobility), more equity >> >and better environment for their citizens and the whole planet. >> > >> >2. Many people in N. America (and other sprawl plagued places) tend to >> see >> >in motorcycles (or other motorised devices) an alternative to cars, >> which >> >are connected with this problem. However this seems to be rather >> wishful >> >thinking than a grounded strategy. Is there any example around the >> world >> >where motorcycles have ever improved sprawl? On the contrary there are >> >plenty of examples where motorcycles were the first step towards >> >motorization (e.g. currently in China, some years ago in southern >> Europe). >> >The next step, when income grows further, is the shift to private car. >> >Also, the phenomenon of sprawl seems to be more complicated than the >> >simplistic equation sprawl=cars, and it certainly involves the desire >> to >> >live alone in a building surrounded by a one acre land plot. Of course >> >when urban densities decline, and quality public transit is not anymore >> >feasible, then cars become a necessity, but a motorcycle can equally >> well >> >serve this purpose. >> > >> >M/cs will always be the transport medium of a minority. There are >> plenty >> >of situations where m/c is unsuitable - I don't think anyone would ever >> >reasonably wish to carry his 3-years-old child or his 90-years-old >> granny >> >with a m/c (at least if there is an alternative like a proper public >> >transit) and I doubt if your wife would ever accept to risk her 100$ >> >coiffure riding a m/c. According to recent studies their modal split >> share >> >in Athens is still less than 10% despite the favourable conditions and >> the >> >unconditional promotion by the greek administration (they have now >> >announced new tax breaks >> >[http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=43184]- the >> second >> >in one year period - and they are preparing special motorcycle lanes!). >> In >> >Greece, when cities were saturated with cars, the administration >> instead >> >promoting biking, walking and public transit, they promoted motorcycle >> >use, in order to squeeze even more motorised traffic on the congested >> >streets. The results of th! >> > is strategy can be seen at http://www.pezh.gr/english/photo4.htm >> > >> > ---------------------- >> > >> >A more interesting question is why m/cs are so much favoured, though >> these >> >shortcomings are almost evident to anybody willing to scrutinise the >> >issue? The usual answer concerning cars is the powerful car lobby (car >> and >> >oil corporations). But in the case of motorcycles it is something more: >> >_fanaticism_. A large part of motorcycle users are really fanatics. In >> >Athens, whenever some tax raise or other measure affecting m/cs is >> >impending, motorcycles manifestations are organised - so they gain >> >continuously more privileges. In mid 90's the European Commission >> decided >> >to promote a directive to abolish m/cs with more than 100HP power (I >> think >> >this still holds in France), because so much power has obviously no >> other >> >purpose than breaking speed limits. Some fanatics manifested and >> managed >> >to block it. There is a strategy to present m/cs (which are even more >> >lethal and noxious than cars) as harmless and sympathetic. I strongly >> >recommend, for anybody able to understand german, the afo! >> > rementioned link [http://www.fuss-ev.de/themen/motorrad.html] - I >> have >> > similar experiences from Greece. >> > >> >So, the proposition that total abolition of motorcycles is a good idea, >> >maybe sounds ridiculous but is not at all (actually nothing IS really >> >ridiculous but always SEEMS ridiculous). What we are talking on this >> list >> >(and many other places) about limiting motorised traffic would probably >> >also seem ridiculous 50 years ago (and perhaps reactionary thoughts >> >against progress) but now it is mainstream. And perhaps after 50 years >> all >> >this irrational, wasteful and self-catastrophic way transports are >> >currently oraganised, would seem even more ridiculous. >> > >> > >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> Sujit Patwardhan >> PARISAR >> "Yamuna", ICS Colony, >> Ganeshkhind Road, >> Pune 411007 >> Telephone: 255 37955 >> Email: or >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> >> > > ----- > > Jonathan E. D. Richmond 02 524-5510 (office) > Visiting Fellow Intl.: 662 524-5510 > Transportation Engineering program > School of Civil Engineering, Room N260B 02 524-8257 (home) > Asian Institute of Technology Intl.: 662 524-8257 > PO Box 4 > Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 02 524-5509 (fax) > Thailand Intl: 662 524-5509 > > e-mail: richmond@ait.ac.th Secretary: Ms. Nisarat Hansuksa > richmond@alum.mit.edu 02 524-6051 > Intl: 662 524-6051 > http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/ > > From binac at rediffmail.com Sat Jun 5 00:21:29 2004 From: binac at rediffmail.com (Bina C. Balakrishnan) Date: 4 Jun 2004 15:21:29 -0000 Subject: [sustran] Taxi operations in Mumbai Message-ID: <20040604152129.21182.qmail@webmail6.rediffmail.com> ? Hi everyone, We are trying to re-organise the taxi operations in Mumbai, introducing newer, more efficient models of cars, with a choice of levels of comfort, and differentiated tariff structures. Currently, all taxis in Mumbai are either owner- driven, or by a driver hired by the owner of a single or small (4-5) fleet of cars. Operational costs in this case seem to be high, and vehicle maintenance suffers. Most of these vehicles are also very old, and in an attempt to improve both the system as well as the environment through the use of newer, better vehicles, we are examining the feasibility of shifting to an ?Operator System,? where new models of fuel efficient vehicles will be owned by a few large operators, who can then optimize their operations. I would appreciate any information on the experience of other cities elsewhere in the world, in this area. Regards and thanks, Bina Bina C. Balakrishnan Consultant Transportation Planning & Engineering Mumbai, India e-mail : binac@rediffmail.com From etts at indigo.ie Sat Jun 5 01:59:53 2004 From: etts at indigo.ie (Brendan Finn) Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2004 17:59:53 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai References: <20040604152129.21182.qmail@webmail6.rediffmail.com> Message-ID: <013101c44a55$5b76e290$0101a8c0@fujitsu83p69tb> Dear Bina, I guess Singapore's main cab companies (Comfort, CityCab, TIBS) might offer a working model. While the cost base is likely to be different due to the wage rates and perhaps also insurance and licence factors, it's still worth looking at. They're certainly large enough to gain economies of scale and good purchasing power. An alternative model could be a leasing-with-maintenance arrangement by the vehicle suppliers. This certainly can work in the bus sector. Whatever you opt for, you are looking to replace old vehicles with new in a low-wage, low-tariff situation. Financially, this is not going to fit easily. Even allowing for fuel efficiencies and other cost savings, tariffs are going to have to rise to pay for the new investment. I wish you good luck in your option development and implementation. Brendan Finn. _______________________________________________________________________ Contact details are : e-mail : etts@indigo.ie tel : +353.87.2530286 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" To: Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 4:21 PM Subject: [sustran] Taxi operations in Mumbai Hi everyone, We are trying to re-organise the taxi operations in Mumbai, introducing newer, more efficient models of cars, with a choice of levels of comfort, and differentiated tariff structures. Currently, all taxis in Mumbai are either owner- driven, or by a driver hired by the owner of a single or small (4-5) fleet of cars. Operational costs in this case seem to be high, and vehicle maintenance suffers. Most of these vehicles are also very old, and in an attempt to improve both the system as well as the environment through the use of newer, better vehicles, we are examining the feasibility of shifting to an "Operator System," where new models of fuel efficient vehicles will be owned by a few large operators, who can then optimize their operations. I would appreciate any information on the experience of other cities elsewhere in the world, in this area. Regards and thanks, Bina Bina C. Balakrishnan Consultant Transportation Planning & Engineering Mumbai, India e-mail : binac@rediffmail.com From ecoplan.adsl at wanadoo.fr Sat Jun 5 02:43:52 2004 From: ecoplan.adsl at wanadoo.fr (ecoplan.adsl@wanadoo.fr) Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2004 19:43:52 +0200 Subject: [sustran] World Car Free Days invites you to drop in In-Reply-To: <001c01c4487b$e5045460$6501a8c0@home> Message-ID: <00c501c44a5b$82497cb0$6501a8c0@home> Friday, June 04, 2004, Paris, France, Europe Dear Friends, This is to let you know that we are making progress in updating on our ten year old sustainability effort World Car Free Days at http://worldcarfreeday.com -- and are now ready, we think, to make a useful contribution. Let me give you a quick summary of the high points, in the hope that this may tempt some of you who already have a penchant for public action measures aimed at bringing on line important changes in terms of our cities mobility systems, to check it out and possibly put it to use. Let me keep this brief: 1. The site is now in pretty good shape for consultation and use, and in particular is dedicated over the next two months to a major collective rethinking of the Car Free Day strategy and accomplishments. For my part I consider that by and large we are doing quite poorly overall, and that the potential of a good CFD project continues to be not quite understood. My hope is that by pointing up the really good projects and approaches, we may provide some clear examples, templates for others to look at, understand and adapt and put to work in their cities. 2. Our first step in this process is a Strategic Outreach Survey, which has just today got underway and which I hope will prove interesting enough that you may wish to have a look and possibly join in with your views and recommendations. It will take you five or ten minutes to complete, but I don't think you will regret it. 3. You may find some value in the Car Free Days in the News section, which has been carefully cobbled out of Google and is updated continuously. It provides a pretty good idea of the pace of what is going on under this rubric. (Not nearly enough, being the answer!) 4. An important and thus far entirely unresolved issue has to do with our working relationship with our friends at the UN DESA, Division for Sustainable Development in New York, with whom several years ago we launched the United Nations Car Free Days Programme (http://uncfd.org). This program has I believe considerable potential in Third World cities, but it is as you know well a very delicate business and requires careful thought and meticulous preparation to be useful. Car Free Days cannot simply be treated as a quick in/quick out exercise. Even the smallest projects, little block closures or whatever need to be carefully prepared. Your feedback and counsel on this in particular will be much appreciated. Finally, I would be grateful if any of you might be able to let us now about newsgroups or lists of people and groups likely to share these interests. Experience shows that unless you have a couple of hundred current contacts of people who know and care about our topic, not much ever gets done. So all help - including forwarding this note to friends, colleagues and other related lists for their information will be most appreciated. Regards, Eric The Commons __ technology, economy, society__ Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara 75006 Paris, France, Europe T: +331 4326 1323 Fax/Voicemail hotline: +331 5301 2896 W : http://www.ecoplan.org IP Videoconference: 81.65.50.149 E: Eric.Britton@ecoplan.org Personal webpage: www.EricBritton.org --- Outgoing mail certified Virus Free. Checked by Norton Anti-Virus. Version 9.05.15 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 8680 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040604/ab3781b2/winmail-0001.bin From ecoplan.adsl at wanadoo.fr Sat Jun 5 02:43:52 2004 From: ecoplan.adsl at wanadoo.fr (ecoplan.adsl@wanadoo.fr) Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2004 19:43:52 +0200 Subject: [sustran] World Car Free Days invites you to drop in In-Reply-To: <001c01c4487b$e5045460$6501a8c0@home> Message-ID: <00c501c44a5b$82497cb0$6501a8c0@home> Friday, June 04, 2004, Paris, France, Europe Dear Friends, This is to let you know that we are making progress in updating on our ten year old sustainability effort World Car Free Days at http://worldcarfreeday.com -- and are now ready, we think, to make a useful contribution. Let me give you a quick summary of the high points, in the hope that this may tempt some of you who already have a penchant for public action measures aimed at bringing on line important changes in terms of our cities mobility systems, to check it out and possibly put it to use. Let me keep this brief: 1. The site is now in pretty good shape for consultation and use, and in particular is dedicated over the next two months to a major collective rethinking of the Car Free Day strategy and accomplishments. For my part I consider that by and large we are doing quite poorly overall, and that the potential of a good CFD project continues to be not quite understood. My hope is that by pointing up the really good projects and approaches, we may provide some clear examples, templates for others to look at, understand and adapt and put to work in their cities. 2. Our first step in this process is a Strategic Outreach Survey, which has just today got underway and which I hope will prove interesting enough that you may wish to have a look and possibly join in with your views and recommendations. It will take you five or ten minutes to complete, but I don't think you will regret it. 3. You may find some value in the Car Free Days in the News section, which has been carefully cobbled out of Google and is updated continuously. It provides a pretty good idea of the pace of what is going on under this rubric. (Not nearly enough, being the answer!) 4. An important and thus far entirely unresolved issue has to do with our working relationship with our friends at the UN DESA, Division for Sustainable Development in New York, with whom several years ago we launched the United Nations Car Free Days Programme (http://uncfd.org). This program has I believe considerable potential in Third World cities, but it is as you know well a very delicate business and requires careful thought and meticulous preparation to be useful. Car Free Days cannot simply be treated as a quick in/quick out exercise. Even the smallest projects, little block closures or whatever need to be carefully prepared. Your feedback and counsel on this in particular will be much appreciated. Finally, I would be grateful if any of you might be able to let us now about newsgroups or lists of people and groups likely to share these interests. Experience shows that unless you have a couple of hundred current contacts of people who know and care about our topic, not much ever gets done. So all help - including forwarding this note to friends, colleagues and other related lists for their information will be most appreciated. Regards, Eric The Commons __ technology, economy, society__ Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara 75006 Paris, France, Europe T: +331 4326 1323 Fax/Voicemail hotline: +331 5301 2896 W : http://www.ecoplan.org IP Videoconference: 81.65.50.149 E: Eric.Britton@ecoplan.org Personal webpage: www.EricBritton.org --- Outgoing mail certified Virus Free. Checked by Norton Anti-Virus. Version 9.05.15 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 8680 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040604/ab3781b2/winmail-0002.bin From ericbruun at earthlink.net Sat Jun 5 01:37:11 2004 From: ericbruun at earthlink.net (Eric Bruun) Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2004 12:37:11 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Fw: Motorcycles summarised Message-ID: <009801c44a52$32bc6e40$5afc45cf@earthlink.net> Re: [sustran] Motorcycles summarised ----- Original Message ----- From: Marcus Wigan To: K. Tsourlakis Cc: Eric Bruun Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2004 8:18 PM Subject: Re: [sustran] Motorcycles summarised ----- Original Message ----- From: "K. Tsourlakis" To: Sent: Tuesday, June 01, 2004 4:27 PM Subject: [sustran] Motorcycles summarised > > Perhaps motorcycles is another case where the problem of inappropriate technology transfer from north to south emerge (because traffic engineering is certainly a form of technology). The fact that motorcycle use is limited (if not marginal) compared to car traffic in most of the technologically influential countries (e.g. in 1990 only 0.2% of commuting trips in US were done by motorcycle - http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/journey/usmode90.txt - since then m/c use has been declining further) have you checked the effects in other first world countries? the Us is far from typical. Italy for example.. especially Milan, and Rome.. I was there a couple of weeks ago investigating just this sort of issue. I have a dvd of traffic behaviours under heavy m/c use (Like and Rome and to a far lesser extent london) and the capacity gains are evident. I also have videos/dvd records of the riders eye view of the flows in inner and outer areas of Roome to see how the capacity effects actually work. The demand for scooters/mc in inner(rich) areas for business and work mobility is quite remarkable.. I am writing about the cultural aspects that have led to this outcome.. I might add that modern low pollution engines predominate in Rome from my sample counts, in passing. results to a limited interest for relevant research. For people living in these countries it is often difficult to realise the complexities of extended motorcycle use, and it is very easy to miss the point and e.g. to confuse the market view with the sustainability prospect. For instance is low price an advantage from a sustainability viewpoint? have you, for example, examined the recycling aspects of motorcycles? the recycling level is phenomenally high- higher than cars by a big fraction. Then why congestion charge, toll roads and other ways to internalise the external cost are considered sustainable? If cars were free, wou! have you done the mathematics on this? I have...if you have id welcome the sums and the capacity rates etc used.. > ld this considered as an advantage? > > It seems that the issue of motorcycle-car comparison can be reduced into two questions: > 1. Are motorcycles a more preferable encumbrance on the streets than cars? > 2. Do motorcycles really substitute cars on the street? > My personal answer to both questions is a clear NO - my arguments follow. > I would appreciate the evidence that you used for this, as your views do not seem to meet the realities of the data! I also think that a slightly better informed debate on sustrans list might be very useful in raising the common levels of solid information- + and - on these questions! > 1. The dominant (and unfounded) opinion, that it is better to use motorcycles than cars, is based in a series of myths, which I will try to debunk: > > * motorcycles pollute less than cars do > > This is one of the most often as well as the most big myths about motorcycles. It is mostly caused from m/cs having usually smaller engines than cars do, hence they consume less fuel. Although engine size isn't exactly proportional to fuel consumption (rotations rate is also involved and m/c motors work usually on higher rpm) less fuel consumption does not necessarily results to less pollution. The reason this doesn't happen is that m/c engines are less developed than car engines. Many m/cs have 2-stroke engines, which burn lubricants together with fuel. But even on the larger ones (sometimes having engines equal in power to a small or medium sized car - so the smaller engine argument doesn't apply at all) it is difficult to incorporate anti-pollution technology (hybrids, catalyst etc). 1. the orbital engine which is cleaner than the ambient air in most cases, is now licnesed by Italian, indonesian and Chinese manufacturers of small machines.. and form a rapidly growing fraction of the fleet. 2. significant fraction of the larger motorcycle fleet is already fitted with catalytic converters, and have engine maps to optimise emission out put levels rather than power. 3. the m/c manufacturers are continuing to set high quality emission goals for new generations of machines (and have this as a formal and committed investment priority) This will always be so, because it is part of the low-price "advantage" - m/cs will be a step back from cars in "green" technology incorporation. Generally as the size of the vehicle increase! This does appear to be written form a standpoint somewhat removed from a close knowledge of motorcycles! As an engineer id be happy to provide you with sources of solid information on this question. > s it is easier to apply pollution prevention technology (e.g. hybrid engines)- this is why it is much easier to implement it to buses and trains The first electric vehicles were actually motorcycles.. and electric powered light motorcycles are manufacturerd in huge numbers and with now very high levels of sophistication.. the furphy that these are 'really bicycles' is easily dismissed as the canadians and everbody else are moving to enlarge the power rating in KW for double or more the 200watt levels that allow such light motorcycles to be deemed 'bicycles'(yet be exempt for all safety braking dynamics etc etc regulations that fortunately motorcycles are all subject to..) currently there are huge number of non-deemed bicyles that are electric motorcycles appearing in Japan and China... (in addition they are run by professionals and are much easier monitored, which facilitates further pollution control) The usual opinion that m/cs pollute less than cars do, is not substantiated by evidence. In Greece, where motorcycles rule, their pollution is not monitored like cars (it is part of their "promotion package"). I note the use of your work opinion...I suggest that you check the actual figures of enforcement.. in the research studies doen of onroad motorcycle fleet in the US for Mobile6, the polluting vehicles were in general fitted withnoncompliant aftermarket exahust systems..an issue on which most countries are moving to manage better -- see recent TUV reports But take a look for instance on the table at http://www.fuss-ev.de/themen/motorrad.html [http://www.fuss-ev.de/themen/motorrad.gif] where limits of allowed pollutants in Germany are presented, and proves that m/cs are allowed to pollute more than cars. Not quite-what is says is that the designs under the specified TUV test conditions are less stringent at this stage. BUT the real test is what the on road pullution emission levels are in use- and these reports are geninely hard to come by as they are enforcement reports.. the issue in complicated by maintenance rates and the differential annual mileages of vehicles on road by age of vehicle (I can give you some useful references if you wished to actually do the analysis rather then rely upon 'usual opinion') A study trying to estimate the total pollution from every possible source, has shown that in Greece in some pollutants (like unburned hydrocarburates) the total air pollution from m/cs is already heavier than that of cars, although they are half the number of c! and selective comment- I presume that greece doesnt have an enforcement system for emission levels? Also, if these are oldish 2-strokes, the NoX emissions are NIL (which completely avoids the corrosive byproducts from four stroke engines) for 40 years japan has for example differentiated between engine types in setting pollutant output levels_ they are aimed at reducing the hydrocarbons in 2strokes, but not as harshly as the hydrocarbons form 4strokes as 2strkes dot produce any Nox... and vice versa for 4strokes.. now of ckurse we have the new issue of P1 and p5 oarticulates where car diesel engnes (rapidly growing now) are becoming a matter of serious concern... one needs to do ALL the emission sums more fully and in a balanced manner to get the picture sorted out. > ars [http://www.aeat.co.uk/netcen/corinair/94/summgre.html - the situa > tion is worse 10 years later because of the proliferation of m/cs]. Also noise, which is another form of pollution (affecting mental rather than physical health) usually is not taken into account in car-m/c comparisons. The most that could be said about motorcycles is that they pollute somehow differently but certainly not less than cars. Again, the measures of OEM noise levels are interesting to check on.. certainly the levels are only now converging towards cars- but the driving and noise production cycles are what cerate the real world noise levels- and the differences are not as marked as you seem to infer- again the aftermarket inferior quality exhausts are a major irritant to everyone..but it might be useful to note that a widespread view held amongst even mature and unaggressive riders is that motorcycles are so quiet now that pedestrians step out in front tof one (and the less persuasive argument that a noisier exhaust can improve this situation.. as noise is a function of rpm, the same effects could be achieved or at least much of them by choosing a lower gear in pedestrian areas, so one woudl hesitate to support this latter assertion!) > > * motorcycles take up less space on the street > > This is true of course, if you compare one m/c and one car, but things are more complicated than this. Because what this argument implies is that we can substitute e.g. 1 car with 1 m/c. However in densely populated cities, like those considered as ideal, street space disposed for traffic is normally saturated and every traffic flow improvement activates the well known induced traffic effect (look e.g. at http://www.vtpi.org/gentraf.pdf). So the choice is not between 1 car and 1 m/c, but rather between 1 car and 2 m/cs or 3 m/cs, taking up the same space, but polluting more than 1 car does. Even worse is the case when m/cs do not reduce at all car use, but simply fill the gaps of car flow and pedestrian and free spaces, as the living example of Athens suggests. So, less space taken up from each individual m/c does not necessarily mean less total motorised traffic. What m/cs are good in, is in fact to fill up better than cars the totality of urban space leaving less voids tha! > n cars do. Can this feature be considered as "sustainable" or "environmental friendly"? This is a bit cicular, and avoids the evidence. 1. yes motorcycles take up less space than cars- and indeed also can use space that cars cannmot use-thereby increasing capcity on a road- this is escpeically true at complex large intersections in satuurated conditions (references available) where the expsne of increasing caapcity for cars is quite unaffordable. So yes, they gain caapcity Next point: as the car occupancy figures continue to drop towards unity (esp in peak hours) the mean occupancy of motorcycles (typically around 1.10 are converging, so this suggests a genuine substistution effect. Also, the shadow cost of parking of cars is very very high in congested areas, and m/c demand less than a fifth of this (even ignoring the ability to use nooks and crannies unsuable for anything else). So there is a further gain in malaysia there is now a specific policy of encoyraging people to sue public transport for holidays/weekends and 'keep the motorcycel for work journeys'... Now you argue that this real gain is not a real gain because it is an increase in capacity! I suggest that you pick which argumnent you wish to run, at present your two arguments cancel each other out. > * Motorcycle accidents are caused by the presence of cars > > Motorcycles are inherently unsafe - more accurately: inherently more unsafe than cars. This is not only because of their smaller mass in the case of a collision, but because of their instability and less protection offered to their riders. In a study done in Germany almost 40% of m/c fatalities are caused from collisions with pedestrians, other m/cs or fixed objects (http://www.swov.nl/rapport/D-2001-05.pdf p.115 table6.2) although the number of m/cs in Germany is less than 10% of the number of cars. This is about to be subject to a massive study called MAIDs which will be released 30 June 2004 (yes, once a m/c falls over or it hit, it is the safety of the road environment that matters.. references readily available and can be supplied). Conflating hard (and impact magnifying) impact terminations with other factors disguises this.. the culpability of m/c if roughy equaly to cars in collisions, but again see AMIDs for suprising new large scale european data imminently. Certainly when rights of way of the mc are compromised the culpability is more on the side of the cars.. that too is well known/ sadly motorcycle are not usually afforded the protection of specifically adjusted oad design that bicycles (a very closely related mode, that does not obey road regualtions or pay for insurance of road tax in most cases) are afforded. One might argue that similar favourable treatment woudl be necessary to get a balanced assessment of culpability and vulnerability! In countries where the number of m/cs is higher compared to the number of cars (like Vietnam), this proportion must be much larger. The numbers of m/c accidents are order of magnitudes higher than that of cars not only in countries like Cambodja, where law enforcement is almost non existent, but in every country of the world - look for instance in UK (http://www.begin-motorcycling.co.uk/rospa3.htm) or in the clockwork ordered Switzerland (http://www.bfu.ch/english/statistics/200! Again i suggets looking inot MAIDs as this is a good protocl not subject to many of the reprtng peculiarities so well known to us all between different officila ficures! > 1/usv_t_06.htm). > > * Motorcycle mix well with pedestrian flows and environments > > Because of their smaller size, m/cs can run in parallel rows on the same lane. The difficulty of a pedestrian to cross a street grows exponentially with the number of lanes (mathematically equals to p^n where n the number of lanes and p the probability to find a traffic gap in a single lane at a certain time interval). So they virtually double (or triple) the number of lanes and make crossing of the street (exponentially) more difficult for the pedestrians. Also, because of their small size it is difficult to block motorcycle intrusion in pedestrian spaces. While cars can be easily blocked using bollards, pipe frames and other hurdles, every engineering measure inhibiting motorcycle entrance will also inhibit pedestrians, wheelchair users, baby strollers etc. (e.g. http://www.pezh.gr/hmerida/moto1.jpg ) This is again a set of undifferentiated arguments about several matters all conflated.. they need to be picked apart to be dealt with. It woudl take a page ro tow to do so, and if it is areal concern of yours Ill try and find the time to do if it woudl be helpful. > * Motorcycle improves social equity and is an economic medium to improve mobility for everyone > > Motorcycle is a mode of transport excluding a large part of the population and more particularly the most vulnerable one, not only as drivers (like cars do), but even as simple passengers: disabled and elderly persons, babies, small children etc. Actually this is not quite trus. In developing countries EVERYone fits on a motorcycle.. not that i approve of it, but it is visibly done (again pictures available if you do not have the evdience to hand), also the motorcycle and sidecar is actually used by peopel who cannot get into publci transport due to leg probelms etc.. againm I can put yu in touch with not just individuals but groups of disabled reliant on motrocycles... ironically the general point is one that is in the spirit you intended it actually REALLY ture about bicycles! (I can give you the stability, age, fragility etc etc data if you need it) it was a bit of a sri=prise to find that this was the caee.. but of course the clue was the predominance of males bicycle riders in alla ge grousp that i should have realsied had more than one type of significance! > Motorcycle is not a low cost but a cheap [in the sense of paltry] transport medium. They are more expensive not only compared to cars (taking into consideration what they really(?) offer), ? what attrbyte set are you referring to here? it is far from clear... Id love to see the calculation s on this- they dont seem to be correct. certainly our work on mode chocie in travel to work in developed countries dosnt seem to confirm your assertion- have you specifc data availabel to discuss? but also compared to public transit and bicycles offering the same mobility. They simply dont. My own work shows a performance enveleope that is for longer average trips than cars at higher average speeds.. and several tiems both distance and spped of bicycles (ie real communting distances/times as dkstunct from bicycles shortrange perforamnce envelope.. yes i do have the data) Do the 2 million m/cs of Ho Chi Minh city cost really less than 2 million bicycles or 40.000 buses? (especially if we take into consideration functional costs and other externalities - "accidents", pollution related hospitalisation etc) Does anybody doubt that, in addition, the city would function better, the environment would be healthier and total cost would be less in the latter case? id be interested in the calculation one of the sad fact is that the high values of death and injury in developing countires are biased upwards by the fact the richest people drive cars etc.. so we need to be very clear on you coudl be right - but to be able to discuss this rationally.. 1 are we using WTP sums? 2. what are the economic multiplers used for workforce paricipation and capitla formation and husing tradeoffs? > > There is no perfect free-market intermodal competition in urban space, because of the externalities of the necessary arrangements. These arrangements (road building, urban planning, facilities placing and pricing etc) affect transport modes and people will choose whatever happens to be cheaper in terms of time and money in each particular place, whether this is car, motorcycle, train, bicycle, donkey or sky rocket. M/c (instead of car) promotion to overcome income shortage is equal to condemn lower classes in an intrinsically unsafe mode of transport. Interesting- the motorcycel parking spaces in the City of Lonodn AND the commuter stations that feed it are overflowing and totally inadequate..(data and pictures available) or perhaps were you indicating a reverse incoem effect (ir higher income mor so?) Correctly working administrations take over the responsibility to create a proper public transit network able to serve better and in an egalitarian way the society, and favour mild transport modes (walking - biking). As an aging person I fond buses a cocnern due to the danger of falls that i incur (whoever gives up their seat to an older person any more?) and walking is also circumscribed due to fading knees.. I do find this assumption of older peopel being betetr off walking and busing (on the rare occasions that the buses actually run when one needs them) a bit patronaising- and fundmentally inaccurate..forcing relaince of such people on buses and walking may not seem much to a younger person-- but just wait a few years! This way they can achieve efficiency (less congestion - better mobility), more equity and better environment for their citizens and the whole planet. see above > > 2. Many people in N. America (and other sprawl plagued places) tend to see in motorcycles (or other motorised devices) an alternative to cars, which are connected with this problem. However this seems to be rather wishful thinking than a grounded strategy. Is there any example around the world where motorcycles have ever improved sprawl? On the contrary there are plenty of examples where motorcycles were the first step towards motorization (e.g. currently in China, some years ago in southern Europe). The next step, when income grows further, is the shift to private car. Also, the phenomenon of sprawl seems to be more complicated than the simplistic equation sprawl=cars, and it certainly involves the desire to live alone in a building surrounded by a one acre land plot. Of course when urban densities decline, and quality public transit is not anymore feasible, then cars become a necessity, but a motorcycle can equally well serve this purpose. Interesting- here is another conflated argument about caputal formation, workforcre participation, housing aspiration and mobility and job choice ranges.. all added in to the transprot and economic development cycle-- this is a really good argument to have, but is is about the issues ive listed- not motorcycles! > M/cs will always be the transport medium of a minority. There are plenty of situations where m/c is unsuitable - I don't think anyone would ever reasonably wish to carry his 3-years-old child or his 90-years-old granny with a m/c (at least if there is an alternative like a proper public transit) i love th e extreme cases.. but I can supply bus occupancy pictures demisntrating clealry that in KL i woudl NOT want the 3 or 90 year old in the buis- greater risk *there were over 120 people in a bus licnesed for 60 inclduing standing-- and thepressures on the peopel where huge--and the jerks alarming and sudden- this was KL 2 weesk ago-- and I doubt if your wife would ever accept to risk her 100$ coiffure riding a m/c. Perhaps not yours, but my first and current wives have and had- and have often asked to use the mc not the car due to other aspects of the accessibility they afford- certainly in the choice between outr(quite reasonable) train service (no buses after6pm of course ina major city...) the m.c isand was invariably requested... According to recent studies their modal split share in Athens is still less than 10% despite the favourable conditions and the unconditional promotion by the greek administration (they have now announced new tax breaks [http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=43184]- the second in one year period - and they are preparing special motorcycle lanes!) At last! some sort of recognition of a vulnerazble transport mode! Just like malaysia... . In Greece, when cities were saturated with cars, the administration instead promoting biking, walking and public transit, they promoted motorcycle use, in order to squeeze even more motorised traffic on the congested streets. The results of th! > is strategy can be seen at http://www.pezh.gr/english/photo4.htm Actualy one needs to promote all modes, to fit the performance enveleopes and needs of the different people.. > A more interesting question is why m/cs are so much favoured, presumably you mean Greece only? It is far from evident in the rest of the worls.. though these shortcomings are almost evident to anybody willing to scrutinise the issue? The usual answer concerning cars is the powerful car lobby (car and oil corporations). But in the case of motorcycles it is something more: _fanaticism_. A large part of motorcycle users are really fanatics. In Athens, whenever some tax raise or other measure affecting m/cs is impending, motorcycles manifestations are organised - so they gain continuously more privileges. !!! they are mere amateurs compared to the Bicycle lobby! and at least they actually pay for their road use! In almost every country they are strongly discriminated against in all circumstances, even where their capacity contributions are incontrovertible (such as the tollways) In mid 90's the European Commission decided to promote a directive to abolish m/cs with more than 100HP power (I think this still holds in France), because so much power has obviously no other purpose than breaking speed limits. Actually the effects are quite different. Torque and power are realted via rpm.. so a lareg and ptoentially pwoerful machines is a joy to ride at sedate speeds due to the wide power band..I think that this argument is one that says more about the person making it than the reality! Some fanatics manifested and managed to block it. There is a strategy to present m/cs (which are even more lethal and noxious than cars) as harmless and sympathetic. Perhaps this paragrpah is more a personal opinion than a verifiable fact! At least it might be reasonabel to debate the pints and provide solid evidence! I strongly recommend, for anybody able to understand german, the afo! > rementioned link [http://www.fuss-ev.de/themen/motorrad.html] - I have similar experiences from Greece. > > So, the proposition that total abolition of motorcycles is a good idea, maybe sounds ridiculous but is not at all (actually nothing IS really ridiculous but always SEEMS ridiculous). What we are talking on this list (and many other places) about limiting motorised traffic would probably also seem ridiculous 50 years ago (and perhaps reactionary thoughts against progress) but now it is mainstream. And perhaps after 50 years all this irrational, wasteful and self-catastrophic way transports are currently oraganised, would seem even more ridiculous. I would be very pleased to have a grounded and numerate debate on this issue.. but we will need to gather more data between us on the points that you have asserted, as there is not enough there to move forward: some points would seem to be less than fully researched and supported at this stage. Id also be very keen to get a better picture of the current situation in Athens, as it certainly appears to be one where there is much to be learned. Would you please condier providing me with a bit more data? Id like to understand the Athens policy developments in this area in a systematic manner, as they look as if they could modify - possibly very substantially- some m of the report i am currently woking on. Yours sincerely marcus Wigan Founder member (US TRB Committee on Bicycles (and emeritus member-elect) Founder and Emeritus Member TRB Committee on Motorcycles and Mopeds) ============================================================================== Dr Marcus Wigan, Working presently in : Melbourne, Australia * Principal Oxford Systematics, Box 126 Heidelberg 3084 Australia * Email:Base address oxsys@optusnet.com.au Website: http://go.to/mwigan * Professor of Transport Systems, TRi: the Transport Research Institute Napier University Edinburgh Scotland Email m.wigan@napier.ac.uk * Professorial Fellow, Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Melbourne Email mwigan@unimelb.edu.au Australia: Tel +61 39 459 9671 Fax + 61 39 459 8663 Mobile +61 410 489 029 UK: Tel +44 131 455 5140 Fax +44 131 5141 UK Mobiles +44 788 0988 521 and +44 7984 993 558 (please try both) ============================================================================== -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040604/1f8bc156/attachment-0001.html From kisansbc at vsnl.com Sat Jun 5 15:21:48 2004 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (Kisan Mehta) Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2004 11:51:48 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai References: <20040604152129.21182.qmail@webmail6.rediffmail.com> <013101c44a55$5b76e290$0101a8c0@fujitsu83p69tb> Message-ID: <002b01c44ac5$61f6e640$3226020a@im.eth.net> Dear Colleagues and Bina, It is good to learn that somebody and especially Bina, a Mumbai resident is looking into the possibility of improving/upgrading the quality of taxi service in Mumbai. Some factors need to be given due weightage when considering situation in Mumbai. *Mumbai with about 12 million population (Census 2001) spread over 434 sq km area has the highest population density in the world, higher than Hongkong, Singapore, Tokyo. * There are over 100,000 taxies permitted to take upto 4 passengers and 130,000 3 wheeler auto-rikshas carrying upto 3. Government fixed Fare structure is in favour of auto rikshas which outmanoevre taxies on the road. *Mumbai Metropolitan Region comprising of 4300 sq km area and 19 million population has large number of taxies and rikshas in addition to thousands of ramsheckle public and private buses. Bus fares are extremely low compared to taxies. Private motor car has the highest priority on road use paying literally nothing for using and parking on public roads. No studies are carried out but it is observed that over 30% of road space including pavements is used up by private cars for free parking. Taxies and rikshas are not provided parking space to the extent required. Even busy railway and bus stations, heavily frequented public offices do not have parking space for cars, taxies/rikshas/light commercial vehicles. Multi level off-street-pavement parking concept has not come up because the authorities allow undisturbed free parking even on narrow streets and pavements. Public railway and bus transport terribly crowded accounts for 88% of the journeys in Mumbai. No count of pedestrian journeys has ever been taken. In this situation the following may be implemented. # Augmenting and imrpoving public transport and creating dependable taxi/riksha change over possibility for weaning away commuters from private vehicles # Creating widespread calling taxi/autoriksha by telephone facility #Designating specific plots of lands for taxi/riksha parking till ordered on telephone # Insisting on taxies and rikshas to install `for hire' illuminated lights on top # Raising fare structure to allow taxi/riksha owners to keep their vehicles in good shape. # Removing all hurdles on movement of taxies/rikshas throughtout the commuting areas of Mumbai and more particularly Mumbai Metropolitan Region #Placing restrictions on car use and ownership to reduce congestion and pollution. It is clear that concentration of ownership in fewer hands that is creating corporate giants would not help commuters. Any attempt in that direction would create social and ethical turmoil. However much we may dislike, existence and widespread of rikshas and two wheeler motor cycles cannot be wished away in the poor countries. Best wishes. Kisan Mehta ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brendan Finn" To: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" ; "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 10:29 PM Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai > Dear Bina, > > I guess Singapore's main cab companies (Comfort, CityCab, TIBS) might offer > a working model. While the cost base is likely to be different due to the > wage rates and perhaps also insurance and licence factors, it's still worth > looking at. They're certainly large enough to gain economies of scale and > good purchasing power. > > An alternative model could be a leasing-with-maintenance arrangement by the > vehicle suppliers. This certainly can work in the bus sector. > > Whatever you opt for, you are looking to replace old vehicles with new in a > low-wage, low-tariff situation. Financially, this is not going to fit > easily. Even allowing for fuel efficiencies and other cost savings, tariffs > are going to have to rise to pay for the new investment. > > I wish you good luck in your option development and implementation. > > > Brendan Finn. > _______________________________________________________________________ > Contact details are : e-mail : etts@indigo.ie tel : +353.87.2530286 > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" > To: > Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 4:21 PM > Subject: [sustran] Taxi operations in Mumbai > > > > Hi everyone, > > We are trying to re-organise the taxi operations in Mumbai, introducing > newer, more efficient models of cars, with a choice of levels of comfort, > and differentiated tariff structures. Currently, all taxis in Mumbai are > either owner- driven, or by a driver hired by the owner of a single or small > (4-5) fleet of cars. Operational costs in this case seem to be high, and > vehicle maintenance suffers. Most of these vehicles are also very old, and > in an attempt to improve both the system as well as the environment through > the use of newer, better vehicles, we are examining the feasibility of > shifting to an "Operator System," where new models of fuel efficient > vehicles will be owned by a few large operators, who can then optimize their > operations. > > I would appreciate any information on the experience of other cities > elsewhere in the world, in this area. > > Regards and thanks, > Bina > > Bina C. Balakrishnan > Consultant > Transportation Planning & Engineering > Mumbai, India > e-mail : binac@rediffmail.com From kisansbc at vsnl.com Sat Jun 5 15:21:48 2004 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (Kisan Mehta) Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2004 11:51:48 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai References: <20040604152129.21182.qmail@webmail6.rediffmail.com> <013101c44a55$5b76e290$0101a8c0@fujitsu83p69tb> Message-ID: <002b01c44ac5$61f6e640$3226020a@im.eth.net> Dear Colleagues and Bina, It is good to learn that somebody and especially Bina, a Mumbai resident is looking into the possibility of improving/upgrading the quality of taxi service in Mumbai. Some factors need to be given due weightage when considering situation in Mumbai. *Mumbai with about 12 million population (Census 2001) spread over 434 sq km area has the highest population density in the world, higher than Hongkong, Singapore, Tokyo. * There are over 100,000 taxies permitted to take upto 4 passengers and 130,000 3 wheeler auto-rikshas carrying upto 3. Government fixed Fare structure is in favour of auto rikshas which outmanoevre taxies on the road. *Mumbai Metropolitan Region comprising of 4300 sq km area and 19 million population has large number of taxies and rikshas in addition to thousands of ramsheckle public and private buses. Bus fares are extremely low compared to taxies. Private motor car has the highest priority on road use paying literally nothing for using and parking on public roads. No studies are carried out but it is observed that over 30% of road space including pavements is used up by private cars for free parking. Taxies and rikshas are not provided parking space to the extent required. Even busy railway and bus stations, heavily frequented public offices do not have parking space for cars, taxies/rikshas/light commercial vehicles. Multi level off-street-pavement parking concept has not come up because the authorities allow undisturbed free parking even on narrow streets and pavements. Public railway and bus transport terribly crowded accounts for 88% of the journeys in Mumbai. No count of pedestrian journeys has ever been taken. In this situation the following may be implemented. # Augmenting and imrpoving public transport and creating dependable taxi/riksha change over possibility for weaning away commuters from private vehicles # Creating widespread calling taxi/autoriksha by telephone facility #Designating specific plots of lands for taxi/riksha parking till ordered on telephone # Insisting on taxies and rikshas to install `for hire' illuminated lights on top # Raising fare structure to allow taxi/riksha owners to keep their vehicles in good shape. # Removing all hurdles on movement of taxies/rikshas throughtout the commuting areas of Mumbai and more particularly Mumbai Metropolitan Region #Placing restrictions on car use and ownership to reduce congestion and pollution. It is clear that concentration of ownership in fewer hands that is creating corporate giants would not help commuters. Any attempt in that direction would create social and ethical turmoil. However much we may dislike, existence and widespread of rikshas and two wheeler motor cycles cannot be wished away in the poor countries. Best wishes. Kisan Mehta ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brendan Finn" To: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" ; "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 10:29 PM Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai > Dear Bina, > > I guess Singapore's main cab companies (Comfort, CityCab, TIBS) might offer > a working model. While the cost base is likely to be different due to the > wage rates and perhaps also insurance and licence factors, it's still worth > looking at. They're certainly large enough to gain economies of scale and > good purchasing power. > > An alternative model could be a leasing-with-maintenance arrangement by the > vehicle suppliers. This certainly can work in the bus sector. > > Whatever you opt for, you are looking to replace old vehicles with new in a > low-wage, low-tariff situation. Financially, this is not going to fit > easily. Even allowing for fuel efficiencies and other cost savings, tariffs > are going to have to rise to pay for the new investment. > > I wish you good luck in your option development and implementation. > > > Brendan Finn. > _______________________________________________________________________ > Contact details are : e-mail : etts@indigo.ie tel : +353.87.2530286 > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" > To: > Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 4:21 PM > Subject: [sustran] Taxi operations in Mumbai > > > > Hi everyone, > > We are trying to re-organise the taxi operations in Mumbai, introducing > newer, more efficient models of cars, with a choice of levels of comfort, > and differentiated tariff structures. Currently, all taxis in Mumbai are > either owner- driven, or by a driver hired by the owner of a single or small > (4-5) fleet of cars. Operational costs in this case seem to be high, and > vehicle maintenance suffers. Most of these vehicles are also very old, and > in an attempt to improve both the system as well as the environment through > the use of newer, better vehicles, we are examining the feasibility of > shifting to an "Operator System," where new models of fuel efficient > vehicles will be owned by a few large operators, who can then optimize their > operations. > > I would appreciate any information on the experience of other cities > elsewhere in the world, in this area. > > Regards and thanks, > Bina > > Bina C. Balakrishnan > Consultant > Transportation Planning & Engineering > Mumbai, India > e-mail : binac@rediffmail.com From richmond at alum.mit.edu Sat Jun 5 23:27:06 2004 From: richmond at alum.mit.edu (Jonathan E. D. Richmond) Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2004 21:27:06 +0700 (SE Asia Standard Time) Subject: [sustran] Parris column Message-ID: I reprint below the second part of the Matthew Parris column in today's Times. It is about why a Conservative is in fact going to vote for Ken Livingstone for Mayor, and the reason comes down to the Mayor's courage in implementing road pricing. --Jonathan The Times, Opinion June 5, 2004 By Matthew Parris Ken Livingstone is a shocking man. Laugh if you like, but I honestly suspect he still sees himself as a potential leader of the Labour Party. His self-belief and his effrontery know no limit. One of the few great communicators in British politics, he is also shameless, merciless and tireless at self-promotion. From the moment, decades ago, when in an internal coup he ousted the defenceless moderate Labour colleague whom the voters had just elected as leader of the Greater London Council, I have regarded him as a political assassin. Mr Livingstone is a modern brigand. But he is a brigand not without ideals and convictions. His convictions, many of them, are madcap; but he has the courage of them. In an age when the talk is about the vision thing and the reality is about the saving-your-skin thing, Mr Livingstone has the imagination to grasp big new ideas and the intellectual self-confidence to stick to them. New ideas in public administration (or, as it is now fashionable to write, governance) are likely to meet early doubt, or someone would have adopted them already; but Mr Livingstone believes in ideas, and this nerves him to push ahead. Though it may sound a nerdishly technical subject, road pricing is the biggest almost the only new idea in administration since privatisation. Both, as it happens, are free-market ideas. All over the world, those to whom traffic congestion in urban areas is a major problem have been talking about road pricing; but apart from a few crude and limited schemes in places such as Singapore, no great city has dared to face the challenge head-on. Decades ago we British came close to introducing a scheme in Hong Kong, then chickened out. Tory think-tankers have been yapping about road pricing for about 30 years. Labour likewise has rehearsed the arguments (unanswerable) for making drivers pay for their use of a commodity (asphalt) for which demand exceeds supply. It is absolutely obvious, it is urgently necessary, and it has to come, and everybody knows it will come. But no politician has dared to draw up a plan, make the case, and make it loud and clear. Before Mr Livingstone, that is. He calls it congestion charging, but whatever it is called it must be the future of private motoring (well beyond our major cities and towns) in every crowded and rich nation in the world. I feel proud that Britain is the first country, and London the first capital, to face up to this. A single individual has been responsible, and without him it would not have been done. I love to see ideas made important again in politics, and to see courage rewarded. It was a sad day when Mr Livingstone returned to the party fold but, wolf that he is, I dare say his plan is to savage the sheep. He remains the closest we have to an Independent candidate for the London mayoralty. Shuddering that my pencil should wander anywhere near the word Labour, I am nevertheless resolved. So, sorry, Steve. The cross will be shaky but the box will be clear. ----- Jonathan E. D. Richmond 02 524-5510 (office) Visiting Fellow Intl.: 662 524-5510 Transportation Engineering program School of Civil Engineering, Room N260B 02 524-8257 (home) Asian Institute of Technology Intl.: 662 524-8257 PO Box 4 Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 02 524-5509 (fax) Thailand Intl: 662 524-5509 e-mail: richmond@ait.ac.th Secretary: Ms. Nisarat Hansuksa richmond@alum.mit.edu 02 524-6051 Intl: 662 524-6051 http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/ From ktsourl at mailbox.gr Mon Jun 7 07:22:57 2004 From: ktsourl at mailbox.gr (K. Tsourlakis) Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2004 01:22:57 +0300 Subject: [sustran] Motorcycles summarised Message-ID: <200406062222.BAA14025@mailbox.gr> At 11:53 μμ 3/6/2004 +0300, you wrote: >Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2004 11:45:35 -0400 >From: "Eric Bruun" >Subject: [sustran] Re: Motorcycles summarised >To: "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" > >Cc: A3B14@yahoogroups.com >Message-ID: ><010501c44981$d365f5e0$55fc45cf@earthlink.net> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows- >1252" > > >Dr. Mr. Tsourlakis: > >I think that calling motorcylists fanatics is >like the pot calling the kettle black. It seems >pretty apparent that you are an anti-motorcycle >fanatic. I don't call all motorcylists fanatics (perhaps not even the majority - especially in countries with extended motorcycle use and large number of motorcycle users). It just happens the rate of fanatics among motorcylists to de disproportionately high compared to other motorists. And certainly I don't call motorcycle fanatic Mr Bruun (though he calls me anti-motorcycle fanatic) - I am never engaged in personal attacks. >I think that you exaggerate the support for >motorcycles. I think that almost all of us >recognize that there are drawbacks. Like any >mode, we should be interested in figuring out >what the best policy is from a public policy >standpoint. This will vary from one place to the >next . I think that it would be totally >outrageous to ban motorcycles in developing >countries while the elite are driving around in >their luxury cars. These same elite are also >probably setting public policy to favor their >private mobility needs over better public >transportation, as well, making motorcycles all >the more attractive. I don't think it is a >coincidence that fast growing Asian cities that >have neglected public transport investments have >exceptionally high motorcycle use. If one doesn't >own a car, the alternatives are poor. I totaly agree with you that motorcycle use is the result of public transport neglect, and there are interests that promote that way motorcycle (and oil) sales. And of course we shouldn't blame local populations for their use - they are actually the victims of this policy. There is no perfect free-market intermodal competition in urban space, because of the externalities of the necessary arrangements. These arrangements (road building, urban planning, facilities placing and pricing etc) affect transport modes and people will choose whatever happens to be cheaper in terms of time and money in each particular place, whether this is car, motorcycle, train, bicycle, donkey or sky rocket. M/c (instead of car) promotion to overcome income shortage is equal to condemn lower classes in an intrinsically unsafe mode of transport. Correctly working administrations take over the responsibility to create a proper public transit network able to serve better and in an egalitarian way the society, and favour mild transport modes (walking - biking). This way they can achieve efficiency (less congestion - better mobility), more equity and better environment for their citizens and the whole planet. >I think that your pollution analysis is somewhat >off-base. Motorcycles can and will be a lot >cleaner in the future, no matter what the size. Cars will be a lot "cleaner" too, in the future, so the comparison probably won't change. And I am concerned in a real situation analysis, not a prospective and uncertain one. When (and IF) situation change we may have another analysis. >In the developing countries, one can blame >Japanese companies for much of the current >situation by selling obsolete models they would >never sell in North America or Europe. But you >can also blame dirty fuel, poor maintenance and >other factors which also apply to autos and >freight vehicles. You are correct that cleaner >engines will probably have some impact on the >price of smaller motorcycles, and so be it. As >you say, it should be more expensive to drive. Obviously japanese companies try to keep the price low - and sales high (and the same holds for the dirty fuel). Of course they are to be blamed, but it something to be expected; after all they are profit targeting entities. But administrations are supposed to represent the public interest (and they are mostly supposed to be elected). They should have the initiative to design a properly working public transit network and favour mild transport modes (walking - biking). >In the richer countries, some motorcycles are >selected because they are cheap transportation, >but many are selected for their features and >performance, and in fact, overpowered. The price >for the larger higher performance vehicles would >not change much when they are cleaner, and the >performance will still be adequate. I agree with you, the reason to buy large motorcycles in the richer countries is to break speed limits and obtain speeds sometimes exceeding 300 km/h. Should we tolerate this? Is it logical to label them as "vulnerable users" and, in addition, to favour this lethal mode of amusement (rather than mode of transport)? >As for road space, keep in mind that motorcycles >need less parking space than autos. This is not >unimportant in some situations. This is true if you compare one motorcycle to one car. In countries where motorcycles are used as car substitutes, because of low income, perhaps there must be expected higher car occupancy rates than the 1.05 - 1.1, which is typically met in higher income countries (does anybody has figures for asian cities?). Don't forget also generated traffic effect. And keep in mind that bicycles need even less parking space, and pedestrians and public transit need nil. >We also have to address the issue of freight and >commerce. Motorcycles are not just for commuting >and recreation. There might be a role for them if >the alternative is autos and lorries. Do you mean small freights (deliveries, fast couriers etc)? Wouldn't be better bicycles in that case? >Eric Bruun > > > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "K. Tsourlakis" To: > >Sent: Tuesday, June 01, 2004 4:27 PM >Subject: [sustran] Motorcycles summarised > > >> >> Perhaps motorcycles is another case where the >problem of inappropriate technology transfer from >north to south emerge (because traffic >engineering is certainly a form of technology). >The fact that motorcycle use is limited (if not >marginal) compared to car traffic in most of the >technologically influential countries (e.g. in >1990 only 0.2% of commuting trips in US were done >by motorcycle - >http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/journey/ >usmode90.txt - since then m/c use has been >declining further) results to a limited interest >for relevant research. For people living in these >countries it is often difficult to realise the >complexities of extended motorcycle use, and it >is very easy to miss the point and e.g. to >confuse the market view with the sustainability >prospect. For instance is low price an advantage >from a sustainability viewpoint? Then why >congestion charge, toll roads and other ways to >internalise the external cost are considered >sustainable? If cars were free, wou! >> ld this considered as an advantage? >> >> It seems that the issue of motorcycle-car >comparison can be reduced into two questions: >> 1. Are motorcycles a more preferable >encumbrance on the streets than cars? >> 2. Do motorcycles really substitute cars on the >street? >> My personal answer to both questions is a clear >NO - my arguments follow. >> >> 1. The dominant (and unfounded) opinion, that >it is better to use motorcycles than cars, is >based in a series of myths, which I will try to >debunk: >> >> * motorcycles pollute less than cars do .......................................... _____________________________________________________________________________________ http://www.mailbox.gr Αποκτήστε δωρεάν το μοναδικό σας e-mail. http://www.thesuperweb.gr Website με Ασφαλές Controlpanel από 6 Euro και δώρο το domain σας! From ktsourl at mailbox.gr Mon Jun 7 07:26:53 2004 From: ktsourl at mailbox.gr (K. Tsourlakis) Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2004 01:26:53 +0300 Subject: [sustran] Motorcycles summarised Message-ID: <200406062226.BAA17617@mailbox.gr> At 04:09 μμ 4/6/2004 +0300, you wrote: >Date Fri, 4 Jun 2004 105259 +0700 (SE Asia Standard Time) >From "Jonathan E. D. Richmond" >Subject [sustran] Re Motorcycles summarised >To Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport > >Message-ID >Content-Type TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII > > >I really question the value of generalized policy statements which >render extremely complex situations into simple advocacy ones without >supplying evidence. > >It would be useful to see some statistics on the environmental impacts of >motorcycles as against cars. Does anyone have the data? Also, are there >prospects for an electric or other low or no emission model of motorcycle >that would provide personal mobility with less environmental consequences? I agree with you, motorcycle use needs more research. More particularly, there is a need for research of extended motorcycle use under different circumstances and income levels (not only North America-like situations). I used what evidence I had in hand. If you have more please let me know, I would be extremely interested in. >Even if the motorcycle does cause significant pollution we have to also >consider the political issue of whether we should restrict the mobility of >low-income people who can afford only motorcycles but not that of >wealthier car owners. Surely, we should control both (which might in fact >be a good idea) or neither. I vote for the former (I am not in favour of car use either). >As regards bus systems being "most economical and easiest to improve," >there are a variety of factors which will vary from city to city. We >cannot make generalizations. Bus services are indeed worthy of development >in many situations, but there are also situations where issues such as >high subsidy cost, dispersed demands, or even inadequate institutional >structures makes this difficult (note that there is no bus service at all >in a national capital such as Phnom Penh despite years of discussion of >the subject). Even when bus services are improved, there will remain >demands for personal mobility to fill in for those occasions where public >transport leaves gaps, and we need to see how that can be accommodated in >the most environmentally-friendly way. "Situations" are actually formed and not given "a priori". There is no perfect free-market intermodal competition in urban space, because of the externalities of the necessary arrangements. These arrangements (road building, urban planning, facilities placing and pricing etc) affect transport modes and people will choose whatever happens to be cheaper in terms of time and money in each particular place, whether this is car, motorcycle, train, bicycle, donkey or sky rocket. M/c (instead of car) promotion to overcome income shortage is equal to condemn lower classes in an intrinsically unsafe mode of transport. Correctly working administrations take over the responsibility to create a proper public transit network able to serve better and in an egalitarian way the society, and favour mild transport modes (walking - biking). This way they can achieve efficiency (less congestion - better mobility), more equity and better environment for their citizens and the whole planet. >For now, I have to tell you I use motorcycle taxis in Bangkok as they are >the only way to cut through the traffic!!! I would do the same if I were in your place, as, I suppose, locals also do. The real problem is WHY this is the only way to move around in an efficient way in Bangkok (as well as elsewhere) > > --Jonathan > > >On Fri, 4 Jun 2004, Sujit Patwardhan wrote > >> 3 June 2004 >> >> >> Dear K. Tsourlakis, >> >> Thank you for your message. I agree with you that Motorcycles (along with >> their cousins the scooters) being less environmentally damaging than motor >> cars is a myth that will be exposed if proper studies are carried out in >> how they are flooding the streets in the third world, particularly in India >> and South East Asia. They are certainly not less polluting, safer nor more >> sustainable than cars. If anything, due to their exploding numbers they >> pose a greater threat to sustainable transport in these countries. >> >> For making the transport system sustainable there is no shortcut to giving >> the highest priority to public transport, starting with the bus based >> systems which are the most economical and easiest to improve, given the >> financial constrains of poorer nations. >> >> -- >> Sujit Patwardhan >> Parisar, >> Pune, India >> >> >> >> >> >> At 0157 AM 6/2/2004, you wrote >> >> >> >Perhaps motorcycles is another case where the problem of inappropriate >> >technology transfer from north to south emerge (because traffic >> >engineering is certainly a form of technology). The fact that motorcycle >> >use is limited (if not marginal) compared to car traffic in most of the >> >technologically influential countries (e.g. in 1990 only 0.2% of commuting >> >trips in US were done by motorcycle - >> >http//www.census.gov/population/socdemo/journey/usmode90.txt - since then >> >m/c use has been declining further) results to a limited interest for >> >relevant research. For people living in these countries it is often >> >difficult to realise the complexities of extended motorcycle use, and it >> >is very easy to miss the point and e.g. to confuse the market view with >> >the sustainability prospect. For instance is low price an advantage from a >> >sustainability viewpoint? Then why congestion charge, toll roads and other >> >ways to internalise the external cost are considered sustainable? If cars >> >were free, wou! >> > ld this considered as an advantage? >> > >> >It seems that the issue of motorcycle-car comparison can be reduced into >> >two questions >> >1. Are motorcycles a more preferable encumbrance on the streets than cars? >> >2. Do motorcycles really substitute cars on the street? >> >My personal answer to both questions is a clear NO - my arguments follow. >> > >> >1. The dominant (and unfounded) opinion, that it is better to use >> >motorcycles than cars, is based in a series of myths, which I will try to >> >debunk >> > >> >* motorcycles pollute less than cars do >> > >> >This is one of the most often as well as the most big myths about >> >motorcycles. It is mostly caused from m/cs having usually smaller engines >> >than cars do, hence they consume less fuel. Although engine size isn't ............................................................................. _____________________________________________________________________________________ http://www.mailbox.gr Αποκτήστε δωρεάν το μοναδικό σας e-mail. http://www.thesuperweb.gr Website με Ασφαλές Controlpanel από 6 Euro και δώρο το domain σας! From ktsourl at mailbox.gr Mon Jun 7 07:29:52 2004 From: ktsourl at mailbox.gr (K. Tsourlakis) Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2004 01:29:52 +0300 Subject: [sustran] Motorcycles summarised Message-ID: <200406062229.BAA22455@mailbox.gr> If you have concrete and reliable figures about motorcycles emissions in your country (whatever it happen to be) or any other country, please share them. As for motorcycle related deaths, I have found many figures all over the net - they are always orders of magnitute higher than other transport modes related deaths. At 11:53 μμ 3/6/2004 +0300, you wrote: >Date Fri, 4 Jun 2004 060924 -0700 (PDT) >From "Carlos Felipe Pardo V." >Subject [sustran] Re Motorcycles summarised >To Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport > >Message-ID ><20040604130924.30801.qmail@web20308.mail.yahoo.com >> >Content-Type text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > >I've always thought that the problem with >motorcycles is that their dangerous, not that they >pollute. I agree that if we look at the figures, >motorcycles don't have as much emissions as other >modes. But what about deaths related to motorcycle >use? Just a comment... > >Carlos F. Pardo > _____________________________________________________________________________________ http://www.mailbox.gr Αποκτήστε δωρεάν το μοναδικό σας e-mail. http://www.thesuperweb.gr Website με Ασφαλές Controlpanel από 6 Euro και δώρο το domain σας! From psh at isec.ac.in Mon Jun 7 13:48:43 2004 From: psh at isec.ac.in (Puttanna S. Honaganahalli) Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2004 10:18:43 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai References: <20040604152129.21182.qmail@webmail6.rediffmail.com> Message-ID: <003101c44c4a$d1bc83a0$0e01a8c0@isec.ac.in> Hi Bina, "Operator System", in Mumbai. Great. For both, the economy and environment, it is a good thing to happen. Have you carried the political and guild leadership all along? Make sure that your recommendations have a generous package for the individual taxi owners who might get displaced, lest, your recommendations may not be touched by a bean-pole by the powers-to-be in Mumbai. Thanks Puttanna S. Honaganahalli Ph.D. Ecological Economics Unit, Institute for Social and Economics Change (ISEC) Nagarabhavi, Bangalore 560 072 India Phone: 91-80-2321-5468 x120 Fax: 91-80-2321-7008 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" To: Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 8:51 PM Subject: [sustran] Taxi operations in Mumbai > > Hi everyone, > > We are trying to re-organise the taxi operations in Mumbai, introducing newer, more efficient models of cars, with a choice of levels of comfort, and differentiated tariff structures. Currently, all taxis in Mumbai are either owner- driven, or by a driver hired by the owner of a single or small (4-5) fleet of cars. Operational costs in this case seem to be high, and vehicle maintenance suffers. Most of these vehicles are also very old, and in an attempt to improve both the system as well as the environment through the use of newer, better vehicles, we are examining the feasibility of shifting to an "Operator System," where new models of fuel efficient vehicles will be owned by a few large operators, who can then optimize their operations. > > I would appreciate any information on the experience of other cities elsewhere in the world, in this area. > > Regards and thanks, > Bina > > Bina C. Balakrishnan > Consultant > Transportation Planning & Engineering > Mumbai, India > e-mail : binac@rediffmail.com > From binac at rediffmail.com Mon Jun 7 16:34:15 2004 From: binac at rediffmail.com (Bina C. Balakrishnan) Date: 7 Jun 2004 07:34:15 -0000 Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai Message-ID: <20040607073415.23963.qmail@webmail31.rediffmail.com> Dear Mr Mehta, Puttanna, Thank you very much for your inputs. At the outset, I have to tell you that we (Bombay First) are primarily initiators of change. We do not go into the finer details of design and implementation of the project, but identify areas for possible improvement, study the broad aspects of the same, and make recommendations to the concerned authorities / agencies for detailed study or implementation. Do visit our web-site at http://www.bombayfirst.org To respond to your comments, we have already considered most of them in the study framework. Yes, one of our objectives is to examine the feasibility of shifting some work trips by private cars to taxi trips, but the economics have to be in favour of this(!!) Augmenting public transport has always been a priority, and the BEST are going about it in a very systematic way. However, there is also a project that has been lying with the Municipal Corporation for almost 2 years, where I have recommended the use of parking as a demand management tool in Mumbai. The idea is to bring all street side parking under the pay and park scheme, banning it altogether on arterial roads, and raising the parking charges substantially from the very nominal Rs 5 per hour that it is today. The restriction on arterial roads is expected to release kerb-side lanes for exclusive bus lanes, and the higher charges and limited availability of parking will hopefully induce people to car pool and /or use public transport. However, for various reasons, the project is still lying with the MCGB. Yes, we have included the dial- a- cab facility in this study, and the new models of cabs can be designed to have a more prominent display of the vehicle for hire flag. As for raising fares - that is the moot point- we need to work out some other way of keeping the vehicles in better shape- hence the consideration of the operator system. But as Brendan has said, since we are looking to replace old vehicles with new in a low wage, low tariff situation, the finances will not fit easily. Hence, we are looking into subsidies for the new purchases, or some financial arrangement whereby the changeover can be made more attractive. About removing hurdles- I assume you are referring to the restrictions on autos plying beyond Bandra? Well, I don?t think it would be a good idea for them to come further south. I think they are driven very rashly, and their high maneuverability make them initiators of accidents, and besides, South Mumbai is doing very nicely without them! Restriction on car ownership? I think I?d best leave that to you, Mr. Mehta! Best regards, Bina ? On Mon, 07 Jun 2004 Puttanna S. Honaganahalli wrote : >Hi Bina, >"Operator System", in Mumbai. Great. For both, the economy and environment, >it is a good thing to happen. Have you carried the political and guild >leadership all along? Make sure that your recommendations have a generous >package for the individual taxi owners who might get displaced, lest, your >recommendations may not be touched by a bean-pole by the powers-to-be in >Mumbai. > >Thanks > >Puttanna S. Honaganahalli Ph.D. >Ecological Economics Unit, Institute for Social and Economics Change (ISEC) >Nagarabhavi, Bangalore 560 072 >India > >Phone: 91-80-2321-5468 x120 >Fax: 91-80-2321-7008 > >----- Original Message ----- > From: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" >To: >Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 8:51 PM >Subject: [sustran] Taxi operations in Mumbai > > > > > > Hi everyone, > > > > We are trying to re-organise the taxi operations in Mumbai, introducing >newer, more efficient models of cars, with a choice of levels of comfort, >and differentiated tariff structures. Currently, all taxis in Mumbai are >either owner- driven, or by a driver hired by the owner of a single or small >(4-5) fleet of cars. Operational costs in this case seem to be high, and >vehicle maintenance suffers. Most of these vehicles are also very old, and >in an attempt to improve both the system as well as the environment through >the use of newer, better vehicles, we are examining the feasibility of >shifting to an "Operator System," where new models of fuel efficient >vehicles will be owned by a few large operators, who can then optimize their >operations. > > > > I would appreciate any information on the experience of other cities >elsewhere in the world, in this area. > > > > Regards and thanks, > > Bina > > > > Bina C. Balakrishnan > > Consultant > > Transportation Planning & Engineering > > Mumbai, India > > e-mail : binac@rediffmail.com > > > > From etts at indigo.ie Mon Jun 7 17:55:15 2004 From: etts at indigo.ie (Brendan Finn) Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2004 09:55:15 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai References: <20040607073415.23963.qmail@webmail31.rediffmail.com> Message-ID: <007a01c44c6d$2671b970$0101a8c0@fujitsu83p69tb> Dear Bina, This has become an interesting strand, because we can now see that there are many actions being considered in parallel. Single dimension solutions are rarely successful in solving complex problems, so the news from Mumbai is quite encouraging. Two small suggestions about the content of your mail : a) Your suggested approach of using parking as a travel demand management tool is very appropriate, provided there is the will to enforce it. This was used quite effectively in Dublin during the 1980's when there was no will to use any other measures. Of course, it is low-cost, low-investment and very simple, although it attracts direct opposition from car owners. I think the critical success factor is to get traders to accept that no parking and controlled deliveries is much better for their business (individually and for the whole street). The parking aproach has now become more sophisticated since there are better trafiic control measures with which to integrate. If you wish, I can give you a broad overview from memory, and recommend who to talk to in the city for the facts. b) For the 'dial-a-cab' facility, there are perhaps three options to consider. The first is for the individual booking, so perhaps systems like Singapore where the cab companies provide a very good booking facility and usually you get the cab to your door in 2-5 minutes. The second is shared taxi, so here the dispatch centre acts as a broker among people who want taxi service, but are willing to share cost and comfort. The third is demand responsive minibuses, where the cost should be much lower than taxi, and the service much better than regular bus. A lot of work has been done in Europe on these options in developing both the operating scenarios and the booking and dispatch technologies, although the reailty is that the most suitable passenger markets are in Asia. Again, if you are interested, I can give you some overviews and put you in touch with information sources. Being realistic, these type of services are not for the poor (at least in our current generation). However, there is a significant market that has both affordability and desire for medium-quality transportation. They can support such services, and if they don't have something of acceptable quality, then they will acquire personal motorised transport even if it is hard on them financially. It would be intersting to know what is the uptake of mobile phones in Mumbai, since SMS can be a very effective and cheap tool for making bookings and receiving confirmations - once the public has the communication device, the main financial barrier is removed. I will now look at your website to learn more about Bombay First. With best wishes, Brendan Finn. _______________________________________________________________________ Contact details are : e-mail : etts@indigo.ie tel : +353.87.2530286 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" To: "Puttanna S.Honaganahalli" Cc: "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" Sent: Monday, June 07, 2004 8:34 AM Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai Dear Mr Mehta, Puttanna, Thank you very much for your inputs. At the outset, I have to tell you that we (Bombay First) are primarily initiators of change. We do not go into the finer details of design and implementation of the project, but identify areas for possible improvement, study the broad aspects of the same, and make recommendations to the concerned authorities / agencies for detailed study or implementation. Do visit our web-site at http://www.bombayfirst.org To respond to your comments, we have already considered most of them in the study framework. Yes, one of our objectives is to examine the feasibility of shifting some work trips by private cars to taxi trips, but the economics have to be in favour of this(!!) Augmenting public transport has always been a priority, and the BEST are going about it in a very systematic way. However, there is also a project that has been lying with the Municipal Corporation for almost 2 years, where I have recommended the use of parking as a demand management tool in Mumbai. The idea is to bring all street side parking under the pay and park scheme, banning it altogether on arterial roads, and raising the parking charges substantially from the very nominal Rs 5 per hour that it is today. The restriction on arterial roads is expected to release kerb-side lanes for exclusive bus lanes, and the higher charges and limited availability of parking will hopefully induce people to car pool and /or use public transport. However, for various reasons, the project is still lying with the MCGB. Yes, we have included the dial- a- cab facility in this study, and the new models of cabs can be designed to have a more prominent display of the vehicle for hire flag. As for raising fares - that is the moot point- we need to work out some other way of keeping the vehicles in better shape- hence the consideration of the operator system. But as Brendan has said, since we are looking to replace old vehicles with new in a low wage, low tariff situation, the finances will not fit easily. Hence, we are looking into subsidies for the new purchases, or some financial arrangement whereby the changeover can be made more attractive. About removing hurdles- I assume you are referring to the restrictions on autos plying beyond Bandra? Well, I don't think it would be a good idea for them to come further south. I think they are driven very rashly, and their high maneuverability make them initiators of accidents, and besides, South Mumbai is doing very nicely without them! Restriction on car ownership? I think I'd best leave that to you, Mr. Mehta! Best regards, Bina On Mon, 07 Jun 2004 Puttanna S. Honaganahalli wrote : >Hi Bina, >"Operator System", in Mumbai. Great. For both, the economy and environment, >it is a good thing to happen. Have you carried the political and guild >leadership all along? Make sure that your recommendations have a generous >package for the individual taxi owners who might get displaced, lest, your >recommendations may not be touched by a bean-pole by the powers-to-be in >Mumbai. > >Thanks > >Puttanna S. Honaganahalli Ph.D. >Ecological Economics Unit, Institute for Social and Economics Change (ISEC) >Nagarabhavi, Bangalore 560 072 >India > >Phone: 91-80-2321-5468 x120 >Fax: 91-80-2321-7008 > >----- Original Message ----- > From: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" >To: >Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 8:51 PM >Subject: [sustran] Taxi operations in Mumbai > > > > > > Hi everyone, > > > > We are trying to re-organise the taxi operations in Mumbai, introducing >newer, more efficient models of cars, with a choice of levels of comfort, >and differentiated tariff structures. Currently, all taxis in Mumbai are >either owner- driven, or by a driver hired by the owner of a single or small >(4-5) fleet of cars. Operational costs in this case seem to be high, and >vehicle maintenance suffers. Most of these vehicles are also very old, and >in an attempt to improve both the system as well as the environment through >the use of newer, better vehicles, we are examining the feasibility of >shifting to an "Operator System," where new models of fuel efficient >vehicles will be owned by a few large operators, who can then optimize their >operations. > > > > I would appreciate any information on the experience of other cities >elsewhere in the world, in this area. > > > > Regards and thanks, > > Bina > > > > Bina C. Balakrishnan > > Consultant > > Transportation Planning & Engineering > > Mumbai, India > > e-mail : binac@rediffmail.com > > > > From shoque at smtrans.co.uk Mon Jun 7 18:48:44 2004 From: shoque at smtrans.co.uk (Shamsul A M A Hoque) Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2004 10:48:44 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Taxi operation In-Reply-To: <20040606030047.CD6262D5A8@list.jca.apc.org> Message-ID: Dear Kisan I did not understand why did you mention this- "It is clear that concentration of ownership in fewer hands that is creating corporate giants would not help commuters. Any attempt in that direction would create social and ethical turmoil." My second concern is: why you did not mentioned about the parking charges for taxi? Instead you have recommend to raise their fare level to keep their vehicle in good order. If taxi-drivers are allowed to pay the parking charge for a particular taxi-waiting stand then they would be forced to stay there unless there is a call from passenger. Without any passenger no taxi would be allowed to roam around on the road, this would creat some frustration among the passengers who does not have any easy access to a phone. But passengers would get used to the situation soon and they would know how far they have to walk to get a taxi stand. At present, isn't there any taxi operators'/owners' association present there in Mumbai? I believe there are some in Mumbai, as in the case for Dhaka. There would a mechanism which would be acceptable to all the present operators/owners. If the drivers see they would be benefited by making fewer bigger size companies, than what there are now "One owner one taxi", then there would not be any big issue. Thank you. SAM Aminul Hoque Message: 1 Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2004 11:51:48 +0530 From: "Kisan Mehta" Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai To: "NewMobilityCafe" , "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" Cc: sustran discuss Dear Colleagues and Bina, It is good to learn that somebody and especially Bina, a Mumbai resident is looking into the possibility of improving/upgrading the quality of taxi service in Mumbai. .......... ............ ........... In this situation the following may be implemented. # Augmenting and imrpoving public transport and creating dependable taxi/riksha change over possibility for weaning away commuters from private vehicles # Creating widespread calling taxi/autoriksha by telephone facility #Designating specific plots of lands for taxi/riksha parking till ordered on telephone # Insisting on taxies and rikshas to install `for hire' illuminated lights on top # Raising fare structure to allow taxi/riksha owners to keep their vehicles in good shape. # Removing all hurdles on movement of taxies/rikshas throughtout the commuting areas of Mumbai and more particularly Mumbai Metropolitan Region #Placing restrictions on car use and ownership to reduce congestion and pollution. It is clear that concentration of ownership in fewer hands that is creating corporate giants would not help commuters. Any attempt in that direction would create social and ethical turmoil. However much we may dislike, existence and widespread of rikshas and two wheeler motor cycles cannot be wished away in the poor countries. Best wishes. Kisan Mehta ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brendan Finn" To: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" ; "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 10:29 PM Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai > Dear Bina, > > I guess Singapore's main cab companies (Comfort, CityCab, TIBS) might offer > a working model. While the cost base is likely to be different due to the > wage rates and perhaps also insurance and licence factors, it's still worth > looking at. They're certainly large enough to gain economies of scale and > good purchasing power. > > An alternative model could be a leasing-with-maintenance arrangement by the > vehicle suppliers. This certainly can work in the bus sector. > > Whatever you opt for, you are looking to replace old vehicles with new in a > low-wage, low-tariff situation. Financially, this is not going to fit > easily. Even allowing for fuel efficiencies and other cost savings, tariffs > are going to have to rise to pay for the new investment. > > I wish you good luck in your option development and implementation. > > > Brendan Finn. > _______________________________________________________________________ > Contact details are : e-mail : etts@indigo.ie tel : +353.87.2530286 > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" > To: > Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 4:21 PM > Subject: [sustran] Taxi operations in Mumbai > > > > Hi everyone, > > We are trying to re-organise the taxi operations in Mumbai, introducing > newer, more efficient models of cars, with a choice of levels of comfort, > and differentiated tariff structures. Currently, all taxis in Mumbai are > either owner- driven, or by a driver hired by the owner of a single or small > (4-5) fleet of cars. Operational costs in this case seem to be high, and > vehicle maintenance suffers. Most of these vehicles are also very old, and > in an attempt to improve both the system as well as the environment through > the use of newer, better vehicles, we are examining the feasibility of > shifting to an "Operator System," where new models of fuel efficient > vehicles will be owned by a few large operators, who can then optimize their > operations. > > I would appreciate any information on the experience of other cities > elsewhere in the world, in this area. > > Regards and thanks, > Bina > > Bina C. Balakrishnan > Consultant > Transportation Planning & Engineering > Mumbai, India > e-mail : binac@rediffmail.com From psh at isec.ac.in Tue Jun 8 14:46:47 2004 From: psh at isec.ac.in (Puttanna S. Honaganahalli) Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2004 11:16:47 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Fw: [cai-asia] New policy on tuk tuks in Bangkok Message-ID: <002201c44d1c$05ad8f20$0e01a8c0@isec.ac.in> Here is a policy that wants to create more individual operators unlike Bina's plans for Mumbai's taxis. Ain't this an iteresting world? ----- Original Message ----- From: gbathan@adb.org To: Clean Air Initiative -- Asia Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2004 7:46 AM Subject: [cai-asia] New policy on tuk tuks in Bangkok Tuk-tuk drivers get help to buy vehicles Govt scheme to cover 2,500 three-wheelers Amornrat Mahithirook The Land Transport Department will launch a low-cost scheme aimed at tuk-tuk drivers who want to buy their own vehicles, said deputy transport minister Nikorn Chamnong. The scheme is a follow-up on last month's meeting between Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and taxi and tuk-tuk drivers at Government House. A total of 2,500 new tuk-tuks will be introduced under the low-cost scheme. There are 7,500 tuk-tuks nationwide, run by tuk-tuk cooperatives. Mr Nikorn rejected rumours that the cooperatives would be in control of the low-cost scheme. The scheme circumvents the cooperatives and businessmen, he said. To protect the environment the new tuk-tuks will have four-stroke engines or be electrically-powered, he said. Tuk-tuk drivers will not be allowed to transfer or sell the vehicles in the first five years. Mr Nikorn said the department will also meet with the Pollution Control Department to discuss how to make existing tuk-tuks environmentally friendly. The department also wants to replace taxis which are more than 12 years old. ``If the cabs are too old, no one wants to use them,'' he said. Glynda E. Bathan Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities Secretariat 4531 N, Asian Development Bank +632 632 5151 +632 636 2198 (fax) gbathan@adb.org www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia adb.org/vehicle-emissions Thanks Puttanna S. Honaganahalli Ph.D. Ecological Economics Unit Institute for Social and Economics Change (ISEC) Nagarabhavi, Bangalore 560 072 India Phone: 91-80-2321-5468 x120 Fax: 91-80-2321-7008 --- You are currently subscribed to cai-asia as: psh@isec.ac.in To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-cai-asia-456470Q@lists.worldbank.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040608/5000589f/attachment.html From binac at rediffmail.com Tue Jun 8 19:37:00 2004 From: binac at rediffmail.com (Bina C. Balakrishnan) Date: 8 Jun 2004 10:37:00 -0000 Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai Message-ID: <20040608103700.3749.qmail@webmail8.rediffmail.com> Dear Brendan, The will is unfortunately with a minority currently. There are a few bureaucrats who are very convinced of the feasibility of the recommendations, but the opposition is from the implementing arm of the Govt. And our argument for the parking approach has been exactly that- low cost, immediate returns, AND revenue generation, to a cash strapped Corporation. There is also resistance from the store owners, but this resistance is also to the implementation of one-way systems, as they are afraid that their sales will drop. And therefore Mumbai is currently on a spree of capital intensive solutions like elevated roadways and flyovers. We have a large segment of taxi- users who share a cab at least at one end of their work trips every day. During morning and evening peak hours, there are designated ?Shared Taxi? stands at the suburban railway stations, and the cab moves as soon as 4 passengers are seated. We are thinking of using a slightly larger seating capacity vehicle for this segment. There are also a large number of private taxi operators (also called tourist taxis) ? not the regular yellow cabs that you can hail on the street ? all of whose drivers are supplied with mobile phones. Cell phone usage in Mumbai is very high, with even the roadside vegetable vendor and children all carrying one. New Delhi has a system whereby the visitor to the city is sms?d the phone number of the taxi service along with the welcome msg - and yes, we should look into this for Mumbai too. The level of service currently provided by the taxi in Mumbai is very poor, and definitely does not justify its disruptive presence in the traffic stream. There is a perceived demand for better service at various levels of comfort in this sector, and that is why we are looking into this. And as you have said- a large number of non- work, short trips that could have been made by taxi are using personal modes because of this very reason. I would really appreciate your inputs, Brendan, and the references, as offered - both for the parking and the taxi case studies.Thank you. With best regards, Bina Bina C. Balakrishnan Consultant Transportation Planning and Engineering, Mumbai, India e-mail: binac@rediffmail.com ? On Mon, 07 Jun 2004 Brendan Finn wrote : >Dear Bina, > >This has become an interesting strand, because we can now see that there are >many actions being considered in parallel. Single dimension solutions are >rarely successful in solving complex problems, so the news from Mumbai is >quite encouraging. > >Two small suggestions about the content of your mail : > >a) Your suggested approach of using parking as a travel demand management >tool is very appropriate, provided there is the will to enforce it. This was >used quite effectively in Dublin during the 1980's when there was no will to >use any other measures. Of course, it is low-cost, low-investment and very >simple, although it attracts direct opposition from car owners. I think the >critical success factor is to get traders to accept that no parking and >controlled deliveries is much better for their business (individually and >for the whole street). The parking aproach has now become more sophisticated >since there are better trafiic control measures with which to integrate. If >you wish, I can give you a broad overview from memory, and recommend who to >talk to in the city for the facts. > >b) For the 'dial-a-cab' facility, there are perhaps three options to >consider. The first is for the individual booking, so perhaps systems like >Singapore where the cab companies provide a very good booking facility and >usually you get the cab to your door in 2-5 minutes. The second is shared >taxi, so here the dispatch centre acts as a broker among people who want >taxi service, but are willing to share cost and comfort. The third is demand >responsive minibuses, where the cost should be much lower than taxi, and the >service much better than regular bus. A lot of work has been done in Europe >on these options in developing both the operating scenarios and the booking >and dispatch technologies, although the reailty is that the most suitable >passenger markets are in Asia. Again, if you are interested, I can give you >some overviews and put you in touch with information sources. Being >realistic, these type of services are not for the poor (at least in our >current generation). However, there is a significant market that has both >affordability and desire for medium-quality transportation. They can support >such services, and if they don't have something of acceptable quality, then >they will acquire personal motorised transport even if it is hard on them >financially. It would be intersting to know what is the uptake of mobile >phones in Mumbai, since SMS can be a very effective and cheap tool for >making bookings and receiving confirmations - once the public has the >communication device, the main financial barrier is removed. > >I will now look at your website to learn more about Bombay First. > >With best wishes, > > >Brendan Finn. >_______________________________________________________________________ >Contact details are : e-mail : etts@indigo.ie tel : +353.87.2530286 > >----- Original Message ----- > From: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" >To: "Puttanna S.Honaganahalli" >Cc: "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" > >Sent: Monday, June 07, 2004 8:34 AM >Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai > > >Dear Mr Mehta, Puttanna, > >Thank you very much for your inputs. >At the outset, I have to tell you that we (Bombay First) are primarily >initiators of change. We do not go into the finer details of design and >implementation of the project, but identify areas for possible improvement, >study the broad aspects of the same, and make recommendations to the >concerned authorities / agencies for detailed study or implementation. Do >visit our web-site at > >http://www.bombayfirst.org > >To respond to your comments, we have already considered most of them in the >study framework. > >Yes, one of our objectives is to examine the feasibility of shifting some >work trips by private cars to taxi trips, but the economics have to be in >favour of this(!!) > >Augmenting public transport has always been a priority, and the BEST are >going about it in a very systematic way. However, there is also a project >that has been lying with the Municipal Corporation for almost 2 years, where >I have recommended the use of parking as a demand management tool in Mumbai. >The idea is to bring all street side parking under the pay and park scheme, >banning it altogether on arterial roads, and raising the parking charges >substantially from the very nominal Rs 5 per hour that it is today. The >restriction on arterial roads is expected to release kerb-side lanes for >exclusive bus lanes, and the higher charges and limited availability of >parking will hopefully induce people to car pool and /or use public >transport. However, for various reasons, the project is still lying with the >MCGB. > > Yes, we have included the dial- a- cab facility in this study, and the new >models of cabs can be designed to have a more prominent display of the >vehicle for hire flag. As for raising fares - that is the moot point- we >need to work out some other way of keeping the vehicles in better shape- >hence the consideration of the operator system. But as Brendan has said, >since we are looking to replace old vehicles with new in a low wage, low >tariff situation, the finances will not fit easily. Hence, we are looking >into subsidies for the new purchases, or some financial arrangement whereby >the changeover can be made more attractive. > >About removing hurdles- I assume you are referring to the restrictions on >autos plying beyond Bandra? Well, I don't think it would be a good idea for >them to come further south. I think they are driven very rashly, and their >high maneuverability make them initiators of accidents, and besides, South >Mumbai is doing very nicely without them! > >Restriction on car ownership? I think I'd best leave that to you, Mr. Mehta! > >Best regards, >Bina > > > >On Mon, 07 Jun 2004 Puttanna S. Honaganahalli wrote : > >Hi Bina, > >"Operator System", in Mumbai. Great. For both, the economy and environment, > >it is a good thing to happen. Have you carried the political and guild > >leadership all along? Make sure that your recommendations have a generous > >package for the individual taxi owners who might get displaced, lest, your > >recommendations may not be touched by a bean-pole by the powers-to-be in > >Mumbai. > > > >Thanks > > > >Puttanna S. Honaganahalli Ph.D. > >Ecological Economics Unit, Institute for Social and Economics Change (ISEC) > >Nagarabhavi, Bangalore 560 072 > >India > > > >Phone: 91-80-2321-5468 x120 > >Fax: 91-80-2321-7008 > > > >----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" > >To: > >Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 8:51 PM > >Subject: [sustran] Taxi operations in Mumbai > > > > > > > > > > Hi everyone, > > > > > > We are trying to re-organise the taxi operations in Mumbai, introducing > >newer, more efficient models of cars, with a choice of levels of comfort, > >and differentiated tariff structures. Currently, all taxis in Mumbai are > >either owner- driven, or by a driver hired by the owner of a single or >small > >(4-5) fleet of cars. Operational costs in this case seem to be high, and > >vehicle maintenance suffers. Most of these vehicles are also very old, and > >in an attempt to improve both the system as well as the environment through > >the use of newer, better vehicles, we are examining the feasibility of > >shifting to an "Operator System," where new models of fuel efficient > >vehicles will be owned by a few large operators, who can then optimize >their > >operations. > > > > > > I would appreciate any information on the experience of other cities > >elsewhere in the world, in this area. > > > > > > Regards and thanks, > > > Bina > > > > > > Bina C. Balakrishnan > > > Consultant > > > Transportation Planning & Engineering > > > Mumbai, India > > > e-mail : binac@rediffmail.com > > > > > > > > From binac at rediffmail.com Tue Jun 8 19:46:45 2004 From: binac at rediffmail.com (Bina C. Balakrishnan) Date: 8 Jun 2004 10:46:45 -0000 Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operation Message-ID: <20040608104645.28644.qmail@webmail30.rediffmail.com> ? Dear Shamsul, Mumbai has a two taxi unions, and we are taking them along with us on this. One of our problems right now is the idle cruising of taxis looking for a fare. They get into the middle lane, and crawl at low speed, holding up the rest of the traffic. I think we?ll look into this suggestion of their parking at a stand for a fee, to keep them off the roads when they don?t have a fare. Regards, Bina Bina C. Balakrishnan Consultant Transportation Planning and Engineering, Mumbai, India e-mail: binac@rediffmail.com On Mon, 07 Jun 2004 Shamsul A M A Hoque wrote : >Dear Kisan > >I did not understand why did you mention this- > >"It is clear that concentration of ownership in fewer hands that is creating >corporate giants would not help commuters. Any attempt in that direction >would create >social and ethical turmoil." > >My second concern is: why you did not mentioned about the parking charges >for taxi? Instead you have recommend to raise their fare level to keep their >vehicle in good order. If taxi-drivers are allowed to pay the parking charge >for a particular taxi-waiting stand then they would be forced to stay there >unless there is a call from passenger. Without any passenger no taxi would >be allowed to roam around on the road, this would creat some frustration >among the passengers who does not have any easy access to a phone. But >passengers would get used to the situation soon and they would know how far >they have to walk to get a taxi stand. > >At present, isn't there any taxi operators'/owners' association present >there in Mumbai? I believe there are some in Mumbai, as in the case for >Dhaka. There would a mechanism which would be acceptable to all the present >operators/owners. If the drivers see they would be benefited by making fewer >bigger size companies, than what there are now "One owner one taxi", then >there would not be any big issue. > >Thank you. > >SAM Aminul Hoque > > From debi at beag.net Wed Jun 9 06:22:22 2004 From: debi at beag.net (Debi Goenka) Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2004 02:52:22 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operation References: <20040608104645.28644.qmail@webmail30.rediffmail.com> Message-ID: <003901c44d9e$c181b050$029944ca@abcz> Hi folks Have been following the discussion on Mumbai taxis with interest. Some comments - There are about 55,000 taxis registered in Mumbai and about 105,000 auto rickshaws - the latter are allowed to operate only in the suburbs of Mumbai. The law allows one person to own only one taxi or rickshaw - owning/driving these vehicles is a job creation activity - therefore very important. However, this rule is subverted by a powerful group of people (some of them connected with the unions) who buy vehicles in other people's names and then rent them out to drivers on 8 hour/12 hour shifts. (It is not mandatory that the vehicles should be owner driven.) There is general consensus that there are far too many taxis and rickshaws in Mumbai - a guessestimate of a more reasonable figure of what is ideal for the city is perhaps 30,000 taxis, and maybe (a big maybe!) 60,000 rickshaws. Therefore, most of the time, there is a large population of empty vehicles blocking road space at any point of time. Of these 55,000 taxis, there are a few thousand Air conditioned taxis (relatively new) that charge more than the normal yellow and black tops - these are painted blue. Many of these taxis have mobile phones, and you can call for a taxi. A very large portion of the non a.c. taxis are old - probably more than 30 years old !! They are required to obtain annual "fitness" certificates from the regulatory authorities, and they manage to do this with ease despite their pathetic condition. Due to acute space constraints in Mumbai, there is an acute crisis re parking space, and it has been a long standing grouse from the taxi operators that the authorities have not provided them with adequate taxi stands. There will therefore be great resistance to paying parking charges. I understand that there are more than 2 taxi unions in operation, and several autorickshaw ones as well. Any solutions to improving the problem will need to take into account these issues as well. Cheers Debi ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------- Debi Goenka Bombay Environmental Action Group e-mail: debi@beag.net (Please note that debi@powersurfer.net will be discontinued shortly) Environmental Education Office Kalbadevi Municipal School # 54, 2nd floor, Mumbai 400002 Tel:91-22-22423126 Tfax:91-22-22426385 Residence B 502 Glengate, Hiran Gardens Powai Mumbai 400076 Tel:91-22-25700638 Tfax:91-22-25701459 Cell - +91 98200 86404 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------- This e-mail may contain confidential and/or privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient (or have received this e-mail in error) please notify the sender immediately and destroy this e-mail. Any unauthorised copying, disclosure or distribution of the material in this e-mail is strictly forbidden. From matthias_mueth at hotmail.com Fri Jun 11 00:57:26 2004 From: matthias_mueth at hotmail.com (matthias mueth) Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 17:57:26 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Public Transport and Disaster Management Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040610/9f59a5ea/attachment.html From litman at vtpi.org Fri Jun 11 01:25:32 2004 From: litman at vtpi.org (Todd Alexander Litman) Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 09:25:32 -0700 Subject: [sustran] Re: Public Transport and Disaster Management In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5.1.1.6.0.20040610092136.03c8fab0@mail.highspeedplus.com> See the "Evaluating Transportation Resilience" chapter of our Online TDM Encyclopedia (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm88.htm), which includes some references to the value of transit in disasters. Please let me know if you find any information to add. Best wishes, -Todd Litman At 05:57 PM 6/10/2004 +0200, you wrote: >Dear Sustraners, > > > >does anybody know of good sources regarding >PUBLIC TRANSPORT and DISASTER MANAGEMENT? >If so, I?d be very grateful to learn about it. > >Structural/ technical as well as non-structural aspects regarding >Prevention, Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and >Recovery/Rehabilitation are of relevance to me. > > > >So are literature, manuals, internet-sites, etc. touching >TERRORISM and PUBLIC TRANSPORT. >Be it the latest bombings in "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Madrid, the gas-attack in >Tokyo by the Aoum-Sect a few years ago, or other incidences. > > > >Thank you very much for your help! > >Best regards, > >Matthias Mueth/ Hamburg > > > > >---------- >Lieblingssong auf?s Handy laden oder Display aufpeppen ? bei MSN gibt?s >jetzt auch polyphone Klingelt?ne & farbige Logos! >Hier klicken Sincerely, Todd Litman, Director Victoria Transport Policy Institute "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" 1250 Rudlin Street Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560 Email: litman@vtpi.org Website: http://www.vtpi.org From I95BERNIEW at aol.com Fri Jun 11 01:25:37 2004 From: I95BERNIEW at aol.com (I95BERNIEW@aol.com) Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 12:25:37 EDT Subject: [sustran] Re: Public Transport and Disaster Management Message-ID: <2d.3eb168d9.2df9e581@aol.com> In a message dated 6/10/2004 11:58:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time, matthias_mueth@hotmail.com writes: > does anybody know of good sources regarding > PUBLIC TRANSPORT and DISASTER MANAGEMENT? > If so, I?d be very grateful to learn about it. You may wish to check http://transit-safety.volpe.dot.gov/ from the US Federal Transit Administration. It has quite a bit of information related to these topics. Bernie Wagenblast Transportation Communications Newsletter http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040610/938f3c86/attachment.html From litman at vtpi.org Fri Jun 11 03:25:35 2004 From: litman at vtpi.org (Todd Alexander Litman) Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 11:25:35 -0700 Subject: [sustran] VTPI News - Spring 2004 Message-ID: <5.1.1.6.0.20040610112514.03e3ceb8@mail.highspeedplus.com> ----------- VTPI NEWS ----------- Victoria Transport Policy Institute "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" ------------------------------------ Spring 2004 Vol. 7, No. 1 ---------------------------------- The Victoria Transport Policy Institute is an independent research organization dedicated to developing innovative solutions to transportation problems. The VTPI website (http://www.vtpi.org) has many resources addressing a wide range of transport planning and policy issues. VTPI also provides consulting services. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VTPI ONLINE TDM ENCYCLOPEDIA - UPDATES ======================================== The VTPI "Online TDM Encyclopedia" (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm) is the most comprehensive resource available anywhere to help identify and evaluate innovative management solutions to transport problems. We have recently updated many Encyclopedia chapters, including the following: 'Transportation Elasticities' (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm11.htm) 'Fuel Tax Increases' (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm17.htm) 'Land Use Impacts on Transport' (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm20.htm) 'Road Pricing' (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm35.htm) 'TDM and Economic Development' (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm54.htm) 'Safety Evaluation' (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm58.htm) 'Smart Growth Reforms' (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm95.htm) We have also changed the Encyclopedia's references format. To make it easier to find citations, the last name of the first author is now in bold font. This helps find a name when scanning a long list of references, and clarifies the differences in alphabetical order between a firm and a personal name (for example, a document by a company named 'Wilber Smith' is alphabetized under 'W,' but a document by Mr. Wilber Smith is alphabetized under 'S'). Please let me know what you think of this style and whether we should keep it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NEW/UPDATED DOCUMENTS ===================== We have posted several important new or significantly updated documents on our website. "Managing Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs) On Nonmotorized Facilities" (http://www.vtpi.org/man_nmt_fac.pdf) This paper explores the most appropriate way to manage the diverse range of Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs) (bicycles, wheelchairs, scooters, skates, Segways) on nonmotorized facilities (walkways, sidewalks, paths, trails, etc.). PMDs are becoming increasingly common, resulting in new conflicts and opportunities. This paper examine the broader context of these issues, includes results of a recent survey of the legal status of electric powered PMDs, and develops general principles and guidelines for managing PMD use. "Comprehensive Evaluation of Rail Transit Benefits" (http://www.vtpi.org/railben.pdf) This report evaluates the benefits of rail transit based on a comprehensive analysis of transportation system performance in major U.S. cities. It finds that cities with larger, well-established rail systems have significantly higher per capita transit ridership, lower average per capita vehicle ownership and mileage, less traffic congestion, lower traffic death rates and lower consumer transportation expenditures than otherwise comparable cities. The paper discusses best practices for evaluating transit benefits and critiques other documents critical of rail transit investments. (Note, this paper and the spreadsheet used in its analysis were significantly revised during the last month.) "Pay-As-You-Drive Pricing For Insurance Affordability" (http://www.vtpi.org/payd_aff.pdf) This paper describes Pay-As-You-Drive (PAYD) pricing and how it can increase vehicle insurance affordability. PAYD means that premiums are directly related to annual vehicle mileage. This increases insurance affordability by giving motorists a new opportunity to save money by minimizing their annual vehicle mileage. PAYD pricing redefines insurance affordability to mean that higher-risk drivers must limit their mileage to the amount of risk they can afford. This reduces high risk driving and accidents, and eliminates the need for unfair cross-subsidies between rate classes, providing numerous benefits to individual motorists and society overall. "Evaluating Public Transit Benefits and Costs" (http://www.vtpi.org/tranben.pdf) This guidebook describes how to create a comprehensive framework for evaluating the full impacts (benefits and costs) of a particular transit service or improvement. It identifies various categories of impacts and how to measure them. It discusses best practices for transit evaluation and identifies common errors that distort results. It discusses the travel impacts of various types of transit system changes and incentives. It describes ways to optimize transit benefits by increasing system efficiency, increasing ridership and creating more transit oriented land use patterns. It compares automobile and transit costs, and the advantages and disadvantages of bus and rail transit. It includes examples of transit evaluation, and provides extensive references. (Note, this is significantly revised compared with earlier versions of this document.) "Parking Requirement Impacts on Housing Affordability" (http://www.vtpi.org/park-hou.pdf) Generous parking requirements reduce housing affordability and impose various economic and environmental costs on society. Based on typical affordable housing development costs, one parking space per unit increases costs by about 12.5%, and two parking spaces increase costs by about 25%. Since parking costs increase as a percentage of rent for lower priced housing, and housing represents a larger portion of household expenditures for poorer households, parking costs are regressive. Various parking management strategies described in this report can increase affordability, economic efficiency and equity. (Note, this is significantly revised compared with earlier versions of this document.) "The Value of Downtown" (http://www.vtpi.org/downtown.pdf) This paper describes the unique role that downtowns have in many region's economy and identify, discusses whether downtowns are really dangerous, and identifies various strategies for improving downtowns. "Appropriate Response to Rising Fuel Prices" (http://www.vtpi.org/fuelprice.pdf) Recent fuel price increases have renewed calls to reduce fuel taxes and increase production subsidies. But the best policy response overall is to increase taxes and do everything possible to expand travel options and improve transportation system efficiency. This short paper explains why. "Fuel Trends Spreadsheet" (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/fueltrends.xls) This spreadsheet contains data on annual U.S. motor vehicle fuel consumption, fuel price, tax rates, vehicle mileage and fuel efficiency from 1960 through 2002 or 2004. It shows that, despite recent fuel price increases, fuel costs per gallon and per vehicle-mile are still low by historical standards. "Urban-Rural Differences in Mobility and Mode Choice: Evidence from the 2001 NHTS," (http://www.vtpi.org/pucher_ur.pdf), by John Pucher and John L. Renne. This paper uses data from the 2001 National Household Travel Survey to compare travel behavior in rural and urban areas of the United States. As expected, the car is the overwhelmingly dominant mode of travel. Over 97% of rural households own at least one car vs. 92% of urban households; 91% of trips are made by car in rural areas vs. 86% in urban areas. Mobility levels in rural areas are generally higher than in urban areas. The rural elderly and poor are considerably more mobile than their urban counterparts, and their mobility deficit compared to the rural population average is strikingly less than for the urban elderly and poor compared to the urban average. "Transport Policies in Central and Eastern Europe" (http://www.vtpi.org/PucherCentralEurope.pdf), by John Pucher and Ralph Buehler This paper compares transportation trends in the formerly socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe since the demise of Communism in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It discusses these changes, their benefits and costs, and potential ways of dealing with the problems that result. The most obvious indicator of that revolution is the dramatic growth in levels of private car ownership and use, and a corresponding decline in public transport use. The modal shift in passenger transport is mirrored in most countries by similar changes in goods transport. While the increasing reliance on roadway transport had already started during the later years of the socialist era, the movement toward market-based capitalism greatly accelerated it, prompted by striking changes in government transport policies. "Overcoming Obstacles of Car Culture: Promoting an Alternative to Car Dependence Instead of Another Travel Mode," (www.vtpi.org/roth.pdf), by Michael Roth. This paper explores the effectiveness of promoting Environment Friendly Modes (walking, cycling and transit) as a group rather than the promotion of public transport alone, drawing from travel behaviour and social marketing theory. It then examines the process and results from the Individualised Marketing (IndiMark) travel behaviour change technique within the context of promoting an alternative to car dependence. Originally presented at the UITP International Marketing Conference (Paris), International Association of Public Transport (www.uitp.com), November 2003 "Transit Price Elasticities and Cross-Elasticities" (http://www.vtpi.org/tranelas.pdf) This paper summarizes price elasticities and cross elasticities for use in public transit planning and modeling. It finds that commonly-used transit elasticity values tend to be lower than appropriate for long-run impact analysis. Analysis based on these elasticity values tend to understate the potential of transit fare reductions and service improvements to reduce problems such as traffic congestion and vehicle pollution, and understate the long-term negative impacts that fare increases and service cuts can have on transit ridership, transit revenue, traffic congestion and pollution emissions. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE =================== "World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention," (http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2004/infomaterials/world_report/en) by the World Health Organization, released April 7 for the World Health Day on Road Safety. This report includes information on traffic injury and fatality rates in various parts of the world, plus practical strategies for increasing road safety. For more information see the WHD website http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2004/en. Todd Litman contributed to Chapter 4, which discusses potential policy interventions, particularly the role of mobility management strategies for increasing safety. For more information on this issue see "If Health Matters" (http://www.vtpi.org/health.pdf) and "Safety Evaluation," (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm58.htm). Lucas, Karen (ed), "Transport & Social Exclusion: A Survey of the Group of Seven Nations," Transport Studies Group, University of Westminster, Funded by the FIA Foundation for the Automobile and Society (http://www.fiafoundation.com/content/media/SE%20high%20res.pdf), 2003. This includes research by VTPI concerning transportation and social exclusion in Canada. 'Economic Value of Walkability,' was published in "World Transport Policy & Practice," (http://www.eco-logica.co.uk/WTPPhome.html) Volume 10, Number 1, 2004. "Sustainable Transportation: A Sourcebook for Policy-Makers in Developing Countries," by the Sustainable Urban Transport Project Asia (http://www.sutp.org/docs/sourcebook/sourcebook.aspx). Many of these documents are now available in various languages including Spanish, French, Chinese, Indonesian, Romanian, Thai and Vietnamese (http://www.sutp.org/docs/sourcebook/translations.aspx). The "Mobility Management" module, written by Todd Litman, is available at the VTPI website (http://www.vtpi.org/gtz_module.pdf). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BEEN THERE - DONE THAT ====================== In recent months we have participated in several exciting events: 'Congestion Management Best Practices,' for the Washington DC Downtown Congestion Management Task Force, Washington DC (www.dc.gov), 6 May 2004. 'Pay-As-You-Drive Pricing For Insurance Affordability,' at the "Casualty Actuarial Society Spring Meeting" (www.casact.org), Colorado Springs, 17 May 2004. 'London Congestion Pricing: Implications for Other Cities,' at the "Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting" (www.trb.org), 13 January 2004. 'Emerging Research Issues in Nonmotorized Transport,' at the "Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting" (www.trb.org), 14 January 2004. 'Vehicle Use Pricing: Reforms For Efficiency,' at the "Transportation Research Board Value Pricing Workshop" (www.trb.org), 11 January 2004. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UPCOMING EVENTS =============== "Shifting Gears: Sustainable Mobility for Western Municipalities, (http://www.climatechangecentral.com/default.asp?V_DOC_ID=1395), Westin Hotel, Edmonton, Alberta June 16-17, 2004. This conference will explore practical ways that western Canadian municipalities can address transportation problems and improve mobility through management innovations and emerging technologies. Todd Litman will give a presentation on 'Win-Win Transportation Solutions.' National Wellness Conference, (http://www.nationalwellness.org), July 10-15, University of Wisconsin, sponsored by the National Wellness Institute. This 29th Annual National Wellness Conference has the theme of 'Creating Optimal Wellness Environments.' It will explore best practices for community wellness and underserved populations. Todd Litman will give a presentation on 'Healthy Community Planning: Integrating Public Health Objectives Into Transportation and Land Use Planning.' Pro Walk - Pro Bike (http://www.bikewalk.org), September 7 10, 2004, Victoria, British Columbia. Pro Walk - Pro Bike is a major bi-annual international walking and cycling conference to be held in our home town, Victoria, BC. The theme is 'Creating Active Communities,' which will explore the link between community design and health. Todd Litman will give a presentation on the 'Economic Value of Walkability.' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ USEFUL RESOURCES ================ Phil L. Winters and Sara J. Hendricks, "Quantifying The Business Benefits of TDM," Center for Urban Transportation Research, for the Office of Research and Special Programs, USDOT (http://www.nctr.usf.edu/html/416-11.htm), 2003. Lloyd Wright, "Mass Transit Options, " (http://www.gobrt.org/SourcebookMassTransitOptions.pdf) and "Bus Rapid Transit" (http://www.gobrt.org/SourcebookBRT.pdf), modules in the "Sustainable Transport: A Sourcebook for Policy-makers in Developing Cities." Peter L Jacobsen, 'Safety in numbers: more walkers and bicyclists, safer walking and bicycling,' "Injury Prevention" (http://ip.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/9/3/205), Vol. 9, 2003, pp. 205-209. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please let us know if you have comments or questions about any information in this newsletter, or if you would like to be removed from our mailing list. And please pass this newsletter on to others who may find it useful. Sincerely, Todd Litman, Director Victoria Transport Policy Institute "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" 1250 Rudlin Street Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560 Email: litman@vtpi.org Website: http://www.vtpi.org From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Fri Jun 11 14:51:41 2004 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric.britton@ecoplan.org) Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 07:51:41 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Taxi operations in Mumbai (and elsewhere) Message-ID: <002001c44f78$2c4b78f0$6501a8c0@home> Friday, June 11, 2004, Paris, France, Europe As our long time colleagues Brendan Finn and Bina Balakrishnan point out in the pair of attached emails to the Sustran group, a most interesting dialogue on taxi operations and innovation is opening up there which has application in most parts of the world. While the immediate focus of the discussions is the present situation in Mumbai, the issues are ones that face just about all of us. Fortunately if you want to catch up on these exchanges, all you have to do is go to the New Mobility Agenda at http://newmobility.org and click the Discussion Groups, and there at the very top the email library of The Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia & the Pacific is right at the top of the pile. Recommended. Eric Britton ====================== -----Original Message----- Behalf Of Brendan Finn Sent: Monday, June 07, 2004 10:55 AM To: Bina C. Balakrishnan; Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai Dear Bina, This has become an interesting strand, because we can now see that there are many actions being considered in parallel. Single dimension solutions are rarely successful in solving complex problems, so the news from Mumbai is quite encouraging. Two small suggestions about the content of your mail : a) Your suggested approach of using parking as a travel demand management tool is very appropriate, provided there is the will to enforce it. This was used quite effectively in Dublin during the 1980's when there was no will to use any other measures. Of course, it is low-cost, low-investment and very simple, although it attracts direct opposition from car owners. I think the critical success factor is to get traders to accept that no parking and controlled deliveries is much better for their business (individually and for the whole street). The parking aproach has now become more sophisticated since there are better trafiic control measures with which to integrate. If you wish, I can give you a broad overview from memory, and recommend who to talk to in the city for the facts. b) For the 'dial-a-cab' facility, there are perhaps three options to consider. The first is for the individual booking, so perhaps systems like Singapore where the cab companies provide a very good booking facility and usually you get the cab to your door in 2-5 minutes. The second is shared taxi, so here the dispatch centre acts as a broker among people who want taxi service, but are willing to share cost and comfort. The third is demand responsive minibuses, where the cost should be much lower than taxi, and the service much better than regular bus. A lot of work has been done in Europe on these options in developing both the operating scenarios and the booking and dispatch technologies, although the reailty is that the most suitable passenger markets are in Asia. Again, if you are interested, I can give you some overviews and put you in touch with information sources. Being realistic, these type of services are not for the poor (at least in our current generation). However, there is a significant market that has both affordability and desire for medium-quality transportation. They can support such services, and if they don't have something of acceptable quality, then they will acquire personal motorised transport even if it is hard on them financially. It would be intersting to know what is the uptake of mobile phones in Mumbai, since SMS can be a very effective and cheap tool for making bookings and receiving confirmations - once the public has the communication device, the main financial barrier is removed. I will now look at your website to learn more about Bombay First. With best wishes, Brendan Finn. _______________________________________________________________________ Contact details are : e-mail : etts@indigo.ie tel : +353.87.2530286 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" To: "Puttanna S.Honaganahalli" Cc: "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" Sent: Monday, June 07, 2004 8:34 AM Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai Dear Mr Mehta, Puttanna, Thank you very much for your inputs. At the outset, I have to tell you that we (Bombay First) are primarily initiators of change. We do not go into the finer details of design and implementation of the project, but identify areas for possible improvement, study the broad aspects of the same, and make recommendations to the concerned authorities / agencies for detailed study or implementation. Do visit our web-site at http://www.bombayfirst.org To respond to your comments, we have already considered most of them in the study framework. Yes, one of our objectives is to examine the feasibility of shifting some work trips by private cars to taxi trips, but the economics have to be in favour of this(!!) Augmenting public transport has always been a priority, and the BEST are going about it in a very systematic way. However, there is also a project that has been lying with the Municipal Corporation for almost 2 years, where I have recommended the use of parking as a demand management tool in Mumbai. The idea is to bring all street side parking under the pay and park scheme, banning it altogether on arterial roads, and raising the parking charges substantially from the very nominal Rs 5 per hour that it is today. The restriction on arterial roads is expected to release kerb-side lanes for exclusive bus lanes, and the higher charges and limited availability of parking will hopefully induce people to car pool and /or use public transport. However, for various reasons, the project is still lying with the MCGB. Yes, we have included the dial- a- cab facility in this study, and the new models of cabs can be designed to have a more prominent display of the vehicle for hire flag. As for raising fares - that is the moot point- we need to work out some other way of keeping the vehicles in better shape- hence the consideration of the operator system. But as Brendan has said, since we are looking to replace old vehicles with new in a low wage, low tariff situation, the finances will not fit easily. Hence, we are looking into subsidies for the new purchases, or some financial arrangement whereby the changeover can be made more attractive. About removing hurdles- I assume you are referring to the restrictions on autos plying beyond Bandra? Well, I don't think it would be a good idea for them to come further south. I think they are driven very rashly, and their high maneuverability make them initiators of accidents, and besides, South Mumbai is doing very nicely without them! Restriction on car ownership? I think I'd best leave that to you, Mr. Mehta! Best regards, Bina On Mon, 07 Jun 2004 Puttanna S. Honaganahalli wrote : >Hi Bina, >"Operator System", in Mumbai. Great. For both, the economy and environment, >it is a good thing to happen. Have you carried the political and guild >leadership all along? Make sure that your recommendations have a generous >package for the individual taxi owners who might get displaced, lest, your >recommendations may not be touched by a bean-pole by the powers-to-be in >Mumbai. > >Thanks > >Puttanna S. Honaganahalli Ph.D. >Ecological Economics Unit, Institute for Social and Economics Change (ISEC) >Nagarabhavi, Bangalore 560 072 >India > >Phone: 91-80-2321-5468 x120 >Fax: 91-80-2321-7008 > >----- Original Message ----- > From: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" >To: >Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 8:51 PM >Subject: [sustran] Taxi operations in Mumbai > > > > > > Hi everyone, > > > > We are trying to re-organise the taxi operations in Mumbai, introducing >newer, more efficient models of cars, with a choice of levels of comfort, >and differentiated tariff structures. Currently, all taxis in Mumbai are >either owner- driven, or by a driver hired by the owner of a single or small >(4-5) fleet of cars. Operational costs in this case seem to be high, and >vehicle maintenance suffers. Most of these vehicles are also very old, and >in an attempt to improve both the system as well as the environment through >the use of newer, better vehicles, we are examining the feasibility of >shifting to an "Operator System," where new models of fuel efficient >vehicles will be owned by a few large operators, who can then optimize their >operations. > > > > I would appreciate any information on the experience of other cities >elsewhere in the world, in this area. > > > > Regards and thanks, > > Bina > > > > Bina C. Balakrishnan > > Consultant > > Transportation Planning & Engineering > > Mumbai, India > > e-mail : binac@rediffmail.com > > > > From kisansbc at vsnl.com Fri Jun 11 20:07:36 2004 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (Kisan Mehta) Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 16:37:36 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operation References: Message-ID: <003701c44fa4$4d9d45c0$3226020a@im.eth.net> Dear Colleagues and Shamsul. Sorry, Shamsul, for the delay in reply. Thanks for your query. I am recording my reply in ( ....) after each of the question hereunder. Issues raised by you are important for human settlements hence would appreciate discussion. Best wishes Kisan Mehta Save Bombay Committee 520 Jame Jamshed Road, Dadar East, Mumbai 400014 India Tel: 00 91 22 2414 9688 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Shamsul A M A Hoque" Subject: [sustran] Taxi operation > Dear Kisan > I did not understand why did you mention this- > "It is clear that concentration of ownership in fewer hands that is creating > corporate giants would not help commuters. Any attempt in that direction would create social and ethical turmoil." (At present taxi service like riksha facility is provided mainly by owner drivers or sometimes by drivers hiring on a long term basis from a small owner having, may be, 5 taxies. Services provided are relatively not bad. Critical aspect is there are many more taxies and many many more rikshas all trying to grab limited business available in the congested Mumbai where jampacked suburban trains and crawling municipalised public buses account for 88% journeys while taxies and personal cars vie for the balance 12%. Mumbai suffers from severe traffic and movement problem created essentially parked vehicles and encroachments. (To take over the taxi trade from small informal drivers sustaining at or around `below poverty level' the community will have to have giant-real giant- corporations with capital requirements running into astronomical figues to be manned by an army of high cost executives and drivers/technicians/mechanics to ensure even the existing quality service. Costs will of course be vey high so much so taxi charges will have to be increased tremendously. Taxi users will shift to public transport increasing suffocating crowding, rikshas or walking facing accident hazard. (Unemployment will increase because the taxi drivers/owners will lose hteir job. They may not all want to be employees of giant corporaions. Quality of taxi service will deterioate terribly as it would become impersonal. Social, cultural problems will come up. Corporations normally impovish the people at the lowest level concentrating the wealth in the few rich at the top.) > My second concern is: why you did not mentioned about the parking charges for taxi? Instead you have recommend to raise their fare level to keep their vehicle in good order. If taxi-drivers are allowed to pay the parking charge for a particular taxi-waiting stand then they would be forced to stay there unless there is a call from passenger. Without any passenger no taxi would be allowed to roam around on the road, this would creat some frustration among the passengers who does not have any easy access to a phone. But passengers would get used to the situation soon and they would know how far they have to walk to get a taxi stand. (We have noticed that taxi drivers pay some fee for keeping car in the designated call centres to the centre manager. Binding taxi drivers to one centre is not practical because of long origin-destination distances. He may not be able to return to his centre for days together because of many directions and long distances. If rhe community wants better vehicles and responsive service, it is natural to increase taxi and riksha fares. To-day they are at marginal level. Even when enough taxi/riksha centres are set up, many taxies/rikshas would be roaming for instant hiring. ) At present, isn't there any taxi operators'/owners' association present there in Mumbai? I believe there are some in Mumbai, as in the case for Dhaka. There would a mechanism which would be acceptable to all the present operators/owners. If the drivers see they would be benefited by making fewer bigger size companies, than what there are now "One owner one taxi", then there would not be any big issue. (There are trade and labour unions in the transport area. I doubt whether any owner would surrender his right to own a vehicle that sustains him for being an employee or coowner of one or more vehicles. In any case concentration of modes of transport cannot ensure better quality except in case of public road or rail transport serving the entire human settlement. For instance, Mumbai's municipalised BEST bus service servies the entire city providing 4.6 million journeys, probably the highest for any road transport in the world.) ------------------------- > Thank you. > > SAM Aminul Hoque > > > > Message: 1 > Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2004 11:51:48 +0530 > From: "Kisan Mehta" > Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai > To: "NewMobilityCafe" , "Asia and the > Pacific sustainable transport" > Cc: sustran discuss > > Dear Colleagues and Bina, > It is good to learn that somebody and especially Bina, a Mumbai resident is > looking into the possibility of improving/upgrading the quality of taxi > service in > Mumbai. > .......... > .......... > In this situation the following may be implemented. > # Augmenting and imrpoving public transport and creating dependable taxi/riksha change over possibility for weaning away commuters from private > vehicles > # Creating widespread calling taxi/autoriksha by telephone facility > #Designating specific plots of lands for taxi/riksha parking till ordered > on telephone > # Insisting on taxies and rikshas to install `for hire' illuminated lights > on top > # Raising fare structure to allow taxi/riksha owners to keep their vehicles > in good shape. > # Removing all hurdles on movement of taxies/rikshas throughtout the > commuting areas of Mumbai and more particularly Mumbai Metropolitan Region > #Placing restrictions on car use and ownership to reduce congestion and > pollution. > > It is clear that concentration of ownership in fewer hands that is creating > corporate giants would not help commuters. Any attempt in that direction > would create social and ethical turmoil. > > However much we may dislike, existence and widespread of rikshas and two > wheeler motor cycles cannot be wished away in the poor countries. Best > wishes. > > Kisan Mehta > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Brendan Finn" > To: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" ; "Asia and the Pacific > sustainable transport" > Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 10:29 PM > Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai > > > > Dear Bina, > > > > I guess Singapore's main cab companies (Comfort, CityCab, TIBS) might > offer > a working model. While the cost base is likely to be different due > to the > > wage rates and perhaps also insurance and licence factors, it's still > worth > looking at. They're certainly large enough to gain economies of > scale and good purchasing power. > > > > An alternative model could be a leasing-with-maintenance arrangement by > the vehicle suppliers. This certainly can work in the bus sector. > > > > Whatever you opt for, you are looking to replace old vehicles with new in > a low-wage, low-tariff situation. Financially, this is not going to fit easily. Even allowing for fuel efficiencies and other cost savings, tariffs > > are going to have to rise to pay for the new investment. > > > > I wish you good luck in your option development and implementation. > > > > > > Brendan Finn. > > _______________________________________________________________________ > >> > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" > > To: > > Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 4:21 PM > > Subject: [sustran] Taxi operations in Mumbai > > > >> > > Hi everyone, > > > > We are trying to re-organise the taxi operations in Mumbai, introducing > > newer, more efficient models of cars, with a choice of levels of comfort, > > and differentiated tariff structures. Currently, all taxis in Mumbai are > > either owner- driven, or by a driver hired by the owner of a single or > small (4-5) fleet of cars. Operational costs in this case seem to be high, and > > vehicle maintenance suffers. Most of these vehicles are also very old, and > > in an attempt to improve both the system as well as the environment > through the use of newer, better vehicles, we are examining the feasibility of > > shifting to an "Operator System," where new models of fuel efficient > > vehicles will be owned by a few large operators, who can then optimize > their operations. > > > > I would appreciate any information on the experience of other cities > > elsewhere in the world, in this area. > > > > Regards and thanks, > > Bina > > > > Bina C. Balakrishnan > > Consultant > > Transportation Planning & Engineering > > Mumbai, India > > e-mail : binac@rediffmail.com > From ericbruun at earthlink.net Sat Jun 12 01:40:54 2004 From: ericbruun at earthlink.net (Eric Bruun) Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 12:40:54 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: Technology for Taxi dispatch References: <002001c44f78$2c4b78f0$6501a8c0@home> Message-ID: <004901c44fd2$e1753d60$39f045cf@earthlink.net> I work with Computer Aided Dispatching (CAD) technology in the US of A. Even here, paratransit vehicles often have trouble making appointments on time due to unforeseen traffic. I imagine that, if Mumbai is as congested as it sounds, it would be extremely hard to efficiently schedule single-ride taxis. This is even more so for shared-ride taxis. Furthermore, to justify the investment in CAD, there must be multiple users. Thus, small owners would have to belong to a cooperative and trust that there is no favoratism being shown to other owners. Eric ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Cc: ; Sent: Friday, June 11, 2004 1:51 AM Subject: [WorldTransport-Focus] Taxi operations in Mumbai (and elsewhere) > Friday, June 11, 2004, Paris, France, Europe > > As our long time colleagues Brendan Finn and Bina Balakrishnan point out in the pair of attached emails to the Sustran group, a most interesting dialogue on taxi operations and innovation is opening up there which has application in most parts of the world. While the immediate focus of the discussions is the present situation in Mumbai, the issues are ones that face just about all of us. > > Fortunately if you want to catch up on these exchanges, all you have to do is go to the New Mobility Agenda at http://newmobility.org and click the Discussion Groups, and there at the very top the email library of The Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia & the Pacific is right at the top of the pile. > > Recommended. > > Eric Britton > > > ====================== > > -----Original Message----- > Behalf Of Brendan Finn > Sent: Monday, June 07, 2004 10:55 AM > To: Bina C. Balakrishnan; Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport > Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai > > Dear Bina, > > This has become an interesting strand, because we can now see that there are many actions being considered in parallel. Single dimension solutions are rarely successful in solving complex problems, so the news from Mumbai is quite encouraging. > > Two small suggestions about the content of your mail : > > a) Your suggested approach of using parking as a travel demand management tool is very appropriate, provided there is the will to enforce it. This was used quite effectively in Dublin during the 1980's when there was no will to use any other measures. Of course, it is low-cost, low-investment and very simple, although it attracts direct opposition from car owners. I think the critical success factor is to get traders to accept that no parking and controlled deliveries is much better for their business (individually and for the whole street). The parking aproach has now become more sophisticated since there are better trafiic control measures with which to integrate. If you wish, I can give you a broad overview from memory, and recommend who to talk to in the city for the facts. > > b) For the 'dial-a-cab' facility, there are perhaps three options to consider. The first is for the individual booking, so perhaps systems like Singapore where the cab companies provide a very good booking facility and usually you get the cab to your door in 2-5 minutes. The second is shared taxi, so here the dispatch centre acts as a broker among people who want taxi service, but are willing to share cost and comfort. The third is demand responsive minibuses, where the cost should be much lower than taxi, and the service much better than regular bus. A lot of work has been done in Europe on these options in developing both the operating scenarios and the booking and dispatch technologies, although the reailty is that the most suitable passenger markets are in Asia. Again, if you are interested, I can give you some overviews and put you in touch with information sources. Being realistic, these type of services are not for the poor (at least in our current generation). However, there is a significant market that has both affordability and desire for medium-quality transportation. They can support such services, and if they don't have something of acceptable quality, then they will acquire personal motorised transport even if it is hard on them financially. It would be intersting to know what is the uptake of mobile phones in Mumbai, since SMS can be a very effective and cheap tool for making bookings and receiving confirmations - once the public has the communication device, the main financial barrier is removed. > > I will now look at your website to learn more about Bombay First. > > With best wishes, > > > Brendan Finn. _______________________________________________________________________ > Contact details are : e-mail : etts@indigo.ie tel : +353.87.2530286 > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" > To: "Puttanna S.Honaganahalli" > Cc: "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" > Sent: Monday, June 07, 2004 8:34 AM > Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai > > > Dear Mr Mehta, Puttanna, > > Thank you very much for your inputs. > At the outset, I have to tell you that we (Bombay First) are primarily initiators of change. We do not go into the finer details of design and implementation of the project, but identify areas for possible improvement, study the broad aspects of the same, and make recommendations to the concerned authorities / agencies for detailed study or implementation. Do visit our web-site at > > http://www.bombayfirst.org > > To respond to your comments, we have already considered most of them in the study framework. > > Yes, one of our objectives is to examine the feasibility of shifting some work trips by private cars to taxi trips, but the economics have to be in favour of this(!!) > > Augmenting public transport has always been a priority, and the BEST are going about it in a very systematic way. However, there is also a project that has been lying with the Municipal Corporation for almost 2 years, where I have recommended the use of parking as a demand management tool in Mumbai. The idea is to bring all street side parking under the pay and park scheme, banning it altogether on arterial roads, and raising the parking charges substantially from the very nominal Rs 5 per hour that it is today. The restriction on arterial roads is expected to release kerb-side lanes for exclusive bus lanes, and the higher charges and limited availability of parking will hopefully induce people to car pool and /or use public transport. However, for various reasons, the project is still lying with the MCGB. > > Yes, we have included the dial- a- cab facility in this study, and the new models of cabs can be designed to have a more prominent display of the vehicle for hire flag. As for raising fares - that is the moot point- we need to work out some other way of keeping the vehicles in better shape- hence the consideration of the operator system. But as Brendan has said, since we are looking to replace old vehicles with new in a low wage, low tariff situation, the finances will not fit easily. Hence, we are looking into subsidies for the new purchases, or some financial arrangement whereby the changeover can be made more attractive. > > About removing hurdles- I assume you are referring to the restrictions on autos plying beyond Bandra? Well, I don't think it would be a good idea for them to come further south. I think they are driven very rashly, and their high maneuverability make them initiators of accidents, and besides, South Mumbai is doing very nicely without them! > > Restriction on car ownership? I think I'd best leave that to you, Mr. Mehta! > > Best regards, > Bina > > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> > Yahoo! Domains - Claim yours for only $14.70 > http://us.click.yahoo.com/Z1wmxD/DREIAA/yQLSAA/KlSolB/TM > --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> > > Post message: WorldTransport-Focus@yahoogroups.com > Subscribe: WorldTransport-Focus-subscribe@yahoogroups.com > Unsubscribe email to: WorldTransport-Focus-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > Questions to: WorldTransport-Focus-owner@yahoogroups.com > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WorldTransport-Focus/ > > <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > WorldTransport-Focus-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > From Davewetzel at tfl.gov.uk Fri Jun 11 21:26:00 2004 From: Davewetzel at tfl.gov.uk (Wetzel Dave) Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 13:26:00 +0100 Subject: [sustran] UK Transport Conference: Tuesday, July 6th London Message-ID: Dear Colleague This conference may interest you. 6th July 2004. Financing Transport Infrastructure Through Land Values: Making it Happen CBI Conference Centre, Tottenham Court Road. London. UK. A one-day participatory conference examining how transport projects can be financed through land values and the wider benefits of changing the tax base. Dave Dave Wetzel; Vice-Chair; Transport for London. Windsor House. 42-50 Victoria Street. London. SW1H 0TL. UK Tel: 020 7941 4200 Windsor House is close to New Scotland Yard. Buses 11, 24, 148, 211 and N11 pass the door. Nearest Tube: St. James's Park Underground station. Nearest mainline stations: Waterloo and Victoria (Both a walk or short bus ride). Speakers ?Chair: Christopher Huhne MEP ?Professor Iain McLean DPhil Professor of Politics and Official Fellow Nuffield College Oxford ?Margaret Godden Councillor Oxfordshire County Council and Chair LVT Trial Working Group ?Paul Bizzell Councillor Vale of White Horse District Council and Member LVT Trial Working Group ?Mark Ballard MSP (Green Party) ?Andrea Titterington Board Member Liverpool Vision and former Chief Executive Maritime Housing Association (invited) ?Robin Waters FRICS MBCS Director RSW Geomatics and Council Member Association of Geographic Information (AGI) ?Tony Vickers School of Surveying Kingston University ?Jonathan Black Head of GIS Section Vale of White Horse DC ?Robert J I Ashton-Kane FRICS IRRV Valuer Rapleys Chartered Surveyors ?Dr Frances Plimmer FRICS IRRV and Greg McGill FRICS School of Surveying Kingston University ?Mark Thurstain-Goodwin Director Geofutures ?Stephen Ashworth Partner Denton Wilde Sapte ?Dave Wetzel Vice-Chair Transport for London and Chair Labour Land Campaign ?Owen Connellan Visiting Professor Kingston University To wards Land Value Taxation for Local 2004 Randolph Hotel, Oxford ENDORSED BY: A o Speakers ?Chair: Christopher Huhne MEP ?Professor Iain McLean DPhil Professor of Politics and Official Fellow Nuffield College Oxford ?Margaret Godden Councillor Oxfordshire County Council and Chair LVT Trial Working Group ?Paul Bizzell Councillor Vale of White Horse District Council and Member LVT Trial Working Group ?Mark Ballard MSP (Green Party) ?Andrea Titterington Board Member Liverpool Vision and former Chief Executive Maritime Housing Association (invited) ?Robin Waters FRICS MBCS Director RSW Geomatics and Council Member Association of Geographic Information (AGI) ?Tony Vickers School of Surveying Kingston University ?Jonathan Black Head of GIS Section Vale of White Horse DC ?Robert J I Ashton-Kane FRICS IRRV Valuer Rapleys Chartered Surveyors ?Dr Frances Plimmer FRICS IRRV and Greg McGill FRICS School of Surveying Kingston University ?Mark Thurstain-Goodwin Director Geofutures ?Stephen Ashworth Partner Denton Wilde Sapte ?Dave Wetzel Vice-Chair Transport for London and Chair Labour Land Campaign ?Owen Connellan Visiting Professor Kingston University To wards Land Value Taxation for Local Government BOOK NOW! VISIT WWW.THEWATERFRONT.CO.UK FOR ALL OUR CONFERENCES 16 th September 2004 Randolph Hotel, Oxford ENDORSED BY: A one-day conference examining the practical and political issues involved in using LVT to finance local government, with evidence from the Oxfordshire LVT trial and other studies Labour Land Campaign ne-day conference examining the practical and political issues involved in using LVT to finance local government, with evidence from the Oxfordshire LVT trial and other studies Labour Land Campaign *********************************************************************************** The contents of the e-mail and any transmitted files are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. Transport for London hereby exclude any warranty and any liability as to the quality or accuracy of the contents of this email and any attached transmitted files. If you are not the intended recipient be advised that you have received this email in error and that any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing or copying of this email is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error please notify postmaster@tfl.gov.uk. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for the presence of computer viruses. *********************************************************************************** -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Brochure.pdf.pdf Type: application/octet-stream Size: 148455 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040611/4472c341/Brochure.pdf-0002.bin From Davewetzel at tfl.gov.uk Fri Jun 11 21:26:00 2004 From: Davewetzel at tfl.gov.uk (Wetzel Dave) Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 13:26:00 +0100 Subject: [sustran] UK Transport Conference: Tuesday, July 6th London Message-ID: Dear Colleague This conference may interest you. 6th July 2004. Financing Transport Infrastructure Through Land Values: Making it Happen CBI Conference Centre, Tottenham Court Road. London. UK. A one-day participatory conference examining how transport projects can be financed through land values and the wider benefits of changing the tax base. Dave Dave Wetzel; Vice-Chair; Transport for London. Windsor House. 42-50 Victoria Street. London. SW1H 0TL. UK Tel: 020 7941 4200 Windsor House is close to New Scotland Yard. Buses 11, 24, 148, 211 and N11 pass the door. Nearest Tube: St. James's Park Underground station. Nearest mainline stations: Waterloo and Victoria (Both a walk or short bus ride). Speakers ?Chair: Christopher Huhne MEP ?Professor Iain McLean DPhil Professor of Politics and Official Fellow Nuffield College Oxford ?Margaret Godden Councillor Oxfordshire County Council and Chair LVT Trial Working Group ?Paul Bizzell Councillor Vale of White Horse District Council and Member LVT Trial Working Group ?Mark Ballard MSP (Green Party) ?Andrea Titterington Board Member Liverpool Vision and former Chief Executive Maritime Housing Association (invited) ?Robin Waters FRICS MBCS Director RSW Geomatics and Council Member Association of Geographic Information (AGI) ?Tony Vickers School of Surveying Kingston University ?Jonathan Black Head of GIS Section Vale of White Horse DC ?Robert J I Ashton-Kane FRICS IRRV Valuer Rapleys Chartered Surveyors ?Dr Frances Plimmer FRICS IRRV and Greg McGill FRICS School of Surveying Kingston University ?Mark Thurstain-Goodwin Director Geofutures ?Stephen Ashworth Partner Denton Wilde Sapte ?Dave Wetzel Vice-Chair Transport for London and Chair Labour Land Campaign ?Owen Connellan Visiting Professor Kingston University To wards Land Value Taxation for Local 2004 Randolph Hotel, Oxford ENDORSED BY: A o Speakers ?Chair: Christopher Huhne MEP ?Professor Iain McLean DPhil Professor of Politics and Official Fellow Nuffield College Oxford ?Margaret Godden Councillor Oxfordshire County Council and Chair LVT Trial Working Group ?Paul Bizzell Councillor Vale of White Horse District Council and Member LVT Trial Working Group ?Mark Ballard MSP (Green Party) ?Andrea Titterington Board Member Liverpool Vision and former Chief Executive Maritime Housing Association (invited) ?Robin Waters FRICS MBCS Director RSW Geomatics and Council Member Association of Geographic Information (AGI) ?Tony Vickers School of Surveying Kingston University ?Jonathan Black Head of GIS Section Vale of White Horse DC ?Robert J I Ashton-Kane FRICS IRRV Valuer Rapleys Chartered Surveyors ?Dr Frances Plimmer FRICS IRRV and Greg McGill FRICS School of Surveying Kingston University ?Mark Thurstain-Goodwin Director Geofutures ?Stephen Ashworth Partner Denton Wilde Sapte ?Dave Wetzel Vice-Chair Transport for London and Chair Labour Land Campaign ?Owen Connellan Visiting Professor Kingston University To wards Land Value Taxation for Local Government BOOK NOW! VISIT WWW.THEWATERFRONT.CO.UK FOR ALL OUR CONFERENCES 16 th September 2004 Randolph Hotel, Oxford ENDORSED BY: A one-day conference examining the practical and political issues involved in using LVT to finance local government, with evidence from the Oxfordshire LVT trial and other studies Labour Land Campaign ne-day conference examining the practical and political issues involved in using LVT to finance local government, with evidence from the Oxfordshire LVT trial and other studies Labour Land Campaign *********************************************************************************** The contents of the e-mail and any transmitted files are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. Transport for London hereby exclude any warranty and any liability as to the quality or accuracy of the contents of this email and any attached transmitted files. If you are not the intended recipient be advised that you have received this email in error and that any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing or copying of this email is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error please notify postmaster@tfl.gov.uk. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for the presence of computer viruses. *********************************************************************************** -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Brochure.pdf.pdf Type: application/octet-stream Size: 148455 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040611/4472c341/Brochure.pdf-0003.bin From bala_ganessane at yahoo.fr Sat Jun 12 05:56:42 2004 From: bala_ganessane at yahoo.fr (=?iso-8859-1?q?Bala=20GANESSANE?=) Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 22:56:42 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [sustran] Research some contact Message-ID: <20040611205643.97243.qmail@web60007.mail.yahoo.com> Dear Friend, I am from Paris, interested on the transportation, fields Could you tell if you know someone (student, searcher, organisation, university) which could inform me about these subject. I wish to participate with somone to some research and project about the transport fields. Hope to hear from you as soon as. Bala Yahoo! Mail : votre e-mail personnel et gratuit qui vous suit partout ! Cr?ez votre Yahoo! Mail sur http://fr.benefits.yahoo.com/ Dialoguez en direct avec vos amis gr?ce ? Yahoo! Messenger !T?l?chargez Yahoo! Messenger sur http://fr.messenger.yahoo.com From etts at indigo.ie Sat Jun 12 13:45:24 2004 From: etts at indigo.ie (etts@indigo.ie) Date: Sat, 12 Jun 2004 00:45:24 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: Technology for Taxi dispatch Message-ID: <277920-22004661244524686@M2W047.mail2web.com> I had mentioned that for demand responsive minibuses "the cost should be much lower than taxi, and the service much better than regular bus". Of course congestion will delay any operations, but part of the skill is to make realistic commitments to the customer. Also, SMS can be used to notify the customer of delay (somewhat negative use), or to advise them say 10 minutes before arrival (more positive use) so that waiting time is minimised. The US paratransit experience may not be so relevant to Mumbai if the pick-up/drop-off points are far apart. In a dense city like Mumbai, I expect that a dispatcher (manual or auto) would cluster the pick-ups and/or drop-offs so that they are close to each other with minimum deviation. Within the FAMS project, (see www.famsweb.com ) a key aspect we examined was the concept of a "Mobility Agency" for flexible transport. This can be actual or virtual, but effectively acts as a concentrator of both travel requests and available transport services. The business and technical platform offers a set of business-to-customer (B2C) services covering the many different channels through which the customer can seek information, register demand, make booking, receive confirmation etc. On the other side it has a set of business-to-business (B2B) services which interfaces with the different providers of the transport services. Within FAMS we developed much of the applicable system architecture and structural issues. This overcomes much of the inertia or the barriers faced by the individual operators whose scale is too small to justify investment, develop markets, find the customers etc. The big challenge in DRT has always been how to find out about the diffuse customer demand (which does exist) in time to offer the customer solutions which meet his/her needs and is affordable to both the customer and the operator. There are issues about the individual owner-driver or the small operator participating in a scheme run by either a large entity or a commercial VASP. Here you can take one of two basic attitudes. The first is big = bad, and that the small guy is always going to lose out. So, nothing happens. The second is that big is the only way to achieve the critical mass, and that being part of it helps you develop your business. There are various mechanisms which can be used to ensure reasonable allocation of work. Incidentally, unfair allocation inevitably means that you are missing either cost-reduction or service quality opportunities. As I indicated in one of the previous mails, I think that in the European research effort we have developed a lot of the needed solutions. While there may yet be potential for large-scale flexible transport in European cities as an alternative to car travel, the huge potential is in Asian cities where the transport services already exist, and the take-up of mobile phones provides the B2C plaftorm, and can indeed also be used for dispatching purposes since almost all drivers have them. I think that this is one of the valid areas where technology-based solutions can be integrated with relatively-basic transport. The technology is primarily the software at the dispatching centre, and hence it is not necessary to put expensive equipment in every vehicle. It could be very interesting to see what India's IT sector could do in a JV with European or American firms who have developed the approaches until now. With best wishes, Brendan Finn. Original Message: ----------------- From: Eric Bruun ericbruun@earthlink.net Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 12:40:54 -0400 To: WorldTransport-Focus@yahoogroups.com, WorldTransport@yahoogroups.com, Sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org Subject: [sustran] Re: Technology for Taxi dispatch I work with Computer Aided Dispatching (CAD) technology in the US of A. Even here, paratransit vehicles often have trouble making appointments on time due to unforeseen traffic. I imagine that, if Mumbai is as congested as it sounds, it would be extremely hard to efficiently schedule single-ride taxis. This is even more so for shared-ride taxis. Furthermore, to justify the investment in CAD, there must be multiple users. Thus, small owners would have to belong to a cooperative and trust that there is no favoratism being shown to other owners. Eric ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Cc: ; Sent: Friday, June 11, 2004 1:51 AM Subject: [WorldTransport-Focus] Taxi operations in Mumbai (and elsewhere) > Friday, June 11, 2004, Paris, France, Europe > > As our long time colleagues Brendan Finn and Bina Balakrishnan point out in the pair of attached emails to the Sustran group, a most interesting dialogue on taxi operations and innovation is opening up there which has application in most parts of the world. While the immediate focus of the discussions is the present situation in Mumbai, the issues are ones that face just about all of us. > > Fortunately if you want to catch up on these exchanges, all you have to do is go to the New Mobility Agenda at http://newmobility.org and click the Discussion Groups, and there at the very top the email library of The Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia & the Pacific is right at the top of the pile. > > Recommended. > > Eric Britton > > > ====================== > > -----Original Message----- > Behalf Of Brendan Finn > Sent: Monday, June 07, 2004 10:55 AM > To: Bina C. Balakrishnan; Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport > Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai > > Dear Bina, > > This has become an interesting strand, because we can now see that there are many actions being considered in parallel. Single dimension solutions are rarely successful in solving complex problems, so the news from Mumbai is quite encouraging. > > Two small suggestions about the content of your mail : > > a) Your suggested approach of using parking as a travel demand management tool is very appropriate, provided there is the will to enforce it. This was used quite effectively in Dublin during the 1980's when there was no will to use any other measures. Of course, it is low-cost, low-investment and very simple, although it attracts direct opposition from car owners. I think the critical success factor is to get traders to accept that no parking and controlled deliveries is much better for their business (individually and for the whole street). The parking aproach has now become more sophisticated since there are better trafiic control measures with which to integrate. If you wish, I can give you a broad overview from memory, and recommend who to talk to in the city for the facts. > > b) For the 'dial-a-cab' facility, there are perhaps three options to consider. The first is for the individual booking, so perhaps systems like Singapore where the cab companies provide a very good booking facility and usually you get the cab to your door in 2-5 minutes. The second is shared taxi, so here the dispatch centre acts as a broker among people who want taxi service, but are willing to share cost and comfort. The third is demand responsive minibuses, where the cost should be much lower than taxi, and the service much better than regular bus. A lot of work has been done in Europe on these options in developing both the operating scenarios and the booking and dispatch technologies, although the reailty is that the most suitable passenger markets are in Asia. Again, if you are interested, I can give you some overviews and put you in touch with information sources. Being realistic, these type of services are not for the poor (at least in our current generation). However, there is a significant market that has both affordability and desire for medium-quality transportation. They can support such services, and if they don't have something of acceptable quality, then they will acquire personal motorised transport even if it is hard on them financially. It would be intersting to know what is the uptake of mobile phones in Mumbai, since SMS can be a very effective and cheap tool for making bookings and receiving confirmations - once the public has the communication device, the main financial barrier is removed. > > I will now look at your website to learn more about Bombay First. > > With best wishes, > > > Brendan Finn. _______________________________________________________________________ > Contact details are : e-mail : etts@indigo.ie tel : +353.87.2530286 > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" > To: "Puttanna S.Honaganahalli" > Cc: "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" > Sent: Monday, June 07, 2004 8:34 AM > Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai > > > Dear Mr Mehta, Puttanna, > > Thank you very much for your inputs. > At the outset, I have to tell you that we (Bombay First) are primarily initiators of change. We do not go into the finer details of design and implementation of the project, but identify areas for possible improvement, study the broad aspects of the same, and make recommendations to the concerned authorities / agencies for detailed study or implementation. Do visit our web-site at > > http://www.bombayfirst.org > > To respond to your comments, we have already considered most of them in the study framework. > > Yes, one of our objectives is to examine the feasibility of shifting some work trips by private cars to taxi trips, but the economics have to be in favour of this(!!) > > Augmenting public transport has always been a priority, and the BEST are going about it in a very systematic way. However, there is also a project that has been lying with the Municipal Corporation for almost 2 years, where I have recommended the use of parking as a demand management tool in Mumbai. The idea is to bring all street side parking under the pay and park scheme, banning it altogether on arterial roads, and raising the parking charges substantially from the very nominal Rs 5 per hour that it is today. The restriction on arterial roads is expected to release kerb-side lanes for exclusive bus lanes, and the higher charges and limited availability of parking will hopefully induce people to car pool and /or use public transport. However, for various reasons, the project is still lying with the MCGB. > > Yes, we have included the dial- a- cab facility in this study, and the new models of cabs can be designed to have a more prominent display of the vehicle for hire flag. As for raising fares - that is the moot point- we need to work out some other way of keeping the vehicles in better shape- hence the consideration of the operator system. But as Brendan has said, since we are looking to replace old vehicles with new in a low wage, low tariff situation, the finances will not fit easily. Hence, we are looking into subsidies for the new purchases, or some financial arrangement whereby the changeover can be made more attractive. > > About removing hurdles- I assume you are referring to the restrictions on autos plying beyond Bandra? Well, I don't think it would be a good idea for them to come further south. I think they are driven very rashly, and their high maneuverability make them initiators of accidents, and besides, South Mumbai is doing very nicely without them! > > Restriction on car ownership? I think I'd best leave that to you, Mr. Mehta! > > Best regards, > Bina > > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> > Yahoo! Domains - Claim yours for only $14.70 > http://us.click.yahoo.com/Z1wmxD/DREIAA/yQLSAA/KlSolB/TM > --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> > > Post message: WorldTransport-Focus@yahoogroups.com > Subscribe: WorldTransport-Focus-subscribe@yahoogroups.com > Unsubscribe email to: WorldTransport-Focus-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > Questions to: WorldTransport-Focus-owner@yahoogroups.com > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WorldTransport-Focus/ > > <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > WorldTransport-Focus-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ . From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Sat Jun 12 14:54:22 2004 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric.britton@ecoplan.org) Date: Sat, 12 Jun 2004 07:54:22 +0200 Subject: [sustran] =?iso-8859-1?Q?Bogot=E1_-_Bold_Motorists_Clear_Roads?= Message-ID: <002401c45041$ba47f1f0$6501a8c0@home> I offer this from the latest number of Nature -- reference http://www.nature.com/nsu/040607/040607-2.html -- as food for thought. What is that explanation of a truly intelligent person: One who can keep two contradictory thoughts in mind without their head exploding? BOLD MOTORISTS CLEAR ROADS Computer model explains Bogot?'s jam-free streets. 8 June 2004, Michael Hopkin Aggressive driving can ease traffic congestion, say researchers who have created a computer model of the mean streets of Colombia's capital Bogot?. The study shows how a city's traffic build-up is influenced by the characteristic driving style of its motorists, say study authors L. E. Olmos and J. D. Mu?oz of the National University of Colombia. To understand a city's roads, you have to get inside the heads of its motorists, say Olmos and Mu?oz. "The drivers' driving is very different from city to city, and a realistic traffic model should keep in mind the particularities of each place," they say. So the pair hitched a ride with Bogot?'s motorists and measured parameters such as typical acceleration and braking distance. They then gave virtual drivers in a computer simulation a set of rules to follow that were based on their real-world measurements. Virtual traffic congestion mimicked the real thing. The results closely matched the traffic densities and average speeds of Bogot?, the team report in an online physics research bank1. Easy streets Traffic experts had previously been puzzled as to how Bogot?, with 7 million inhabitants and more than a million private cars, is so jam-free. The answer now seems that Bogot?ns are simply more aggressive than their counterparts in London, New York and other huge metropolises. But why the dare-devil style? Olmos and Mu?oz point out that, before improvements to Bogot?'s public-transport and cycling infrastructure, and restrictions on the use of private cars, the city was routinely gridlocked. Perhaps formerly frustrated motorists are now revelling in the open road. Still, freedom comes at a price, say the researchers: one in six Colombians who die a violent death meet their end in a traffic accident. References 2. Olmos, L. E. & Mu?oz, J. D.. Int. J. Mod. Phys C, arXiv preprint, http://arXiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0406065 (2004). |Article| ? Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2004 From richmond at alum.mit.edu Sat Jun 12 23:37:15 2004 From: richmond at alum.mit.edu (Jonathan E. D. Richmond) Date: Sat, 12 Jun 2004 21:37:15 +0700 (SE Asia Standard Time) Subject: [sustran] New Dartmouth/Warwick findings Message-ID: You will all doubtless be intrigued by the findings of a recent study by Dartmouth and Warwick funded by the US National Bureau of Economic Research. I just hope that this does not come to the attention of Thai politicians or we can expect to find facilities to satisfy the happiest activity offered on services that apparently currently make the public most unhappy! --Jonathan >From The Times, June 12 2004 The survey finds that sex is the thing that makes us happiest, with the highly educated more likely to find ultimate pleasure from a roll in the hay than those with fewer academic qualifications. But while sex makes us smile, the survey finds that a daily commuter trip to work is what makes us most unhappy. Sex is rated retrospectively as the activity that produces the single largest amount of happiness, the report states. Commuting to and from work produces the lowest levels of psychological wellbeing. These two activities come top and bottom, respectively, of a list of 19 activities. ----- Jonathan E. D. Richmond 02 524-5510 (office) Visiting Fellow Intl.: 662 524-5510 Transportation Engineering program School of Civil Engineering, Room N260B 02 524-8257 (home) Asian Institute of Technology Intl.: 662 524-8257 PO Box 4 Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 02 524-5509 (fax) Thailand Intl: 662 524-5509 e-mail: richmond@ait.ac.th Secretary: Ms. Nisarat Hansuksa richmond@alum.mit.edu 02 524-6051 Intl: 662 524-6051 http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/ From alan at ourpeagreenboat.co.uk Sun Jun 13 17:29:41 2004 From: alan at ourpeagreenboat.co.uk (Alan P Howes) Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2004 09:29:41 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Re: (fwd) [UTSG] transport strategy transfer In-Reply-To: <200404230411.i3N4BCA3010752@server.pelangi.or.id> References: <200404230411.i3N4BCA3010752@server.pelangi.or.id> Message-ID: Andi - Just digging around my old emails - did I ever let you have anything on this? I seem to remember it sparking off some good discussion on sustran-discuss! Alan On Fri, 23 Apr 2004 11:19:27 +0700, Andi Rahmah wrote to alan@ourpeagreenboat.co.uk: > >Dear Alan, >I'm interesting with your statement about the UK Government is now >restricting funding for new tram/metro schemes because of doubts about >the socio-economic returns, and encouraging bus-based alternatives >instead. Would you mind to give me detailed information about that? > >As you know, Jakarta has already have first corridor of busway and have >planned to build other 14 corridors. But, recently, The Jakarta city >government has signed MoU with National Government to build metro at the >first corridor of busway. > >I thank you for your kindly assistance to me. > >Best, > >Rahmah >-----Original Message----- >From: sustran-discuss-bounces+andi_rahmah=pelangi.or.id@list.jca.apc.org >[mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+andi_rahmah=pelangi.or.id@list.jca.apc.org] >On Behalf Of Alan P Howes >Sent: Jumat, 23 April 2004 4:01 >To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport >Subject: [sustran] Re: (fwd) [UTSG] transport strategy transfer > >It's worth noting, Gabby, that in the UK the government > >A policy that perhaps would benefit from being transferred? > >(Mind you, there has also been a case of a local council effectively >turning down government money to build a busway because they want >trains - which there is little realistic hope of their being able to >fund. Blame local politics!) > >Alan > > > -- Alan P Howes, Perthshire, Scotland alan@ourpeagreenboat.co.uk http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/alanhowes/ [Needs Updating!] From matthias_mueth at hotmail.com Sun Jun 13 18:20:41 2004 From: matthias_mueth at hotmail.com (matthias mueth) Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2004 11:20:41 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Re: Public Transport and Disaster Management Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040613/7f93b1a3/attachment.html From Davewetzel at tfl.gov.uk Sun Jun 13 21:25:46 2004 From: Davewetzel at tfl.gov.uk (Wetzel Dave) Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2004 13:25:46 +0100 Subject: [sustran] FW: Ken Livingstone - re-elected Mayor of London Message-ID: Delighted to inform all recipients that Ken Livingstone, the London Mayor who introduced the London Congestion Charge has been re-elected! His achievements include more police, massive improvements to bus services; our London Olympic bid passing its first hurdle etc. He has consistantly opposed the war in Iraq and supported progressive policies in the Middle East. For the future he has promised an extension to the Congestion Charge, free bus fares for children and young people in education (up to 18 years old), new rail and tram lines and more police to reduce crime in the city. Watch this space for further progress in London over the next 4 years. Dave Dave Wetzel Vice-chair, Transport for London Windsor House, 42-50 Victoria Street. London. SW1H 0TL. UK. Tel 020 7941 4200 Close to New Scotland Yard. Buses 11,24,148,211,N11 pass the door. Nearest Underground - St James's Park tube station. **************************************************************************** ******* The contents of the e-mail and any transmitted files are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. Transport for London hereby exclude any warranty and any liability as to the quality or accuracy of the contents of this email and any attached transmitted files. If you are not the intended recipient be advised that you have received this email in error and that any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing or copying of this email is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error please notify postmaster@tfl.gov.uk. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for the presence of computer viruses. **************************************************************************** ******* *********************************************************************************** The contents of the e-mail and any transmitted files are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. Transport for London hereby exclude any warranty and any liability as to the quality or accuracy of the contents of this email and any attached transmitted files. If you are not the intended recipient be advised that you have received this email in error and that any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing or copying of this email is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error please notify postmaster@tfl.gov.uk. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for the presence of computer viruses. *********************************************************************************** From vittalkumar_a at yahoo.com Mon Jun 14 22:07:31 2004 From: vittalkumar_a at yahoo.com (Vittal Kumar A.) Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 06:07:31 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] commuter satisfaction index In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20040614130731.40208.qmail@web51001.mail.yahoo.com> Hi all, At this juncture, I thought its opt to ask a question on Commuter Satisfaction Index for a public transport. Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) the local public transport corporation has set up a task force by name 'Commuter Comfort Task Force' (CCTF) aiming to evolve at what strategies and measures to be adopted to enhance commuters safisfaction. I request discussion members, to give your inputs on what forms the Customer satisfaction? is it frequency? is it comfort while travelling? free flow of traffic? pricing? courtesy? Any thoughts? What recommendations to increase the customer/commuter satisfaction index? (CSI) regards, Vittalkumar Dhage --- "Jonathan E. D. Richmond" wrote: > > You will all doubtless be intrigued by the findings > of a recent study by > Dartmouth and Warwick funded by the US National > Bureau of Economic > Research. I just hope that this does not come to the > attention of Thai > politicians or we can expect to find facilities to > satisfy the happiest > activity offered on services that apparently > currently make the public > most unhappy! --Jonathan > > > > >From The Times, June 12 2004 > > The survey finds that sex is the thing that makes us > happiest, with the > highly educated more likely to find ultimate > pleasure from a roll in the > hay than those with fewer academic qualifications. > But while sex makes us > smile, the survey finds that a daily commuter trip > to work is what makes > us most unhappy. > > Sex is rated retrospectively as the activity that > produces the single > largest amount of happiness, the report states. > Commuting to and from work > produces the lowest levels of psychological > wellbeing. These two > activities come top and bottom, respectively, of a > list of 19 activities. > > > ----- > > Jonathan E. D. Richmond > 02 524-5510 (office) > Visiting Fellow Intl.: > 662 524-5510 > Transportation Engineering program > School of Civil Engineering, Room N260B > 02 524-8257 (home) > Asian Institute of Technology Intl.: > 662 524-8257 > PO Box 4 > Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 > 02 524-5509 (fax) > Thailand Intl: > 662 524-5509 > > e-mail: richmond@ait.ac.th Secretary: > Ms. Nisarat Hansuksa > richmond@alum.mit.edu 02 > 524-6051 > Intl: 662 524-6051 > http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/ > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger. http://messenger.yahoo.com/ From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Mon Jun 14 22:58:39 2004 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric.britton@ecoplan.org) Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 15:58:39 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Ken Livingston WTN Nominations text - for final comment Message-ID: <001a01c45217$b2f6ca20$6501a8c0@home> Monday, June 14, 2004, Paris, France, Europe On Wednesday evening I must submit the final text of my nomination for the 2004 WTN Environment Award. I present it to you here, inviting your comments, suggestions and eventual fine-tuning. I have a sever word limitation, and I also cannot really do too much finger pointing if I am indeed to make the nomination. SO this is how I intend to handle it. And finally, kindest thanks to all of you who have pitched in with such wise, thought-provoking comments. If no one else does, I for one am learning a lot from this exercise. And if you have not yet pitched in with your views, now is the time to do it. Eric Britton ************************************************************************ **** E. Britton 2004 WTN Environment Award Nomination Ken Livingston, the Mayor of London, has made an enormous contribution to quality of life in our cities over the last year by showing the courage and perspicacity to plan and execute Europe's first major congestion charging project. Call it a path-showing hands-on application of the "polluter pays" principle. It is for this reason that I am proud to nominate him for the 2004 WTN Environment Award. Since February 2003 the city has charged a fee for private automobiles coming into its central area during weekdays as a way to reduce traffic congestion, improve quality of life, and raise revenues to fund future transport improvements. This technology-based project has significantly reduced traffic congestion in the target area, led to improved bus and taxi service, started to make life a bit safer for cyclists and pedestrians, and generates substantial revenues for future improvements. After a great deal of opposition at the start, public acceptance has grown and there is now support to expand the program to other parts of London and other cities in the U.K. This is the first road pricing program of its kind in a major European city. The mayor's courageous efforts -- and it took considerable courage since he was from the beginning assailed by political, economic interests, lobbies, and other forces all assuring him that this project would be a disaster for the city -- and its success suggests that congestion pricing has already become more politically feasible elsewhere. We anticipate that virtually every major city in Europe is already looking into the possibility of a project of their own along these lines, adapting and building -- and one would hope improving -- on the London experience and its lessons. For further details on this project from the official site see http://www.cclondon.com/ To check the validity of this nomination, I invited comment and views from an international panel of recognized transportation, environment and public policy experts, more than fifty of whom have responded with their views and comments. Nine out of ten have enthusiastically endorsed this nomination, indicating that this example will also stimulate new thinking and much needed innovation in Third World cities as well. For a full account of this fascinating commentary, please go to http://newmobility.org, WTN Nomination. A small number of the respondents, including some leading English experts with outstanding credentials, pointed up that if this award is given it should be with the vigorous counsel to Mayor Livingstone that he continue to pay close attention to managing the system, as opposed to the old "building your way out of the problem" approach that has led to many of the mobility and life quality problems that today plague our cities, London among them. I rest my case and this nomination in full agreement with them as well, and I hope that in the event this award is made we too will express both our appreciation for his outstanding contribution and our concern for the future. Eric Britton, The Commons, EcoPlan International, Paris From papon at inrets.fr Mon Jun 14 23:17:23 2004 From: papon at inrets.fr (Francis Papon) Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 16:17:23 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Re: commuter satisfaction index In-Reply-To: <20040614130731.40208.qmail@web51001.mail.yahoo.com> References: <20040614130731.40208.qmail@web51001.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: The Paris transport authority issues a satisfaction barometer for different modes of transport: http://www.stif-idf.fr/chiffres/transit/f-set.htm Different criteria are surveyed for the satisfaction of users: convenience, speed, on time service, en route operation incidents, accident safety, personal safety, map and schedule information, incident information, comfort, cleanliness, smelling, noise, pleasant surroundings, friendliness, cost, parking (for private car). Also the image of modes among the entire population is surveyed. The most important criterium for transit quality is safety (64%), the second is to be on time (23%). But perceptions might be different in India. Yours, Francis Papon ? (At) 6:07 -0700 14/06/04, Vittal Kumar A. ?crivait (wrote) : >Hi all, > >At this juncture, I thought its opt to ask a question >on Commuter Satisfaction Index for a public transport. > >Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) >the local public transport corporation has set up a >task force by name 'Commuter Comfort Task Force' >(CCTF) aiming to evolve at what strategies and >measures to be adopted to enhance commuters >safisfaction. > >I request discussion members, to give your inputs on >what forms the Customer satisfaction? is it frequency? >is it comfort while travelling? free flow of traffic? >pricing? courtesy? Any thoughts? > >What recommendations to increase the customer/commuter >satisfaction index? (CSI) > >regards, >Vittalkumar Dhage > >--- "Jonathan E. D. Richmond" >wrote: >> >> You will all doubtless be intrigued by the findings >> of a recent study by >> Dartmouth and Warwick funded by the US National >> Bureau of Economic >> Research. I just hope that this does not come to the >> attention of Thai >> politicians or we can expect to find facilities to >> satisfy the happiest >> activity offered on services that apparently >> currently make the public >> most unhappy! --Jonathan >> >> >> >> >From The Times, June 12 2004 >> >> The survey finds that sex is the thing that makes us >> happiest, with the >> highly educated more likely to find ultimate >> pleasure from a roll in the >> hay than those with fewer academic qualifications. >> But while sex makes us >> smile, the survey finds that a daily commuter trip >> to work is what makes >> us most unhappy. >> >> Sex is rated retrospectively as the activity that >> produces the single >> largest amount of happiness, the report states. >> Commuting to and from work >> produces the lowest levels of psychological >> wellbeing. These two >> activities come top and bottom, respectively, of a >> list of 19 activities. >> >> >> ----- > > > > Jonathan E. D. Richmond > > 02 524-5510 (office) > > Visiting Fellow Intl.: > > 662 524-5510 > > Transportation Engineering program > > School of Civil Engineering, Room N260B >> 02 524-8257 (home) >> Asian Institute of Technology Intl.: >> 662 524-8257 >> PO Box 4 >> Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 >> 02 524-5509 (fax) >> Thailand Intl: >> 662 524-5509 >> >> e-mail: richmond@ait.ac.th Secretary: >> Ms. Nisarat Hansuksa >> richmond@alum.mit.edu 02 >> 524-6051 >> Intl: 662 524-6051 >> http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/ >> > > > > > >__________________________________ >Do you Yahoo!? >Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger. >http://messenger.yahoo.com/ -- Francis Papon, mailto:francis.papon@inrets.fr tel +33147407270 Ingenieur en Chef des Ponts et Chaussees, chercheur @ INRETS/DEST/EEM, 2, av. du General Malleret-Joinville, F-94114 Arcueil France http://www.inrets.fr/ From litman at vtpi.org Tue Jun 15 01:34:53 2004 From: litman at vtpi.org (Todd Alexander Litman) Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 09:34:53 -0700 Subject: [sustran] Transport Demand Guidebook In-Reply-To: <1087221110.289d7316944ac@webmail2.leeds.ac.uk> Message-ID: <5.1.1.6.0.20040614091112.04229e58@mail.highspeedplus.com> Many of you may be interested in an important new comprehensive (246 page) Guidebook on public transport demand just released by the Transport Research Laboratory (an update of their 1980 "Black Book,"), which is now available free on the Internet. Although it focuses on UK experience, much of it is useful in other parts of the world. TRL, "The Demand for Public Transit: A Practical Guide," Transportation Research Laboratory, Report TRL 593 (www.trl.co.uk), 2004; available at www.demandforpublictransport.co.uk. Sincerely, Todd Litman, Director Victoria Transport Policy Institute "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" 1250 Rudlin Street Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560 Email: litman@vtpi.org Website: http://www.vtpi.org From ericbruun at earthlink.net Tue Jun 15 01:35:16 2004 From: ericbruun at earthlink.net (Eric Bruun) Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 12:35:16 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Correction References: <277920-22004661244524686@M2W047.mail2web.com> Message-ID: <00cf01c4522d$960da8a0$38fd45cf@earthlink.net> I meant to say Brendan Finn, not Eric Britton. My apologies. Eric Bruun ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Cc: Sent: Saturday, June 12, 2004 12:45 AM Subject: [sustran] Re: Technology for Taxi dispatch I had mentioned that for demand responsive minibuses "the cost should be much lower than taxi, and the service much better than regular bus". Of course congestion will delay any operations, but part of the skill is to make realistic commitments to the customer. Also, SMS can be used to notify the customer of delay (somewhat negative use), or to advise them say 10 minutes before arrival (more positive use) so that waiting time is minimised. The US paratransit experience may not be so relevant to Mumbai if the pick-up/drop-off points are far apart. In a dense city like Mumbai, I expect that a dispatcher (manual or auto) would cluster the pick-ups and/or drop-offs so that they are close to each other with minimum deviation. Within the FAMS project, (see www.famsweb.com ) a key aspect we examined was the concept of a "Mobility Agency" for flexible transport. This can be actual or virtual, but effectively acts as a concentrator of both travel requests and available transport services. The business and technical platform offers a set of business-to-customer (B2C) services covering the many different channels through which the customer can seek information, register demand, make booking, receive confirmation etc. On the other side it has a set of business-to-business (B2B) services which interfaces with the different providers of the transport services. Within FAMS we developed much of the applicable system architecture and structural issues. This overcomes much of the inertia or the barriers faced by the individual operators whose scale is too small to justify investment, develop markets, find the customers etc. The big challenge in DRT has always been how to find out about the diffuse customer demand (which does exist) in time to offer the customer solutions which meet his/her needs and is affordable to both the customer and the operator. There are issues about the individual owner-driver or the small operator participating in a scheme run by either a large entity or a commercial VASP. Here you can take one of two basic attitudes. The first is big = bad, and that the small guy is always going to lose out. So, nothing happens. The second is that big is the only way to achieve the critical mass, and that being part of it helps you develop your business. There are various mechanisms which can be used to ensure reasonable allocation of work. Incidentally, unfair allocation inevitably means that you are missing either cost-reduction or service quality opportunities. As I indicated in one of the previous mails, I think that in the European research effort we have developed a lot of the needed solutions. While there may yet be potential for large-scale flexible transport in European cities as an alternative to car travel, the huge potential is in Asian cities where the transport services already exist, and the take-up of mobile phones provides the B2C plaftorm, and can indeed also be used for dispatching purposes since almost all drivers have them. I think that this is one of the valid areas where technology-based solutions can be integrated with relatively-basic transport. The technology is primarily the software at the dispatching centre, and hence it is not necessary to put expensive equipment in every vehicle. It could be very interesting to see what India's IT sector could do in a JV with European or American firms who have developed the approaches until now. With best wishes, Brendan Finn. Original Message: ----------------- From: Eric Bruun ericbruun@earthlink.net Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 12:40:54 -0400 To: WorldTransport-Focus@yahoogroups.com, WorldTransport@yahoogroups.com, Sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org Subject: [sustran] Re: Technology for Taxi dispatch I work with Computer Aided Dispatching (CAD) technology in the US of A. Even here, paratransit vehicles often have trouble making appointments on time due to unforeseen traffic. I imagine that, if Mumbai is as congested as it sounds, it would be extremely hard to efficiently schedule single-ride taxis. This is even more so for shared-ride taxis. Furthermore, to justify the investment in CAD, there must be multiple users. Thus, small owners would have to belong to a cooperative and trust that there is no favoratism being shown to other owners. Eric ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Cc: ; Sent: Friday, June 11, 2004 1:51 AM Subject: [WorldTransport-Focus] Taxi operations in Mumbai (and elsewhere) > Friday, June 11, 2004, Paris, France, Europe > > As our long time colleagues Brendan Finn and Bina Balakrishnan point out in the pair of attached emails to the Sustran group, a most interesting dialogue on taxi operations and innovation is opening up there which has application in most parts of the world. While the immediate focus of the discussions is the present situation in Mumbai, the issues are ones that face just about all of us. > > Fortunately if you want to catch up on these exchanges, all you have to do is go to the New Mobility Agenda at http://newmobility.org and click the Discussion Groups, and there at the very top the email library of The Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia & the Pacific is right at the top of the pile. > > Recommended. > > Eric Britton > > > ====================== > > -----Original Message----- > Behalf Of Brendan Finn > Sent: Monday, June 07, 2004 10:55 AM > To: Bina C. Balakrishnan; Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport > Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai > > Dear Bina, > > This has become an interesting strand, because we can now see that there are many actions being considered in parallel. Single dimension solutions are rarely successful in solving complex problems, so the news from Mumbai is quite encouraging. > > Two small suggestions about the content of your mail : > > a) Your suggested approach of using parking as a travel demand management tool is very appropriate, provided there is the will to enforce it. This was used quite effectively in Dublin during the 1980's when there was no will to use any other measures. Of course, it is low-cost, low-investment and very simple, although it attracts direct opposition from car owners. I think the critical success factor is to get traders to accept that no parking and controlled deliveries is much better for their business (individually and for the whole street). The parking aproach has now become more sophisticated since there are better trafiic control measures with which to integrate. If you wish, I can give you a broad overview from memory, and recommend who to talk to in the city for the facts. > > b) For the 'dial-a-cab' facility, there are perhaps three options to consider. The first is for the individual booking, so perhaps systems like Singapore where the cab companies provide a very good booking facility and usually you get the cab to your door in 2-5 minutes. The second is shared taxi, so here the dispatch centre acts as a broker among people who want taxi service, but are willing to share cost and comfort. The third is demand responsive minibuses, where the cost should be much lower than taxi, and the service much better than regular bus. A lot of work has been done in Europe on these options in developing both the operating scenarios and the booking and dispatch technologies, although the reailty is that the most suitable passenger markets are in Asia. Again, if you are interested, I can give you some overviews and put you in touch with information sources. Being realistic, these type of services are not for the poor (at least in our current generation). However, there is a significant market that has both affordability and desire for medium-quality transportation. They can support such services, and if they don't have something of acceptable quality, then they will acquire personal motorised transport even if it is hard on them financially. It would be intersting to know what is the uptake of mobile phones in Mumbai, since SMS can be a very effective and cheap tool for making bookings and receiving confirmations - once the public has the communication device, the main financial barrier is removed. > > I will now look at your website to learn more about Bombay First. > > With best wishes, > > > Brendan Finn. _______________________________________________________________________ > Contact details are : e-mail : etts@indigo.ie tel : +353.87.2530286 > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" > To: "Puttanna S.Honaganahalli" > Cc: "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" > Sent: Monday, June 07, 2004 8:34 AM > Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai > > > Dear Mr Mehta, Puttanna, > > Thank you very much for your inputs. > At the outset, I have to tell you that we (Bombay First) are primarily initiators of change. We do not go into the finer details of design and implementation of the project, but identify areas for possible improvement, study the broad aspects of the same, and make recommendations to the concerned authorities / agencies for detailed study or implementation. Do visit our web-site at > > http://www.bombayfirst.org > > To respond to your comments, we have already considered most of them in the study framework. > > Yes, one of our objectives is to examine the feasibility of shifting some work trips by private cars to taxi trips, but the economics have to be in favour of this(!!) > > Augmenting public transport has always been a priority, and the BEST are going about it in a very systematic way. However, there is also a project that has been lying with the Municipal Corporation for almost 2 years, where I have recommended the use of parking as a demand management tool in Mumbai. The idea is to bring all street side parking under the pay and park scheme, banning it altogether on arterial roads, and raising the parking charges substantially from the very nominal Rs 5 per hour that it is today. The restriction on arterial roads is expected to release kerb-side lanes for exclusive bus lanes, and the higher charges and limited availability of parking will hopefully induce people to car pool and /or use public transport. However, for various reasons, the project is still lying with the MCGB. > > Yes, we have included the dial- a- cab facility in this study, and the new models of cabs can be designed to have a more prominent display of the vehicle for hire flag. As for raising fares - that is the moot point- we need to work out some other way of keeping the vehicles in better shape- hence the consideration of the operator system. But as Brendan has said, since we are looking to replace old vehicles with new in a low wage, low tariff situation, the finances will not fit easily. Hence, we are looking into subsidies for the new purchases, or some financial arrangement whereby the changeover can be made more attractive. > > About removing hurdles- I assume you are referring to the restrictions on autos plying beyond Bandra? Well, I don't think it would be a good idea for them to come further south. I think they are driven very rashly, and their high maneuverability make them initiators of accidents, and besides, South Mumbai is doing very nicely without them! > > Restriction on car ownership? I think I'd best leave that to you, Mr. Mehta! > > Best regards, > Bina > > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> > Yahoo! Domains - Claim yours for only $14.70 > http://us.click.yahoo.com/Z1wmxD/DREIAA/yQLSAA/KlSolB/TM > --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> > > Post message: WorldTransport-Focus@yahoogroups.com > Subscribe: WorldTransport-Focus-subscribe@yahoogroups.com > Unsubscribe email to: WorldTransport-Focus-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > Questions to: WorldTransport-Focus-owner@yahoogroups.com > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WorldTransport-Focus/ > > <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > WorldTransport-Focus-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ . From ericbruun at earthlink.net Tue Jun 15 01:52:56 2004 From: ericbruun at earthlink.net (Eric Bruun) Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 12:52:56 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: selection of Transport Strategies References: <200404230411.i3N4BCA3010752@server.pelangi.or.id> Message-ID: <010101c45230$0cfafe20$38fd45cf@earthlink.net> Andi I also want to point out that the UK is just one place. There are other countries in Europe, as well as numerous cities in the US and Canada, where policy makers and citizens feel otherwise. The UK is a special case. First, it requires the use of private money, so-called Private Finance Initiatives, and the investors bear a risk of any revenue shortfall. The Croydon Tramlink investors suffered when revenues where lower than forecast. Riders used regional fare instruments, as fares are controlled by Transport for London, not themselves. Other investors saw what happened. Thus, they put a risk premium in their plans so the construction costs have ballooned in the last few years. Furthermore, outside of London, the Office of Trading Practices (or some title similar to that), won't permit plans that involve removal of parallel bus routes and development of new trunk/branch networks that redeploy the bus hours elsewhere, arguing that the rail investors are trying to get rid of their competition. This is viewed as a very primitive and ideological stance anywhere else in Europe or in North America. Eric ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alan P Howes" To: "Andi Rahmah" Cc: "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" Sent: Sunday, June 13, 2004 4:29 AM Subject: [sustran] Re: (fwd) [UTSG] transport strategy transfer Andi - Just digging around my old emails - did I ever let you have anything on this? I seem to remember it sparking off some good discussion on sustran-discuss! Alan On Fri, 23 Apr 2004 11:19:27 +0700, Andi Rahmah wrote to alan@ourpeagreenboat.co.uk: > >Dear Alan, >I'm interesting with your statement about the UK Government is now >restricting funding for new tram/metro schemes because of doubts about >the socio-economic returns, and encouraging bus-based alternatives >instead. Would you mind to give me detailed information about that? > >As you know, Jakarta has already have first corridor of busway and have >planned to build other 14 corridors. But, recently, The Jakarta city >government has signed MoU with National Government to build metro at the >first corridor of busway. > >I thank you for your kindly assistance to me. > >Best, > >Rahmah >-----Original Message----- >From: sustran-discuss-bounces+andi_rahmah=pelangi.or.id@list.jca.apc.org >[mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+andi_rahmah=pelangi.or.id@list.jca.apc.org] >On Behalf Of Alan P Howes >Sent: Jumat, 23 April 2004 4:01 >To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport >Subject: [sustran] Re: (fwd) [UTSG] transport strategy transfer > >It's worth noting, Gabby, that in the UK the government > >A policy that perhaps would benefit from being transferred? > >(Mind you, there has also been a case of a local council effectively >turning down government money to build a busway because they want >trains - which there is little realistic hope of their being able to >fund. Blame local politics!) > >Alan > > > -- Alan P Howes, Perthshire, Scotland alan@ourpeagreenboat.co.uk http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/alanhowes/ [Needs Updating!] From richmond at alum.mit.edu Tue Jun 15 02:58:42 2004 From: richmond at alum.mit.edu (Jonathan E. D. Richmond) Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2004 00:58:42 +0700 (SE Asia Standard Time) Subject: [sustran] Re: selection of Transport Strategies In-Reply-To: <010101c45230$0cfafe20$38fd45cf@earthlink.net> References: <200404230411.i3N4BCA3010752@server.pelangi.or.id> <010101c45230$0cfafe20$38fd45cf@earthlink.net> Message-ID: On Mon, 14 Jun 2004, Eric Bruun wrote: > Andi > > I also want to point out that the UK is just one place. There are other > countries in Europe, as well as numerous cities in the US and Canada, where > policy makers and citizens feel otherwise. > > The UK is a special case. First, it requires the use of private money, > so-called Private Finance Initiatives, and the investors bear a risk of any > revenue shortfall. If you read Bent Flybjerg's "Megaprojects and Risk," you'll see that that is a good thing! The Croydon Tramlink investors suffered when revenues > where lower than forecast. Revenues are almost always lower than forecast! Riders used regional fare instruments, as fares > are controlled by Transport for London, not themselves. Other investors saw > what happened. Thus, they put a risk premium in their plans so the > construction costs have ballooned in the last few years. That is helpful as it makes it less likely that unworthy projects will come to fruition. Furthermore, > outside of London, the Office of Trading Practices (or some title similar to > that), won't permit plans that involve removal of parallel bus routes and > development of new trunk/branch networks that redeploy the bus hours > elsewhere, arguing that the rail investors are trying to get rid of their > competition. This is viewed as a very primitive and ideological stance > anywhere else in Europe or in North America. > Not necessarily. Bus lines provide a different service type, with more frequent stops and serving more locations. Often, removing parallel buses would mean a real loss in service. In and around Croydon, buses serve a variety of housing areas and shopping facilities not directly on the rail system. It is very interesting to see what is happening with new light rail developments in Singapore. Initially, competing bus services were discontinued. There have been such protests, however, that many of them are being restored. --Jonathan > Eric > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Alan P Howes" > To: "Andi Rahmah" > Cc: "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" > > Sent: Sunday, June 13, 2004 4:29 AM > Subject: [sustran] Re: (fwd) [UTSG] transport strategy transfer > > > Andi - > > Just digging around my old emails - did I ever let you have anything > on this? I seem to remember it sparking off some good discussion on > sustran-discuss! > > Alan > > On Fri, 23 Apr 2004 11:19:27 +0700, Andi Rahmah > wrote to alan@ourpeagreenboat.co.uk: > > > > >Dear Alan, > >I'm interesting with your statement about the UK Government is now > >restricting funding for new tram/metro schemes because of doubts about > >the socio-economic returns, and encouraging bus-based alternatives > >instead. Would you mind to give me detailed information about that? > > > >As you know, Jakarta has already have first corridor of busway and have > >planned to build other 14 corridors. But, recently, The Jakarta city > >government has signed MoU with National Government to build metro at the > >first corridor of busway. > > > >I thank you for your kindly assistance to me. > > > >Best, > > > >Rahmah > >-----Original Message----- > >From: sustran-discuss-bounces+andi_rahmah=pelangi.or.id@list.jca.apc.org > >[mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+andi_rahmah=pelangi.or.id@list.jca.apc.org] > >On Behalf Of Alan P Howes > >Sent: Jumat, 23 April 2004 4:01 > >To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport > >Subject: [sustran] Re: (fwd) [UTSG] transport strategy transfer > > > >It's worth noting, Gabby, that in the UK the government > > > >A policy that perhaps would benefit from being transferred? > > > >(Mind you, there has also been a case of a local council effectively > >turning down government money to build a busway because they want > >trains - which there is little realistic hope of their being able to > >fund. Blame local politics!) > > > >Alan > > > > > > > > -- > Alan P Howes, Perthshire, Scotland > alan@ourpeagreenboat.co.uk > http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/alanhowes/ [Needs Updating!] > > ----- Jonathan E. D. Richmond 02 524-5510 (office) Visiting Fellow Intl.: 662 524-5510 Transportation Engineering program School of Civil Engineering, Room N260B 02 524-8257 (home) Asian Institute of Technology Intl.: 662 524-8257 PO Box 4 Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 02 524-5509 (fax) Thailand Intl: 662 524-5509 e-mail: richmond@ait.ac.th Secretary: Ms. Nisarat Hansuksa richmond@alum.mit.edu 02 524-6051 Intl: 662 524-6051 http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/ From ajain at kcrc.com Tue Jun 15 10:25:03 2004 From: ajain at kcrc.com (Jain Alok) Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2004 09:25:03 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Re: commuter satisfaction index Message-ID: <07B178BAA415FB4A9C9B4AA845F1F2C6259E10@smail1pa.corp.kcrc.com> Dear Vittal, We measure Customer Satisfaction broadly in four categories: - Station/Stop Services and Facilities - Train/Bus service and facilities - Staff attitude - Price (value for money) Each of these categories have further sub-attributes depending on characteristics of individual system. Also CSI alone does not provide the complete picture with respect to customer satisfaction. Satisfaction profile is also important which tells the service planners where exactly to focus. Alok -----Original Message----- From: Vittal Kumar A. [mailto:vittalkumar_a@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, June 14, 2004 9:08 PM To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport Subject: [sustran] commuter satisfaction index Hi all, At this juncture, I thought its opt to ask a question on Commuter Satisfaction Index for a public transport. Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) the local public transport corporation has set up a task force by name 'Commuter Comfort Task Force' (CCTF) aiming to evolve at what strategies and measures to be adopted to enhance commuters safisfaction. I request discussion members, to give your inputs on what forms the Customer satisfaction? is it frequency? is it comfort while travelling? free flow of traffic? pricing? courtesy? Any thoughts? What recommendations to increase the customer/commuter satisfaction index? (CSI) regards, Vittalkumar Dhage --- "Jonathan E. D. Richmond" wrote: > > You will all doubtless be intrigued by the findings > of a recent study by > Dartmouth and Warwick funded by the US National > Bureau of Economic > Research. I just hope that this does not come to the > attention of Thai > politicians or we can expect to find facilities to > satisfy the happiest > activity offered on services that apparently > currently make the public > most unhappy! --Jonathan > > > > >From The Times, June 12 2004 > > The survey finds that sex is the thing that makes us > happiest, with the > highly educated more likely to find ultimate > pleasure from a roll in the > hay than those with fewer academic qualifications. > But while sex makes us > smile, the survey finds that a daily commuter trip > to work is what makes > us most unhappy. > > Sex is rated retrospectively as the activity that > produces the single > largest amount of happiness, the report states. > Commuting to and from work > produces the lowest levels of psychological > wellbeing. These two > activities come top and bottom, respectively, of a > list of 19 activities. > > > ----- > > Jonathan E. D. Richmond > 02 524-5510 (office) > Visiting Fellow Intl.: > 662 524-5510 > Transportation Engineering program > School of Civil Engineering, Room N260B > 02 524-8257 (home) > Asian Institute of Technology Intl.: > 662 524-8257 > PO Box 4 > Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 > 02 524-5509 (fax) > Thailand Intl: > 662 524-5509 > > e-mail: richmond@ait.ac.th Secretary: > Ms. Nisarat Hansuksa > richmond@alum.mit.edu 02 > 524-6051 > Intl: 662 524-6051 > http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/ > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger. http://messenger.yahoo.com/ This email and any attachment to it may contain confidential or proprietary information that are intended solely for the person / entity to whom it was originally addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distributing or any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, arrive late or contain viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the context of this message which arise as a result of transmission over the Internet. No opinions contained herein shall be construed as being a formal disclosure or commitment of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation unless specifically so stated. From psh at isec.ac.in Mon Jun 14 23:10:14 2004 From: psh at isec.ac.in (Puttanna S. Honaganahalli) Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 19:40:14 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: commuter satisfaction index References: <07B178BAA415FB4A9C9B4AA845F1F2C6259E10@smail1pa.corp.kcrc.com> Message-ID: <003201c45219$56784880$0201a8c0@isec.ac.in> Customer Satisfaction? What is satisfaction? To presume that the definition of satisfaction is going to be the same for all peoples in the world - Americans, Europeans, East Asians, South Asians etc., - will lead you to erroneous results. This mistake of copying foreign models and applying it to local situations has been repeated time and again. The history of third world development is replete with myriad examples of failure of foreign models. You need to find out from among your customers, i.e., your city bus riders, as to what gives them statisfaction, and from there will evolve the definition of Customer Satisfaction for Bangalore city. Once you have that down, coming up with an index to prioritize which attributes provides maximum satisfaction is the next step. You can pose this question, as well, to your public transport riders and they will provide you with the answers. Basically, you need to go out and talk to your city bus commuters and LISTEN CAREFULLY to what they have to say. Thanks Puttanna S. Honaganahalli Ph.D. Ecological Economics Unit Institute for Social and Economics Change (ISEC) Nagarabhavi, Bangalore 560 072 India Phone: 91-80-2321-5468 x120 Fax: 91-80-2321-7008 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jain Alok" To: "'Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport'" Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2004 6:55 AM Subject: [sustran] Re: commuter satisfaction index > Dear Vittal, > > We measure Customer Satisfaction broadly in four categories: > > - Station/Stop Services and Facilities > - Train/Bus service and facilities > - Staff attitude > - Price (value for money) > > Each of these categories have further sub-attributes depending on > characteristics of individual system. Also CSI alone does not provide the > complete picture with respect to customer satisfaction. Satisfaction profile > is also important which tells the service planners where exactly to focus. > > Alok > -----Original Message----- > From: Vittal Kumar A. [mailto:vittalkumar_a@yahoo.com] > Sent: Monday, June 14, 2004 9:08 PM > To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport > Subject: [sustran] commuter satisfaction index > > > Hi all, > > At this juncture, I thought its opt to ask a question > on Commuter Satisfaction Index for a public transport. > > Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) > the local public transport corporation has set up a > task force by name 'Commuter Comfort Task Force' > (CCTF) aiming to evolve at what strategies and > measures to be adopted to enhance commuters > safisfaction. > > I request discussion members, to give your inputs on > what forms the Customer satisfaction? is it frequency? > is it comfort while travelling? free flow of traffic? > pricing? courtesy? Any thoughts? > > What recommendations to increase the customer/commuter > satisfaction index? (CSI) > > regards, > Vittalkumar Dhage > > --- "Jonathan E. D. Richmond" > wrote: > > > > You will all doubtless be intrigued by the findings > > of a recent study by > > Dartmouth and Warwick funded by the US National > > Bureau of Economic > > Research. I just hope that this does not come to the > > attention of Thai > > politicians or we can expect to find facilities to > > satisfy the happiest > > activity offered on services that apparently > > currently make the public > > most unhappy! --Jonathan > > > > > > > > >From The Times, June 12 2004 > > > > The survey finds that sex is the thing that makes us > > happiest, with the > > highly educated more likely to find ultimate > > pleasure from a roll in the > > hay than those with fewer academic qualifications. > > But while sex makes us > > smile, the survey finds that a daily commuter trip > > to work is what makes > > us most unhappy. > > > > Sex is rated retrospectively as the activity that > > produces the single > > largest amount of happiness, the report states. > > Commuting to and from work > > produces the lowest levels of psychological > > wellbeing. These two > > activities come top and bottom, respectively, of a > > list of 19 activities. > > > > > > ----- > > > > Jonathan E. D. Richmond > > 02 524-5510 (office) > > Visiting Fellow Intl.: > > 662 524-5510 > > Transportation Engineering program > > School of Civil Engineering, Room N260B > > 02 524-8257 (home) > > Asian Institute of Technology Intl.: > > 662 524-8257 > > PO Box 4 > > Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 > > 02 524-5509 (fax) > > Thailand Intl: > > 662 524-5509 > > > > e-mail: richmond@ait.ac.th Secretary: > > Ms. Nisarat Hansuksa > > richmond@alum.mit.edu 02 > > 524-6051 > > Intl: 662 524-6051 > > http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/ > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger. > http://messenger.yahoo.com/ > > > This email and any attachment to it may contain confidential or proprietary > information that are intended solely for the person / entity to whom it was > originally addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, any > disclosure, copying, distributing or any action taken or omitted to be taken > in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. > Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as > information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, arrive late or contain > viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or > omissions in the context of this message which arise as a result of > transmission over the Internet. > No opinions contained herein shall be construed as being a formal disclosure > or commitment of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation unless specifically > so stated. > From kisansbc at vsnl.com Tue Jun 15 15:47:07 2004 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (Kisan Mehta) Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2004 12:17:07 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: commuter satisfaction index References: <07B178BAA415FB4A9C9B4AA845F1F2C6259E10@smail1pa.corp.kcrc.com> <003201c45219$56784880$0201a8c0@isec.ac.in> Message-ID: <001001c452a4$94379000$3226020a@im.eth.net> Dear Colleagues, We have noticed that the commuter looks for a service that is safe, direct, affordable, quick between his origin and destination. To this must be added pollution free and not unhealthy. Travel in a suburban train or intercity train that provides to the commuter journey back and forth for reaching and returning from the work place, if crowded, certainly does not give satisfaction. So also the bus travel where other modes like personal car, heavy duty vehicles obsruct public bus carrying 30 to 50 -qsswngers is also not sarisfying. One more development that has come up without public noticing but the authorities and bus operators pursuing is diversion of public bus to a longer crowded route during road repairs while personal cars use the old direct road, construction of flyovers built at public cost for private vehicles, absence of pavements for pedestrians etc. Floyvers that come up on the plea that columns to put up the flyover would occupy only minimum space say 3-5 sq m on the existing road The public agency that builds hires the width on the existing road equivalent to the width of of the flyover for parking of vehicles significantly cutting fown the existing carriageway and delay the movement of public buses. Absence of pavements is a permanent accident hazard. Citizens including commuters are not satisfied from this predicament. The World Bank in its Project Appraisal Document while sanctioning the loan for the Mumbai Urban Transport Project has observed that Mumbai has amongst the highest road accident rate and pedestrians form 95% of the victims. Commuters are first and last pedestrians. We feel that a comprehensive questionnaire covering all direct and indirect aspects should prepared and citizens should be made aware of the same. Meetings and consultations should take place with the citizens to feel the cittizen responses on all issues that affect the services. Certainly we should not follow the set approach developed for human settlements in hte developed countries. Practically all settlemetns in the developing countries arte first of all suffering from shortages, over crowding and high priory for motorisation. Absence for citizen safety and satisfacftion are lacking in our policy makers and bureaucrats. This situation needs to be reversed. Best wishes. Kisan Mehta Tel: 00 91 22 2414 9688 ========================== ---- Original Message ----- From: "Puttanna S. Honaganahalli" To: "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" Subject: commuter satisfaction index > Customer Satisfaction? What is satisfaction? To presume that the definition > of satisfaction is going to be the same for all peoples in the world - > Americans, Europeans, East Asians, South Asians etc., - will lead you to > erroneous results. This mistake of copying foreign models and applying it to > local situations has been repeated time and again. The history of third > world development is replete with myriad examples of failure of foreign > models. > > You need to find out from among your customers, i.e., your city bus riders, > as to what gives them statisfaction, and from there will evolve the > definition of Customer Satisfaction for Bangalore city. Once you have that > down, coming up with an index to prioritize which attributes provides > maximum satisfaction is the next step. You can pose this question, as well, > to your public transport riders and they will provide you with the answers. > Basically, you need to go out and talk to your city bus commuters and LISTEN > CAREFULLY to what they have to say. > > Thanks > > Puttanna S. Honaganahalli Ph.D. > Ecological Economics Unit > Institute for Social and Economics Change (ISEC) > Nagarabhavi, Bangalore 560 072 > Phone: 91-80-2321-5468 x120 > Fax: 91-80-2321-7008 > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jain Alok" > To: "'Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport'" > > Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2004 6:55 AM > Subject: [sustran] Re: commuter satisfaction index > > > Dear Vittal, > > > > We measure Customer Satisfaction broadly in four categories: > > > Station/Stop Services and Facilities > Train/Bus service and facilities > Staff attitude > Price (value for money) > > > > Each of these categories have further sub-attributes depending on cgaracteristics of individual system. Also CSI alone does not provide the complete picture with respect to customer satisfaction. Satisfaction profile is also important which tells the service planners where exactly to focus. > > > > Alok > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Vittal Kumar A. [mailto:vittalkumar_a@yahoo.com] > > Sent: Monday, June 14, 2004 9:08 PM > > To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport > > Subject: [sustran] commuter satisfaction index > > > > > > Hi all, > > > > At this juncture, I thought its opt to ask a question > > on Commuter Satisfaction Index for a public transport. > > > > Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) > > the local public transport corporation has set up a > > task force by name 'Commuter Comfort Task Force' > > (CCTF) aiming to evolve at what strategies and > > measures to be adopted to enhance commuters safisfaction. > > > > I request discussion members, to give your inputs on > > what forms the Customer satisfaction? is it frequency? > > is it comfort while travelling? free flow of traffic? > > pricing? courtesy? Any thoughts? > > > > What recommendations to increase the customer/commuter > > satisfaction index? (CSI) > > > > regards, > > Vittalkumar Dhage From litman at vtpi.org Tue Jun 15 22:40:13 2004 From: litman at vtpi.org (Todd Alexander Litman) Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2004 06:40:13 -0700 Subject: [sustran] Transport Demand Guidebook Message-ID: <5.1.1.6.0.20040615064000.03e54008@mail.highspeedplus.com> Many of you may be interested in an important new comprehensive (246 page) Guidebook on public transport demand just released by the Transport Research Laboratory (an update of their 1980 "Black Book,"), which is now available free on the Internet. Although it focuses on UK experience, much of it is useful in other parts of the world. TRL, "The Demand for Public Transit: A Practical Guide," Transportation Research Laboratory, Report TRL 593 (www.trl.co.uk), 2004; available at www.demandforpublictransport.co.uk. Sincerely, Todd Litman, Director Victoria Transport Policy Institute "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" 1250 Rudlin Street Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560 Email: litman@vtpi.org Website: http://www.vtpi.org From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Wed Jun 16 19:18:46 2004 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric.britton@ecoplan.org) Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 12:18:46 +0200 Subject: [sustran] - Last Call - Livingstone/London Congestion Pricing Prize Nomination Message-ID: <007a01c4538b$50e263b0$6501a8c0@home> Wednesday, June 16, 2004, Paris, France, Europe Dear Friends, Please excuse me for so doggedly insisting on this, but we must get back to the WTN team with our final nomination and supporting commentaries before next Monday the 21st, noon at the latest. Again, you will find all that you need for this I would like to think enjoyable hike through the woods of sustainable mobility and the politics of the possible, if you go to http://newmobility.org and there click the WTN Nomination link. You will find some food for thought in the first forty commentaries that have been registered, and if you fear that our society is producing sheep-like agreement and indifference, this will be a refreshing experience in variety and, indeed, passion. At the core of this is the ultimate and unbudgeable sustainability challenge of making changes out on the street and in people's daily lives, and not just on paper and in conferences. We can be handsome on the rostrum, splendid in print, greater yet in agreeing with like-minded colleagues, but if we don't somehow do our bit to get the job done on the street, then we are ivory tower residents and that's it. So dear friends, let me see if I can encourage you to consider all this in the very specific case of one mayor who has had the courage to break pattern in his city a way that has wide international implications, and who for the rest may or may not be your favorite sustainability activist -- but in this context who cares? In a world that needs new ideas and approaches in action, we have to be grateful to people like Jaime Lerner, Enrique Pe?alosa and, yes, even the irascible Ken Livingstone for inching us toward new and more sustainable mobility patterns. So if that?s what it takes, swallow your pride and vote for Ken. Or alternatively tell us all the good reasons that we should be withdrawing this nomination (and I guess sit back and wait for the Second Coming). Again that's http://newmobility.org. Your servant, Eric Britton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040616/0b4264a2/attachment.html From tara.bartee at dot.state.fl.us Sat Jun 19 06:05:29 2004 From: tara.bartee at dot.state.fl.us (tara.bartee@dot.state.fl.us) Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2004 17:05:29 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: Sustran-discuss Digest, Vol 10, Issue 19 In-Reply-To: <20040616030105.20CE52D6C1@mx-list.jca.ne.jp> Message-ID: See the transit capacity and quality of service manual for good discussion of various potential measures of customer satisfaction. http://www.trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=2326 Chapter 3. Standards vary by location, but the measures remain the same. In March 60 degrees Fahrenheit is a very warm day in Moscow, and quite cool in Lagos, but it is still 60 degrees Fahrenheit in both places. Tara Bartee Public Transit Office FDOT Voice 850-414-4520 FAX 850-414-4508 E-Mail tara.bartee@dot.state.fl.us sustran-discuss-r equest@list.jca.a pc.org To Sent by: sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org sustran-discuss-b cc ounces+tara.barte e=dot.state.fl.us Subject @list.jca.apc.org Sustran-discuss Digest, Vol 10, Issue 19 06/15/2004 11:01 PM Please respond to sustran-discuss@l ist.jca.apc.org Send Sustran-discuss mailing list submissions to sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to sustran-discuss-request@list.jca.apc.org You can reach the person managing the list at sustran-discuss-owner@list.jca.apc.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Sustran-discuss digest..." ######################################################################## Sustran-discuss Mailing List Digest About this mailing list see: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss ######################################################################## Today's Topics: 1. Re: commuter satisfaction index (Puttanna S. Honaganahalli) 2. Re: commuter satisfaction index (Kisan Mehta) 3. Transport Demand Guidebook (Todd Alexander Litman) ----- Message from "Puttanna S. Honaganahalli" on Mon, 14 Jun 2004 19:40:14 +0530 ----- To: "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" Subject [sustran] Re: commuter satisfaction index : Customer Satisfaction? What is satisfaction? To presume that the definition of satisfaction is going to be the same for all peoples in the world - Americans, Europeans, East Asians, South Asians etc., - will lead you to erroneous results. This mistake of copying foreign models and applying it to local situations has been repeated time and again. The history of third world development is replete with myriad examples of failure of foreign models. You need to find out from among your customers, i.e., your city bus riders, as to what gives them statisfaction, and from there will evolve the definition of Customer Satisfaction for Bangalore city. Once you have that down, coming up with an index to prioritize which attributes provides maximum satisfaction is the next step. You can pose this question, as well, to your public transport riders and they will provide you with the answers. Basically, you need to go out and talk to your city bus commuters and LISTEN CAREFULLY to what they have to say. Thanks Puttanna S. Honaganahalli Ph.D. Ecological Economics Unit Institute for Social and Economics Change (ISEC) Nagarabhavi, Bangalore 560 072 India Phone: 91-80-2321-5468 x120 Fax: 91-80-2321-7008 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jain Alok" To: "'Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport'" Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2004 6:55 AM Subject: [sustran] Re: commuter satisfaction index > Dear Vittal, > > We measure Customer Satisfaction broadly in four categories: > > - Station/Stop Services and Facilities > - Train/Bus service and facilities > - Staff attitude > - Price (value for money) > > Each of these categories have further sub-attributes depending on > characteristics of individual system. Also CSI alone does not provide the > complete picture with respect to customer satisfaction. Satisfaction profile > is also important which tells the service planners where exactly to focus. > > Alok > -----Original Message----- > From: Vittal Kumar A. [mailto:vittalkumar_a@yahoo.com] > Sent: Monday, June 14, 2004 9:08 PM > To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport > Subject: [sustran] commuter satisfaction index > > > Hi all, > > At this juncture, I thought its opt to ask a question > on Commuter Satisfaction Index for a public transport. > > Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) > the local public transport corporation has set up a > task force by name 'Commuter Comfort Task Force' > (CCTF) aiming to evolve at what strategies and > measures to be adopted to enhance commuters > safisfaction. > > I request discussion members, to give your inputs on > what forms the Customer satisfaction? is it frequency? > is it comfort while travelling? free flow of traffic? > pricing? courtesy? Any thoughts? > > What recommendations to increase the customer/commuter > satisfaction index? (CSI) > > regards, > Vittalkumar Dhage > > --- "Jonathan E. D. Richmond" > wrote: > > > > You will all doubtless be intrigued by the findings > > of a recent study by > > Dartmouth and Warwick funded by the US National > > Bureau of Economic > > Research. I just hope that this does not come to the > > attention of Thai > > politicians or we can expect to find facilities to > > satisfy the happiest > > activity offered on services that apparently > > currently make the public > > most unhappy! --Jonathan > > > > > > > > >From The Times, June 12 2004 > > > > The survey finds that sex is the thing that makes us > > happiest, with the > > highly educated more likely to find ultimate > > pleasure from a roll in the > > hay than those with fewer academic qualifications. > > But while sex makes us > > smile, the survey finds that a daily commuter trip > > to work is what makes > > us most unhappy. > > > > Sex is rated retrospectively as the activity that > > produces the single > > largest amount of happiness, the report states. > > Commuting to and from work > > produces the lowest levels of psychological > > wellbeing. These two > > activities come top and bottom, respectively, of a > > list of 19 activities. > > > > > > ----- > > > > Jonathan E. D. Richmond > > 02 524-5510 (office) > > Visiting Fellow Intl.: > > 662 524-5510 > > Transportation Engineering program > > School of Civil Engineering, Room N260B > > 02 524-8257 (home) > > Asian Institute of Technology Intl.: > > 662 524-8257 > > PO Box 4 > > Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 > > 02 524-5509 (fax) > > Thailand Intl: > > 662 524-5509 > > > > e-mail: richmond@ait.ac.th Secretary: > > Ms. Nisarat Hansuksa > > richmond@alum.mit.edu 02 > > 524-6051 > > Intl: 662 524-6051 > > http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/ > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger. > http://messenger.yahoo.com/ > > > This email and any attachment to it may contain confidential or proprietary > information that are intended solely for the person / entity to whom it was > originally addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, any > disclosure, copying, distributing or any action taken or omitted to be taken > in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. > Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as > information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, arrive late or contain > viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or > omissions in the context of this message which arise as a result of > transmission over the Internet. > No opinions contained herein shall be construed as being a formal disclosure > or commitment of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation unless specifically > so stated. > ----- Message from "Kisan Mehta" on Tue, 15 Jun 2004 12:17:07 +0530 ----- To: "NewMobilityCafe" , "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" Subj [sustran] Re: commuter satisfaction index ect: Dear Colleagues, We have noticed that the commuter looks for a service that is safe, direct, affordable, quick between his origin and destination. To this must be added pollution free and not unhealthy. Travel in a suburban train or intercity train that provides to the commuter journey back and forth for reaching and returning from the work place, if crowded, certainly does not give satisfaction. So also the bus travel where other modes like personal car, heavy duty vehicles obsruct public bus carrying 30 to 50 -qsswngers is also not sarisfying. One more development that has come up without public noticing but the authorities and bus operators pursuing is diversion of public bus to a longer crowded route during road repairs while personal cars use the old direct road, construction of flyovers built at public cost for private vehicles, absence of pavements for pedestrians etc. Floyvers that come up on the plea that columns to put up the flyover would occupy only minimum space say 3-5 sq m on the existing road The public agency that builds hires the width on the existing road equivalent to the width of of the flyover for parking of vehicles significantly cutting fown the existing carriageway and delay the movement of public buses. Absence of pavements is a permanent accident hazard. Citizens including commuters are not satisfied from this predicament. The World Bank in its Project Appraisal Document while sanctioning the loan for the Mumbai Urban Transport Project has observed that Mumbai has amongst the highest road accident rate and pedestrians form 95% of the victims. Commuters are first and last pedestrians. We feel that a comprehensive questionnaire covering all direct and indirect aspects should prepared and citizens should be made aware of the same. Meetings and consultations should take place with the citizens to feel the cittizen responses on all issues that affect the services. Certainly we should not follow the set approach developed for human settlements in hte developed countries. Practically all settlemetns in the developing countries arte first of all suffering from shortages, over crowding and high priory for motorisation. Absence for citizen safety and satisfacftion are lacking in our policy makers and bureaucrats. This situation needs to be reversed. Best wishes. Kisan Mehta Tel: 00 91 22 2414 9688 ========================== ---- Original Message ----- From: "Puttanna S. Honaganahalli" To: "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" Subject: commuter satisfaction index > Customer Satisfaction? What is satisfaction? To presume that the definition > of satisfaction is going to be the same for all peoples in the world - > Americans, Europeans, East Asians, South Asians etc., - will lead you to > erroneous results. This mistake of copying foreign models and applying it to > local situations has been repeated time and again. The history of third > world development is replete with myriad examples of failure of foreign > models. > > You need to find out from among your customers, i.e., your city bus riders, > as to what gives them statisfaction, and from there will evolve the > definition of Customer Satisfaction for Bangalore city. Once you have that > down, coming up with an index to prioritize which attributes provides > maximum satisfaction is the next step. You can pose this question, as well, > to your public transport riders and they will provide you with the answers. > Basically, you need to go out and talk to your city bus commuters and LISTEN > CAREFULLY to what they have to say. > > Thanks > > Puttanna S. Honaganahalli Ph.D. > Ecological Economics Unit > Institute for Social and Economics Change (ISEC) > Nagarabhavi, Bangalore 560 072 > Phone: 91-80-2321-5468 x120 > Fax: 91-80-2321-7008 > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jain Alok" > To: "'Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport'" > > Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2004 6:55 AM > Subject: [sustran] Re: commuter satisfaction index > > > Dear Vittal, > > > > We measure Customer Satisfaction broadly in four categories: > > > Station/Stop Services and Facilities > Train/Bus service and facilities > Staff attitude > Price (value for money) > > > > Each of these categories have further sub-attributes depending on cgaracteristics of individual system. Also CSI alone does not provide the complete picture with respect to customer satisfaction. Satisfaction profile is also important which tells the service planners where exactly to focus. > > > > Alok > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Vittal Kumar A. [mailto:vittalkumar_a@yahoo.com] > > Sent: Monday, June 14, 2004 9:08 PM > > To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport > > Subject: [sustran] commuter satisfaction index > > > > > > Hi all, > > > > At this juncture, I thought its opt to ask a question > > on Commuter Satisfaction Index for a public transport. > > > > Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) > > the local public transport corporation has set up a > > task force by name 'Commuter Comfort Task Force' > > (CCTF) aiming to evolve at what strategies and > > measures to be adopted to enhance commuters safisfaction. > > > > I request discussion members, to give your inputs on > > what forms the Customer satisfaction? is it frequency? > > is it comfort while travelling? free flow of traffic? > > pricing? courtesy? Any thoughts? > > > > What recommendations to increase the customer/commuter > > satisfaction index? (CSI) > > > > regards, > > Vittalkumar Dhage ----- Message from Todd Alexander Litman on Tue, 15 Jun 2004 06:40:13 -0700 ----- To: sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org Subject: [sustran] Transport Demand Guidebook Many of you may be interested in an important new comprehensive (246 page) Guidebook on public transport demand just released by the Transport Research Laboratory (an update of their 1980 "Black Book,"), which is now available free on the Internet. Although it focuses on UK experience, much of it is useful in other parts of the world. TRL, "The Demand for Public Transit: A Practical Guide," Transportation Research Laboratory, Report TRL 593 (www.trl.co.uk), 2004; available at www.demandforpublictransport.co.uk. Sincerely, Todd Litman, Director Victoria Transport Policy Institute "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" 1250 Rudlin Street Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560 Email: litman@vtpi.org Website: http://www.vtpi.org From townsend at central.murdoch.edu.au Sat Jun 19 06:15:14 2004 From: townsend at central.murdoch.edu.au (Craig Townsend) Date: Sat, 19 Jun 2004 05:15:14 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Re: Sustran-discuss Digest, Vol 10, Issue 19 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1087593314.40d35b6263fb2@wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au> The Greater Vancouver Transport Authority (Translink) carries out System-Wide Customer Satisfaction Research: reports online at http://www.translink.bc.ca/Whats_New/Polls_and_Surveys.asp Craig Townsend Quoting tara.bartee@dot.state.fl.us: > > > > > See the transit capacity and quality of service manual for good discussion > of various potential measures of customer satisfaction. > http://www.trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=2326 Chapter 3. > > Standards vary by location, but the measures remain the same. In March 60 > degrees Fahrenheit is a very warm day in Moscow, and quite cool in Lagos, > but it is still 60 degrees Fahrenheit in both places. > > Tara Bartee > Public Transit Office FDOT > Voice 850-414-4520 > FAX 850-414-4508 > E-Mail tara.bartee@dot.state.fl.us > > > > > sustran-discuss-r > equest@list.jca.a > pc.org To > Sent by: sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org > sustran-discuss-b cc > ounces+tara.barte > e=dot.state.fl.us Subject > @list.jca.apc.org Sustran-discuss Digest, Vol 10, > Issue 19 > > 06/15/2004 11:01 > PM > > > Please respond to > sustran-discuss@l > ist.jca.apc.org > > > > > > > Send Sustran-discuss mailing list submissions to > sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > sustran-discuss-request@list.jca.apc.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > sustran-discuss-owner@list.jca.apc.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than > "Re: Contents of Sustran-discuss digest..." > ######################################################################## > Sustran-discuss Mailing List Digest > > About this mailing list see: > http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss > ######################################################################## > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: commuter satisfaction index (Puttanna S. Honaganahalli) > 2. Re: commuter satisfaction index (Kisan Mehta) > 3. Transport Demand Guidebook (Todd Alexander Litman) > > ----- Message from "Puttanna S. Honaganahalli" on Mon, 14 > Jun 2004 19:40:14 +0530 ----- > > To: "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" > > > Subject [sustran] Re: commuter satisfaction index > : > > > Customer Satisfaction? What is satisfaction? To presume that the definition > of satisfaction is going to be the same for all peoples in the world - > Americans, Europeans, East Asians, South Asians etc., - will lead you to > erroneous results. This mistake of copying foreign models and applying it > to > local situations has been repeated time and again. The history of third > world development is replete with myriad examples of failure of foreign > models. > > You need to find out from among your customers, i.e., your city bus riders, > as to what gives them statisfaction, and from there will evolve the > definition of Customer Satisfaction for Bangalore city. Once you have that > down, coming up with an index to prioritize which attributes provides > maximum satisfaction is the next step. You can pose this question, as well, > to your public transport riders and they will provide you with the answers. > Basically, you need to go out and talk to your city bus commuters and > LISTEN > CAREFULLY to what they have to say. > > Thanks > > Puttanna S. Honaganahalli Ph.D. > Ecological Economics Unit > Institute for Social and Economics Change (ISEC) > Nagarabhavi, Bangalore 560 072 > India > > Phone: 91-80-2321-5468 x120 > Fax: 91-80-2321-7008 > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jain Alok" > To: "'Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport'" > > Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2004 6:55 AM > Subject: [sustran] Re: commuter satisfaction index > > > > Dear Vittal, > > > > We measure Customer Satisfaction broadly in four categories: > > > > - Station/Stop Services and Facilities > > - Train/Bus service and facilities > > - Staff attitude > > - Price (value for money) > > > > Each of these categories have further sub-attributes depending on > > characteristics of individual system. Also CSI alone does not provide the > > complete picture with respect to customer satisfaction. Satisfaction > profile > > is also important which tells the service planners where exactly to > focus. > > > > Alok > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Vittal Kumar A. [mailto:vittalkumar_a@yahoo.com] > > Sent: Monday, June 14, 2004 9:08 PM > > To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport > > Subject: [sustran] commuter satisfaction index > > > > > > Hi all, > > > > At this juncture, I thought its opt to ask a question > > on Commuter Satisfaction Index for a public transport. > > > > Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) > > the local public transport corporation has set up a > > task force by name 'Commuter Comfort Task Force' > > (CCTF) aiming to evolve at what strategies and > > measures to be adopted to enhance commuters > > safisfaction. > > > > I request discussion members, to give your inputs on > > what forms the Customer satisfaction? is it frequency? > > is it comfort while travelling? free flow of traffic? > > pricing? courtesy? Any thoughts? > > > > What recommendations to increase the customer/commuter > > satisfaction index? (CSI) > > > > regards, > > Vittalkumar Dhage > > > > --- "Jonathan E. D. Richmond" > > wrote: > > > > > > You will all doubtless be intrigued by the findings > > > of a recent study by > > > Dartmouth and Warwick funded by the US National > > > Bureau of Economic > > > Research. I just hope that this does not come to the > > > attention of Thai > > > politicians or we can expect to find facilities to > > > satisfy the happiest > > > activity offered on services that apparently > > > currently make the public > > > most unhappy! --Jonathan > > > > > > > > > > > > >From The Times, June 12 2004 > > > > > > The survey finds that sex is the thing that makes us > > > happiest, with the > > > highly educated more likely to find ultimate > > > pleasure from a roll in the > > > hay than those with fewer academic qualifications. > > > But while sex makes us > > > smile, the survey finds that a daily commuter trip > > > to work is what makes > > > us most unhappy. > > > > > > Sex is rated retrospectively as the activity that > > > produces the single > > > largest amount of happiness, the report states. > > > Commuting to and from work > > > produces the lowest levels of psychological > > > wellbeing. These two > > > activities come top and bottom, respectively, of a > > > list of 19 activities. > > > > > > > > > ----- > > > > > > Jonathan E. D. Richmond > > > 02 524-5510 (office) > > > Visiting Fellow Intl.: > > > 662 524-5510 > > > Transportation Engineering program > > > School of Civil Engineering, Room N260B > > > 02 524-8257 (home) > > > Asian Institute of Technology Intl.: > > > 662 524-8257 > > > PO Box 4 > > > Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 > > > 02 524-5509 (fax) > > > Thailand Intl: > > > 662 524-5509 > > > > > > e-mail: richmond@ait.ac.th Secretary: > > > Ms. Nisarat Hansuksa > > > richmond@alum.mit.edu 02 > > > 524-6051 > > > Intl: 662 524-6051 > > > http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/ > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > > Do you Yahoo!? > > Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger. > > http://messenger.yahoo.com/ > > > > > > This email and any attachment to it may contain confidential or > proprietary > > information that are intended solely for the person / entity to whom it > was > > originally addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, any > > disclosure, copying, distributing or any action taken or omitted to be > taken > > in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. > > Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free > as > > information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, arrive late or contain > > viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors > or > > omissions in the context of this message which arise as a result of > > transmission over the Internet. > > No opinions contained herein shall be construed as being a formal > disclosure > > or commitment of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation unless > specifically > > so stated. > > > > > > > ----- Message from "Kisan Mehta" on Tue, 15 Jun 2004 > 12:17:07 +0530 ----- > > To: "NewMobilityCafe" , "Asia and the > Pacific sustainable transport" > > Subj [sustran] Re: commuter satisfaction index > ect: > > > Dear Colleagues, > > We have noticed that the commuter looks for a service that is safe, direct, > affordable, quick between his origin and destination. To this must be > added > pollution free and not unhealthy. > > Travel in a suburban train or intercity train that provides to the commuter > journey back and forth for reaching and returning from the work place, if > crowded, certainly does not give satisfaction. So also the bus travel > where other modes like personal car, heavy duty > vehicles obsruct public bus carrying 30 to 50 -qsswngers is also not > sarisfying. > > One more development that has come up without public noticing but the > authorities and bus operators pursuing is diversion of public bus to a > longer crowded route during road repairs while personal cars use the old > direct road, construction of flyovers built at public cost for private > vehicles, absence of pavements for pedestrians etc. Floyvers that come up > on the plea that columns to put up the flyover would occupy only minimum > space say 3-5 sq m on the existing road The public agency that builds > hires the width on the existing road equivalent to the width of of the > flyover for parking of vehicles significantly cutting fown the existing > carriageway and delay the movement of public buses. > > Absence of pavements is a permanent accident hazard. Citizens including > commuters are not satisfied from this predicament. The World Bank in its > Project Appraisal Document while > sanctioning the loan for the Mumbai Urban Transport Project has observed > that Mumbai has amongst the highest road accident rate and pedestrians form > 95% of the victims. Commuters > are first and last pedestrians. > > We feel that a comprehensive questionnaire covering all direct and indirect > aspects should prepared and citizens should be made aware of the same. > Meetings and consultations should take place with the citizens to feel the > cittizen responses on all issues that affect the services. > > Certainly we should not follow the set approach developed for human > settlements in hte developed countries. Practically all settlemetns in > the > developing countries arte first of all suffering from shortages, over > crowding and high priory for motorisation. Absence for citizen safety and > satisfacftion are lacking in our policy makers and bureaucrats. This > situation needs to be reversed. Best wishes. > > Kisan Mehta > Tel: 00 91 22 2414 9688 > ========================== > > ---- Original Message ----- > From: "Puttanna S. Honaganahalli" > To: "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" > > > Subject: commuter satisfaction index > > > > Customer Satisfaction? What is satisfaction? To presume that the > definition > > of satisfaction is going to be the same for all peoples in the world - > > Americans, Europeans, East Asians, South Asians etc., - will lead you to > > erroneous results. This mistake of copying foreign models and applying it > to > > local situations has been repeated time and again. The history of third > > world development is replete with myriad examples of failure of foreign > > models. > > > > You need to find out from among your customers, i.e., your city bus > riders, > > as to what gives them statisfaction, and from there will evolve the > > definition of Customer Satisfaction for Bangalore city. Once you have > that > > down, coming up with an index to prioritize which attributes provides > > maximum satisfaction is the next step. You can pose this question, as > well, > > to your public transport riders and they will provide you with the > answers. > > Basically, you need to go out and talk to your city bus commuters and > LISTEN > > CAREFULLY to what they have to say. > > > > Thanks > > > > Puttanna S. Honaganahalli Ph.D. > > Ecological Economics Unit > > Institute for Social and Economics Change (ISEC) > > Nagarabhavi, Bangalore 560 072 > > Phone: 91-80-2321-5468 x120 > > Fax: 91-80-2321-7008 > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Jain Alok" > > To: "'Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport'" > > > > Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2004 6:55 AM > > Subject: [sustran] Re: commuter satisfaction index > > > > > Dear Vittal, > > > > > > We measure Customer Satisfaction broadly in four categories: > > > > > Station/Stop Services and Facilities > > Train/Bus service and facilities > > Staff attitude > > Price (value for money) > > > > > > Each of these categories have further sub-attributes depending on > cgaracteristics > of individual system. Also CSI alone does not provide the complete picture > with > respect to customer satisfaction. Satisfaction profile is also important > which tells the service planners where exactly to focus. > > > > > > Alok > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: Vittal Kumar A. [mailto:vittalkumar_a@yahoo.com] > > > Sent: Monday, June 14, 2004 9:08 PM > > > To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport > > > Subject: [sustran] commuter satisfaction index > > > > > > > > > Hi all, > > > > > > At this juncture, I thought its opt to ask a question > > > on Commuter Satisfaction Index for a public transport. > > > > > > Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) > > > the local public transport corporation has set up a > > > task force by name 'Commuter Comfort Task Force' > > > (CCTF) aiming to evolve at what strategies and > > > measures to be adopted to enhance commuters safisfaction. > > > > > > I request discussion members, to give your inputs on > > > what forms the Customer satisfaction? is it frequency? > > > is it comfort while travelling? free flow of traffic? > > > pricing? courtesy? Any thoughts? > > > > > > What recommendations to increase the customer/commuter > > > satisfaction index? (CSI) > > > > > > regards, > > > Vittalkumar Dhage > > > > ----- Message from Todd Alexander Litman on Tue, 15 Jun > 2004 06:40:13 -0700 ----- > > To: sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org > > Subject: [sustran] Transport Demand Guidebook > > > > Many of you may be interested in an important new comprehensive (246 page) > Guidebook on public transport demand just released by the Transport > Research Laboratory (an update of their 1980 "Black Book,"), which is now > available free on the Internet. Although it focuses on UK experience, much > of it is useful in other parts of the world. > > TRL, "The Demand for Public Transit: A Practical Guide," Transportation > Research Laboratory, Report TRL 593 (www.trl.co.uk), 2004; available at > www.demandforpublictransport.co.uk. > > > > > Sincerely, > Todd Litman, Director > Victoria Transport Policy Institute > "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" > 1250 Rudlin Street > Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada > Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560 > Email: litman@vtpi.org > Website: http://www.vtpi.org > > > > > > From czegras at MIT.EDU Thu Jun 24 06:27:23 2004 From: czegras at MIT.EDU (P. Christopher Zegras) Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2004 17:27:23 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Transportation and Clean Development Mechanism: International Workshop In-Reply-To: <20040423133210.A29602D869@list.jca.apc.org> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20040623172635.0303f1e0@po9.mit.edu> International Transportation and CDM Workshop August 25-27, 2004 Santiago, Chile Transportation accounts for one quarter of greenhouse gas emissions in many countries, and this number is growing. However, very few projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) are addressing the issue of transportation because of the difficulties associated with baselines, additionality and monitoring. The International Institute for Sustainable Development, the Center for Clean Air Policy and Climate Change & Development are working with the government of Chile on a project that examines the feasibility of CDM projects in the transport sector. As part of this project, we will be hosting an international seminar August 25-27, 2004, in Santiago, Chile. Who should attend? Governments and organizationsfrom developing and developed countriesworking on the issues of climate change, transport and the CDM. Limited travel subsidies are available for developing country participants. What is the purpose? The primary goal is to advance the discussion of the fit between the Clean Development Mechanism and the transport sector with a focus on the following: ? bringing international experience and expertise to bear on the cutting edge analysis currently being conducted as part of the transport and CDM project in Chile; ? furthering discussion on limitations of the current CDM rules, and what types of creative solutions might better facilitate sustainable transport initiatives; and ? providing constructive suggestions to policy-makers and transport planners on how to incorporate emission reductions considerations into transportation planning in developing as well as developed countries. Preliminary Agenda August 25, 2004 Pre-sessional: Examining Possibilities for CDM in the Transportation Sector: Lessons from Chile Presentation of findings from three case studies (bicycles; bus technology switch; and location efficient development) from a Santiago study, and recommendations for incorporating CDM into future transport initiatives in Chile. August 26, 2004 Transportation and Climate Change Projects: Lessons for the CDM International examples of transport work focused on reducing greenhouse gases and discussion of transferable lessons learned. August 27, 2004 Transportation, Climate Change and the CDM: Moving Forward Discussion of opportunities and challenges of transportation projects within the current CDM framework; examination of options to broaden the use of CDM in transport sector; and exploration of options beyond Kyoto (half day). For further information regarding the project, please visit the project Web site at http://www.iisd.org/climate/south/ctp.asp For workshop information and registration details, please contact: Jodi Browne International Institute for Sustainable Development Ottawa, Canada jbrowne@iisd.ca +1-613-238-9821 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040623/6b07e581/attachment.html From prabha_k at vsnl.com Sat Jun 26 19:55:01 2004 From: prabha_k at vsnl.com (Prabha Krishnan) Date: Sat, 26 Jun 2004 16:25:01 +0530 (India Standard Time) Subject: [sustran] Re: [bnet] France to Impose Green Tax on Big Cars References: <002b01c45b56$06a358e0$3226020a@im.eth.net> Message-ID: <40DD5605.000001.06575@CELE433> This issue is complex. When Maruti started manufacture it was a "peoples car - implication being when we have more moolah we "graduate" to better, bigger cars. Big cars have aspiration value. In my building the watchmen routinely stand up to greet visitors in big cars - the same courtesy doesn't extend to people like us in small cars. Taxes are easily avoidable by this class of big people in big cars. THe big car manufacturers are also policy makers. As such, ecofreindly mass transport wil be a distant dream. -------Original Message------- From: bombaynet@yahoogroups.com Date: 06/26/04 13:48:01 To: sustran discuss; NewMobilityCafe Cc: bombaynet@yahoogroups.com; Harshad J. Kamdar Subject: [bnet] France to Impose Green Tax on Big Cars Dear Colleagues, We should welcome and applaud the French proposal to impose Green Tax on Big Cars in view of increasing quantum of air exhaust in crowded human settlements. This is possibly the first time that such a move being taken by the authorities to curb polution. Vehicle registration taxes worked out on the laden weight of the vehicle to be paid at the time of putting the vehicle on the road are comon however they are found to be inadequate to curb increasing air pollution. One time tax as proposed may not be appropriate. To achieve the object of ensuring minimum health, what is required in addition is a Pollution Tax tagged to the petrol/diesel/gas consumption. That would also curb the use of vehicle after paying the first tax. The realisation of Pollution Tax can be utilised to run medical care centres for cardiovaswcular and related diseases as well as curtail the use of finite resource. Taxes should be applicable throughout the designated area, say the EU, France etc so that no vehicle can escapes payment of these taxes. One time tax proposed for Paris would not control the pollution because the vehicle owner after paying the initial tax payable at the time of purchase would soon forget the payment altogether and use the costier vehicle more vengefully to the further loss to the community. Along with Pollution Tax, authorities should consider levying Congestion Tax to be paid on the basis of actual furl coinsumption. Rates for taxes may be different for different fuels, say more for diesel in personal cars, to encourage the change over to less polluting fuels. Congrstion Tax reciepts can be utilised for improving pedestrian movmeent facilites. In the fast growing motorisation, pedestrian safety and convenience get the lowest priority. Thje SUVs and 4D vehicles should be charged tae Congestion and Pollution Taxes at a higher rate than personal cars. Let us hope that tax in London brought by the Mayor and the tax proposed in France become the herbinger of improved environment and higher human safety. Thanks Sujit for bringing the matter to our notice. Best wishes. Kisan Meheta Save Bombay Committee 620 Jame Jamshed Road, Mumbai 400014 Tel: 00 91 22 2414 9688 ----- Original Message ----- DAILY GRIST 24 Jun 2004 Environmental news from GRIST MAGAZINE OFF WITH THEIR HEADLIGHTS! France to Impose Green Tax on Big Cars A new green road tax unveiled by the French environment ministry would provide rebates for those who buy small, fuel-efficient cars by taxing buyers of large, gas-guzzling cars and trucks. The scheme would divide vehicles into five categories based on how much they pollute. The middle category -- largely mid-size family sedans -- would be subject to neither tax nor rebate, but purchasers of vehicles in the upper two categories would pay taxes (up to $4,000 or more), while those buying in the lower two would receive rebates. The move comes on the heels of Paris' attempt to ban large 4x4s from its streets. City council member Denis Baupin said, "They're polluters, they're space-occupiers, they're dangerous for pedestrians and other road users. They're a caricature of a car." (You can imagine a U.S. politician saying that, right?) According to France?s Environmental Health and Safety Agency, some 7 percent of premature deaths from respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses in the country, or 30,000 a year, are due to exhaust-related pollution. "[T]he government can no longer remain indifferent," said Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. straight to the source: The Guardian, Jon Henley, 23 Jun 2004 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Yahoo! Domains - Claim yours for only $14.70 http://us.click.yahoo.com/Z1wmxD/DREIAA/yQLSAA/xYTolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Where The Mind is Without Fear Rabindranath Tagore ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free Where the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls Where words come out from the depth of truth Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit Where the mind is led forward by thee Into ever-widening thought and action Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bombaynet/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: bombaynet-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040626/f68789cd/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: IMSTP.gif Type: image/gif Size: 494 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040626/f68789cd/IMSTP.gif From kisansbc at vsnl.com Sun Jun 27 15:42:23 2004 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (Kisan Mehta) Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2004 12:12:23 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Green = Pollution and Congestion- Taxes on Cars References: <002b01c45b56$06a358e0$3226020a@im.eth.net> <40DD5605.000001.06575@CELE433> Message-ID: <001e01c45c11$e77dd780$3226020a@im.eth.net> Dear Colleagues, Frankly we fail to appreciate Prabha's contention that the issue is complex. We have to look to the existing situation and visualise conditions most likely to come up and devise measures to ease the present and to avoid future hardship to residents. Our suggestion is to charge under Pollution Tax one time levy when a new car leaves the show room and recurring charge on the fuel filled payable at the time of filling up of the tank. Congestion Tax is a recurring charge to be paid on the basis of fuel filled. Can anybody avoid registration for bringing car on the road with a distinctive serial number. No car can run on roads without the serial number assigned by the registering authority. In India, registration tax is now one time hence the Pollution Tax as well can be one time. In some countries, reregistration is annual with changing serial number. Both recurring Pollution and Congestion Tax can be added to fuel price and collectd on the basis of fuel delivered at the pump. There can be no avoidance of this tax as the gas pump shall have to deposit the amount to the treasury on the same lines like Sales Tax or Excise Duty prevailing in India. Both taxes shall have to be uniform for the entire country to seal likelihood of leakage. Part of Congestion Tax collections can be used to upgrade public transport both intracity and intercity. Public transport service within the commuting areas Indian cities is dismal, neglected by the authorities who invariably collect Passenger Tax, sometime touching to 15-25 % of the ticket fare on every ticket issued for travelling in the hazardous rickety and noisy buses. The paradox is that every bus passenger, intracity and intercity, pays the Passenger Tax while a car owner has nothing to pay for use of road and f or killing pedestrians on the road. Public transport service, both railway and bus, needs to be improved. Improved railway commuter service can enable ciommuters to shift to railways and public bus service can reduce hardship. To improve public road service it is essnetial that number of private motorised vehicles has to be reduced. The above taxes will be a positive movement for easing road congestion and increasing cimmuter satisfaction. Hope Prabha supports these levies as measures to ease congestion and reduce polution, both to the benefit of the people and more of the poor. Like any developing (poor) country. the Indian Government is doing everything to support motorisation at the cost of the common man who cannot dream of owning a car ever, even a Maruti (Suzuki) car. Best wishes. Kisan Mehta Save Bombay Committee 620 Jame Jamshed Road, Dadar East, Mumbai 400014 Tel: 00 91 22 2414 9688 ----- Original Message ----- From: Prabha Krishnan To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org ; NewMobilityCafe@yahoogroups.com ; bombaynet@yahoogroups.com Cc: hjk@rincon.co.in ; bombaynet@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, June 26, 2004 4:25 PM Subject: [sustran] Re: [bnet] France to Impose Green Tax on Big Cars This issue is complex. When Maruti started manufacture it was a "peoples car" - implication being when we have more moolah we "graduate" to better, bigger cars. Big cars have aspiration value. In my building the watchmen routinely stand up to greet visitors in big cars - the same courtesy doesn't extend to people like us in small cars. Taxes are easily avoidable by this class of big people in big cars. THe big car manufacturers are also policy makers. As such, ecofreindly mass transport wil be a distant dream. From: bombaynet@yahoogroups.com Date: 06/26/04 13:48:01 To: sustran discuss; NewMobilityCafe Cc: bombaynet@yahoogroups.com; Harshad J. Kamdar Subject: [bnet] France to Impose Green Tax on Big Cars Dear Colleagues, We should welcome and applaud the French proposal to impose Green Tax on Big Cars in view of increasing quantum of air exhaust in crowded human settlements. This is possibly the first time that such a move being taken by the authorities to curb polution. Vehicle registration taxes worked out on the laden weight of the vehicle to be paid at the time of putting the vehicle on the road are comon however they are found to be inadequate to curb increasing air pollution. One time tax as proposed may not be appropriate. To achieve the object of ensuring minimum health, what is required in addition is a Pollution Tax tagged to the petrol/diesel/gas consumption. That would also curb the use of vehicle after paying the first tax. The realisation of Pollution Tax can be utilised to run medical care centres for cardiovaswcular and related diseases as well as curtail the use of finite resource. Taxes should be applicable throughout the designated area, say the EU, France etc so that no vehicle can escapes payment of these taxes. One time tax proposed for Paris would not control the pollution because the vehicle owner after paying the initial tax payable at the time of purchase would soon forget the payment altogether and use the costlier vehicle more vengefully to the further loss to the community. Along with Pollution Tax, authorities should consider levying Congestion Tax to be paid on the basis of actual furl coinsumption. Rates for taxes may be different for different fuels, say more for diesel in personal cars, to encourage change over to less polluting fuels. Congrstion Tax reciepts can be utilised for improving pedestrian movmeent facilites. In the fast growing motorisation, pedestrian safety and convenience get the lowest priority. Thje SUVs and 4D vehicles should be charged tae Congestion and Pollution Taxes at a higher rate than personal cars. Let us hope that tax in London brought by the Mayor and the tax proposed in France become the herbinger of improved environment and higher human safety. Thanks Sujit for bringing the matter to our notice. Best wishes. Kisan Mehta Save Bombay Committee 620 Jame Jamshed Road, Mumbai 400014 Tel: 00 91 22 2414 9688 ____________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040627/43bcac88/attachment.html From ecoplan.adsl at wanadoo.fr Sun Jun 27 16:36:02 2004 From: ecoplan.adsl at wanadoo.fr (ecoplan.adsl@wanadoo.fr) Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2004 09:36:02 +0200 Subject: [sustran] France to Impose Green Tax on Big Cars Message-ID: <000001c45c19$6678d830$6501a8c0@home> The remainder of this interesting discussion can be found both direct in our Sustran Network link (under Talking New Mobility in the menu) or in our gem?tlich New Mobility Cafe (same address). BTW, are there any other worthy discussions on our important topic to which we should be providing similar direct links for everyone's use and convenience? ====== -----Original Message----- From: sustran-discuss-bounces+ecoplan.adsl=wanadoo.fr@list.jca.apc.org [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+ecoplan.adsl=wanadoo.fr@list.jca.apc.org ] On Behalf Of Kisan Mehta Sent: Sunday, June 27, 2004 8:42 AM To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport; NewMobilityCafe@yahoogroups.com; bombaynet@yahoogroups.com Cc: Harshad J. Kamdar; bombaynet@yahoogroups.com Subject: [sustran] Re: Green = Pollution and Congestion- Taxes on Cars Dear Colleagues, Frankly we fail to appreciate Prabha's contention that the issue is complex. We have to look to the existing situation and visualise conditions most likely to come up and devise measures to ease the present and to avoid future hardship to residents. Our suggestion is to charge under Pollution Tax one time levy when a new car leaves the show room and recurring charge on the fuel filled payable at the time of filling up of the tank. Congestion Tax is a recurring charge to be paid on the basis of fuel filled. Can anybody avoid registration for bringing car on the road with a distinctive serial number. No car can run on roads without the serial number assigned by the registering authority. In India, registration tax is now one time hence the Pollution Tax as well can be one time. In some countries, reregistration is annual with changing serial number. Both recurring Pollution and Congestion Tax can be added to fuel price and collectd on the basis of fuel delivered at the pump. There can be no avoidance of this tax as the gas pump shall have to deposit the amount to the treasury on the same lines like Sales Tax or Excise Duty prevailing in India. Both taxes shall have to be uniform for the entire country to seal likelihood of leakage. Part of Congestion Tax collections can be used to upgrade public transport both intracity and intercity. Public transport service within the commuting areas Indian cities is dismal, neglected by the authorities who invariably collect Passenger Tax, sometime touching to 15-25 % of the ticket fare on every ticket issued for travelling in the hazardous rickety and noisy buses. The paradox is that every bus passenger, intracity and intercity, pays the Passenger Tax while a car owner has nothing to pay for use of road and f or killing pedestrians on the road. Public transport service, both railway and bus, needs to be improved. Improved railway commuter service can enable ciommuters to shift to railways and public bus service can reduce hardship. To improve public road service it is essnetial that number of private motorised vehicles has to be reduced. The above taxes will be a positive movement for easing road congestion and increasing cimmuter satisfaction. Hope Prabha supports these levies as measures to ease congestion and reduce polution, both to the benefit of the people and more of the poor. Like any developing (poor) country. the Indian Government is doing everything to support motorisation at the cost of the common man who cannot dream of owning a car ever, even a Maruti (Suzuki) car. Best wishes. Kisan Mehta Save Bombay Committee 620 Jame Jamshed Road, Dadar East, Mumbai 400014 Tel: 00 91 22 2414 9688 ----- Original Message ----- From: Prabha Krishnan To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org ; NewMobilityCafe@yahoogroups.com ; bombaynet@yahoogroups.com Cc: hjk@rincon.co.in ; bombaynet@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, June 26, 2004 4:25 PM Subject: [sustran] Re: [bnet] France to Impose Green Tax on Big Cars This issue is complex. When Maruti started manufacture it was a "peoples car" - implication being when we have more moolah we "graduate" to better, bigger cars. Big cars have aspiration value. In my building the watchmen routinely stand up to greet visitors in big cars - the same courtesy doesn't extend to people like us in small cars. Taxes are easily avoidable by this class of big people in big cars. THe big car manufacturers are also policy makers. As such, ecofreindly mass transport wil be a distant dream. From: bombaynet@yahoogroups.com Date: 06/26/04 13:48:01 To: sustran discuss ; NewMobilityCafe Cc: bombaynet@yahoogroups.com; Harshad J. Kamdar Subject: [bnet] France to Impose Green Tax on Big Cars Dear Colleagues, We should welcome and applaud the French proposal to impose Green Tax on Big Cars in view of increasing quantum of air exhaust in crowded human settlements. This is possibly the first time that such a move being taken by the authorities to curb polution. Vehicle registration taxes worked out on the laden weight of the vehicle to be paid at the time of putting the vehicle on the road are comon however they are found to be inadequate to curb increasing air pollution. One time tax as proposed may not be appropriate. To achieve the object of ensuring minimum health, what is required in addition is a Pollution Tax tagged to the petrol/diesel/gas consumption. That would also curb the use of vehicle after paying the first tax. The realisation of Pollution Tax can be utilised to run medical care centres for cardiovaswcular and related diseases as well as curtail the use of finite resource. Taxes should be applicable throughout the designated area, say the EU, France etc so that no vehicle can escapes payment of these taxes. One time tax proposed for Paris would not control the pollution because the vehicle owner after paying the initial tax payable at the time of purchase would soon forget the payment altogether and use the costlier vehicle more vengefully to the further loss to the community. Along with Pollution Tax, authorities should consider levying Congestion Tax to be paid on the basis of actual furl coinsumption. Rates for taxes may be different for different fuels, say more for diesel in personal cars, to encourage change over to less polluting fuels. Congrstion Tax reciepts can be utilised for improving pedestrian movmeent facilites. In the fast growing motorisation, pedestrian safety and convenience get the lowest priority. Thje SUVs and 4D vehicles should be charged tae Congestion and Pollution Taxes at a higher rate than personal cars. Let us hope that tax in London brought by the Mayor and the tax proposed in France become the herbinger of improved environment and higher human safety. Thanks Sujit for bringing the matter to our notice. Best wishes. Kisan Mehta Save Bombay Committee 620 Jame Jamshed Road, Mumbai 400014 Tel: 00 91 22 2414 9688 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040627/5fbe4a0b/attachment-0001.html From kisansbc at vsnl.com Mon Jun 28 11:00:48 2004 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (Kisan Mehta) Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 07:30:48 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Difficulties that Pedestrians and Public Road Transport face Message-ID: <000d01c45cb3$bc706380$3226020a@im.eth.net> Dear Colleagues, The UK authorities has started sensing problem created to pedestrians and public transport from ever increasing presence of 4X4 Drives, SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicles) and Station Wagons on roads. While the following from the Telegraph, UK covers urban areas (UK is 70% urbanised), the problem is more threatening in rural areas both in the developed and developing (poor) countries where widening roads are hardly 5-9 metre wide with residences opening out directly to the narrow road (I(ndia is less than 30% urbanised with many villages having no motorable road access from outside). Srill SUVs etc have invaded remote villages covering the entire width creating movement problems to humans and animals. Do we in the poor countries need to curb these status symbols of the rich, guzzlers of petrol and more polluting diesel, generators of pollution? They have certainly no role in the developing (poor) countries however the authorities encourage more of them to come on the roads. Best wishes. Kisan Mehta Tel: 00 91 22 2414 9688 Home > News > UK > Transport Urban 4x4 drivers should pay more tax, says transport chief By Terri Judd 28 June 2004 The Government's most senior adviser on transport hit out at the owners of urban four-wheel-drive vehicles yesterday, branding them irresponsible and dangerous. Professor David Begg suggested that their drivers should pay higher car tax and congestion charges. "If people want to cause damage to the environment, create congestion and continue to threaten the safety of other road users by driving these vehicles around then they should be made to pay for it," the chairman of the Commission for Integrated Transport said. Falling prices and cheap finance deals have led to a record number of 4x4s being sold in Britain, with more than 77,000 bought in the first five months of this year, compared with 67,000 in the same period in 2003. Opposition to the bulky vehicles, which can weigh up to two tonnes, has grown in tandem with the boom, as environmentalists and road safety campaigners voice their opposition. Only last month the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, branded parents using these "status symbols" for school trips as complete idiots. Late last year the first study of its type showed that four-wheel-drive cars were three times more likely to kill a pedestrian than smaller vehicles. Researchers found that their height led to fatal head injuries, whereas saloon cars usually caused leg wounds. Motorists involved in side-impact collisions with 4x4s are 27 times more likely to die than those struck by other cars. Mr Begg said: "Whilst driving off-road in the countryside might be suitable for 4x4 vehicles, there is no doubt that the same cannot be said for driving through our towns and cities. They're polluters, they're space-occupiers, and they're more dangerous for pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists." The vehicles emitted four times as much carbon dioxide as more environmentally friendly cars, he said. "Owners should pay a higher rate of car tax to reflect the damage they cause. In conditions like London's congestion charging zones, 4x4 drivers should also pay more." Mr Begg is not alone in that view. Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat environment spokesman, has led a campaign against the spread of off-road vehicles. His report, A Programme for Change, recommends higher excise duty on such vehicles. From next year French purchasers of 4x4s face a higher purchase tax and Parisian councillors have proposed banning them from the capital. A spokesman for the Treasury said that it kept taxes under review, but an increase seems unlikely. Only two years ago the Government rejected the idea of "punitive" rates, choosing instead to offer "incentive" decreases for smaller cars. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said 4x4 drivers should not be vilified. The risks had been exaggerated, while drivers liked the high driving position, visibility and perceived safety. 28 June 2004 06:49 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040628/5e6951b0/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 43 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040628/5e6951b0/attachment.gif From prabha_k at vsnl.com Mon Jun 28 00:00:49 2004 From: prabha_k at vsnl.com (Prabha Krishnan) Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2004 20:30:49 +0530 (India Standard Time) Subject: [sustran] Re: [bnet] Re: Green = Pollution and Congestion- Taxes on Cars References: <001e01c45c11$e77dd780$3226020a@im.eth.net> Message-ID: <40DEE121.000001.80231@CELE433> Sorry friends, If I have given the impression that I do not support congestion tax. It is the implementation I'm worried about. When we came to Mumbai from Delhi, we were approached by touts who offered to take care of entry tax or whatever it was. We refused and paid up. For PUC certificate too the same short cuts are available. I twice filled up petrol without my PUC being updated - through oversight, not thru intention to cheat. My fear is that as with any new tax, the same captive audience will get taxed, and will subsidise the rich and powerful. In a slightly differnent context - Kisanbhai has forwarded the story of the Walmart women class action suit. I analysed public service ads put out by PRCA - most aimed at women, telling them how to save fuel. There were no ads telling men in government service not to rush off to the airport to see off or recieve their minister bosses. In general cars and bigger cars and free petrol are seen as symbols of office, not as tools to save time and effort. Were we to strigently cut short the perks and privileges of our ruling classes, congestion on roads and fuel consumption will both come down. This is where the complexity comes in. Thanks, Prabha. -------Original Message------- From: bombaynet@yahoogroups.com Date: 06/27/04 16:12:08 To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport; NewMobilityCafe@yahoogroups com; bombaynet@yahoogroups.com Cc: Harshad J. Kamdar; bombaynet@yahoogroups.com Subject: [bnet] Re: Green = Pollution and Congestion- Taxes on Cars Dear Colleagues, Frankly we fail to appreciate Prabha's contention that the issue is complex. We have to look to the existing situation and visualise conditions most likely to come up and devise measures to ease the present and to avoid future hardship to residents. Our suggestion is to charge under Pollution Tax one time levy when a new car leaves the show room and recurring charge on the fuel filled payable at the time of filling up of the tank. Congestion Tax is a recurring charge to be paid on the basis of fuel filled. Can anybody avoid registration for bringing car on the road with a distinctive serial number. No car can run on roads without the serial number assigned by the registering authority. In India, registration tax is now one time hence the Pollution Tax as well can be one time. In some countries, reregistration is annual with changing serial number. Both recurring Pollution and Congestion Tax can be added to fuel price and collectd on the basis of fuel delivered at the pump. There can be no avoidance of this tax as the gas pump shall have to deposit the amount to the treasury on the same lines like Sales Tax or Excise Duty prevailing in India. Both taxes shall have to be uniform for the entire country to seal likelihood of leakage. Part of Congestion Tax collections can be used to upgrade public transport both intracity and intercity. Public transport service within the commuting areas Indian cities is dismal, neglected by the authorities who invariably collect Passenger Tax, sometime touching to 15-25 % of the ticket fare on every ticket issued for travelling in the hazardous rickety and noisy buses. The paradox is that every bus passenger, intracity and intercity, pays the Passenger Tax while a car owner has nothing to pay for use of road and f or killing pedestrians on the road. Public transport service, both railway and bus, needs to be improved. Improved railway commuter service can enable ciommuters to shift to railways and public bus service can reduce hardship. To improve public road service it is essnetial that number of private motorised vehicles has to be reduced. The above taxes will be a positive movement for easing road congestion and increasing cimmuter satisfaction. Hope Prabha supports these levies as measures to ease congestion and reduce polution, both to the benefit of the people and more of the poor. Like any developing (poor) country. the Indian Government is doing everything to support motorisation at the cost of the common man who cannot dream of owning a car ever, even a Maruti (Suzuki) car. Best wishes. Kisan Mehta Save Bombay Committee 620 Jame Jamshed Road, Dadar East, Mumbai 400014 Tel: 00 91 22 2414 9688 ----- Original Message ----- From: Prabha Krishnan To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org ; NewMobilityCafe@yahoogroups.com ; bombaynet@yahoogroups.com Cc: hjk@rincon.co.in ; bombaynet@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, June 26, 2004 4:25 PM Subject: [sustran] Re: [bnet] France to Impose Green Tax on Big Cars This issue is complex. When Maruti started manufacture it was a "peoples car - implication being when we have more moolah we "graduate" to better, bigger cars. Big cars have aspiration value. In my building the watchmen routinely stand up to greet visitors in big cars - the same courtesy doesn't extend to people like us in small cars. Taxes are easily avoidable by this class of big people in big cars. THe big car manufacturers are also policy makers. As such, ecofreindly mass transport wil be a distant dream. From: bombaynet@yahoogroups.com Date: 06/26/04 13:48:01 To: sustran discuss; NewMobilityCafe Cc: bombaynet@yahoogroups.com; Harshad J. Kamdar Subject: [bnet] France to Impose Green Tax on Big Cars Dear Colleagues, We should welcome and applaud the French proposal to impose Green Tax on Big Cars in view of increasing quantum of air exhaust in crowded human settlements. This is possibly the first time that such a move being taken by the authorities to curb polution. Vehicle registration taxes worked out on the laden weight of the vehicle to be paid at the time of putting the vehicle on the road are comon however they are found to be inadequate to curb increasing air pollution. One time tax as proposed may not be appropriate. To achieve the object of ensuring minimum health, what is required in addition is a Pollution Tax tagged to the petrol/diesel/gas consumption. That would also curb the use of vehicle after paying the first tax. The realisation of Pollution Tax can be utilised to run medical care centres for cardiovaswcular and related diseases as well as curtail the use of finite resource. Taxes should be applicable throughout the designated area, say the EU, France etc so that no vehicle can escapes payment of these taxes. One time tax proposed for Paris would not control the pollution because the vehicle owner after paying the initial tax payable at the time of purchase would soon forget the payment altogether and use the costlier vehicle more vengefully to the further loss to the community. Along with Pollution Tax, authorities should consider levying Congestion Tax to be paid on the basis of actual furl coinsumption. Rates for taxes may be different for different fuels, say more for diesel in personal cars, to encourage change over to less polluting fuels. Congrstion Tax reciepts can be utilised for improving pedestrian movmeent facilites. In the fast growing motorisation, pedestrian safety and convenience get the lowest priority. Thje SUVs and 4D vehicles should be charged tae Congestion and Pollution Taxes at a higher rate than personal cars. Let us hope that tax in London brought by the Mayor and the tax proposed in France become the herbinger of improved environment and higher human safety. Thanks Sujit for bringing the matter to our notice. Best wishes. Kisan Mehta Save Bombay Committee 620 Jame Jamshed Road, Mumbai 400014 Tel: 00 91 22 2414 9688 Where The Mind is Without Fear Rabindranath Tagore ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free Where the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls Where words come out from the depth of truth Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit Where the mind is led forward by thee Into ever-widening thought and action Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bombaynet/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: bombaynet-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040627/1fe1ba10/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: IMSTP.gif Type: image/gif Size: 494 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040627/1fe1ba10/IMSTP.gif From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Mon Jun 28 20:09:46 2004 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric.britton@ecoplan.org) Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 13:09:46 +0200 Subject: [sustran] The New Mobility Environment - summary and example In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <002101c45d00$6d05b410$6501a8c0@home> Monday, June 28, 2004, Paris, France, Europe I have been contacted by phone this morning by several members of our group who have asked me to provide a bit more detail on what I have called the New Mobility Environment. Kind thanks of the opportunity. In the hope that it will help me make my point, let me offer these remarks in the context of what is going on in London today with their congestion charging program and other parts of their package. In that context, it represents a sort of "what next" strategy (of which I am sure they have just about al the pieces well in hand). 1. Step 1 is to cut down on the presence of private cars through a three part strategy: a. Continuous reductions in the amount of road space they can access (turning the rest that is thus liberated over to more efficient users. all such more efficient carriers and not just traditional buses and the usual); b. Making drivers pay for the use of scarce public resources: road pricing and . c. Strategic parking policy (still one of the most powerful car control tools we have and which we are still in most places greatly under-utilizing); 2. All three of these (and the rest by the way) are dynamic continuing processes with public understanding an approval (backed and sold through strong and imaginative leadership). We are creating a New Moblity Environment deliberately, in stages and over time. In doing this there are two messages that we need to get through to all concerned, and then make happen. The first is that this announced process gives citizens, industry and the rest time to adapt. The second is the unremitting assurance that this pattern of change is going to be sustained over the longer term 3. Lovely. This gives us a London with fewer cars, and more room for public transit to make their way through the streets on time. But is that enough for a world city? (or for that matter for your city?) 4. No. We also need new forms of mobility to serve the city and its people and businesses at the needed high level of efficiency. And as luck would have it we know a few things about them in advance. Let me start with first handful: a. First, they are going to be very different from just about everything that we presently know and use - which indeed is why we need them since the older approaches will be far from enough to supply the quality of transit that is needed in a city that works. b. Then, they are gong to be many in number - in a city of the of London, maybe we should be thinking in terms of more than one hundred thousand, perhaps several hundred thousand such vehicles plying the streets at all times. (I hope that number scares you or makes you laugh. Since that indeed is the scale that we need to be looking to.) c. Moreover, they are not all going to be of a standard cut of cloth. There will be many types and levels of service (and cost) offered. d. And since they are decidedly different, there are inevitably going to be a very large number of barriers which will combine to keep them from coming into being - unless city government is able to find ways to target and override these obstacles to improvement. (Of which we have seen some pretty interesting demonstrations in the case of resistance to the Congestion Charging project.) e. These new services are going to be highly flexible, highly entrepreneurial and provide the means for offering high quality service but with flexible groups of people (and goods) on board and being services at all time. f. And in this we can know that their logistics and communications content and level of sophistication is going to hold one of the key to their needed high performance. g. Finally (for now), we are aware that this will be achievable only with the support of high levels of technical competence and active participation by those responsible for managing and planning the public infrastructure on which all these vehicles and service are going to move over. Of course all this is hardly new and certainly not anything that I can lay claim to. But since I was asked to see if I could put some of the main pieces of the puzzle together this morning in a page or so, I have done that and hope that this will possibly be useful and inspire better ideas and comments than what you see here. Eric Britton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040628/09f7f65a/attachment-0001.html From litman at vtpi.org Tue Jun 29 00:14:47 2004 From: litman at vtpi.org (Todd Alexander Litman) Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 08:14:47 -0700 Subject: [sustran] Re: Vehicle Pollution and Congestion Taxes In-Reply-To: <001e01c45c11$e77dd780$3226020a@im.eth.net> References: <002b01c45b56$06a358e0$3226020a@im.eth.net> <40DD5605.000001.06575@CELE433> Message-ID: <5.1.1.6.0.20040628072141.02487488@mail.highspeedplus.com> If you want to affect the type of vehicle purchased (such as encouraging smaller, fuel efficient or less polluting cars) it makes sense to impose a variable purchase fee that is higher for vehicles with undesirable features. Some jurisdictions use a "feebate," in which a special fee on inefficient vehicles is used to fund a rebate on the purchase of more fuel efficient vehicles. This is an effective way of increasing fleet fuel efficiency, but has been fiercely opposed by vehicle manufactures, and so has not been widely implemented. An annual vehicle registration fee is an effective way to raise money from vehicle owners, but is not optimal because some vehicles are driven many more miles than others during a year, and so impose much more road, congestion, pollution and accident costs. It is more equitable and efficient to charge motorists according to how much their vehicle is driven, through a combination of fuel tax, a mileage-based fee (e.g., based on annual odometer readings), and road tolls. Fuel taxes are the easiest to collect, and increase with vehicle size, and so are a good way to fund roadway costs and transportation alternatives, such as public transit. However, a fuel tax cannot really be called a "congestion tax," since it is not related to the congestion costs a vehicle imposes. Most driving (typically 80% or more) occurs in uncongested conditions. A congestion fee should only be charged when a vehicle is driven under urban-peak conditions. Ideally it should be variable, with a higher rate during the most congested conditions, and lower rates for moderately congested conditions. This requires some sort of road pricing, such as the cordon pricing used in London (a flat 5-pound fee for driving in the downtown area during weekdays), the electronic system used in Singapore, or time-variable tolls now used on Highway I-15 in San Diego, California. In the future it may be possible to use more comprehensive electronic systems, which rely on a GPS transponder or a special charging meter (called an "on board unit") to charge vehicles based on when and where they are driven, as is now being introduced for freight vehicles in Europe. However, this raises privacy concerns. My own feeling is that the best pricing approach is to collect the majority of vehicle fees from fuel taxes, with additional special fees on the purchase of vehicles that have undesirable features (such as excessive size or high pollution rates), and for driving under congested conditions. In the future, as vehicles become more efficient and alternative fuels become more common, it will be necessary to shift to odometer-based fees. Fuel taxes should apply to all vehicle fuels, with lower rates for less polluting types and higher rates for more polluting types (such as leaded gasoline and diesel). In addition, it is important to have some sort of congestion fee that applies to driving under urban-peak conditions. In fact, there is virtually no other way to address urban traffic congestion, so whenever anybody objects to such fees they are essentially choosing congestion, and should promise never to complain about traffic congestion problems. It's worth noting that London Mayor Ken Livingstone was recently reelected, primarily on the basis of his implementation of a successful congestion pricing program. This shows that once city residents experience congestion pricing they consider themselves better off overall, and will support it politically. There is a good justification for using a portion of vehicle fees to fund public transit improvements, both on equity grounds (it helps poorer people) and because higher quality public transit makes it easier for discretionary travelers (people who have the option of driving a car) to shift from automobile to transit for a particular trip, and therefore reduce traffic congestion. Even people who continue driving benefit from quality public transit, because a smaller congestion fee is needed to reduce the level of congestion and parking problems they face. For more information on these issues see: "Road Pricing," (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm35.htm) "Distance-Based Fees," (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm10.htm) "Pricing Evaluation," (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm70.htm) "Transportation Market Reforms," (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm29.htm) "European Transport Pricing Initiatives" (www.transport-pricing.ne) includes various efforts to develop more fair and efficient pricing. Todd Litman, "Using Road Pricing Revenue: Economic Efficiency and Equity Considerations," Transportation Research Record 1558, Transportation Research Board (www.trb.org), 1996, pp. 24-28, also available at www.vtpi.org. Todd Litman, Socially Optimal Transport Prices and Markets, VTPI (http://www.vtpi.org/opprice.pdf), 2000. Todd Litman, London Congestion Pricing: Implications for Other Cities, Victoria Transport Policy Institute (http://www.vtpi.org/london.pdf), 2003. Gerhard Metschies, "Fuel Prices and Taxation, with Comparative Tables for 160 Countries," German Agency for Technical Cooperation (www.zietlow.com/docs/Fuel%202000.pdf), 2001. "Sustainable Transportation: A Sourcebook for Policy-Makers in Developing Countries," (www.sutp.org/docs/sourcebook/sourcebook.aspx), by the Sustainable Urban Transport Project Asia (www.sutp-asia.org) and Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (www.gtz.de), 2003. Many of these documents are now available in various languages including Spanish, French, Chinese, Indonesian, Romanian, Thai and Vietnamese (www.sutp.org/docs/sourcebook/translations.aspx). The Mobility Management module is available at the VTPI website (www.vtpi.org/gtz_module.pdf). Best wishes, -Todd Litman At 12:12 PM 6/27/2004 +0530, Kisan Mehta wrote: >Dear Colleagues, > >Frankly we fail to appreciate Prabha's contention that the issue is >complex. We have to look to the existing situation and visualise >conditions most likely to come up and devise measures to ease the >present and to avoid future hardship to residents. > >Our suggestion is to charge under Pollution Tax one time levy when a >new car leaves the show room and recurring charge on the fuel filled >payable at the time of filling up of the tank. Congestion Tax is a recurring >charge to be paid on the basis of fuel filled. Can anybody avoid >registration >for bringing car on the road with a distinctive serial number. No car can >run on >roads without the serial number assigned by the registering >authority. In India, >registration tax is now one time hence the Pollution Tax as well can be one >time. In some countries, reregistration is annual with changing serial >number. > >Both recurring Pollution and Congestion Tax can be added to fuel price and >collectd on the basis of fuel delivered at the pump. There can be no >avoidance >of this tax as the gas pump shall have to deposit the amount to the >treasury on >the same lines like Sales Tax or Excise Duty prevailing in India. Both >taxes >shall have to be uniform for the entire country to seal likelihood of >leakage. > >Part of Congestion Tax collections can be used to upgrade public transport >both intracity and intercity. Public transport service within the commuting >areas Indian cities is dismal, neglected by the authorities who invariably >collect >Passenger Tax, sometime touching to 15-25 % of the ticket fare on every >ticket issued for travelling in the hazardous rickety and noisy buses. > >The paradox is that every bus passenger, intracity and intercity, pays the >Passenger Tax while a car owner has nothing to pay for use of road and f >or killing pedestrians on the road. > >Public transport service, both railway and bus, needs to be improved. >Improved railway commuter service can enable ciommuters to shift to railways >and public bus service can reduce hardship. To improve public road service >it is essnetial that number of private motorised vehicles has to be reduced. >The above taxes will be a positive movement for easing road congestion >and increasing cimmuter satisfaction. Hope Prabha supports these levies >as measures to ease congestion and reduce polution, both to the benefit of >the people and more of the poor. > >Like any developing (poor) country. the Indian Government is doing everything >to support motorisation at the cost of the common man who cannot dream of >owning a car ever, even a Maruti (Suzuki) car. Best wishes. > >Kisan Mehta >Save Bombay Committee >620 Jame Jamshed Road, Dadar East, >Mumbai 400014 >Tel: 00 91 22 2414 9688 >----- Original Message ----- >From: Prabha Krishnan >To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org >; NewMobilityCafe@yahoogroups.com >; bombaynet@yahoogroups.com >Cc: hjk@rincon.co.in ; >bombaynet@yahoogroups.com >Sent: Saturday, June 26, 2004 4:25 PM >Subject: [sustran] Re: [bnet] France to Impose Green Tax on Big Cars >This issue is complex. When Maruti started manufacture it was a "peoples >car" - implication being when we have more moolah we "graduate" to better, >bigger cars. >Big cars have aspiration value. In my building the watchmen routinely >stand up to greet visitors in big cars - the same courtesy doesn't extend >to people like us in small cars. >Taxes are easily avoidable by this class of big people in big cars. THe >big car manufacturers are also policy makers. >As such, ecofreindly mass transport wil be a distant dream. > >From: bombaynet@yahoogroups.com >Date: 06/26/04 13:48:01 >To: sustran discuss; >NewMobilityCafe >Cc: bombaynet@yahoogroups.com; >Harshad J. Kamdar >Subject: [bnet] France to Impose Green Tax on Big Cars > >Dear Colleagues, > >We should welcome and applaud the French proposal to impose Green >Tax on Big Cars in view of increasing quantum of air exhaust in >crowded human settlements. This is possibly the first time that such a >move being taken by the authorities to curb polution. > > Vehicle registration taxes worked out on the laden weight of the vehicle >to be paid at the time of putting the vehicle on the road are comon >however they are found to be inadequate to curb increasing air pollution. > >One time tax as proposed may not be appropriate. To achieve the object >of ensuring minimum health, what is required in addition is a Pollution >Tax tagged to the petrol/diesel/gas consumption. That would also curb >the use of vehicle after paying the first tax. The realisation of Pollution >Tax can be utilised to run medical care centres for cardiovaswcular and >related diseases as well as curtail the use of finite resource. Taxes >should be applicable throughout the designated area, say the EU, France etc >so that no vehicle can escapes payment of these taxes. > >One time tax proposed for Paris would not control the pollution because >the vehicle owner after paying the initial tax payable at the time of >purchase would soon forget the payment altogether and use the costlier >vehicle >more vengefully to the further loss to the community. > >Along with Pollution Tax, authorities should consider levying Congestion >Tax to >be paid on the basis of actual furl coinsumption. Rates for taxes may be >different for different fuels, say more for diesel in personal cars, to >encourage >change over to less polluting fuels. Congrstion Tax reciepts can be >utilised for >improving pedestrian movmeent facilites. In the fast growing motorisation, >pedestrian safety and convenience get the lowest priority. > >Thje SUVs and 4D vehicles should be charged tae Congestion and Pollution >Taxes at a higher rate than personal cars. > >Let us hope that tax in London brought by the Mayor and the tax proposed >in France become the herbinger of improved environment and higher >human safety. Thanks Sujit for bringing the matter to our notice. Best >wishes. > >Kisan Mehta >Save Bombay Committee >620 Jame Jamshed Road, >Mumbai 400014 >Tel: 00 91 22 2414 9688 >____________________________________________________ Sincerely, Todd Litman, Director Victoria Transport Policy Institute "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" 1250 Rudlin Street Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560 Email: litman@vtpi.org Website: http://www.vtpi.org From Davewetzel at tfl.gov.uk Mon Jun 28 17:11:27 2004 From: Davewetzel at tfl.gov.uk (Wetzel Dave) Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 09:11:27 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobilityCafe] Difficulties that Pedestrians and Public Ro ad Transport face Message-ID: I note the following. "While the following from the Telegraph, UK covers urban areas (UK is 70% urbanised), " nb It is not true that UK is 70% urbanised by area. A quick search of the web indicates that less than 11% of land area is urban (with 70% agriculture and 9% forestry). However, almost 90% of the UK's population live in urban settlements of over 1500 population. Dave Dave Wetzel; Vice-Chair; Transport for London. Windsor House. 42-50 Victoria Street. London. SW1H 0TL. UK Tel: 020 7941 4200 Windsor House is close to New Scotland Yard. Buses 11, 24, 148, 211 and N11 pass the door. Nearest Tube: St. James's Park Underground station. Nearest mainline stations: Waterloo and Victoria (Both a walk or short bus ride). -----Original Message----- From: Kisan Mehta [mailto:kisansbc@vsnl.com] Sent: 28 June 2004 03:01 To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport; NewMobilityCafe Cc: Harshad J. Kamdar; indianenvironment@yahoogroups.co.in; bombaynet@yahoogroups.com Subject: [NewMobilityCafe] Difficulties that Pedestrians and Public Road Transport face Dear Colleagues, The UK authorities has started sensing problem created to pedestrians and public transport from ever increasing presence of 4X4 Drives, SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicles) and Station Wagons on roads. While the following from the Telegraph, UK covers urban areas (UK is 70% urbanised), the problem is more threatening in rural areas both in the developed and developing (poor) countries where widening roads are hardly 5-9 metre wide with residences opening out directly to the narrow road (I(ndia is less than 30% urbanised with many villages having no motorable road access from outside). Srill SUVs etc have invaded remote villages covering the entire width creating movement problems to humans and animals. Do we in the poor countries need to curb these status symbols of the rich, guzzlers of petrol and more polluting diesel, generators of pollution? They have certainly no role in the developing (poor) countries however the authorities encourage more of them to come on the roads. Best wishes. Kisan Mehta Tel: 00 91 22 2414 9688 Home > News > UK > Transport Urban 4x4 drivers should pay more tax, says transport chief By Terri Judd 28 June 2004 The Government's most senior adviser on transport hit out at the owners of urban four-wheel-drive vehicles yesterday, branding them irresponsible and dangerous. Professor David Begg suggested that their drivers should pay higher car tax and congestion charges. "If people want to cause damage to the environment, create congestion and continue to threaten the safety of other road users by driving these vehicles around then they should be made to pay for it," the chairman of the Commission for Integrated Transport said. Falling prices and cheap finance deals have led to a record number of 4x4s being sold in Britain, with more than 77,000 bought in the first five months of this year, compared with 67,000 in the same period in 2003. Opposition to the bulky vehicles, which can weigh up to two tonnes, has grown in tandem with the boom, as environmentalists and road safety campaigners voice their opposition. Only last month the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, branded parents using these "status symbols" for school trips as complete idiots. Late last year the first study of its type showed that four-wheel-drive cars were three times more likely to kill a pedestrian than smaller vehicles. Researchers found that their height led to fatal head injuries, whereas saloon cars usually caused leg wounds. Motorists involved in side-impact collisions with 4x4s are 27 times more likely to die than those struck by other cars. Mr Begg said: "Whilst driving off-road in the countryside might be suitable for 4x4 vehicles, there is no doubt that the same cannot be said for driving through our towns and cities. They're polluters, they're space-occupiers, and they're more dangerous for pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists." The vehicles emitted four times as much carbon dioxide as more environmentally friendly cars, he said. "Owners should pay a higher rate of car tax to reflect the damage they cause. In conditions like London's congestion charging zones, 4x4 drivers should also pay more." Mr Begg is not alone in that view. Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat environment spokesman, has led a campaign against the spread of off-road vehicles. His report, A Programme for Change, recommends higher excise duty on such vehicles. >From next year French purchasers of 4x4s face a higher purchase tax and Parisian councillors have proposed banning them from the capital. A spokesman for the Treasury said that it kept taxes under review, but an increase seems unlikely. Only two years ago the Government rejected the idea of "punitive" rates, choosing instead to offer "incentive" decreases for smaller cars. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said 4x4 drivers should not be vilified. The risks had been exaggerated, while drivers liked the high driving position, visibility and perceived safety. 28 June 2004 06:49 The New Mobility Agenda is permanently at http://NewMobility.org To post messages to list: NewMobilityCafe@yahoogroups.com To unsubscribe: NewMobilityCafe-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT click here _____ Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NewMobilityCafe/ * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: NewMobilityCafe-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service . *********************************************************************************** The contents of the e-mail and any transmitted files are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. Transport for London hereby exclude any warranty and any liability as to the quality or accuracy of the contents of this email and any attached transmitted files. If you are not the intended recipient be advised that you have received this email in error and that any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing or copying of this email is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error please notify postmaster@tfl.gov.uk. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for the presence of computer viruses. *********************************************************************************** From noelhodson at btconnect.com Mon Jun 28 16:36:49 2004 From: noelhodson at btconnect.com (Noel Hodson) Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 08:36:49 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobilityCafe] Difficulties that Pedestrians and Public Road Transport face In-Reply-To: <000d01c45cb3$bc706380$3226020a@im.eth.net> Message-ID: <00ee01c45ce2$ac83ce60$ae1229d9@tinypc> SUV drivers should be put in chain-gangs and made to fill in all the ruts they make - by hand. We have an ancient 50 mile long grass road in Oxfordshire England called the Icknield Way or the Ridgeway, which is beautiful to walk or horse-ride along - except for the 2 feet to 5 feet (1.5metres) deep, muddy tracks carved in the surface by SUV's and 4 by 4's. Younger, more passionate walkers than I are threatening to disable such vehicles. Noel Noel Hodson SW2000 Telework Studies Experts Unlimited - Professional Advice Lines 14 Brookside OXFORD OX3 7PJ UK Tel +44(0)1865-760994 Fax 769384 Email: noelhodson@btconnect.com http://www.noelhodson.com Due to Spam, I auto-delete emails with blank or strange SUBJECT lines. Please complete the SUBJECT box sensibly. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040628/5f583d69/attachment-0001.html From edeakin at ix.netcom.com Mon Jun 28 21:10:02 2004 From: edeakin at ix.netcom.com (edeakin@ix.netcom.com) Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 08:10:02 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobilityCafe] France to Impose Green Tax on Big Cars Message-ID: <299620-22004612812102707@M2W050.mail2web.com> One time high vehicle purchase or registration fees have had the unintended consequence of deterring vehicle replacement. When newer vehicles are cleaner than older ones - usually the case - this can have adverse consequences for the environment. A VMT (VKT) tax makes sense as a way of taxing overall use, though road pricing can be a better way to get at congestion. Newer cars that have on-board emissions monitoring computers offer a direct way to measure emissions as they record them. That doesn't do anything for the many older cars in use, but over time is worth considering, since the monitors will pick up the higher emissions of stop and go driving - or very fast driving. I am not so convinced that we need to make exceptions for business travelers, since they should be able to incorporate the costs of their travel into the costs of the goods and services they provide - and leaving the tax for them to handle means that some will find ways to reduce transport input. Betty Deakin Original Message: ----------------- From: Noel Hodson noelhodson@btconnect.com Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 08:24:18 +0100 To: NewMobilityCafe@yahoogroups.com, sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org, bombaynet@yahoogroups.com, hjk@rincon.co.in Subject: RE: [NewMobilityCafe] France to Impose Green Tax on Big Cars Green Car Taxes - Fiscal simplicity is essential. But I cannot (yet) think of a simple way to reward or deter vehicle drivers while meeting the complex, diverse needs of travellers. The essence of a pollution tax is the weight of the vehicle per passenger (which dictates fuel consumption) x miles/klms per year x traffic decongestion which is governed by the footprint of the vehicle. So ideally it's weight x distance x size (WDS). For, say, 5% of vehicles, the decongestion impact of reducing road use on the remaining 95% is far more pollution effective than is the reduction in fuel of the 5%. (I have the arithmetic if you are interested). In my view, an effective tax must be based on miles/klms travelled annually. And it needs to be a large amount, imposed as a lump sum - not as an extra fuel tax (though taxing the fuel is the most logical, people find the money for the incremental cost) to deter the short, unecessary journeys - and carefully balanced to protect the vital business user. I think a one-off sales or factory tax may help - but it will not deter new owners who will roll it into the vehicle financing - nor will it deter, for example, the 25 million UK vehicles already in use. The aim of such a tax or taxes might be to persuade ALL vehicle owners to drive the smallest and lightest possible vehicles (Minimum Weight Vehicles MWV's), fewer miles. Rapid/easy transaction hire cars and vans will be essential. Buses and trains are not in general efficient MWV's - They are major polluters which represent lazy, unthinking, QWERTY economics ( I have the arithmetic if you are interested). Wishing you all cleaner street level air and quieter streets. Noel Noel Hodson SW2000 Telework Studies Experts Unlimited - Professional Advice Lines 14 Brookside OXFORD OX3 7PJ UK Tel +44(0)1865-760994 Fax 769384 Email: noelhodson@btconnect.com http://www.noelhodson.com Due to Spam, I auto-delete emails with blank or strange SUBJECT lines. Please complete the SUBJECT box sensibly. -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ . From dharm at mailblocks.com Tue Jun 29 00:53:28 2004 From: dharm at mailblocks.com (Dharm Guruswamy) Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 08:53:28 -0700 Subject: [sustran] (UK) Urban 4x4 drivers should pay more tax says transport chief Message-ID: Urban 4x4 drivers should pay more tax, says transport chief By Terri Judd 28 June 2004 The Government's most senior adviser on transport hit out at the owners of urban four-wheel-drive vehicles yesterday, branding them irresponsible and dangerous. Professor David Begg suggested that their drivers should pay higher car tax and congestion charges. "If people want to cause damage to the environment, create congestion and continue to threaten the safety of other road users by driving these vehicles around then they should be made to pay for it," the chairman of the Commission for Integrated Transport said. Falling prices and cheap finance deals have led to a record number of 4x4s being sold in Britain, with more than 77,000 bought in the first five months of this year, compared with 67,000 in the same period in 2003. Opposition to the bulky vehicles, which can weigh up to two tonnes, has grown in tandem with the boom, as environmentalists and road safety campaigners voice their opposition. Only last month the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, branded parents using these "status symbols" for school trips as complete idiots. Late last year the first study of its type showed that four-wheel-drive cars were three times more likely to kill a pedestrian than smaller vehicles. Researchers found that their height led to fatal head injuries, whereas saloon cars usually caused leg wounds. Motorists involved in side-impact collisions with 4x4s are 27 times more likely to die than those struck by other cars. Mr Begg said: "Whilst driving off-road in the countryside might be suitable for 4x4 vehicles, there is no doubt that the same cannot be said for driving through our towns and cities. They're polluters, they're space-occupiers, and they're more dangerous for pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists." The vehicles emitted four times as much carbon dioxide as more environmentally friendly cars, he said. "Owners should pay a higher rate of car tax to reflect the damage they cause. In conditions like London's congestion charging zones, 4x4 drivers should also pay more." Mr Begg is not alone in that view. Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat environment spokesman, has led a campaign against the spread of off-road vehicles. His report, A Programme for Change, recommends higher excise duty on such vehicles. >From next year French purchasers of 4x4s face a higher purchase tax and Parisian councillors have proposed banning them from the capital. A spokesman for the Treasury said that it kept taxes under review, but an increase seems unlikely. Only two years ago the Government rejected the idea of "punitive" rates, choosing instead to offer "incentive" decreases for smaller cars. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said 4x4 drivers should not be vilified. The risks had been exaggerated, while drivers liked the high driving position, visibility and perceived safety. Legal | Contact us | Using our Content | ? 2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040628/4e9ab2e6/attachment-0001.html From kisansbc at vsnl.com Tue Jun 29 02:08:56 2004 From: kisansbc at vsnl.com (Kisan Mehta) Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 22:38:56 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobilityCafe] Difficulties that Pedestrians andPublic Ro ad Transport face References: Message-ID: <004101c45d32$99097ba0$3226020a@im.eth.net> Thank you for drawing my attention to an apparant anomaly. Urbanisation is related to the number of people residing urban areas. In India, human settlements having a population of 5,000 and more are designated as urban. Mumbai had a population of 11.91 milion on 31 March 2001 ( Census of India 2001) but occupied only 434 sq km of land. I have been telling that Mumbai has 1.2% of India's population but only 0.001% of India's landmass. Cities and now megacities are considered to provide economies of scale where human activities are concentrated. I am definite that cities do not provide satisfaction to humans compared to non-urban areas yet we find them huddling in cities. Best wishes. Kisan Mehta Tel: 00 91 22 2414 9688 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Wetzel Dave" To: ; "Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport" Cc: ; "Harshad J. Kamdar" ; Sent: Monday, June 28, 2004 1:41 PM Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobilityCafe] Difficulties that Pedestrians andPublic Ro ad Transport face > I note the following. > > "While the following from the Telegraph, UK covers urban areas (UK is 70% > urbanised), " > > nb It is not true that UK is 70% urbanised by area. > > A quick search of the web indicates that less than 11% of land area is urban > (with 70% agriculture and 9% forestry). However, almost 90% of the UK's > population live in urban settlements of over 1500 population. > > Dave > Dave Wetzel; Vice-Chair; Transport for London. > Windsor House. 42-50 Victoria Street. London. SW1H 0TL. UK > Tel: 020 7941 4200 > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Kisan Mehta [mailto:kisansbc@vsnl.com] > Sent: 28 June 2004 03:01 > To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport; NewMobilityCafe > Cc: Harshad J. Kamdar; indianenvironment@yahoogroups.co.in; > bombaynet@yahoogroups.com > Subject: [NewMobilityCafe] Difficulties that Pedestrians and Public Road > Transport face > > > Dear Colleagues, > > The UK authorities has started sensing problem created to pedestrians > and public transport from ever increasing presence of 4X4 Drives, SUVs > (Sport Utility Vehicles) and Station Wagons on roads. > > While the following from the Telegraph, UK covers urban areas (UK is 70% > urbanised), the problem is more threatening in rural areas both in the > developed and developing (poor) countries where widening roads are > hardly 5-9 metre wide with residences opening out directly to the narrow > road (I(ndia is less than 30% urbanised with many villages having no > motorable road access from outside). Srill SUVs etc have invaded > remote villages covering the entire width creating movement problems to > humans and animals. > > Do we in the poor countries need to curb these status symbols of the rich, > guzzlers of petrol and more polluting diesel, generators of pollution? > They have certainly no role in the developing (poor) countries however > the authorities encourage more of them to come on the roads. Best wishes. > > Kisan Mehta > Tel: 00 91 22 2414 9688 > > > > > Urban 4x4 drivers should pay more tax, says transport chief > > > By Terri Judd > > > 28 June 2004 > > > > The Government's most senior adviser on transport hit out at the owners of > urban four-wheel-drive vehicles yesterday, branding them irresponsible and > dangerous. > > Professor David Begg suggested that their drivers should pay higher car tax > and congestion charges. "If people want to cause damage to the environment, > create congestion and continue to threaten the safety of other road users by > driving these vehicles around then they should be made to pay for it," the > chairman of the Commission for Integrated Transport said. > > Falling prices and cheap finance deals have led to a record number of 4x4s > being sold in Britain, with more than 77,000 bought in the first five months > of this year, compared with 67,000 in the same period in 2003. > > Opposition to the bulky vehicles, which can weigh up to two tonnes, has > grown in tandem with the boom, as environmentalists and road safety > campaigners voice their opposition. Only last month the Mayor of London, Ken > Livingstone, branded parents using these "status symbols" for school trips > as complete idiots. > > Late last year the first study of its type showed that four-wheel-drive cars > were three times more likely to kill a pedestrian than smaller vehicles. > Researchers found that their height led to fatal head injuries, whereas > saloon cars usually caused leg wounds. Motorists involved in side-impact > collisions with 4x4s are 27 times more likely to die than those struck by > other cars. > > Mr Begg said: "Whilst driving off-road in the countryside might be suitable > for 4x4 vehicles, there is no doubt that the same cannot be said for driving > through our towns and cities. They're polluters, they're space-occupiers, > and they're more dangerous for pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists." > > The vehicles emitted four times as much carbon dioxide as more > environmentally friendly cars, he said. "Owners should pay a higher rate of > car tax to reflect the damage they cause. In conditions like London's > congestion charging zones, 4x4 drivers should also pay more." > > Mr Begg is not alone in that view. Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat > environment spokesman, has led a campaign against the spread of off-road > vehicles. His report, A Programme for Change, recommends higher excise duty > on such vehicles. > > >From next year French purchasers of 4x4s face a higher purchase tax and > Parisian councillors have proposed banning them from the capital. > > A spokesman for the Treasury said that it kept taxes under review, but an > increase seems unlikely. Only two years ago the Government rejected the idea > of "punitive" rates, choosing instead to offer "incentive" decreases for > smaller cars. > > The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said 4x4 drivers should not > be vilified. The risks had been exaggerated, while drivers liked the high > driving position, visibility and perceived safety. > > 28 June 2004 06:49 > > > > > loans> > > > > **************************************************************************** **** From ecoplan.adsl at wanadoo.fr Tue Jun 29 19:53:30 2004 From: ecoplan.adsl at wanadoo.fr (ecoplan.adsl@wanadoo.fr) Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 12:53:30 +0200 Subject: [sustran] The New Mobility Environment - summary and example In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <00f101c45dc7$55b273d0$6501a8c0@home> -----Original Message----- From: Jerry Schneider [mailto:jbs@u.washington.edu] Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2004 5:40 AM Subject: The New Mobility Environment - summary and example Eric. I am curious as to what new ways of moving about you might have in mind. Jerry Schneider, Prof. Emeritus, Innovative Transportation Technologies website: http://faculty.washington.edu/~jbs/itrans ======================================================================== == Good morning Jerry, You were not the only one to ask about this, so I wrote up the attached note yesterday in an attempt to scope out the rough outlines of what I have in mind. You will note that the approach laid out here, for better or worse, focuses on . . . (1) Near Term Improvements that can begin to generate positive impacts within days of being brought on line - and not potential improvements that require years or decades to come on line, which I leave up to others brighter and better informed about all that than I am. The theory here, in a sound bite, is that "sustainable development will not wait". (Or do I have that wrong?) (2) Aggressive demand management: An aggressive (and well sold) repartitioning and refocusing of the existing transportation infrastructure, shifting it over ineluctably and as quickly as the local situation can bear the pain to higher throughput, more spatially and environmentally efficient shared uses; (3) New streams of income. become available (to ingenious city innovators) as (1) they make drivers pay fairly for street and parking infrastructure, then redirecting this welcome new income to make the rest of the system work better. And (2) refashion their financial relationships with the purveyors of the whole range of new collective services (whose better performance, i.e., more sustainable mobility bang per taxpayer buck, can be expected to higher quality services that can be fairly charged for and then fairly partitioned (with payback to the public sector as only fear. and necessary.) (4) Aggressive supply expansion: The opening up of the system on the supply side to bring in the wide range of new kinds of services needed to fill the gap once we get most of the cars out. Again, these new services are characterized by new sources of supply, much higher levels of entrepeneurship and creative adaptation across the whole range of suppliers, and lots of technology (mainly in the form of communications and logistics. Note: the two main historical suppliers of shared transport on the city street, buses and taxis, are themselves of course in continuing and of late in many places rapid evolution in terms of their technology content and efficiency. Indeed we can anticipate that the merge between "old" and "new" carriers will in many places be a merge, with all kinds of overlaps and interlinks. (5) Leadership: None of this, absolutely none of it, will take place without strong, wise, firm leadership, and strong support from those of us who care. And the lead has to come above all from local government. National, regional and international groupings can help make this happen, but the precondition are the small group of people who are right next to the problems, and the opportunities - and are ready to pay the price in terms of their commitment, passion, energy (and thick skin) to stand the heat and make this work.. I hope that this is not too long and too vague. Eric Britton Monday, June 28, 2004, Paris, France, Europe I have been contacted by phone this morning by several members of our group who have asked me to provide a bit more detail on what I have called the New Mobility Environment. Kind thanks of the opportunity. In the hope that it will help me make my point, let me offer these remarks in the context of what is going on in London today with their congestion charging program and other parts of their package. In that context, it represents a sort of "what next" strategy (of which I am sure they have just about al the pieces well in hand). 1. Step 1 is to cut down on the presence of private cars through a three part strategy: a. Continuous reductions in the amount of road space they can access (turning the rest that is thus liberated over to more efficient users. all such more efficient carriers and not just traditional buses and the usual); b. Making drivers pay for the use of scarce public resources: road pricing and . c. Strategic parking policy (still one of the most powerful car control tools we have and which we are still in most places greatly under-utilizing); 2. All three of these (and the rest by the way) are dynamic continuing processes with public understanding an approval (backed and sold through strong and imaginative leadership). We are creating a New Moblity Environment deliberately, in stages and over time. In doing this there are two messages that we need to get through to all concerned, and then make happen. The first is that this announced process gives citizens, industry and the rest time to adapt. The second is the unremitting assurance that this pattern of change is going to be sustained over the longer term 3. Lovely. This gives us a London with fewer cars, and more room for public transit to make their way through the streets on time. But is that enough for a world city? (or for that matter for your city?) 4. No. We also need new forms of mobility to serve the city and its people and businesses at the needed high level of efficiency. And as luck would have it we know a few things about them in advance. Let me start with first handful: a. First, they are going to be very different from just about everything that we presently know and use - which indeed is why we need them since the older approaches will be far from enough to supply the quality of transit that is needed in a city that works. b. Then, they are gong to be many in number - in a city of the of London, maybe we should be thinking in terms of more than one hundred thousand, perhaps several hundred thousand such vehicles plying the streets at all times. (I hope that number scares you or makes you laugh. Since that indeed is the scale that we need to be looking to.) c. Moreover, they are not all going to be of a standard cut of cloth. There will be many types and levels of service (and cost) offered. d. And since they are decidedly different, there are inevitably going to be a very large number of barriers which will combine to keep them from coming into being - unless city government is able to find ways to target and override these obstacles to improvement. (Of which we have seen some pretty interesting demonstrations in the case of resistance to the Congestion Charging project.) e. These new services are going to be highly flexible, highly entrepreneurial and provide the means for offering high quality service but with flexible groups of people (and goods) on board and being services at all time. f. And in this we can know that their logistics and communications content and level of sophistication is going to hold one of the key to their needed high performance. g. Finally (for now), we are aware that this will be achievable only with the support of high levels of technical competence and active participation by those responsible for managing and planning the public infrastructure on which all these vehicles and service are going to move over. Of course all this is hardly new and certainly not anything that I can lay claim to. But since I was asked to see if I could put some of the main pieces of the puzzle together this morning in a page or so, I have done that and hope that this will possibly be useful and inspire better ideas and comments than what you see here. Eric Britton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040629/b63e517c/attachment.html From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Wed Jun 30 02:03:23 2004 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric.britton@ecoplan.org) Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 19:03:23 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Visit and presentations, etc. in North America - July/August Message-ID: <016e01c45dfb$00300ce0$6501a8c0@home> Tuesday, June 29, 2004, Paris, France, Europe Dear World CarShare Colleagues (and particular those of you in North America), It has been several years now since I last worked in North America, and as luck would have it I have just accepted a short assignment in mid July in Boston, which I have decided to try to parlay into a series of funded presentations, seminars, whatever on the topic of sustainable mobility in general and carsharing in particular in a handful of leading North American cities. And while time is clearly very tight on this, not least because of the often fast summer period, I nonetheless thought to give it a whack, starting with this note to you here this afternoon. If the past is any guide, these are the sorts of events are organized and sponsored by mayors and local government, transportation operators and planners, foundations, city development specialists and planners, public interest groups concerned with sustainable development, the environment, quality of life in cities, and the development of children into responsible citizens and active players in the community. Also Women's groups, local Chambers of Commerce, various clubs such as Rotary and Lyons, university programs with a hand in these areas, and on occasion even concerned religious groups, The common theme for all these events and presentations: sustainable development and social justice under duress, technology and society, public/private partnerships, grassroots developments, and the role of (local) government in actively creating the preconditions of innovation and adaptation. A range of possible topics might extend to: * Many aspects of carsharing from an international perspective, but also on creating the necessary preconditions for success (Sometimes referred to here as the Sustainable Mobility Symphony Orchestra). * "Sustainable Transportation's Dirty Secret" * The Walk to School - a program and active curriculum for children, parents, schools and local government * Five point strategy for creating a sustainable mobility system in your community * How to organize a lousy conference that everyone forgets immediately (a list of things not to do, and a few others too) * Local Government and Leadership - Profiles in courage and effectiveness from Brazil, Britain, Canada, Colombia, France and the United States All of this at this point is very general of course, which as it should be since my specialty is not smooth canned presentations but in trying to react live and real time to specific challenges and places with positive ideas for "pattern breaks" adapted to the unique conditions of that time and place. Best way to get a feel for the range of issues and possibly topics is not only by checking out the World Carshare Consortium at http://worldcarshare.com and the New Mobility Agenda at http://newmobility.org , but also the mother of all websites (as we say in Baghdad), The Commons, at http://ecoplan.org . I do not generally make use of PowerPoint or slides, but at times if a proper beamer is available and high speed internet connection, it can be handy to have access to the websites for illustration and reference.) If you want to get a feel for what this might yield, let me point you to my personal website at http://www.ericbritton.org , and in particular to the section with Videos/Presentations. There you can see the beast in action (for better or worse). Finally and if circumstances permit, I would very much like to spend a few days sitting down with the folks in charge of a local government or transportation agency or program at the level of city, region or what have you -- to do some hard interactive rethinking of the concept of "Sustainable Mobility: Policy and Practice" and in the process to talk over and perhaps set out some new signposts for their own work in the next couple of years. There you have it. I will be pleased to hear from you with your ideas and leads as to who I should be contacting to fill out this program. I hope that this will give a certain number of us a chance to meet in person. The internet is great, but from time to time a bit of personal contact does not hurt either. With all good wishes, Eric Britton Technology. Economy. Society. Francis Eric Knight Britton Managing Director EcoPlan International 8/10, rue Joseph Bara 75006 Paris, France ecoplan.adsl@wanadoo.fr eric.britton@ecoplan.org www.ecoplan.org +33 (1) 4326 1323 +33 (1) 5301 2896 Signature powered by Plaxo -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040629/80c1a57d/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 3377 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040629/80c1a57d/attachment-0001.gif