From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Mon Dec 4 15:52:20 2006 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (Eric Britton) Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2006 07:52:20 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Car Free Day - China set to enjoy a day without cars In-Reply-To: <1165179244.22696714d40d7011.4354e40f@persist.google.com> Message-ID: <014801c71770$c030d430$6501a8c0@Home> China set to enjoy a day without cars Ji Mi http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/12/04/298863/China_set_to_enjoy_a_ day_without_cars.htm 2006-12-04 SHANGHAI will join more than 70 cities across China next year to promote a Car Free Day and encourage commuters to use cleaner forms of transport. Taking a cue from , China has set aside the week of September 16-22, 2007, as its first public transport week. And on the final day, private car owners will be asked to leave their vehicles at home and ride bikes, use mass transit or walk to work, school and shopping, Qiu Baoxing, deputy minister of construction, told a national meeting in Beijing on Saturday. If all private cars stayed off the streets for 24 hours, China would save 33 million liters of gasoline, reduce urban pollution 90 percent and prevent an untold number of deaths and injuries from traffic accidents, authorities said. In addition to Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing and Hangzhou have also promised to join in. Authorities said compliance by motorists will be voluntary but that some streets in all the cities taking part will be blocked to private cars. France initiated the no-car day in 1998, and two years later, the European Union's environmental agency kicked off European Mobility Week on September 16-22, which also featured a car-free day. The environmental exercise has since expanded to more than 1,000 cities across Europe. Qiu said China's program is designed to raise public awareness about the need for greater environmental protection by encouraging urbanites to use less polluting forms of transport. Rush-hour traffic jams often turn major roads in big cities into parking lots, Qiu told the meeting. In downtown Beijing, 60 percent of the 183 major intersections suffer serious jam-ups, Qiu said. China's capital has 2.82 million cars on its streets, and the number of new ones is increasing by 1,000 a day, cutting vehicle speeds to about half of what they were 10 years ago. Across China, a city bus commute takes 10 minutes longer than it did a decade ago, and that's why 70 percent of urban residents are dissatisfied with bus services, according to Qiu. Traffic jams cost the country about 250 billion yuan (US$31.65 billion) in lost productivity in 2003, or two percent of that year's gross domestic product, the official said. Qiu urged city governments to improve public transport efficiency, give priority to buses, shorten transfer time between buses and invest more funds into the public transport system. Fewer than 10 percent of city residents use public transport across the country on average, he said. In large cities the figure is about 20 percent, compared with 40 to 60 percent in major metropolitan areas in Europe, Japan and South America. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061204/282a3026/attachment.html From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Mon Dec 4 15:52:20 2006 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (Eric Britton) Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2006 07:52:20 +0100 Subject: [sustran] World Car Free Day made official in Shanghai? In-Reply-To: <1165206531.22696714d40d7011.33c529ae@persist.google.com> Message-ID: <014d01c71770$c383f6d0$6501a8c0@Home> World Car Free Day made official in Shanghai? Carfreeposterchinashanghai.gifWe're a bit confused here: We just read a report (in Chinese) that says 70 mayors of Chinese cities have signed agreements that make World Car Free Day -- September 22 -- somewhat official. However, it seems that Beijing tried this in 2005 in an attempt to meet "blue sky" goals. Supposedly Chengdu was the first Chinese city back in 2001 to try to do something for WCFD. After the signing of this agreement, most of China's big cities, such as Chongqing, Tianjin, Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, etc. are on board. Not only are they going to encourage more people to walk, bike and use public transit, they might even carve out a no-car zone in parts of the cities. According to the statistics in this report , the World Bank estimates that air pollution costs about 5 percent of China's GDP, and according to a Chinese economist, traffic congestion in Beijing causes a loss of 1.1 RMB per day or 400 RMB per year to every Beijing resident. We don't know what interesting factoids and statistics are available for Shanghai (they no doubt exist), but we've been quite embarrassed recently when we thought we could make it from upper Jing'an district to the Huaihai Lu district in about 10 or 15 minutes -- we've always underestimated the time it used to take, as if our brains were stuck back in 2000. Or it was just wishful thinking along the lines of, "Oh, I won't be that late." We know. The first step to solving the problem is admitting you have one. Back to the topic -- we can't remember if anything happened, even on a small scale, in Shanghai. Does anyone remember as far back as September 22? Poster from webstrade.it . Posted by Peijin Chen in News: Shanghai | Link | Comments (2) | Recommend this! Loading...| -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061204/c41811bb/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 25949 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061204/c41811bb/attachment.gif -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 537 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061204/c41811bb/attachment-0001.gif From carlos.pardo at sutp.org Mon Dec 4 22:27:06 2006 From: carlos.pardo at sutp.org (Carlos F. Pardo SUTP) Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2006 20:27:06 +0700 Subject: [sustran] Public awareness and behavior change course in BAQ Yogyakarta Message-ID: <000601c717a7$e5518250$aff486f0$@pardo@sutp.org> Public Awareness and Behaviour Change - Training Course 12th December, 2006, Mercure Hotel Dear all, It is well known that sustainable transport is an important factor that addresses the issues of transport. In order to yield maximum results public has to be educated and made aware of the issues and solutions to gain their support. Public awareness is vital to fulfil the goals of a sustainable future. GTZ-SUTP along with the organisers of BAQ is presenting a training course where the importance of public awareness will be addressed. The course will emphasize on how to develop comprehensive and effective strategies of behaviour change in sustainable transport, which will complement an existent transport policy and further its potential in improving citizen's awareness and habits while using one or another mode of transport. Participants will have the chance to develop a comprehensive public awareness and behaviour change strategy, along with a proper communications scheme that will diffuse the strategy's objectives and results. Strategies will be developed based on proposed budgets depending on each city's possibilities, and all strategies will be evaluated and corrected throughout the training course. Participants should finish the training course with the possibility to apply a strategy in their home city. We hence warmly invite you to be a part of this training course. Please mail Mr. Carlos F. Pardo at carlos.pardo@sutp.org for registering for the course. For more information please visit http://www.cleanairnet.org/baq2006/1757/article-71084.html . Please note that there are limited spaces available for this course, so register soon before vacancies are finished! Hoping to see you in Yogyakarta, Yours sincerely SUTP team GTZ Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP) The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) Transport and Tourism Division Room 0942, ESCAP UN Building, Rajadamnern Nok Rd. Bangkok 10200, Thailand Tel: +66 (0) 2 - 288 1321 Fax: +66 (0) 2 - 280 6042 Website: www.sutp.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061204/664975ee/attachment.html From carlos.pardo at sutp.org Mon Dec 4 22:27:09 2006 From: carlos.pardo at sutp.org (Carlos F. Pardo SUTP) Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2006 20:27:09 +0700 Subject: [sustran] BRT courses in Yogyakarta BAQ 2006 Message-ID: <000b01c717a7$e6ccb0a0$b46611e0$@pardo@sutp.org> Bus Rapid Transit Planning course ? Training Course 11th December, 2006. Mercure Hotel, Yogyakarta Dear all Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is an innovative approach to solve the problems of public transport in the developing cities. Cities such as Curitiba, Bogot? and Jakarta have largely benefited by implementing BRT. The whole BRT system would be worthless if there is no good planning involved. With our experience in BRT planning and implementation, GTZ-SUTP, will be offering a training course on Bus Rapid Transit Planning. The course will describe the key components of a BRT system and give basic tools for policymakers and technical staff of municipalities to start developing a successful and high-impact system in their cities. The main objective of this training course is to introduce participants to the features of BRT and how it can be applied in their city. The course will explain the criteria of demand analysis, corridor selection, operational plan, customer service plan, infrastructure, modal integration, technology, business and financing of a BRT system. It will also describe the social, environmental and economic impacts of a BRT system. The course will engage participants in exercises for their cities regarding Bus Rapid Transit and then evaluate the potential application of a BRT system in each city. We hence warmly invite you to be a part of this training course. Please mail Mr. Carlos F. Pardo at carlos.pardo@sutp.org for registering for the course. For more information please visit http://www.cleanairnet.org/baq2006/1757/article-71088.html . Please note that there are limited spaces available for this course, so register soon before vacancies are finished! Hoping to see you in Yogyakarta, Yours sincerely SUTP team GTZ Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP) The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) Transport and Tourism Division Room 0942, ESCAP UN Building, Rajadamnern Nok Rd. Bangkok 10200, Thailand Tel: +66 (0) 2 - 288 1321 Fax: +66 (0) 2 - 280 6042 Website: www.sutp.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061204/a2ad047b/attachment.html From sujit at vsnl.com Tue Dec 5 05:09:25 2006 From: sujit at vsnl.com (Sujit Patwardhan) Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 01:39:25 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Pune First City in India to have BRT System Message-ID: <4cfd20aa0612041209i49b053ebk2a4315d9631ff79b@mail.gmail.com> 4 December 2006 Friends in SUSTRAN, You will be happy to know that Pune inaugurated its BRT System on 3 December 2006, one day short of two years from the date on which Enrique Penalosa made a landmark presentation at a public meeting jointly organized by PMC (Pune Municipal Corporation) and PTTF (Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum) on 4 December 2004 at the Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, Pune. Pune becomes the first city in India to start BRT, on what still is an incomplete Pilot corridor of about 12.5 Kilometers. As enthusiastic supporters of BRT in Pune we have also been concerned about the hasty way in which projects get implemented without proper attention to detail. Yesterday's inauguration at the hands of the Union Urban Development Minister Mr Jaipal Reddy was also an example of this - largely a political affair with the ruling Congress Party rushing to get the project off the ground in time to beat the political deadline set by the oncoming elections to the Local Civic body. Under the election rules no new projects can be announced after the set date which is about 2 months from the date of polling. We are therefore treading cautiously and pressing the authorities to attend to important components of the project to ensure that by the time the full corridor becomes operational it will be a big success and win support from citizens. There are plans for implementing BRT in a phased manner on major roads stretching over 100 Kms throughout the city. Dr Geetam Tiwari and Dr Dinesh Mohan from IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), New Delhi, have played a key role in designing the Pilot project. Dr Nitin Kareer the Municipal Commissioner also deserves credit for having initiated the BRT project despite absence of political support. Although we as a local NGO have ongoing arguments with him and his officers, we acknowledge that without his backing BRT would have remained merely an idea discussed at transportation seminars. In the coming weeks we hope to post photographs and articles on Pune's BRT and would be happy if you take a look at our web site from time to time. www.pttf.net Your comments would be most welcome. Sujit Patwardhan From: http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=339828&sid=REG *Pune becomes the first city in India to have BRT system * Pune, Dec 03: Pune today become the first city in the country to have the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, a modern public transport plan to beat traffic chaos, with Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy inaugurating the system on a 12.2 km stretch of the total planned distance of over 100 km. "The central government has approved Bus Rapid Transit system for Indore, Pune and Ahmedabad. But Pune has become the first city in the country where it (BRTs) has become operational and I am happy to flag off the bus," Reddy said at a function held to mark the occasion. Reddy, MP Suresh Kalmadi, Mayor Rajini Tribhuvan, Municipal Commissioner Nitin Kareer, Corporators and members of the public had a ride in the five Volvo buses procured for the BRTs and that plied during the inaugural run. Currently, the BRT system would be operational only on a 12.2 km long Hadapsar-Swargate-Katraj corridor, to be complete within three months at a cost of Rs 62 crore. More corridors would be added subsequently, covering all the major arterial roads for an extensive Pune-wide BRT network. The Centre has sanctioned Rs 500 crore for another 50 km for BRTs and the fund for the remaining 50 km of BRTs corridor would also be approved without any delay, the Union Minister said in his speech. Urbanisation is a byproduct of industrialisation and was inevitable. In the 20th century, the USA and Europe underwent urbanisation which was now taking place in developing countries like India, Reddy said. -- ------------------------------------------------------ Sujit Patwardhan sujit@vsnl.com sujitjp@gmail.com "Yamuna", ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007 India Tel: 25537955 ----------------------------------------------------- Hon. Secretary: Parisar www.parisar.org ------------------------------------------------------ Founder Member: PTTF (Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum) www.pttf.net ------------------------------------------------------ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061205/b13f5907/attachment.html From edelman at greenidea.info Tue Dec 5 05:58:34 2006 From: edelman at greenidea.info (Todd Edelman) Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2006 21:58:34 +0100 (CET) Subject: [sustran] Re: Guangzhou bans electric bicycles In-Reply-To: <597kkbLR18314S13.1164712732@uwdvg013.cms.usa.net> References: <597kkbLR18314S13.1164712732@uwdvg013.cms.usa.net> Message-ID: <2320.213.180.39.70.1165265914.squirrel@mail.smartweb.cz> Re: Guangzhou bans electric bicycles... The United Notions Project for Real Sustainability, the Institute for the Absolutely and Perpetually Newest Mobility and the World Council for Worldly Counseling have recently divised a system to help people determine if their solutions for personal mobility are sustainable: Individuals may borrow a solar-powered time machine, which will be delivered free-of-charge to any city or town on the edge of any ocean. Into this rather large time machine the participant will bring the personal mobility device which they currently are using, including, but not limited to: * Automobile * Motorcycle * Externally-powered bicycle (electic bicycle; in Bulgaria this is called an „internally-powered bicycle“) * Internally-powered bicycle (normal bicycle running off of „human energy“; Bulgaria: „Externally-powered bicycle“) * Electric-wheelchair (the consortium will loan particpants one which has water-tight drive system) * Manual wheelchair * Skateboard * In-line skates/rollerskates * Feet with shoes * Feet with sandals * Feet The participant then travels forward in time 100 years. If, after arriving in the coastal city or town, they are able to use any of the above device without complication, then that mobility solution is SUSTAINABLE. If they arrive in the coastal town and there is water of a depth which causes their solution to permanently malfunction without extensive repair, it is VERY LIKELY NOT SUSTAINABLE. If they arrive and immediately drown, then the solution is DEFINATELY NOT SUSTAINABLE. For more information, visit the website www.returnofthelegs.com/not_to_drown ------------------------------------------------------ Todd Edelman Director Green Idea Factory Korunn? 72 CZ-10100 Praha 10 Czech Republic ++420 605 915 970 Skype: toddedelman edelman@greenidea.eu http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain Green Idea Factory, a member of World Carfree Network From sulin at vectordesigns.org Tue Dec 5 12:06:39 2006 From: sulin at vectordesigns.org (Su-Lin Chee) Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 11:06:39 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Re: Public awareness and behavior change course in BAQYogyakarta In-Reply-To: <000601c717a7$e5518250$aff486f0$@pardo@sutp.org> Message-ID: <002601c7181a$663a46a0$0201a8c0@vector6279d942> Dear Mr Pardo, I am interested in registering for this course. I am part of a small social enterprise called vector designs. We design public transport maps for Kuala Lumpur and also maintain the new public transport interest group site: http://transit.vectordesigns.org . I would like to enquire if there are fees charged to register for this course. I am interested to register two people from our organization, including myself. I also assume this is located in Jogjakarta in conjunction with the BAQ conference, yes? Well I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you very much! :-) Best regards, Su-Lin Chee Managing partner Vector Designs 54A Jalan Bangsar Utama 1 Bangsar Utama 59100 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Tel/fax +603.22826363 www.vectordesigns.org http://transit.vectordesigns.org -----Original Message----- From: Carlos F. Pardo SUTP [mailto:carlos.pardo@sutp.org] Sent: Monday, December 04, 2006 9:27 PM To: NewMobilityCafe@yahoogroups.com; LotsLessCars@yahoogroups.com; sutp-asia@yahoogroups.com; sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org; carfree_cities@yahoogroups.com; cai-asia@lists.worldbank.org Subject: [sustran] Public awareness and behavior change course in BAQYogyakarta Public Awareness and Behaviour Change - Training Course 12th December, 2006, Mercure Hotel Dear all, It is well known that sustainable transport is an important factor that addresses the issues of transport. In order to yield maximum results public has to be educated and made aware of the issues and solutions to gain their support. Public awareness is vital to fulfil the goals of a sustainable future. GTZ-SUTP along with the organisers of BAQ is presenting a training course where the importance of public awareness will be addressed. The course will emphasize on how to develop comprehensive and effective strategies of behaviour change in sustainable transport, which will complement an existent transport policy and further its potential in improving citizen's awareness and habits while using one or another mode of transport. Participants will have the chance to develop a comprehensive public awareness and behaviour change strategy, along with a proper communications scheme that will diffuse the strategy's objectives and results. Strategies will be developed based on proposed budgets depending on each city's possibilities, and all strategies will be evaluated and corrected throughout the training course. Participants should finish the training course with the possibility to apply a strategy in their home city. We hence warmly invite you to be a part of this training course. Please mail Mr. Carlos F. Pardo at carlos.pardo@sutp.org for registering for the course. For more information please visit http://www.cleanairnet.org/baq2006/1757/article-71084.html . Please note that there are limited spaces available for this course, so register soon before vacancies are finished! Hoping to see you in Yogyakarta, Yours sincerely SUTP team GTZ Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP) The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) Transport and Tourism Division Room 0942, ESCAP UN Building, Rajadamnern Nok Rd. Bangkok 10200, Thailand Tel: +66 (0) 2 - 288 1321 Fax: +66 (0) 2 - 280 6042 Website: www.sutp.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061205/ef79dc35/attachment.html From anupam.gupta at clsa.com Tue Dec 5 12:58:14 2006 From: anupam.gupta at clsa.com (Anupam Gupta, CLSA) Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 11:58:14 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Re: Sustran-discuss Digest, Vol 40, Issue 1 Message-ID: Hi Sujit, Thanks very much for this. I would be interested to know how this progresses because Mumbai is also testing the BRT on the Dadar-Thane stretch. Personally I remain skeptical for its performance in Mumbai, because I can't imagine motorists not wanting to encroach on an empty lane (reserved for buses) on a highway. Maybe I've not understood it right, but let's see how things pan out in Mumbai. Thanks and regards Anupam http://doesmumbaimatter.blogspot.com Message: 5 Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 01:39:25 +0530 From: "Sujit Patwardhan" Subject: [sustran] Pune First City in India to have BRT System To: "SUSTRAN Asia and Pacific Sustainable Transport" Message-ID: <4cfd20aa0612041209i49b053ebk2a4315d9631ff79b@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" 4 December 2006 Friends in SUSTRAN, You will be happy to know that Pune inaugurated its BRT System on 3 December 2006, one day short of two years from the date on which Enrique Penalosa made a landmark presentation at a public meeting jointly organized by PMC (Pune Municipal Corporation) and PTTF (Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum) on 4 December 2004 at the Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, Pune. Pune becomes the first city in India to start BRT, on what still is an incomplete Pilot corridor of about 12.5 Kilometers. As enthusiastic supporters of BRT in Pune we have also been concerned about the hasty way in which projects get implemented without proper attention to detail. Yesterday's inauguration at the hands of the Union Urban Development Minister Mr Jaipal Reddy was also an example of this - largely a political affair with the ruling Congress Party rushing to get the project off the ground in time to beat the political deadline set by the oncoming elections to the Local Civic body. Under the election rules no new projects can be announced after the set date which is about 2 months from the date of polling. We are therefore treading cautiously and pressing the authorities to attend to important components of the project to ensure that by the time the full corridor becomes operational it will be a big success and win support from citizens. There are plans for implementing BRT in a phased manner on major roads stretching over 100 Kms throughout the city. Dr Geetam Tiwari and Dr Dinesh Mohan from IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), New Delhi, have played a key role in designing the Pilot project. Dr Nitin Kareer the Municipal Commissioner also deserves credit for having initiated the BRT project despite absence of political support. Although we as a local NGO have ongoing arguments with him and his officers, we acknowledge that without his backing BRT would have remained merely an idea discussed at transportation seminars. In the coming weeks we hope to post photographs and articles on Pune's BRT and would be happy if you take a look at our web site from time to time. www.pttf.net Your comments would be most welcome. Sujit Patwardhan From: http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=339828&sid=REG ------------------------------------------------------------- The content of this communication is subject to CLSA Legal and Regulatory Notices, which can be viewed at https://www.clsa.com/disclaimer.html or sent to you upon request. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061205/d2222821/attachment.html From Alan.Howes at cbuchanan.co.uk Tue Dec 5 18:11:00 2006 From: Alan.Howes at cbuchanan.co.uk (Alan Howes) Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 09:11:00 -0000 Subject: [sustran] Re: Pune First City in India to have BRT System Message-ID: <324DCD7680954F468CF306EE5404F00102F6828A@mail01.cbuchanan.co.uk> So, Sujit, what has actually happened so far? Five buses don't sound like they will provide much of a frequency. Are the median lanes actually active? Most importantly, are the funds and commitment in place to finish the job? Alan -- Alan Howes Associate Transport Planner Colin Buchanan 4 St Colme Street Edinburgh EH3 6AA Scotland email: alan.howes@cbuchanan.co.uk tel: (0)131 226 4693 (switchboard) (0)7952 464335 (mobile) fax: (0)131 220 0232 www: http:/www.cbuchanan.co.uk/ ________________________________ From: sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc.org [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc. org] On Behalf Of Sujit Patwardhan Sent: 04 December 2006 20:09 To: SUSTRAN Asia and Pacific Sustainable Transport Subject: [sustran] Pune First City in India to have BRT System 4 December 2006 Friends in SUSTRAN, You will be happy to know that Pune inaugurated its BRT System on 3 December 2006, one day short of two years from the date on which Enrique Penalosa made a landmark presentation at a public meeting jointly organized by PMC (Pune Municipal Corporation) and PTTF (Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum) on 4 December 2004 at the Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, Pune. Pune becomes the first city in India to start BRT, on what still is an incomplete Pilot corridor of about 12.5 Kilometers. As enthusiastic supporters of BRT in Pune we have also been concerned about the hasty way in which projects get implemented without proper attention to detail. Yesterday's inauguration at the hands of the Union Urban Development Minister Mr Jaipal Reddy was also an example of this - largely a political affair with the ruling Congress Party rushing to get the project off the ground in time to beat the political deadline set by the oncoming elections to the Local Civic body. Under the election rules no new projects can be announced after the set date which is about 2 months from the date of polling. We are therefore treading cautiously and pressing the authorities to attend to important components of the project to ensure that by the time the full corridor becomes operational it will be a big success and win support from citizens. There are plans for implementing BRT in a phased manner on major roads stretching over 100 Kms throughout the city. Dr Geetam Tiwari and Dr Dinesh Mohan from IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), New Delhi, have played a key role in designing the Pilot project. Dr Nitin Kareer the Municipal Commissioner also deserves credit for having initiated the BRT project despite absence of political support. Although we as a local NGO have ongoing arguments with him and his officers, we acknowledge that without his backing BRT would have remained merely an idea discussed at transportation seminars. In the coming weeks we hope to post photographs and articles on Pune's BRT and would be happy if you take a look at our web site from time to time. www.pttf.net Your comments would be most welcome. Sujit Patwardhan From: http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=339828&sid=REG Pune becomes the first city in India to have BRT system Pune, Dec 03: Pune today become the first city in the country to have the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, a modern public transport plan to beat traffic chaos, with Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy inaugurating the system on a 12.2 km stretch of the total planned distance of over 100 km. "The central government has approved Bus Rapid Transit system for Indore, Pune and Ahmedabad. But Pune has become the first city in the country where it (BRTs) has become operational and I am happy to flag off the bus," Reddy said at a function held to mark the occasion. Reddy, MP Suresh Kalmadi, Mayor Rajini Tribhuvan, Municipal Commissioner Nitin Kareer, Corporators and members of the public had a ride in the five Volvo buses procured for the BRTs and that plied during the inaugural run. Currently, the BRT system would be operational only on a 12.2 km long Hadapsar-Swargate-Katraj corridor, to be complete within three months at a cost of Rs 62 crore. More corridors would be added subsequently, covering all the major arterial roads for an extensive Pune-wide BRT network. The Centre has sanctioned Rs 500 crore for another 50 km for BRTs and the fund for the remaining 50 km of BRTs corridor would also be approved without any delay, the Union Minister said in his speech. Urbanisation is a byproduct of industrialisation and was inevitable. In the 20th century, the USA and Europe underwent urbanisation which was now taking place in developing countries like India, Reddy said. -- ------------------------------------------------------ Sujit Patwardhan sujit@vsnl.com sujitjp@gmail.com "Yamuna", ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007 India Tel: 25537955 ----------------------------------------------------- Hon. Secretary: Parisar www.parisar.org ------------------------------------------------------ Founder Member: PTTF (Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum) www.pttf.net ------------------------------------------------------ ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ DISCLAIMER This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to which they are addressed. Unless you are the named addressee, or authorised to receive it for the addressee, you may not copy or use it, or disclose it to anyone else. If you have received this email in error please contact the sender by replying to this email. Any views expressed by an individual within this email which do not constitute or record professional advice relating to the business of Colin Buchanan, do not necessarily reflect the views of the company. Any professional advice or opinion contained within this email is subject to our terms and conditions of business. We have taken precautions to minimise the risk of transmitting software viruses. We do not accept liability for any loss or damage caused by software viruses. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061205/5f1d11ea/attachment.html From carlos.pardo at sutp.org Wed Dec 6 09:25:02 2006 From: carlos.pardo at sutp.org (Carlos F. Pardo SUTP) Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 07:25:02 +0700 Subject: [sustran] Please reply to SUTP Re: Public awareness and behavior change course in BAQYogyakarta In-Reply-To: <002601c7181a$663a46a0$0201a8c0@vector6279d942> References: <000601c717a7$e5518250$aff486f0$@pardo@sutp.org> <002601c7181a$663a46a0$0201a8c0@vector6279d942> Message-ID: <001301c718cd$0f1c1750$2d5445f0$@pardo@sutp.org> Su-Lin and All, Thanks for your interest. Both courses are free of charge, but only those who have registered to BAQ can participate. If you'd like to participate or have any further doubts, please email us directly at sutp@sutp.org (not by replying to the listgroup/replying directly this email, since it generates unnecessary clutter in other people's email). Best regards, Carlos F. Pardo From: sustran-discuss-bounces+carlos.pardo=sutp.org@list.jca.apc.org [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+carlos.pardo=sutp.org@list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf Of Su-Lin Chee Sent: 05 December 2006 10:07 AM To: 'Global 'South' Sustainable Transport' Subject: [sustran] Re: Public awareness and behavior change course in BAQYogyakarta Dear Mr Pardo, I am interested in registering for this course. I am part of a small social enterprise called vector designs. We design public transport maps for Kuala Lumpur and also maintain the new public transport interest group site: http://transit.vectordesigns.org . I would like to enquire if there are fees charged to register for this course. I am interested to register two people from our organization, including myself. I also assume this is located in Jogjakarta in conjunction with the BAQ conference, yes? Well I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you very much! J Best regards, Su-Lin Chee Managing partner Vector Designs 54A Jalan Bangsar Utama 1 Bangsar Utama 59100 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Tel/fax +603.22826363 www.vectordesigns.org http://transit.vectordesigns.org -----Original Message----- From: Carlos F. Pardo SUTP [mailto:carlos.pardo@sutp.org] Sent: Monday, December 04, 2006 9:27 PM To: NewMobilityCafe@yahoogroups.com; LotsLessCars@yahoogroups.com; sutp-asia@yahoogroups.com; sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org; carfree_cities@yahoogroups.com; cai-asia@lists.worldbank.org Subject: [sustran] Public awareness and behavior change course in BAQYogyakarta Public Awareness and Behaviour Change - Training Course 12th December, 2006, Mercure Hotel Dear all, It is well known that sustainable transport is an important factor that addresses the issues of transport. In order to yield maximum results public has to be educated and made aware of the issues and solutions to gain their support. Public awareness is vital to fulfil the goals of a sustainable future. GTZ-SUTP along with the organisers of BAQ is presenting a training course where the importance of public awareness will be addressed. The course will emphasize on how to develop comprehensive and effective strategies of behaviour change in sustainable transport, which will complement an existent transport policy and further its potential in improving citizen's awareness and habits while using one or another mode of transport. Participants will have the chance to develop a comprehensive public awareness and behaviour change strategy, along with a proper communications scheme that will diffuse the strategy's objectives and results. Strategies will be developed based on proposed budgets depending on each city's possibilities, and all strategies will be evaluated and corrected throughout the training course. Participants should finish the training course with the possibility to apply a strategy in their home city. We hence warmly invite you to be a part of this training course. Please mail Mr. Carlos F. Pardo at carlos.pardo@sutp.org for registering for the course. For more information please visit http://www.cleanairnet.org/baq2006/1757/article-71084.html . Please note that there are limited spaces available for this course, so register soon before vacancies are finished! Hoping to see you in Yogyakarta, Yours sincerely SUTP team GTZ Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP) The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) Transport and Tourism Division Room 0942, ESCAP UN Building, Rajadamnern Nok Rd. Bangkok 10200, Thailand Tel: +66 (0) 2 - 288 1321 Fax: +66 (0) 2 - 280 6042 Website: www.sutp.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061206/bfa98662/attachment.html From operations at velomondial.net Wed Dec 6 18:33:30 2006 From: operations at velomondial.net (Pascal van den Noort) Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 10:33:30 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Cooled Qatar Cycle Path Designed and ready for construction Message-ID: <003201c71919$96f601d0$9600000a@MPBV> Cooled Cycling Infrastructure A cycling project which Qatar's sovereign Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani has proposed to promote the health of his people. After all, a large proportion of the population suffers from problems brought on by prosperity: they do not get enough exercise, cardiovascular diseases are prevalent and children are obese. This is a prestigious project with Qatar as an example to the countries in similar conditions! For people in Qatar cycling is not at all the obvious thing to do. This needs to be changed as the 30 kilometer cycle path - now designed - is to be completed within a year after the signing of the contract. An attendant problem is the fact that Qatar's climate is intensely hot and humid. The project group therefore came up with the idea of cooling the entire cycle path using cold ground water. The American consultancy firm the Rand Corporation has been leading in advising the Emir on the realisation of his goal of getting Qatars population to cycle. Velo Mondial played a major role in the realization of the cycle path and proposed to involve the Dutch firm Goudappel Coffeng for the technical aspects. Another Dutch firm Akertech was involved in preparing the technical drawings. Velo Mondial was leading in preparing the report: 'Developing Bicycle Paths in Doha, Qatar; A Plan to Promote Use of the Planned Bicycle Path in Doha'. As part of the work to develop this plan, and with particular reference to the training and promotion of cycling to Muslim women, we have discussed existing best practice with projects working in these fields in Tilburg (NL) and in the London Cycling Campaign. We would like to express our thanks to Lucy Davis of the Community Cycling Project, London Cycling Campaign, UK, Angela van der Kloof of 'Stap op de Fiets & Fietsvriendinnen', Tilburg, The Netherlands, and Aziz Bekkaoui, Amsterdam. The reports have been finalized November 2006. Please listen to this Interview with Adnan Rahman, project leader. Pictures and more information: http://www.velomondial.net/page_display.asp?pid=32 Pascal J.W. van den Noort Executive Director Velo Mondial www.velomondial.net www.velo.info http://spicycles.velo.info operations@velomondial.net +31206270675 landline +31627055688 mobile phone -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061206/a11992ba/attachment.html From sutp at sutp.org Fri Dec 8 18:34:39 2006 From: sutp at sutp.org (Sustainable Urban Transport Project SUTP) Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2006 16:34:39 +0700 Subject: [sustran] SUTP update: August - December 2006 Message-ID: <009201c71aac$17a25480$46e6fd80$@org> Sustainable Urban Transport Project (GTZ SUTP) update August - December 2006 This newsletter gives updates on the SUTP activities, resources, website and events related to our topic of interest. For more information or feedback, please contact sutp@sutp.org , or visit our website at www.sutp.org (or www.sutp.cn from China). *****Project related News***** (For greater detail of these news, please go to www.sutp.org. Users from China please visit www.sutp.cn) * BRT Planning Traning Course at BAQ 2006, Yogyakarta (Indonesia) Date: December 11, 8:00- 16:00 Venue: Mercure Phoenix 1, Mercure Hotel Organizer:GTZ Sustainable Urban Transport Project Based on the Bus Rapid Transit Planning Guide document developed by Lloyd Wright for GTZ, the course will describe the key components of a BRT system and give basic tools for policymakers and technical staff of municipalities to start developing a successful and high-impact system in their cities. It will emphasize on the necessary steps to develop a Bus Rapid Transit system, comparing it with other mass transit options, and participants will be able to analyze their situation with the trainer in order to see how they could start planning for a system in their city. The main objective of this training course is to introduce participants to the features of BRT and how it can be applied in their city. In case a city would want to develop a full BRT system in the future, a more comprehensive course (4-5 days) would be developed with a specific municipality. http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=159&Itemid=40& lang=en * Public Awareness and Behaviour Change in Sustainable Transport ? Training Course at BAQ, Yogyakarta (Indonesia) Schedule: 12 Dec (Tue) 2006 / 8:00-16:00 Venue: Mercure Museum Room, Mercure Hotel Organizer: GTZ Sustainable Urban Transport Project Based on the Public Awareness and Behavior Change training document developed by GTZ SUTP, the course will emphasize on how to develop comprehensive and effective strategies of behavior change in sustainable transport, which will complement an existent transport policy and further its potential in improving citizen?s awareness and habits while using one or another mode of transport. The training course will describe why public awareness is important in developing a complete transport strategy, and will focus on specific measures that can be later applied in each participant?s city. Participants will have the chance to develop a comprehensive public awareness and behavior change strategy, along with a proper communications scheme that will diffuse the strategy?s objectives and results. Strategies will be developed based on proposed budgets depending on each city?s possibilities, and all strategies will be evaluated and corrected throughout the training course. http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=160&Itemid=40& lang=en * Bus Rapid Transit planning training for Indonesian cities, Jakarta (Indonesia) 55 participants from 10 cities in Indonesia attended the training course on Bus Rapid Transit planning jointly organized by GTZ, ITDP, Ministry of Transport, PUSTRAL and MTI on December 7 and 8, 2006. The training was conducted by Mr. Ulises Navarro, and had inputs from Mr. Heru Sutomo from PUSTRAL and Mr. Carlos F. Pardo from GTZ-SUTP. More information on this training course will be available shortly at www.sutp.org . * GTZ-SUTP website for China Due to the great need of information on sustainable transport in Chinese, the GTZ-SUTP project has developed a website specifically for China accessible from www.sutp.cn . The content is both in Chinese and English, and the website has the same features as the original sutp.org website. Please visit www.sutp.cn and take a look! * GTZ-SUTP in China: 3 training courses and diffusion GTZ-SUTP delivered three training courses in Beijing in November, 2006. The first was on Bus Rapid Transit on 2-4 November, while a course on Sustainable Urban Transport was given to Chinese mayors on November 6. The third training course was a four day course on Sustainable Urban Transport given on November 7-10. This is the first exercise of a series of training courses to be delivered in China within the next years, initially organized with the cooperation of CUSTReC (BRT course) and Ministry of Transport, Tsinghua University and Southeast University (SUT course). Participants for all courses were between 30 and 50, from various cities all over China. These efforts will be combined with the SUMA program (in partnership with CAI Asia, WRI, ITDP, I-ce and UNCRD) which will be launched early 2007, and will have a strong capacity building component led by GTZ-SUTP, which will address Asian nationals who are willing to become trainers on sustainable urban transport topics or those willing to implement specific project on this topic. http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=147&Itemid=40& lang=en * Training course on Bus Rapid Transit in Mexico The GTZ SUTP project developed a training course on Bus Rapid Transit in Quer?taro, Mex?co On October 19-21, 2006. The main trainer for the course was Dr Dar?o Hidalgo, former Deputy Manager of TransMilenio in Bogot?. The 3-day training course had 47 participants, mainly from Mexican cities. http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=135&Itemid=40& lang=en * Three training courses in Sao Paulo During and after the CAI LAC conference in Sao Paulo (24-27 July, 2006), the GTZ SUTP project developed three training courses on Public Awareness, Bus Rapid Transit and Non motorised transport in Sao Paulo during July 24- August 3, 2006. The Public awareness (July 24) course was developed by Carlos F. Pardo and had assistants from different cities in Brazil, and some other Latin American cities. The course on Bus Rapid Transit (July 28) was developed by Mr Lloyd Wright and had participants from cities in Brazil and other cities in LAC. The 4-day non motorised transport training course (July 30- August 3) was directed specifically to Brazilian cities and was coorganized by GTZ, I-ce, ITDP, Ministry of Cities in Brazil and the Municipality of Guarulhos. The latter had 50 participants and 4 trainers from all cooperating institutions. http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=85&Itemid=40&l ang=en ***** CURRENT AND UPCOMING EVENTS (organized by continent, starting date). * Events in Latin America Events: 1 05.02.2007 UITP - 5th International Bus Conference http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&di d=28&lang=en 26.2.2007 ANDINATRAFFIC 2007: 2nd International Exhibition for Transport and Traffic Technologies http://www.andinatraffic.com/sa3t/home/index.cfm * Events in Asia Events: 8 29.11.2006 2nd annual Asian Infrastructure Congress http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&di d=2&lang=en 02.12.2006 International colloquium in Shanghai http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&di d=34&lang=en 09.12.2006 11th Intl. Conf. of Hong Kong Society for Transport Studies http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&di d=15&lang=en 13.12.2006 Better Air Quality Workshop, Yogyakarta (Indonesia) http://www.baq2006.org * Events in Europe Events: 3 09.05.2007 NECTAR Conference Porto , FEUP http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&di d=25&lang=en 12.06.2007 Velo-city 2007 in Munich http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&di d=18&lang=en 25.06.2007 ENHR Sustainable Urban Areas Conference http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&di d=33&lang=en * Events in North America Events: 1 21.01.2007 Transportation Research Board (TRB) 86th Annual Meeting http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&di d=19&lang=en Please check our website for constant updates of all this information. Further information is also available when emailing sutp@sutp.org . GTZ Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP) Room 0942, Transport Division, UN-ESCAP ESCAP UN Building Rajadamnern Nok Rd. Bangkok 10200, Thailand Tel: +66 (0) 2 - 288 2576 Fax: +66 (0) 2 - 280 6042 Mobile: +66 (0) 1 - 772 4727 e-mail: sutp@sutp.org Website: www.sutp.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061208/e45568e8/attachment.html From Eric.Britton at ecoplan.org Fri Dec 8 22:37:35 2006 From: Eric.Britton at ecoplan.org (Eric Britton) Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2006 14:37:35 +0100 Subject: [sustran] The Great Leap China Car Free Days Idea Factory In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <018601c71ace$0778a240$6501a8c0@Home> The Great Leap China Car Free Days Idea Factory Outline draft proposal for an open brainstorm Kindly preserve Subject line in future posts; It?s soon 2007 and we have now accumulated a dozen years of international experience with Car Free Days of many sorts in many places. Against this background the goal of this proposed group thinking exercise is to see what we might get out of it if we launch an open group brainstorm on how the best of this experience and past lessons may be put to work in China in the months and years immediately ahead. Caution: We are certainly not talking here about anything like some direct ?transfer of experience?, not least because in fact the overall record of accomplishment of the Car Free Days movement internationally is, despite occasional successes, hardly what one might call a model of success. But there are in all this some germs of ideas, and the goal of this group think and talk exercise will be to see if we can scratch together and come up with something that might have some uses. Eric Britton. I. The Three Great Truths . . . of China, Cars and the Future. 1. They are going to be more and more cars coming onto the streets and roads of China -- and coming at rates never seen anywhere in the world in the past. And these cars will be used. Ineluctably. And there is nothing that anyone else can do about it. It is thus not only an ?all-China? problem, but it is also an ?only-China? problem when it comes to addressing and solving it. 2. There are at least three basic reasons why this challenge truly needs to be met, as a huge priority: a. For the country and its citizens, its environment and its future; b. For the rest of the world in terms of the potential for huge world wide negative environmental and climate impacts; and c. For a world badly in need of new models of behaviour and collective problem solving in areas such as these. 3. On the positive side of the ledger, the Chinese elephant is just about unique in the world, in that it is one which can turn on a dime, when it decides to. This means, for better or worse, that once the political decisions have been made at the appropriate level, the country can embrace entirely new patterns of behaviour. II. The Challenge 1. These very very large numbers of cars are going to have enormous environmental, social and economic impacts. 2. Much of this is going to be very negative indeed. 3. The absorption capacity of almost all Chinese cities and towns for these large numbers of new cars are very very limited. 4. There are however choices ? though it would seem that these are not very clear to those who are making the decisions (or really much anyone else) these days. 5. The ?time locks?: There are two that come to mind: a. Most important, the environmental and other impacts which are already underway and which threaten the country both in specific places and indeed as a whole. b. And the coming great events, including the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the 2010 World?s Fair in Shanghai. It may be that for various reasons it will be the concerns about the latter which drive the move toward a pattern break. 6. The country is keen to innovate and to demonstrate new patterns in the process. III. First Great Leap Brainstorm 1. Use all the available distance and group work tools to somehow get together with Chinese experts, politicians, the media and civil society to have a look at one specific idea. 2. Specifically to see what might be done if they were to build on the dozen plus years of experimentation and lessons learned in the Car Free Days movement in many other places. a. To concentrate entirely on the challenges of cars in towns and cities. b. NOT to accept any of the existing Car Free Day models, but rather to search and innovate one that just might open the door to new thinking and new practices which can possibly lead to a major ?pattern break? and a new model, both for China and for the world. 3. To carry out this idea search in a way that those of us who are not Chinese understand fully that our role if any is simply to try to lend a hand on the understanding that the ultimate decisions and solutions will be entirely of their doing. Put in other terms our goal is to put our experience and a certain number or raw materials into their hands for them to work with. 4. Here are four possibly useful examples that I propose we start by looking over and discussing to see what if any useful lessons can be derived from them. (This is my personal shopping list on this and I put it forth her just to get the ball rolling. You will most probably have ideas of your own. I would hope.) a. The, I would like to call them, Enrique Penalosa Car Free Days in Bogot?. (I will be pleased to discuss why I chose to call them as such.) b. The Italian Ecological Sundays ? (Domeniche Ecologiche) c. The South African national Car Free Days program d. The self-organized Car Free Day events in Pasto Colombia. Again the goal here is not to select some sort of ?top ten? projects as in a beauty contest, but to see if we can open up the exchanges with a first handful of real world examples that differ from each other and might possibly have application potential in the activities that we would like to help make happen there. 5. One idea that I would like to see receiving some attention from the beginning, is not so much that of a uniform national program along the lines that the French and EC have pushed, but rather perhaps a Cities Program, even some sort of cooperative competition in which specific cities carve out a particular idea that they are ready to run with, and to this in public and as a contribution not only to their own citizens but also to other cities and groups across China who are looking for ideas that can make a difference 6. How to develop and advance these ideas: a. Through exchanges if possible focusing on a single main collector site ?I suggest the Lots Less Cars Idea Factory at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/LotsLessCars/ b. On the other hand this will have to outreach to bring in the many people and programs who have expertise and competence in these areas. This is quite a long list and perhaps at a next stage we can begin to scope it out as well. c. Some group work tools that we might want to think about using in addition to the above: i. Some kind of dynamic Wiki(pedia) group work project ii. Google Documents (This note is posted as an open document which you can rewrite as you wish at http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df9b63x7_28g7dpc3.) iii. Also posted to The New Mobility Group Blog at http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2006/12/great-leap-china-car-free-days-ide a.html where comments are invited. 7. And now it?s your turn! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061208/6e4a93a2/attachment.html From etts at indigo.ie Fri Dec 8 23:34:45 2006 From: etts at indigo.ie (Brendan Finn) Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2006 14:34:45 -0000 Subject: [sustran] Re: The Great Leap China Car Free Days Idea Factory References: <018601c71ace$0778a240$6501a8c0@Home> Message-ID: <022401c71ad6$01ea3c00$0a01a8c0@finn> MessageDear Eric, Interesting piece, and it does identify a major challenge. I know that there is already a huge amount of knowledge out there about what can be done for Car Free Day, so I would like to offer a few different thoughts at this stage : 1) The bottom-line is that CFDs are a means of bringing attention to possibilities, but they are not a solution. Just as puppies (and Cliff Richard?) are not just for Christmas, Car Free Days can't just be for the 22nd September or a demonstration week. There have to be clear, feasible goals for how urban societies will function on a permanent basis. 2) The number and diversity of Chinese cities is beyond our normal experience. I believe there are 167 cities of about 1 million or more people, and there are tens of cities which we would consider 'large'. Each has its own unique characteristics, and there are very significant climatic differences. One design, one size, one colour will not fit all. And it is not enough that there are many options in the toolbox, there must be a range of creative fundamental concepts. Put it another way, for China think 'continent' rather than 'country', we would not presume to take the same approach in Copenhagen and Stockholm as in Athens or Seville. 3) Just as important, each city has its own interest groups with their own motivations and balance of power. They must be understood. Things will not happen without the approval of those who currently hold the balance of power or those who can cause inertia. 4) Cities, city leaders, interest groups and citizens have concepts of what a city should be like, what are the characteristics of a prosperous city, and what are the characteristics or symptoms of a poor, backward or unsuccessful city. Perfectly logical technical arguments may perish on these rocks. It is not enough to show that something is efficient in transportation terms - it is vital that the stakeholders perceive it as beneficial and progressive at many levels. 5) The State Council has issued a number of Opinions, included SCO 46 which encourages the prioritisation of public transport, the making available of facilities and improving the conditions, etc. As far as I know, genuine efforts are being made at this level. Bus fleets have expanded in many cities, and BRT is gaining a strong foothold in many Chinese cities. While there is more to be done, I don't think this is the critical pinch-point. 6) What is less clear is whether there is a real commitment either to the serious restriction of the use of private car traffic or the genuine promotion of cycling and walking and giving it equal treatment with the car in roadspace. I think this is where the battlelines are more likely to be drawn. 7) It is not clear who is your target for these actions. I suggest that you would need to have both central support at the Ministry of Construction (to embed concepts and actions at national policy level), and real support at the Mayoral level in a selected set of cities (to get real implementers). Of course, the best option would be to link with existing initiatives rather than start new ones (I guess you're doing that anyway). 8) I think that there would be great benefit in study tours and meetings between counterparts (e.g. Mayor to Mayor, heads of municipal planning and traffic,heads of traffic police, etc.). These are the people whose jobs are on the line and who can push or block initiatives. Discussions with their counterparts allow them to explore the real aspects (positive, negative, implementation methods, benefits) of what is proposed. 9) Finally, it needs to be clear whose problem is being solved here. Is China the problem that the rest of the world needs to solve? Or, do Chinese cities have both common and unique problems to solve, where co-operation with others would offer new perspectives and lead to beneficial outcomes? Personally I prefer the latter approach. I hope this perspective contributes to the discussion. With best wishes, Brendan. _____________________________________________________________________________________ >From Brendan Finn, ETTS Ltd. e-mail : etts@indigo.ie tel : +353.87.2530286 ----- Original Message ----- From: Eric Britton To: Sustran-discuss@jca.apc.org Sent: Friday, December 08, 2006 1:37 PM Subject: [sustran] The Great Leap China Car Free Days Idea Factory The Great Leap China Car Free Days Idea Factory Outline draft proposal for an open brainstorm Kindly preserve Subject line in future posts; It's soon 2007 and we have now accumulated a dozen years of international experience with Car Free Days of many sorts in many places. Against this background the goal of this proposed group thinking exercise is to see what we might get out of it if we launch an open group brainstorm on how the best of this experience and past lessons may be put to work in China in the months and years immediately ahead. Caution: We are certainly not talking here about anything like some direct "transfer of experience", not least because in fact the overall record of accomplishment of the Car Free Days movement internationally is, despite occasional successes, hardly what one might call a model of success. But there are in all this some germs of ideas, and the goal of this group think and talk exercise will be to see if we can scratch together and come up with something that might have some uses. Eric Britton. I. The Three Great Truths . . . of China, Cars and the Future. 1.. They are going to be more and more cars coming onto the streets and roads of China -- and coming at rates never seen anywhere in the world in the past. And these cars will be used. Ineluctably. And there is nothing that anyone else can do about it. It is thus not only an 'all-China' problem, but it is also an 'only-China' problem when it comes to addressing and solving it. 2.. There are at least three basic reasons why this challenge truly needs to be met, as a huge priority: 1.. For the country and its citizens, its environment and its future; 2.. For the rest of the world in terms of the potential for huge world wide negative environmental and climate impacts; and 3.. For a world badly in need of new models of behaviour and collective problem solving in areas such as these. 3.. On the positive side of the ledger, the Chinese elephant is just about unique in the world, in that it is one which can turn on a dime, when it decides to. This means, for better or worse, that once the political decisions have been made at the appropriate level, the country can embrace entirely new patterns of behaviour. II. The Challenge 1.. These very very large numbers of cars are going to have enormous environmental, social and economic impacts. 2.. Much of this is going to be very negative indeed. 3.. The absorption capacity of almost all Chinese cities and towns for these large numbers of new cars are very very limited. 4.. There are however choices - though it would seem that these are not very clear to those who are making the decisions (or really much anyone else) these days. 5.. The 'time locks": There are two that come to mind: a. Most important, the environmental and other impacts which are already underway and which threaten the country both in specific places and indeed as a whole. b. And the coming great events, including the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the 2010 World's Fair in Shanghai. It may be that for various reasons it will be the concerns about the latter which drive the move toward a pattern break. 6.. The country is keen to innovate and to demonstrate new patterns in the process. III. First Great Leap Brainstorm 1. Use all the available distance and group work tools to somehow get together with Chinese experts, politicians, the media and civil society to have a look at one specific idea. 2. Specifically to see what might be done if they were to build on the dozen plus years of experimentation and lessons learned in the Car Free Days movement in many other places. a. To concentrate entirely on the challenges of cars in towns and cities. b. NOT to accept any of the existing Car Free Day models, but rather to search and innovate one that just might open the door to new thinking and new practices which can possibly lead to a major "pattern break" and a new model, both for China and for the world. 3. To carry out this idea search in a way that those of us who are not Chinese understand fully that our role if any is simply to try to lend a hand on the understanding that the ultimate decisions and solutions will be entirely of their doing. Put in other terms our goal is to put our experience and a certain number or raw materials into their hands for them to work with. 4. Here are four possibly useful examples that I propose we start by looking over and discussing to see what if any useful lessons can be derived from them. (This is my personal shopping list on this and I put it forth her just to get the ball rolling. You will most probably have ideas of your own. I would hope.) a. The, I would like to call them, Enrique Penalosa Car Free Days in Bogot?. (I will be pleased to discuss why I chose to call them as such.) b. The Italian Ecological Sundays - (Domeniche Ecologiche) c. The South African national Car Free Days program d. The self-organized Car Free Day events in Pasto Colombia. Again the goal here is not to select some sort of 'top ten' projects as in a beauty contest, but to see if we can open up the exchanges with a first handful of real world examples that differ from each other and might possibly have application potential in the activities that we would like to help make happen there. 5. One idea that I would like to see receiving some attention from the beginning, is not so much that of a uniform national program along the lines that the French and EC have pushed, but rather perhaps a Cities Program, even some sort of cooperative competition in which specific cities carve out a particular idea that they are ready to run with, and to this in public and as a contribution not only to their own citizens but also to other cities and groups across China who are looking for ideas that can make a difference 6. How to develop and advance these ideas: a. Through exchanges if possible focusing on a single main collector site -I suggest the Lots Less Cars Idea Factory at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/LotsLessCars/ b. On the other hand this will have to outreach to bring in the many people and programs who have expertise and competence in these areas. This is quite a long list and perhaps at a next stage we can begin to scope it out as well. c. Some group work tools that we might want to think about using in addition to the above: i. Some kind of dynamic Wiki(pedia) group work project ii. Google Documents (This note is posted as an open document which you can rewrite as you wish at http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df9b63x7_28g7dpc3.) iii. Also posted to The New Mobility Group Blog at http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/2006/12/great-leap-china-car-free-days-idea.html where comments are invited. 7. And now it's your turn! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via YAHOOGROUPS. Please go to http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like you can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. ================================================================ SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061208/4f108130/attachment.html From richmond at alum.mit.edu Sat Dec 9 20:35:43 2006 From: richmond at alum.mit.edu (Jonathan E. D. Richmond) Date: Sat, 9 Dec 2006 12:35:43 +0100 (Romance Standard Time) Subject: [sustran] Death is a Wicked Problem Message-ID: I have written the following for ACCESS in memory of Mel Webber, but thought those of you who might not see ACCESS would like to see it --Jonathan! Perhaps death is not a wicked problem, for there is only one inevitable destination at the end of the road. Perhaps this is why Mel sent a number of us a cryptic last message, emailed after his death. "Goodbye," he said, with finality. And that was all he said. An end without doubt. A conclusion without the complex and confounding series of choices that characterize wicked problems. An end to the thought, writing and speech associated with one of the few truly great minds of planning over the last half century. I first encountered Mel during a brief stay at Berkeley. I had left MIT with a trail of debt and unwisely registered for a PhD at Berkeley with only partial financial aid. Rather than worry about the unpaid rent at International House that now embelished the five months of unpaid dorm rent I had left at MIT, I became utterly absorbed in the two most astonishing courses I have taken anywhere. One was taught by C. West Churchman, the other by Mel Webber (very ably assisted by Karen Christensen). The courses had similar themes, but a difference in emphasis. Both West and Mel had as central concern the human failing of turning the complex into the simple in order to find an easy answer that rarely proves to be an effective solution. Both of these deepest of thinkers called on their students to identify and question their assumptions in order to avoid the pitfalls of so much planning. But, while West led us to encounter the great philosophers as a way to lay bare the inadequacies of our own thought, Mel was more practical, and gave hope that there was in fact a path to better planning, one that we could all embrace. Much of what is called "planning theory" is deadly boring, with too many courses in the subject a sort of fraternity initiation ritual students are made to undergo before they can become certified planners and then forget everything they have read. Mel's unforgettable course could not have been more different. To start with the examples - about real transportation systems, real cities, and real people - were lifelike and demanded attention. The theoretical readings, though voluminous, were carefully selected and came to life through the questions Mel led us to explore in class. And the most profound message that Mel gave us was that there was a way to confront those things we found complex. Simple analyses, such of the demand for a transport system, may prove inadequate without consideration of social, environmental and larger urban contexts, but Mel did not tell us not to conduct such studies. Indeed, as we learned, a good deal of Mel's own work in transportation made effective use of conventional tools of economic data analysis, but used the findings as a starting point for asking deeper questions, which could then lead to a rearticulation of the original analysis. Mel's teaching always had a great clarity which drew in his students. Indeed, the concept of "wicked problems," which he developed with Horst Rittel, was explained by him with such immediacy that it was readily understood and became a larger-than-life phenomenon nobody in the class could let themselves forget whenever a planning or other social problem presented itself in other classes and, later, in professional life. Wicked problems have no one solution, have no ending point. They are messy, and often the obvious problem we first encounter requires other problems to be confronted to give any chance of progress. So is traffic congestion about providing more roads? Or allowing less cars on the roads we have? About providing public transport - what sort of public transport? About changing our work patterns and the geography of our cities? About changing out very concept of place - Mel introduced us to the "non-place urban realm" - and with it out notions of community (now to be "without propinquity") and the sorts of travel implied (do existing concepts of public transport work at all?) And so the choices go on, and it becomes clear that wicked problems can lead to endless other problem formulations, strategies, and surprising outcomes which then generate new wicked problems. Mel found a way to teach his students such things without heaviness. We left his classes feeling empowered and uplifted. The complexity he led us to confront may have been "wicked," but the concepts Mel taught us were vivid and compelling. And the message from Mel's course was that there are ways to tackle complexity and become better planners, and that we would all be better planners if only we would open up our minds, become aware of the choices to be made, and act in the light of a wisdom Mel had given us the power to produce even at our young age. Powerful stuff. We certainly did not have to attempt to attack all elements of complexity -- we would doubtless go crazy if we attempted to do so -- but if we could recognize and act on at least a part of that mess we would do good work. Despite the "wickedness" of problems, we could come up with solutions. They might not be the only possible solutions, or optimal (there is no such thing as an "optimal" solution to a social problem in any case), but they would provide good paths forward which could contribute to the growth and wellbeing of cities. Mel was an excellent writer. He expected high standards from his students' written work, and had no hesitation in identifying defects and prescribing remedies. His demands for clear thinking permeated all areas of his work, and are in evidence in this very issue of ACCESS. For, if my original words have shown any sign of lapse, you can be sure an editor will have cleaned them up before they meet your eyes. Too many academics write poorly, but Mel insisted that all writing is a form of communication and must grip the reader as his teaching did his students. Perhaps death is a wicked problem after all, at least when we face how to confront the legacy of a magnificent human being. Death may have a physical finality, but we have choices on how to honor and learn from a life well-lived. Do we continue work that was in progress? Do we use the ideas as a basis for our own future thinking? How are those ideas to be understood in a variety of contexts? How must those very ideas change as transportation systems, cities, communities metamorphose over time? Ideas can live on and are perhaps our only way to immortality. Mel's ideas were powerful as well as humane, demanding generosity of spirit and leading to paths of constructive change. If we can incorporate at least some of Mel's principles in our own, the result can be anything but wicked. ----- Jonathan Richmond Visiting Professor Logistique, Transport et Tourisme Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers 5 rue du Vertbois 75141 Paris Cedex 03 France Home: 40 rue Paul Delinge 95880 Enghien-les-Bains France 1 (617) 395-4360 (US number forwards and rings in France. All calls billed as if to Massachusetts) e-mail: richmond@alum.mit.edu http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/ From majero at adb.org Sat Dec 9 23:03:05 2006 From: majero at adb.org (majero at adb.org) Date: Sat, 9 Dec 2006 22:03:05 +0800 Subject: [sustran] May Antoniette Ajero/Consultants/ADB is out of the office. Message-ID: Thank you for your email. I'll respond to it after I return to the office on December 18, 2006. I have left for Better Air Quality (BAQ) 2006 Workshop in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. While there, I may not have consistent access to email/internet. I will try to check if technology and schedule permits. I may be reached through mobile +62-81392885183. From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Tue Dec 12 02:48:37 2006 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (Eric Britton) Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2006 18:48:37 +0100 Subject: [sustran] New Mobility Agenda website overhaul - please critique Message-ID: <045901c71d4c$ae691230$6501a8c0@Home> Dear Friends, I have just spend much of the last week trying to make our New Mobility Agenda website at http://www.newmobility.org into a friendlier and more useful place for you and anyone who might come here for help, information or insight. It has been quite hard work, and at one point as you can imagine one actually becomes a bit snow blind and can no longer make out the balance and clarity of all this. Hence this call for help and a bit of independent judgment. It actually is a rather busy site, with anywhere from 30 to 100 people a day dropping in. Over the last two days, for example, we have had guests from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, Serbia And Montenegro, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden , Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, and Venezuela. Which suggests to me that this is probably worth the work. So I wonder if I might ask you to go in, play with it a bit as your time and interest allow, and then let me know via a private note your views -- and above all what you think we need to do here to make this into something more useful and easier to get around in. Don't spare me your toughest criticism. That's just what we need. Kind thanks and I do hope you too find some use in this. Eric Britton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061211/d4ed5014/attachment.html From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Tue Dec 12 02:47:49 2006 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (Eric Britton) Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2006 18:47:49 +0100 Subject: [sustran] New Mobility Agenda website overhaul - please critique Message-ID: <045201c71d4c$8db4e0f0$6501a8c0@Home> Dear Friends, I have just spend much of the last week trying to make our New Mobility Agenda website at http://www.newmobility.org into a friendlier and more useful place for you and anyone who might come here for help, information or insight. It has been quite hard work, and at one point as you can imagine one actually becomes a bit snow blind and can no longer make out the balance and clarity of all this. Hence this call for help and a bit of independent judgment. It actually is a rather busy site, with anywhere from 30 to 100 people a day dropping in. Over the last two days, for example, we have had guests from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, Serbia And Montenegro, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden , Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, and Venezuela. Which suggests to me that this is probably worth the work. So I wonder if I might ask you to go in, play with it a bit as your time and interest allow, and then let me know via a private note your views -- and above all what you think we need to do here to make this into something more useful and easier to get around in. Don't spare me your toughest criticism. That's just what we need. Kind thanks and I do hope you too find some use in this. Eric Britton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061211/9ea2ccc8/attachment.html From Eric.Britton at ecoplan.org Tue Dec 12 02:49:18 2006 From: Eric.Britton at ecoplan.org (Eric Britton) Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2006 18:49:18 +0100 Subject: [sustran] New Mobility Agenda website overhaul - please critique Message-ID: <045e01c71d4c$c0dc6de0$6501a8c0@Home> Dear Friends, I have just spend much of the last week trying to make our New Mobility Agenda website at http://www.newmobility.org into a friendlier and more useful place for you and anyone who might come here for help, information or insight. It has been quite hard work, and at one point as you can imagine one actually becomes a bit snow blind and can no longer make out the balance and clarity of all this. Hence this call for help and a bit of independent judgment. It actually is a rather busy site, with anywhere from 30 to 100 people a day dropping in. Over the last two days, for example, we have had guests from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, Serbia And Montenegro, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden , Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, and Venezuela. Which suggests to me that this is probably worth the work. So I wonder if I might ask you to go in, play with it a bit as your time and interest allow, and then let me know via a private note your views -- and above all what you think we need to do here to make this into something more useful and easier to get around in. Don't spare me your toughest criticism. That's just what we need. Kind thanks and I do hope you too find some use in this. Eric Britton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061211/63115b79/attachment.html From Eric.Britton at ecoplan.org Tue Dec 12 20:41:01 2006 From: Eric.Britton at ecoplan.org (Eric Britton) Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 12:41:01 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Abject apologies for the triple hit . In-Reply-To: <000901c71dde$4d7050a0$01bbaa3c@coutwbbequrro> Message-ID: <02f001c71de2$78b65c60$6501a8c0@Home> Abject apologies for the triple hit on my request for your comments yesterday on our new website at http://www.newmobility.org . My computer ran amuck on me. Sigh. Eric Britton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061212/555e44c0/attachment.html From edelman at greenidea.info Fri Dec 15 09:59:59 2006 From: edelman at greenidea.info (Todd Edelman) Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 01:59:59 +0100 (CET) Subject: [sustran] Asia's greenhouse gas 'to treble' Message-ID: <14312.194.149.113.177.1166144399.squirrel@mail.smartweb.cz> Asia's greenhouse gas emissions will treble over the next 25 years, according to a report commissioned by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). ... a conference in Indonesia has heard that while some Asian governments should be praised for toughening vehicle emissions standards, with many phasing out leaded gasoline, much work still needs to be done. "Transport is growing faster in most cities so transport emissions are a big part of the problem," Lew Fulton, a transport expert with the UN Environmental Programme, told the three-day Better Air Quality Conference 2006 in the city of Yogyakarta. "We're not only seeing increases in pollutant emissions. We're seeing huge increases in fuel consumption which is coupled tightly with (carbon dioxide) emissions," he said. "It's costing cities and countries ever increasing amounts of foreign exchange with the high oil prices that we've got." The World Health Organization said increased pollution in Asia is estimated to cause as many as 537,000 premature deaths each year, as well as a rise in cardiopulmonary and respiratory illnesses. Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6178683.stm ------------------------------------------------------ Todd Edelman Director Green Idea Factory Korunn? 72 CZ-10100 Praha 10 Czech Republic ++420 605 915 970 Skype: toddedelman edelman@greenidea.eu http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain Green Idea Factory, a member of World Carfree Network From Eric.Britton at ecoplan.org Sat Dec 16 20:55:53 2006 From: Eric.Britton at ecoplan.org (Eric Britton) Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2006 12:55:53 +0100 Subject: [sustran] BRT videos - in progress In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <065701c72109$24d99510$6501a8c0@Home> Dear Colleagues, BRT videos: This - a readily available library of free videos and film clips which show how BRT works (and why not, where it may not) - may be available somewhere out there on the web -- but I for one have been unable to uncover anything quite like it. So we have decided to get to work and see if and how we might make something along these lines available on the New Mobility Agenda site (http://www.newmobility.org ). So if you go the New Mobility site today and look down way at the end of the left menu, you will see a final slot labeled Brainfood, then More, then click to BRT videos to see the beginning of this collection. The goal is to see how we might all get together to add materials that will be of use to cities, groups and people who want to know more about how this "new" transportation concept works. So if you have anything that we can add here, please either send it on in a form that we can then upload to YouTube -- or better yet to it yourself and let us know when it is on line. Let me know what you think about this, including your harsh criticism of the little introductory video, which as you will immediately see could be greatly improved. ;-) BRT Photos: Likewise we have started a collection of photos of BRT systems and details (that being where the devil is), kicking it off with a collection covering Paris's very nice indeed Mobilien systems - which you can see if you click first to the Media Library link on the left menu (toward to top) and then quite simply Paris BRT. But if you have others that you think might help cities and people to better grasp what this is all about, please either send us links, the images themselves, or create your own web album (you'll see how that works on the site). Eric Britton * Chinese * Dutch * English * French * German * Italian * Japanese * Korean * Portuguese * Russian * Spanish PS. You may or may not have noticed yet, but the entire New Mobility Agenda site has been massively overhauled to get us ready for the big push that is to begin in 2007. The year that is going to mark the difference. Stay tuned. Get involved. You are part of the solution. Machine Translations: Here is one example of how we are trying to apply simple free tools which can open up all the information contents of all these sites under the Agenda to people who may have some difficulties with the English language text here. The attached for example has been taken from the opening summary page for the New Mobility site, and if you click any of the indicated languages you will find a rough machine translation that pops up in another window. Handy, but just to be sure you may wish to click the link to the Help Desk that appears just below each of these translation boxes. [ Opens in own window ] [Click for * Help desk * ] PPS. Anyone out that who can tell us if the Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Russian 'translations' are working more or less correctly? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061216/fa7fc7b7/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 5806 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061216/fa7fc7b7/attachment.jpe From Eric.Britton at ecoplan.org Sat Dec 16 20:54:41 2006 From: Eric.Britton at ecoplan.org (Eric Britton) Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2006 12:54:41 +0100 Subject: [sustran] BRT videos - in progress In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <064f01c72108$fb2c7c00$6501a8c0@Home> Dear Colleagues, BRT videos: This - a readily available library of free videos and film clips which show how BRT works (and why not, where it may not) - may be available somewhere out there on the web -- but I for one have been unable to uncover anything quite like it. So we have decided to get to work and see if and how we might make something along these lines available on the New Mobility Agenda site (http://www.newmobility.org ). So if you go the New Mobility site today and look down way at the end of the left menu, you will see a final slot labeled Brainfood, then More, then click to BRT videos to see the beginning of this collection. The goal is to see how we might all get together to add materials that will be of use to cities, groups and people who want to know more about how this "new" transportation concept works. So if you have anything that we can add here, please either send it on in a form that we can then upload to YouTube -- or better yet to it yourself and let us know when it is on line. Let me know what you think about this, including your harsh criticism of the little introductory video, which as you will immediately see could be greatly improved. ;-) BRT Photos: Likewise we have started a collection of photos of BRT systems and details (that being where the devil is), kicking it off with a collection covering Paris's very nice indeed Mobilien systems - which you can see if you click first to the Media Library link on the left menu (toward to top) and then quite simply Paris BRT. But if you have others that you think might help cities and people to better grasp what this is all about, please either send us links, the images themselves, or create your own web album (you'll see how that works on the site). Eric Britton * Chinese * Dutch * English * French * German * Italian * Japanese * Korean * Portuguese * Russian * Spanish PS. You may or may not have noticed yet, but the entire New Mobility Agenda site has been massively overhauled to get us ready for the big push that is to begin in 2007. The year that is going to mark the difference. Stay tuned. Get involved. You are part of the solution. Machine Translations: Here is one example of how we are trying to apply simple free tools which can open up all the information contents of all these sites under the Agenda to people who may have some difficulties with the English language text here. The attached for example has been taken from the opening summary page for the New Mobility site, and if you click any of the indicated languages you will find a rough machine translation that pops up in another window. Handy, but just to be sure you may wish to click the link to the Help Desk that appears just below each of these translation boxes. [ Opens in own window ] [Click for * Help desk * ] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061216/0ef20008/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 5806 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061216/0ef20008/attachment.jpe From edelman at greenidea.info Sat Dec 16 23:18:28 2006 From: edelman at greenidea.info (Todd Edelman) Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2006 15:18:28 +0100 (CET) Subject: [sustran] Re: BRT videos - in progress In-Reply-To: <065701c72109$24d99510$6501a8c0@Home> References: <065701c72109$24d99510$6501a8c0@Home> Message-ID: <19745.194.149.113.177.1166278708.squirrel@mail.smartweb.cz> Hi Eric, This is not a link to a video, but to a very high quality presentation, so perhaps it is useful, especially since it is in the USA? http://www.mta.net/projects_programs/orangeline/images/ol_interactive.htm - T > Dear Colleagues, > > > > BRT videos: > > This - a readily available library of free videos and film clips which > show how > BRT works (and why not, where it may not) - may be available somewhere out > there > on the web -- but I for one have been unable to uncover anything quite > like it. > So we have decided to get to work and see if and how we might make > something > along these lines available on the New Mobility Agenda site > (http://www.newmobility.org ). > > > > So if you go the New Mobility site today and look down way at the end of > the > left menu, you will see a final slot labeled Brainfood, then More, then > click to > BRT videos to see the beginning of this collection. The goal is to see > how we > might all get together to add materials that will be of use to cities, > groups > and people who want to know more about how this "new" transportation > concept > works. > > > > So if you have anything that we can add here, please either send it on in > a form > that we can then upload to YouTube -- or better yet to it yourself and let > us > know when it is on line. > > > > Let me know what you think about this, including your harsh criticism of > the > little introductory video, which as you will immediately see could be > greatly > improved. ;-) > > > > BRT Photos: > > Likewise we have started a collection of photos of BRT systems and details > (that > being where the devil is), kicking it off with a collection covering > Paris's > very nice indeed Mobilien systems - which you can see if you click first > to the > Media Library link on the left menu (toward to top) and then quite simply > Paris > BRT. But if you have others that you think might help cities and people to > better grasp what this is all about, please either send us links, the > images > themselves, or create your own web album (you'll see how that works on the > site). > > > > Eric Britton > > > > > > > > > * > g/wtpp/general/in-brief.htm&&lp=en_zt> Chinese > > * > g/wtpp/general/in-brief.htm&&lp=en_nl> Dutch > > * > g/wtpp/general/in-brief.htm&&lp=en_en> English > > * > g/wtpp/general/in-brief.htm&&lp=en_fr> French > > * > g/wtpp/general/in-brief.htm&&lp=en_de> German > > * > g/wtpp/general/in-brief.htm&&lp=en_it> Italian > > * > g/wtpp/general/in-brief.htm&&lp=en_jp> Japanese > > * > g/wtpp/general/in-brief.htm&&lp=en_ko> Korean > > * > g/wtpp/general/in-brief.htm&&lp=en_pt> Portuguese > > * > g/wtpp/general/in-brief.htm&&lp=en_ru> Russian > > * > g/wtpp/general/in-brief.htm&&lp=en_es> Spanish > > > > PS. You may or may not have noticed yet, but the entire New Mobility > Agenda site > has been massively overhauled to get us ready for the big push that is to > begin > in 2007. The year that is going to mark the difference. Stay tuned. Get > involved. You are part of the solution. > > > > Machine Translations: Here is one example of how we are trying to apply > simple > free tools which can open up all the information contents of all these > sites > under the Agenda to people who may have some difficulties with the English > language text here. The attached for example has been taken from the > opening > summary page for the New Mobility site, and if you click any of the > indicated > languages you will find a rough machine translation that pops up in > another > window. Handy, but just to be sure you may wish to click the link to the > Help > Desk that appears just below each of these translation boxes. > > > > [ Opens in own window ] > [Click for * Help desk * ] > > > > > > PPS. Anyone out that who can tell us if the Korean, Chinese, Japanese and > Russian 'translations' are working more or less correctly? > > -------------------------------------------------------- > IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via > YAHOOGROUPS. > > Please go to http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to > join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The > yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to > the real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like > you can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > (the 'Global South'). ------------------------------------------------------ Todd Edelman Director Green Idea Factory Korunn? 72 CZ-10100 Praha 10 Czech Republic ++420 605 915 970 Skype: toddedelman edelman@greenidea.eu http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain Green Idea Factory, a member of World Carfree Network From edelman at greenidea.info Sun Dec 17 23:10:51 2006 From: edelman at greenidea.info (Todd Edelman) Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2006 15:10:51 +0100 (CET) Subject: [sustran] South American BRT field trip in 2.2007! In-Reply-To: <065701c72109$24d99510$6501a8c0@Home> References: <065701c72109$24d99510$6501a8c0@Home> Message-ID: <26595.194.149.113.177.1166364651.squirrel@mail.smartweb.cz> >From APTA website: http://www.apta.com/conferences_calendar/documents/south_american_brt_program_draft_11_17_06211.pdf ------------------------------------------------------ Todd Edelman Director Green Idea Factory Korunn? 72 CZ-10100 Praha 10 Czech Republic ++420 605 915 970 Skype: toddedelman edelman@greenidea.eu http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain Green Idea Factory, a member of World Carfree Network From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Mon Dec 18 02:38:15 2006 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (Eric Britton) Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2006 18:38:15 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Etymological evolutions Message-ID: <00ad01c72202$2496a580$6501a8c0@Home> I am interested in the evolution of English-language words, particularly when that evolution is related to political agendas. George Orwell said that he developed *1984* by simply extending trends to their logical extreme. With regard to language, he wrote, The purpose of Newspeak was not only to provide a medium of expression for the world-view and mental habits proper to the devotees..., but to make all other modes of thought impossible. It was intended that when Newspeak had been adopted..., a heretical thought... should be literally unthinkable, at least so far as thought is dependent on words. This was done... chiefly by eliminating undesirable words and stripping such words as remained of unorthodox meanings.... Economics, particularly, suffers from an ambiguity of terms that other sciences do not allow. Economists sometimes take pains to qualify their use of these terms for greater precision, but politicians glom onto the results while substituting misleading definitions. Some of the substitutions are as follows. * "Invest" for "acquire" or "control." Encouraging investment is seen as a good thing, but this is in the sense of "putting something into," as distinct from "acquiring" or "controlling." A clear example of this usage is the parent who "invests in his child's education." In many cases, investment and control or acquisition go hand-in-hand, as when a person invests in his own business, etc. However, acquisition can occur without investment, as when one purchases stock without transferring money into the company purchased or property without making improvements to that property. * "Income" for "earnings." "Income" used to mean "that which comes in," especially of its own accord -- what we now call "passive income." When people in the 18th and 19th century debated the merits of income tax, passive income is what they had in mind. Today we speak of the "earnings of stock" and the "income of labor," completely reversing the original definitions and thereby clouding the issue. Today's so-called income taxes are actually earnings taxes, and are to a significant degree payroll taxes. * "Wealth" for "obligations." When Adam Smith wrote *Wealth of Nations*, he was careful to distinguish between actual wealth that made the entire nation more prosperous and obligations between one citizen and another that had no effect on wealth. Today we encourage "savings" of money in banks at the expense of inventory in warehouses. As some deposit money and others borrow it, we are increasing obligations, not wealth. * "Value" for "utility." Smith was also careful to distinguish "value in exchange," or what we now call market value, from "value in use," or utility. Popular arguments that "all value is subjective" stem from confounding market value with utility. * "Capital" for "assets." This is similar to the confounding of wealth and obligations. Economics is predicated on three factors of production, land, labor and capital. For capital to be intelligently discussed as a factor of production, its definition must, at the very least, distinguish it from other factors. Yet we frequently see all assets, including land and debt obligations, described as capital. * "Human capital" for "labor." This is just an extension of the previously described ambiguity. * "Labor" for "unions." As a factor of production, labor must include all people whose input, whether physical or mental, contributes to the productive process. However, both the supporters and detractors of labor unions use the term "labor" to mean "unionized labor," or, at least, "wage labor." * "Spending" for "exchanging" or "rendering" When a candle is spent, the candle no longer exists, but when money is spent, it is merely in someone else's hands. While increasing the circulation of money is considered to be good for the economy, spending money, which means exactly the same thing, is treated as bad for the economy. While wasteful government spending can indeed be bad for the economy, the presumption that spending money is a negative unto itself comes from this confounding of meanings. * "Savings" for "loans." This is an offshoot of confounding money with wealth. Putting money in a bank is not saving wealth, but is making a loan to a borrower with the bank as an intermediary. * "Rights" for "privileges." Rights in the sense of free speech, universal suffrage, due process, etc., are fundamentally different from privileges that are conferred, such as "the 'right' to operate a taxi, etc. Terms like patent rights, broadcast rights, contractual rights, property rights, etc., are given weight and sanctity by their sharing a term that also applies to universal human rights. * "Privatization" for "patronage." Privatization is one of the more recent euphemisms. It rarely means government stepping out of the picture or even giving up control. More often, it means government hiring a company to provide a service instead of hiring individuals directly. Tammany Hall, the most notorious patronage machine in American history, was based almost entirely on contract patronage. The switch to direct employment and civil service was one of the great reforms of the progressive era. * "Common" for "government" or "collective." Prior to Marx, "common rights" were individual inalienable rights that each person held as a human being and a member of a society that respected those rights. Both the left and the right are quick to confound the two. (I wrote an essay on this at: http://geolib.com/sullivan.dan/commonrights.html * "Free market" for "status quo." The left and the right both refer to the status quo of business relationships as the free market -- one in attacking it and the other in defending it. One libertarian wag even argued that the emancipation of slaves was an interference in the free market, which would have solved the slavery problem on its own. The absurdity of a free market in slaves was lost on him, and less obvious ways in which the status quo cannot be called a free market are lost on many people from across the political spectrum. * "Capitalist" for "landlord." An owner of a $9 million apartment building on a $1 million dollar lot is referred to as a landlord, even though his asset is 90% capital and only 10% land. Yet an oil company is referred to as capitalist even if its assets are 90% land and natural resources and only 10% capital. * "Single owner" for "monopoly." The term "monopoly" used to refer to any asset that was controlled by a subset of the population to the detriment of the rest of the population. Thus, import tariffs gave domestic producers the ability to charge a monopoly premium, etc. Neoclassical economists deflected anti-monopoly sentiments by simply redefining the term. However, the original term is still understood in common speech, as when women complain that the louder, more aggressive men tend to monopolize the conversation. This evolution of terms has a variety of causes, I think. In some cases, mere self-image concerns are sufficient to cause the substitution of a more flattering term. Certainly a person would rather describe himself as "an investor" than "an acquisitor." Other times it is common usage spilling into usage as an economics term, as when an apartment owner is referred to as a landlord. Sometimes it is ad-hominem analysis substituting for process analysis. Is a capitalist someone who owns capital or someone who believes in capitalism, and why is analyzing that person a substitute for analyzing the process in the first place? And, sometimes it is part of an intentional effort to deceive, as when the neoclassical school of economics was founded by people who had explicitly stated their interests in changing the debate from being pro or anti monopoly to being pro or anti socialist. In any case, I am looking to trace these etymological changes back to their roots. Some words go back even farther, and are quite interesting: "Mail," "impost" and "tax" were close synonyms. (The tax collector used to supplement his income by carrying letters and goods from one taxpayer to another, which is how the tradition of government employees carrying the mail began.) Those who could pay their taxes in silver were paying "white mail." As poorer people who had no money were taxed by portions of their goods being taken, it was called "black mail." The OED says that "real," as in "real property" or "real estate" comes from the latin "res," and is unrelated to "royal." Yet the word arose when real property was distinguished from the commons as "property held by the Crown" (or held by a landlord under the auspices of the Crown) at a time when "royal" was indeed spelled "real." It therefore seems odd that the obvious connection to royal property is not the recognized connection. Similarly, the title to land originated as part of the royal title. For example, the lands of Sussex went to the Earl of Sussex, and when the king granted the one title, he automatically granted the other. My understanding is that the official ceremony, wherein the king laid his sword on the shoulders of the person being titled was called the "deed," from which the term of title deed arises. These etymological evolutions and etymologies have a great deal to do with the fuzzy thinking that dominates economics and politics. If anyone has other examples, I would like to add them to this list. If anyone has ideas on how to further research the evolution of these terms, I would also be interested in that. Sincerely, Dan Sullivan -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 9896 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061217/b1bb0177/winmail.bin From SCHIPPER at wri.org Mon Dec 18 13:00:11 2006 From: SCHIPPER at wri.org (Lee Schipper) Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2006 23:00:11 -0500 Subject: [sustran] Are the streets safe in Hanoi? Message-ID: Looking down on the street from the Melia Hotel in Hanoi I can confirm the traffic this article describes. Caught in the swarm How Hanoi's chaotic traffic system fascinated, and almost killed, MIT computer-science guru Seymour Papert (AP Photo) By Matt Steinglass | December 17, 2006 THE FIELDS OF computer science and education suffered a blow on Dec. 5, when Seymour Papert, the 78-year-old cofounder of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab, was struck by a motorbike in Hanoi. Papert, who had come to Hanoi for a conference on teaching math with computers, remained in a coma as of Friday. Article Tools * PRINTER FRIENDLYPrinter friendly * SINGLE PAGESingle page * E-MAILE-mail to a friend * RSS FEEDSIdeas RSS feed * RSS FEEDSAvailable RSS feeds * MOST E-MAILEDMost e-mailed * REPRINTS & LICENSINGReprints & Licensing * Share on Facebook * Tag with Del.icio.us Save this article * powered by Del.icio.us More: * Ideas section | * Globe front page | * Boston.com * Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | * Breaking News Alerts Strangely, shortly before the accident, Papert had been discussing how to build a computer model of Hanoi's notoriously chaotic traffic. He found it an interesting instance of a theme closely associated with his work: "emergent behavior," or the way that large groups of agents following simple rules, with no central leader, can spontaneously create sophisticated systems and activities. Examples include schools of fish, anthills, bee swarms, and, apparently, Vietnamese motorbike drivers. Papert's involvement in emergent behavior grew out of Logo, a child-friendly programming language he invented in the 1970s for teaching math. Kids initially used Logo to drive an electric toy, which Papert called a "turtle." To program the turtle to drive in various patterns, the kids had to figure out how to do plane geometry. Logo turtles exemplified Papert's interactive educational philosophy, which he calls "constructionism." Like all the best inventions, Logo turned out to have applications far beyond those it was built for. Once modified to run multiple on-screen, virtual turtles, it turned out to be a perfect way to model emergent behaviors. Programmers could create thousands of turtles, then program them to hunt for "food" and follow the trails of other turtles that had found it. Pretty soon, they had an anthill. Other turtles might be programmed to stay close together, move quickly, and avoid hitting each other or any obstacles -- and become a flock of birds. As the inventor of Logo, Papert helped set off an explosion of interest in emergent behaviors in the 1990s, when many of the Internet's early enthusiasts began to see the global online network as a kind of self-organizing swarm composed of human beings. In his 1994 book "Out of Control," Kevin Kelly, then executive editor of Wired magazine, praised the superiority of distributed intelligence over central control. He was particularly enamored of bee swarms, coining the term "hive mind," which he claimed encapsulated "the true nature of democracy and of all distributed governance." Like bees, Hanoi motorbikes move in swarms, unrestrained by laws, lanes, or traffic signals. Somehow, the swarm self-organizes to keep people moving and, mostly, not crashing into one another. Papert was fascinated, and spent his first days in Hanoi talking with his former student, Northwestern computer scientist Uri Wilensky, about how to use NetLogo (Wilensky's modification of Logo) to model the city's traffic flow. As the two were crossing a six-lane road separating their hotel from the university, Papert was hit. That Papert was struck by Hanoi's traffic while thinking about how to model it is ironic, in the proper sense of the word. It's as if he had been hit by one of his own turtles. One of the first people to use Logo turtles to model traffic was Papert's MIT colleague Mitchel Resnick, author of the 1994 book "Turtles, Termites, and Traffic Jams." Resnick, like Kelly, was an evangelist: he saw recognition of emergent behaviors as part of an epochal shift away from Newtonian mechanical models and toward biological ones. The thrill of such spontaneous organization is familiar to anyone who has ridden a motorbike in Hanoi. Traffic in Hanoi is a self-defining flow of merging groups. Lights are few and often ignored, and divisions between lanes are determined less by lines on the ground than by a shifting, implicit group consensus. "Hanoi is one of the first places I've been, even more than in Delhi, where traffic really is organic," says Wilensky. "It really is more like a herd of buffalo." The system would be impossible without a large reserve of tolerance and informality. Newcomers to Hanoi, who are often unable to figure out how to cross the street, are told to step into traffic at a steady pace; the motorbikes will part around you. When the city began introducing traffic lights some years ago, a Vietnamese performance artist went to one of the busiest intersections in town and videotaped himself repeatedly crossing against the light to see whether traffic would make way for him; it did. "People were still nice," as he put it -- they hadn't yet embraced the tyranny of traffic lights. So far, so emergent. But there's a problem: as Vietnam grows richer, the number of motorbikes and cars on the street is rising furiously. >From 2002 to 2004, the percentage of Vietnamese households owning motor vehicles went from 22 percent to 33 percent. These new vehicles are pouring into a hopelessly inadequate grid of winding alleyways, ancient dike roads, and Soviet-style highways. And as density rises, drivers behave more aggressively: 9,400 Vietnamese died in traffic accidents in the first nine months of this year, up 8 percent from the same period in 2005. Worse, Wilensky says that when Papert was hit, he was obeying the Hanoi rule he'd been taught: walk across at a steady pace. But the driver failed to make way for him. Clearly, the rules are changing. And when rules change, the swarm no longer functions very well. "If you don't have uniform rules, then you don't have as much predictability," Wilensky says. Density also increases the risk of ripple effects from faraway events, which create sudden unpredictable moves by other drivers. All of this, Wilensky says, argues for more formal regulation -- traffic lights, crosswalks, speeding tickets. "If there were any good that could come out of this, it would be that they pay some attention to the traffic problem. It's out of control." One thing about emergent phenomena that the pioneers of the field tended not to emphasize is that they are often unkind to their constituent agents: Ant colonies are not very solicitous of the lives of individual ants. Hanoi traffic is a fascinating emergent phenomenon, but it didn't take good care of Seymour Papert when he became one of its constituent agents. As a result, the world risks losing one of its greatest thinkers about emergent phenomena. "Seymour is still, at 78, extremely actively contributing to so many things, intellectually," says Wilensky. "He was not at all done." Let's hope he still isn't. Matt Steinglass lives in Hanoi, where he reports for the Globe and other publications. ? Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company. From edelman at greenidea.info Tue Dec 19 12:35:13 2006 From: edelman at greenidea.info (Todd Edelman) Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 04:35:13 +0100 (CET) Subject: [sustran] Recent developments in hybrid guided "bustrams", ultracaps and BRT Message-ID: <13940.194.149.113.177.1166499313.squirrel@mail.smartweb.cz> Hi, Following is a rather recent development for a hybrid guided "bus" or tram?... and it seems an evolution from previous concepts of guided (but not rail-based) tram/bus systems as it incorporates engines and flywheels and offers fuel cells and docking stations for flywheel or ultracaps as options. It is also in testing mode, not just an idea. The Die Welt article is in German. Also, after that I include some info on ultracap applications in DMUs and a very-interesting adjustable-length bus for BRT and other applications: Hybrid bustram or trambus... from company website: Description: Description, in short PDF form: Description, in longer, detailed PDF: *** Article from Die Welt in November: Green car congress article, including interesting technical (but very readable) discussion below: ************* This is a recent presentation about ultracap tram in France and its possibilities for adaptation to light and medium-sized DMUs: ************ This is adjustable-length (!!!) bus for BRT and other bus systems, a cousin of the Autotram above... no pictures yet it seems, but I will try to get some: - T ------------------------------------------------------ Todd Edelman Director Green Idea Factory Korunn? 72 CZ-10100 Praha 10 Czech Republic ++420 605 915 970 Skype: toddedelman edelman@greenidea.eu http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain Green Idea Factory, a member of World Carfree Network From Eduardo.Kohlberg-Ruiz at hubner-germany.com Tue Dec 19 16:49:46 2006 From: Eduardo.Kohlberg-Ruiz at hubner-germany.com (Eduardo Kohlberg-Ruiz) Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 08:49:46 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Antw: Recent developments in hybrid guided "bustrams", ultracaps and BRT In-Reply-To: <13940.194.149.113.177.1166499313.squirrel@mail.smartweb.cz> References: <13940.194.149.113.177.1166499313.squirrel@mail.smartweb.cz> Message-ID: <4587A7A9.A697.00AE.0@hubner-germany.com> Hi Todd, That is an interesting article, I am really appreciated!! Thanks again Eduardo Kohlberg >>> "Todd Edelman" 12/19/06 4:35 >>> Hi, Following is a rather recent development for a hybrid guided "bus" or tram?... and it seems an evolution from previous concepts of guided (but not rail-based) tram/bus systems as it incorporates engines and flywheels and offers fuel cells and docking stations for flywheel or ultracaps as options. It is also in testing mode, not just an idea. The Die Welt article is in German. Also, after that I include some info on ultracap applications in DMUs and a very-interesting adjustable-length bus for BRT and other applications: Hybrid bustram or trambus... from company website: Description: Description, in short PDF form: Description, in longer, detailed PDF: *** Article from Die Welt in November: Green car congress article, including interesting technical (but very readable) discussion below: ************* This is a recent presentation about ultracap tram in France and its possibilities for adaptation to light and medium-sized DMUs: ************ This is adjustable-length (!!!) bus for BRT and other bus systems, a cousin of the Autotram above... no pictures yet it seems, but I will try to get some: - T ------------------------------------------------------ Todd Edelman Director Green Idea Factory Korunn? 72 CZ-10100 Praha 10 Czech Republic ++420 605 915 970 Skype: toddedelman edelman@greenidea.eu http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain Green Idea Factory, a member of World Carfree Network -------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via YAHOOGROUPS. Please go to http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like you can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. ================================================================ SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). From schipper at wri.org Wed Dec 20 08:08:32 2006 From: schipper at wri.org (Lee Schipper) Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 18:08:32 -0500 Subject: [sustran] Re: [KyotoWorldCities] - India Pune should focus on public transport Message-ID: Story is accurate except it forgot to mention that EMBARQ and partners in the three cities did the study, NOT ADB or CAI per se, although their support and inputs were invaluable. The final report and city reports are on the CAI web site... Lee Schipper Director of Research EMBARQ, the WRI Center for Sustainable Transport 10 G St. NE Washington DC, 20002 +1202 729 7735 FAX +1202 7297775 www.embarq.wri.org >>> eric.britton@ecoplan.org 12/19/06 8:58 AM >>> Pune should focus on public transport: study Friday, December 15, 2006 http://www.indiaenews.com/business/20061215/32637.htm Asian cities like Pune need to give priority to public transport that meets their economic requirements rather than accommodating more vehicles, says a new study backed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). 'In many cases, the emphasis has been on adding roads or building high cost systems such as rail-based metros at the expense of more environmentally sustainable modes such as non-motorised transport and lower-cost bus systems,' says the study 'Sustainable Urban Transport in Asia' made available Friday. The result is high level of pollution, says the research carried out by the Partnership for Sustainable Urban Transport in Asia (PSUTA), a pilot programme of the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia). The study was funded by the Swedish International Development Agency and the Shell Foundation through ADB, and the World Resources Institute's Center for Transport and the Environment. Done in partnership with three Asian cities (Hanoi in Vietnam, Pune in India, and Xi'an in China), the study is aimed at helping decision makers better understand the long term viability of the urban transport systems and develop more structured approaches to policy making. 'The air pollution from motor vehicles is particularly serious in Pune but also bad in Xi'an and in Hanoi, because roughly 50-70 percent of all trips in these cities are made on foot or by two or three-wheeled vehicles. Exposure of a majority of people to direct emissions from motor vehicles is a problem,' the study states. 'Vehicle fleets are doubling every five-seven years,' Bindu Lohani, director general of ADB's Regional and Sustainable Development Department, is quoted in the study as saying. 'Poor road safety, increased congestion and air pollution not only negatively affect the quality of life but also carry large economic and social costs. 'An effective and sustainable transport system for people and goods is a prerequisite for sustainable economic growth.' The study developed a set of indicators for each of the three cities, including access, safety, environment, economic and social sustainability, and governance. The project found that based on these indicators, passenger transport is heading in unsustainable directions in all three cities. 'This is because the number of individual vehicles is growing more rapidly than public or private forces can accommodate them and is slowing all traffic,' the report says. 'Traffic deaths are low relative to population, but high relative to distances travelled. Average speeds are low, except in the outlying regions of cities, but there the high speeds lead to greater traffic deaths.' From eric.britton at free.fr Tue Dec 19 22:58:16 2006 From: eric.britton at free.fr (eric.britton at free.fr) Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 14:58:16 +0100 Subject: [sustran] - India Pune should focus on public transport In-Reply-To: <1166478034.22696714d40d7011.7c264e@persist.google.com> Message-ID: Pune should focus on public transport: study Friday, December 15, 2006 http://www.indiaenews.com/business/20061215/32637.htm Asian cities like Pune need to give priority to public transport that meets their economic requirements rather than accommodating more vehicles, says a new study backed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). 'In many cases, the emphasis has been on adding roads or building high cost systems such as rail-based metros at the expense of more environmentally sustainable modes such as non-motorised transport and lower-cost bus systems,' says the study 'Sustainable Urban Transport in Asia' made available Friday. The result is high level of pollution, says the research carried out by the Partnership for Sustainable Urban Transport in Asia (PSUTA), a pilot programme of the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia). The study was funded by the Swedish International Development Agency and the Shell Foundation through ADB, and the World Resources Institute's Center for Transport and the Environment. Done in partnership with three Asian cities (Hanoi in Vietnam, Pune in India, and Xi'an in China), the study is aimed at helping decision makers better understand the long term viability of the urban transport systems and develop more structured approaches to policy making. 'The air pollution from motor vehicles is particularly serious in Pune but also bad in Xi'an and in Hanoi, because roughly 50-70 percent of all trips in these cities are made on foot or by two or three-wheeled vehicles. Exposure of a majority of people to direct emissions from motor vehicles is a problem,' the study states. 'Vehicle fleets are doubling every five-seven years,' Bindu Lohani, director general of ADB's Regional and Sustainable Development Department, is quoted in the study as saying. 'Poor road safety, increased congestion and air pollution not only negatively affect the quality of life but also carry large economic and social costs. 'An effective and sustainable transport system for people and goods is a prerequisite for sustainable economic growth.' The study developed a set of indicators for each of the three cities, including access, safety, environment, economic and social sustainability, and governance. The project found that based on these indicators, passenger transport is heading in unsustainable directions in all three cities. 'This is because the number of individual vehicles is growing more rapidly than public or private forces can accommodate them and is slowing all traffic,' the report says. 'Traffic deaths are low relative to population, but high relative to distances travelled. Average speeds are low, except in the outlying regions of cities, but there the high speeds lead to greater traffic deaths.' -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 5848 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061219/1fe6f038/winmail.bin From eric.britton at free.fr Wed Dec 20 01:47:35 2006 From: eric.britton at free.fr (eric.britton at free.fr) Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 17:47:35 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Nigeria -- How to Curb the Menace of Road Accidents In-Reply-To: <1166500048.22696714d40d7011.6cf3f81c@persist.google.com> Message-ID: Joyful Season Tidings Note: I love it when folks who write on and on about all these various aspects of sustainability and social justice use the magic problem-solving words: "should", for example which appears ten times in this text. We, innocent sheep that we are, should do this, should do that. Course good words like "Stakeholders" and that great one "experts" all help to solve the problems. Eh? (And oh yes, PS: this is not a putdown of our Nigerian friends. It is a put down of the whole mess of which we here are apparently part. So now what? Eric Britton How to Curb the Menace of Road Accidents Despite consistent efforts at checking the frightening dimension road accidents have assumed in the country lately, statistics show that the figures on fatalities are still on the upward swing. A study by Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria Limited (SPDC) shows the need to change approach into bringing all stakeholders into the efforts, writes Ahamefula Ogbu http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=66063 Penultimate week, there was a gathering of all strata of authorities on road usage at the Presidential Hotel Port Harcourt where brainstorming was done on the way out of the huge losses that attends road accidents in the country. After a careful evaluation of past efforts by the stakeholders, it was discovered that there was need to have a slight change in approach to the issue. Initially, most efforts were geared towards enlightenment campaigns which many have consigned to the usual rhetoric and therefore thrown into the waste basket of time while continuing life on the roads as usual. The above may have necessitated the need for them to change approach having at the back of their minds that there were constants in the problem which could on basic adjustments, achieve more than all efforts put into the scheme before. That is the human factor which has high level of inputs on any of the stoppers openly or remotely connected to road traffic. As the deputy managing director of SPDC, Mr. Mark Corner noted at the Road Transport Stakeholders Workshop with theme, "Taking safety on Nigerian roads to a higher level", reported accidents on Nigerian roads in the past 17 years show that 111,049 lives were lost while no fewer than 278,673 sustained injuries from such mishaps. He also pointed out that there were indicators from world bodies like the World Bank report on road accidents that by 2010, road accidents would have taken over as the leading cause of deaths in the world. It may, unless proper precaution was taken, account for more loss of lives than wars, malaria and the dreaded Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The frightening thing about the statistics of deaths on the road is that developing countries account for more than 90 percent of the total annual deaths of 1.2million in road accidents in the world. Corner noted that breaking down the statistics meant that a death by road accident occurs every 30 seconds. Taking the matter home, the fact that the rail system has long packed up while marine transport except where there were no alternatives remain undeveloped, added to the high cost of air freighting in a prostrate economy, the Nigerian economy has depended on road haulage for most of its bulk movement of goods and passengers. "In Nigeria for instance, the roads account for more than 98 percent of the haulage and about 96 percent of passenger traffic. By expert opinions, Nigerian roads contribute to 95 percent of goods and services and compared to the volume of traffic, the network of surfaced roads is low and there is desperate shortage of four-lane highways that can accommodate the heavy volumes of traffic. This also negatively impacts on good road safety performance", he said. Corner said the need for all stakeholders to brainstorm and arrive at the way out was predicated on the need for road users to "Arrive Alive" in consonance with the theme of their 2006 road safety week, adding that reasoned suggestions, learning on best practices as well as working on basic infrastructure which have high human inputs would mark the beginning of a way out of the problem. Presenting his keynote address, Rivers State Commissioner for Transport, Chief Gloria Emeh said the high dependence on road transportation in the country accounted for the over-congestion and extreme pressure exerted on the facilities, which in turn, increases accident rates. He noted that the introduction of commercial motorcycles as a mode of transportation has worsened the problem in Nigerian cities, adding that the sad aspect of the scenario was that most of the accidents happen in avoidable circumstances. "We believe that accidents do not just happen. They are caused. We have therefore identified three major causes of accidents in the Niger Delta in particular and Nigeria as a whole, which this workshop should deliberate upon. They are: topographical factors, mechanical factor and human factor", he pointed out. Emeh who was represented at the occasion by Permanent Secretary in his Ministry, Mrs. Esther Anucha said the natural endowments of the region have caused a population explosion which in turn, strains all utilities. He further observed that the constant use of heavy duty vehicles by oil and gas companies damages the roads and added to constant heavy down pour which lasts for between nine to 10 months yearly; roads were either washed away or damaged. Commenting on human factors in causing road accidents, Emeh said, "disobedience to traffic rules/ regulations, careless driving, use of cell phones and other distractions while driving, excessive speeding, non use of seat belts and crash helmets for motor-cycle drivers" were most prominent among others. The corporate health, safety and environment (HSE) manager of SPDC, Mr. Austen Ezebuilo described the 7,000 deaths per annum in Nigeria through road accidents as unacceptable and stressed the need for everybody involved in making the road safe to take up their own parts and immediately ensure that compliance level to road traffic laws and regulations were enforced. "However, even with the best of policies, very little could be achieved in our aspiration for safer road transportation and reduced fatalities, if we fail to address the absence of strong culture of compliance. In doing this, it is important to reflect on some transportation safety blockers. These include excessive speeding, poor or non-application of standards and laws, as well as inadequate road vehicular maintenance", he pointed out. Presentation by experts drawn from various organizations like the Federal Road Safety Corps and transport division of companies brought the issues more into focus with more emphasis on predictability of carnages from collated data over time. Mr. Charles Abocchi, the deputy corps commander who stood in for his boss, Commander Hamisu Haruna in the " Five-year National Road Traffic Accidents Trend" said that from statistics, most people involved in road accidents were those within the productive years which flushes their economic contribution to the economy of 2.5 of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) down the drains. Abocchi said that there was a decline in the rate of accidents in 2005 because of the stakeholders intervention approach, pointing out that they had to take the campaign to tyre manufacturers when they noticed that most of the accidents were being caused by frequent tyre bursts while at the same time partnering with the all organized bodies in the road transport sector. He however pointed out that the reduced night travels owing to their campaigns as well as sensitization accounted for the drastic reduction in carnage but called for more stringent legislations that would be strictly enforced for the trend of reduced accidents to be sustained. The FRSC boss however regretted that his organization still lacks funds to properly discharge their functions as ambulances, patrol vehicles, communication equipment, construction of road side clinics and help areas were still lacking. This is added to high level of assault cases on their officers by powerful people in the society. Among his opinions on the way forward was that bad roads should be fixed and road signs provided, education on road uses as well as a multi-sectoral approach to the road safety administration in the country. Chief Chris Adigbo, National President of the Nigerian Institute of Safety Professionals defined road transport safety show-stoppers as "those things/incidents which do not enable or engender effective performance in road transport business activities and identified them as road designs, construction, maintenance, legal requirements/enforcements, vehicle owners/operators, vehicle standards/maintenance, drivers, journey management system and night driving /journeys. Adigbo insisted that roads in the country were often not designed with safety in mind which manifests in lack of vehicle and pedestrian separation. Such designs he continued, were without road signs, zebra crossings and lighting while on the other hand, rather than being economically considered, were designed with political consideration in mind. Adigbo submitted that if the issues though not exhausted were addressed, there would be a drastic reduction in the statistics of accidents as well as good culture of transportation on the Nigerian roads. Head of Safety in SPDC, Mr. Chris Onwudinjo in justifying the programme said that they have always trained and retrained their own staff on the basis of their postulation for safety on roads and had to take the campaign to those external publics to the oil company. Also contributing to the debate, Mr. Maxwell Egwugwu, head of transport safety in SPDC said the issue of transportation safety has to be taken seriously going by the number of people killed or injured in sometimes, avoidable circumstances. He also posited that if all road users know what was expected of them to do and do them, the problem would be half solved. Contributors to the programme in question and answer sessions dwelt on weak enforcement of the traffic laws while they also agreed that there was need for more legislations to address issues hitherto not thought of in the transport sector. Road contracts they said should be carried out by competent contractors who have to carry out the necessary tests while designs should provide all necessary signs. Also, they called on the National Assembly to make stringent laws to cover perceived legal loopholes while the Standards Organization of Nigeria and Customs should check influx of substandard vehicles and spare parts into the country. They advocated the ban of fairly used tyres and granting of incentives to local manufacturers as well as the establishment of mechanic villages and standard workshops which would enforce maintenance charts on road users. Rewards they said should be given to good and responsible drivers, constant reviews of laws made and awareness campaigns on them mounted. Also government drivers should be trained, road blocks abolished while enforcement against bad convoy and bullion vans driving should be enforced strictly as they pose dangers to other road users. On Okada riders whose attitude from film clips were the same all over the world, it was suggested that training, insistence on life assurance policies, subsidizing cost of crash helmets, immediate stop of use of touts by local authorities to collect tolls and hound cyclists, compulsory registration in a recognized union of proper identification should be enforced. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 12672 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061219/5077bf5e/winmail.bin From Alan.Howes at cbuchanan.co.uk Wed Dec 20 18:06:58 2006 From: Alan.Howes at cbuchanan.co.uk (Alan Howes) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2006 09:06:58 -0000 Subject: [sustran] Re: Pune First City in India to have BRT System Message-ID: <324DCD7680954F468CF306EE5404F00103120F4D@mail01.cbuchanan.co.uk> So what is the latest news on this? Has operation resumed? -- Alan Howes Associate Transport Planner Colin Buchanan 4 St Colme Street Edinburgh EH3 6AA Scotland email: alan.howes@cbuchanan.co.uk tel: (0)131 226 4693 (switchboard) (0)7952 464335 (mobile) fax: (0)131 220 0232 www: http:/www.cbuchanan.co.uk/ ________________________________ From: sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc.org [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc. org] On Behalf Of Sujit Patwardhan Sent: 04 December 2006 20:09 To: SUSTRAN Asia and Pacific Sustainable Transport Subject: [sustran] Pune First City in India to have BRT System 4 December 2006 Friends in SUSTRAN, You will be happy to know that Pune inaugurated its BRT System on 3 December 2006, one day short of two years from the date on which Enrique Penalosa made a landmark presentation at a public meeting jointly organized by PMC (Pune Municipal Corporation) and PTTF (Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum) on 4 December 2004 at the Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, Pune. Pune becomes the first city in India to start BRT, on what still is an incomplete Pilot corridor of about 12.5 Kilometers. As enthusiastic supporters of BRT in Pune we have also been concerned about the hasty way in which projects get implemented without proper attention to detail. Yesterday's inauguration at the hands of the Union Urban Development Minister Mr Jaipal Reddy was also an example of this - largely a political affair with the ruling Congress Party rushing to get the project off the ground in time to beat the political deadline set by the oncoming elections to the Local Civic body. Under the election rules no new projects can be announced after the set date which is about 2 months from the date of polling. We are therefore treading cautiously and pressing the authorities to attend to important components of the project to ensure that by the time the full corridor becomes operational it will be a big success and win support from citizens. There are plans for implementing BRT in a phased manner on major roads stretching over 100 Kms throughout the city. Dr Geetam Tiwari and Dr Dinesh Mohan from IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), New Delhi, have played a key role in designing the Pilot project. Dr Nitin Kareer the Municipal Commissioner also deserves credit for having initiated the BRT project despite absence of political support. Although we as a local NGO have ongoing arguments with him and his officers, we acknowledge that without his backing BRT would have remained merely an idea discussed at transportation seminars. In the coming weeks we hope to post photographs and articles on Pune's BRT and would be happy if you take a look at our web site from time to time. www.pttf.net Your comments would be most welcome. Sujit Patwardhan From: http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=339828&sid=REG Pune becomes the first city in India to have BRT system Pune, Dec 03: Pune today become the first city in the country to have the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, a modern public transport plan to beat traffic chaos, with Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy inaugurating the system on a 12.2 km stretch of the total planned distance of over 100 km. "The central government has approved Bus Rapid Transit system for Indore, Pune and Ahmedabad. But Pune has become the first city in the country where it (BRTs) has become operational and I am happy to flag off the bus," Reddy said at a function held to mark the occasion. Reddy, MP Suresh Kalmadi, Mayor Rajini Tribhuvan, Municipal Commissioner Nitin Kareer, Corporators and members of the public had a ride in the five Volvo buses procured for the BRTs and that plied during the inaugural run. Currently, the BRT system would be operational only on a 12.2 km long Hadapsar-Swargate-Katraj corridor, to be complete within three months at a cost of Rs 62 crore. More corridors would be added subsequently, covering all the major arterial roads for an extensive Pune-wide BRT network. The Centre has sanctioned Rs 500 crore for another 50 km for BRTs and the fund for the remaining 50 km of BRTs corridor would also be approved without any delay, the Union Minister said in his speech. Urbanisation is a byproduct of industrialisation and was inevitable. In the 20th century, the USA and Europe underwent urbanisation which was now taking place in developing countries like India, Reddy said. -- ------------------------------------------------------ Sujit Patwardhan sujit@vsnl.com sujitjp@gmail.com "Yamuna", ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007 India Tel: 25537955 ----------------------------------------------------- Hon. Secretary: Parisar www.parisar.org ------------------------------------------------------ Founder Member: PTTF (Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum) www.pttf.net ------------------------------------------------------ ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ DISCLAIMER This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to which they are addressed. Unless you are the named addressee, or authorised to receive it for the addressee, you may not copy or use it, or disclose it to anyone else. If you have received this email in error please contact the sender by replying to this email. Any views expressed by an individual within this email which do not constitute or record professional advice relating to the business of Colin Buchanan, do not necessarily reflect the views of the company. Any professional advice or opinion contained within this email is subject to our terms and conditions of business. We have taken precautions to minimise the risk of transmitting software viruses. We do not accept liability for any loss or damage caused by software viruses. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061220/a7575416/attachment.html From roadnotes at freenet.de Wed Dec 20 21:07:13 2006 From: roadnotes at freenet.de (Robert Bartlett) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2006 13:07:13 +0100 Subject: [sustran] New documents : Benin - NMT, Germany - street paving Message-ID: <45892771.10409@freenet.de> I wanted to inform you that another (free) document in the "global transport" series is now available. This one is on different types of NMT presently in use in Benin. Prepared with Placide Badji of Benin, who has a degree in civil engineering and an MSc. in Transport Economics. The basic argument behind this series is that roads should be designed for the modes of transport used locally rather than for the modes of transport seen in the UK (e.g.) Also available (but not for free) is a document on "Urban best practice - street paving in Germany" which looks at one local town's efforts to use paving to help preserve its good appearance. Both documents can be downloaded from http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=612289 Regards From litman at vtpi.org Wed Dec 20 23:12:51 2006 From: litman at vtpi.org (Todd Alexander Litman) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2006 06:12:51 -0800 Subject: [sustran] VTPI News - Autumn 2006 Message-ID: <6.2.3.4.2.20061220061235.02e34488@mail.islandnet.com> ----------- VTPI NEWS ----------- Victoria Transport Policy Institute "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" ------------------------------------- Autumn 2006 Vol. 9, No. 4 ----------------------------------- 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. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ONLINE TDM ENCYCLOPEDIA ======================== The VTPI "Online TDM Encyclopedia" (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm ) is a comprehensive information resource to help identify and evaluate innovative management solutions to transport problems, available for free on our website. We continually update and expand the Encyclopedia. As always, we appreciate feedback. Please let us know if you have suggestions for improving the Encyclopedia or our other resources. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NEW DOCUMENTS ============== The following are newly released VTPI publications. "Mobility As A Positional Good: Implications for Transport Policy and Planning," (http://www.vtpi.org/prestige.pdf ). 'Positional' (also called 'prestige') goods confer status of their consumers. However, this increased status is offset by reduced status to others, resulting in no net benefit to society overall. As wealth increases so does the portion of consumption motivated by positional value. Many mobility-related goods and services have positional value, including vehicle ownership and use, and exotic holidays. This paper investigates how positional value affects transportation decisions, explores the resulting economic impacts, and discusses implications for transport policy and planning. "Community Cohesion As A Transport Planning Objective," (http://www.vtpi.org/cohesion.pdf ) This paper, to be presented at the 2007 TRB Annual Meeting, investigates the concept of 'community cohesion' (the quantity and quality of positive interactions among people in a community), describes the value it provides to society, discusses how it is affected by transport planning decisions, and describes strategies to help increase community cohesion. "Review of U.S. and European Regional Modeling Studies of Policies Intended to Reduce Motorized Travel, Fuel Use, and Emissions," (http://www.vtpi.org/johnston.pdf ), by Professor Robert A. Johnston. This paper reviews the experience to date in dozens of metropolitan regions and advanced industrial economies as they have used scenario planning to evaluate an array of strategies available to help states and regions satisfy this new federal legal requirement. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UPDATED DOCUMENTS ============== We are in the process of updating our report, "Transportation Cost And Benefit Analysis" (http://www.vtpi.org/tca ), including chapters on Vehicle Costs, Congestion, Travel Time, Parking, Accidents, Air Pollution and Noise. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE Below are recently published reports and articles. "The GPI Transportation Accounts: Sustainable Transportation for Nova Scotia - Measuring Sustainable Development, Application Of The Genuine Progress Index To Nova Scotia," GPI Atlantic (http://www.gpiatlantic.org ), by Aviva Savelson, Ronald Colman, Todd Litman, Sally Walker, and Ryan Parmenter. This comprehensive (560-page) report assesses the sustainability of the transportation system using 20 key indicators and numerous sub-indicators, and examines 15 different cost categories to assess the true cost of passenger road transport in Nova Scotia. The study also provides recommendations for making transportation more efficient, affordable and sustainable. Below are some media reports: "Transportation Costs Too High in NS," CBC (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2006/11/29/transportation-gpi.html ), 29 Nov. 2006. "It's Expensive to Get Around: Transportation Single Largest Cost Faced by Nova Scotians, report says," ChronicalHerald (http://www.herald.ns.ca/Business/544156.html ), 30 Nov. 2006. "Changing Travel Demand: Implications for Transport Planning," ITE Journal (www.ite.org), September 2006, pp. 27-33; based on "The Future Isn't What It Used To Be" (http://www.vtpi.org/future.pdf ). "Parking Management Best Practices," Planning, Vol. 72, No. 9 (www.planning.org), October 2006, pp. 40-45; based on "Parking Management Strategies" (http://www.vtpi.org/park_man.pdf ). "Pegging the Optimal Parking Supply: Conventional Planning Theory Overstates Requirements," Canadian Property Management (http://www.mediaedge.ca/publications/cpm.htm ), Vol. 21, No. 7, Nov. 2006, pp. 47-49. "Issues in Sustainable Transportation," International Journal of Global Environmental Issues (www.inderscience.com), Vol. 6, No. 4, 2006, pp. 331-347, with David Burwell; available at http://www.vtpi.org/sus_iss.pdf . "A Report On The Estimation Of Unit Values Of Land Occupied By Transportation Infrastructures In Canada," Transport Canada (http://www.tc.gc.ca/pol/en/aca/fci/transmodal/menu.htm), 2006, with Clarence Woudsma and Glen Weisbrod. This report provides unit cost values (by square meter) of land occupied by the different transportation infrastructure in Canada in the framework of the Full-Cost Investigation of Transportation project. It is part of a major transportation cost study sponsored by Transport Canada. Nolberto Munier (editor), "Handbook on Urban Sustainability," Springer (http://www.springer.com/west/home/social+sciences?SGWID=4-40384-22-173675147-0 ), 2006. This book, written by worldwide specialists, is a guide to establishing a city on a sustainable path. It addresses sustainable urban planning issues by breaking the city down to its main components. It takes the reader from grass-roots level to completion of an urban sustainability plan, with comprehensive knowledge of urban sustainability issues, and provides detailed case studies. Todd Litman wrote a chapter on 'Urban Transportation Management.' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BEEN THERE/DONE THAT ===================== VTPI presented papers at the following events: "Future of Urban Transportation" Eno Forum, December 6-7. The Eno Foundation (http://www.enotrans.com ) invited numerous experts to discuss future urban transport problems and policy options. Forum papers are posted at http://www.enotrans.com/Policy%20Forums/PolicyForums.htm . Todd Litman's paper, "Energy and Environment: Implications For Urban Transportation Policy And Planning" is also available at http://www.vtpi.org/energy_env.pdf . RailVolution, Chicago, Nov. 4-8, including presentations on rail transit benefits, parking management and energy trends, available at http://www.railvolution.com/2006conferencepapers.html . New Zealand Walking Conference, 3 - 4 Nov, Christchurch, New Zealand (http://www.livingstreets.org.nz/walking_2006.htm ). Presentations and papers are available on their website. CIVITAS Forum, Burgos (Spain) from 25 to 27 September 2006. Attended by over 300 representatives from local and regional authorities, officials from four Directorate Generals of the European Commission and representatives from the Intelligent Energy Europe Agency. Presentations and the conference report are available on the CIVITAS website http://www.civitas-initiative.eu/download_center.phtml?lan=en . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UPCOMING EVENTS ================ VTPI will present papers at these upcoming events: Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting (www.trb.org ) TITLE: "Economic Development Impacts of Transportation Demand Management" (07-2719) SESSION 259; Transportation and Economic Development; Monday, January 22, 2007; 9:30am-12:00pm; Hilton, International Center TITLE: "Are Rail Transit Investments Worthwhile?" - A Discussion Paper (07-2811) SESSION 285; Assessing the Impact of Gas Prices on Transit Ridership and Enhancing Regional Transit Planning; Monday, January 22, 2007; 10:15am-12:00pm; Hilton, Hemisphere TITLE: "Community Cohesion as a Transportation Planning Objective" (P07-0550) SESSION 341; Community Impact Assessment: Current Practices, Tools, and Case Studies; Monday, January 22, 2007; 2:30pm- 5:00pm; Hilton, International Center TITLE: "Developing Indicators for Comprehensive and Sustainable Transport Planning" (07-2706) SESSION 458; Environment and Energy; Tuesday, January 23, 2007; 9:30am-12:00pm; Hilton, International Center TITLE: "Evaluating Parking Management Benefits" (07-1581) SESSION 553; New International Research in Transportation Demand and Parking Management; Tuesday, January 23, 2007; 2:30pm- 5:00pm; Hilton, International Center "National Conference on Disaster Planning for the Carless Society" (http://www.carlessevacuation.org ), to be held in New Orleans, Feb. 8 & 9, 2007. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita revealed how vulnerable carless residents are in emergency situations. Evacuation plans in most major cities across America fail to adequately take into account the needs of the elderly, disabled, and transit dependent populations. The goal of this conference is to bring together government officials, professionals, and experts to discuss how we can better prepare for those that are in most need. This conference will seek to better integrate the fields of transportation planning, emergency management, and health care. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ USEFUL RESOURCES ================= CNT (2006), "Paved Over: Surface Parking Lots or Opportunities for Tax-Generating, Sustainable Development?" (http://www.cnt.org/repository/PavedOver-Final.pdf ), Center for Neighborhood Technology. This study evaluates the potential economic and social benefits of converting surface parking lots around rail transit stations into mixed-use, pedestrian friendly, transit-oriented developments, including affordable housing. Provides case studies of nine suburban communities with rail transit service. Queensland Transport Pedestrian Home Page (http://www.transport.qld.gov.au/pedestrian ) contains various pedestrian planning and evaluation tools, including a Pedestrian Safety and Accessibility Audit Kit, pedestrian behaviour observation sheet, a walking audit checklist and a pedestrian questionnaire. "WalkIt: The Walking Resources Database" (http://www.walkit.info ) provides extensive resources for pedestrian planning. Rod Eddington (2006), "The Case For Action: Sir Rod Eddington's Advice to Government- Transport's Role in Sustaining the UK's Productivity and Competitiveness," (http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/eddington_transport_study/eddington_index.cfm ). Desmon Brown (2006), "Urban Public Bus Transportation In Developing Countries: A Roadmap For Successful Planning," (http://www.desmonbrown.com ). This easy-to-read book provides practical guidance to planners and advocates for improving public bus transportation services, particularly in developing countries. SUTP-Asia (http://www.sutp.org ) recently upgraded their website. It is a partnership between the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) and CITYNET, which aims to help developing cities to achieve their sustainable transport goals, though the dissemination of information about international experience and targeted work with particular cities. The New Mobility Agenda: The Politics of Transportation: New Thinking & World-wide Collaborative Problem-Solving (http://www.ecoplan.org/wtpp/wt_index.htm ) is a collaborative international program to develop new solutions to transport problems. It includes numerous tools for improving transport sustainability. Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Sustainability Program Website (http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/SUS ) is now operational. This site contains information about sustainability and the sustainability program development process. "Urban Transportation: A Question of Health," Agence de la Sante et des Services Sociaux de Montreal (http://www.santepub-mtl.qc.ca/Publication/rapportannuel/2006/annualreport2006.pdf ) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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 email list. And please pass this newsletter on to others who may find it useful. Sincerely, Todd Alexander Litman Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org) litman@vtpi.org Phone & Fax 250-360-1560 1250 Rudlin Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, CANADA "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061220/67c10092/attachment.html From edelman at greenidea.info Thu Dec 21 01:22:10 2006 From: edelman at greenidea.info (Todd Edelman) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2006 17:22:10 +0100 (CET) Subject: [sustran] Manila / China / Bangladesh / Ho Chi Minh City rail projects In-Reply-To: <6.2.3.4.2.20061220061235.02e34488@mail.islandnet.com> References: <6.2.3.4.2.20061220061235.02e34488@mail.islandnet.com> Message-ID: <18710.194.149.113.177.1166631730.squirrel@mail.smartweb.cz> Manila capacity expanded http://www.railwaygazette.com/Articles/2007/01/01/3479/Manila+capacity+expanded.html + Chinese expansion continues http://www.railwaygazette.com/Articles/2007/01/01/3477/Chinese+expansion+continues.html + Bangladesh: The World Bank has approved the US$40m Bangladesh Railway Reform Programmatic Development Policy Credit, a 40-year credit granted to support rail reform as part of a long-term strategic partnership between the government, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Japan Bank for International Co-operation. Vietnam: Asian Development Bank has announced a US$1·7m grant funded by the Government of Japan for the production of a mass transit master plan for Ho Chi Minh City. Work will include the completion of preliminary designs for two metro lines from Ben Thanh to Thanh Luong and Mien Tay Coach station, with a total route length of 20·6 km and 22 stations to be completed by 2020. http://www.railwaygazette.com/Articles/2007/01/01/3500/Finance.html ------------------------------------------------------ Todd Edelman Director Green Idea Factory Korunn? 72 CZ-10100 Praha 10 Czech Republic ++420 605 915 970 Skype: toddedelman edelman@greenidea.eu http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain Green Idea Factory, a member of World Carfree Network From joshuaodeleye at yahoo.com Fri Dec 22 01:52:19 2006 From: joshuaodeleye at yahoo.com (joshua odeleye) Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2006 08:52:19 -0800 (PST) Subject: [sustran] Re: Sustran-discuss Digest, Vol 40, Issue 13 In-Reply-To: <20061221030103.A489A2C5B6@mx-list.jca.ne.jp> Message-ID: <574268.71007.qm@web31805.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Multimodalism,road traffic environment redesign i.e integration of speed breakers,humps,enforcement at all time, not during festive seasons only are feasible solution to reduction of road carnage in Nigeria.Eric! thanks a lot for this piece. Regards, JOSHUA ODELEYE NIGERIAN INSTITUTE OF TRANSPORT TECHNOLOGY ZARIA,NIGERIA. sustran-discuss-request@list.jca.apc.org wrote: 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 IMPORTANT NOTE: When replying please do not include the whole digest in your reply - just include the relevant part of the specific message that you are responding to. Many thanks. About this mailing list see: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss ######################################################################## Today's Topics: 1. - India Pune should focus on public transport (eric.britton@free.fr) 2. Nigeria -- How to Curb the Menace of Road Accidents (eric.britton@free.fr) 3. Re: Pune First City in India to have BRT System (Alan Howes) 4. New documents : Benin - NMT, Germany - street paving (Robert Bartlett) 5. VTPI News - Autumn 2006 (Todd Alexander Litman) 6. Manila / China / Bangladesh / Ho Chi Minh City rail projects (Todd Edelman) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 14:58:16 +0100 From: Subject: [sustran] - India Pune should focus on public transport To: , Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Pune should focus on public transport: study Friday, December 15, 2006 http://www.indiaenews.com/business/20061215/32637.htm Asian cities like Pune need to give priority to public transport that meets their economic requirements rather than accommodating more vehicles, says a new study backed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). 'In many cases, the emphasis has been on adding roads or building high cost systems such as rail-based metros at the expense of more environmentally sustainable modes such as non-motorised transport and lower-cost bus systems,' says the study 'Sustainable Urban Transport in Asia' made available Friday. The result is high level of pollution, says the research carried out by the Partnership for Sustainable Urban Transport in Asia (PSUTA), a pilot programme of the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia). The study was funded by the Swedish International Development Agency and the Shell Foundation through ADB, and the World Resources Institute's Center for Transport and the Environment. Done in partnership with three Asian cities (Hanoi in Vietnam, Pune in India, and Xi'an in China), the study is aimed at helping decision makers better understand the long term viability of the urban transport systems and develop more structured approaches to policy making. 'The air pollution from motor vehicles is particularly serious in Pune but also bad in Xi'an and in Hanoi, because roughly 50-70 percent of all trips in these cities are made on foot or by two or three-wheeled vehicles. Exposure of a majority of people to direct emissions from motor vehicles is a problem,' the study states. 'Vehicle fleets are doubling every five-seven years,' Bindu Lohani, director general of ADB's Regional and Sustainable Development Department, is quoted in the study as saying. 'Poor road safety, increased congestion and air pollution not only negatively affect the quality of life but also carry large economic and social costs. 'An effective and sustainable transport system for people and goods is a prerequisite for sustainable economic growth.' The study developed a set of indicators for each of the three cities, including access, safety, environment, economic and social sustainability, and governance. The project found that based on these indicators, passenger transport is heading in unsustainable directions in all three cities. 'This is because the number of individual vehicles is growing more rapidly than public or private forces can accommodate them and is slowing all traffic,' the report says. 'Traffic deaths are low relative to population, but high relative to distances travelled. Average speeds are low, except in the outlying regions of cities, but there the high speeds lead to greater traffic deaths.' -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 5848 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061219/1fe6f038/winmail-0001.bin ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 17:47:35 +0100 From: Subject: [sustran] Nigeria -- How to Curb the Menace of Road Accidents To: Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Joyful Season Tidings Note: I love it when folks who write on and on about all these various aspects of sustainability and social justice use the magic problem-solving words: "should", for example which appears ten times in this text. We, innocent sheep that we are, should do this, should do that. Course good words like "Stakeholders" and that great one "experts" all help to solve the problems. Eh? (And oh yes, PS: this is not a putdown of our Nigerian friends. It is a put down of the whole mess of which we here are apparently part. So now what? Eric Britton How to Curb the Menace of Road Accidents Despite consistent efforts at checking the frightening dimension road accidents have assumed in the country lately, statistics show that the figures on fatalities are still on the upward swing. A study by Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria Limited (SPDC) shows the need to change approach into bringing all stakeholders into the efforts, writes Ahamefula Ogbu http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=66063 Penultimate week, there was a gathering of all strata of authorities on road usage at the Presidential Hotel Port Harcourt where brainstorming was done on the way out of the huge losses that attends road accidents in the country. After a careful evaluation of past efforts by the stakeholders, it was discovered that there was need to have a slight change in approach to the issue. Initially, most efforts were geared towards enlightenment campaigns which many have consigned to the usual rhetoric and therefore thrown into the waste basket of time while continuing life on the roads as usual. The above may have necessitated the need for them to change approach having at the back of their minds that there were constants in the problem which could on basic adjustments, achieve more than all efforts put into the scheme before. That is the human factor which has high level of inputs on any of the stoppers openly or remotely connected to road traffic. As the deputy managing director of SPDC, Mr. Mark Corner noted at the Road Transport Stakeholders Workshop with theme, "Taking safety on Nigerian roads to a higher level", reported accidents on Nigerian roads in the past 17 years show that 111,049 lives were lost while no fewer than 278,673 sustained injuries from such mishaps. He also pointed out that there were indicators from world bodies like the World Bank report on road accidents that by 2010, road accidents would have taken over as the leading cause of deaths in the world. It may, unless proper precaution was taken, account for more loss of lives than wars, malaria and the dreaded Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The frightening thing about the statistics of deaths on the road is that developing countries account for more than 90 percent of the total annual deaths of 1.2million in road accidents in the world. Corner noted that breaking down the statistics meant that a death by road accident occurs every 30 seconds. Taking the matter home, the fact that the rail system has long packed up while marine transport except where there were no alternatives remain undeveloped, added to the high cost of air freighting in a prostrate economy, the Nigerian economy has depended on road haulage for most of its bulk movement of goods and passengers. "In Nigeria for instance, the roads account for more than 98 percent of the haulage and about 96 percent of passenger traffic. By expert opinions, Nigerian roads contribute to 95 percent of goods and services and compared to the volume of traffic, the network of surfaced roads is low and there is desperate shortage of four-lane highways that can accommodate the heavy volumes of traffic. This also negatively impacts on good road safety performance", he said. Corner said the need for all stakeholders to brainstorm and arrive at the way out was predicated on the need for road users to "Arrive Alive" in consonance with the theme of their 2006 road safety week, adding that reasoned suggestions, learning on best practices as well as working on basic infrastructure which have high human inputs would mark the beginning of a way out of the problem. Presenting his keynote address, Rivers State Commissioner for Transport, Chief Gloria Emeh said the high dependence on road transportation in the country accounted for the over-congestion and extreme pressure exerted on the facilities, which in turn, increases accident rates. He noted that the introduction of commercial motorcycles as a mode of transportation has worsened the problem in Nigerian cities, adding that the sad aspect of the scenario was that most of the accidents happen in avoidable circumstances. "We believe that accidents do not just happen. They are caused. We have therefore identified three major causes of accidents in the Niger Delta in particular and Nigeria as a whole, which this workshop should deliberate upon. They are: topographical factors, mechanical factor and human factor", he pointed out. Emeh who was represented at the occasion by Permanent Secretary in his Ministry, Mrs. Esther Anucha said the natural endowments of the region have caused a population explosion which in turn, strains all utilities. He further observed that the constant use of heavy duty vehicles by oil and gas companies damages the roads and added to constant heavy down pour which lasts for between nine to 10 months yearly; roads were either washed away or damaged. Commenting on human factors in causing road accidents, Emeh said, "disobedience to traffic rules/ regulations, careless driving, use of cell phones and other distractions while driving, excessive speeding, non use of seat belts and crash helmets for motor-cycle drivers" were most prominent among others. The corporate health, safety and environment (HSE) manager of SPDC, Mr. Austen Ezebuilo described the 7,000 deaths per annum in Nigeria through road accidents as unacceptable and stressed the need for everybody involved in making the road safe to take up their own parts and immediately ensure that compliance level to road traffic laws and regulations were enforced. "However, even with the best of policies, very little could be achieved in our aspiration for safer road transportation and reduced fatalities, if we fail to address the absence of strong culture of compliance. In doing this, it is important to reflect on some transportation safety blockers. These include excessive speeding, poor or non-application of standards and laws, as well as inadequate road vehicular maintenance", he pointed out. Presentation by experts drawn from various organizations like the Federal Road Safety Corps and transport division of companies brought the issues more into focus with more emphasis on predictability of carnages from collated data over time. Mr. Charles Abocchi, the deputy corps commander who stood in for his boss, Commander Hamisu Haruna in the " Five-year National Road Traffic Accidents Trend" said that from statistics, most people involved in road accidents were those within the productive years which flushes their economic contribution to the economy of 2.5 of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) down the drains. Abocchi said that there was a decline in the rate of accidents in 2005 because of the stakeholders intervention approach, pointing out that they had to take the campaign to tyre manufacturers when they noticed that most of the accidents were being caused by frequent tyre bursts while at the same time partnering with the all organized bodies in the road transport sector. He however pointed out that the reduced night travels owing to their campaigns as well as sensitization accounted for the drastic reduction in carnage but called for more stringent legislations that would be strictly enforced for the trend of reduced accidents to be sustained. The FRSC boss however regretted that his organization still lacks funds to properly discharge their functions as ambulances, patrol vehicles, communication equipment, construction of road side clinics and help areas were still lacking. This is added to high level of assault cases on their officers by powerful people in the society. Among his opinions on the way forward was that bad roads should be fixed and road signs provided, education on road uses as well as a multi-sectoral approach to the road safety administration in the country. Chief Chris Adigbo, National President of the Nigerian Institute of Safety Professionals defined road transport safety show-stoppers as "those things/incidents which do not enable or engender effective performance in road transport business activities and identified them as road designs, construction, maintenance, legal requirements/enforcements, vehicle owners/operators, vehicle standards/maintenance, drivers, journey management system and night driving /journeys. Adigbo insisted that roads in the country were often not designed with safety in mind which manifests in lack of vehicle and pedestrian separation. Such designs he continued, were without road signs, zebra crossings and lighting while on the other hand, rather than being economically considered, were designed with political consideration in mind. Adigbo submitted that if the issues though not exhausted were addressed, there would be a drastic reduction in the statistics of accidents as well as good culture of transportation on the Nigerian roads. Head of Safety in SPDC, Mr. Chris Onwudinjo in justifying the programme said that they have always trained and retrained their own staff on the basis of their postulation for safety on roads and had to take the campaign to those external publics to the oil company. Also contributing to the debate, Mr. Maxwell Egwugwu, head of transport safety in SPDC said the issue of transportation safety has to be taken seriously going by the number of people killed or injured in sometimes, avoidable circumstances. He also posited that if all road users know what was expected of them to do and do them, the problem would be half solved. Contributors to the programme in question and answer sessions dwelt on weak enforcement of the traffic laws while they also agreed that there was need for more legislations to address issues hitherto not thought of in the transport sector. Road contracts they said should be carried out by competent contractors who have to carry out the necessary tests while designs should provide all necessary signs. Also, they called on the National Assembly to make stringent laws to cover perceived legal loopholes while the Standards Organization of Nigeria and Customs should check influx of substandard vehicles and spare parts into the country. They advocated the ban of fairly used tyres and granting of incentives to local manufacturers as well as the establishment of mechanic villages and standard workshops which would enforce maintenance charts on road users. Rewards they said should be given to good and responsible drivers, constant reviews of laws made and awareness campaigns on them mounted. Also government drivers should be trained, road blocks abolished while enforcement against bad convoy and bullion vans driving should be enforced strictly as they pose dangers to other road users. On Okada riders whose attitude from film clips were the same all over the world, it was suggested that training, insistence on life assurance policies, subsidizing cost of crash helmets, immediate stop of use of touts by local authorities to collect tolls and hound cyclists, compulsory registration in a recognized union of proper identification should be enforced. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 12672 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061219/5077bf5e/winmail-0001.bin ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2006 09:06:58 -0000 From: "Alan Howes" Subject: [sustran] Re: Pune First City in India to have BRT System To: "Global 'South' Sustainable Transport" Message-ID: <324DCD7680954F468CF306EE5404F00103120F4D@mail01.cbuchanan.co.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" So what is the latest news on this? Has operation resumed? -- Alan Howes Associate Transport Planner Colin Buchanan 4 St Colme Street Edinburgh EH3 6AA Scotland email: alan.howes@cbuchanan.co.uk tel: (0)131 226 4693 (switchboard) (0)7952 464335 (mobile) fax: (0)131 220 0232 www: http:/www.cbuchanan.co.uk/ ________________________________ From: sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc.org [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc. org] On Behalf Of Sujit Patwardhan Sent: 04 December 2006 20:09 To: SUSTRAN Asia and Pacific Sustainable Transport Subject: [sustran] Pune First City in India to have BRT System 4 December 2006 Friends in SUSTRAN, You will be happy to know that Pune inaugurated its BRT System on 3 December 2006, one day short of two years from the date on which Enrique Penalosa made a landmark presentation at a public meeting jointly organized by PMC (Pune Municipal Corporation) and PTTF (Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum) on 4 December 2004 at the Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, Pune. Pune becomes the first city in India to start BRT, on what still is an incomplete Pilot corridor of about 12.5 Kilometers. As enthusiastic supporters of BRT in Pune we have also been concerned about the hasty way in which projects get implemented without proper attention to detail. Yesterday's inauguration at the hands of the Union Urban Development Minister Mr Jaipal Reddy was also an example of this - largely a political affair with the ruling Congress Party rushing to get the project off the ground in time to beat the political deadline set by the oncoming elections to the Local Civic body. Under the election rules no new projects can be announced after the set date which is about 2 months from the date of polling. We are therefore treading cautiously and pressing the authorities to attend to important components of the project to ensure that by the time the full corridor becomes operational it will be a big success and win support from citizens. There are plans for implementing BRT in a phased manner on major roads stretching over 100 Kms throughout the city. Dr Geetam Tiwari and Dr Dinesh Mohan from IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), New Delhi, have played a key role in designing the Pilot project. Dr Nitin Kareer the Municipal Commissioner also deserves credit for having initiated the BRT project despite absence of political support. Although we as a local NGO have ongoing arguments with him and his officers, we acknowledge that without his backing BRT would have remained merely an idea discussed at transportation seminars. In the coming weeks we hope to post photographs and articles on Pune's === message truncated === __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061221/e320a350/attachment.html From joshuaodeleye at yahoo.com Fri Dec 22 01:51:55 2006 From: joshuaodeleye at yahoo.com (joshua odeleye) Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2006 08:51:55 -0800 (PST) Subject: [sustran] Re: Sustran-discuss Digest, Vol 40, Issue 13 In-Reply-To: <20061221030103.A489A2C5B6@mx-list.jca.ne.jp> Message-ID: <230355.15787.qm@web31812.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Multimodalism,road traffic environment redesign i.e integration of speed breakers,humps,enforcement at all time, not during festive seasons only are feasible solution to reduction of road carnage in Nigeria.Eric! thanks a lot for this piece. Regards, JOSHUA ODELEYE NIGERIAN INSTITUTE OF TRANSPORT TECHNOLOGY ZARIA,NIGERIA. sustran-discuss-request@list.jca.apc.org wrote: 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 IMPORTANT NOTE: When replying please do not include the whole digest in your reply - just include the relevant part of the specific message that you are responding to. Many thanks. About this mailing list see: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss ######################################################################## Today's Topics: 1. - India Pune should focus on public transport (eric.britton@free.fr) 2. Nigeria -- How to Curb the Menace of Road Accidents (eric.britton@free.fr) 3. Re: Pune First City in India to have BRT System (Alan Howes) 4. New documents : Benin - NMT, Germany - street paving (Robert Bartlett) 5. VTPI News - Autumn 2006 (Todd Alexander Litman) 6. Manila / China / Bangladesh / Ho Chi Minh City rail projects (Todd Edelman) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 14:58:16 +0100 From: Subject: [sustran] - India Pune should focus on public transport To: , Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Pune should focus on public transport: study Friday, December 15, 2006 http://www.indiaenews.com/business/20061215/32637.htm Asian cities like Pune need to give priority to public transport that meets their economic requirements rather than accommodating more vehicles, says a new study backed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). 'In many cases, the emphasis has been on adding roads or building high cost systems such as rail-based metros at the expense of more environmentally sustainable modes such as non-motorised transport and lower-cost bus systems,' says the study 'Sustainable Urban Transport in Asia' made available Friday. The result is high level of pollution, says the research carried out by the Partnership for Sustainable Urban Transport in Asia (PSUTA), a pilot programme of the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia). The study was funded by the Swedish International Development Agency and the Shell Foundation through ADB, and the World Resources Institute's Center for Transport and the Environment. Done in partnership with three Asian cities (Hanoi in Vietnam, Pune in India, and Xi'an in China), the study is aimed at helping decision makers better understand the long term viability of the urban transport systems and develop more structured approaches to policy making. 'The air pollution from motor vehicles is particularly serious in Pune but also bad in Xi'an and in Hanoi, because roughly 50-70 percent of all trips in these cities are made on foot or by two or three-wheeled vehicles. Exposure of a majority of people to direct emissions from motor vehicles is a problem,' the study states. 'Vehicle fleets are doubling every five-seven years,' Bindu Lohani, director general of ADB's Regional and Sustainable Development Department, is quoted in the study as saying. 'Poor road safety, increased congestion and air pollution not only negatively affect the quality of life but also carry large economic and social costs. 'An effective and sustainable transport system for people and goods is a prerequisite for sustainable economic growth.' The study developed a set of indicators for each of the three cities, including access, safety, environment, economic and social sustainability, and governance. The project found that based on these indicators, passenger transport is heading in unsustainable directions in all three cities. 'This is because the number of individual vehicles is growing more rapidly than public or private forces can accommodate them and is slowing all traffic,' the report says. 'Traffic deaths are low relative to population, but high relative to distances travelled. Average speeds are low, except in the outlying regions of cities, but there the high speeds lead to greater traffic deaths.' -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 5848 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061219/1fe6f038/winmail-0001.bin ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 17:47:35 +0100 From: Subject: [sustran] Nigeria -- How to Curb the Menace of Road Accidents To: Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Joyful Season Tidings Note: I love it when folks who write on and on about all these various aspects of sustainability and social justice use the magic problem-solving words: "should", for example which appears ten times in this text. We, innocent sheep that we are, should do this, should do that. Course good words like "Stakeholders" and that great one "experts" all help to solve the problems. Eh? (And oh yes, PS: this is not a putdown of our Nigerian friends. It is a put down of the whole mess of which we here are apparently part. So now what? Eric Britton How to Curb the Menace of Road Accidents Despite consistent efforts at checking the frightening dimension road accidents have assumed in the country lately, statistics show that the figures on fatalities are still on the upward swing. A study by Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria Limited (SPDC) shows the need to change approach into bringing all stakeholders into the efforts, writes Ahamefula Ogbu http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=66063 Penultimate week, there was a gathering of all strata of authorities on road usage at the Presidential Hotel Port Harcourt where brainstorming was done on the way out of the huge losses that attends road accidents in the country. After a careful evaluation of past efforts by the stakeholders, it was discovered that there was need to have a slight change in approach to the issue. Initially, most efforts were geared towards enlightenment campaigns which many have consigned to the usual rhetoric and therefore thrown into the waste basket of time while continuing life on the roads as usual. The above may have necessitated the need for them to change approach having at the back of their minds that there were constants in the problem which could on basic adjustments, achieve more than all efforts put into the scheme before. That is the human factor which has high level of inputs on any of the stoppers openly or remotely connected to road traffic. As the deputy managing director of SPDC, Mr. Mark Corner noted at the Road Transport Stakeholders Workshop with theme, "Taking safety on Nigerian roads to a higher level", reported accidents on Nigerian roads in the past 17 years show that 111,049 lives were lost while no fewer than 278,673 sustained injuries from such mishaps. He also pointed out that there were indicators from world bodies like the World Bank report on road accidents that by 2010, road accidents would have taken over as the leading cause of deaths in the world. It may, unless proper precaution was taken, account for more loss of lives than wars, malaria and the dreaded Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The frightening thing about the statistics of deaths on the road is that developing countries account for more than 90 percent of the total annual deaths of 1.2million in road accidents in the world. Corner noted that breaking down the statistics meant that a death by road accident occurs every 30 seconds. Taking the matter home, the fact that the rail system has long packed up while marine transport except where there were no alternatives remain undeveloped, added to the high cost of air freighting in a prostrate economy, the Nigerian economy has depended on road haulage for most of its bulk movement of goods and passengers. "In Nigeria for instance, the roads account for more than 98 percent of the haulage and about 96 percent of passenger traffic. By expert opinions, Nigerian roads contribute to 95 percent of goods and services and compared to the volume of traffic, the network of surfaced roads is low and there is desperate shortage of four-lane highways that can accommodate the heavy volumes of traffic. This also negatively impacts on good road safety performance", he said. Corner said the need for all stakeholders to brainstorm and arrive at the way out was predicated on the need for road users to "Arrive Alive" in consonance with the theme of their 2006 road safety week, adding that reasoned suggestions, learning on best practices as well as working on basic infrastructure which have high human inputs would mark the beginning of a way out of the problem. Presenting his keynote address, Rivers State Commissioner for Transport, Chief Gloria Emeh said the high dependence on road transportation in the country accounted for the over-congestion and extreme pressure exerted on the facilities, which in turn, increases accident rates. He noted that the introduction of commercial motorcycles as a mode of transportation has worsened the problem in Nigerian cities, adding that the sad aspect of the scenario was that most of the accidents happen in avoidable circumstances. "We believe that accidents do not just happen. They are caused. We have therefore identified three major causes of accidents in the Niger Delta in particular and Nigeria as a whole, which this workshop should deliberate upon. They are: topographical factors, mechanical factor and human factor", he pointed out. Emeh who was represented at the occasion by Permanent Secretary in his Ministry, Mrs. Esther Anucha said the natural endowments of the region have caused a population explosion which in turn, strains all utilities. He further observed that the constant use of heavy duty vehicles by oil and gas companies damages the roads and added to constant heavy down pour which lasts for between nine to 10 months yearly; roads were either washed away or damaged. Commenting on human factors in causing road accidents, Emeh said, "disobedience to traffic rules/ regulations, careless driving, use of cell phones and other distractions while driving, excessive speeding, non use of seat belts and crash helmets for motor-cycle drivers" were most prominent among others. The corporate health, safety and environment (HSE) manager of SPDC, Mr. Austen Ezebuilo described the 7,000 deaths per annum in Nigeria through road accidents as unacceptable and stressed the need for everybody involved in making the road safe to take up their own parts and immediately ensure that compliance level to road traffic laws and regulations were enforced. "However, even with the best of policies, very little could be achieved in our aspiration for safer road transportation and reduced fatalities, if we fail to address the absence of strong culture of compliance. In doing this, it is important to reflect on some transportation safety blockers. These include excessive speeding, poor or non-application of standards and laws, as well as inadequate road vehicular maintenance", he pointed out. Presentation by experts drawn from various organizations like the Federal Road Safety Corps and transport division of companies brought the issues more into focus with more emphasis on predictability of carnages from collated data over time. Mr. Charles Abocchi, the deputy corps commander who stood in for his boss, Commander Hamisu Haruna in the " Five-year National Road Traffic Accidents Trend" said that from statistics, most people involved in road accidents were those within the productive years which flushes their economic contribution to the economy of 2.5 of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) down the drains. Abocchi said that there was a decline in the rate of accidents in 2005 because of the stakeholders intervention approach, pointing out that they had to take the campaign to tyre manufacturers when they noticed that most of the accidents were being caused by frequent tyre bursts while at the same time partnering with the all organized bodies in the road transport sector. He however pointed out that the reduced night travels owing to their campaigns as well as sensitization accounted for the drastic reduction in carnage but called for more stringent legislations that would be strictly enforced for the trend of reduced accidents to be sustained. The FRSC boss however regretted that his organization still lacks funds to properly discharge their functions as ambulances, patrol vehicles, communication equipment, construction of road side clinics and help areas were still lacking. This is added to high level of assault cases on their officers by powerful people in the society. Among his opinions on the way forward was that bad roads should be fixed and road signs provided, education on road uses as well as a multi-sectoral approach to the road safety administration in the country. Chief Chris Adigbo, National President of the Nigerian Institute of Safety Professionals defined road transport safety show-stoppers as "those things/incidents which do not enable or engender effective performance in road transport business activities and identified them as road designs, construction, maintenance, legal requirements/enforcements, vehicle owners/operators, vehicle standards/maintenance, drivers, journey management system and night driving /journeys. Adigbo insisted that roads in the country were often not designed with safety in mind which manifests in lack of vehicle and pedestrian separation. Such designs he continued, were without road signs, zebra crossings and lighting while on the other hand, rather than being economically considered, were designed with political consideration in mind. Adigbo submitted that if the issues though not exhausted were addressed, there would be a drastic reduction in the statistics of accidents as well as good culture of transportation on the Nigerian roads. Head of Safety in SPDC, Mr. Chris Onwudinjo in justifying the programme said that they have always trained and retrained their own staff on the basis of their postulation for safety on roads and had to take the campaign to those external publics to the oil company. Also contributing to the debate, Mr. Maxwell Egwugwu, head of transport safety in SPDC said the issue of transportation safety has to be taken seriously going by the number of people killed or injured in sometimes, avoidable circumstances. He also posited that if all road users know what was expected of them to do and do them, the problem would be half solved. Contributors to the programme in question and answer sessions dwelt on weak enforcement of the traffic laws while they also agreed that there was need for more legislations to address issues hitherto not thought of in the transport sector. Road contracts they said should be carried out by competent contractors who have to carry out the necessary tests while designs should provide all necessary signs. Also, they called on the National Assembly to make stringent laws to cover perceived legal loopholes while the Standards Organization of Nigeria and Customs should check influx of substandard vehicles and spare parts into the country. They advocated the ban of fairly used tyres and granting of incentives to local manufacturers as well as the establishment of mechanic villages and standard workshops which would enforce maintenance charts on road users. Rewards they said should be given to good and responsible drivers, constant reviews of laws made and awareness campaigns on them mounted. Also government drivers should be trained, road blocks abolished while enforcement against bad convoy and bullion vans driving should be enforced strictly as they pose dangers to other road users. On Okada riders whose attitude from film clips were the same all over the world, it was suggested that training, insistence on life assurance policies, subsidizing cost of crash helmets, immediate stop of use of touts by local authorities to collect tolls and hound cyclists, compulsory registration in a recognized union of proper identification should be enforced. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 12672 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061219/5077bf5e/winmail-0001.bin ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2006 09:06:58 -0000 From: "Alan Howes" Subject: [sustran] Re: Pune First City in India to have BRT System To: "Global 'South' Sustainable Transport" Message-ID: <324DCD7680954F468CF306EE5404F00103120F4D@mail01.cbuchanan.co.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" So what is the latest news on this? Has operation resumed? -- Alan Howes Associate Transport Planner Colin Buchanan 4 St Colme Street Edinburgh EH3 6AA Scotland email: alan.howes@cbuchanan.co.uk tel: (0)131 226 4693 (switchboard) (0)7952 464335 (mobile) fax: (0)131 220 0232 www: http:/www.cbuchanan.co.uk/ ________________________________ From: sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc.org [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+alan.howes=cbuchanan.co.uk@list.jca.apc. org] On Behalf Of Sujit Patwardhan Sent: 04 December 2006 20:09 To: SUSTRAN Asia and Pacific Sustainable Transport Subject: [sustran] Pune First City in India to have BRT System 4 December 2006 Friends in SUSTRAN, You will be happy to know that Pune inaugurated its BRT System on 3 December 2006, one day short of two years from the date on which Enrique Penalosa made a landmark presentation at a public meeting jointly organized by PMC (Pune Municipal Corporation) and PTTF (Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum) on 4 December 2004 at the Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, Pune. Pune becomes the first city in India to start BRT, on what still is an incomplete Pilot corridor of about 12.5 Kilometers. As enthusiastic supporters of BRT in Pune we have also been concerned about the hasty way in which projects get implemented without proper attention to detail. Yesterday's inauguration at the hands of the Union Urban Development Minister Mr Jaipal Reddy was also an example of this - largely a political affair with the ruling Congress Party rushing to get the project off the ground in time to beat the political deadline set by the oncoming elections to the Local Civic body. Under the election rules no new projects can be announced after the set date which is about 2 months from the date of polling. We are therefore treading cautiously and pressing the authorities to attend to important components of the project to ensure that by the time the full corridor becomes operational it will be a big success and win support from citizens. There are plans for implementing BRT in a phased manner on major roads stretching over 100 Kms throughout the city. Dr Geetam Tiwari and Dr Dinesh Mohan from IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), New Delhi, have played a key role in designing the Pilot project. Dr Nitin Kareer the Municipal Commissioner also deserves credit for having initiated the BRT project despite absence of political support. Although we as a local NGO have ongoing arguments with him and his officers, we acknowledge that without his backing BRT would have remained merely an idea discussed at transportation seminars. In the coming weeks we hope to post photographs and articles on Pune's === message truncated === __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061221/89fb0a86/attachment.html From anirudhsingh1 at gmail.com Sat Dec 23 20:54:38 2006 From: anirudhsingh1 at gmail.com (anirudh singh bais) Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2006 17:24:38 +0530 Subject: [sustran] regarding thesis topic Message-ID: <549e2f6c0612230354u70e4753o36d93b8a04ba74aa@mail.gmail.com> I am a student of transport planning doing my P.G. from school of planning and architecture .I have to do my thesis next near starting Jan 2007 and want to do something new.I would appreciate fresh idea's .I want to do something practical and related to ongoing issues in pavement design and highways . Thanking You Anirudh Singh Bais -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061223/36964757/attachment.html From edelman at greenidea.info Sat Dec 23 23:42:29 2006 From: edelman at greenidea.info (Todd Edelman) Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2006 15:42:29 +0100 (CET) Subject: [sustran] Re: regarding thesis topic In-Reply-To: <549e2f6c0612230354u70e4753o36d93b8a04ba74aa@mail.gmail.com> References: <549e2f6c0612230354u70e4753o36d93b8a04ba74aa@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <24933.194.149.113.177.1166884949.squirrel@mail.smartweb.cz> Hi, I think it would be quite interesting if you did something related to narrowing highways in order to reduce road traffic...and: If by pavements you mean "road surface" then determining an appropriate speed which makes automobiles and trucks nearly silent on whatever road surface would be great... BUT if you actually mean the walkways at the sides of roads then designing them so they are felt by everyone as an extension of their business or housing - rather than just a place for movement - it would be useful... You will also may get some ideas here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_calming BUT especially here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shared_space and here: http://www.worldcarfree.net/resources/EnergyandEquity.php which is from here: http://www.worldcarfree.net/resources/free.php Regards, T > I am a student of transport planning doing my P.G. from school of > planning and architecture .I have to do my thesis next near starting > Jan 2007 and want to do something new.I would appreciate fresh > idea's .I want to do something practical and related to ongoing issues in > pavement design and highways . > Thanking You > Anirudh Singh Bais ------------------------------------------------------ Todd Edelman Director Green Idea Factory Korunn? 72 CZ-10100 Praha 10 Czech Republic ++420 605 915 970 Skype: toddedelman edelman@greenidea.eu http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain Green Idea Factory, a member of World Carfree Network From sujit at vsnl.com Sun Dec 24 01:55:02 2006 From: sujit at vsnl.com (Sujit Patwardhan) Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2006 22:25:02 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: regarding thesis topic In-Reply-To: <549e2f6c0612230354u70e4753o36d93b8a04ba74aa@mail.gmail.com> References: <549e2f6c0612230354u70e4753o36d93b8a04ba74aa@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <4cfd20aa0612230855n4f864ffawed82b59e1bff214c@mail.gmail.com> 23 December 2006 Where are you based? -- Sujit On 12/23/06, anirudh singh bais wrote: > > I am a student of transport planning doing my P.G. from school of > planning and architecture .I have to do my thesis next near starting > Jan 2007 and want to do something new.I would appreciate fresh > idea's .I want to do something practical and related to ongoing issues in > pavement design and highways . > Thanking You > Anirudh Singh Bais > > -------------------------------------------------------- > IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via > YAHOOGROUPS. > > Please go to http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to > join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The > yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to the > real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like you > can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > (the 'Global South'). > > > -- ------------------------------------------------------ Sujit Patwardhan sujit@vsnl.com sujitjp@gmail.com "Yamuna", ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007 India Tel: 25537955 ----------------------------------------------------- Hon. Secretary: Parisar www.parisar.org ------------------------------------------------------ Founder Member: PTTF (Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum) www.pttf.net ------------------------------------------------------ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061223/4055ceb4/attachment.html From edelman at greenidea.info Sun Dec 24 02:01:14 2006 From: edelman at greenidea.info (Todd Edelman) Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2006 18:01:14 +0100 (CET) Subject: [sustran] Re: regarding thesis topic In-Reply-To: <4cfd20aa0612230855n4f864ffawed82b59e1bff214c@mail.gmail.com> References: <549e2f6c0612230354u70e4753o36d93b8a04ba74aa@mail.gmail.com> <4cfd20aa0612230855n4f864ffawed82b59e1bff214c@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <26509.194.149.113.177.1166893274.squirrel@mail.smartweb.cz> > 23 December 2006 > > > > Where are you based? Sujit, see details below.... - T > -- > Sujit > > > > > On 12/23/06, anirudh singh bais wrote: >> >> I am a student of transport planning doing my P.G. from school of >> planning and architecture .I have to do my thesis next near starting >> Jan 2007 and want to do something new.I would appreciate fresh >> idea's .I want to do something practical and related to ongoing issues >> in >> pavement design and highways . >> Thanking You >> Anirudh Singh Bais ------------------------------------------------------ Todd Edelman Director Green Idea Factory Korunn? 72 CZ-10100 Praha 10 Czech Republic ++420 605 915 970 Skype: toddedelman edelman@greenidea.eu http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain Green Idea Factory, a member of World Carfree Network From banmt at yahoo.com Sun Dec 24 16:03:05 2006 From: banmt at yahoo.com (AD) Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2006 23:03:05 -0800 (PST) Subject: [sustran] Re: regarding thesis topic In-Reply-To: <26509.194.149.113.177.1166893274.squirrel@mail.smartweb.cz> Message-ID: <666690.53659.qm@web90406.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi everybody, My name is Nguyen Anh Dung, from Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam and I also want to do my master thesis (will start at the mid of 2007) about transportation for HCMC. As you know, traffic is really a problem in my country and it is getting worse. The recent accidents of two famous professors (1 of US - got injured and 1 of Vietnam - dead) are just few among thousands of accidents every year (almost all caused by motorcycle). According to what I read on the net, HCMC has its master plan for transportation (done with the help from Japan International Cooperation Agency - JICA in 2004) and the authority wants to build a metro for the city also. Because of the master plan, I am not quite sure what my master thesis can do anything else about this field. Any idea is highly appreciated. My background is environmental science. Thank you. Nguyen Anh Dung Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies. Mahidol University, ThaiLand. Todd Edelman wrote: > 23 December 2006 > > > > Where are you based? Sujit, see details below.... - T > -- > Sujit > > > > > On 12/23/06, anirudh singh bais wrote: >> >> I am a student of transport planning doing my P.G. from school of >> planning and architecture .I have to do my thesis next near starting >> Jan 2007 and want to do something new.I would appreciate fresh >> idea's .I want to do something practical and related to ongoing issues >> in >> pavement design and highways . >> Thanking You >> Anirudh Singh Bais ------------------------------------------------------ Todd Edelman Director Green Idea Factory Korunn? 72 CZ-10100 Praha 10 Czech Republic ++420 605 915 970 Skype: toddedelman edelman@greenidea.eu http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain Green Idea Factory, a member of World Carfree Network -------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via YAHOOGROUPS. Please go to http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like you can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. ================================================================ SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061223/80246b4f/attachment.html From schipper at wri.org Sun Dec 24 21:49:22 2006 From: schipper at wri.org (Lee Schipper) Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 07:49:22 -0500 Subject: [sustran] Re: regarding thesis topic Message-ID: Having just returned from my 10th visit to Hanoi, I think you have identified the key issue -- what are the limits to a two-wheeler based mobility, particularly in a city like Hanoi where the majority of riders seem to ignore red lights, lane control, and even the "correct" side of the street for driving? Under what conditions would the Hanoi bus system still experiencing strong growth successfully capture larger and larger shares of existing two-wheeler traffic and not just bear increased numbers of longer trips that bear witness to the city's expansion. Metros are useful, but they rarely take significant numbers of individual existing vehicles off the streets, and they do poorly without careful land use controls and stimuli to build homes, jobs, shopping and free time along the metro axis, something we are only painfully acknowledging now in the outer parts of Washington DC. (Look at Bethesda or Silver Spring Maryland or Arlington Virginia for better examples of how to develop around metro stops.) can HCMC or Hanoi do all this? Hanoi will see a master plan unveiled shortly, but why not go back to the 1994/5 master plan and analyze what happened - or did not happen -- with the vision created back then. Lee Schipper Lee Schipper Director of Research EMBARQ, the WRI Center for Sustainable Transport 10 G St. NE Washington DC, 20002 +1202 729 7735 FAX +1202 7297775 www.embarq.wri.org >>> banmt@yahoo.com 24/12/2006 02:03:05 >>> Hi everybody, My name is Nguyen Anh Dung, from Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam and I also want to do my master thesis (will start at the mid of 2007) about transportation for HCMC. As you know, traffic is really a problem in my country and it is getting worse. The recent accidents of two famous professors (1 of US - got injured and 1 of Vietnam - dead) are just few among thousands of accidents every year (almost all caused by motorcycle). According to what I read on the net, HCMC has its master plan for transportation (done with the help from Japan International Cooperation Agency - JICA in 2004) and the authority wants to build a metro for the city also. Because of the master plan, I am not quite sure what my master thesis can do anything else about this field. Any idea is highly appreciated. My background is environmental science. Thank you. Nguyen Anh Dung Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies. Mahidol University, ThaiLand. Todd Edelman wrote: > 23 December 2006 > > > > Where are you based? Sujit, see details below.... - T > -- > Sujit > > > > > On 12/23/06, anirudh singh bais wrote: >> >> I am a student of transport planning doing my P.G. from school of >> planning and architecture .I have to do my thesis next near starting >> Jan 2007 and want to do something new.I would appreciate fresh >> idea's .I want to do something practical and related to ongoing issues >> in >> pavement design and highways . >> Thanking You >> Anirudh Singh Bais ------------------------------------------------------ Todd Edelman Director Green Idea Factory Korunn? 72 CZ-10100 Praha 10 Czech Republic ++420 605 915 970 Skype: toddedelman edelman@greenidea.eu http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain Green Idea Factory, a member of World Carfree Network -------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via YAHOOGROUPS. Please go to http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like you can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. ================================================================ SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From SCHIPPER at wri.org Mon Dec 25 10:26:21 2006 From: SCHIPPER at wri.org (Lee Schipper) Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 20:26:21 -0500 Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobilityCafe] World's Most Congested Cities Message-ID: Kind'a naive: Where does underground transportation relieve congestion? I would call Hanoi congested because of all the motorbikes parked on the sidewalks * last week I walked as much in the street (at great peril) as on so called sidewalks. And there are only 150 000 cars, a few thousand buses, and well over 1 MILLION two-wheelers! To leave Jakarta from a meeting..on congestion pricing * a bunch of us were given a police escort. I got to ride shotgun in the police car itself (no they were kicking us out..the police escort didnt help much; Jakarta has pay tollways as well as free surface streets, and while the pay tollways are crowded they are much faster than the parallel streets that are free.. Bangalore? Bangkok? Calcutta? Delhi? All bad. It really depends what you mean by congestion. In cars/lane-km of street? In cars/sq km of city? Where do we count motorbikes? In lost time compared with travel time at freeflow? That's unfair because there really is no such thing as free flow except at 2 AM... The best emblem of all of this - the CICI bank in Pune with a card table set up in front and a sign offering low cost loans for two wheelers * even though the streets themselves have no real sidewalks...why is there lots of private money for private transport but not even money to p rovide the public infrastructure for private transport but neither money for cost effective, clean public transport nor the will to charge people for using the public infrastructure. >>> eric.britton@free.fr 12/24/2006 9:00 AM >>> Energy World's Most Congested Cities Robert Malone , 12.21.06, 6:00 AM ET - http://www.forbes.com/business/energy/2006/12/20/worlds-most-congested-cities-bi z-energy-cx_rm_1221congested.html pic In Pictures: World's Most Crowded Cities Having the worst traffic can mean the worst accidents, worst pollution, worst crowding, worst commutes and a host of other ugly conditions and experiences. The list of the worst world cities for traffic is skewed by the growing impact of transportation revolutions in developing countries. It takes time to build a road infrastructure. It takes time to install and maintain a traffic system. Traffic lights have to be coordinated and their power source has to have redundancy. It takes time to train and educate drivers. The list of the world's most congested cities centers on many Asian and a few African and Latin American cities that for the most part are playing catch up or trying to. For the moment, at least, their growth is defeating them. Moreover, "traffic is only one of the side effects of growth," says Roy Barnes, the author and former Georgia governor, who had to contend with his own problems of congestion and growth. The inner cities in developing countries normally don't have underground transportation, and that means street traffic, and that means congestion. Even the presence of a new subway as in Cairo has not really relieved the pressure of ever more vehicles on Cairo's roads. Cities with the highest density of population per square kilometer are the logical candidates for becoming the most congested, because congestion increases as the growth in their wealth increases the number of cars versus the less expensive alternatives of bicycles, motor scooters or motorcycles. Cars take up more room whether they are in motion or when parked--if they can be parked. U.S. and European cities have often chosen to place garages in new buildings, while older non-industrialized cities often lack such amenities. Cars may therefore be parked everywhere, legally or illegally. The cities with the highest level of population congestion are: * Manila, the Philippines; * Cairo, Egypt; * Lagos, Nigeria; * Macau, off the Chinese coast; * Seoul, South Korea; * Dhaka, Bangladesh; * Buenos Aires, Argentina; * Jakarta, Indonesia; * Kaohsiung, Taiwan; and Santo Domingo, * the Dominican Republic. To drive a car in any of them might be the ultimate challenge. Well over 50 million cars are being manufactured in the world each year, and they have to go someplace. There are over 240 million vehicles in the U.S. alone, while the world estimate is over 750 million vehicles and counting. The tilt is toward more vehicles for those places least able to cope with them. It is estimated that by 2030 the number of vehicles in the world will double. These cities have priorities, but the priorities rarely include building new roads or repairing old roads. The investment that's required also includes elements that go far beyond digging, filling and paving. There is a political nightmare that involves the need for land to build the road and a buy-in from the government, local despots and citizens. Making a better commute can get lost in the shuffle of appeasing or greasing each of these individuals or groups. The last word is from an expert musing over Los Angles--a candidate for congestion if there ever was one. "If they'd lower the taxes and get rid of the smog and clean up the traffic mess, I really believe I'd settle here until the next earthquake," said Groucho Marx. In Pictures: World's Most Crowded Cities In Pictures: India's Populace http://www.forbes.com/energy/2006/12/19/india-congested-cities-biz-energy-cx_rm_ 1219congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=6000 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061224/23ec0720/attachment.html From eric.britton at free.fr Sun Dec 24 22:55:31 2006 From: eric.britton at free.fr (eric.britton at free.fr) Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 14:55:31 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Malaysia - Urban transport experts explore road pricing as an option In-Reply-To: <1166829280.22696714d40d7011.76ae46fa@persist.google.com> Message-ID: Way out of the jam Urban transport experts explore road pricing as an option Regina William PENANG (Dec 18, 2006): An inadequate public transportation system and worsening traffic congestion in cities have heightened the urgency to look for ways out of the jam. The mission: find options to improve traffic dispersal systems or reduce the number of vehicles plying city roads. The option: road pricing - charging road-users so as to arm-twist them to use public transport or plan their trips to lessen congestion during peak hours. For countries in the European Union and Central Europe, where traffic jams in urban areas are a massive problem due to car ownership rising ten times faster than the population over the past 15 years, policymakers are steering towards road-user charging. Singapore, London, Oslo and Stockholm (see graphics) are among cities using road pricing. But is it the solution for Malaysia? Experts admit that road pricing is not "the" solution, but neither is building more roads and expressways, which offer only temporary relief. theSun asked two transport experts whether road pricing would actually help ease the situation. Expert No. 1: Associate Prof Dr Ahmad Farhan Mohd Sadullah of Universiti Sains Malaysia who has done numerous studies and research on sustainable transport systems and also on Malaysian highways says: "Road pricing is a charge that is levied for road users regardless of whether they contribute to congestion or not." The charge can be based either on the basis of entry, or time spent in the area. Usually, they are associated with certain strategies like by introducing a period (usually the peak hour) when the charge applies. "Then there is the congestion charging, which is associated with the degree of contribution to the congestion situation. A complex charging system is usually associated with congestion charging (as in London). "There is also the cordon charging which is toll like where toll houses (are erected) at entry of city centres to deter people from coming in," he said. However, Farhan said control was critical at entry and exit points as it could bring about serious congestion if not planned well. "Sometimes toll booths are used and these are bottlenecks, which are the causes of congestion. If this happens, the entire road pricing scheme is useless. "Technology has helped and with sensor and detection and transmission technology, we are able to keep track of cars coming and exiting the area at the cordon, and with other payment and transaction technologies available, we can make congestion/road charging similar to other utility bills." But many questions remain - "How do you charge? What are the strategies associated with charging? How do you enforce? How do you differentiate between optional and compulsory users? How do you give priority to public transport systems such as taxis and buses? What is the right fee? Will this fee deter or will not have any affect on users? The question of equity?" If road pricing is in force, there must be an alternative with a good public transport system in place. "Otherwise, people do not have their option to go in, and they will continue using the car despite the charge." Farhan feels studies needed to be done to gauge public reactions to congestion charging when alternatives were available or when they were not available. A crucial point is political will. "Many cities are reluctant to introduce such systems, as anything that affects car users are usually the most critical action one can take, and at time may be a political suicide. "We also need to change the culture of the people so they are more supportive for sustainable transport systems. This will make things easier to implement such schemes." Expert No 2: Paul Barter, who researches urban transport policy, has carried out research over the past 12 years including comparing Malaysian cities' urban transport with other cities in the region. He believes there is hope yet for Malaysian cities although traffic jams seemed to be getting worse by the day. "The bad news is that the obvious, popular solutions are not enough. Some of the obvious solutions actually make thing worse. "The key example is just expanding the roads and building more expressways. It can seem like a good idea, but it only ever gives temporary relief in the long run traffic actually gets worse. "Focus on people and goods instead of vehicles and traffic jams. Concentrate on how can we move people and goods in the most efficient ways. "When you think like that, you tend to think a lot more about public transport, which is much more space efficient. When you are used to driving everywhere, even good public transport seems inconvenient," said Barter, who teaches at the LKY School of Public Policy in the National University of Singapore. Improving public transport alone was not enough. Efforts should be put in to get the best out of those big investments by making sure they link up seamlessly, he said. He suggests deliberately making parking a little less convenient and more expensive. It will help people think twice before jumping in their car. He proposes that costs involved in owning a car, including insurance and road tax, be converted into "pay as you drive". The catch, he said was a better and affordable technology to keep track of distance driven and send bills accordingly. On its own, public transport was not enough and neither are pay-as-you-drive or road pricing reforms to ease traffic jams. "To make not owning a car attractive, we would need to make it much easier for people to use a combination of various kinds of transport. We need better public transport, better taxi service, safer cycling, safer walking," he said. "Singapore has realised that making cars expensive to buy might have been a mistake, because then those who do have cars in Singapore drive them a lot. "They are shifting more costs to usage costs, like parking and electronic road pricing," he added. Barter is also against fuel subsidy, which he said gave people an incentive to waste. "The Malaysian government has said it will use the money to improve public transport. This sounds good and is probably well intentioned but the benefits do not necessarily help the poor folk who are really suffering in real ways from the change. "I think fuel should be taxed and not subsidised," he said. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 11028 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061224/ba21f725/winmail.bin From eric.britton at free.fr Sun Dec 24 23:00:31 2006 From: eric.britton at free.fr (eric.britton at free.fr) Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 15:00:31 +0100 Subject: [sustran] World's Most Congested Cities In-Reply-To: <1166823597.22696714d40d7011.3404d826@persist.google.com> Message-ID: <03f201c72763$e1adae50$6601a8c0@Home> Energy World's Most Congested Cities Robert Malone , 12.21.06, 6:00 AM ET - http://www.forbes.com/business/energy/2006/12/20/worlds-most-congested-cities-bi z-energy-cx_rm_1221congested.html pic In Pictures: World's Most Crowded Cities Having the worst traffic can mean the worst accidents, worst pollution, worst crowding, worst commutes and a host of other ugly conditions and experiences. The list of the worst world cities for traffic is skewed by the growing impact of transportation revolutions in developing countries. It takes time to build a road infrastructure. It takes time to install and maintain a traffic system. Traffic lights have to be coordinated and their power source has to have redundancy. It takes time to train and educate drivers. The list of the world's most congested cities centers on many Asian and a few African and Latin American cities that for the most part are playing catch up or trying to. For the moment, at least, their growth is defeating them. Moreover, "traffic is only one of the side effects of growth," says Roy Barnes, the author and former Georgia governor, who had to contend with his own problems of congestion and growth. The inner cities in developing countries normally don't have underground transportation, and that means street traffic, and that means congestion. Even the presence of a new subway as in Cairo has not really relieved the pressure of ever more vehicles on Cairo's roads. Cities with the highest density of population per square kilometer are the logical candidates for becoming the most congested, because congestion increases as the growth in their wealth increases the number of cars versus the less expensive alternatives of bicycles, motor scooters or motorcycles. Cars take up more room whether they are in motion or when parked--if they can be parked. U.S. and European cities have often chosen to place garages in new buildings, while older non-industrialized cities often lack such amenities. Cars may therefore be parked everywhere, legally or illegally. The cities with the highest level of population congestion are: * Manila, the Philippines; * Cairo, Egypt; * Lagos, Nigeria; * Macau, off the Chinese coast; * Seoul, South Korea; * Dhaka, Bangladesh; * Buenos Aires, Argentina; * Jakarta, Indonesia; * Kaohsiung, Taiwan; and Santo Domingo, * the Dominican Republic. To drive a car in any of them might be the ultimate challenge. Well over 50 million cars are being manufactured in the world each year, and they have to go someplace. There are over 240 million vehicles in the U.S. alone, while the world estimate is over 750 million vehicles and counting. The tilt is toward more vehicles for those places least able to cope with them. It is estimated that by 2030 the number of vehicles in the world will double. These cities have priorities, but the priorities rarely include building new roads or repairing old roads. The investment that's required also includes elements that go far beyond digging, filling and paving. There is a political nightmare that involves the need for land to build the road and a buy-in from the government, local despots and citizens. Making a better commute can get lost in the shuffle of appeasing or greasing each of these individuals or groups. The last word is from an expert musing over Los Angles--a candidate for congestion if there ever was one. "If they'd lower the taxes and get rid of the smog and clean up the traffic mess, I really believe I'd settle here until the next earthquake," said Groucho Marx. In Pictures: World's Most Crowded Cities In Pictures: India's Populace http://www.forbes.com/energy/2006/12/19/india-congested-cities-biz-energy-cx_rm_ 1219congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=6000 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061224/ed9d46b3/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 16213 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061224/ed9d46b3/attachment.jpe -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 196 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061224/ed9d46b3/attachment-0001.jpe From lalit at auroville.org.in Mon Dec 25 13:34:19 2006 From: lalit at auroville.org.in (Lalit Kishor Bhati) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 10:04:19 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: regarding thesis topic In-Reply-To: <549e2f6c0612230354u70e4753o36d93b8a04ba74aa@mail.gmail.com> References: <549e2f6c0612230354u70e4753o36d93b8a04ba74aa@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <200612251004190359.00579582@auroville.org.in> Hello all! Some of you might have heard of Auroville. www.auroville.org About myself - I am an Architect-Urban Planner from Auroville. Auroville is a small growing "Sustainable Eco City in making" in South India. We have about 2000 people from over 40 countries living here. It is interesting to observe that with such a small population base what all inspiring, innovative sustainable development works have been done and is being done. It is a very inspiring model of holistic development. While, it is important to address problem and find creative solutions aiming at bigger cities as huge population resides there and huge resources are used/wasted there, I am of firm belief that, in long run and for true transformation and achieve effective sustainable development - change in the mindset and efforts towards 'Integrated planning and development' are the key. New role models can make much more positive contribution and inspire all and always have the potential of triggering and stimulating a new direction...and that is why we also believe "Auroville - The City the Earth Needs". Well, Auroville is aspiring to be a true holistic city and we are at the very first steps of development with some good work of 'healing the earth' - e.g. ecological restoration of this entire area. Auroville website provides quite comprehensive information about its all aspects and also on planning. For more specific information, please visit following web sites - Auroville General Web Site: http://www.auroville.org Auroville Township Planning Information: http://www.auroville.org\thecity.htm Auroville Township Master Plan Official Document: http://www.auroville.info/ACUR/masterplan/index.htm Planning Related studies (under Asia Urbs) http://www.auroville.info/ACUR/urban_research/activities.htm So, it is a place intending to go for pedestrian and non motorized traffic options. We are not there as yet. Some seeds are there.. If anyone wishes to work (and thesis etc) on those lines - let me know. Can't say anything else but if involved - a new range and direction of experiences is assured. Contact me for more information Much love and regards Happy Xmas and New Year to all Lalit Architect-Urban Planner Auroville *********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** On 12/23/2006 at 5:24 PM anirudh singh bais wrote: I am a student of transport planning doing my P.G. from school of planning and architecture .I have to do my thesis next near starting Jan 2007 and want to do something new.I would appreciate fresh idea's .I want to do something practical and related to ongoing issues in pavement design and highways . Thanking You Anirudh Singh Bais -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061225/99b08edf/attachment.html From banmt at yahoo.com Mon Dec 25 14:07:54 2006 From: banmt at yahoo.com (AD) Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 21:07:54 -0800 (PST) Subject: [sustran] Re: regarding thesis topic Message-ID: <20061225050754.11897.qmail@web90411.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Thank you everybody for your helps. Concerning Metro plan, I think that it should be a must in the long run for any city with high density like HCMC? Although the cost for building a metro system may be high, it will give benefit for a long time... Please tell me if I am wrong. About finding alternatives of two-wheelers, in my opinion, it would be really hard because motorcycle is so convenient that even though there is a bus route from home to work, people still prefer their own motorcycle. It is because a motorcycle requires a little space to park, or is faster and cheaper than traveling by a bus... HCMC is an old, French-style city with small streets and big pavements in the city center. Therefore, it has disadvantages for developing bus routes on streets which are also shared by motorcycles. The authority is currently reducing the pavements' sides to make more space for motorized vehicles, which I think is not a good idea for a city with sustainable transportation where pedestrians and cyclists are preferred. Because of the nature of the city, in my opinion, HCMC should stop widening the streets for private motorized vehicles, saving streets mainly for buses and increase the number of cyclists and pedestrians (can cyclists and pedestrians share the pavements?). Is it possible to ban motorcycles from the streets ? Or we can have other better solutions? And what could my thesis do with limited time? All the best. Nguyen Anh Dung M.Sc Student. Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies. Mahidol University, Thailand. ----- Original Message ---- From: Jonathan E. D. Richmond To: banmt@yahoo.com Sent: Monday, December 25, 2006 5:57:24 AM Subject: Re: [sustran] Re: regarding thesis topic Dung, I think Lee has some good ideas! Or you could try a critique of the Metro plan... Or a look at the travel patterns of two-wheelers and how alternatives might be developed effectively... Let me know if I can help further! Best --Jonathan ----- Jonathan Richmond Visiting Professor Logistique, Transport et Tourisme Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers 5 rue du Vertbois 75141 Paris Cedex 03 France Home: 40 rue Paul Delinge 95880 Enghien-les-Bains France 1 (617) 395-4360 (US number forwards and rings in France. All calls billed as if to Massachusetts) e-mail: richmond@alum.mit.edu http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061224/7f0701fe/attachment.html From sksunny at gmail.com Mon Dec 25 14:22:59 2006 From: sksunny at gmail.com (Sunny) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 12:22:59 +0700 Subject: [sustran] Re: regarding thesis topic HCMC In-Reply-To: <20061225050754.11897.qmail@web90411.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <20061225050754.11897.qmail@web90411.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <458F6033.7030306@gmail.com> Hi AD, From wht you have written I can visualise that HCMC has good infrastructure for pedestrians but the problem is their reduction. I would suggest to think of implementing traffic calming and prioritising Public Transport. You have identified some of the problems with the motorbikes like they are faster, easy to park etc.. so target those points tht make motorbiking easy and aim to make the ride uncomfortable. Try to develop a plan where the speeds of bikes are reduced and the bus is given priority. Trying to develop pedestrian streets and reduce parking or price parking for motor vehicles. For the start I would recommend our (GTZ-SUTP) module on mobility management. further you can even visit www.vtpi.org Todd Litmans website for TDM (Travel Demand Management) where you might get more ideas for possible solutions that you can adopt for HCMC. Also do read Sustainability and Cities by Peter Newman and Jeff Kenworthy. IMO, finding alternative fuels would not be a good option for HCMC like city becoz they would not help in reducing the accidents or the main target mobility. So try something that involves encouraging walking (NMT) and public transport and reduces motorbike dependency. High density areas with large pavements are a very nice place to implement pedestrianisation. Cheers!! Sunny AD wrote: > Thank you everybody for your helps. > > Concerning Metro plan, I think that it should be a must in the long > run for any city with high density like HCMC? Although the cost for > building a metro system may be high, it will give benefit for a long > time... Please tell me if I am wrong. > > About finding alternatives of two-wheelers, in my opinion, it would be > really hard because motorcycle is so convenient that even though there > is a bus route from home to work, people still prefer their own > motorcycle. It is because a motorcycle requires a little space to > park, or is faster and cheaper than traveling by a bus... > > HCMC is an old, French-style city with small streets and big pavements > in the city center. Therefore, it has disadvantages for developing bus > routes on streets which are also shared by motorcycles. The authority > is currently reducing the pavements' sides to make more space for > motorized vehicles, which I think is not a good idea for a city with > sustainable transportation where pedestrians and cyclists are preferred. > > Because of the nature of the city, in my opinion, HCMC should stop > widening the streets for private motorized vehicles, saving streets > mainly for buses and increase the number of cyclists and pedestrians > (can cyclists and pedestrians share the pavements?). > > Is it possible to ban motorcycles from the streets ? Or we can have > other better solutions? And what could my thesis do with limited time? > > All the best. > > Nguyen Anh Dung > M.Sc Student. > Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies. > Mahidol University, Thailand. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061225/6a40f6c8/attachment.html From sujit at vsnl.com Mon Dec 25 17:18:43 2006 From: sujit at vsnl.com (Sujit Patwardhan) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 13:48:43 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobilityCafe] World's Most Congested Cities In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4cfd20aa0612250018w625a9b5ev9bc82b9b9e4879e4@mail.gmail.com> 25 December 2006 Christmas Haven't read what Eric's written (and I'm sure he wouldn't say that) but in my humble opinion advocating underground (especially Underground Metros) transportation mode as a means of reducing with the traffic congestion on the roads is like an Ostrich burying its head in the sand. Perhaps the same logic was put forward by the pioneers of flyovers (plenty of them hale and hearty in Asian cities) to overcome the problem of crowded streets. What many (not all) advocates of the underground are saying is that we simply can't do anything about the mess we have created on our streets so let's not waste time on locating the "source" of the problem (too many auto vehicles) but get on with building the underground tunnels with their promise of high (overkill levels) capacity, which may de-congest the streets. This of course never happens. Just like flyovers (ones meant to relieve congestion, not the ones meant to cross railway lines etc) constructed at huge cost become magnets inviting even more auto vehicles (cars and two wheelers) to come on the roads, underground metros consume huge finances at the cost of other needs of the city and fail to attract level of ridership projected in the concocted project reports. But by this time the politicians have pocketed their loot, the infrastructure companies their obscenely high profits and the public left high and dry with over-crowded streets, crowded flyovers and underutilised underground metro. If one is really concerned with sustainable transportation and indeed sustainable life on our planet one has to acknowledge that auto vehicles have long crossed the limit in terms of their ecological footprint. NEW faster/high capacity modes, NEW cleaner fuels, we can certainly pursue but let's not lose sight of the REAL problem and see how that can be reduced. Incentives for Public Transport, Non Motorised Modes (Walking and Cycling) and real disincentives for auto vehicles through various TDM measures appropriate for each city. I know I'm not saying anything new but in all the technical discussions of pphpd and cost per Km etc we sometimes miss the most obvious. -- Sujit On 12/25/06, Lee Schipper wrote: > > Kind'a naive: Where does underground transportation relieve > congestion? > > I would call Hanoi congested because of all the motorbikes parked on the > sidewalks - last week I walked as much in the street (at great peril) as on > so called sidewalks. And there are only 150 000 cars, a few thousand buses, > and well over 1 MILLION two-wheelers! > > To leave Jakarta from a meeting..on congestion pricing - a bunch of us > were given a police escort. I got to ride shotgun in the police car itself > (no they were kicking us out..the police escort didnt help much; Jakarta > has pay tollways as well as free surface streets, and while the pay tollways > are crowded they are much faster than the parallel streets that are free.. > > Bangalore? Bangkok? Calcutta? Delhi? All bad. > > It really depends what you mean by congestion. In cars/lane-km of street? > In cars/sq km of city? Where do we count motorbikes? In lost time compared > with travel time at freeflow? That's unfair because there really is no such > thing as free flow except at 2 AM... > > The best emblem of all of this - the CICI bank in Pune with a card table > set up in front and a sign offering low cost loans for two wheelers - even > though the streets themselves have no real sidewalks...why is there lots of > private money for private transport but not even money to p rovide > the public infrastructure for private transport but neither money for cost > effective, clean public transport nor the will to charge people for using > the public infrastructure. > > > > >>> eric.britton@free.fr 12/24/2006 9:00 AM >>> > > > > > Energy > World's Most Congested Cities > Robert Malone , 12.21.06, 6:00 > AM ET - > * > http://www.forbes.com/business/energy/2006/12/20/worlds-most-congested-cities-bi > * > z-energy-cx_rm_1221congested.html > > > > > > > http://www.forbes.com/2006/12/20/worlds-most-congested-cities > -biz-energy-cx_rm_1221congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=10000',800,700)> > pic > http://www.forbes.com/2006/12/20/worlds-most-congested-cities > -biz-energy-cx_rm_1221congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=10000',800,700)> > > > In Pictures: World's > http://www.forbes.com/2006/12/20/worlds-most-congested-cities > -biz-energy-cx_rm_1221congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=10000',800,700)> > Most > Crowded Cities > > > > > > > > > Having the worst traffic can mean the worst accidents, worst pollution, > worst > crowding, worst commutes and a host of other ugly conditions and > experiences. > > The list of the worst world cities for traffic is skewed by the growing > impact > of transportation revolutions in developing countries. It takes time to > build a > road infrastructure. It takes time to install and maintain a traffic > system. > Traffic lights have to be coordinated and their power source has to have > redundancy. It takes time to train and educate drivers. > > The list of the world's most congested cities centers on many Asian and a > few > African and Latin American cities that for the most part are playing catch > up or > trying to. For the moment, at least, their growth is defeating them. > Moreover, > "traffic is only one of the side effects of growth," says Roy Barnes, the > author > and former Georgia governor, who had to contend with his own problems of > congestion and growth. > > The inner cities in developing countries normally don't have underground > transportation, and that means street traffic, and that means congestion. > Even > the presence of a new subway as in Cairo has not really relieved the > pressure of > ever more vehicles on Cairo's roads. > > Cities with the highest density of population per square kilometer are the > logical candidates for becoming the most congested, because congestion > increases > as the growth in their wealth increases the number of cars versus the less > expensive alternatives of bicycles, motor scooters or motorcycles. Cars > take up > more room whether they are in motion or when parked--if they can be > parked. U.S. > and European cities have often chosen to place garages in new buildings, > while > older non-industrialized cities often lack such amenities. Cars may > therefore be > parked everywhere, legally or illegally. > > The cities with the highest level of population congestion are: > > * Manila, the Philippines; > > * Cairo, Egypt; > > * Lagos, Nigeria; > > * Macau, off the Chinese coast; > > * Seoul, South Korea; > > * Dhaka, Bangladesh; > > * Buenos Aires, Argentina; > > * Jakarta, Indonesia; > > * Kaohsiung, Taiwan; and Santo Domingo, > > * the Dominican Republic. > > To drive a car in any of them might be the ultimate challenge. > > Well over 50 million cars are being manufactured in the world each year, > and > they have to go someplace. There are over 240 million vehicles in the U.S. > alone, while the world estimate is over 750 million vehicles and counting. > The > tilt is toward more vehicles for those places least able to cope with > them. It > is estimated that by 2030 the number of vehicles in the world will double. > > These cities have priorities, but the priorities rarely include building > new > roads or repairing old roads. The investment that's required also includes > elements that go far beyond digging, filling and paving. There is a > political > nightmare that involves the need for land to build the road and a buy-in > from > the government, local despots and citizens. Making a better commute can > get lost > in the shuffle of appeasing or greasing each of these individuals or > groups. > > The last word is from an expert musing over Los Angles--a candidate for > congestion if there ever was one. "If they'd lower the taxes and get rid > of the > smog and clean up the traffic mess, I really believe I'd settle here until > the > next earthquake," said Groucho Marx. > > > In > http://www.forbes.com/2006/12/20/worlds-most-congested-cities > -biz-energy-cx_rm_1221congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=6000',800,600);> > Pictures: World's Most Crowded Cities > > > In > http://www.forbes.com/energy/2006/12/19/india-congested-citie > s-biz-energy-cx_rm_1219congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=6000',800,600);> > Pictures: India's Populace > > > * > http://www.forbes.com/energy/2006/12/19/india-congested-cities-biz-energy-cx_rm_ > * > 1219congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=6000 > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------- > IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via > YAHOOGROUPS. > > Please go to http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to > join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The > yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to the > real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like you > can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > (the 'Global South'). > > > -- ------------------------------------------------------ Sujit Patwardhan sujit@vsnl.com sujitjp@gmail.com "Yamuna", ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007 India Tel: 25537955 ----------------------------------------------------- Hon. Secretary: Parisar www.parisar.org ------------------------------------------------------ Founder Member: PTTF (Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum) www.pttf.net ------------------------------------------------------ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061225/80a7fafe/attachment.html From sujit at vsnl.com Mon Dec 25 17:18:43 2006 From: sujit at vsnl.com (Sujit Patwardhan) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 13:48:43 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobilityCafe] World's Most Congested Cities In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4cfd20aa0612250018w625a9b5ev9bc82b9b9e4879e4@mail.gmail.com> 25 December 2006 Christmas Haven't read what Eric's written (and I'm sure he wouldn't say that) but in my humble opinion advocating underground (especially Underground Metros) transportation mode as a means of reducing with the traffic congestion on the roads is like an Ostrich burying its head in the sand. Perhaps the same logic was put forward by the pioneers of flyovers (plenty of them hale and hearty in Asian cities) to overcome the problem of crowded streets. What many (not all) advocates of the underground are saying is that we simply can't do anything about the mess we have created on our streets so let's not waste time on locating the "source" of the problem (too many auto vehicles) but get on with building the underground tunnels with their promise of high (overkill levels) capacity, which may de-congest the streets. This of course never happens. Just like flyovers (ones meant to relieve congestion, not the ones meant to cross railway lines etc) constructed at huge cost become magnets inviting even more auto vehicles (cars and two wheelers) to come on the roads, underground metros consume huge finances at the cost of other needs of the city and fail to attract level of ridership projected in the concocted project reports. But by this time the politicians have pocketed their loot, the infrastructure companies their obscenely high profits and the public left high and dry with over-crowded streets, crowded flyovers and underutilised underground metro. If one is really concerned with sustainable transportation and indeed sustainable life on our planet one has to acknowledge that auto vehicles have long crossed the limit in terms of their ecological footprint. NEW faster/high capacity modes, NEW cleaner fuels, we can certainly pursue but let's not lose sight of the REAL problem and see how that can be reduced. Incentives for Public Transport, Non Motorised Modes (Walking and Cycling) and real disincentives for auto vehicles through various TDM measures appropriate for each city. I know I'm not saying anything new but in all the technical discussions of pphpd and cost per Km etc we sometimes miss the most obvious. -- Sujit On 12/25/06, Lee Schipper wrote: > > Kind'a naive: Where does underground transportation relieve > congestion? > > I would call Hanoi congested because of all the motorbikes parked on the > sidewalks - last week I walked as much in the street (at great peril) as on > so called sidewalks. And there are only 150 000 cars, a few thousand buses, > and well over 1 MILLION two-wheelers! > > To leave Jakarta from a meeting..on congestion pricing - a bunch of us > were given a police escort. I got to ride shotgun in the police car itself > (no they were kicking us out..the police escort didnt help much; Jakarta > has pay tollways as well as free surface streets, and while the pay tollways > are crowded they are much faster than the parallel streets that are free.. > > Bangalore? Bangkok? Calcutta? Delhi? All bad. > > It really depends what you mean by congestion. In cars/lane-km of street? > In cars/sq km of city? Where do we count motorbikes? In lost time compared > with travel time at freeflow? That's unfair because there really is no such > thing as free flow except at 2 AM... > > The best emblem of all of this - the CICI bank in Pune with a card table > set up in front and a sign offering low cost loans for two wheelers - even > though the streets themselves have no real sidewalks...why is there lots of > private money for private transport but not even money to p rovide > the public infrastructure for private transport but neither money for cost > effective, clean public transport nor the will to charge people for using > the public infrastructure. > > > > >>> eric.britton@free.fr 12/24/2006 9:00 AM >>> > > > > > Energy > World's Most Congested Cities > Robert Malone , 12.21.06, 6:00 > AM ET - > * > http://www.forbes.com/business/energy/2006/12/20/worlds-most-congested-cities-bi > * > z-energy-cx_rm_1221congested.html > > > > > > > http://www.forbes.com/2006/12/20/worlds-most-congested-cities > -biz-energy-cx_rm_1221congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=10000',800,700)> > pic > http://www.forbes.com/2006/12/20/worlds-most-congested-cities > -biz-energy-cx_rm_1221congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=10000',800,700)> > > > In Pictures: World's > http://www.forbes.com/2006/12/20/worlds-most-congested-cities > -biz-energy-cx_rm_1221congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=10000',800,700)> > Most > Crowded Cities > > > > > > > > > Having the worst traffic can mean the worst accidents, worst pollution, > worst > crowding, worst commutes and a host of other ugly conditions and > experiences. > > The list of the worst world cities for traffic is skewed by the growing > impact > of transportation revolutions in developing countries. It takes time to > build a > road infrastructure. It takes time to install and maintain a traffic > system. > Traffic lights have to be coordinated and their power source has to have > redundancy. It takes time to train and educate drivers. > > The list of the world's most congested cities centers on many Asian and a > few > African and Latin American cities that for the most part are playing catch > up or > trying to. For the moment, at least, their growth is defeating them. > Moreover, > "traffic is only one of the side effects of growth," says Roy Barnes, the > author > and former Georgia governor, who had to contend with his own problems of > congestion and growth. > > The inner cities in developing countries normally don't have underground > transportation, and that means street traffic, and that means congestion. > Even > the presence of a new subway as in Cairo has not really relieved the > pressure of > ever more vehicles on Cairo's roads. > > Cities with the highest density of population per square kilometer are the > logical candidates for becoming the most congested, because congestion > increases > as the growth in their wealth increases the number of cars versus the less > expensive alternatives of bicycles, motor scooters or motorcycles. Cars > take up > more room whether they are in motion or when parked--if they can be > parked. U.S. > and European cities have often chosen to place garages in new buildings, > while > older non-industrialized cities often lack such amenities. Cars may > therefore be > parked everywhere, legally or illegally. > > The cities with the highest level of population congestion are: > > * Manila, the Philippines; > > * Cairo, Egypt; > > * Lagos, Nigeria; > > * Macau, off the Chinese coast; > > * Seoul, South Korea; > > * Dhaka, Bangladesh; > > * Buenos Aires, Argentina; > > * Jakarta, Indonesia; > > * Kaohsiung, Taiwan; and Santo Domingo, > > * the Dominican Republic. > > To drive a car in any of them might be the ultimate challenge. > > Well over 50 million cars are being manufactured in the world each year, > and > they have to go someplace. There are over 240 million vehicles in the U.S. > alone, while the world estimate is over 750 million vehicles and counting. > The > tilt is toward more vehicles for those places least able to cope with > them. It > is estimated that by 2030 the number of vehicles in the world will double. > > These cities have priorities, but the priorities rarely include building > new > roads or repairing old roads. The investment that's required also includes > elements that go far beyond digging, filling and paving. There is a > political > nightmare that involves the need for land to build the road and a buy-in > from > the government, local despots and citizens. Making a better commute can > get lost > in the shuffle of appeasing or greasing each of these individuals or > groups. > > The last word is from an expert musing over Los Angles--a candidate for > congestion if there ever was one. "If they'd lower the taxes and get rid > of the > smog and clean up the traffic mess, I really believe I'd settle here until > the > next earthquake," said Groucho Marx. > > > In > http://www.forbes.com/2006/12/20/worlds-most-congested-cities > -biz-energy-cx_rm_1221congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=6000',800,600);> > Pictures: World's Most Crowded Cities > > > In > http://www.forbes.com/energy/2006/12/19/india-congested-citie > s-biz-energy-cx_rm_1219congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=6000',800,600);> > Pictures: India's Populace > > > * > http://www.forbes.com/energy/2006/12/19/india-congested-cities-biz-energy-cx_rm_ > * > 1219congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=6000 > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------- > IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via > YAHOOGROUPS. > > Please go to http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to > join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The > yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to the > real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like you > can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > (the 'Global South'). > > > -- ------------------------------------------------------ Sujit Patwardhan sujit@vsnl.com sujitjp@gmail.com "Yamuna", ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007 India Tel: 25537955 ----------------------------------------------------- Hon. Secretary: Parisar www.parisar.org ------------------------------------------------------ Founder Member: PTTF (Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum) www.pttf.net ------------------------------------------------------ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061225/80a7fafe/attachment-0001.html From anirudhsingh1 at gmail.com Mon Dec 25 21:18:59 2006 From: anirudhsingh1 at gmail.com (anirudh singh bais) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 17:48:59 +0530 Subject: [sustran] PEAK HOUR VALIDATION Message-ID: <549e2f6c0612250418n4be9a50ficaf3f6c432d14b29@mail.gmail.com> HI , CAN SOMEBODY HELP ME TO KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT THE PEAK HOUR VALIDATION BECAUSE ITS AN IMPORTANT ISSUE ... ANIRUDH SINGH BAIS TRANSPORT PLANNING SCHOOL OF PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE NEW DELHI EMAIL: anirudhsingh1@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061225/af63122a/attachment.html From edelman at greenidea.info Mon Dec 25 22:43:37 2006 From: edelman at greenidea.info (Todd Edelman) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 14:43:37 +0100 (CET) Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobilityCafe] World's Most Congested Cities In-Reply-To: <4cfd20aa0612250018w625a9b5ev9bc82b9b9e4879e4@mail.gmail.com> References: <4cfd20aa0612250018w625a9b5ev9bc82b9b9e4879e4@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <16057.194.149.113.177.1167054217.squirrel@mail.smartweb.cz> Sujit wrote: > 25 December 2006 > Christmas > > > > Haven't read what Eric's written (and I'm sure he wouldn't say that) but > in > my humble opinion advocating underground (especially Underground Metros) > transportation mode as a means of reducing with the traffic congestion on > the roads is like an Ostrich burying its head in the sand. A metro system has to be an integrated part of a solution involving incentives for making individual motorised transport difficult or impossible to use, making streets for pedestrians and cyclists, and reducing the need for mobility by making neighbourhoods more self-sufficient (jobs, supplies, leisure), among other things, and it cant solve problems on its own, and of course if it so expensive that nothing else can be implemented it is indeed just a gift for some politicians and builders, etc. I am not advocating something like a "New New Delhi" but the following links propose what can be done with a metro and almost no motorised surface transport. Of course these things are expensive but still worth a good look: http://www.carfree.com/topology.html http://www.carfree.com/pax_trans.html http://www.carfree.com/freight.html http://www.carfree.com/existing.html from www.carfree.com It would be less safe and have less capacity, but a surface version of the transport solutions... BRT of course but also "FRT" (freight rapid transport) are possible I suppose. Even here in Prague (and Czechia is now called a "developed country") some people are advocating alternatives to adding another metro line and extending the existing ones. The alternatives include development of the extensive intra-urban railway infrastructure, lots of new trams and less stinky buses (still all Diesel fleet here!), lifts at all existing metro stations, bicycle parking, new pavements and all sorts of other things to make the existing system work better. We wont have money for all that alternative stuff if they build the metros they want to, and the concrete mafia will have a nice holiday. Another thing about metros should I would like to see more research on is how spending so much time underground effects people. I like it for under 15 minutes or so but longer than that and I get annoyed or worse. Our transport systems should not bother us in that way. I personally think people deserve better than spending 90 minutes or whatever underground every day, and I think that we all shoot for intra-urban commutes of less than 30 minutes, no matter what the mode. - T ------------------------------------------------------ Todd Edelman Director Green Idea Factory Korunn? 72 CZ-10100 Praha 10 Czech Republic ++420 605 915 970 Skype: toddedelman edelman@greenidea.eu http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain Green Idea Factory, a member of World Carfree Network From sujitjp at gmail.com Mon Dec 25 17:16:15 2006 From: sujitjp at gmail.com (Sujit Patwardhan) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 13:46:15 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobilityCafe] World's Most Congested Cities In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4cfd20aa0612250016r27c7f138q457d278584f012fd@mail.gmail.com> 25 December 2006 Christmas Haven't read what Eric's written (and I'm sure he wouldn't say that) but in my humble opinion advocating underground (especially Underground Metros) transportation mode as a means of reducing with the traffic congestion on the roads is like an Ostrich burying its head in the sand. Perhaps the same logic was put forward by the pioneers of flyovers (plenty of them hale and hearty in Asian cities) to overcome the problem of crowded streets. What many (not all) advocates of the underground are saying is that we simply can't do anything about the mess we have created on our streets so let's not waste time on locating the "source" of the problem (too many auto vehicles) but get on with building the underground tunnels with their promise of high (overkill levels) capacity, which may de-congest the streets. This of course never happens. Just like flyovers (ones meant to relieve congestion, not the ones meant to cross railway lines etc) constructed at huge cost become magnets inviting even more auto vehicles (cars and two wheelers) to come on the roads, underground metros consume huge finances at the cost of other needs of the city and fail to attract level of ridership projected in the concocted project reports. But by this time the politicians have pocketed their loot, the infrastructure companies their obscenely high profits and the public left high and dry with over-crowded streets, crowded flyovers and underutilised underground metro. If one is really concerned with sustainable transportation and indeed sustainable life on our planet one has to acknowledge that auto vehicles have long crossed the limit in terms of their ecological footprint. NEW faster/high capacity modes, NEW cleaner fuels, we can certainly pursue but let's not lose sight of the REAL problem and see how that can be reduced. Incentives for Public Transport, Non Motorised Modes (Walking and Cycling) and real disincentives for auto vehicles through various TDM measures appropriate for each city. I know I'm not saying anything new but in all the technical discussions of pphpd and cost per Km etc we sometimes miss the most obvious. -- Sujit On 12/25/06, Lee Schipper < SCHIPPER@wri.org> wrote: > > Kind'a naive: Where does underground transportation relieve > congestion? > > I would call Hanoi congested because of all the motorbikes parked on the > sidewalks - last week I walked as much in the street (at great peril) as on > so called sidewalks. And there are only 150 000 cars, a few thousand buses, > and well over 1 MILLION two-wheelers! > > To leave Jakarta from a meeting..on congestion pricing - a bunch of us > were given a police escort. I got to ride shotgun in the police car itself > (no they were kicking us out..the police escort didnt help much; Jakarta > has pay tollways as well as free surface streets, and while the pay tollways > are crowded they are much faster than the parallel streets that are free.. > > Bangalore? Bangkok? Calcutta? Delhi? All bad. > > It really depends what you mean by congestion. In cars/lane-km of street? > In cars/sq km of city? Where do we count motorbikes? In lost time compared > with travel time at freeflow? That's unfair because there really is no such > thing as free flow except at 2 AM... > > The best emblem of all of this - the CICI bank in Pune with a card table > set up in front and a sign offering low cost loans for two wheelers - even > though the streets themselves have no real sidewalks...why is there lots of > private money for private transport but not even money to p rovide > the public infrastructure for private transport but neither money for cost > effective, clean public transport nor the will to charge people for using > the public infrastructure. > > > > >>> eric.britton@free.fr 12/24/2006 9:00 AM >>> > > > > > Energy > World's Most Congested Cities > Robert Malone , 12.21.06, 6:00 > AM ET - > *http://www.forbes.com/business/energy/2006/12/20/worlds-most-congested-cities-bi > * > z-energy-cx_rm_1221congested.html > > > > > > > -biz-energy-cx_rm_1221congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=10000',800,700)> > pic > -biz-energy-cx_rm_1221congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=10000',800,700)> > > > In Pictures: World's > -biz-energy-cx_rm_1221congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=10000',800,700)> > Most > Crowded Cities > > > > > > > > > Having the worst traffic can mean the worst accidents, worst pollution, > worst > crowding, worst commutes and a host of other ugly conditions and > experiences. > > The list of the worst world cities for traffic is skewed by the growing > impact > of transportation revolutions in developing countries. It takes time to > build a > road infrastructure. It takes time to install and maintain a traffic > system. > Traffic lights have to be coordinated and their power source has to have > redundancy. It takes time to train and educate drivers. > > The list of the world's most congested cities centers on many Asian and a > few > African and Latin American cities that for the most part are playing catch > up or > trying to. For the moment, at least, their growth is defeating them. > Moreover, > "traffic is only one of the side effects of growth," says Roy Barnes, the > author > and former Georgia governor, who had to contend with his own problems of > congestion and growth. > > The inner cities in developing countries normally don't have underground > transportation, and that means street traffic, and that means congestion. > Even > the presence of a new subway as in Cairo has not really relieved the > pressure of > ever more vehicles on Cairo's roads. > > Cities with the highest density of population per square kilometer are the > > logical candidates for becoming the most congested, because congestion > increases > as the growth in their wealth increases the number of cars versus the less > expensive alternatives of bicycles, motor scooters or motorcycles. Cars > take up > more room whether they are in motion or when parked--if they can be > parked. U.S. > and European cities have often chosen to place garages in new buildings, > while > older non-industrialized cities often lack such amenities. Cars may > therefore be > parked everywhere, legally or illegally. > > The cities with the highest level of population congestion are: > > * Manila, the Philippines; > > * Cairo, Egypt; > > * Lagos, Nigeria; > > * Macau, off the Chinese coast; > > * Seoul, South Korea; > > * Dhaka, Bangladesh; > > * Buenos Aires, Argentina; > > * Jakarta, Indonesia; > > * Kaohsiung, Taiwan; and Santo Domingo, > > * the Dominican Republic. > > To drive a car in any of them might be the ultimate challenge. > > Well over 50 million cars are being manufactured in the world each year, > and > they have to go someplace. There are over 240 million vehicles in the U.S. > alone, while the world estimate is over 750 million vehicles and counting. > The > tilt is toward more vehicles for those places least able to cope with > them. It > is estimated that by 2030 the number of vehicles in the world will double. > > These cities have priorities, but the priorities rarely include building > new > roads or repairing old roads. The investment that's required also includes > elements that go far beyond digging, filling and paving. There is a > political > nightmare that involves the need for land to build the road and a buy-in > from > the government, local despots and citizens. Making a better commute can > get lost > in the shuffle of appeasing or greasing each of these individuals or > groups. > > The last word is from an expert musing over Los Angles--a candidate for > congestion if there ever was one. "If they'd lower the taxes and get rid > of the > smog and clean up the traffic mess, I really believe I'd settle here until > the > next earthquake," said Groucho Marx. > > > In > > -biz-energy-cx_rm_1221congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=6000',800,600);> > Pictures: World's Most Crowded Cities > > > In > s-biz-energy-cx_rm_1219congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=6000',800,600);> > Pictures: India's Populace > > > *http://www.forbes.com/energy/2006/12/19/india-congested-cities-biz-energy-cx_rm_ > * > 1219congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=6000 > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------- > IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via > YAHOOGROUPS. > > Please go to http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to > join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The > yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to the > real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like you > can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > (the 'Global South'). > > > -- ------------------------------------------------------ Sujit Patwardhan sujit@vsnl.com sujitjp@gmail.com "Yamuna", ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007 India Tel: 25537955 ----------------------------------------------------- Hon. Secretary: Parisar www.parisar.org ------------------------------------------------------ Founder Member: PTTF (Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum) www.pttf.net ------------------------------------------------------ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061225/7831a6e2/attachment.html From sujitjp at gmail.com Mon Dec 25 17:16:15 2006 From: sujitjp at gmail.com (Sujit Patwardhan) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 13:46:15 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobilityCafe] World's Most Congested Cities In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4cfd20aa0612250016r27c7f138q457d278584f012fd@mail.gmail.com> 25 December 2006 Christmas Haven't read what Eric's written (and I'm sure he wouldn't say that) but in my humble opinion advocating underground (especially Underground Metros) transportation mode as a means of reducing with the traffic congestion on the roads is like an Ostrich burying its head in the sand. Perhaps the same logic was put forward by the pioneers of flyovers (plenty of them hale and hearty in Asian cities) to overcome the problem of crowded streets. What many (not all) advocates of the underground are saying is that we simply can't do anything about the mess we have created on our streets so let's not waste time on locating the "source" of the problem (too many auto vehicles) but get on with building the underground tunnels with their promise of high (overkill levels) capacity, which may de-congest the streets. This of course never happens. Just like flyovers (ones meant to relieve congestion, not the ones meant to cross railway lines etc) constructed at huge cost become magnets inviting even more auto vehicles (cars and two wheelers) to come on the roads, underground metros consume huge finances at the cost of other needs of the city and fail to attract level of ridership projected in the concocted project reports. But by this time the politicians have pocketed their loot, the infrastructure companies their obscenely high profits and the public left high and dry with over-crowded streets, crowded flyovers and underutilised underground metro. If one is really concerned with sustainable transportation and indeed sustainable life on our planet one has to acknowledge that auto vehicles have long crossed the limit in terms of their ecological footprint. NEW faster/high capacity modes, NEW cleaner fuels, we can certainly pursue but let's not lose sight of the REAL problem and see how that can be reduced. Incentives for Public Transport, Non Motorised Modes (Walking and Cycling) and real disincentives for auto vehicles through various TDM measures appropriate for each city. I know I'm not saying anything new but in all the technical discussions of pphpd and cost per Km etc we sometimes miss the most obvious. -- Sujit On 12/25/06, Lee Schipper < SCHIPPER@wri.org> wrote: > > Kind'a naive: Where does underground transportation relieve > congestion? > > I would call Hanoi congested because of all the motorbikes parked on the > sidewalks - last week I walked as much in the street (at great peril) as on > so called sidewalks. And there are only 150 000 cars, a few thousand buses, > and well over 1 MILLION two-wheelers! > > To leave Jakarta from a meeting..on congestion pricing - a bunch of us > were given a police escort. I got to ride shotgun in the police car itself > (no they were kicking us out..the police escort didnt help much; Jakarta > has pay tollways as well as free surface streets, and while the pay tollways > are crowded they are much faster than the parallel streets that are free.. > > Bangalore? Bangkok? Calcutta? Delhi? All bad. > > It really depends what you mean by congestion. In cars/lane-km of street? > In cars/sq km of city? Where do we count motorbikes? In lost time compared > with travel time at freeflow? That's unfair because there really is no such > thing as free flow except at 2 AM... > > The best emblem of all of this - the CICI bank in Pune with a card table > set up in front and a sign offering low cost loans for two wheelers - even > though the streets themselves have no real sidewalks...why is there lots of > private money for private transport but not even money to p rovide > the public infrastructure for private transport but neither money for cost > effective, clean public transport nor the will to charge people for using > the public infrastructure. > > > > >>> eric.britton@free.fr 12/24/2006 9:00 AM >>> > > > > > Energy > World's Most Congested Cities > Robert Malone , 12.21.06, 6:00 > AM ET - > *http://www.forbes.com/business/energy/2006/12/20/worlds-most-congested-cities-bi > * > z-energy-cx_rm_1221congested.html > > > > > > > -biz-energy-cx_rm_1221congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=10000',800,700)> > pic > -biz-energy-cx_rm_1221congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=10000',800,700)> > > > In Pictures: World's > -biz-energy-cx_rm_1221congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=10000',800,700)> > Most > Crowded Cities > > > > > > > > > Having the worst traffic can mean the worst accidents, worst pollution, > worst > crowding, worst commutes and a host of other ugly conditions and > experiences. > > The list of the worst world cities for traffic is skewed by the growing > impact > of transportation revolutions in developing countries. It takes time to > build a > road infrastructure. It takes time to install and maintain a traffic > system. > Traffic lights have to be coordinated and their power source has to have > redundancy. It takes time to train and educate drivers. > > The list of the world's most congested cities centers on many Asian and a > few > African and Latin American cities that for the most part are playing catch > up or > trying to. For the moment, at least, their growth is defeating them. > Moreover, > "traffic is only one of the side effects of growth," says Roy Barnes, the > author > and former Georgia governor, who had to contend with his own problems of > congestion and growth. > > The inner cities in developing countries normally don't have underground > transportation, and that means street traffic, and that means congestion. > Even > the presence of a new subway as in Cairo has not really relieved the > pressure of > ever more vehicles on Cairo's roads. > > Cities with the highest density of population per square kilometer are the > > logical candidates for becoming the most congested, because congestion > increases > as the growth in their wealth increases the number of cars versus the less > expensive alternatives of bicycles, motor scooters or motorcycles. Cars > take up > more room whether they are in motion or when parked--if they can be > parked. U.S. > and European cities have often chosen to place garages in new buildings, > while > older non-industrialized cities often lack such amenities. Cars may > therefore be > parked everywhere, legally or illegally. > > The cities with the highest level of population congestion are: > > * Manila, the Philippines; > > * Cairo, Egypt; > > * Lagos, Nigeria; > > * Macau, off the Chinese coast; > > * Seoul, South Korea; > > * Dhaka, Bangladesh; > > * Buenos Aires, Argentina; > > * Jakarta, Indonesia; > > * Kaohsiung, Taiwan; and Santo Domingo, > > * the Dominican Republic. > > To drive a car in any of them might be the ultimate challenge. > > Well over 50 million cars are being manufactured in the world each year, > and > they have to go someplace. There are over 240 million vehicles in the U.S. > alone, while the world estimate is over 750 million vehicles and counting. > The > tilt is toward more vehicles for those places least able to cope with > them. It > is estimated that by 2030 the number of vehicles in the world will double. > > These cities have priorities, but the priorities rarely include building > new > roads or repairing old roads. The investment that's required also includes > elements that go far beyond digging, filling and paving. There is a > political > nightmare that involves the need for land to build the road and a buy-in > from > the government, local despots and citizens. Making a better commute can > get lost > in the shuffle of appeasing or greasing each of these individuals or > groups. > > The last word is from an expert musing over Los Angles--a candidate for > congestion if there ever was one. "If they'd lower the taxes and get rid > of the > smog and clean up the traffic mess, I really believe I'd settle here until > the > next earthquake," said Groucho Marx. > > > In > > -biz-energy-cx_rm_1221congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=6000',800,600);> > Pictures: World's Most Crowded Cities > > > In > s-biz-energy-cx_rm_1219congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=6000',800,600);> > Pictures: India's Populace > > > *http://www.forbes.com/energy/2006/12/19/india-congested-cities-biz-energy-cx_rm_ > * > 1219congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=6000 > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------- > IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via > YAHOOGROUPS. > > Please go to http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to > join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The > yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to the > real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like you > can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > (the 'Global South'). > > > -- ------------------------------------------------------ Sujit Patwardhan sujit@vsnl.com sujitjp@gmail.com "Yamuna", ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007 India Tel: 25537955 ----------------------------------------------------- Hon. Secretary: Parisar www.parisar.org ------------------------------------------------------ Founder Member: PTTF (Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum) www.pttf.net ------------------------------------------------------ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061225/7831a6e2/attachment-0001.html From eric.britton at free.fr Mon Dec 25 19:56:11 2006 From: eric.britton at free.fr (eric.britton at free.fr) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 11:56:11 +0100 Subject: [sustran] The ideal way of traffic regulation Message-ID: On Behalf Of chesterdh Sent: Monday, December 25, 2006 9:00 AM To: NewMobilityCafe@yahoogroups.com With so many difficulties due to the congestion of traffic, there should be a more radical solution out there, that can answer the needs of the communters. May I suggest that companys, city planners and governers are not taking this matter seriously enough. Firstly, why do we need so much concentration of human resources in the town centers? With our current 70% workers in service jobs and less that 20% in actual production or maintanence processes, it seems to me that a more efficient system for working communications via the internet is all that is required, to solve the traffic problem. The need to all meet in one place, is solvable with more video linkages as well as oral ones. Secondly, we should be organized so that the more congestion we cause, the more we should have to pay for bringing our vehicles into the middle of town. Obviously the scale of costs should be in proportion to the size of the vehicle, with feet and mono-cycles going for free and two-wheel bicycles having a significant advantage over sedans. I have yet to understand why the combination of technology plus sociology that we presently can use, results in the average city car or taxi having a mass of 1.5 tons and a plan area greater than shade under a mid-day elephant, being commonly used to transport one business man/woman weighing less than 200 lbs and comfortably occupying a horizontal surface of about 3 square feet. Thirdly the hours that we use don't have all to be at once. Surely the charges for the use of the communications system of roads could be adjusted to suit the times when the demand for them is the most. After all this is what economics is all about, the fact that high demand raises the calling price. With improved train services and passenger converters of the kind found at airports, it should be possible to reduce the demands on the roadways and highways. At present the city concentrations remind me of a lot of mindless lemmings all rushing to commit suicide at the same time. Could we not delay this proces for a longer and happier kind of existance by the recognition of the forces of economics as suggested above, being able to be felt in its their natural filtering out of the degree of necessity of journey being paid for in proportion? It all reminds me of the posters seen in London during the second world war "Is your journey really necessary?" -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 11016 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061225/2b68bc96/winmail.bin From eric.britton at free.fr Mon Dec 25 19:57:23 2006 From: eric.britton at free.fr (eric.britton at free.fr) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 11:57:23 +0100 Subject: [sustran] most dangerous roads in the world Message-ID: <059d01c72813$7767a7c0$6601a8c0@Home> Source: http://thrillingwonder.blogspot.com/2006/11/most-dangerous-roads-in-world.html Robin Chase has sent this on with the forwarded caption "well that's one way to cut down on emissions". Fair enough, but to my way of looking at it what is seems to underline is our powerful, primeval thirst for "getting there". It awes me, and at the same time reminds me that this stuff that we so easily call 'transportation' is deeply deeply seated, and if we are to get control of it for all the reasons you and I know, we are going to have to be great psychologists, knowers of people, and communicators to get out point across Eric Britton, as he watches 2006 head for the door. PS And in the spirit of the season, the following just in from our ingenious friends from Past Colombia, home of, among other fine things, the world's first totally voluntary Citizen Car Free Day in 2006. Which I include here because it also, does it not?, tell us about how deep our motivations can run when it comes to getting around in our daily lives. 11A copyESP.jpg -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061225/9af406af/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 55981 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061225/9af406af/attachment.jpe From edelman at greenidea.info Tue Dec 26 20:09:27 2006 From: edelman at greenidea.info (Todd Edelman) Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2006 12:09:27 +0100 (CET) Subject: [sustran] Re: The ideal way of traffic regulation In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20689.194.149.113.177.1167131367.squirrel@mail.smartweb.cz> Eric Britton wrote: > > Firstly, why do we need so much concentration of human resources in > the town centers? With our current 70% workers in service jobs and > less that 20% in actual production or maintanence processes, it > seems to me that a more efficient system for working communications > via the internet is all that is required, to solve the traffic > problem. The need to all meet in one place, is solvable with more > video linkages as well as oral ones. DE-CONCENTRATION is key but I think this proposed video-internet solution is more for replacement of long-distance travel by train or plane. A more natural method of de-concentration is urban planning and supporting schemes which brings job and people closer together. I already mentioned the "decreasing the need for mobility" thing, and I wonder if the lack of response to that idea is because people think it is somehow anti-democratic. The way to bring jobs and people closer together includes implementing workplaces all over the city, not just in one or multiple centres. With a city transport system which uses a monthly, quarterly etc pass, it would mean people pay the same but would travel less, and of course it could mean that prices for the passes could come down. At the same time, companies - even if they provide public transport passes for their employees - could have financial incentives to hire people who live closer to their workplaces. This doesnt mean that only people with more expensive housing near workplaces will get jobs more easily because the workplaces will be spread around (so it needs to be phased-in carefully). It would be interesting to see how homeworking and workplace-localising affects energy usage: A large building with 500 people/workstations vs. ten offices of 50 people each vs. the same in 500 locations (at home). Working at home would certainly have strong effects on family life, especially in families where the men normally work out of the neighbourhood and the women work at home and its surroundings. ***** > > It all reminds me of the posters seen in London during the second > world war "Is your journey really necessary?" In case you missed em: - T ------------------------------------------------------ Todd Edelman Director Green Idea Factory Korunn? 72 CZ-10100 Praha 10 Czech Republic ++420 605 915 970 Skype: toddedelman edelman@greenidea.eu http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain Green Idea Factory, a member of World Carfree Network From edelman at greenidea.info Wed Dec 27 07:51:02 2006 From: edelman at greenidea.info (Todd Edelman) Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2006 23:51:02 +0100 (CET) Subject: [sustran] Question about a Bikes on BRT (?) scheme.... Message-ID: <24341.194.149.113.177.1167173462.squirrel@mail.smartweb.cz> Hi, In the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jctlibmCssQ&mode=related&search= at 4:45 - a few seconds after Jaime Lerner says "guts" - there is a shot of a bus with what I think is a front-mounted bicycle rack. If anyone knows where the image was recorded and could provide contacts to the operator etc., it would be great. Being able to put bikes on the front of buses here would be a good thing - it is allowed in North America but EU regulations dont allow it. So, I want to see how it was allowed wherever that shot was taken. Several Czech traffic engineers have told me that the reason why the front racks are not a problem in the USA is because there are no (or fewer) pedestrians there, and so the racks wont make the buses more dangerous. Like a shish kabob. Pretty funny. Even if there were more injuries, I think there would end up being net gains in health because the scheme would encourage more people to ride their bikes (gains through exercise) and get some to not put their bikes on the roofs of their cars (gains through less pollution). Thanks, T Here is a Quicktime video which shows someone putting a bike on a bus in the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI) system: http://www.sfbike.org/download/resources/muni_bikerack.mov ------------------------------------------------------ Todd Edelman Director Green Idea Factory Korunn? 72 CZ-10100 Praha 10 Czech Republic ++420 605 915 970 Skype: toddedelman edelman@greenidea.eu http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain Green Idea Factory, a member of World Carfree Network From sudhir at secon.in Wed Dec 27 11:37:55 2006 From: sudhir at secon.in (Sudhir) Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 08:07:55 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobilityCafe] World's Most Congested Cities References: <4cfd20aa0612250016r27c7f138q457d278584f012fd@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <002b01c72960$03b3c220$d607a8c0@SA152A> Dear sujit, On one hand you suggest TDM strategies and on other hand you suggest that high cost underground metros not solving problem of congestion. Metro (Underground or overhead) is a viable public transportation mode which has the capacity of attracting the private vehicle users. It is not only flyovers but also RUB/ROB's constructed contribute to induced traffic. Regards Sudhir -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061227/5928db70/attachment.html From eric.britton at free.fr Wed Dec 27 18:37:38 2006 From: eric.britton at free.fr (eric.britton at free.fr) Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 10:37:38 +0100 Subject: [sustran] World's Most Congested Cities - Better, faster, cheaper? In-Reply-To: <002b01c72960$03b3c220$d607a8c0@SA152A> Message-ID: Dear Sudhir and Sujit, "High cost underground metros"? Why not? Sounds great to me. Eh? But one small step first perhaps before spending all that money and necessarily waiting all those years before your 'deus ex machina' kicks in and is finally ready to do those good works. We refer to this necessary step in the planning and policy process as . . . BETTER, FASTER, CHEAPER! That's the modest challenge that needs to be put before the responsible policy maker and their advisors. In public and with public answers. So if we are able to get our hands on all that money and can start to spend it tomorrow, how much of the problem can we take care of . . . starting now. As opposed to waiting the inevitable twenty or whatever years that good metro is going to take. This is the vital question that under the New Mobility Agenda we feel needs to be asked each time. For starters you have to make that long list of the real needs, priority objectives and targets, and then as possible put quantities to them. Then you go to the tools, measures, policies side of the ledger and start to build your packages of measures with an eye to getting at the problems NOW! Now the responses that this approach provides are many and, when you get them right, hugely gratifying and effective. That is if you can bear in mind what the whole thing is indeed all about. Or is that just too simple for all those who are making these decisions, along with those who are urging them on? And perhaps, do they have something else in mind? It's my position that if such an exercise is not run with care and brilliance, and the right decisions are made in the full glare of the media and before the attentive eyes of civil society, then something is rotten in the state of Denmark (or wherever). I think that is along the lines that Sujit is suggesting, but let me leave it to him and to all of you on this. Eric Britton -----Original Message----- From: sustran-discuss-bounces+eric.britton=ecoplan.org@list.jca.apc.org [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+eric.britton=ecoplan.org@list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf Of Sudhir Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2006 3:38 AM To: Global 'South' Sustainable Transport Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobilityCafe] World's Most Congested Cities Dear Sujit, On one hand you suggest TDM strategies and on other hand you suggest that high cost underground metros not solving problem of congestion. Metro (Underground or overhead) is a viable public transportation mode which has the capacity of attracting the private vehicle users. It is not only flyovers but also RUB/ROB's constructed contribute to induced traffic. Regards Sudhir -----Original Message----- From: sustran-discuss-bounces+eric.britton=ecoplan.org@list.jca.apc.org [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+eric.britton=ecoplan.org@list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf Of Sujit Patwardhan Sent: Monday, December 25, 2006 9:19 AM To: Global 'South' Sustainable Transport Cc: NewMobilityCafe@yahoogroups.com; Eric.britton@free.fr; WorldTransport@yahoogroups.com; Sustran-discuss@jca.apc.org Subject: [Sustran] Re: [NewMobilityCafe] World's Most Congested Cities 25 December 2006 Christmas Haven't read what Eric's written (and I'm sure he wouldn't say that) but in my humble opinion advocating underground (especially Underground Metros) transportation mode as a means of reducing with the traffic congestion on the roads is like an Ostrich burying its head in the sand. Perhaps the same logic was put forward by the pioneers of flyovers (plenty of them hale and hearty in Asian cities) to overcome the problem of crowded streets. What many (not all) advocates of the underground are saying is that we simply can't do anything about the mess we have created on our streets so let's not waste time on locating the "source" of the problem (too many auto vehicles) but get on with building the underground tunnels with their promise of high (overkill levels) capacity, which may de-congest the streets. This of course never happens. Just like flyovers (ones meant to relieve congestion, not the ones meant to cross railway lines etc) constructed at huge cost become magnets inviting even more auto vehicles (cars and two wheelers) to come on the roads, underground metros consume huge finances at the cost of other needs of the city and fail to attract level of ridership projected in the concocted project reports. But by this time the politicians have pocketed their loot, the infrastructure companies their obscenely high profits and the public left high and dry with over-crowded streets, crowded flyovers and underutilised underground metro. If one is really concerned with sustainable transportation and indeed sustainable life on our planet one has to acknowledge that auto vehicles have long crossed the limit in terms of their ecological footprint. NEW faster/high capacity modes, NEW cleaner fuels, we can certainly pursue but let's not lose sight of the REAL problem and see how that can be reduced. Incentives for Public Transport, Non Motorised Modes (Walking and Cycling) and real disincentives for auto vehicles through various TDM measures appropriate for each city. I know I'm not saying anything new but in all the technical discussions of pphpd and cost per Km etc we sometimes miss the most obvious. -- Sujit -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 10496 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061227/279cee14/winmail.bin From schipper at wri.org Wed Dec 27 19:07:07 2006 From: schipper at wri.org (Lee Schipper) Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 05:07:07 -0500 Subject: [sustran] Re: World's Most Congested Cities - Better, faster, cheaper? Message-ID: I think metros are great..but these days they cost $400-1000 PER CENTIMETER! at that price, I'll take three. Lee Schipper Director of Research EMBARQ, the WRI Center for Sustainable Transport 10 G St. NE Washington DC, 20002 +1202 729 7735 FAX +1202 7297775 www.embarq.wri.org >>> eric.britton@free.fr 12/27/06 4:37 AM >>> Dear Sudhir and Sujit, "High cost underground metros"? Why not? Sounds great to me. Eh? But one small step first perhaps before spending all that money and necessarily waiting all those years before your 'deus ex machina' kicks in and is finally ready to do those good works. We refer to this necessary step in the planning and policy process as . . . BETTER, FASTER, CHEAPER! That's the modest challenge that needs to be put before the responsible policy maker and their advisors. In public and with public answers. So if we are able to get our hands on all that money and can start to spend it tomorrow, how much of the problem can we take care of . . . starting now. As opposed to waiting the inevitable twenty or whatever years that good metro is going to take. This is the vital question that under the New Mobility Agenda we feel needs to be asked each time. For starters you have to make that long list of the real needs, priority objectives and targets, and then as possible put quantities to them. Then you go to the tools, measures, policies side of the ledger and start to build your packages of measures with an eye to getting at the problems NOW! Now the responses that this approach provides are many and, when you get them right, hugely gratifying and effective. That is if you can bear in mind what the whole thing is indeed all about. Or is that just too simple for all those who are making these decisions, along with those who are urging them on? And perhaps, do they have something else in mind? It's my position that if such an exercise is not run with care and brilliance, and the right decisions are made in the full glare of the media and before the attentive eyes of civil society, then something is rotten in the state of Denmark (or wherever). I think that is along the lines that Sujit is suggesting, but let me leave it to him and to all of you on this. Eric Britton -----Original Message----- From: sustran-discuss-bounces+eric.britton=ecoplan.org@list.jca.apc.org [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+eric.britton=ecoplan.org@list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf Of Sudhir Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2006 3:38 AM To: Global 'South' Sustainable Transport Subject: [sustran] Re: [NewMobilityCafe] World's Most Congested Cities Dear Sujit, On one hand you suggest TDM strategies and on other hand you suggest that high cost underground metros not solving problem of congestion. Metro (Underground or overhead) is a viable public transportation mode which has the capacity of attracting the private vehicle users. It is not only flyovers but also RUB/ROB's constructed contribute to induced traffic. Regards Sudhir -----Original Message----- From: sustran-discuss-bounces+eric.britton=ecoplan.org@list.jca.apc.org [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+eric.britton=ecoplan.org@list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf Of Sujit Patwardhan Sent: Monday, December 25, 2006 9:19 AM To: Global 'South' Sustainable Transport Cc: NewMobilityCafe@yahoogroups.com; Eric.britton@free.fr; WorldTransport@yahoogroups.com; Sustran-discuss@jca.apc.org Subject: [Sustran] Re: [NewMobilityCafe] World's Most Congested Cities 25 December 2006 Christmas Haven't read what Eric's written (and I'm sure he wouldn't say that) but in my humble opinion advocating underground (especially Underground Metros) transportation mode as a means of reducing with the traffic congestion on the roads is like an Ostrich burying its head in the sand. Perhaps the same logic was put forward by the pioneers of flyovers (plenty of them hale and hearty in Asian cities) to overcome the problem of crowded streets. What many (not all) advocates of the underground are saying is that we simply can't do anything about the mess we have created on our streets so let's not waste time on locating the "source" of the problem (too many auto vehicles) but get on with building the underground tunnels with their promise of high (overkill levels) capacity, which may de-congest the streets. This of course never happens. Just like flyovers (ones meant to relieve congestion, not the ones meant to cross railway lines etc) constructed at huge cost become magnets inviting even more auto vehicles (cars and two wheelers) to come on the roads, underground metros consume huge finances at the cost of other needs of the city and fail to attract level of ridership projected in the concocted project reports. But by this time the politicians have pocketed their loot, the infrastructure companies their obscenely high profits and the public left high and dry with over-crowded streets, crowded flyovers and underutilised underground metro. If one is really concerned with sustainable transportation and indeed sustainable life on our planet one has to acknowledge that auto vehicles have long crossed the limit in terms of their ecological footprint. NEW faster/high capacity modes, NEW cleaner fuels, we can certainly pursue but let's not lose sight of the REAL problem and see how that can be reduced. Incentives for Public Transport, Non Motorised Modes (Walking and Cycling) and real disincentives for auto vehicles through various TDM measures appropriate for each city. I know I'm not saying anything new but in all the technical discussions of pphpd and cost per Km etc we sometimes miss the most obvious. -- Sujit From arulgreen at yahoo.com Wed Dec 27 20:24:21 2006 From: arulgreen at yahoo.com (arul rathinam) Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 03:24:21 -0800 (PST) Subject: [sustran] Campaign for Housing Rights and Zero Evictions in Tamil Nadu, India Message-ID: <20061227112421.23685.qmail@web51113.mail.yahoo.com> Sorry for cross-posting!! http://www.habitants.org Note: forwarded message attached. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: Pasumai Thaayagam Subject: Fwd: [International Alliance Inhabitants] Merry Christmas 2006? Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 10:00:38 +0000 (GMT) Size: 88251 Url: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061227/53b03d8d/attachment.mht From eric.britton at free.fr Wed Dec 27 20:58:07 2006 From: eric.britton at free.fr (eric.britton at free.fr) Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 12:58:07 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Sub Rosa Policy and Investment Messages Message-ID: <02b301c729ae$49595cb0$6601a8c0@Home> [Sub Rosa Policy and Investment Message 1: Dangerous news, but that's just about the way it always starts. Here's the problem. . . and here is the solution. And every time something like this pops up, it would seem to me that there should be an informed civil society response which puts the issues - and the choices - into proper perspective. But how can we make sure that this happens every time? Interesting question, wouldn't you say? Any thoughts on this? - Eric Britton] New money brings crowded roads and bad drivers By Liz Mineo/Daily News Staff - http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/homepage/8999329467130183679 Tuesday, December 26, 2006 - Updated: 11:26 AM EST GOVERNADOR VALADARES, Brazil - As a result of the riches brought by emigration, two worlds in this city collide - literally. The newly affluent, who have made fortunes working overseas, drive fast and late model cars, and the less well-off, most of whom have yet to emigrate, ride cheap bicycles. Although they share the roads of this populous city of 270,000, more than often they run into each other. Traffic accidents have risen in Valadares, courtesy of emigration. Experts said it's not only that there are more cars on the roads, but mainly the fact there hasn't been any real upgrading of roads and bridges to make room for the exploding number of cars and an already large number of bicycles. ``In the past, it was more common that people had driver's licenses, but no cars,'' said Firefighter Sgt. Geraldo Rodrigues, 44, who has been with the local fire force 19 years. ``Now, it's the other way around. It's easier for people who have worked overseas to buy a car. It's the second thing they do when they return. After buying a house, they buy a car.'' Indeed. Emigres who return home almost always buy cars, one of the measures of their success in foreign lands. According to unofficial estimates, more than 200 cars and 300 motorcycles are sold per month in Valadares, where nearly 100 car and motorcycles dealerships have set up shop to take advantage of the growing market. Valadares has 80,000 cars, 15,000 motorcycles and 150,000 bicycles, according to local officials. It's no surprise there are at least three accidents per day in the city, and often, the bikes fair poorly. According to the local fire force, between January and July of this year, there were nearly 700 traffic accidents with 185, or 25 percent, involving bikes. Of the 43 fatalities in all traffic accidents over that period, 7 were bicyclists. In July, five cyclists died in accidents, a record number that has led local officials, police and fire forces to start a citywide campaign to raise awareness of traffic rules. Some put the blame for the traffic crisis on the bicyclists, many of whom ride recklessly. Others say motorists drive too fast and don't follow basic traffic rules. There is also a group of people who see the bikes as remnants of a bygone era when Valadares was more rural and not like the mostly urban city it is now, thanks again to money from abroad. Ninety-five percent of Valadares has been urbanized, and nearly 90 percent of its population lives in the urban areas. It's said that Valadares ranks third among cities in Brazil with large numbers of bikes. Downtown Valadares is flat, which makes it very easy for bicyclists to ride around. There are several dozen bike paths across the city - even over the underpass that crosses downtown - but they have to share the roads with cars, buses and even horse-drawn buggies. By Sunday early afternoon in August, the firefighters have responded to four emergency calls, including two involving wayward dogs, one serious fall and one near-drowning. They were waiting for the dreaded call of a traffic accident. ``It happens very often,'' said Sgt. Rodrigues as he showed a reporter several pictures of fatal crashes and car accidents. ``And when it happens, it's not pretty.'' -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061227/d875955d/attachment.html From eric.britton at free.fr Wed Dec 27 22:03:40 2006 From: eric.britton at free.fr (eric.britton at free.fr) Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 14:03:40 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Sub Rosa Policy and Investment Message Message-ID: <02d301c729b7$7172a040$6601a8c0@Home> [Sub Rosa Policy and Investment Message 2: Here we go again. "The calm voice of reason from world transport leaders". Or so apparently it is. This piece appeared last summer and provides us with a second example of the kind of controlled dialogues for which we need to be on the look out. As you may recall from our rather vigorous critical reception of their 2004 report "Mobility 2030: Meeting the Challenges to Sustainability" (More on that at http://www.newmobility.org , and on the lower left menu, Collaborative Initiatives, and then on the internal menu, bottom, WBCSD on Sustainable Mobility), the membership of this Sustainable Mobility group (when I last looked) included major automobile and energy corporations, including BP, DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, Michelin, Norsk Hydro, Renault, Shell and Toyota. And behind them of course the full enlightened force of their industrial and financial leadership. What's the point here? That this analysis or that the views of the groups behind the WBCSD are entirely wrong. That their voices can be automatically discounted. No of course not. It is just that leading supplier groups such as these who have shaped the sector in the past, and intend to continue to do so in the future, can at best provide us with many valuable competences, but that the perspective and the counsel they can offer - itself firmly colored by their interests of course - is not adequate for public policy and decision purposes. So the point here, is that we need to be constantly vigilant to make sure that these kinds of views are not allowed to dominate the critical decisions. Other more balanced voices need to be heard. Every time! So . . . how do we make this happen? Eric Britton Sustainable Mobility in Asia Hong Kong, 8 August 2006 - In its Sustainable Mobility Project 2030 report, the World Business Council on Sustainable Development defines Sustainable Mobility as "the ability to meet the needs of society to move freely, gain access, communicate, trade and establish relationships without sacrificing other essential human or ecological values today and in the future." With half the population in developing countries projected to live in urban areas by 2030 and unprecedented freight levels due to growing world trade, huge new demands are created for mobility. The spectacular economic growth of China has been mirrored by the fastest growing motor vehicle fleet in the world: with over 6 millions vehicles produced per year, at the current rate of growth, China is poised to become the second largest market for motor vehicles in the world by 2030, second only to the United States. Undeniably, increased mobility creates great economic prosperity across the region, lifting millions of people out of poverty and giving them access to better services, job opportunities and education, as well as ensuring fast and reliable freight of goods. At the same time it creates extreme social and environmental pressures: traffic explosion results in increased road congestion, growing noise nuisances, increased emissions of green house gases contributing to global warming, and harmful atmospheric pollutants leading to respiratory and heart diseases, record numbers of road accidents and injuries, etc. Despite the growing burden imposed on the population in terms of public health and lost productivity, such "externalities" are difficult to quantify using traditional economic models. This explains why adequate responses to these problems are slow to measure up to the pace of growth. Hopefully the situation should become more tolerable in future, as Asian countries progressively align themselves toward cleaner fuels and emission standards and huge efforts are consented to improve transport infrastructure and safety. Market forces tend to respond faster to more tangible metrics such as oil prices. Records prices of US$ 74 a barrel and beyond, are sending a message loud and clear: it is time to break our dependence on oil and look for alternatives. While governments across the region are tightening clean fuels and vehicles emissions targets, as well as passing sweeping alternative energy laws spurring investments and production capacities in renewable energy and bio-fuels, private companies are looking for leaner and cleaner mobility solutions: Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda were first to develop fuel-efficient Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) - Electric Hybrid car and are already working around the clock on the next generation of Fuel Cells (FC) and FC Hybrid powered vehicles, distribution giant Wall Mart is setting up networks of experts to tackle their critically important Global Logistics value initiative, and the list goes on. Are these solutions truly sustainable? Preserving access to equitable mobility opportunities will be one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. Our modern economies rely on complex global logistics systems: fast moving goods and people are an integral part of today's value creation chains. All over the world public and private operators are studying ways to improve the availability, reliability and safety of our transportation and logistics infrastructure, in view of meeting rising demand from domestic and global world trade, while lowering fuel costs and improving the industry's resources efficiency and environmental footprint, through advanced standardization of storage and handling practices, sophisticated data acquisition and information systems, reverse supply chain analysis, etc. Since the late 80s we have seen a very significant shift towards intangible value creation thanks to the power of Information and Communication Technologies. However virtual flows of capital, data and ideas cannot replace physical flows of people and tangible goods. Therefore safe and reliable transportation and logistics will remain high on the political and business agendas, as mounting fuel costs weigh heavily on global trade of commodities, goods and materials. Everybody recognizes that mobility is an essential part of society. The global challenge for the shipping and transport industry is that transport needs to become: more efficient and equitable, as well as less dependent on non-renewable sources of energy, and less disruptive, both socially and environmentally, while still being affordable. Current mobility trends however are unsustainable, which means that the growing worldwide demand for transportation cannot be met simply by expanding today's means of transportation. The complex challenges involved require not only an array of novel lean and clean technologies or sophisticated information systems and tools, but also a carefully engineered balance between economic growth, environmental improvement and social progress simultaneously. Article by Christophe Bongars, Founder and Executive Director of SustainAsia Ltd and Vice Chair of the sustainable Development Committee, the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Hong Kong. This article is reproduced with kind permission of SustainAsia R. SustainAsiaR is a multi-disciplinary consultancy whose mission is to imagine and facilitate clean and sustainable solutions towards long term business objectives, in balance with people's needs and the environment. For further information about SustainAsiaR, please visit www.sustainasia.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061227/d4bef3cb/attachment.html From edelman at greenidea.info Wed Dec 27 23:51:03 2006 From: edelman at greenidea.info (Todd Edelman) Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 15:51:03 +0100 (CET) Subject: [sustran] Re: Sub Rosa Policy and Investment Message In-Reply-To: <02d301c729b7$7172a040$6601a8c0@Home> References: <02d301c729b7$7172a040$6601a8c0@Home> Message-ID: <25848.194.149.113.177.1167231063.squirrel@mail.smartweb.cz> Hi, I agree that the messages etc sent out by the WBCSD should not be automatically rejected, and that their newsletter on transport is actually a good source of info, keeping in mind of course who are some of the major backers of the project. The high quality of the "look" of their materials, and the fact that it is the automobile-industrial complex which dominates who is sending out the sustainability-related messages, creates a "Green Trojan Horse" with all sorts of bad results if accept this "gift". (One line from that WBCSD article which obviously bothers me is "Everybody recognizes that mobility is an essential part of society." Again, I think we - "everybody"! - is confusing mobility (moving) with access (getting).) Even the newsletter I mention gives them some more credibility, and seemingly more objectivity. They clearly do not want to seem superficially anti-public transport (and that makes them more dangerous - and I dont think that is too strong a word.) This relates to larger issue of corporate sponsorship of environmental organisations and initiatives (going to look soon if New Mobility site has a "Greenwash" page...). I think there needs to be some substantial training in this area. For example, what I think is one common mistake is that some environmental/sustainable transport groups think (or imply) that if a company does something bad to one group of people in one part of the world (country, etc) than it is somehow cancelled out by something good the company does in another part of the world. Someone working for an organisation in Central Europe actually called it "polluter pays"!... confusing, I think, a tax scheme imposed by the government with a PR scheme by a private company. Or they think it is polluter pays in a less literal form. Another thing a clever company will do is pay for some nice things in the area surrounding a factory which makes cars (I have concrete examples from the Czech Republic). This makes some environmentalists working on local issues happy, BUT of course the cars are exported to places where there is no civic group to pressure the company to do this or that. This really offends me... and, after all, climate change doesnt recognize borders! (but Czechia is well above sea level!) - T Eric Britton wrote: > [Sub Rosa Policy and Investment Message 2: > > Here we go again. "The calm voice of reason from world transport leaders". > Or so > apparently it is. This piece appeared last summer and provides us with a > second > example of the kind of controlled dialogues for which we need to be on the > look > out. ------------------------------------------------------ Todd Edelman Director Green Idea Factory Korunn? 72 CZ-10100 Praha 10 Czech Republic ++420 605 915 970 Skype: toddedelman edelman@greenidea.eu http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain Green Idea Factory, a member of World Carfree Network From lutman at globalnet.co.uk Thu Dec 28 01:10:30 2006 From: lutman at globalnet.co.uk (Peter Lutman) Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 16:10:30 -0000 Subject: [sustran] Re: Question about a Bikes on BRT (?) scheme.... References: <24341.194.149.113.177.1167173462.squirrel@mail.smartweb.cz> Message-ID: Todd, As the web address indicates, the bike rack is in San Francisco on a Municipal Railway vehicle (MUNI). Peter From edelman at greenidea.info Thu Dec 28 01:57:35 2006 From: edelman at greenidea.info (Todd Edelman) Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 17:57:35 +0100 (CET) Subject: [sustran] Re: Question about a Bikes on BRT (?) scheme.... In-Reply-To: References: <24341.194.149.113.177.1167173462.squirrel@mail.smartweb.cz> Message-ID: <27120.194.149.113.177.1167238655.squirrel@mail.smartweb.cz> Hi Peter, I know cause I am the one who added that link :-) I was asking about the You Tube video about BRT... and got a reply that it is Brisbane, Australia. T > Todd, > > As the web address indicates, the bike rack is in San Francisco on a > Municipal Railway vehicle (MUNI). > > Peter > > > -------------------------------------------------------- > IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via > YAHOOGROUPS. > > Please go to http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to > join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The > yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to > the real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like > you can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > (the 'Global South'). > ------------------------------------------------------ Todd Edelman Director Green Idea Factory Korunn? 72 CZ-10100 Praha 10 Czech Republic ++420 605 915 970 Skype: toddedelman edelman@greenidea.eu http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain Green Idea Factory, a member of World Carfree Network From rivera at iss.nl Thu Dec 28 02:15:29 2006 From: rivera at iss.nl (Roselle Rivera) Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 18:15:29 +0100 Subject: [sustran] thesis topic In-Reply-To: <20061225030124.4685F2DD5A@mx-list.jca.ne.jp> References: <20061225030124.4685F2DD5A@mx-list.jca.ne.jp> Message-ID: Dear Nguyen of Mahidol University, Thailand The city streets of Vietnam were very very beautiful years back..........with the poetry of the cadence of people on their bicycles........... no noise pollution, no air pollution............... before the nightmare of the motorcycles began.............Progress, so they say......... Have you seen the master plan for transportation for HCMC? Does it have anything serious to say about non motorized transport in the whole scheme? ( You said your background is environmental science........NMT is definitely very environmental........) Based on the experiences of many developing countries, most master plans are not the end all, be all blueprints anyway. In many cases, there is some space for maneuvering somehow, somewhere. Would really want to be informed. Please share with us in this egroup some insights on this master plan, especially knowing that JICA "helped" craft it. maraming salamat ( thank you in pilipino) roselle ROSELLE LEAH K RIVERA PhD Fellow Institute of Social Studies Kortenaerkade 12 2518 AX The Hague, Netherlands Office Tel: +31 70 4260428 Fax: +31 70 4260507 Mobile: +31 627315444 Hi everybody, My name is Nguyen Anh Dung, from Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam and I also want to do my master thesis (will start at the mid of 2007) about transportation for HCMC. As you know, traffic is really a problem in my country and it is getting worse. The recent accidents of two famous professors (1 of US - got injured and 1 of Vietnam - dead) are just few among thousands of accidents every year (almost all caused by motorcycle). According to what I read on the net, HCMC has its master plan for transportation (done with the help from Japan International Cooperation Agency - JICA in 2004) and the authority wants to build a metro for the city also. Because of the master plan, I am not quite sure what my master thesis can do anything else about this field. Any idea is highly appreciated. My background is environmental science. Thank you. Nguyen Anh Dung Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies. Mahidol University, ThaiLand. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061227/1456d868/attachment.html From richmond at alum.mit.edu Thu Dec 28 08:09:46 2006 From: richmond at alum.mit.edu (Jonathan E. D. Richmond) Date: Thu, 28 Dec 2006 00:09:46 +0100 (Romance Standard Time) Subject: [sustran] Re: thesis topic In-Reply-To: References: <20061225030124.4685F2DD5A@mx-list.jca.ne.jp> Message-ID: On Wed, 27 Dec 2006, Roselle Rivera wrote: > Dear Nguyen of Mahidol University, Thailand > > The city streets of Vietnam were very very beautiful years > back..........with the poetry of the cadence of people on their > bicycles........... It is very nice to think of such things romantically, but it was a time of poverty and lack of opportunities. > no noise pollution, no air pollution............... > before the nightmare of the motorcycles began.............Progress, so > they say......... Yes, motorcycles do constitute major progress: they mean freedom for people to go about as they please! Why should this be restricted to people who can afford cars? > > > Have you seen the master plan for transportation for HCMC? > Does it have anything serious to say about non motorized transport in the > whole scheme? > ( You said your background is environmental science........NMT is > definitely very environmental........) And also not something to force on people who do not want it. Yes, it can have a very important role in Bangladesh, but Vietnam is not Bangladesh. > Based on the experiences of many developing countries, most master plans > are not the end all, be all blueprints anyway. > In many cases, there is some space for maneuvering somehow, somewhere. > In most cases, master plans are pipe dreams. In most cases, far too much priority is given to the automobile, and far too little to viable alternatives. And virtually nothing is said about the need to provide individual mobility to the mass of the population, who find the sole available answer in the motorbike! Best --Jonathan! > Would really want to be informed. Please share with us in this > egroup some insights on this master plan, especially knowing that JICA > "helped" craft it. > > > maraming salamat ( thank you in pilipino) > > roselle > > > ROSELLE LEAH K RIVERA > PhD Fellow > Institute of Social Studies > Kortenaerkade 12 > 2518 AX > The Hague, Netherlands > Office Tel: +31 70 4260428 > Fax: +31 70 4260507 > Mobile: +31 627315444 > > Hi everybody, > > My name is Nguyen Anh Dung, from Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam and I > also want to do my master thesis (will start at the mid of 2007) about > transportation for HCMC. As you know, traffic is really a problem in my > country and it is getting worse. The recent accidents of two famous > professors (1 of US - got injured and 1 of Vietnam - dead) are just few > among thousands of accidents every year (almost all caused by motorcycle). > > According to what I read on the net, HCMC has its master plan for > transportation (done with the help from Japan International Cooperation > Agency - JICA in 2004) and the authority wants to build a metro for the > city also. > > Because of the master plan, I am not quite sure what my master thesis can > do anything else about this field. Any idea is highly appreciated. > > My background is environmental science. > > Thank you. > > Nguyen Anh Dung > Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies. > Mahidol University, ThaiLand. > > > > > > ----- Jonathan Richmond Visiting Professor Logistique, Transport et Tourisme Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers 5 rue du Vertbois 75141 Paris Cedex 03 France Home: 40 rue Paul Delinge 95880 Enghien-les-Bains France 1 (617) 395-4360 (US number forwards and rings in France. All calls billed as if to Massachusetts) e-mail: richmond@alum.mit.edu http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/ From Craig.Johnson at edaw.com Thu Dec 28 13:59:55 2006 From: Craig.Johnson at edaw.com (Craig Johnson) Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 23:59:55 -0500 Subject: [sustran] Re: regarding thesis topic HCMC Message-ID: Dung, I have read the transportation masterplan for Hanoi and HCMC. Unfortunately, despite the huge percentage of motorbikes in the streets. Neither of the plans adequately address motorbike transportation that is so prevalent in Vietnamese cities. Nor do these plans address the unique physical planning, mobility, labor, and environmental and parking, and modernization issues surrounding transportation primarily centered on motorbikes. Instead, these plans take a more traditional masterplan approach; analyzing existing conditions and offering recommendations for transportation planning based mostly on 4-wheel transit and pubic transit. Most of the recommendation tend to be heavily based on infrastructure improvement that only cursorily take into account two-wheel transportation. These plans take for granted the increase in 4-wheel transportation and advocate new ringroads, intersection improvements, Bus Rapid Transit Corridors, and widening of key arterial roads... all solutions that have fail to take into account the unique dynamics of motorbike transportation. For your thesis, it might be interesting to critique these plans and offer an alternative plan that better addresses the unique transportation dynamics involved with motorbike transportation. Many of the unique transportation dynamics of motorbikes have had substantial discussion on SUSTRAN: motorbike taxis, air pollution, motorbike safety, economic value of motorbike transportation, modernization to cars, ped/motorbike conflict etc. I have published a paper titled "Streetwise Sustainability:A Two Wheel Alternative to balance Motorization and Streetlife". If you are interested I can send you an e-copy. All the best, Craig Johnson **************** Craig Johnson Planner EDAW INC 1809 Blake Street Suite 200 Denver, CO 80202 TEL 303-595-4522 Ext. 3578 FAX 303-595-44343 craig.johnson@edaw.com From guillen at sk.tsukuba.ac.jp Fri Dec 29 15:44:28 2006 From: guillen at sk.tsukuba.ac.jp (guillen at sk.tsukuba.ac.jp) Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 15:44:28 +0900 (JST) Subject: [sustran] Re: STREAM Info, request and Happy New Year Greetings In-Reply-To: <20061229030115.544862D91C@mx-list.jca.ne.jp> References: <20061229030115.544862D91C@mx-list.jca.ne.jp> Message-ID: <1195.130.158.101.240.1167374668.squirrel@pub.sk.tsukuba.ac.jp> Hello Everyone, Before anything else, here's wishing everyone a properous and happy new year! Id like to share that recently, there was this International Symposium on Sustainable Transport in East Asian Megacities (STREAM) here in Tokyo, Japan. Urban transport situation and issues of Bangkok, Metro Manila, Ho Chi Minh, Taipei, Shanghai, Jakarta, Seoul and Tokyo were presented and discussed by each representative. Some of the representatives were either those who have been part of JICA studies of their countries and/or government official.Relevant issues forwarded were the future of motorcycles and BRT. Some information can be found here :http://www.jterc.or.jp/~reserch/stream/people.htm Ill try to share more once I get the copies of the slide presentations. For Nguyen, perhaps, it would be nice if you also keep in touch with some of the people involved in the master plan of Ho Chi Minh City and or to the officials who are involved in the implementation of such plans and how this is receive by the public. For Mr. Craig Johnson, Im interested to get an e-copy of your paper on"Streetwise Sustainability:A Two Wheel Alternative to balance Motorization and Streetlife". Thanks in advance. Again, here's for a great and sustainable transport new year ahead! Cheers, Danielle Marie Danielle V. Guillen Urban Transportation Lab. Institute of Policy and Planning Sciences University of Tsukuba Tsukuba City, Japan > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: thesis topic (Jonathan E. D. Richmond) > 2. Re: regarding thesis topic HCMC (Craig Johnson) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Thu, 28 Dec 2006 00:09:46 +0100 (Romance Standard Time) > From: "Jonathan E. D. Richmond" > Subject: [sustran] Re: thesis topic > To: Global 'South' Sustainable Transport > > Message-ID: > Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed > > On Wed, 27 Dec 2006, Roselle Rivera wrote: > >> Dear Nguyen of Mahidol University, Thailand >> >> The city streets of Vietnam were very very beautiful years >> back..........with the poetry of the cadence of people on their >> bicycles........... > > It is very nice to think of such things romantically, but it was a time of > poverty and lack of opportunities. > >> no noise pollution, no air pollution............... >> before the nightmare of the motorcycles began.............Progress, so >> they say......... > > Yes, motorcycles do constitute major progress: they mean freedom for > people to go about as they please! Why should this be restricted to people > who can afford cars? > >> >> >> Have you seen the master plan for transportation for HCMC? >> Does it have anything serious to say about non motorized transport in >> the >> whole scheme? >> ( You said your background is environmental science........NMT is >> definitely very environmental........) > > And also not something to force on people who do not want it. > > Yes, it can have a very important role in Bangladesh, but Vietnam is not > Bangladesh. > > >> Based on the experiences of many developing countries, most master plans >> are not the end all, be all blueprints anyway. >> In many cases, there is some space for maneuvering somehow, somewhere. >> > > In most cases, master plans are pipe dreams. In most cases, far too much > priority is given to the automobile, and far too little to viable > alternatives. And virtually nothing is said about the need to provide > individual mobility to the mass of the population, who find the sole > available answer in the motorbike! > > Best --Jonathan! > > > > >> Would really want to be informed. Please share with us in this >> egroup some insights on this master plan, especially knowing that JICA >> "helped" craft it. >> >> >> maraming salamat ( thank you in pilipino) >> >> roselle >> >> >> ROSELLE LEAH K RIVERA >> PhD Fellow >> Institute of Social Studies >> Kortenaerkade 12 >> 2518 AX >> The Hague, Netherlands >> Office Tel: +31 70 4260428 >> Fax: +31 70 4260507 >> Mobile: +31 627315444 >> >> Hi everybody, >> >> My name is Nguyen Anh Dung, from Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam and I >> also want to do my master thesis (will start at the mid of 2007) about >> transportation for HCMC. As you know, traffic is really a problem in my >> country and it is getting worse. The recent accidents of two famous >> professors (1 of US - got injured and 1 of Vietnam - dead) are just few >> among thousands of accidents every year (almost all caused by >> motorcycle). >> >> According to what I read on the net, HCMC has its master plan for >> transportation (done with the help from Japan International Cooperation >> Agency - JICA in 2004) and the authority wants to build a metro for the >> city also. >> >> Because of the master plan, I am not quite sure what my master thesis >> can >> do anything else about this field. Any idea is highly appreciated. >> >> My background is environmental science. >> >> Thank you. >> >> Nguyen Anh Dung >> Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies. >> Mahidol University, ThaiLand. >> >> >> >> >> >> > > > ----- > Jonathan Richmond > Visiting Professor > Logistique, Transport et Tourisme > Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers > 5 rue du Vertbois > 75141 Paris Cedex 03 > France > > Home: > 40 rue Paul Delinge > 95880 Enghien-les-Bains > France > > 1 (617) 395-4360 > (US number forwards and rings in France. > All calls billed as if to Massachusetts) > > e-mail: richmond@alum.mit.edu > http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/ > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 23:59:55 -0500 > From: "Craig Johnson" > Subject: [sustran] Re: regarding thesis topic HCMC > To: > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII > > Dung, > I have read the transportation masterplan for Hanoi and HCMC. > Unfortunately, despite the huge percentage of motorbikes in the > streets. Neither of the plans adequately address motorbike > transportation that is so prevalent in Vietnamese cities. Nor do these > plans address the unique physical planning, mobility, labor, and > environmental and parking, and modernization issues surrounding > transportation primarily centered on motorbikes. > > Instead, these plans take a more traditional masterplan approach; > analyzing existing conditions and offering recommendations for > transportation planning based mostly on 4-wheel transit and pubic > transit. > Most of the recommendation tend to be heavily based on infrastructure > improvement that only cursorily take into account two-wheel > transportation. > These plans take for granted the increase in 4-wheel transportation and > advocate new ringroads, intersection improvements, Bus Rapid Transit > Corridors, and widening of key arterial roads... all solutions that have > fail to take into account the unique dynamics of motorbike > transportation. > > For your thesis, it might be interesting to critique these plans and > offer an alternative plan that better addresses the unique > transportation dynamics involved with motorbike transportation. > > Many of the unique transportation dynamics of motorbikes have had > substantial discussion on SUSTRAN: motorbike taxis, air pollution, > motorbike safety, economic value of motorbike transportation, > modernization to cars, ped/motorbike conflict etc. > > I have published a paper titled "Streetwise Sustainability:A Two Wheel > Alternative to balance Motorization and Streetlife". If you are > interested I can send you an e-copy. > > All the best, > Craig Johnson > > > **************** > Craig Johnson > Planner > EDAW INC > 1809 Blake Street > Suite 200 > Denver, CO 80202 > TEL 303-595-4522 Ext. 3578 > FAX 303-595-44343 > craig.johnson@edaw.com > > > ------------------------------ > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > (the 'Global South'). > > End of Sustran-discuss Digest, Vol 40, Issue 20 > *********************************************** > From eric.britton at free.fr Fri Dec 29 16:57:22 2006 From: eric.britton at free.fr (eric.britton at free.fr) Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 08:57:22 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Saudi Arabia - Motorcycle Ban in Full Effect In-Reply-To: <1167361172.22696714d40d7011.5dae22fb@persist.google.com> Message-ID: Motorcycle Ban in Full Effect Samir Al-Saadi, Arab News http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=90486&d=29&m=12&y=2006&pix=kin gdom.jpg&category=Kingdom MINA, 29 December 2006 - The increased security vigilance in the holy cities has been a headache for motorcycle drivers used to scooting around town without proper paperwork or helmets. This is also the first Haj where motorbikes have been banned from the holy areas of Makkah and Madinah. As of yesterday, officials have already impounded about 350 motorbikes since heightened security operations began earlier this month, according to an officer who didn't want to be named. "Those bikers that were caught riding without helmets can get their bikes back if they bring their helmets," said the officer at the scene. Riders without proper documents can also recoup their bikes once they get their paperwork in order. Another official who wished not to be named said that the motorcycle ban was a response to problems related to hit and run accidents as well as thefts where criminals used motorcycles to navigate crowds and escape quickly. Motorcycles have also been banned because riders in past years have used them as unsafe, unlicensed, one-passenger taxis. Transportation services are in high demand during the Haj, causing a problem with gypsy taxis and buses. At a press conference held in the tent city of Mina at the General Security Headquarters, Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, Interior Ministry spokesman, said he prefers not to call it a "ban", but rather simply a way to make the traffic more organized and the safer. Noise and pollution caused by bikes and scooters was also a concern. Mopeds are particularly polluting because they use two-stroke engines that burn a mixture of oil and gas. Al-Turki said the motorbikes are not confiscated but detained until the owner can provide the proper documents required. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 5256 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061229/5213e7c2/winmail.bin From Eric.Britton at ecoplan.org Fri Dec 29 17:09:52 2006 From: Eric.Britton at ecoplan.org (Eric Britton (ChoiceMail)) Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 09:09:52 +0100 Subject: [sustran] World's Most Congested Cities - Better, faster, cheaper Message-ID: <00e401c72b20$ba61d4f0$6601a8c0@Home> On Behalf Of Tramsol@aol.com Sent: Thursday, December 28, 2006 6:03 PM Is this a new mobility agenda or a new travel agenda? Underground and overhead transport systems have a fatal flaw - in order to deliver people to the diverse places that they want to get to each 'destination' requires an access point. and the economics (and commonsense) dictate that we can only have a limited number of access points (stations) or intersections on the freeway. Real mobility is to actually get the person (who is the fundamental focus of this exercise) between places they need to be for the functions of living. The ultimate is of course to live such that you expend the minimum of effort and resources in doing this, by having living and working space close together, and food and water supply equally convenient. Sadly the style of many modern lives is one of dependency on others and dependency on the need to travel distances at the cost of time and other resources, which given the numbers doing this and the means by which they do it, in order to achieve that individual journey package delivers congestion. Reading Henry George particularly highlights how our Progress is more to Poverty (of life and living conditions), as we claim to be increasing our Prosperity. However we've made our bed and part of the issue is making it comfortable to lie in. People do discover the convenience of abandoning the motor car in towns, and flock to use cycles or buses, or walk because it works for them, and this really turns a corner when enlightened authorities make sure that the hierarchy of pedestrian primacy makes it easy to walk to the places you need to go. When you realise that there are more people slipping round Oxford Circus on the 2-3 metre wide footways, than pass though on the 6.3m carriageway you can see the answer to the congestion conundrum. Around 200 people per minute can pass along a road lane width comfortably - compared to clearing 20 cars with the typical 1.2 people in them as an uninterrupted flow -add in junctions and stop-start features and that will plummet to 10 cars/minute or less.... concentrate a few thousand cars at an out of town shopping mall and watch what happens when the shops close and they all try to leave at the same time.... 1000 cars will take at least 1? hours to get out of one car park egress..... Dave Holladay Glasgow _ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061229/7d1e4685/attachment.html From eric.britton at free.fr Fri Dec 29 18:05:12 2006 From: eric.britton at free.fr (eric.britton at free.fr) Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 10:05:12 +0100 Subject: [sustran] World's Most Congested Cities - Better, faster, cheaper Message-ID: "Is this a new mobility agenda or a new travel agenda? - Dave Holladay wrote on this date (See below) I have tried over the years to provide my clearest possible answers to this excellent challenge -- to which I can answer in brief that the crux of the New Mobility Agenda, as I understand it, includes the refocusing of transport policy and practice along much the lines that Dave has set out here. Recently I tried to put it all on a virtual "page", which you can find at Http://www.newmobilityadvisory.org/tfl.htm. If you do make it over there the five minute video introduction and the "Philosophy" notes might be worth a visit. In the latter in particular (in the whole thing in fact but your time and interest may not allow for that) I would be most grateful for your critical comments and suggestions. The whole thing is very much work in progress (after a couple of decades what else might be expected), so anything that you kick in, including challenges of course, will be very much welcome. In fact at the end of the day this is really a collective statement, with me just serving in this instance as a temporary mouthpiece or amanuensis for the best thoughts and strategies of my caring international colleagues world-wide. But this stuff, these points, this strategy do very much need to be brought into the fore of the planning and decision agenda. Don't you think? Kind thanks Dave for those good words, Eric Britton PS. What we call today the New Mobility Agenda has a fairly long "etymological" history. Back in the early seventies we first called it by a whole range of names with emphasis on words like "alternative transportation", "access", "paratransit", "Telecommunications Substitutes for Transportation", and a few others. By 1988, we were trying out for size "Cities without Cars?" (then in a quick next step we got rid of that question mark), followed by "Sustainable Transportation" (but it kept getting interpreted all around as a mainly critical even negative concept), then on to "ACCESS", from which in the mid nineties to STEP (Sustainable Transport Emergency Program), and only about a decade ago did we hit the nail on the head and decide to call it the New Mobility Agenda, with the emphasis on breaking the old mobility gridlocks and a clear eye to sustainable development and social justice. But without endlessly waiting for the promises of all those storied technology fixes and the rest to take care of the problems without the pokey nose of civil society and active and informed citizens. And so there we are today. Warts and all. The Commons: A wide open, world-wide open society forum concerned with improving our understanding and control of technology as it impacts on people in their daily lives. Pioneering new concepts for concerned citizens, activists, community groups, entrepreneurs and business; supporting local government as that closest to the people and the problems; increasing the uncomfort zone for hesitant administrators and politicians; and through our long term world wide collaborative efforts, energy and personal choices, placing them and ourselves firmly on the path to a more sustainable and more just world. -----Original Message----- From: WorldTransport@yahoogroups.com [mailto:WorldTransport@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Tramsol@aol.com Sent: Thursday, December 28, 2006 6:03 PM To: WorldTransport@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: WorldTransport Forum World's Most Congested Cities - Better, faster, cheaper Is this a new mobility agenda or a new travel agenda? Underground and overhead transport systems have a fatal flaw - in order to deliver people to the diverse places that they want to get to each 'destination' requires an access point. and the economics (and commonsense) dictate that we can only have a limited number of access points (stations) or intersections on the freeway. Real mobility is to actually get the person (who is the fundamental focus of this exercise) between places they need to be for the functions of living. The ultimate is of course to live such that you expend the minimum of effort and resources in doing this, by having living and working space close together, and food and water supply equally convenient. Sadly the style of many modern lives is one of dependency on others and dependency on the need to travel distances at the cost of time and other resources, which given the numbers doing this and the means by which they do it, in order to achieve that individual journey package delivers congestion. Reading Henry George particularly highlights how our Progress is more to Poverty (of life and living conditions), as we claim to be increasing our Prosperity. However we've made our bed and part of the issue is making it comfortable to lie in. People do discover the convenience of abandoning the motor car in towns, and flock to use cycles or buses, or walk because it works for them, and this really turns a corner when enlightened authorities make sure that the hierarchy of pedestrian primacy makes it easy to walk to the places you need to go. When you realise that there are more people slipping round Oxford Circus on the 2-3 metre wide footways, than pass though on the 6.3m carriageway you can see the answer to the congestion conundrum. Around 200 people per minute can pass along a road lane width comfortably - compared to clearing 20 cars with the typical 1.2 people in them as an uninterrupted flow -add in junctions and stop-start features and that will plummet to 10 cars/minute or less.... concentrate a few thousand cars at an out of town shopping mall and watch what happens when the shops close and they all try to leave at the same time.... 1000 cars will take at least 1? hours to get out of one car park egress..... Dave Holladay Glasgow -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 15412 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061229/a4e410d2/winmail.bin From Eric.Britton at ecoplan.org Sat Dec 30 18:16:48 2006 From: Eric.Britton at ecoplan.org (Eric Britton (ChoiceMail)) Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2006 10:16:48 +0100 Subject: [sustran] How effective the role of civil society can be? In-Reply-To: <1167428407.22696714d40d7011.1d8927b1@persist.google.com> Message-ID: <013401c72bf3$43d183c0$6601a8c0@Home> How effective the role of civil society can be? Khan Ferdousour Rahman The United Nations once dealt only with governments. By now we know that peace and prosperity cannot be achieved without partnerships involving governments, international organisations, the business community and civil society. In today's world, we depend on each other", says UN Secretary General Kofi A Annan. Strengthening democratic institutions and supporting civil society are essential for ensuring both human rights and good governance. Hierarchical governmental system should be 'de-verticalised' into horizontal democratic institutions of governance. A democratic governance system is characterised by transparency of processes and accessibility to information. The idea of civil society has become more prominent in political and development parlance over the past several years. This is mainly due to successive waves of democratisation, beginning from Latin America, across the Central and Eastern European countries and spreading through the developing world, including Africa and Asia. Political scientists and practitioners have come to the realisation that it is not just state institutions and policy initiatives that essentially ensure a high standard of democratic governance but also the civil society. The UN is increasingly both participant in and a witness to global civil society. The UN system has significant informal and formal arrangements with civil society organisations (CSOs), collectively known as non-governmental organisations (NGOs). More and more, NGOs are UN system partners and valuable UN links to civil society. NGOs are consulted on UN policy and programme matters. CSOs play a key role at major UN Conferences and as indispensable partners for UN efforts at the country level. At the same time, the UN is helping to promote the emergence of CSOs in the developing countries. Civil society comprises the totality of voluntary civic and social organisations and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society as opposed to the force-backed structures of a state (regardless of that state's political system). Civil society is generally viewed "as a sphere of association in society in distinction to the state, involving a network of institutions through which society and groups within it represent themselves in cultural, ideological and political senses." The civil society was articulated during 1750-1850. Then it was disappeared for time being and revived in the late 20th century in the context of the demise of the communist states. It is also true that the term has been used differently by different social and political thinkers right from the days of Hegel and Marx. In Hegel's view, civil society was a sphere of contradictions that could be resolved in the higher institution of the state. The civil society includes the economic sphere and the social groups as well as the administrative and judicial institutions between the constitutional monarch and the family or the individual. The civil society in Hegelian state owes its existence to discretion of the government and lacks autonomy. The anti-liberal tradition takes on a meaning in Marxist discourse which holds that the forces of production determine the social relations and the forms of the state. Marx saw it as conflict, which would take the form of class struggles leading to the overthrow of the state. It is said that in the later writings of Marx, the concept of civil society was largely replaced by that of capitalist mode of production. Antonio Gramsci, an Italian Marxist, during the 1930s, conceived of civil society in a broader sense than that of society minus the state. His view was based on comparative theory of political changes through civil society. He argued that where civil society was weak as in the East, there could be a violent assault on the state as in Russia in 1917. In areas where civil society was strong as in the West, this was not possible. He further argued that the institutions of the civil society were 'outer earthworks' of the society. It was through the same that the ruling classes maintain their dominance in the society. It was, therefore, necessary to transform civil society as an alternative powerbase of the subordinate classes. It was only through such transformation that it would be possible to challenge state power. The civil society may also provide new forms generally arising out of social movements. Under this typology, collective actors in civil society characterised by mass mobilisation or participation can act as alternative powerbase to challenge the state's monopoly powers of coercion to defend their own interests and welfare. Civil society's activities were originated in most countries to resist the arbitrariness and excesses of the government. Adam Ferguson made the radical assertion that a government, which represses the civic associations, is illegitimate. The civil society movements in the communist countries since late 1970s reasserted the liberal tradition. Initially, it directed its criticisms against bureaucratisation. Civil society is the well-spring of the social capital, people working together for common purposes, which is essential for good governance. CSOs can fill the vacuum left by the slimmed-down state, and can advocate and monitor reforms that foster sustainable human development. UNDP considers collaboration with these organisations important because of their responsiveness, innovation, direct relationship with the poor, capacity to stimulate participation and articulate local views, cost effectiveness, local accountability and independent assessment of issues. The civil society as organisation has emerged as a new paradigm which acts as agents for delivery of public goods and services. It refers to voluntary associations and organisations outside the market and state. It is very close to that of third sector, which consists of private organisations that are formed and sustained by groups of people acting voluntarily and without seeking personal profit to provide benefits for themselves or for others. The individuals are able to establish and maintain national networks through civil society or more precisely, through third sector. These voluntary associations also connect people with informal, loosely structured associations and consolidate society through altruism without obligation. Most discussions on civil society, which broadly includes NGOs involved in awareness-building, tend to point out that this has to be created first through collective initiative of individuals interested in good governance. This line of reasoning however is premised on the belief that civil societies created through such initiatives would act as a catalyst for change for the better. It also assumes that such initiatives must come from the so-called educated elite living in cities and organising seminars or discussions. CSOs or NGOs, as the most active agents of civil society, have crucial advantages as well as serious weaknesses vis-?-vis government organisations and businesses. These can broadly be divided into the categories of 'legitimacy' and 'effectiveness'. The latter includes qualities such as flexibility, grassroots experience and mobility; while the former would include public trust, accountability and representation. Mandate and responsibility are cornerstones of any good organisation. The NGOs are primarily the service delivery agents. Some of them carry on advocacy of social policies and values which are difficult to isolate from the political and belief systems. NGOs or any other citizen groups engaged in public policy deliberations must be very clear about two things, i.e. mandate and stakeholders. Too often, various groups claiming to speak 'on behalf of the people', as alternatives to politicians and political parties. These generalisations, the 'we the people' type of claims are not just false and misleading, they can undermine the credibility and seriousness of NGOs as well. In addition these claims suggest that politicians and public officials do not act 'on behalf of the people', and they en block are morally inferior to citizen activists. It is important to understand that civil society is complementary, not a rival, to representative democracy, and participatory democracy goes hand in hand with representative democracy. Civil society is about participation, while parliamentary democracy is about representation. The civil politics of citizen participation and the parliamentary 'party politics' of representation have a healthy dynamic of both complementarity and tension. Citizen participation carries its own self-originated legitimacy from representation. Unlike public officials, NGO leaders are not accountable to an electorate. On one hand, that limits their mandate. They cannot claim overall representation. On the other hand, this kind of independence from the electorate gives them the freedom, flexibility, and space, which constitute the comparative advantages of NGOs in national and global governance. CSOs are needed not because they 'represent the people', they are needed because through them people get things better. Their roles in the society are manifold, i.e. monitoring, advocacy, defending human rights, use of international mechanism, and mobilisation. Bangladesh perspective There is no need to import the western concept of civil society in our present socio-economic condition. The concept very well existed in our society through elderly 'madbar' people in various villages and through 'sarder' in 'panchayet system' in old Dhaka. Article 21 of Part II of our Constitution also ensures the duties of the citizens to go by the Constitution and the laws to maintain the discipline, to perform public duties and to protect public property. Civil society means taking responsibility sportingly and voluntarily. NGOs including various think-tanks are having great role to play in terms of establishment of human rights, preservation of environment, women empowerment etc. Our civil society very well succeeded in banning polythene, removing 55,000 two stroke baby taxis from Dhaka city, enacting a new law to protect the water bodies and making new building construction rules. As the politics is the rootless game of power, so the political society has grasped the civil society as well as the bureaucracy. Bureaucracy has been totally politicised by all the parties in power. Earlier the academicians used to be the head of the governing body of any educational institute, but now any chairman of governing body you see is a politician. Moreover Article 70 of our Constitution has enhanced autocratic rule, thereby establishing autocratic democracy and giving rise to dynasty. An MP becomes just obedient to a political party or head of the party. Here, the opposition is compelled to go out of parliament or even out of road. Under this situation it is still praiseworthy that our civil society has not yet completely surrendered to the politicians. Civil society members may have political beliefs in mind, but that should not be expressed in their behaviour. Once it is expressed, then automatically the individual becomes politician, not remains as civil society member. Our civil society is weak, because few of our national politicians always take camouflage of professionals with an aim to divide them. But recently our civil society has strengthened them tremendously. For that our media also played a transparent role. The importance of civil society in a democratic society cannot be overemphasised. Article 29 of UDHR states, "Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible." CSOs, therefore, have a role to play in creating a favourable climate for treaty implementation and instigating implementation. Khan Ferdousour Rahman is a freelancer. http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/12/30/d612301503114.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061230/b95f653a/attachment.html From eric.britton at free.fr Sat Dec 30 18:42:45 2006 From: eric.britton at free.fr (eric.britton at free.fr) Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2006 10:42:45 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Small surprises. Getting messages across - Think about this Message-ID: <016b01c72bf6$df0a1e80$6601a8c0@Home> A civil society ?project?: So our dear friend Robert Stussi goes to Groningen to spend a few ways with Hans Monderman last summer and at one point walks out onto the street, pulls out his ancient video camera, and films ninety seconds of unexpectedly commented street life in that wonderful place that has actually decided what kind of community it wants to be. But what to do with it? Well, Robert modestly pipes it over to me to have a look, and I say, terrific! let?s pop it over to both Google Video and YouTube, and then get out the word and set up a few links on the New Mobility Agenda site (you can check it out if you have not already seen it, via http://www.newmobility.org then Brainfood on the bottom left menu) and see what happens. Well before you can blink your eyes no less than (as of today) 1384 people visit the Google version and 465 from YouTube. Hmm. What?s the point? Well, here is one small almost costless move on the part of, I really think we can call it civil society ? Monderman, all those who he has managed to convince with his work over the years, Stussi, the two guys in the street, all those others out their walking and on their bikes, and even the drivers who nicely become part of a new fabric of society, and you and me -- and I just have to believe that it is going to have its own bit of impact. We have to do this one small step at a time. And here is one great example. Next? Eric Britton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20061230/d9a1527c/attachment.html