From sudhir at cai-asia.org Thu Sep 1 17:11:55 2011 From: sudhir at cai-asia.org (Sudhir) Date: Thu, 1 Sep 2011 16:11:55 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Walkability survey results Message-ID: Colleagues, Over the last one year we along with several partners have been conducting walkability surveys across Asian cities. With great help from several NGO's, students, citizens and government officials we have reached 21 cities across Asia. You can read about the survey findings @ http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/node/7495 http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/node/7353 http://www.walk21.com/papers/B102A%20-%20Punte%20-%20walkability%20in%20Asian%20cities.pdf ?walkability score? for each city was determined using following parameters - Walking Path Modal Conflict, Availability of Walking Paths, Availability of Crossings, Grade Crossing Safety, Motorist Behaviour, Amenities, Disability Infrastructure, Obstructions and Security from Crime. The survey was conducted across different type of landuse such as residential, commercial, educational and public transport terminals. Pedestrian interview surveys were also conducted along with the field walkability surveys. These surveys were conducted to validate the results of the field surveys as well as to collect the feedback and opinion of the pedestrians. Nearly 5000 pedestrians were interviewed across several cities ( including use of online survey http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/sites/default/files/walkability_online_survey.pdf) regards Sudhir --- *Sudhir Gota,** Technical Manager (Transportation)* *Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities Center (CAI-Asia)** * *Unit 3505 Robinsons Equitable Tower, ADB Avenue, Pasig City 1605 PHILIPPINES * *Tel +63 395 2843 l Fax +63 395 2846 l s udhir@cai-asia.org l Skype: sudhirgota* *www.cleanairinitiative.org l www.facebook.com/cai.asia* From litman at vtpi.org Fri Sep 2 19:06:28 2011 From: litman at vtpi.org (Todd Alexander Litman) Date: Fri, 2 Sep 2011 03:06:28 -0700 Subject: [sustran] VTPI Newsletter - Summer 2011 Message-ID: <040a01cc6962$3a08d2b0$ae1a7810$@org> ----------- VTPI NEWS ----------- Victoria Transport Policy Institute "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" ------------------------------------- Summer 2011 Vol. 11, No. 3 ----------------------------------- 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. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NEW VTPI DOCUMENTS ==================== "Smart Congestion Relief: Comprehensive Analysis Of Traffic Congestion Costs and Congestion Reduction Benefits" (http://www.vtpi.org/cong_relief.pdf ) This report critically evaluates the methods used to measure traffic congestion impacts. Current methods tend to exaggerate congestion costs and roadway expansion benefits. This study develops a more comprehensive evaluation framework which is applied to four congestion reduction strategies: unpriced roadway expansion, improving alternative modes, pricing reforms, and smart growth land use policies. The results indicate that highway expansion often provides less overall benefit than alternative congestion reduction policies. Comprehensive evaluation can identify more efficient and equitable congestion solutions. It is important that decision makers understand the omissions and biases in current evaluation methods. "Affordable-Accessible Housing Photo Essay" (http://www.vtpi.org/aff_acc_photo.pdf ) This photo essay illustrates various types of affordable-accessible housing (affordable housing suitable for compact development). It highlights specific design features that can make such housing more acceptable to neighbors. It is an appendix to the report, "Affordable-Accessible Housing In A Dynamic City: Why and How To Support Development of More Affordable Housing In Accessible Locations" (http://www.vtpi.org/aff_acc_hou.pdf). "Planners? Guide To Victoria: Highlights For Urban Exploration And Discovery" (http://www.vtpi.org/vic_pg.pdf ) This short guide describes general attributes that make urban areas successful, and ways these are expressed in Victoria, British Columbia. * * * * * UPDATED DOCUMENTS ================= Below are a few of many recently updated VTPI documents: "The Future Isn?t What It Used To Be: Changing Trends And Their Implications For Transport Planning" (http://www.vtpi.org/future.pdf ). This report examines demographic, economic and market trends that affect travel demand (the amount and type of travel people will choose), and their implications for transport planning. Per capita vehicle ownership and mileage have peaked in the U.S., while demand for alternatives such as walking, cycling, public transit and telework is increasing. This indicates that future transport demand will be increasingly diverse. Transport planning can reflect these shifts by increasing support for alternative modes. "Safe Travels: Evaluating Mobility Management Traffic Safety Impacts" (http://www.vtpi.org/safetrav.pdf ) This report investigates the relationships between mobility (the amount people travel) and crash risk, and the safety impacts of mobility management strategies that change the ways and the amount people travel. Evidence summarized in this report indicates that per capita traffic crash rates tend to increase with per capita vehicle travel, and mobility management strategies can provide significant safety benefits. Conventional traffic risk analysis understates many of these impacts. "Changing Vehicle Travel Price Sensitivities: The Rebounding Rebound Effect" (www.vtpi.org/VMT_Elasticities.pdf ). This report discusses the concepts of price elasticities and rebound effects, reviews information on vehicle travel and fuel price elasticities, examines evidence of changing price elasticities, and discusses policy implications. Recent evidence suggests that transport is becoming more price sensitive, which indicates that pricing reforms are likely to be more effective and provide greater benefits than previous projections indicated. * * * * * PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE =================== ?Bias Begets Dependency: Conventional Planning Favors Automobile Travel? (http://cpm.dgtlpub.com/2011/2011-08-31/home.php ), Canadian Property Management, July/Aug 2011, pp. 30-32 (click on arrows in upper right corner to reach page 30). This article, coauthored with Marc Brenman, describes how current planning biases tend to favor automobile travel over more affordable modes, which is inefficient and inequitable. It is based on our report, "A New Social Equity Agenda For Sustainable Transportation" (http://www.vtpi.org/equityagenda.pdf ) "Foot Traffic Key To Smarter, Healthier Towns," (http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20110717/GREEN01/107170304/Planner-Foot-traffic-key-smarter-healthier-towns ), Burlington Free Press, 17 July 2011. "How Young Is Too Young To Bike With Your Kid? " (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/parenting/young-children/children-trends/how-young-is-too-young-to-bike-with-your-kid/article2113366 ), Globe and Mail, 29 July 2011 This column Neil Peirce, "Fighting Traffic Deaths: Incomplete Without Smart Growth" (http://citiwire.net/post/2881 ) is based on my Planetizen blog, "Integrated Planning for Community Health and Safety" (http://www.planetizen.com/node/50571 ) This column by Ed Dolan, "Fuel Taxes vs Fuel Economy: Are Stricter Fuel Economy Standards a Good Idea?" (http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Fuel-Taxes-vs-Fuel-Economy-Are-Stricter-Fuel-Economy-Standards-a-Good-Idea.html ), and "The Rebounding Rebound Effect" (http://cleanenergywonk.com/2011/06/14/the-rebounding-rebound-effect-how-to-dodge-jevons-paradox ) are based on our research on increasing transport price elasticities (www.vtpi.org/VMT_Elasticities.pdf ). Recent Planetizen Blogs (http://www.planetizen.com/blog/2394 ): "Integrated Planning for Community Health and Safety " "Land Use Impacts On Travel: Current State of Knowledge " "An Inaccurate Attack On Smart Growth " New Geography Comments (http://www.newgeography.com/users/todd-litman ). Let?s be friends. Todd Litman regularly posts on his Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=550795001 ). Befriend him now! * * * * * * VTPI Action Team =================== The Victoria Transport Policy Institute is developing a list of experts who can volunteer to work on Victoria Transport Policy Institute projects. This will typically involve 10-40 hours of work on a particular research project. We need experts in: technical writing, research, transport and land use policy analysis, economic evaluation and website development. If you are interested and qualified, please send a short description of your interests, abilities and availability to: info@vtpi.org. * * * * * * BEEN THERE ? DONE THAT ====================== Presented "Evaluating Sustainable Economic Development for Transport Planning" at the Transportation Research Board Summer Meeting , 11 July 2011. Presented, "The Economic Impacts of Walking and Bicycling Facilities: Why it makes economic sense to invest in them" at a ITE meeting, Montpelier, Vermont, 15 July 2011 * * * * * * UPCOMING EVENTS WITH VTPI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TODD LITMAN ==================================================== ?Healthy and Equitable Transport Planning" the closing session Keynote Address at the Towards Carfree Cities International Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, (http://www.worldcarfree.net/conference) 9 Friday September. "Sustainable Transportation Principles and Planning Practices Presentation" at the Conference On Sustainable Mobility - From Plan To Reality (http://www.transportsviables.org/stca/programmation-2011/mardi-20-septembre ) organized by Acces Transports Viables in Quebec City, 20 September 2011. ?What's It Worth? Comprehensive Evaluation of Walking Benefits Workshop" (Session 203) at Walk 21: the 12th International Conference on Walking and Liveable Communities (http://www.walk21.com/vancouver ), on Monday, 3 October 2011 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Note to out-of-region attendees: please consider visiting Victoria before or after the Conference. For information see our new report, "Planners? Guide To Victoria: Highlights For Urban Exploration And Discovery" (http://www.vtpi.org/vic_pg.pdf ) or contact us at info@vtpi.org . IN MEMORIAM ============ Lee Schipper (http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/LeonJSchipper) ?We were all his students ? In Memory of Lee Schipper? (http://www.ccap.org/blog/?p=88 ) USEFUL RESOURCES ================= "Co-benefit Approaches: Building Sustainable Transport Infrastructure" (http://www.iges.or.jp/en/news/topic/asianfocus201107.html ) This interview with Sophie Punte, Executive Director of the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia) discusses current efforts to apply co-benefit analysis to transport decision-making. In 2010 various Asian governments and international organisations established the Asian Co-benefits Partnership (http://www.iges.or.jp/en/cp/co-benefits.html ). Also see ?Win-Win Transportation Solutions? (http://www.vtpi.org/winwin.pdf ) "Repair Priorities: Transportation Spending Strategies To Save Taxpayer Dollars And Improve Roads" (http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/documents/repair-priorities.pdf ), for Smart Growth America (www.smartgrowthamerica.org) and Taxpayers for Common Sense (www.taxpayer.net). This report recommends that, as roadway systems mature and age it is rational to invest less in roadway expansion and more in operations and maintenance. "Vilnius, Lithuania Cracks Down Heavily On Parking Violators" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-fWN0FmcIU&feature=player_embedded ). This video shows Vilnius Mayor Arturas Zuokas driving a military vehicle over and wrecking a Mercedes car illegally parked on a cycle lane to encourage motorists to observe regulations. The mayor then helps clean up the mess and departs by bicycle. "Car Crazy: Lee Schipper on the Perils of Asia?s Hyper-Motorization" (http://worldstreets.wordpress.com/2011/08/03/car-crazy-lee-schipper-on-the-perils-of-asia%E2%80%99s-hyper-motorization ). This column by the late Professor Lee Schipper discusses the impacts that excessive automobile dependence impose on rapidly developing countries in Asia. "Transportation Planning for Sustainability Guidebook" (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/climate/resources.htm#sustain ). This Federal Highway Administration guidebook describes various practices, analytical tools, and supporting data being used in the US and internationally to incorporate sustainability concepts in transportation decision making. "Statewide Scenarios Report: Vision California - Charting Our Future" (http://www.visioncalifornia.org/Vision%20California%20-%20Charting%20Our%20Future%20-%20Report%20-%20March%202011.pdf ). This document describes the ?Urban Footprint? map-based model and the ?Rapid Fire? spreadsheet-based tool, that can be used to evaluate potential growth scenarios to help guide state infrastructure investments. "Making The Case For Investment In The Walking Environment" (http://www.livingstreets.org.uk/makingthecase ). This report discusses the value of pedestrian facility investments. It describes various types of pedestrian improvements; their impacts on travel activity and local environmental quality; the health, social, environmental and economic benefits that can result; methods for measuring these benefits; and several examples and case studies. "Fairness in a Car Dependent Society" (http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/pages/fairness-in-a-car-dependent-society.html ). This report by the U.K. Sustainable Development Commission analyzes the social costs of car dependency, and provides strategies to ensure that transport policy decisions are fair to everybody, not just motorists. "How Affordable is Transportation? An Accessibility-Based Evaluation" (http://www.cts.umn.edu/Publications/ResearchReports/reportdetail.html?id=2024 ). This study developed a transportation affordability analysis framework that accounts for the different demands and abilities of various demographic and geographic groups. This analysis indicates that some disadvantaged groups, such as lower-income working parents, have relatively low auto ownership rate but have high mobility needs, particularly in auto-oriented locations. It recommends a combination of reduced automobile dependence and targeted subsidies for automobile access. "Where We Need to Go: A Civil Rights Roadmap for Transportation Equity" (http://www.protectcivilrights.org/pdf/docs/transportation/52846576-Where-We-Need-to-Go-A-Civil-Rights-Roadmap-for-Transportation-Equity.pdf ). This report investigates transportation policy social equity and civil rights impacts. It argues that affordable and reliable transport is essential to achieving social equity objectives such as poverty reduction, economic opportunity and healthcare access, that motor vehicle traffic imposes significant risks to vulnerable communities, and that, current transport planning tends to overlook many of these impacts, resulting in excessive costs and inadequate support to vulnerable populations. "Equity of Evolving Transportation Finance Mechanisms" Special Report 303, Transportation Research Board (http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/sr/sr303.pdf ). This major new study assesses transportation finance equity impacts. It defines various types of equity impacts, discusses evaluation methods, and describes examples of their application. It indicates ways to address equity concerns and objectives in transport pricing and tax design. "Recapturing Global Leadership in Bus Rapid Transit: A Survey of Select U.S. Cities" (http://www.itdp.org/documents/20110526ITDP_USBRT_Report-HR.pdf ). This report by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy describes a rating system which can be used to evaluate current and planned bus rapid transit (BRT) projects. It describes best international practices for BRT development and discusses their application in North America. "A Parking Utilization Survey of Transit-Oriented Development Residential Properties in Santa Clara County" (http://www.sjsu.edu/urbanplanning/docs/VTA-TODParkingSurveyReport-VolI.pdf ). This report by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and researchers at San Jos? State University?s measured the parking utilization for residents of 12 Transit Oriented Developments (TOD) near rail stations. The study found that many of these properties are ?over?parked? (they have more spaces than needed). "Municipal Infrastructure Planning and Cost Model User?s Manual" (http://www.governor.state.ut.us/planning/mipcom.htm ). This easy-to-use spreadsheet model developed by the Utah?s Governor?s Office estimates infrastructure construction and operation for new development. It indicates substantial savings from more compact development, so impact fees should typically be 20% lower for infill development. "Technologies for Climate Change Mitigation: Transport Sector" (http://tech-action.org/Guidebooks/TNAhandbook_Transport.pdf ). This Guidebook sponsored by the United Nations Environmental Program is intended to help developing country governments, transport planners, and stakeholders working on transport sector climate change emission reduction plans. "How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data" (http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/sr/sr304.pdf ), Special Report 304, Transportation Research Board. This study assesses the current state of travel data, including a review of transportation-related data collected by federal, state, and local government agencies and private organizations. It describes the various uses of this information and problems from inadequate data, and estimates collection costs. It recommends the organization of a National Travel Data Program to collect an integrated set of essential transport statistics. "Using National Household Travel Survey Data for Transportation Decision Making" (http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/conferences/2011/NHTS1/program.pdf ) This conference agenda includes hyperlinks to presentations. The overview presentation (http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/conferences/2011/NHTS1/Polzin2.pdf ) summarizes key trends, including substantial declines in vehicle travel by younger residents compared with those same age groups eight years prior. "Guide To Sustainable Transportation Performance Measures" (http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/pdf/Sustainable_Transpo_Performance.pdf ). This new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidebook describes sustainable transportation performance measures (indicators) suitable for local, regional and state planning. It discusses the application of sustainability indicators in transportation decision-making, and provides specific examples of how metropolitan planning organizations have used such indicators for various types of strategic and project planning, investment decisions, and performance evaluation. "Green Freight Transport" (www.slocat.net/content-stream/254) by the Partnership on Sustainable Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT) discusses various sustainable freight transport policies. "Are Taxes On Carsharing Too High? A Review Of The Public Benefits And Tax Burden Of An Expanding Transportation Sector" (http://las.depaul.edu/chaddick/docs/Docs/DePaul_University_Study_on_Taxation_of_C.pdf ). This study evaluates the impact of taxes levied on rental vehicles and therefore carsharing. It concludes that carsharing provides substantial benefits, that taxes are substantially higher on carsharing than other forms of consumer transport, and that this reduces carshare development and increases automobile use. These findings justify tax policy reforms. "Impact of Carsharing on Household Vehicle Holdings: Results from North American Shared-Use Vehicle Survey" (http://tsrc.berkeley.edu/NewsandEvents/Impact_of_Carsharing_on_Household.pdf ). This paper summarizes a survey of North American carshare service members. The results show that members significantly reduce their vehicle ownership, on average from 0.47 to 0.24 vehicles per household, providing substantial reductions in vehicle use. "Road To Recovery: Transforming America?s Transportation" (http://carnegieendowment.org/2011/07/11/road-to-recovery-transforming-america-s-transportation/3e1h ). This major study finds that US surface transport system costs, including deferred maintenance, total $175 billion annually more than user fee revenues, and discusses various economic and environmental problems that result. It recommends a 5% upstream (at production or importation) oil tax, plus a special tax that maintains minimum retail prices when oil prices decline to avoid price spikes and crashes. It also recommends transport planning and investment reforms to create a more efficient transport system. "Transportation and Health: Policy Interventions for Safer, Healthier People and Communities" (http://www.prevent.org/Additional-Pages/Transportation-and-Health.aspx ). This comprehensive study by the Partnership for Prevention examines transport policies that can improve public health by reducing vehicle emissions and crashes, and increasing physical activity. "The Health Risks And Benefits Of Cycling In Urban Environments Compared With Car Use: Health Impact Assessment Study" (http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d4521.full ). This study published in the British Medical Journal quantifies the overall health impacts caused by shifts from urban driving to urban cycling, including increases in accident risk, air pollution exposure and improved public fitness. In a case study it concludes that the health benefit/risk ratio is 77 (77 years of life saved for each year lost). This does not account for the additional health benefits from reduced accident risk to other road users or reduced air pollution emissions to city residents. "The State Smart Transportation Initiative" (http://www.ssti.us ) works with state and local policymakers to promote practices that advance environmental sustainability and equitable economic development, while maintaining high standards of governmental efficiency and transparency. SSTI serves as a community of practice where participating agencies can learn together and share experiences as they implement innovative ST policies. * * * * * * 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 Litman Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org ) litman@vtpi.org facebook.com/todd.litman Phone & Fax 250-360-1560 1250 Rudlin Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, CANADA ?Efficiency - Equity - Clarity? From yanivbin at gmail.com Tue Sep 6 14:59:01 2011 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Tue, 6 Sep 2011 11:29:01 +0530 Subject: [sustran] BMRCL's plan no threat to BMTC Message-ID: http://www.mid-day.com/news/2011/sep/050911-news-bangalore-BMRCLs-plan-no-threat-to-BMTC.htm BMRCL's plan no threat to BMTC *By: *Sheetal Sukhija *Date: *2011-09-05 *As Metro services are expected to begin by Sept 25, the BMTC plans to introduce a fleet of 100 additional buses for 'Bus Day' on Sept 5 in a bid to keep passengers loyal to the public transport facility* With the BMRCL all set to start operations on Reach I by September 25, the BMTC has now come up with what is being called a new strategy to retain customers. The BMTC is planning to introduce 100 additional buses for 'Bus Day' to be held on September 5, and will be putting all spare vehicles on the road to increase bus strength on city roads. *Survival strategy: BMTC plans to focus on quality and to make travel by their buses more user-friendly.* Meanwhile, traffic experts who conducted an informal survey at the start of the Metro project, claim that around 20 per cent BMTC users would move over to Metro services once operations begin. However, despite regular statements and comments by higher officials in the city's mass transport department, BMTC officials maintain that the Metro poses no threat to them whatsoever. *Working around *"Bangalore Metro is no threat to us. It would definitely ease traffic flow and while the Metro will focus on the main corridor, BMTC will operate on interior routes. If the other Metro projects take off fast, then we might incur a 10 per cent loss. We will need to co-ordinate to sort out any such issues," said Prabhu Das, chief traffic manager, BMTC. "Regarding travel convenience for IT professionals and college students, whose organisations fall in the path of the Reach I, Metro would be their first option rather than the BMTC. It remains to be seen however, if the BMTC will face any direct impact at the end of this year," said a source within the transport department. With the BMTC drawing flak for irregular services, arrogant drivers and ever increasing accidents, news of the Metro being inaugurated has got them on their toes. The department is now planning projects and initiatives, which would make the public transport body more user friendly, and another objective being looked into by the BMTC is improvement in quality of services. "At the moment, around 47 lakh people take BMTC buses daily. This month, on 'Bus Day', we will have 100 spare vehicles plying in core areas and the timings of buses running on general shifts, will also be prolonged. We will also increase trips to please passengers," said Das. From patwardhan.sujit at gmail.com Tue Sep 6 17:12:54 2011 From: patwardhan.sujit at gmail.com (Sujit Patwardhan) Date: Tue, 6 Sep 2011 13:42:54 +0530 Subject: [sustran] !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BRTS corridor now a no parking zone !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Message-ID: 6 September 2011 *!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BRTS corridor now a no parking zone !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! * http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-01/rajkot/29953001_1_brts-corridor-gondal-road-chowkdi-brts-project When the city is serious about public transport it adopts such measures. In contrast Pune has several flyovers being built on the BRT routes. Why? To reduce the road congestion for personal auto vehicles. This is a good example of "Personal-Auto-Vehicle" dominated thinking. -- Sujit -- [image: ParisarLogoVSmall.gif] -------------------------------------------------------------------- *?..each million we invest into urban motorways is an investment to destroy the city?* Mayor Hans Joachim Vogel Munich 1970 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Sujit Patwardhan patwardhan.sujit@gmail.com sujit@parisar.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yamuna, ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007, India Tel: +91 20 25537955 Cell: +91 98220 26627 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Parisar: www.parisar.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 4458 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20110906/90e54d66/attachment.gif From sutp at sutp.org Fri Sep 9 01:49:44 2011 From: sutp at sutp.org (SUTP Team) Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2011 22:19:44 +0530 Subject: [sustran] SUTP Newsletter: July-August 2011 Message-ID: <24C5CF67-2250-44AC-ADD2-27517639C666@sutp.org> GIZ Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP) ### Newsletter Issue 04/11 July August 2011 ### *************************************************************** A HTML version of the newsletter is available from: http://www.sutp.org/newsletters/NL-SUTP-JUL-AUG-11.html A PDF version can be downloaded from: http://www.sutp.org/newsletters/NL-SUTP-JUL-AUG-11.pdf ****************************************************************** In this Edition: - New GIZ project on Transport Demand Management and Climate Change kicked-off in Beijing - GIZ-SUTP at the Sub-Regional EST Training Workshop cum Policy Dialogue in Ahmedabad - GIZ at the CSE's International Conference on Parking Reforms - GIZ-SUTP and IUT conducted a 5-Day training course on Public Transport in Goa from 11-15 July - Bike Night 2011, Frankfurt - Vice-Minister Transport from Indonesia visited Germany - Urban Mobility in Ukrainian cities now on Facebook and Twitter - Interview with first Ukrainian cycling advisor - 2011 Conference on Urban Development and Planning, Yangzhou/China - GIZ at the ?Cities for Mobility? World Congress, Stuttgart *********** New GIZ project on Transport Demand Management and Climate Change kicked-off in Beijing On 3rd August 2011, the city of Beijing and GIZ officially launched a new Sino-German project on sustainable urban transport. The project ?Transport Demand Management in Beijing ? Emission Reduction in Urban Transport? is funded through the International Climate Initiative of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).The aim of this project is to implement sustainable urban transport measures such as improving public transportation, parking space management or infrastructure for cyclists, estimating and monitoring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as disseminate successful approaches in China. Read more: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2731 *********** GIZ-SUTP at the Sub-Regional EST Training Workshop cum Policy Dialogue in Ahmedabad To create a new paradigm in transport practices for Asian region, the Asian Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Initiative was jointly launched by the United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD) and Ministry of the Environment of the Government of Japan (MOEJ) in 2004. Recognizing the importance of a sub?regional approach to address the increasing problems in the transport sector in South Asia, the UNCRD, South Asia Co?operative Environment Programme (SACEP), Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), and MOEJ co-organized the Sub?Regional EST Training Workshop?cum?Policy Dialogue in South Asia, from 26 to 28 August 2011 in Ahmedabad, India. Read more: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2746 *********** GIZ at the CSE's International Conference on Parking Reforms Cities must formulate parking strategies to reduce traffic chaos. At the same time, they need to use parking controls and pricing to reduce parking demand and car usage. This is needed to free valuable urban space for other important uses and clean up our air. This was the conclusion drawn by a select group of regulators, experts, and civil society representatives from different Indian cities and abroad, who had gathered in the capital today for a conference on Parking Reforms for a Liveable City, organised by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The Centre has been at the forefront of a campaign to encourage and push Delhi towards adopting a parking strategy. Read more: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2743 *********** GIZ-SUTP and IUT conducted a 5-Day training course on Public Transport in Goa from 11-15 July Together with the Institute of Urban Transport (IUT), GIZ-SUTP conducted a 5-day intensive training course covering various aspects of public transport planning and provision in Goa. The course, held from 11th-15th July, attracted 30 participants from all parts of India and various organizations like state bus transport corporations, traffic police, urban development authorities, urban rail compnies, etc. The course spanned over 5 days and covered a whole variety of issues ranging from bus and rail planning, financing and institutions for public transport to social and environmental impacts of public transport, pricing services, benchmarking and performance measurement and marketing and communications strategies. Read more: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2702 *********** Bike Night 2011, Frankfurt On August 13th, 2011, a campaign entitled ?Bike Night ? took place in Frankfurt am Main (Germany). The objective of the action was to promote cycling as an equally important mode of transport. The event was organised by the German Cyclist?s Federation (ADFC Hessen) and took place during the evening. The participants rode their bikes through the car-free streets of Frankfurt on an approximately 180 minute tour. In order to ensure safety and a trouble-free ride for cyclists, the relevant roads of Frankfurt (including a stretch of the motorway) were, with the assistance of the Hesse State Police, made inaccessible to motorised traffic. Read more: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2736 *********** Vice-Minister Transport from Indonesia visited Germany Dr. Bambang Susantono, Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Transport in Indonesia visited Germany last month. On July 18th he was welcomed by the Senate of Berlin. Dr. Susantono visited the Traffic Control Center in Berlin and inspected the public transport system and interchange facilities of the city. He was accompanied by Mr. Manfred Breithaupt from GIZ and Dr. Axel Friedrich, Transport Advisor. Read more: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2737 *********** Urban Mobility in Ukrainian cities now on Facebook and Twitter Get faster access to news and information about sustainable development and about urban mobility in Ukrainian cities and worldwide with our new Facebook and Twitter accounts! Now you can trace our activities, receive and share latest news and provide your feedback easily. Simply follow us on Facebook and Twitter. More information about the project ?Climate-friendly mobility in Ukrainian cities? on www.mobilnist.org.ua Read more: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2723 *********** Interview with first Ukrainian cycling advisor Why is the Ukrainian city of Lviv promoting cycling? What are the main barriers? What is the main task of Lviv?s cycling advisor? These questions are answered in the following interview with Oleh Shmid, the first Ukrainian cycling advisor. Read the whole interview from http://www.sutp.org/documents/DOC-SUTECA-OSHMID-EN.pdf *********** 2011 Conference on Urban Development and Planning, Yangzhou/China From June 27-28, 2011 the conference on Urban Development and Planning, with the topic low-carbon transition and green development of cities took place in Yangzhou. Main supporter was the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. The important conference drew the attention of approximately 1000 participants. Vice Minister Qiu Baoxing provided various presentations. GIZ organized a session on ?The Development Course and Experiences of Green Cities ? Examples from Germany? with various speakers from Germany. The presentations can be downloaded from http://www.eeeb.org.cn/gtz_eng/data1.php?id=12 Read more: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2737 *********** GIZ at the ?Cities for Mobility? World Congress, Stuttgart The 5th World Congress of Cities for Mobility under the title ?Urban Mobility and the Social Space Challenge? took place on July 3-5, 2011 in Stuttgart (Germany). The event focused on the linkage between mobility policies in cities and urban planning. The 5th World Congress of Cities for Mobility attracted policy and decision-makers, engineers, traffic planners, urban planners, energy experts and specialists in the field of development cooperation. The Deutsche Gesellschaft f?r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), as a partner of CfM, played an active role during the event with participation and contributions to the poster exhibition, the interactive workshop on ?Active Travel? and the contact forum. Read more: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2737 *********** New Publications Reading List on Increasing and Volatile Oil Prices: UPDATE is now out! After the oil price-rally in mid-2008 with peak prices around 140 USD per barrel, the worldwide financial crisis and its side-effects brought prices down to below 40 USD per barrel. The years 2009 to 2011 were mainly characterised by a steady price increase in fossil fuels and moderate price volatility in global markets. Although price levels and volatility have decreased in comparison to 2008?s peaks, this state cannot be expected to last for a long time, as prices again move upwards and the global oil market is subject to highly speculative commodity trades. In this context, the worldwide supply and demand oil and gasoline continue to be a critical issue as they are linked to the global debate on energy security, the role of fossil fuels and especially subsidies. Fuel subsidies are not only a burden to the economy, but they also give misleading price information and encourage wasteful consumption. On the contrary, fuel taxation sets the right (price) signals for sustainable transport, as it is a powerful source of revenue to: a) partially offset the negative side-effects of increasing fuel use and b) invest in infrastructure of more environmentally friendly transport modes. Read more: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2744 *********** Share the Road: Investment in Walking and Cycling Road Infrastructure Investing in infrastructure for walking and cycling yields massive benefits in terms of environment, safety and accessibility. It reduces GHG emissions and improves air quality, helps protect vulnerable road users and increases affordable access to vital services and other transport modes. The ?Share the Road? initiative published ?Share the Road: Investment in Walking and Cycling Road Infrastructure ?. ?Share the Road? is a UNEP initiative, co-founded by the FIA Foundation and developed since 2008. It brings together the environment and safety agendas, in the context of urban transport in the developing world where the majority of people, those moving by foot or bicycle, are disadvantaged on the road. Read more: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2707 *********** Promotion of Cycling in Germany: National Cycling Plans Germany?s planning efforts to promote cycling as part of a sustainable transport policy can be seen in the ?National Cycling Plan 2002-2012?, adopted by the government in 2002. In 2002, cycling in Germany had a modal share of 9%. By 2008, 10% of all journeys nationwide were being made on a bicycle. The significance of bicycles in transport has increased during the period 2002-2008: bicycles enjoyed the largest growth of any mode of transport (17%). Read more: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2721 *********** Parking Brochure: Demystifying Parking Management for Developing Cities Parking management offers a broad and open field of discussions. Cities often try to solve the parking problem by increasing parking supply. By now, it has been internationally proven that more parking spaces cause more traffic. This brochure gives some ideas about parking management and shows benefits of a successful implementation. The ideas in this publication are elaborated in the GIZ SUTP's publication titled "Parking Management: A Contribution Towards Liveable Cities". The idea of the brochure is to be a quick read guide for professionals, which might help them to come to innovative solutions to manage parking in their respective cities. Read more: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2703 *********** Module 4e: Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) in Spanish reviewed The transport sector also benefits from the development of new technologies. The so-called Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) enables safer, affordable and environmentally friendly transport systems. The objective of this module is to display to decision makers the various advantages of different ITS measures and how it could be implemented in their cities urban transport systems for best outcomes. Read more: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2724 *********** Case Study #3: Sustainable Urban Mobility in Istanbul GIZ SUTP released its third document in the case study series. The paper is titled "Sustainable Urban Mobility: The Example of Istanbul". This study assesses the transport problems Istanbul currently faces and gives an overview of the sustainable transport strategies available to the city. In particular, BRT related measures are outlined. The paper gives orientation for transport planners and policy makers who wish to promote sustainable urban mobility in their cities. The document is 30 pages long, full colour pictures. Read more: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2748 *********** Bulletin No 8 ? Climate-friendly mobility in Ukrainian cities Issues include: New cycling infrastructure in city of Vinnitsia, What is Sustainable Mobility?, 30 km/h-rule in Graz/Austria and information about ELTIS.org. Download here: http://www.mobilnist.org.ua/mfwl/Bulletin_8.pdf *********** Upcoming Events: 12.09.2011 Brussels, BE: ICLEI European Convention 2011 Link: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&did=557&lang=en 13.09.2011 Brussels,BE: Effective Solutions for Green Urban Transport Link: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&did=558&lang=en 26.09.2011 Perth, AU: New Urbanism & Smart Transport 2011 Intl. Conference Link: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&did=505&lang=en 26.09.2011 Mexico City, MX: XXIVth World Road Congress - 2011 Link: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&did=389&lang=en 27.09.2011 Singapore, SG: 3rd Annual Sustainable Cities Conference Link: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&did=543&lang=en 03.10.2011 Mexico City, MX: VII Int'l Congress on Sustainable Transport Link: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&did=555&lang=en 10.10.2011 Glasgow, UK:European Transport Conference 2011 Link: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&did=507&lang=en 22.10.2011 Changwon, KR: EcoMobility 2011 Link: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&did=511&lang=en 24.10.2011 Seoul, KR: 11th UITP Asia-Pacific Assembly Link: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56&func=details&did=550&lang=en For a complete list of events visit: http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=56 *********** News from Partners and Elsewhere *********** Guangzhou BRT Reduces CO2 Emissions by 86,000 Tonnes Annually Guangzhou, China opened its first, 22.5-kilometer Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor in 2010 in an effort to cut congestion on one of the city's busiest roads, Zhongshan Avenue, and to improve the efficiency of the city's bus system. ITDP started collecting data before the project was built and continues to monitor the project's impacts. ITDP has just released preliminary findings focused on the emissions impacts of the system. Download: http://www.itdp.org/index.php/news/detail/guangzhou_brt_reduces_co2_emissions_by_86000_tonnes_annually *********** U.S. Cities Reinventing Buses as Modern, Efficient, and Effective A new independent study, issued by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy rates Los Angeles, Cleveland, Las Vegas, Eugene and Pittsburgh as the nation?s leading cities for bus-based transportation because of their high-quality bus rapid transit systems (BRT). BRT combines the flexibility of buses with the speed and priority of light rail, but at a fraction of the cost of rail. The study rates three new BRT systems currently in planning in the San Francisco Bay Area, Montgomery County, Maryland and Chicago as the best prospects to achieve an even higher ?gold-standard? BRT, something that does not currently exist in the United States. Read more: http://www.itdp.org/index.php/news/detail/u.s._cities_reinventing_buses_as_modern_efficient_and_effective/ *********** Istanbul Metrobus to Be Privatized IETT Metrobus lines will be transferred to the private sector, operating under the authority of the Istanbul Bus Company of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, according to recent news reports. On October 29th, the Avc?lar-Beyl?kd?z? line that is scheduled to be opened for 100 metrobuses, will be handed over to the private sector. Following this transfer, two existing Metrobus lines (Avc?lar-Edirnekap?-Zincirlikuyu and S???tl??e?me) will also be transferred to the bus company. Read more: http://www.embarq.org/en/news/11/08/29/istanbul-metrobus-be-privatized *********** Shaanxi (China) to build five highway transportation hubs Shaanxi province plans to build five national highway transportation hubs in its six large- and medium-sized cities, local transportation authorities said Monday. The hubs are part of a highway network plan that was made by the Ministry of Transportation to improve the country's transportation system. The six cities are the provincial capital Xi'an, Xianyang, Baoji, Yulin, Hanzhong and Yan'an, among which Xi'an and Xianyang will be among 12 national composite hubs. Read more: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2011-08/29/content_13214064.htm *********** Nominations for the 2012 awards are open! The Sustainable Transport Award is given annually to the city that made most progress over the year to increase mobility for all residents while reducing transportation greenhouse and air pollution emissions and improving safety and access for cyclists and pedestrians. To nominate a city click here: http://www.itdp.org/index.php/sustainable_transport_award/nomination_form/ *********** Bike Lanes Pays Dividends: David Suzuki Gives Thumbs Up to Cycling Prominent academic and Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki gave an endorsement to the cycling world, but did so in a way that cycling advocates often forget. In times of economic hardship, getting decision makers to see the economic benefits of cycling may just bear fruit. Let?s face it. Things are tough at the moment: markets are tottering, Europe?s leaders are trying to dig their way out of an ever deepening debt crisis and industry is getting worried by tighter and tighter profit margins. The time appears to be ripe for making the case for bicycles as a force of economic good. We?re not talking about green activists pushing for lower emissions (which isn?t a bad thing by the way), but rather bicycle advocates sitting at a table with even the most conservative of economists and making a clear cut case for why bicycles are good for the economy. Read more: http://www.ecf.com/4559_1 *********** The British Cycling Economy Cycling in the UK has undergone a renaissance over the past five years, with an increasing number of people taking to the streets of the UK by bike. Over the years there has also been an array of research into different areas of cycling and its associated benefits but no single overview of the cycling sector and its associated benefits. This report sets out to define the ?cycling economy? lying behind this growth in numbers. Structural, economic, social and health factors have caused a ?shift in the sand? in the UK, spurring an expansion in the cycling market with indications that this will be a longer-term trend. This growth in cycling participation has had the knock-on effect of bringing economic and social benefits to the UK. In 2010, the result was a gross cycling contribution to the UK economy of ?2.9b. Download the Report by LSE: http://corporate.sky.com/documents/pdf/press_releases/2011/the_british_cycling_economy ********************** SUTP Disclaimer: On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the GIZ through its sector project "Transport Policy Advisory Services" supports developing cities to reach their sustainable transport goals by providing technical assistance on transport projects and disseminating information regarding sustainable urban transport. This newsletter is a part of the activities of this project. The information in this newsletter has been carefully researched and diligently compiled. Nevertheless, GIZ does not accept any liability or give any guarantee for the validity, accuracy and completeness of the information provided. GIZ assumes no legal liabilities for damages, material or immaterial in kind, caused by the use or non-use of provided information or the use of erroneous or incomplete information, with the exception of proven intentional or grossly negligent conduct on the side of GIZ. GIZ reserves the right to modify, append, delete parts or the complete online content without prior notice, or to cancel any publication temporarily or permanently. The third party links are not under the control of GIZ and GIZ is not responsible for the contents of any linked site or any link contained in a linked site. Links to the GIZ SUTP homepage are admissible if the GIZ SUTP website retrieved becomes the sole content of the browser window. *********** Contact us: Any further queries regarding this document can be addressed to sutp@sutp.org. All the documents mentioned here are available for download from the SUTP website: http://www.sutp.org ****************************************************************** Copyright (c) 2011 GIZ Sustainable Urban Transport Project. ****************************************************************** A HTML version of the newsletter is available from: http://www.sutp.org/newsletters/NL-SUTP-JUL-AUG-11.html A PDF version can be downloaded from: http://www.sutp.org/newsletters/NL-SUTP-JUL-AUG-11.pdf ****************************************************************** ------------- Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP) E sutp@sutp.org I http://www.sutp.org From yanivbin at gmail.com Sat Sep 10 22:59:33 2011 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2011 19:29:33 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Bangalore 6th and Delhi 7th most-painful city for commuters in the world Message-ID: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/shipping-/-transport/bangalore-6th-and-delhi-7th-most-painful-city-for-commuters-in-the-world/articleshow/9928240.cms Bangalore 6th and Delhi 7th most-painful city for commuters in the world NEW DELHI: Delhiites may have had to spend hours reaching their offices on a rainy Friday, thanks to the city's clogged drains, but commuting is the modern urban professional's worst nightmare, in several parts of the world. With over a billion cars on the roads, cities around the world grapple with ways to ease the burden on choked transportation systems. More commuters, meanwhile, believe that road traffic congestion has increased their personal stress and anger levels, negatively impacting their performance at work or school, according to IBM's 4th annual global Commuter Pain Survey conducted with 8,042 commuters in 20 cities. The key results of the survey are captured in a Commuter Pain Index (see chart) that ranks the emotional and economic toll of commuting in cities worldwide. Montreal has emerged as the least painful city to commute in while Mexico City is the most painful. Bangalore and New Delhi have been voted the 6th and 7th most painful cities, respectively, for commuting. However, more people here along with Beijing and Shenzhen reported improvement in traffic conditions over the last three years. The negative impact of traffic on stress levels, physical health and productivity is felt to be higher in emerging markets. More respondents in Beijing (86%), Shenzhen (87%), New Delhi (70%) and Nairobi (61%) reported traffic as a key inhibitor to work or school performance. Respiratory problems due to traffic congestion were most prevalent in China and India. On average, drivers in Nairobi, Mexico City, Johannesburg, Beijing, Bangalore, and Moscow spend the longest amount of time (36 minutes or more) on the road to get to their workplace or school. The survey results also reveal that in a number of cities more people are taking public transportation rather than d From patwardhan.sujit at gmail.com Mon Sep 12 03:59:09 2011 From: patwardhan.sujit at gmail.com (Sujit Patwardhan) Date: Mon, 12 Sep 2011 00:29:09 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Janette Sadik-Khan: Bicycle Visionary In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: 11 September 2011 *SOMETHING lovely and all too rare happened to Janette Sadik-Khan, New York City?s frequently demonized transportation commissioner, as she and I rode our bikes down Park Avenue South one morning last month: Sadik-Khan got unsolicited, unfettered prais**e.* Do read this article to see how one official with the right ideas can transform the face of a city - even when that city is New York !! http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/opinion/sunday/bruni-janette-sadik-khan-bicycle-visionary.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y In contrast Pune a city once known as the Cycling City is doing everything possible to delay (or even kill) its *Public Bicycle Scheme. *Our elected representatives who think nothing of wasting public funds on Car-centric developments such as flyovers and elevated roads are suddenly asking why the city is wasting 3 crores on its Public Bicycle Scheme. -- Sujit -- -------------------------------------------------------------------- *?..each million we invest into urban motorways is an investment to destroy the city?* Mayor Hans Joachim Vogel Munich 1970 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Sujit Patwardhan patwardhan.sujit@gmail.com sujit@parisar.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yamuna, ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007, India Tel: +91 20 25537955 Cell: +91 98220 26627 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Parisar: www.parisar.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From carlosfpardo at gmail.com Thu Sep 15 23:03:35 2011 From: carlosfpardo at gmail.com (Carlosfelipe Pardo) Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2011 09:03:35 -0500 Subject: [sustran] Today's TransMilenio Message-ID: <4E7205B7.70609@gmail.com> This is a blog post by a local blogger/bike advocate about a frequent criticism to TransMilenio which is not frequently mentioned internationally: http://mikesbogotablog.blogspot.com/2011/09/growing-pains-for-transmilenio.html Best regards, Carlos. From yanivbin at gmail.com Fri Sep 16 03:03:53 2011 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2011 23:33:53 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Americans Are Driving Less, Washington Should Pay Attention Message-ID: Americans Are Driving Less, Washington Should Pay Attention http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tony-dutzik/american-transportation-driving_b_962453.html Culture , Job Creation , Jobs , Transportation , American Driving Habits , American Transportation , Driving Habits , Highways , Infrastructure , Infrastructure Jobs , Modern Transit , Public Transit , Politics News A few years ago, a strange thing happened: Americans started driving less. How strange was it? For 60 years, up until 2005, the number of miles driven on America's roads increased by an average of 3.7 percent per year -- that's more than twice as fast as population growth. Today, however, Americans are driving just about as much as we did six years ago overall. And on a per-capita basis, as researchers from the Brookings Institution have pointed out, the number of miles driven actually peaked a decade ago. As President Obama and Congress debate infrastructure investments -- both as part of the president's jobs strategy and the ongoing debate over re-authorization of the transportation bill -- it is important to know whether the trend away from ever-increasing amounts of driving is real or a temporary blip. If the trend is real, it would suggest that our transportation policies -- the broad outlines of which were established when "Leave It to Beaver" was on TV and America still produced most of its own oil -- need a serious rewrite for the 21st century. What do we know? First, we know that driving has fallen fastest among young Americans -- precisely the people who will be most impacted by today's transportation infrastructure choices. According to the National Household Travel Survey, the average number of miles driven by licensed drivers aged 20 to 34 fell by 12 percent between the recession years of 2001 and 2009. Meanwhile, the percentage of 19-year-olds with a driver's license has plummeted from 92 percent in 1978 to 77 percent in 2008. Some cultural observers suggest that these trends are part of a larger generational shift -- one in which digital connectivity trumps horsepower, and iPads and Androids take the place of an earlier generation's '57 Chevys as symbols of consumer aspiration and freedom. Other factors are at work as well. The easy mortgage credit that once financed the construction of McMansions in auto-oriented exurbs is gone. Consumer tastes in housing are shifting toward walkable neighborhoods in proximity to urban amenities. A recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute projects that, "24-hour neighborhoods in cities and urbanizing suburban nodes [will] become more desirable locations," while "fringe suburban subdivisions [will] lose some appeal." The giant baby boom generation is now moving into retirement -- a period in life when driving typically decreases. Gasoline prices aren't going down any time soon. And more Americans continue to look for opportunities to walk or bike where they need to go -- both to save money and to enjoy better health. Temporary factors, such as the recession and spikes in gasoline prices, have certainly played a role in the reduction in driving. But an accumulation of evidence suggests that -- at minimum -- the days of rapid, steady growth in vehicle travel are over. Why then is Washington arguing about how much to spend building our grandfather's transportation network? The main question shouldn't be whether we spend too much or too little on those programs. Instead, we should ask why we continue to spend vast sums on building new highway capacity -- especially when there are far more productive ways to invest that money. Fixing our existing roads, bridges and transit infrastructure is a good place to start. Yet, federal and state policies often serve to incentivize the construction of new highway capacity over the less-glamorous task of taking care of what we have. At the same time, Americans are hungering for more and better transportation choices. Cities and states have proposals for new transit lines, passenger rail service, bike lanes and sidewalks that are stuck on the drawing board for lack of funds. *And if the objective is job creation, there is really no contest: a recent report by Smart Growth America found that public transportation projects funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act created 70 percent more jobs per dollar than highway projects funded under the law.* America's transportation needs and desires are changing. If the president and Congress want to get the most out of our transportation investments, they must discard outmoded assumptions and make decisions based on the real needs of Americans in the 21st century. From sudhir at cai-asia.org Wed Sep 21 12:38:23 2011 From: sudhir at cai-asia.org (Sudhir) Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:38:23 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Infrastructure Oversupply Message-ID: Unfortunately.. other countries are also pushing the same agenda in intercity transport. Massive highways are being built across Asia. India is trying hard to build 20km a day of intercity national highways and the impact of such intercity highways are huge and we need to look more actively at intercity solutions. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904060604576570084262352852.html and see http://www.livemint.com/2011/06/17150418/India-eyes-record-road-network.html September 14 (The Wall Street Journal): Lu Dadao has long warned about the risks of highway, railway and airport overbuilding in China. Now people are listening. ons. The 71-year-old Mr. Lu, president of Geographical Society of China, is China's leading economic geographer and a member of the state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences. He headed a team of government researchers that last year issued a report criticizing the nation's vast transportation-building program for excessive investment. He says he "faced great pressure" from officials unhappy with the report. But attitudes toward the infrastructure boom have shifted somewhat since the July 23 collision of two high-speed trains near Wenzhou that killed 40 people. Mr. Lu spoke with Yue Zhen, a reporter for Caixin Media, a business and financial media group in China. Excerpts: Caixin: What's the status of China's transportation initiative? Lu Dadao: It's mainly about excessively big, redundant construction and unfair competition, as well as a lack of coordination between different modes of transport. First, look at expressway construction. In 2008, the nationwide total mileage plan was adjusted up to 100,000 kilometers. That year alone we built 6,433 kilometers and invested a total of 600 billion yuan ($93.79 billion). Nationwide expressway mileage is expected to grow to a staggering 180,000 kilometers, if we add provincial and national building plans. Personal vehicle traffic levels are too low on some expressways built over the past five years. Considerable stretches of expressway completed in central and western regions are usually empty, simply basking in the sun. Thus, expressway construction has suffered from excessive expansion. It's gotten out of control. Second, overexpansion of coastal-port development and construction has clearly led to excessive competition between ports. China's port throughput capacity reached four billion tons in 2008, yet coastal communities continue to compete in the race to build large-scale berth and shipping-container ports. Every port authority makes lofty claims about becoming a coastal or international hub for commercial shipping. Additionally, many regional airports are being built blindly, with huge investments but no feasibility studies. This has led to major losses. In 2008, national subsidies to small and medium-size airports reached 9.3 billion yuan ($1.45 billion). But by 2020, we'll have added another 100 or so airports, mainly regional airports. Every year recently, construction has begun on about 20 regional airports, and more are waiting to be approved. Moreover, there's been a surging wave of railway-construction projects, including intercity rail linking big cities, suburbs and small cities in some provinces, regions and municipalities. Our research group found there will not be enough traffic to support the big, city-centered railway transportation systems after they are completed. Caixin: But supply sometimes still can't meet demand. For example, during the Chinese New Year, railway tickets are extremely hard to get. Lu: This relates to the problem of current demand versus long-term demand. Over the past few years, some medium- and long-term plans drafted by national and regional authorities have touched on the long term. But in terms of implementation in recent years, many projects have been running far in advance of demand. In fact, most of our medium- and long-term plans are very backward because they do not take into account the regional particularities of passenger-traffic concentration. In provinces that are exporting manpower, transportation planning and construction can't keep up. The future national framework transportation plan should be built on analyzing and forecasting traffic volume and direction. Too many highways have complicated socioeconomic systems in regions along their paths, fragmented the land and even destroyed socioeconomic ties. In a sense, expressways benefit the rich. There is no country like ours that builds expressways between every county, that violates the development pace of transportation systems and that skips stages of societal development. Currently, China's expressway network accounts for 1.62% of total road network mileage, which is higher than in either Europe or America. In eastern regions, the expressway ratio is as high as 2.4%, and in the west it has reached 1.16%. This sort of road network clearly reflects one fact: Expressways, which play a backbone transportation role, are mismatched against other kinds of roads. The total expressway length is too great. A reasonable expressway mileage ratio is around 1.2%. Caixin: Profit-driven but unrealistic "leapfrog" development has been widely mentioned in official documents. Is the pursuit of GDP growth and performance stars for government officials driving the transportation campaign? Lu: Of course. Some local leaders think a big highway investment will play a large role in boosting the local economy. The search for profit and returns on short-term investment is prominent. Wild enthusiasm among local governments for transportation development often forces central government plans to be adapted to local plans. Plans for some local government transportation networks may be redone after new leaders are appointed. In addition, the limitations of current management authority have led to fragmentation among various modes of transport, which relevant government departments have a hard time coordinating. Caixin: How should we prepare for the next stage of transport-infrastructure construction? Lu: There should be three areas of focus. First, optimize the transportation composition by rationally planning the density and composition of transportation networks in different regions, based on differences in population and economic density. Second, enhance the efficiency of the overall transportation system and promote integrated transport development. The basic concept should be that highways are for short-distance transport and railways for long-distance, while aviation is for long-range and ultra-long-range transport. At the same time, this effort should be consistent with passenger- and cargo-flow direction and growth forecasts. Third, accelerate construction of the primary road network in rural and farm areas. Particular attention should be paid to adjusting the scale of transportation-construction investment. With regard to the scale in recent years and problems with excessive expansion in recent years, we recommend holding transportation investment at 3% to 4% of GDP after the period of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-16). Caixin: After the Wenzhou train crash, everyone has been concerned about the next step for high-speed rail. What kind of plan should high-speed rail construction follow? Lu: Our view is that high-speed-railway development in China has only begun. We still lack practical experience in safety and economic efficiency, as well as coordination with civil aviation and expressways, and we need to consolidate existing domestic and international experience. Internationally, the rational operating range for a high-speed railway is considered to be between 180 and 800 kilometers. On either end of this range are the operating ranges of expressways and aviation, respectively. Caixin: There is a lot of talk about reforming various government departments. How do you see relations between transport authorities and other institutions? Lu: Transport-related departments are currently too strong. Each has its own strong planning and design institutions. But authorities in charge of comprehensive coordination are too weak and cannot negate the plans of functioning departments, such as the transportation ministry. There is no overall coordination for transportation construction, and department goals are neither unified nor coordinated. In this atmosphere, enthusiasm is stoked inside various departments, and the result is that each department launches individual, large-scale projects that greatly increase the overall scale and contribute to imbalance in the transport structure. Thus, in the next phase of transportation planning, the National Development and Reform Commission, as a comprehensive coordination department, must bravely say "yes" or "no," and speak honestly, particularly when saying "no." In addition, the government should, through public hearings and other methods, continue listening to people's views when planning projects. There must be a mechanism that gradually establishes a platform for people to participate and speak their minds. From datar.ashok at gmail.com Wed Sep 21 15:19:28 2011 From: datar.ashok at gmail.com (ashok datar) Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:49:28 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Infrastructure Oversupply In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: glad u have touched upon a basic issue about whether we should have so much transport infra structure as Chinese are finding out we have advantage of learning from them and we should use it I believe some basic restraint is needed everywehre when we discuss the sustainability in particular, by too many highways we creat avoidable transportation .. why we should we be eating Chines apples, NZ pears, Australian kiwis etc. the energy that is spent in transportation and storage undermines the basic law of nature let us think more local can we also show preference for rail network rather than road or air as it is less energy using ? ashok datar On Wed, Sep 21, 2011 at 9:08 AM, Sudhir wrote: > Unfortunately.. other countries are also pushing the same agenda in > intercity transport. Massive highways are being built across Asia. India is > trying hard to build 20km a day of intercity national highways and the > impact of such intercity highways are huge and we need to look more > actively > at intercity solutions. > > http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904060604576570084262352852.html > and > see > > http://www.livemint.com/2011/06/17150418/India-eyes-record-road-network.html > > September 14 (The Wall Street Journal): Lu Dadao has long warned about the > risks of highway, railway and airport overbuilding in China. Now people are > listening. > ons. > The 71-year-old Mr. Lu, president of Geographical Society of China, is > China's leading economic geographer and a member of the state-run Chinese > Academy of Sciences. He headed a team of government researchers that last > year issued a report criticizing the nation's vast transportation-building > program for excessive investment. > > He says he "faced great pressure" from officials unhappy with the report. > But attitudes toward the infrastructure boom have shifted somewhat since > the > July 23 collision of two high-speed trains near Wenzhou that killed 40 > people. > > Mr. Lu spoke with Yue Zhen, a reporter for Caixin Media, a business and > financial media group in China. Excerpts: > > Caixin: What's the status of China's transportation initiative? > > Lu Dadao: It's mainly about excessively big, redundant construction and > unfair competition, as well as a lack of coordination between different > modes of transport. > > First, look at expressway construction. In 2008, the nationwide total > mileage plan was adjusted up to 100,000 kilometers. That year alone we > built > 6,433 kilometers and invested a total of 600 billion yuan ($93.79 billion). > Nationwide expressway mileage is expected to grow to a staggering 180,000 > kilometers, if we add provincial and national building plans. > > Personal vehicle traffic levels are too low on some expressways built over > the past five years. Considerable stretches of expressway completed in > central and western regions are usually empty, simply basking in the sun. > Thus, expressway construction has suffered from excessive expansion. It's > gotten out of control. > > Second, overexpansion of coastal-port development and construction has > clearly led to excessive competition between ports. China's port throughput > capacity reached four billion tons in 2008, yet coastal communities > continue > to compete in the race to build large-scale berth and shipping-container > ports. Every port authority makes lofty claims about becoming a coastal or > international hub for commercial shipping. > > Additionally, many regional airports are being built blindly, with huge > investments but no feasibility studies. This has led to major losses. In > 2008, national subsidies to small and medium-size airports reached 9.3 > billion yuan ($1.45 billion). But by 2020, we'll have added another 100 or > so airports, mainly regional airports. Every year recently, construction > has > begun on about 20 regional airports, and more are waiting to be approved. > > Moreover, there's been a surging wave of railway-construction projects, > including intercity rail linking big cities, suburbs and small cities in > some provinces, regions and municipalities. Our research group found there > will not be enough traffic to support the big, city-centered railway > transportation systems after they are completed. > > Caixin: But supply sometimes still can't meet demand. For example, during > the Chinese New Year, railway tickets are extremely hard to get. > > Lu: This relates to the problem of current demand versus long-term demand. > Over the past few years, some medium- and long-term plans drafted by > national and regional authorities have touched on the long term. But in > terms of implementation in recent years, many projects have been running > far > in advance of demand. > > In fact, most of our medium- and long-term plans are very backward because > they do not take into account the regional particularities of > passenger-traffic concentration. In provinces that are exporting manpower, > transportation planning and construction can't keep up. > > The future national framework transportation plan should be built on > analyzing and forecasting traffic volume and direction. Too many highways > have complicated socioeconomic systems in regions along their paths, > fragmented the land and even destroyed socioeconomic ties. In a sense, > expressways benefit the rich. There is no country like ours that builds > expressways between every county, that violates the development pace of > transportation systems and that skips stages of societal development. > > Currently, China's expressway network accounts for 1.62% of total road > network mileage, which is higher than in either Europe or America. In > eastern regions, the expressway ratio is as high as 2.4%, and in the west > it > has reached 1.16%. This sort of road network clearly reflects one fact: > Expressways, which play a backbone transportation role, are mismatched > against other kinds of roads. The total expressway length is too great. A > reasonable expressway mileage ratio is around 1.2%. > > Caixin: Profit-driven but unrealistic "leapfrog" development has been > widely > mentioned in official documents. Is the pursuit of GDP growth and > performance stars for government officials driving the transportation > campaign? > > Lu: Of course. Some local leaders think a big highway investment will play > a > large role in boosting the local economy. The search for profit and returns > on short-term investment is prominent. Wild enthusiasm among local > governments for transportation development often forces central government > plans to be adapted to local plans. Plans for some local government > transportation networks may be redone after new leaders are appointed. > > In addition, the limitations of current management authority have led to > fragmentation among various modes of transport, which relevant government > departments have a hard time coordinating. > > Caixin: How should we prepare for the next stage of > transport-infrastructure > construction? > > Lu: There should be three areas of focus. First, optimize the > transportation > composition by rationally planning the density and composition of > transportation networks in different regions, based on differences in > population and economic density. > > Second, enhance the efficiency of the overall transportation system and > promote integrated transport development. The basic concept should be that > highways are for short-distance transport and railways for long-distance, > while aviation is for long-range and ultra-long-range transport. At the > same > time, this effort should be consistent with passenger- and cargo-flow > direction and growth forecasts. > > Third, accelerate construction of the primary road network in rural and > farm > areas. Particular attention should be paid to adjusting the scale of > transportation-construction investment. With regard to the scale in recent > years and problems with excessive expansion in recent years, we recommend > holding transportation investment at 3% to 4% of GDP after the period of > the > 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-16). > > Caixin: After the Wenzhou train crash, everyone has been concerned about > the > next step for high-speed rail. What kind of plan should high-speed rail > construction follow? > > Lu: Our view is that high-speed-railway development in China has only > begun. > We still lack practical experience in safety and economic efficiency, as > well as coordination with civil aviation and expressways, and we need to > consolidate existing domestic and international experience. > > Internationally, the rational operating range for a high-speed railway is > considered to be between 180 and 800 kilometers. On either end of this > range > are the operating ranges of expressways and aviation, respectively. > > Caixin: There is a lot of talk about reforming various government > departments. How do you see relations between transport authorities and > other institutions? > > Lu: Transport-related departments are currently too strong. Each has its > own > strong planning and design institutions. But authorities in charge of > comprehensive coordination are too weak and cannot negate the plans of > functioning departments, such as the transportation ministry. > > There is no overall coordination for transportation construction, and > department goals are neither unified nor coordinated. In this atmosphere, > enthusiasm is stoked inside various departments, and the result is that > each > department launches individual, large-scale projects that greatly increase > the overall scale and contribute to imbalance in the transport structure. > > Thus, in the next phase of transportation planning, the National > Development > and Reform Commission, as a comprehensive coordination department, must > bravely say "yes" or "no," and speak honestly, particularly when saying > "no." > > In addition, the government should, through public hearings and other > methods, continue listening to people's views when planning projects. There > must be a mechanism that gradually establishes a platform for people to > participate and speak their minds. > -------------------------------------------------------- > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > (the 'Global South'). > -- Ashok R.Datar Mumbai Environmental Social Network 20 Madhavi, Makarand Society, S.V.S.Marg, Mahim-400 016 98676 65107/0222 444 9212 see our website : www.mesn.org * I hear, then I forget. I see, then I remember. I do, then I understand.* From Konark.RAI at unitar.org Thu Sep 22 23:33:45 2011 From: Konark.RAI at unitar.org (Konark RAI) Date: Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:33:45 +0000 Subject: [sustran] UNITAR's e-Learning Course on Sustainable Urban Mobility in Developing Countries - Register Now! Message-ID: <013BD90B294E5E409CCDCEBE73084FB921A06FD1@MBX021-W4-CA-3.exch021.domain.local> [UNITAR banner] UNITAR Course Announcement e-Learning Course on Sustainable Urban Mobility in Developing Countries - Register Now! [ldp group]The Local Development Programme of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is pleased to announce its next e-Learning course on Sustainable Urban Mobility in Developing Countries,starting from 24 November 2011. Seats are limited, so register now to secure your seat! You can take advantage of a new online payment facility for easier payment by credit card. [speaker]The Local Development Programme of UNITAR, in partnership with GIZ, the German Technical Cooperation, is launching a new session of the e-learning course Sustainable Urban Mobility in Developing Countries, from 14 November 2011 to 2 March 2012. The online course Sustainable Urban Mobility in Developing Countries, based on the material jointly developed by GIZ and UNITAR, is designed to provide answers, solutions and alternative approaches in the area of urban transport planning that target a more sustainable transport system in Developing Cities. The e-course aims to enhance the capacity of local decision makers and urban and transportation planners to formulate and implement appropriate policies that contribute to sustainability in urban transport in developing countries. [banner-urban-mobility300 2] It allows an analysis of the main issues of sustainable transport including transport demand management, improved public and non-motorized transport, environmental protection, road safety, and gender in transport. It also deals with means such as economic and financial instruments, institutional improvements, regulation of markets and environmental standards. ________________________________ Partners [partners]The e-Learning course on "Sustainable Urban Mobility in Developing Countries" is offered in partnership with the German Technical Cooperation - GIZ. [Logo GIZ gif] ________________________________ The 6-module course is based on sound adult pedagogical principles including, among others, self-assessment activities, quizzes and case study, as well as social elements such as group review exercises and a discussion board. It is distributed in such a way to ensure the achievement of the learning objectives in a flexible manner, as participants can choose the learning pace that is the most adequate to them. The course consists of the 6 following modules: * Module 1 - Urban growth and strategies for sustainable development * Module 2 - Municipal mobility management * Module 3 - Public transport services * Module 4 - Management, financing and institutions * Module 5 - Energy and environment * Module 6 - Safety and social issues Comprehensive information about the course and registration at http://www.unitar.org/event/urbanmobility. For more information, you can download a course flyer (PDF) or send an email to e-ldp@unitar.org. ________________________________ UNITAR Online Catalogue [atmark]Interested in knowing more on Environment, Governance, Peace, Security and Diplomacy or on e-Learning? Consult the UNITAR Online Catalogue and register to your preferred training course. ________________________________ Contact Us Local Development Programme United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Palais des Nations, CH -1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland Email: e-ldp@unitar.org Tel: +41.22.917.8519 Website: www.unitar.org/ldp ________________________________ [website] [video] [email] [twitter] [facebook] ________________________________ This Course Annoucement is a UNITAR e-publication. Featured photos or images are property of UNITAR or royalty free. Photo credits: UN Photo, UNESCO photobank, UNITAR, istockphoto, Fotolia. Copyright ? 2011 United Nations Institute for Training and Research. For further information, please contact us at: communications@unitar.org or visit our website www.unitar.org. Legal. 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Name: image005.gif Type: image/gif Size: 750 bytes Desc: image005.gif Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20110922/1c83497b/image005.gif From dazzle_dwds at yahoo.com Sat Sep 24 10:47:27 2011 From: dazzle_dwds at yahoo.com (Roselle Leah K. Rivera) Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:47:27 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] Carfree Cebu Today In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1316828847.56649.YahooMailNeo@web125305.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> ?http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/64381/no-cars-today-in-downtown-%E2%80%98heritage-district%E2%80%99-cebu-city-environment-campaign-kicks-off ? ROSELLE LEAH K RIVERA Faculty Department of Women and Development Studies College of Social Work and Community Development University of the Philippines Diliman Quezon City PHILIPPINES From joshirutul at yahoo.co.in Sat Sep 24 11:36:08 2011 From: joshirutul at yahoo.co.in (Rutul Joshi) Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2011 08:06:08 +0530 (IST) Subject: [sustran] Fuel prices and inflation Message-ID: <1316831768.89842.YahooMailNeo@web137313.mail.in.yahoo.com> Hi all, I have a query - probably a naive one. Every time there is a fuel price hike in India, the complete hoax starts doing rounds on the social-networking site about 'how fuel is cheaper in other countries in Asia?' and 'how this rise in fuel prices is going to affect the economic growth'. The argument put forward by the middle-class and their friendly media is the links between the fuel cost and inflation leading to price-rise in the food items and the shrinking of the food basket of the poor people. Some other people (in ultra-minority) argue that it is just middle-class propaganda to shield themselves in the name of the poor. However, I don't know how valid or in-valid these arguments are. Intuitively, I am with the second group but I don't really have stronger basis for it. Can some of you who know these issues in detail, throw light on the same? Thanks, Rutul From datar.ashok at gmail.com Sat Sep 24 13:13:15 2011 From: datar.ashok at gmail.com (ashok datar) Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2011 09:43:15 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Fuel prices and inflation In-Reply-To: <1316831768.89842.YahooMailNeo@web137313.mail.in.yahoo.com> References: <1316831768.89842.YahooMailNeo@web137313.mail.in.yahoo.com> Message-ID: In countries with such high inequality- which is even more accentuated when it comes to housing and transportation and between rural and urban , it is important that food should not be unduly cheap because that is lower income to poor farmers true cost of land and fuel ( incl external costs) should reflect in the pricing auto fuels as in case of most commodities. if as a result of higher cost of fossil fuel- of which transportation is the single largest user, it is time that the true and comprehensive costs should reflect: in higher prices of cooking gas ( with perhaps some amount from it to be used for subsidizing solar systems for cooking and energy especially in villages where space is less of a constraint) similarly higher cost of petrol and even diesel will encourage less concentration in cities with lesser use of private vehicle and more of trains and buses and bicycles so pricing is a part of a bigger paradigm people will grow and buy local food less long distance commuting more rail usage for freight haulage ( as it consumes one tenth of diesel per ton/km this should be coupled wth more usage of internet as is being done as a policy by south korea where more and more work is done thru net rather than physical travelling true costs include external costs to the whole society incl pollution and of non renewalble ashok datar On Sat, Sep 24, 2011 at 8:06 AM, Rutul Joshi wrote: > Hi all, > > > I have a query - probably a naive one. > > > Every time there is a fuel price hike in India, the complete hoax > starts doing rounds on the social-networking site about 'how fuel is > cheaper in other countries in Asia?' and 'how this rise in fuel prices > is going to affect the economic growth'. The argument put forward by the > middle-class and their friendly media is the links between the fuel > cost and inflation leading to price-rise in the food items and the > shrinking of the food basket of the poor people. Some other people (in > ultra-minority) argue that it is just middle-class propaganda to shield > themselves in the name of the poor. However, I don't know how valid or > in-valid these arguments are. Intuitively, I am with the second group > but I don't really have stronger basis for it. Can some of you who know > these issues in detail, throw light on the same? > > Thanks, > Rutul > -------------------------------------------------------- > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > (the 'Global South'). > -- Ashok R.Datar Mumbai Environmental Social Network 20 Madhavi, Makarand Society, S.V.S.Marg, Mahim-400 016 98676 65107/0222 444 9212 see our website : www.mesn.org * I hear, then I forget. I see, then I remember. I do, then I understand.* From krc12353 at gmail.com Sat Sep 24 13:22:19 2011 From: krc12353 at gmail.com (Karthik Rao-Cavale) Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2011 00:22:19 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: Fuel prices and inflation In-Reply-To: <1316831768.89842.YahooMailNeo@web137313.mail.in.yahoo.com> References: <1316831768.89842.YahooMailNeo@web137313.mail.in.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Rutul, This is an excellent question to ponder about, and I am not sure about the empirical answer either. We do know that the cost of production of most food items (grain, fruit, vegetables) in India is only a fraction of the sale price. We cannot rule out the possibility that the cost of transportation as a fraction of the total sale price is large enough to have a noticeable impact. But there is also the fact that many of the protests at the time of a fuel hike are organized by the trucking companies and also the communist parties in India (I vivdly remember the all-India protests by the Communist Party in July 2008, when my trip to the north-east was punctuated by consecutive strikes in Orissa and Assam) Whose economic interests do these protesters represent? That said, I feel that the simple counter-argument to the middle-class argument is to say that if we want food prices to be maintained at low levels, then the straight-forward answer is to have larger food subsidies. The mood in the neo-liberal camp is increasingly in favour of targeting subsidies - here would be an excellent place to start! Why subsidize the owner of a diesel-guzzling SUV if all we want is to keep prices of food low? Why not increase subsidies to the PDS (Public Distribution System) instead? There is now enough consensus to push for universal PDS and to get rid of the discredited system of targeted food subsidies only for people who have been identified as below poverty line (essentially, it is impossible to identify people according to economic status, which results a great deal of exclusion). I once did some back-of-the-envelope calculations and found that savings from removing fuel subsidies could cover as much of 2/3rds of the additional cost of converting the targeted PDS to a universal PDS system. There is also another angle to this. The cost of transportation does not depend on the cost of fuel alone. It also depends on the quality of the infrastructure. What we now have is a transportation infrastructure that is over-used in cities (and therefore of bad quality) and non-existent in the hinterland. Fuel subsidies exacerbate the over-use of infrastructure, and my suspicion is that the net effect on transportation costs in some places might very well be to increase it. Another alternative to fuel subsidies would be to focus on improving transportation infrastructure, especially in the rural hinterland (which includes both rail and road). One important qualifiers: my analysis does not extend to cooking fuel. Subsidizing cooking fuel does have the effect of creating a black market for adulterated fuels. But given the affordability gap, taking away cooking kerosene subsidies will result in a sudden shift towards burning wood, charcoal and dung-cakes, all of which are extremely harmful to female health and also potential causes of global warming. That is not something I will ever recommend. karthik On Fri, Sep 23, 2011 at 10:36 PM, Rutul Joshi wrote: > Hi all, > > > I have a query - probably a naive one. > > > Every time there is a fuel price hike in India, the complete hoax > starts doing rounds on the social-networking site about 'how fuel is > cheaper in other countries in Asia?' and 'how this rise in fuel prices > is going to affect the economic growth'. The argument put forward by the > middle-class and their friendly media is the links between the fuel > cost and inflation leading to price-rise in the food items and the > shrinking of the food basket of the poor people. Some other people (in > ultra-minority) argue that it is just middle-class propaganda to shield > themselves in the name of the poor. However, I don't know how valid or > in-valid these arguments are. Intuitively, I am with the second group > but I don't really have stronger basis for it. Can some of you who know > these issues in detail, throw light on the same? > > Thanks, > Rutul > -------------------------------------------------------- > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > ================================================================ > 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 navdeep.asija at gmail.com Sat Sep 24 13:24:02 2011 From: navdeep.asija at gmail.com (Asija, Navdeep) Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2011 09:54:02 +0530 Subject: [sustran] =?windows-1252?Q?HC_tells_UT_to_declare_at_least_one_ar?= =?windows-1252?Q?ea_a_=91no_vehicle=92_zone-_Fazilka_Ecocabs?= Message-ID: Chandigarh In a significant direction, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the Chandigarh Administration to declare at least one area of the city a ?no vehicle? zone. Also, Punjab and Haryana have been directed to identify a part of any one city for the same purpose. These directions were passed during resumed hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) arising out of a suo motu notice taken on a news item published by The Indian Express which had highlighted the concept and advantages of ecocabs . A related PIL, arising out of another suo motu notice published by a weekly on the issue of pollution, also came up for resumed hearing today. The High Court had taken suo motu notice of the increasing pollution in the region due to increasing vehicular pressure. The division bench remarked that some areas should be totally banned for vehicular traffic. Suggesting Sector 17 as an option for making a no vehicular zone, the Bench observed that parking could be allowed at corners of the Sector and only rickshaws or eco-friendly cabs could be allowed to ply. The Bench said that the restrictions should be enforced for all vehicles and no vehicle, including red beacon or even High Court vehicles, should be permitted to ply in such zones. Appearing on behalf of the Chandigarh Administration, Senior Standing Counsel Sanjay Kaushal said that efforts are being made by the UT Administration to provide cheaper public transport to reduce vehicular pressure on roads.The Bench also directed the authorities to submit the status report in this regard at the next hearing while making it clear that the entire process would be on a trial basis only. The counsels for Punjab and Haryana too submitted reports on promoting eco-friendly rickshaws. The reports read that Haryana had issued direction to all the municipal authorities to propagate these rickshaws.The counsel for Punjab informed the Bench that about 500 such eco-cabs were already functional in different districts of the state and rickshaw-pullers were being encouraged to use these. http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/hc-tells-ut-to-declare-at-least-one-area-a-no-vehicle-zone/851062/ From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Sat Sep 24 18:26:28 2011 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric britton) Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2011 11:26:28 +0200 Subject: =?utf-8?Q?RE:_=5Bsustran=5D_HC_tells_UT_to_dec?= =?utf-8?Q?lare_at_least_one_area_a_=E2=80=98no_veh?= =?utf-8?Q?icle=E2=80=99_zone-_Fazilka_Ecocabs?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <007f01cc7a9c$0d18d5c0$274a8140$@britton@ecoplan.org> This is in many ways good news but with the following caveat. It is my firm belief that the move to sustainability agenda requires more than piecemeal actions, and that everything we managed to accomplish in any given place should be part of a broader coherent and consistent plan. Ad hoc actions really make sense only if they are of a nature that leads to a more strategic overall plan. One of the nice things about no-car, low-car, or eco-zones, by whatever name, is that if we get them right there example can "lead" over to other areas of the city where inhabitants and local politicians see that this is a formula which could work for them as well. But just let me urge you to bear in mind that there is no substitute for a broad, convincing, strategic overview and plan. Eric Britton PS. I know of course that most of the readers of this list understand the importance of this approach, but I simply could not resist writing this short note in response to the very interesting news from Navdeep, for which I thank you. Eric Britton, Editor / Managing Director World Streets / New Mobility Partnerships / Sustainability Seminar Series 8, rue Jospeh Bara 75006 Paris France Tel. +331 7550 3788 | editor@newmobility.org | Skype: newmobility ?? Avant d'imprimer, pensez ? l'environnement From aashu.gupta20 at gmail.com Sat Sep 24 18:43:09 2011 From: aashu.gupta20 at gmail.com (Aashish Gupta) Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2011 15:13:09 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Fuel prices and inflation In-Reply-To: References: <1316831768.89842.YahooMailNeo@web137313.mail.in.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Dear all Hello. I have been thinking about this for sometime, and thought I should intervene. I do have a few questions, though. What is the evidence on the price elasticity of demand for petrol and diesel consumption in private vehicles? I think this is an extremely important question. Of course Ashok (and I too, along with many others) thinks that raising diesel prices will lower demand for private travel, even shift middle class households (or others, who might be using two wheelers) to public transport, and while this is an extremely plausible hypothesis, I do want to see the results on this. One could imagine several counters-points to this, for instance by arguing that actually, travel demand is inelastic to small price changes, since these dont affect the middle class that much; even if they do, they cant help it much because they have already brought a car or a motorcycle and making changes would require other lifestyle changes, that they are "locked-in" to using a car or a motorcycle, etc. Any pointers? If there arent enough good studies of this, then this is an excellent topic for research, since fuel price hikes are common in india. :) The other thing, of course, is the impact o inflation on food and other prices (of fuel price hikes). I have tried looking around that in the past, but there are several senses of the data. In the past, various economists associated with the government of India have claimed (at different points of time) between .4%and 1%(or this) percentage points in the inflation rate because of such hikes. Of course, I dont think we should believe the economist's words on these, especially because some of them have made really bad statements in the past about inflation. I think members of this community would be extremely interested in this report , specially table P1 (section 4.2). Just for background, this report provided the basis for the change in the policy to allow for "freeing of prices". I also quote from the report, Even assuming that the truckers, power generators, industrial users etc.(other than the passenger car owners) are able to pass on fully the additional cost of diesel, an increase of Rs. 4 per litre would mean an increase of around Rs. 20,000 crore in their cost of diesel which would be around 0.4 % of GDP in 2008-09. This should be compared with the inflationary impact of subsidies, which would be similar. Overall, of course, this isn't enough evidence on the impact of inflation, and if someone can do this analysis or point out independent evidence of the same, that would be just great. I wish I had the econometric prowess to do it, but I am just learning, and cant. On the other hand, I do know that its not a very difficult analysis. One just has to regress past inflation rates on changes in petrol prices and some other variables, to find out the impact. Again, excellent research topic. Having said inconclusive things about the most important things in this debate, I would like to come to other things mentioned. Karthik, bang on target that targetting has failed (horrendously) in India. For instance, around 2005, several studies (IHDS, NFHS, NSS) point out that half the people in the bottom quintile did not have BPL (below poverty line) cards. Ashok, that food should not be unduly cheap and that higher prices benefit farmers is a very important debate, again, globally. For instance, one finds echoes in this debate on food prices between oxfamand others. It is also true that if prices of food or agricultural commodities rise because of increase in prices of diesel, farmers dont benefit. You are right on prices reflecting true costs, which would include the cost of environmental externalities for diesel or petrol. However, it is because of this notion of true cost that i support subsidies in modern cooking fuels for the poor - remember, that there are positive externalities for women in households from smokeless chulhas, lpg, methane or kerosene. Karthik, the use of bio-fuels, however, is another blind-spot, mainly because until very recently it was thought that the use of these (things such as wood or cow-dung) by the poor is carbon nuetral - the poor are only using carbon sequestered recently, and this carbon can be again sequestered by growth in vegetation. Of course, to check whether this is true, one has to compare the rate of consumption with the rate of regeneration. I do agree about your analysis of cooking subsidies. Before I leave, I would also like to mention that diesel has become an important input for farmers as well, especially in areas which dont have reliable or any power supply. As is clear, farmers use diesel pumps for irrigation. Of course, whether thats enough justification for fuel subsidies, is another point. What I personally find abominable is the response of the left-parties in India (but also of others, including the main opposition) on fuel prices - things such as food prices are much more relevant to the poor, and the solutions for them (such as an expanded PDS) are much nearer in sight than this petrol price debate. What is also harrowing is that the environmental side of the debate is completely absent: India that way desperately needs a party with a 'green' vision. The reason for this anger by mainstream opposition parties on fuel price hike appears clear to me, that is their very middle class bases and leadership - the organised labour movement for the left (public sector bank or railways employees, eg.) and high caste middle class people in the case of the BJP. Warmly Aashish On 24 September 2011 09:52, Karthik Rao-Cavale wrote: > Rutul, > > This is an excellent question to ponder about, and I am not sure about the > empirical answer either. We do know that the cost of production of most > food > items (grain, fruit, vegetables) in India is only a fraction of the sale > price. We cannot rule out the possibility that the cost of transportation > as > a fraction of the total sale price is large enough to have a noticeable > impact. But there is also the fact that many of the protests at the time of > a fuel hike are organized by the trucking companies and also the communist > parties in India (I vivdly remember the all-India protests by the Communist > Party in July 2008, when my trip to the north-east was punctuated by > consecutive strikes in Orissa and Assam) Whose economic interests do these > protesters represent? > > That said, I feel that the simple counter-argument to the middle-class > argument is to say that if we want food prices to be maintained at low > levels, then the straight-forward answer is to have larger food subsidies. > The mood in the neo-liberal camp is increasingly in favour of targeting > subsidies - here would be an excellent place to start! Why subsidize the > owner of a diesel-guzzling SUV if all we want is to keep prices of food > low? > Why not increase subsidies to the PDS (Public Distribution System) instead? > > There is now enough consensus to push for universal PDS and to get rid of > the discredited system of targeted food subsidies only for people who have > been identified as below poverty line (essentially, it is impossible to > identify people according to economic status, which results a great deal of > exclusion). I once did some back-of-the-envelope calculations and found > that > savings from removing fuel subsidies could cover as much of 2/3rds of the > additional cost of converting the targeted PDS to a universal PDS system. > > There is also another angle to this. The cost of transportation does not > depend on the cost of fuel alone. It also depends on the quality of the > infrastructure. What we now have is a transportation infrastructure that is > over-used in cities (and therefore of bad quality) and non-existent in the > hinterland. Fuel subsidies exacerbate the over-use of infrastructure, and > my > suspicion is that the net effect on transportation costs in some places > might very well be to increase it. Another alternative to fuel subsidies > would be to focus on improving transportation infrastructure, especially in > the rural hinterland (which includes both rail and road). > > One important qualifiers: my analysis does not extend to cooking fuel. > Subsidizing cooking fuel does have the effect of creating a black market > for > adulterated fuels. But given the affordability gap, taking away cooking > kerosene subsidies will result in a sudden shift towards burning wood, > charcoal and dung-cakes, all of which are extremely harmful to female > health > and also potential causes of global warming. That is not something I will > ever recommend. > > karthik > > On Fri, Sep 23, 2011 at 10:36 PM, Rutul Joshi >wrote: > > > Hi all, > > > > > > I have a query - probably a naive one. > > > > > > Every time there is a fuel price hike in India, the complete hoax > > starts doing rounds on the social-networking site about 'how fuel is > > cheaper in other countries in Asia?' and 'how this rise in fuel prices > > is going to affect the economic growth'. The argument put forward by the > > middle-class and their friendly media is the links between the fuel > > cost and inflation leading to price-rise in the food items and the > > shrinking of the food basket of the poor people. Some other people (in > > ultra-minority) argue that it is just middle-class propaganda to shield > > themselves in the name of the poor. However, I don't know how valid or > > in-valid these arguments are. Intuitively, I am with the second group > > but I don't really have stronger basis for it. Can some of you who know > > these issues in detail, throw light on the same? > > > > Thanks, > > Rutul > > -------------------------------------------------------- > > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > > > ================================================================ > > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > > (the 'Global South'). > > > -------------------------------------------------------- > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > ================================================================ > 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 carlosfpardo at gmail.com Sat Sep 24 18:48:15 2011 From: carlosfpardo at gmail.com (Pardo) Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2011 04:48:15 -0500 Subject: [sustran] Re: Fuel prices and inflation In-Reply-To: References: <1316831768.89842.YahooMailNeo@web137313.mail.in.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <99BF4855-911A-40C0-AFA2-C0E1B53C195E@gmail.com> Please see the section on fuel prices of www.sutp.org . One of the most recent publications there discusses that point. There is also the fuel price survey which has prices from 100+ countries which shows a better reality on how cheap or expensive fuel is. The middle class argument is not well founded, deeper research shows that higher fuel prices are better even for low-income groups. If Lee Schipper were with us, he would have given us such a thorough answer... Pardo Typed on keyboard projected onto a glass surface. Please excuse typos. On 24/09/2011, at 4:43, Aashish Gupta wrote: > Dear all > > Hello. I have been thinking about this for sometime, and thought I should > intervene. I do have a few questions, though. What is the evidence on the > price elasticity of demand for petrol and diesel consumption in private > vehicles? I think this is an extremely important question. Of course Ashok > (and I too, along with many others) thinks that raising diesel prices will > lower demand for private travel, even shift middle class households (or > others, who might be using two wheelers) to public transport, and while this > is an extremely plausible hypothesis, I do want to see the results on this. > One could imagine several counters-points to this, for instance by arguing > that actually, travel demand is inelastic to small price changes, since > these dont affect the middle class that much; even if they do, they cant > help it much because they have already brought a car or a motorcycle and > making changes would require other lifestyle changes, that they are > "locked-in" to using a car or a motorcycle, etc. Any pointers? If there > arent enough good studies of this, then this is an excellent topic for > research, since fuel price hikes are common in india. :) > > The other thing, of course, is the impact o inflation on food and other > prices (of fuel price hikes). I have tried looking around that in the past, but > there are several senses of the data. In the past, various economists > associated with the government of India have claimed (at different points of > time) between .4%and > 1%(or > this) > percentage points in the inflation rate because of such hikes. Of course, I > dont think we should believe the economist's words on these, especially > because some of them have made really bad statements in the past about > inflation. > > I think members of this community would be extremely interested in this > report , specially table P1 > (section 4.2). Just for background, this report provided the basis for the > change in the policy to allow for "freeing of prices". I also quote from the > report, > > Even assuming that the truckers, power generators, industrial users > etc.(other than the passenger car owners) are able to pass on fully the > additional cost of diesel, an increase of Rs. 4 > per litre would mean an increase of around Rs. 20,000 crore in their cost of > diesel which would be around 0.4 % of GDP in 2008-09. This should be > compared with the inflationary impact of subsidies, which would be similar. > > Overall, of course, this isn't enough evidence on the impact of inflation, > and if someone can do this analysis or point out independent evidence of the > same, that would be just great. I wish I had the econometric prowess to do > it, but I am just learning, and cant. On the other hand, I do know that its > not a very difficult analysis. One just has to regress past inflation rates > on changes in petrol prices and some other variables, to find out the > impact. Again, excellent research topic. > > Having said inconclusive things about the most important things in this > debate, I would like to come to other things mentioned. Karthik, bang on > target that targetting has failed (horrendously) in India. For instance, > around 2005, several studies (IHDS, NFHS, NSS) point out that half the > people in the bottom quintile did not have BPL (below poverty line) cards. > > Ashok, that food should not be unduly cheap and that higher prices benefit > farmers is a very important debate, again, globally. For instance, one finds > echoes in this debate on food prices between > oxfamand > others. > It is also true that if prices of food or agricultural commodities rise > because of increase in prices of diesel, farmers dont benefit. You are right > on prices reflecting true costs, which would include the cost of > environmental externalities for diesel or petrol. However, it is because of > this notion of true cost that i support subsidies in modern cooking fuels > for the poor - remember, that there are positive externalities for women in > households from smokeless chulhas, lpg, methane or kerosene. Karthik, the > use of bio-fuels, however, is another blind-spot, mainly because until very > recently it was thought that the use of these (things such as wood or > cow-dung) by the poor is carbon nuetral - the poor are only using carbon > sequestered recently, and this carbon can be again sequestered by growth in > vegetation. Of course, to check whether this is true, one has to compare the > rate of consumption with the rate of regeneration. I do agree about your > analysis of cooking subsidies. > > Before I leave, I would also like to mention that diesel has become an > important input for farmers as well, especially in areas which dont have > reliable or any power supply. As is clear, farmers use diesel pumps for > irrigation. Of course, whether thats enough justification for fuel > subsidies, is another point. > > What I personally find abominable is the response of the left-parties in > India (but also of others, including the main opposition) on fuel prices - > things such as food prices are much more relevant to the poor, and the > solutions for them (such as an expanded PDS) are much nearer in sight than > this petrol price debate. What is also harrowing is that the environmental > side of the debate is completely absent: India that way desperately needs a > party with a 'green' vision. The reason for this anger by mainstream > opposition parties on fuel price hike appears clear to me, that is their > very middle class bases and leadership - the organised labour movement for > the left (public sector bank or railways employees, eg.) and high caste > middle class people in the case of the BJP. > > Warmly > Aashish > > On 24 September 2011 09:52, Karthik Rao-Cavale wrote: > >> Rutul, >> >> This is an excellent question to ponder about, and I am not sure about the >> empirical answer either. We do know that the cost of production of most >> food >> items (grain, fruit, vegetables) in India is only a fraction of the sale >> price. We cannot rule out the possibility that the cost of transportation >> as >> a fraction of the total sale price is large enough to have a noticeable >> impact. But there is also the fact that many of the protests at the time of >> a fuel hike are organized by the trucking companies and also the communist >> parties in India (I vivdly remember the all-India protests by the Communist >> Party in July 2008, when my trip to the north-east was punctuated by >> consecutive strikes in Orissa and Assam) Whose economic interests do these >> protesters represent? >> >> That said, I feel that the simple counter-argument to the middle-class >> argument is to say that if we want food prices to be maintained at low >> levels, then the straight-forward answer is to have larger food subsidies. >> The mood in the neo-liberal camp is increasingly in favour of targeting >> subsidies - here would be an excellent place to start! Why subsidize the >> owner of a diesel-guzzling SUV if all we want is to keep prices of food >> low? >> Why not increase subsidies to the PDS (Public Distribution System) instead? >> >> There is now enough consensus to push for universal PDS and to get rid of >> the discredited system of targeted food subsidies only for people who have >> been identified as below poverty line (essentially, it is impossible to >> identify people according to economic status, which results a great deal of >> exclusion). I once did some back-of-the-envelope calculations and found >> that >> savings from removing fuel subsidies could cover as much of 2/3rds of the >> additional cost of converting the targeted PDS to a universal PDS system. >> >> There is also another angle to this. The cost of transportation does not >> depend on the cost of fuel alone. It also depends on the quality of the >> infrastructure. What we now have is a transportation infrastructure that is >> over-used in cities (and therefore of bad quality) and non-existent in the >> hinterland. Fuel subsidies exacerbate the over-use of infrastructure, and >> my >> suspicion is that the net effect on transportation costs in some places >> might very well be to increase it. Another alternative to fuel subsidies >> would be to focus on improving transportation infrastructure, especially in >> the rural hinterland (which includes both rail and road). >> >> One important qualifiers: my analysis does not extend to cooking fuel. >> Subsidizing cooking fuel does have the effect of creating a black market >> for >> adulterated fuels. But given the affordability gap, taking away cooking >> kerosene subsidies will result in a sudden shift towards burning wood, >> charcoal and dung-cakes, all of which are extremely harmful to female >> health >> and also potential causes of global warming. That is not something I will >> ever recommend. >> >> karthik >> >> On Fri, Sep 23, 2011 at 10:36 PM, Rutul Joshi >> wrote: >> >>> Hi all, >>> >>> >>> I have a query - probably a naive one. >>> >>> >>> Every time there is a fuel price hike in India, the complete hoax >>> starts doing rounds on the social-networking site about 'how fuel is >>> cheaper in other countries in Asia?' and 'how this rise in fuel prices >>> is going to affect the economic growth'. The argument put forward by the >>> middle-class and their friendly media is the links between the fuel >>> cost and inflation leading to price-rise in the food items and the >>> shrinking of the food basket of the poor people. Some other people (in >>> ultra-minority) argue that it is just middle-class propaganda to shield >>> themselves in the name of the poor. However, I don't know how valid or >>> in-valid these arguments are. Intuitively, I am with the second group >>> but I don't really have stronger basis for it. Can some of you who know >>> these issues in detail, throw light on the same? >>> >>> Thanks, >>> Rutul >>> -------------------------------------------------------- >>> To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit >>> http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss >>> >>> ================================================================ >>> SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, >>> equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries >>> (the 'Global South'). >>> >> -------------------------------------------------------- >> To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit >> http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss >> >> ================================================================ >> SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, >> equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries >> (the 'Global South'). >> > -------------------------------------------------------- > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > ================================================================ > 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 krc12353 at gmail.com Sat Sep 24 21:15:39 2011 From: krc12353 at gmail.com (Karthik Rao-Cavale) Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2011 08:15:39 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: Fuel prices and inflation In-Reply-To: References: <1316831768.89842.YahooMailNeo@web137313.mail.in.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Ashish, thanks for a great response. A few comments: First, on the carbon neutrality of bio-fuels used in cooking: the argument against wood and dung-cakes is not that they release sequestered carbon as CO2, but that they release it in the form of black carbon (particulate matter), which could potentially have a significant greenhouse effect (there is some debate in the scientific circles on this issue). But this should not concern us: we should care about moving to cleaner fuels regardless of the effect on climate in either direction, because we care about the respiratory health of women who do most of the cooking. On targeting, perhaps we need to frame the argument not as against targeting, but as favouring alternate forms of targeting. For instance, removing fuel subsidies and improving food subsidy programs is a way of "targeting based on purpose" rather than income-targeting. Focussing on transportation infrastructure allows us to replace income targeting with geographic targeting. We can argue that these are more effective ways of using public money. Finally, on the impacts of transportation subsidy on general inflation rates, I feel that it is quite besides the point, because we are interested in the particular impacts on food price inflation. Given that food price inflation has been consistently higher than general inflation by a few percentage points for some time now, it would be worrying if removing transportation subsidies has a particular propensity to increase the cost of food. But as I have argued, there are ways to deal with such problems, even if that were to be the case. karthik On Sat, Sep 24, 2011 at 5:43 AM, Aashish Gupta wrote: > Dear all > > Hello. I have been thinking about this for sometime, and thought I should > intervene. I do have a few questions, though. What is the evidence on the > price elasticity of demand for petrol and diesel consumption in private > vehicles? I think this is an extremely important question. Of course Ashok > (and I too, along with many others) thinks that raising diesel prices will > lower demand for private travel, even shift middle class households (or > others, who might be using two wheelers) to public transport, and while this > is an extremely plausible hypothesis, I do want to see the results on this. > One could imagine several counters-points to this, for instance by arguing > that actually, travel demand is inelastic to small price changes, since > these dont affect the middle class that much; even if they do, they cant > help it much because they have already brought a car or a motorcycle and > making changes would require other lifestyle changes, that they are > "locked-in" to using a car or a motorcycle, etc. Any pointers? If there > arent enough good studies of this, then this is an excellent topic for > research, since fuel price hikes are common in india. :) > > The other thing, of course, is the impact o inflation on food and other > prices (of fuel price hikes). I have tried looking around that in the past, but > there are several senses of the data. In the past, various economists > associated with the government of India have claimed (at different points of > time) between .4%and > 1%(or > this) > percentage points in the inflation rate because of such hikes. Of course, I > dont think we should believe the economist's words on these, especially > because some of them have made really bad statements in the past about > inflation. > > I think members of this community would be extremely interested in this > report , specially table P1 > (section 4.2). Just for background, this report provided the basis for the > change in the policy to allow for "freeing of prices". I also quote from the > report, > > Even assuming that the truckers, power generators, industrial users > etc.(other than the passenger car owners) are able to pass on fully the > additional cost of diesel, an increase of Rs. 4 > per litre would mean an increase of around Rs. 20,000 crore in their cost > of diesel which would be around 0.4 % of GDP in 2008-09. This should be > compared with the inflationary impact of subsidies, which would be similar. > > Overall, of course, this isn't enough evidence on the impact of inflation, > and if someone can do this analysis or point out independent evidence of the > same, that would be just great. I wish I had the econometric prowess to do > it, but I am just learning, and cant. On the other hand, I do know that its > not a very difficult analysis. One just has to regress past inflation rates > on changes in petrol prices and some other variables, to find out the > impact. Again, excellent research topic. > > Having said inconclusive things about the most important things in this > debate, I would like to come to other things mentioned. Karthik, bang on > target that targetting has failed (horrendously) in India. For instance, > around 2005, several studies (IHDS, NFHS, NSS) point out that half the > people in the bottom quintile did not have BPL (below poverty line) cards. > > Ashok, that food should not be unduly cheap and that higher prices benefit > farmers is a very important debate, again, globally. For instance, one finds > echoes in this debate on food prices between oxfamand > others. > It is also true that if prices of food or agricultural commodities rise > because of increase in prices of diesel, farmers dont benefit. You are right > on prices reflecting true costs, which would include the cost of > environmental externalities for diesel or petrol. However, it is because of > this notion of true cost that i support subsidies in modern cooking fuels > for the poor - remember, that there are positive externalities for women in > households from smokeless chulhas, lpg, methane or kerosene. Karthik, the > use of bio-fuels, however, is another blind-spot, mainly because until very > recently it was thought that the use of these (things such as wood or > cow-dung) by the poor is carbon nuetral - the poor are only using carbon > sequestered recently, and this carbon can be again sequestered by growth in > vegetation. Of course, to check whether this is true, one has to compare the > rate of consumption with the rate of regeneration. I do agree about your > analysis of cooking subsidies. > > Before I leave, I would also like to mention that diesel has become an > important input for farmers as well, especially in areas which dont have > reliable or any power supply. As is clear, farmers use diesel pumps for > irrigation. Of course, whether thats enough justification for fuel > subsidies, is another point. > > What I personally find abominable is the response of the left-parties in > India (but also of others, including the main opposition) on fuel prices - > things such as food prices are much more relevant to the poor, and the > solutions for them (such as an expanded PDS) are much nearer in sight than > this petrol price debate. What is also harrowing is that the environmental > side of the debate is completely absent: India that way desperately needs a > party with a 'green' vision. The reason for this anger by mainstream > opposition parties on fuel price hike appears clear to me, that is their > very middle class bases and leadership - the organised labour movement for > the left (public sector bank or railways employees, eg.) and high caste > middle class people in the case of the BJP. > > Warmly > Aashish > > > On 24 September 2011 09:52, Karthik Rao-Cavale wrote: > >> Rutul, >> >> This is an excellent question to ponder about, and I am not sure about the >> empirical answer either. We do know that the cost of production of most >> food >> items (grain, fruit, vegetables) in India is only a fraction of the sale >> price. We cannot rule out the possibility that the cost of transportation >> as >> a fraction of the total sale price is large enough to have a noticeable >> impact. But there is also the fact that many of the protests at the time >> of >> a fuel hike are organized by the trucking companies and also the communist >> parties in India (I vivdly remember the all-India protests by the >> Communist >> Party in July 2008, when my trip to the north-east was punctuated by >> consecutive strikes in Orissa and Assam) Whose economic interests do these >> protesters represent? >> >> That said, I feel that the simple counter-argument to the middle-class >> argument is to say that if we want food prices to be maintained at low >> levels, then the straight-forward answer is to have larger food subsidies. >> The mood in the neo-liberal camp is increasingly in favour of targeting >> subsidies - here would be an excellent place to start! Why subsidize the >> owner of a diesel-guzzling SUV if all we want is to keep prices of food >> low? >> Why not increase subsidies to the PDS (Public Distribution System) >> instead? >> >> There is now enough consensus to push for universal PDS and to get rid of >> the discredited system of targeted food subsidies only for people who have >> been identified as below poverty line (essentially, it is impossible to >> identify people according to economic status, which results a great deal >> of >> exclusion). I once did some back-of-the-envelope calculations and found >> that >> savings from removing fuel subsidies could cover as much of 2/3rds of the >> additional cost of converting the targeted PDS to a universal PDS system. >> >> There is also another angle to this. The cost of transportation does not >> depend on the cost of fuel alone. It also depends on the quality of the >> infrastructure. What we now have is a transportation infrastructure that >> is >> over-used in cities (and therefore of bad quality) and non-existent in the >> hinterland. Fuel subsidies exacerbate the over-use of infrastructure, and >> my >> suspicion is that the net effect on transportation costs in some places >> might very well be to increase it. Another alternative to fuel subsidies >> would be to focus on improving transportation infrastructure, especially >> in >> the rural hinterland (which includes both rail and road). >> >> One important qualifiers: my analysis does not extend to cooking fuel. >> Subsidizing cooking fuel does have the effect of creating a black market >> for >> adulterated fuels. But given the affordability gap, taking away cooking >> kerosene subsidies will result in a sudden shift towards burning wood, >> charcoal and dung-cakes, all of which are extremely harmful to female >> health >> and also potential causes of global warming. That is not something I will >> ever recommend. >> >> karthik >> >> On Fri, Sep 23, 2011 at 10:36 PM, Rutul Joshi > >wrote: >> >> > Hi all, >> > >> > >> > I have a query - probably a naive one. >> > >> > >> > Every time there is a fuel price hike in India, the complete hoax >> > starts doing rounds on the social-networking site about 'how fuel is >> > cheaper in other countries in Asia?' and 'how this rise in fuel prices >> > is going to affect the economic growth'. The argument put forward by the >> > middle-class and their friendly media is the links between the fuel >> > cost and inflation leading to price-rise in the food items and the >> > shrinking of the food basket of the poor people. Some other people (in >> > ultra-minority) argue that it is just middle-class propaganda to shield >> > themselves in the name of the poor. However, I don't know how valid or >> > in-valid these arguments are. Intuitively, I am with the second group >> > but I don't really have stronger basis for it. Can some of you who know >> > these issues in detail, throw light on the same? >> > >> > Thanks, >> > Rutul >> > -------------------------------------------------------- >> > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit >> > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss >> > >> > ================================================================ >> > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, >> > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries >> > (the 'Global South'). >> > >> -------------------------------------------------------- >> To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit >> http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss >> >> ================================================================ >> 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 yanivbin at gmail.com Sun Sep 25 03:46:04 2011 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2011 00:16:04 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Bangalore is a city that cares for cars, and not you Message-ID: http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_bangalore-is-a-city-that-cares-for-cars-and-not-you_1590963 Bangalore is a city that cares for cars, and not you DNA / Merlin Francis / Saturday, September 24, 2011 11:17 IST There is nothing new about the poor condition of footpaths in Bangalore, but what stirs the mind is the silence of the pedestrian who is exposed to all kinds of dangers, thanks to the bad pavements or the lack of it. *DNA *takes a look at why a Bangalorean remains a silent observer. Most people in the city are oblivious to the fact that by its very definition, a road is incomplete without a proper footpath and that the pedestrian is an important stakeholder in the footpaths and also has the sole right to use them. The municipal corporation has failed to disseminate information that a common man could use to voice his concerns. Kathyayani Chamraj of CIVIC says, ?Pedestrians are mostly people who cannot afford cars and have no voice when compared with the urban elite. Like a class of urban poor, which is voiceless and not organised enough to express its concerns, the pedestrians have not been able to shake or move the civic bodies to improve the conditions of the footpaths in the city.? Hasiru Usiru is one of the few groups actively organising programmes expressing concerns and dangers that the pedestrians are exposed to. Sridhar Raman, who has been conducting a programme ?Come Cross the Roads? to inculcate the righteousness of the pedestrian, says, ?The biggest reason pedestrians aren?t voicing their anger is their failure to understand their rights. The public, be it pedestrians or motorists, assumes that all road infrastructure is meant first for vehicles. Pedestrians are assumed to come much lower in the pecking order,? said Sridhar Raman. He continues, ?We see pedestrians scared to step down on to the road and cross at a zebra-crossing, even though the right of way is with the pedestrian. We see pedestrians giving way to motorists riding even on footpaths; a vehicle has no right to be on the pavement. This lack of awareness is the biggest reason behind the pedestrians not getting the attention they deserve.? If the public is made aware that the road and the footpaths belong to the pedestrian first and foremost, more pedestrian voices will rise, added Raman. ?City municipal corporation should have made ward committees for ordinary pedestrians. Right now, it is not clear as to who should one complain to about the ill-maintained footpaths?the ward officer, the corporator or the engineer?? says Vinay Sridhar from Hasiru Usiru, an environmental group. J Sreenivasan of Koramangala Matters echoed similar sentiments. ?Who should a pedestrian complain to? The BBMP? Forget it, it?s a waste of time. All the pedestrian can do is to vent his anger and frustration and go back to fending himself,? he says. He also pointed out that Bescom?s structures are the next biggest hurdle on Bangalore roads, with low-lying transformers and electric poles erected bang in the middle of what may pass as a footpath. ?There are helplines where no one answers the call,? Sreenivasan says. In defence to the flak concrete pavements draw, the BBMP?s engineering chief, BT Ramesh, says, ?We had laid the pavements with the interlocking slab system about eight years ago. But after receiving complaints from people, we started laying concrete pedestrian walkways.? Meenakshi Bharat, a citizen activist from Malleswaram, says, whatever is left of pavements, is being taken away by civic officials. ?Huge areas are being dug around the tree to ?water? them.? A bigger nuisance is people turning every foot path into ?pee land?. The stench is so unbearable that people prefer walking on the road. Manvel Alur, of the RWA in Koramangala says, ?Where are pedestrian crossings or pavements ever planned in the larger scheme of things? Koramangala, Vasanthnagar, Adugodi, Vivek Nagar, Commercial Street are some areas where there is hardly any footpath.? ?Motorists are given importance in our country and pedestrians are forgotten, in spite of walking being a healthier, more energy and environment-friendly option. The RWAs should work towards this in a big way,? she adds. *URL of the article:* http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_bangalore-is-a-city-that-cares-for-cars-and-not-you_1590963-all From cornie.huizenga at slocatpartnership.org Sun Sep 25 13:05:31 2011 From: cornie.huizenga at slocatpartnership.org (Cornie Huizenga) Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2011 12:05:31 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Re: Bangalore is a city that cares for cars, and not you In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear Vinay and others, I was struck by the sentence: *?Pedestrians are mostly people who cannot afford cars* and have no voice when compared with the urban elite. Like a class of urban poor, which is voiceless and not organised enough to express its concerns, the pedestrians have not been able to shake or move the civic bodies to improve the conditions of the footpaths in the city.? Being Dutch I grew up in a country where rich and poor are pedestrians in cities. Over the last 30 years I have lived about 20 years in Asia. Out of these 20 years I had a car for 5 years from 1986-1991 in Pakistan. After that I have managed without. Admittedly I do rely a lot on taxi's but I do think that I do walk a lot (and cycle). Walking in Shanghai where I live now is a lot easier than in Manila where I lived for 11 years. Unlike the poor mentioned in the article, I do feel that I have rights and I generally am not shy to claim those on pedestrian crossings etc. I am still struck by what was said a couple of years ago by the Minister of Urban Development in India who said that Transport Planning in India had been guided by class interest and that 90% of the road space was given to 10% of the users. This was at a conference on technology choice for public transport in India (rail or BRT). The fascinating thing was that 90% of the participants in the meeting came to the Meridien hotel by private vehicles. Can people whose mind set is dominated by private vehicles really plan for those of us who prefer to travel on foot, by bicycle or by public transport? Compare this to large parts of Europe where a majority of transport users, planners and decision makers share the view that cities are nicer and more pleasant if cars play a secondary role compared to walking, cycling and public transport. This is very much a historical tradition. We should not forget that even in Europe we went through a phase in the '60s - 70s where NMT was in danger and where we saw a willingness to give over the cities to cars. Somehow, however, there was a realization (including by planners and decision makers) that this affected their own quality of life. Ultimately, the future of transport in Asian cities will depend on whether it is possible to bring the 10% who owns the cars on board of the sustainable transport agenda. Why is it that this same 10% is happy to travel to Paris, London and Amsterdam to enjoy the shared public spaces formed by streets, squares and side walks. They are so pleasantly surprised to see cars stop at pedestrian crossings (even if there is no stoplight), yet when they are back home they immediately revert to their traditional behavior. It appears that what is needed is a political movement to reclaim the cities for people, rather than cars. Yet, the way that local government politics operate in most of Asia it seems that there is little appetite to make transport planning an election issue. Where are the Asian Penalosa's and Lerners? I wonder whether the Indian initiative described yesterday in this Listserv on involving the courts through a public interest case to ban vehicles from city centers, or the case of the Philippines where an environmental lawyer is invoking the Local Government Code to have a more fair distribution of road space (http://roadrevolution.ph/2011/06/statement-of-attorney-oposa/) can help to tip the balance in favor of a more balanced approach in transport planning. Is this the way forward and should we aim to launch a series of coordinated civil suits in Asian countries where we demand that the interests of the majority dominate decisions on the way in which Asian cities are developed and functioning? One of the reasons, I think, that the European experiment to give more space to cars in the cities in the '60s and the '70s did not continue was the strength of civil society. The Cyclists Union in the Netherlands ( http://www.fietsersbond.nl/english-info) has 130 branches and 35,000 members and is a force to be reckoned with at the national level as well as at local level. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb0QjASuuqI&feature=player_embedded for a great video how 5 million people in Holland make an estimated 14 million bicycle trips daily). I would be interested to hear from others how we can best overcome the class divide in transport planning in Asian cities. best regards, Cornie On Sun, Sep 25, 2011 at 2:46 AM, Vinay Baindur wrote: > > http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_bangalore-is-a-city-that-cares-for-cars-and-not-you_1590963 > > > > > Bangalore is a city that cares for cars, and not you > DNA / Merlin Francis / Saturday, September 24, 2011 11:17 IST > > There is nothing new about the poor condition of footpaths in Bangalore, > but > what stirs the mind is the silence of the pedestrian who is exposed to all > kinds of dangers, thanks to the bad pavements or the lack of it. *DNA > *takes > a look at why a Bangalorean remains a silent observer. > > Most people in the city are oblivious to the fact that by its very > definition, a road is incomplete without a proper footpath and that the > pedestrian is an important stakeholder in the footpaths and also has the > sole right to use them. The municipal corporation has failed to disseminate > information that a common man could use to voice his concerns. > > Kathyayani Chamraj of CIVIC says, ?Pedestrians are mostly people who cannot > afford cars and have no voice when compared with the urban elite. Like a > class of urban poor, which is voiceless and not organised enough to express > its concerns, the pedestrians have not been able to shake or move the civic > bodies to improve the conditions of the footpaths in the city.? > > Hasiru Usiru is one of the few groups actively organising programmes > expressing concerns and dangers that the pedestrians are exposed to. > Sridhar > Raman, who has been conducting a programme ?Come Cross the Roads? to > inculcate the righteousness of the pedestrian, says, ?The biggest reason > pedestrians aren?t voicing their anger is their failure to understand their > rights. The public, be it pedestrians or motorists, assumes that all road > infrastructure is meant first for vehicles. Pedestrians are assumed to come > much lower in the pecking order,? said Sridhar Raman. > > He continues, ?We see pedestrians scared to step down on to the road and > cross at a zebra-crossing, even though the right of way is with the > pedestrian. We see pedestrians giving way to motorists riding even on > footpaths; a vehicle has no right to be on the pavement. This lack of > awareness is the biggest reason behind the pedestrians not getting the > attention they deserve.? > > If the public is made aware that the road and the footpaths belong to the > pedestrian first and foremost, more pedestrian voices will rise, added > Raman. > > ?City municipal corporation should have made ward committees for ordinary > pedestrians. Right now, it is not clear as to who should one complain to > about the ill-maintained footpaths?the ward officer, the corporator or the > engineer?? says Vinay Sridhar from Hasiru Usiru, an environmental group. > > J Sreenivasan of Koramangala Matters echoed similar sentiments. ?Who should > a pedestrian complain to? The BBMP? Forget it, it?s a waste of time. All > the > pedestrian can do is to vent his anger and frustration and go back to > fending himself,? he says. > > He also pointed out that Bescom?s structures are the next biggest hurdle on > Bangalore roads, with low-lying transformers and electric poles erected > bang > in the middle of what may pass as a footpath. ?There are helplines where no > one answers the call,? Sreenivasan says. > > In defence to the flak concrete pavements draw, the BBMP?s engineering > chief, BT Ramesh, says, ?We had laid the pavements with the interlocking > slab system about eight years ago. But after receiving complaints from > people, we started laying concrete pedestrian walkways.? > > Meenakshi Bharat, a citizen activist from Malleswaram, says, whatever is > left of pavements, is being taken away by civic officials. ?Huge areas are > being dug around the tree to ?water? them.? > > A bigger nuisance is people turning every foot path into ?pee land?. The > stench is so unbearable that people prefer walking on the road. > > Manvel Alur, of the RWA in Koramangala says, ?Where are pedestrian > crossings > or pavements ever planned in the larger scheme of things? Koramangala, > Vasanthnagar, Adugodi, Vivek Nagar, Commercial Street are some areas where > there is hardly any footpath.? > > ?Motorists are given importance in our country and pedestrians are > forgotten, in spite of walking being a healthier, more energy and > environment-friendly option. The RWAs should work towards this in a big > way,? she adds. > *URL of the article:* > > http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_bangalore-is-a-city-that-cares-for-cars-and-not-you_1590963-all > -------------------------------------------------------- > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > (the 'Global South'). > -- Cornie Huizenga Joint Convener Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport Mobile: +86 13901949332 cornie.huizenga@slocatpartnership.org www.slocat.net From kanthikannan at gmail.com Sun Sep 25 13:45:07 2011 From: kanthikannan at gmail.com (Kanthi Kannan) Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2011 10:15:07 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Bangalore shows the way!! Parking Fees to be Levied In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <4e7eb1e2.907fe70a.04fc.4369@mx.google.com> http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/pay-for-parking-outside-your-home/2117 69&cp Dear all Got the link just now from facebook Great Stuff!! Way to Go!! Kanthi -----Original Message----- From: sustran-discuss-bounces+kanthikannan=gmail.com@list.jca.apc.org [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+kanthikannan=gmail.com@list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf Of Cornie Huizenga Sent: 25 September 2011 09:36 To: Vinay Baindur Cc: Hu Gov; Hasire Usiru; Global 'South' Sustainable Transport Subject: [sustran] Re: Bangalore is a city that cares for cars, and not you Dear Vinay and others, I was struck by the sentence: *"Pedestrians are mostly people who cannot afford cars* and have no voice when compared with the urban elite. Like a class of urban poor, which is voiceless and not organised enough to express its concerns, the pedestrians have not been able to shake or move the civic bodies to improve the conditions of the footpaths in the city." Being Dutch I grew up in a country where rich and poor are pedestrians in cities. Over the last 30 years I have lived about 20 years in Asia. Out of these 20 years I had a car for 5 years from 1986-1991 in Pakistan. After that I have managed without. Admittedly I do rely a lot on taxi's but I do think that I do walk a lot (and cycle). Walking in Shanghai where I live now is a lot easier than in Manila where I lived for 11 years. Unlike the poor mentioned in the article, I do feel that I have rights and I generally am not shy to claim those on pedestrian crossings etc. I am still struck by what was said a couple of years ago by the Minister of Urban Development in India who said that Transport Planning in India had been guided by class interest and that 90% of the road space was given to 10% of the users. This was at a conference on technology choice for public transport in India (rail or BRT). The fascinating thing was that 90% of the participants in the meeting came to the Meridien hotel by private vehicles. Can people whose mind set is dominated by private vehicles really plan for those of us who prefer to travel on foot, by bicycle or by public transport? Compare this to large parts of Europe where a majority of transport users, planners and decision makers share the view that cities are nicer and more pleasant if cars play a secondary role compared to walking, cycling and public transport. This is very much a historical tradition. We should not forget that even in Europe we went through a phase in the '60s - 70s where NMT was in danger and where we saw a willingness to give over the cities to cars. Somehow, however, there was a realization (including by planners and decision makers) that this affected their own quality of life. Ultimately, the future of transport in Asian cities will depend on whether it is possible to bring the 10% who owns the cars on board of the sustainable transport agenda. Why is it that this same 10% is happy to travel to Paris, London and Amsterdam to enjoy the shared public spaces formed by streets, squares and side walks. They are so pleasantly surprised to see cars stop at pedestrian crossings (even if there is no stoplight), yet when they are back home they immediately revert to their traditional behavior. It appears that what is needed is a political movement to reclaim the cities for people, rather than cars. Yet, the way that local government politics operate in most of Asia it seems that there is little appetite to make transport planning an election issue. Where are the Asian Penalosa's and Lerners? I wonder whether the Indian initiative described yesterday in this Listserv on involving the courts through a public interest case to ban vehicles from city centers, or the case of the Philippines where an environmental lawyer is invoking the Local Government Code to have a more fair distribution of road space (http://roadrevolution.ph/2011/06/statement-of-attorney-oposa/) can help to tip the balance in favor of a more balanced approach in transport planning. Is this the way forward and should we aim to launch a series of coordinated civil suits in Asian countries where we demand that the interests of the majority dominate decisions on the way in which Asian cities are developed and functioning? One of the reasons, I think, that the European experiment to give more space to cars in the cities in the '60s and the '70s did not continue was the strength of civil society. The Cyclists Union in the Netherlands ( http://www.fietsersbond.nl/english-info) has 130 branches and 35,000 members and is a force to be reckoned with at the national level as well as at local level. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb0QjASuuqI&feature=player_embedded for a great video how 5 million people in Holland make an estimated 14 million bicycle trips daily). I would be interested to hear from others how we can best overcome the class divide in transport planning in Asian cities. best regards, Cornie On Sun, Sep 25, 2011 at 2:46 AM, Vinay Baindur wrote: > > http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_bangalore-is-a-city-that-cares-for- cars-and-not-you_1590963 > > > > > Bangalore is a city that cares for cars, and not you > DNA / Merlin Francis / Saturday, September 24, 2011 11:17 IST > > There is nothing new about the poor condition of footpaths in Bangalore, > but > what stirs the mind is the silence of the pedestrian who is exposed to all > kinds of dangers, thanks to the bad pavements or the lack of it. *DNA > *takes > a look at why a Bangalorean remains a silent observer. > > Most people in the city are oblivious to the fact that by its very > definition, a road is incomplete without a proper footpath and that the > pedestrian is an important stakeholder in the footpaths and also has the > sole right to use them. The municipal corporation has failed to disseminate > information that a common man could use to voice his concerns. > > Kathyayani Chamraj of CIVIC says, "Pedestrians are mostly people who cannot > afford cars and have no voice when compared with the urban elite. Like a > class of urban poor, which is voiceless and not organised enough to express > its concerns, the pedestrians have not been able to shake or move the civic > bodies to improve the conditions of the footpaths in the city." > > Hasiru Usiru is one of the few groups actively organising programmes > expressing concerns and dangers that the pedestrians are exposed to. > Sridhar > Raman, who has been conducting a programme 'Come Cross the Roads' to > inculcate the righteousness of the pedestrian, says, "The biggest reason > pedestrians aren't voicing their anger is their failure to understand their > rights. The public, be it pedestrians or motorists, assumes that all road > infrastructure is meant first for vehicles. Pedestrians are assumed to come > much lower in the pecking order," said Sridhar Raman. > > He continues, "We see pedestrians scared to step down on to the road and > cross at a zebra-crossing, even though the right of way is with the > pedestrian. We see pedestrians giving way to motorists riding even on > footpaths; a vehicle has no right to be on the pavement. This lack of > awareness is the biggest reason behind the pedestrians not getting the > attention they deserve." > > If the public is made aware that the road and the footpaths belong to the > pedestrian first and foremost, more pedestrian voices will rise, added > Raman. > > "City municipal corporation should have made ward committees for ordinary > pedestrians. Right now, it is not clear as to who should one complain to > about the ill-maintained footpaths-the ward officer, the corporator or the > engineer?" says Vinay Sridhar from Hasiru Usiru, an environmental group. > > J Sreenivasan of Koramangala Matters echoed similar sentiments. "Who should > a pedestrian complain to? The BBMP? Forget it, it's a waste of time. All > the > pedestrian can do is to vent his anger and frustration and go back to > fending himself," he says. > > He also pointed out that Bescom's structures are the next biggest hurdle on > Bangalore roads, with low-lying transformers and electric poles erected > bang > in the middle of what may pass as a footpath. "There are helplines where no > one answers the call," Sreenivasan says. > > In defence to the flak concrete pavements draw, the BBMP's engineering > chief, BT Ramesh, says, "We had laid the pavements with the interlocking > slab system about eight years ago. But after receiving complaints from > people, we started laying concrete pedestrian walkways." > > Meenakshi Bharat, a citizen activist from Malleswaram, says, whatever is > left of pavements, is being taken away by civic officials. "Huge areas are > being dug around the tree to 'water' them." > > A bigger nuisance is people turning every foot path into 'pee land'. The > stench is so unbearable that people prefer walking on the road. > > Manvel Alur, of the RWA in Koramangala says, "Where are pedestrian > crossings > or pavements ever planned in the larger scheme of things? Koramangala, > Vasanthnagar, Adugodi, Vivek Nagar, Commercial Street are some areas where > there is hardly any footpath." > > "Motorists are given importance in our country and pedestrians are > forgotten, in spite of walking being a healthier, more energy and > environment-friendly option. The RWAs should work towards this in a big > way," she adds. > *URL of the article:* > > http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_bangalore-is-a-city-that-cares-for- cars-and-not-you_1590963-all > -------------------------------------------------------- > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > (the 'Global South'). > -- Cornie Huizenga Joint Convener Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport Mobile: +86 13901949332 cornie.huizenga@slocatpartnership.org www.slocat.net -------------------------------------------------------- To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss ================================================================ 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 sudhir at cai-asia.org Sun Sep 25 13:49:35 2011 From: sudhir at cai-asia.org (Sudhir) Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2011 12:49:35 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Re: Bangalore shows the way!! Parking Fees to be Levied In-Reply-To: <4e7eb1e2.907fe70a.04fc.4369@mx.google.com> References: <4e7eb1e2.907fe70a.04fc.4369@mx.google.com> Message-ID: Hi kanthi, Its a very bad move. Its only 50 Rs for one month ( 1$/month) and it makes the encroachment official in public roads. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/192168/tax-likely-parking-cars-along.html regards Sudhir --- *Sudhir Gota,** Technical Manager (Transportation)* *Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities Center (CAI-Asia)** * *Unit 3505 Robinsons Equitable Tower, ADB Avenue, Pasig City 1605 PHILIPPINES * *Tel +63 2 395 2843 l Fax +63 2 395 2846 l sudhir@cai-asia.org l Skype: sudhirgota* *www.cleanairinitiative.org l www.facebook.com/cai.asia* * * On 25 September 2011 12:45, Kanthi Kannan wrote: > > http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/pay-for-parking-outside-your-home/2117 > 69&cp > > Dear all > > Got the link just now from facebook > > Great Stuff!! Way to Go!! > > Kanthi > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: sustran-discuss-bounces+kanthikannan=gmail.com@list.jca.apc.org > [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+kanthikannan=gmail.com@list.jca.apc.org] > On > Behalf Of Cornie Huizenga > Sent: 25 September 2011 09:36 > To: Vinay Baindur > Cc: Hu Gov; Hasire Usiru; Global 'South' Sustainable Transport > Subject: [sustran] Re: Bangalore is a city that cares for cars, and not you > > Dear Vinay and others, > > I was struck by the sentence: *"Pedestrians are mostly people who cannot > afford cars* and have no voice when compared with the urban elite. Like a > class of urban poor, which is voiceless and not organised enough to express > its concerns, the pedestrians have not been able to shake or move the civic > bodies to improve the conditions of the footpaths in the city." > > Being Dutch I grew up in a country where rich and poor are pedestrians in > cities. Over the last 30 years I have lived about 20 years in Asia. Out of > these 20 years I had a car for 5 years from 1986-1991 in Pakistan. After > that I have managed without. Admittedly I do rely a lot on taxi's but I do > think that I do walk a lot (and cycle). Walking in Shanghai where I live > now is a lot easier than in Manila where I lived for 11 years. > > Unlike the poor mentioned in the article, I do feel that I have rights and > I > generally am not shy to claim those on pedestrian crossings etc. I am > still > struck by what was said a couple of years ago by the Minister of Urban > Development in India who said that Transport Planning in India had been > guided by class interest and that 90% of the road space was given to 10% of > the users. This was at a conference on technology choice for public > transport in India (rail or BRT). The fascinating thing was that 90% of the > participants in the meeting came to the Meridien hotel by private vehicles. > Can people whose mind set is dominated by private vehicles really plan for > those of us who prefer to travel on foot, by bicycle or by public > transport? > > Compare this to large parts of Europe where a majority of transport users, > planners and decision makers share the view that cities are nicer and more > pleasant if cars play a secondary role compared to walking, cycling and > public transport. This is very much a historical tradition. We should not > forget that even in Europe we went through a phase in the '60s - 70s where > NMT was in danger and where we saw a willingness to give over the cities to > cars. Somehow, however, there was a realization (including by planners and > decision makers) that this affected their own quality of life. > > Ultimately, the future of transport in Asian cities will depend on whether > it is possible to bring the 10% who owns the cars on board of the > sustainable transport agenda. Why is it that this same 10% is happy to > travel to Paris, London and Amsterdam to enjoy the shared public spaces > formed by streets, squares and side walks. They are so pleasantly > surprised > to see cars stop at pedestrian crossings (even if there is no stoplight), > yet when they are back home they immediately revert to their traditional > behavior. > > It appears that what is needed is a political movement to reclaim the > cities > for people, rather than cars. Yet, the way that local government politics > operate in most of Asia it seems that there is little appetite to make > transport planning an election issue. Where are the Asian Penalosa's and > Lerners? > > I wonder whether the Indian initiative described yesterday in this Listserv > on involving the courts through a public interest case to ban vehicles from > city centers, or the case of the Philippines where an environmental lawyer > is invoking the Local Government Code to have a more fair distribution of > road space (http://roadrevolution.ph/2011/06/statement-of-attorney-oposa/) > can help to tip the balance in favor of a more balanced approach in > transport planning. Is this the way forward and should we aim to launch a > series of coordinated civil suits in Asian countries where we demand that > the interests of the majority dominate decisions on the way in which Asian > cities are developed and functioning? > > One of the reasons, I think, that the European experiment to give more > space > to cars in the cities in the '60s and the '70s did not continue was the > strength of civil society. The Cyclists Union in the Netherlands ( > http://www.fietsersbond.nl/english-info) has 130 branches and 35,000 > members > and is a force to be reckoned with at the national level as well as at > local > level. See > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb0QjASuuqI&feature=player_embedded for a > great video how 5 million people in Holland make an estimated 14 million > bicycle trips daily). > > I would be interested to hear from others how we can best overcome the > class > divide in transport planning in Asian cities. > > best regards, > Cornie > > On Sun, Sep 25, 2011 at 2:46 AM, Vinay Baindur wrote: > > > > > > > http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_bangalore-is-a-city-that-cares-for- > cars-and-not-you_1590963 > > > > > > > > > > Bangalore is a city that cares for cars, and not you > > DNA / Merlin Francis / Saturday, September 24, 2011 11:17 IST > > > > There is nothing new about the poor condition of footpaths in Bangalore, > > but > > what stirs the mind is the silence of the pedestrian who is exposed to > all > > kinds of dangers, thanks to the bad pavements or the lack of it. *DNA > > *takes > > a look at why a Bangalorean remains a silent observer. > > > > Most people in the city are oblivious to the fact that by its very > > definition, a road is incomplete without a proper footpath and that the > > pedestrian is an important stakeholder in the footpaths and also has the > > sole right to use them. The municipal corporation has failed to > disseminate > > information that a common man could use to voice his concerns. > > > > Kathyayani Chamraj of CIVIC says, "Pedestrians are mostly people who > cannot > > afford cars and have no voice when compared with the urban elite. Like a > > class of urban poor, which is voiceless and not organised enough to > express > > its concerns, the pedestrians have not been able to shake or move the > civic > > bodies to improve the conditions of the footpaths in the city." > > > > Hasiru Usiru is one of the few groups actively organising programmes > > expressing concerns and dangers that the pedestrians are exposed to. > > Sridhar > > Raman, who has been conducting a programme 'Come Cross the Roads' to > > inculcate the righteousness of the pedestrian, says, "The biggest reason > > pedestrians aren't voicing their anger is their failure to understand > their > > rights. The public, be it pedestrians or motorists, assumes that all road > > infrastructure is meant first for vehicles. Pedestrians are assumed to > come > > much lower in the pecking order," said Sridhar Raman. > > > > He continues, "We see pedestrians scared to step down on to the road and > > cross at a zebra-crossing, even though the right of way is with the > > pedestrian. We see pedestrians giving way to motorists riding even on > > footpaths; a vehicle has no right to be on the pavement. This lack of > > awareness is the biggest reason behind the pedestrians not getting the > > attention they deserve." > > > > If the public is made aware that the road and the footpaths belong to the > > pedestrian first and foremost, more pedestrian voices will rise, added > > Raman. > > > > "City municipal corporation should have made ward committees for ordinary > > pedestrians. Right now, it is not clear as to who should one complain to > > about the ill-maintained footpaths-the ward officer, the corporator or > the > > engineer?" says Vinay Sridhar from Hasiru Usiru, an environmental group. > > > > J Sreenivasan of Koramangala Matters echoed similar sentiments. "Who > should > > a pedestrian complain to? The BBMP? Forget it, it's a waste of time. All > > the > > pedestrian can do is to vent his anger and frustration and go back to > > fending himself," he says. > > > > He also pointed out that Bescom's structures are the next biggest hurdle > on > > Bangalore roads, with low-lying transformers and electric poles erected > > bang > > in the middle of what may pass as a footpath. "There are helplines where > no > > one answers the call," Sreenivasan says. > > > > In defence to the flak concrete pavements draw, the BBMP's engineering > > chief, BT Ramesh, says, "We had laid the pavements with the interlocking > > slab system about eight years ago. But after receiving complaints from > > people, we started laying concrete pedestrian walkways." > > > > Meenakshi Bharat, a citizen activist from Malleswaram, says, whatever is > > left of pavements, is being taken away by civic officials. "Huge areas > are > > being dug around the tree to 'water' them." > > > > A bigger nuisance is people turning every foot path into 'pee land'. The > > stench is so unbearable that people prefer walking on the road. > > > > Manvel Alur, of the RWA in Koramangala says, "Where are pedestrian > > crossings > > or pavements ever planned in the larger scheme of things? Koramangala, > > Vasanthnagar, Adugodi, Vivek Nagar, Commercial Street are some areas > where > > there is hardly any footpath." > > > > "Motorists are given importance in our country and pedestrians are > > forgotten, in spite of walking being a healthier, more energy and > > environment-friendly option. The RWAs should work towards this in a big > > way," she adds. > > *URL of the article:* > > > > > > http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_bangalore-is-a-city-that-cares-for- > cars-and-not-you_1590963-all > > -------------------------------------------------------- > > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > > > ================================================================ > > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > > (the 'Global South'). > > > > > > -- > Cornie Huizenga > Joint Convener > Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport > Mobile: +86 13901949332 > cornie.huizenga@slocatpartnership.org > www.slocat.net > -------------------------------------------------------- > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > (the 'Global South'). > > -------------------------------------------------------- > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > ================================================================ > 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 kanthikannan at gmail.com Sun Sep 25 13:53:13 2011 From: kanthikannan at gmail.com (Kanthi Kannan) Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2011 10:23:13 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: Bangalore shows the way!! Parking Fees to be Levied In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <4e7eb3c8.c2c5e70a.3741.2390@mx.google.com> Dear Sudhir Thanks. We really need to be on our guard all the time because at every stage the government tries to get a way out of the problem. But we need to now look at what needs to be done to ensure that on street parking is not acceptable Thanks Kanthi _____ From: Sudhir [mailto:sudhir@cai-asia.org] Sent: 25 September 2011 10:20 To: Kanthi Kannan Cc: Cornie Huizenga; Vinay Baindur; Hu Gov; Hasire Usiru; Global 'South' Sustainable Transport Subject: Re: [sustran] Re: Bangalore shows the way!! Parking Fees to be Levied Hi kanthi, Its a very bad move. Its only 50 Rs for one month ( 1$/month) and it makes the encroachment official in public roads. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/192168/tax-likely-parking-cars-along.htm l regards Sudhir --- Sudhir Gota, Technical Manager (Transportation) Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities Center (CAI-Asia) Unit 3505 Robinsons Equitable Tower, ADB Avenue, Pasig City 1605 PHILIPPINES Tel +63 2 395 2843 l Fax +63 2 395 2846 l sudhir@cai-asia.org l Skype: sudhirgota www.cleanairinitiative.org l www.facebook.com/cai.asia On 25 September 2011 12:45, Kanthi Kannan wrote: http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/pay-for-parking-outside-your-home/2117 69&cp Dear all Got the link just now from facebook Great Stuff!! Way to Go!! Kanthi -----Original Message----- From: sustran-discuss-bounces+kanthikannan=gmail.com@list.jca.apc.org [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+kanthikannan =gmail.com@list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf Of Cornie Huizenga Sent: 25 September 2011 09:36 To: Vinay Baindur Cc: Hu Gov; Hasire Usiru; Global 'South' Sustainable Transport Subject: [sustran] Re: Bangalore is a city that cares for cars, and not you Dear Vinay and others, I was struck by the sentence: *"Pedestrians are mostly people who cannot afford cars* and have no voice when compared with the urban elite. Like a class of urban poor, which is voiceless and not organised enough to express its concerns, the pedestrians have not been able to shake or move the civic bodies to improve the conditions of the footpaths in the city." Being Dutch I grew up in a country where rich and poor are pedestrians in cities. Over the last 30 years I have lived about 20 years in Asia. Out of these 20 years I had a car for 5 years from 1986-1991 in Pakistan. After that I have managed without. Admittedly I do rely a lot on taxi's but I do think that I do walk a lot (and cycle). Walking in Shanghai where I live now is a lot easier than in Manila where I lived for 11 years. Unlike the poor mentioned in the article, I do feel that I have rights and I generally am not shy to claim those on pedestrian crossings etc. I am still struck by what was said a couple of years ago by the Minister of Urban Development in India who said that Transport Planning in India had been guided by class interest and that 90% of the road space was given to 10% of the users. This was at a conference on technology choice for public transport in India (rail or BRT). The fascinating thing was that 90% of the participants in the meeting came to the Meridien hotel by private vehicles. Can people whose mind set is dominated by private vehicles really plan for those of us who prefer to travel on foot, by bicycle or by public transport? Compare this to large parts of Europe where a majority of transport users, planners and decision makers share the view that cities are nicer and more pleasant if cars play a secondary role compared to walking, cycling and public transport. This is very much a historical tradition. We should not forget that even in Europe we went through a phase in the '60s - 70s where NMT was in danger and where we saw a willingness to give over the cities to cars. Somehow, however, there was a realization (including by planners and decision makers) that this affected their own quality of life. Ultimately, the future of transport in Asian cities will depend on whether it is possible to bring the 10% who owns the cars on board of the sustainable transport agenda. Why is it that this same 10% is happy to travel to Paris, London and Amsterdam to enjoy the shared public spaces formed by streets, squares and side walks. They are so pleasantly surprised to see cars stop at pedestrian crossings (even if there is no stoplight), yet when they are back home they immediately revert to their traditional behavior. It appears that what is needed is a political movement to reclaim the cities for people, rather than cars. Yet, the way that local government politics operate in most of Asia it seems that there is little appetite to make transport planning an election issue. Where are the Asian Penalosa's and Lerners? I wonder whether the Indian initiative described yesterday in this Listserv on involving the courts through a public interest case to ban vehicles from city centers, or the case of the Philippines where an environmental lawyer is invoking the Local Government Code to have a more fair distribution of road space (http://roadrevolution.ph/2011/06/statement-of-attorney-oposa/) can help to tip the balance in favor of a more balanced approach in transport planning. Is this the way forward and should we aim to launch a series of coordinated civil suits in Asian countries where we demand that the interests of the majority dominate decisions on the way in which Asian cities are developed and functioning? One of the reasons, I think, that the European experiment to give more space to cars in the cities in the '60s and the '70s did not continue was the strength of civil society. The Cyclists Union in the Netherlands ( http://www.fietsersbond.nl/english-info) has 130 branches and 35,000 members and is a force to be reckoned with at the national level as well as at local level. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb0QjASuuqI &feature=player_embedded for a great video how 5 million people in Holland make an estimated 14 million bicycle trips daily). I would be interested to hear from others how we can best overcome the class divide in transport planning in Asian cities. best regards, Cornie On Sun, Sep 25, 2011 at 2:46 AM, Vinay Baindur wrote: > > http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_bangalore-is-a-city-that-cares-for- cars-and-not-you_1590963 > > > > > Bangalore is a city that cares for cars, and not you > DNA / Merlin Francis / Saturday, September 24, 2011 11:17 IST > > There is nothing new about the poor condition of footpaths in Bangalore, > but > what stirs the mind is the silence of the pedestrian who is exposed to all > kinds of dangers, thanks to the bad pavements or the lack of it. *DNA > *takes > a look at why a Bangalorean remains a silent observer. > > Most people in the city are oblivious to the fact that by its very > definition, a road is incomplete without a proper footpath and that the > pedestrian is an important stakeholder in the footpaths and also has the > sole right to use them. The municipal corporation has failed to disseminate > information that a common man could use to voice his concerns. > > Kathyayani Chamraj of CIVIC says, "Pedestrians are mostly people who cannot > afford cars and have no voice when compared with the urban elite. Like a > class of urban poor, which is voiceless and not organised enough to express > its concerns, the pedestrians have not been able to shake or move the civic > bodies to improve the conditions of the footpaths in the city." > > Hasiru Usiru is one of the few groups actively organising programmes > expressing concerns and dangers that the pedestrians are exposed to. > Sridhar > Raman, who has been conducting a programme 'Come Cross the Roads' to > inculcate the righteousness of the pedestrian, says, "The biggest reason > pedestrians aren't voicing their anger is their failure to understand their > rights. The public, be it pedestrians or motorists, assumes that all road > infrastructure is meant first for vehicles. Pedestrians are assumed to come > much lower in the pecking order," said Sridhar Raman. > > He continues, "We see pedestrians scared to step down on to the road and > cross at a zebra-crossing, even though the right of way is with the > pedestrian. We see pedestrians giving way to motorists riding even on > footpaths; a vehicle has no right to be on the pavement. This lack of > awareness is the biggest reason behind the pedestrians not getting the > attention they deserve." > > If the public is made aware that the road and the footpaths belong to the > pedestrian first and foremost, more pedestrian voices will rise, added > Raman. > > "City municipal corporation should have made ward committees for ordinary > pedestrians. Right now, it is not clear as to who should one complain to > about the ill-maintained footpaths-the ward officer, the corporator or the > engineer?" says Vinay Sridhar from Hasiru Usiru, an environmental group. > > J Sreenivasan of Koramangala Matters echoed similar sentiments. "Who should > a pedestrian complain to? The BBMP? Forget it, it's a waste of time. All > the > pedestrian can do is to vent his anger and frustration and go back to > fending himself," he says. > > He also pointed out that Bescom's structures are the next biggest hurdle on > Bangalore roads, with low-lying transformers and electric poles erected > bang > in the middle of what may pass as a footpath. "There are helplines where no > one answers the call," Sreenivasan says. > > In defence to the flak concrete pavements draw, the BBMP's engineering > chief, BT Ramesh, says, "We had laid the pavements with the interlocking > slab system about eight years ago. But after receiving complaints from > people, we started laying concrete pedestrian walkways." > > Meenakshi Bharat, a citizen activist from Malleswaram, says, whatever is > left of pavements, is being taken away by civic officials. "Huge areas are > being dug around the tree to 'water' them." > > A bigger nuisance is people turning every foot path into 'pee land'. The > stench is so unbearable that people prefer walking on the road. > > Manvel Alur, of the RWA in Koramangala says, "Where are pedestrian > crossings > or pavements ever planned in the larger scheme of things? Koramangala, > Vasanthnagar, Adugodi, Vivek Nagar, Commercial Street are some areas where > there is hardly any footpath." > > "Motorists are given importance in our country and pedestrians are > forgotten, in spite of walking being a healthier, more energy and > environment-friendly option. The RWAs should work towards this in a big > way," she adds. > *URL of the article:* > > http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_bangalore-is-a-city-that-cares-for- cars-and-not-you_1590963-all > -------------------------------------------------------- > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > (the 'Global South'). > -- Cornie Huizenga Joint Convener Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport Mobile: +86 13901949332 cornie.huizenga@slocatpartnership.org www.slocat.net -------------------------------------------------------- To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss ================================================================ SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). -------------------------------------------------------- To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss ================================================================ 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 litman at vtpi.org Sun Sep 25 22:47:14 2011 From: litman at vtpi.org (Todd Alexander Litman) Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2011 06:47:14 -0700 Subject: [sustran] Re: Fuel prices and inflation In-Reply-To: <99BF4855-911A-40C0-AFA2-C0E1B53C195E@gmail.com> References: <1316831768.89842.YahooMailNeo@web137313.mail.in.yahoo.com> <99BF4855-911A-40C0-AFA2-C0E1B53C195E@gmail.com> Message-ID: <00bc01cc7b89$a1db94c0$e592be40$@org> For a review of information on the elasticity of vehicle fuel consumption and travel with regard to fuel prices see: Todd Litman (2010), "Transportation Elasticities: How Prices and Other Factors Affect Travel Behavior," Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org); at www.vtpi.org/elasticities.pdf. This analysis indicates that fuel prices do tend to have a significant impact on vehicle travel and fuel consumption, although it takes several years for the impacts to reach their full impacts, so short term price fluctuations have relatively small effects. Some studies indicate that these price elasticities declined significantly in North America during the last third of the Twentieth Century (between about 1960 and 2000) but more recent research indicates that transport elasticities are now returning to more typical levels. See: Todd Litman (2010), "Changing Vehicle Travel Price Sensitivities: The Rebounding Rebound Effect," VTPI (www.vtpi.org); at www.vtpi.org/VMT_Elasticities.pdf. For international comparisons of fuel prices see: International Fuel Prices (www.internationalfuelprices.com) is a website with information on international fuel price reports from GTZ (a German international development agency) and other sources. Their lead researcher Gerhard Metschies has produced a series of reports that examine international fuel prices and subsidies. If you are interested in these issues you can ask to receive their email notices. For analysis of economic subsidies, such as underpriced fuel, see: Subsidy Watch (www.globalsubsidies.org/subsidy-watch) a project by the International Institute for Sustainable Development's Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI) designed to put the spotlight on subsidies and the corrosive effects they can have on environmental quality, economic development and governance. Sincerely, Todd Litman Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org) litman@vtpi.org facebook.com/todd.litman Phone & Fax 250-360-1560 1250 Rudlin Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, CANADA "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" -----Original Message----- From: sustran-discuss-bounces+litman=vtpi.org@list.jca.apc.org [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+litman=vtpi.org@list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf Of Pardo Sent: September-24-11 2:48 AM To: Aashish Gupta Cc: sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org Subject: [sustran] Re: Fuel prices and inflation Please see the section on fuel prices of www.sutp.org . One of the most recent publications there discusses that point. There is also the fuel price survey which has prices from 100+ countries which shows a better reality on how cheap or expensive fuel is. The middle class argument is not well founded, deeper research shows that higher fuel prices are better even for low-income groups. If Lee Schipper were with us, he would have given us such a thorough answer... Pardo Typed on keyboard projected onto a glass surface. Please excuse typos. On 24/09/2011, at 4:43, Aashish Gupta wrote: > Dear all > > Hello. I have been thinking about this for sometime, and thought I should > intervene. I do have a few questions, though. What is the evidence on the > price elasticity of demand for petrol and diesel consumption in private > vehicles? I think this is an extremely important question. Of course Ashok > (and I too, along with many others) thinks that raising diesel prices will > lower demand for private travel, even shift middle class households (or > others, who might be using two wheelers) to public transport, and while this > is an extremely plausible hypothesis, I do want to see the results on this. > One could imagine several counters-points to this, for instance by arguing > that actually, travel demand is inelastic to small price changes, since > these dont affect the middle class that much; even if they do, they cant > help it much because they have already brought a car or a motorcycle and > making changes would require other lifestyle changes, that they are > "locked-in" to using a car or a motorcycle, etc. Any pointers? If there > arent enough good studies of this, then this is an excellent topic for > research, since fuel price hikes are common in india. :) > > The other thing, of course, is the impact o inflation on food and other > prices (of fuel price hikes). I have tried looking around that in the past, but > there are several senses of the data. In the past, various economists > associated with the government of India have claimed (at different points of > time) between .4%and > 1%(or > this) > percentage points in the inflation rate because of such hikes. Of course, I > dont think we should believe the economist's words on these, especially > because some of them have made really bad statements in the past about > inflation. > > I think members of this community would be extremely interested in this > report , specially table P1 > (section 4.2). Just for background, this report provided the basis for the > change in the policy to allow for "freeing of prices". I also quote from the > report, > > Even assuming that the truckers, power generators, industrial users > etc.(other than the passenger car owners) are able to pass on fully the > additional cost of diesel, an increase of Rs. 4 > per litre would mean an increase of around Rs. 20,000 crore in their cost of > diesel which would be around 0.4 % of GDP in 2008-09. This should be > compared with the inflationary impact of subsidies, which would be similar. > > Overall, of course, this isn't enough evidence on the impact of inflation, > and if someone can do this analysis or point out independent evidence of the > same, that would be just great. I wish I had the econometric prowess to do > it, but I am just learning, and cant. On the other hand, I do know that its > not a very difficult analysis. One just has to regress past inflation rates > on changes in petrol prices and some other variables, to find out the > impact. Again, excellent research topic. > > Having said inconclusive things about the most important things in this > debate, I would like to come to other things mentioned. Karthik, bang on > target that targetting has failed (horrendously) in India. For instance, > around 2005, several studies (IHDS, NFHS, NSS) point out that half the > people in the bottom quintile did not have BPL (below poverty line) cards. > > Ashok, that food should not be unduly cheap and that higher prices benefit > farmers is a very important debate, again, globally. For instance, one finds > echoes in this debate on food prices between > oxfamand > others. > It is also true that if prices of food or agricultural commodities rise > because of increase in prices of diesel, farmers dont benefit. You are right > on prices reflecting true costs, which would include the cost of > environmental externalities for diesel or petrol. However, it is because of > this notion of true cost that i support subsidies in modern cooking fuels > for the poor - remember, that there are positive externalities for women in > households from smokeless chulhas, lpg, methane or kerosene. Karthik, the > use of bio-fuels, however, is another blind-spot, mainly because until very > recently it was thought that the use of these (things such as wood or > cow-dung) by the poor is carbon nuetral - the poor are only using carbon > sequestered recently, and this carbon can be again sequestered by growth in > vegetation. Of course, to check whether this is true, one has to compare the > rate of consumption with the rate of regeneration. I do agree about your > analysis of cooking subsidies. > > Before I leave, I would also like to mention that diesel has become an > important input for farmers as well, especially in areas which dont have > reliable or any power supply. As is clear, farmers use diesel pumps for > irrigation. Of course, whether thats enough justification for fuel > subsidies, is another point. > > What I personally find abominable is the response of the left-parties in > India (but also of others, including the main opposition) on fuel prices - > things such as food prices are much more relevant to the poor, and the > solutions for them (such as an expanded PDS) are much nearer in sight than > this petrol price debate. What is also harrowing is that the environmental > side of the debate is completely absent: India that way desperately needs a > party with a 'green' vision. The reason for this anger by mainstream > opposition parties on fuel price hike appears clear to me, that is their > very middle class bases and leadership - the organised labour movement for > the left (public sector bank or railways employees, eg.) and high caste > middle class people in the case of the BJP. > > Warmly > Aashish > > On 24 September 2011 09:52, Karthik Rao-Cavale wrote: > >> Rutul, >> >> This is an excellent question to ponder about, and I am not sure about the >> empirical answer either. We do know that the cost of production of most >> food >> items (grain, fruit, vegetables) in India is only a fraction of the sale >> price. We cannot rule out the possibility that the cost of transportation >> as >> a fraction of the total sale price is large enough to have a noticeable >> impact. But there is also the fact that many of the protests at the time of >> a fuel hike are organized by the trucking companies and also the communist >> parties in India (I vivdly remember the all-India protests by the Communist >> Party in July 2008, when my trip to the north-east was punctuated by >> consecutive strikes in Orissa and Assam) Whose economic interests do these >> protesters represent? >> >> That said, I feel that the simple counter-argument to the middle-class >> argument is to say that if we want food prices to be maintained at low >> levels, then the straight-forward answer is to have larger food subsidies. >> The mood in the neo-liberal camp is increasingly in favour of targeting >> subsidies - here would be an excellent place to start! Why subsidize the >> owner of a diesel-guzzling SUV if all we want is to keep prices of food >> low? >> Why not increase subsidies to the PDS (Public Distribution System) instead? >> >> There is now enough consensus to push for universal PDS and to get rid of >> the discredited system of targeted food subsidies only for people who have >> been identified as below poverty line (essentially, it is impossible to >> identify people according to economic status, which results a great deal of >> exclusion). I once did some back-of-the-envelope calculations and found >> that >> savings from removing fuel subsidies could cover as much of 2/3rds of the >> additional cost of converting the targeted PDS to a universal PDS system. >> >> There is also another angle to this. The cost of transportation does not >> depend on the cost of fuel alone. It also depends on the quality of the >> infrastructure. What we now have is a transportation infrastructure that is >> over-used in cities (and therefore of bad quality) and non-existent in the >> hinterland. Fuel subsidies exacerbate the over-use of infrastructure, and >> my >> suspicion is that the net effect on transportation costs in some places >> might very well be to increase it. Another alternative to fuel subsidies >> would be to focus on improving transportation infrastructure, especially in >> the rural hinterland (which includes both rail and road). >> >> One important qualifiers: my analysis does not extend to cooking fuel. >> Subsidizing cooking fuel does have the effect of creating a black market >> for >> adulterated fuels. But given the affordability gap, taking away cooking >> kerosene subsidies will result in a sudden shift towards burning wood, >> charcoal and dung-cakes, all of which are extremely harmful to female >> health >> and also potential causes of global warming. That is not something I will >> ever recommend. >> >> karthik >> >> On Fri, Sep 23, 2011 at 10:36 PM, Rutul Joshi >> wrote: >> >>> Hi all, >>> >>> >>> I have a query - probably a naive one. >>> >>> >>> Every time there is a fuel price hike in India, the complete hoax >>> starts doing rounds on the social-networking site about 'how fuel is >>> cheaper in other countries in Asia?' and 'how this rise in fuel prices >>> is going to affect the economic growth'. The argument put forward by the >>> middle-class and their friendly media is the links between the fuel >>> cost and inflation leading to price-rise in the food items and the >>> shrinking of the food basket of the poor people. Some other people (in >>> ultra-minority) argue that it is just middle-class propaganda to shield >>> themselves in the name of the poor. However, I don't know how valid or >>> in-valid these arguments are. Intuitively, I am with the second group >>> but I don't really have stronger basis for it. Can some of you who know >>> these issues in detail, throw light on the same? >>> >>> Thanks, >>> Rutul >>> -------------------------------------------------------- >>> To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit >>> http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss >>> >>> ================================================================ >>> SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, >>> equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries >>> (the 'Global South'). >>> >> -------------------------------------------------------- >> To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit >> http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss >> >> ================================================================ >> SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, >> equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries >> (the 'Global South'). >> > -------------------------------------------------------- > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). -------------------------------------------------------- To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss ================================================================ 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 joshuaodeleye at yahoo.com Sun Sep 25 23:42:44 2011 From: joshuaodeleye at yahoo.com (joshua odeleye) Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2011 07:42:44 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] Re: Bangalore shows the way!! Parking Fees to be Levied In-Reply-To: <4e7eb3c8.c2c5e70a.3741.2390@mx.google.com> Message-ID: <1316961764.14009.YahooMailClassic@web112914.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Just like Cornie,we the transport planners should learn to lead by example. Regards, Joshua Odeleye Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology Zaria, NIGERIA --- On Sun, 9/25/11, Kanthi Kannan wrote: From: Kanthi Kannan Subject: [sustran] Re: Bangalore shows the way!! Parking Fees to be Levied To: "'Sudhir'" Cc: "'Hu Gov'" , "'Hasire Usiru'" , "'Global 'South' Sustainable Transport'" Date: Sunday, September 25, 2011, 12:53 AM Dear Sudhir Thanks. We really need to be on our guard all the time because at every stage the government tries to get a way out of the problem. But we need to now look at what needs to be done to ensure that on street parking is not acceptable Thanks Kanthi ? _____? From: Sudhir [mailto:sudhir@cai-asia.org] Sent: 25 September 2011 10:20 To: Kanthi Kannan Cc: Cornie Huizenga; Vinay Baindur; Hu Gov; Hasire Usiru; Global 'South' Sustainable Transport Subject: Re: [sustran] Re: Bangalore shows the way!! Parking Fees to be Levied Hi kanthi, Its a very bad move. Its only 50 Rs for one month ( 1$/month) and it makes the encroachment official in public roads. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/192168/tax-likely-parking-cars-along.htm l regards Sudhir --- Sudhir Gota, Technical Manager (Transportation) Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities Center (CAI-Asia) Unit 3505 Robinsons Equitable Tower, ADB Avenue, Pasig City 1605 PHILIPPINES Tel +63 2 395 2843 l Fax +63 2 395 2846 l sudhir@cai-asia.org l Skype: sudhirgota www.cleanairinitiative.org l www.facebook.com/cai.asia On 25 September 2011 12:45, Kanthi Kannan wrote: http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/pay-for-parking-outside-your-home/2117 69&cp Dear all Got the link just now from facebook Great Stuff!! Way to Go!! Kanthi -----Original Message----- From: sustran-discuss-bounces+kanthikannan=gmail.com@list.jca.apc.org [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+kanthikannan =gmail.com@list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf Of Cornie Huizenga Sent: 25 September 2011 09:36 To: Vinay Baindur Cc: Hu Gov; Hasire Usiru; Global 'South' Sustainable Transport Subject: [sustran] Re: Bangalore is a city that cares for cars, and not you Dear Vinay? and others, I was struck by the sentence: *"Pedestrians are mostly people who cannot afford cars* and have no voice when compared with the urban elite. Like a class of urban poor, which is voiceless and not organised enough to express its concerns, the pedestrians have not been able to shake or move the civic bodies to improve the conditions of the footpaths in the city." Being Dutch I grew up in a country where rich and poor are pedestrians in cities. Over the last 30 years I have lived about 20 years in Asia.? Out of these 20 years I had a car for 5 years from 1986-1991 in Pakistan. After that I have managed without.? Admittedly I do rely a lot on taxi's but I do think that I do walk a lot (and cycle).? Walking in Shanghai where I live now is a lot easier than in Manila where I lived for 11 years. Unlike the poor mentioned in the article, I do feel that I have rights and I generally am not shy to claim those on pedestrian crossings etc.? I am still struck by what was said a couple of years ago by the Minister of Urban Development in India who said that Transport Planning in India had been guided by class interest and that 90% of the road space was given to 10% of the users.? This was at a conference on technology choice for public transport in India (rail or BRT). The fascinating thing was that 90% of the participants in the meeting came to the Meridien hotel by private vehicles. Can people whose mind set is dominated by private vehicles really plan for those of us who prefer to travel on foot, by bicycle or by public transport? Compare this to large parts of Europe where a majority of transport users, planners and decision makers share the view that cities are nicer and more pleasant if cars play a secondary role compared to walking, cycling and public transport.? This is very much a historical tradition.? We should not forget that even in Europe we went through a phase in the '60s - 70s where NMT was in danger and where we saw a willingness to give over the cities to cars. Somehow, however, there was a realization (including by planners and decision makers) that this affected their own quality of life. Ultimately, the future of transport in Asian cities will depend on whether it is possible to bring the 10% who owns the cars on board of the sustainable transport agenda. Why is it that this same 10% is happy to travel to Paris, London and Amsterdam to enjoy the shared public spaces formed by streets, squares and side walks.? They are so pleasantly surprised to see cars stop at pedestrian crossings (even if there is no stoplight), yet when they are back home they immediately revert to their traditional behavior. It appears that what is needed is a political movement to reclaim the cities for people, rather than cars.? Yet, the way that local government politics operate in most of Asia it seems that there is little appetite to make transport planning an election issue. Where are the Asian Penalosa's and Lerners? I wonder whether the Indian initiative described yesterday in this Listserv on involving the courts through a public interest case to ban vehicles from city centers, or the case of the Philippines where an environmental lawyer is invoking the Local Government Code to have a more fair distribution of road space (http://roadrevolution.ph/2011/06/statement-of-attorney-oposa/) can help to tip the balance in favor of a more balanced approach in transport planning. Is this the way forward and should we aim to launch a series of coordinated civil suits in Asian countries where we demand that the interests of the majority dominate decisions on the way in which Asian cities are developed and functioning? One of the reasons, I think, that the European experiment to give more space to cars in the cities in the '60s and the '70s did not continue was the strength of civil society. The Cyclists Union in the Netherlands ( http://www.fietsersbond.nl/english-info) has 130 branches and 35,000 members and is a force to be reckoned with at the national level as well as at local level.? See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb0QjASuuqI &feature=player_embedded for a great video how 5 million people in Holland make an estimated 14 million bicycle trips daily). I would be interested to hear from others how we can best overcome the class divide in transport planning in Asian cities. best regards, Cornie On Sun, Sep 25, 2011 at 2:46 AM, Vinay Baindur wrote: > > http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_bangalore-is-a-city-that-cares-for- cars-and-not-you_1590963 > > > > > Bangalore is a city that cares for cars, and not you > DNA / Merlin Francis / Saturday, September 24, 2011 11:17 IST > > There is nothing new about the poor condition of footpaths in Bangalore, > but > what stirs the mind is the silence of the pedestrian who is exposed to all > kinds of dangers, thanks to the bad pavements or the lack of it. *DNA > *takes > a look at why a Bangalorean remains a silent observer. > > Most people in the city are oblivious to the fact that by its very > definition, a road is incomplete without a proper footpath and that the > pedestrian is an important stakeholder in the footpaths and also has the > sole right to use them. The municipal corporation has failed to disseminate > information that a common man could use to voice his concerns. > > Kathyayani Chamraj of CIVIC says, "Pedestrians are mostly people who cannot > afford cars and have no voice when compared with the urban elite. Like a > class of urban poor, which is voiceless and not organised enough to express > its concerns, the pedestrians have not been able to shake or move the civic > bodies to improve the conditions of the footpaths in the city." > > Hasiru Usiru is one of the few groups actively organising programmes > expressing concerns and dangers that the pedestrians are exposed to. > Sridhar > Raman, who has been conducting a programme 'Come Cross the Roads' to > inculcate the righteousness of the pedestrian, says, "The biggest reason > pedestrians aren't voicing their anger is their failure to understand their > rights. The public, be it pedestrians or motorists, assumes that all road > infrastructure is meant first for vehicles. Pedestrians are assumed to come > much lower in the pecking order," said Sridhar Raman. > > He continues, "We see pedestrians scared to step down on to the road and > cross at a zebra-crossing, even though the right of way is with the > pedestrian. We see pedestrians giving way to motorists riding even on > footpaths; a vehicle has no right to be on the pavement. This lack of > awareness is the biggest reason behind the pedestrians not getting the > attention they deserve." > > If the public is made aware that the road and the footpaths belong to the > pedestrian first and foremost, more pedestrian voices will rise, added > Raman. > > "City municipal corporation should have made ward committees for ordinary > pedestrians. Right now, it is not clear as to who should one complain to > about the ill-maintained footpaths-the ward officer, the corporator or the > engineer?" says Vinay Sridhar from Hasiru Usiru, an environmental group. > > J Sreenivasan of Koramangala Matters echoed similar sentiments. "Who should > a pedestrian complain to? The BBMP? Forget it, it's a waste of time. All > the > pedestrian can do is to vent his anger and frustration and go back to > fending himself," he says. > > He also pointed out that Bescom's structures are the next biggest hurdle on > Bangalore roads, with low-lying transformers and electric poles erected > bang > in the middle of what may pass as a footpath. "There are helplines where no > one answers the call," Sreenivasan says. > > In defence to the flak concrete pavements draw, the BBMP's engineering > chief, BT Ramesh, says, "We had laid the pavements with the interlocking > slab system about eight years ago. But after receiving complaints from > people, we started laying concrete pedestrian walkways." > > Meenakshi Bharat, a citizen activist from Malleswaram, says, whatever is > left of pavements, is being taken away by civic officials. "Huge areas are > being dug around the tree to 'water' them." > > A bigger nuisance is people turning every foot path into 'pee land'. The > stench is so unbearable that people prefer walking on the road. > > Manvel Alur, of the RWA in Koramangala says, "Where are pedestrian > crossings > or pavements ever planned in the larger scheme of things? Koramangala, > Vasanthnagar, Adugodi, Vivek Nagar, Commercial Street are some areas where > there is hardly any footpath." > > "Motorists are given importance in our country and pedestrians are > forgotten, in spite of walking being a healthier, more energy and > environment-friendly option. The RWAs should work towards this in a big > way," she adds. > *URL of the article:* > > http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_bangalore-is-a-city-that-cares-for- cars-and-not-you_1590963-all > -------------------------------------------------------- > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > (the 'Global South'). > -- Cornie Huizenga Joint Convener Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport Mobile: +86 13901949332 cornie.huizenga@slocatpartnership.org www.slocat.net -------------------------------------------------------- To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss ================================================================ SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). -------------------------------------------------------- To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss ================================================================ SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). -------------------------------------------------------- To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss ================================================================ 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 madhav.g.badami at mcgill.ca Mon Sep 26 00:14:51 2011 From: madhav.g.badami at mcgill.ca (Madhav Badami, Prof.) Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2011 15:14:51 +0000 Subject: [sustran] Re: Fuel prices and inflation In-Reply-To: <00bc01cc7b89$a1db94c0$e592be40$@org> References: <1316831768.89842.YahooMailNeo@web137313.mail.in.yahoo.com> <99BF4855-911A-40C0-AFA2-C0E1B53C195E@gmail.com>, <00bc01cc7b89$a1db94c0$e592be40$@org> Message-ID: <49232857A143A54AAD6D08E173ED3AB704150F@exmbx2010-9.campus.MCGILL.CA> Greetings all, Last year, I wrote a short article on energy consumption in road transport in India -- among other things, I (briefly) discussed the issue of fuel subsidies: http://casi.ssc.upenn.edu/iit/badami As it happens, I quoted one of the late lamented Lee Schipper's papers, plus a World Bank study which makes Carlos's point about removal of subsidies not being necessarily regressive. Indeed: even if they did not constitute a leakage of purported social benefits to the wealthy, as in the case of diesel subsidies which provide them an incentive to purchase, and vehicle manufacturers to market, diesel automobiles, with concomitant adverse health effects, and little if anything to show for in the way of climate change benefits, fuel subsidies impose massive fiscal costs and hamper social spending that could potentially benefit the poor. I say potentially, because how savings from fuel subsidy reductions are chosen to be deployed -- in, for example, public transit and infrastructure and facilities for non-motorized modes -- is vitally important for outcomes for the urban poor, and the poor generally. One last point: had I more space in my article, I would have also pointed out, as I believe Karthik did, that removing kerosene subsidies (absent cleaner fuel alternatives that the poor can afford) is a dicey business, since it is likely to encourage the increased use of lower quality fuels, thus (massively) exacerbating their exposure to indoor particulate emissions**, and possibly accelerating deforestation. Cheers, Madhav ** Indoor PM concentrations as a result of using firewood, dung and other such fuels can be as high as 6000 micrograms per cubic metre, several times higher than even some of the most polluted outdoor urban environments in Asian cities. ************************************************************************ "As for the future, your task is not to foresee, but to enable it." -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery Madhav G. Badami, PhD School of Urban Planning and McGill School of Environment McGill University Macdonald-Harrington Building 815 Sherbrooke Street West Montreal, QC, H3A 2K6, Canada Phone: 514-398-3183 (Work) Fax: 514-398-8376; 514-398-1643 URLs: www.mcgill.ca/urbanplanning www.mcgill.ca/mse e-mail: madhav.badami@mcgill.ca ________________________________________ From: sustran-discuss-bounces+madhav.g.badami=mcgill.ca@list.jca.apc.org [sustran-discuss-bounces+madhav.g.badami=mcgill.ca@list.jca.apc.org] on behalf of Todd Alexander Litman [litman@vtpi.org] Sent: 25 September 2011 09:47 To: 'Pardo'; 'Aashish Gupta' Cc: sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org Subject: [sustran] Re: Fuel prices and inflation For a review of information on the elasticity of vehicle fuel consumption and travel with regard to fuel prices see: Todd Litman (2010), "Transportation Elasticities: How Prices and Other Factors Affect Travel Behavior," Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org); at www.vtpi.org/elasticities.pdf. This analysis indicates that fuel prices do tend to have a significant impact on vehicle travel and fuel consumption, although it takes several years for the impacts to reach their full impacts, so short term price fluctuations have relatively small effects. Some studies indicate that these price elasticities declined significantly in North America during the last third of the Twentieth Century (between about 1960 and 2000) but more recent research indicates that transport elasticities are now returning to more typical levels. See: Todd Litman (2010), "Changing Vehicle Travel Price Sensitivities: The Rebounding Rebound Effect," VTPI (www.vtpi.org); at www.vtpi.org/VMT_Elasticities.pdf. For international comparisons of fuel prices see: International Fuel Prices (www.internationalfuelprices.com) is a website with information on international fuel price reports from GTZ (a German international development agency) and other sources. Their lead researcher Gerhard Metschies has produced a series of reports that examine international fuel prices and subsidies. If you are interested in these issues you can ask to receive their email notices. For analysis of economic subsidies, such as underpriced fuel, see: Subsidy Watch (www.globalsubsidies.org/subsidy-watch) a project by the International Institute for Sustainable Development's Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI) designed to put the spotlight on subsidies and the corrosive effects they can have on environmental quality, economic development and governance. Sincerely, Todd Litman Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org) litman@vtpi.org facebook.com/todd.litman Phone & Fax 250-360-1560 1250 Rudlin Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, CANADA "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" -----Original Message----- From: sustran-discuss-bounces+litman=vtpi.org@list.jca.apc.org [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+litman=vtpi.org@list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf Of Pardo Sent: September-24-11 2:48 AM To: Aashish Gupta Cc: sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org Subject: [sustran] Re: Fuel prices and inflation Please see the section on fuel prices of www.sutp.org . One of the most recent publications there discusses that point. There is also the fuel price survey which has prices from 100+ countries which shows a better reality on how cheap or expensive fuel is. The middle class argument is not well founded, deeper research shows that higher fuel prices are better even for low-income groups. If Lee Schipper were with us, he would have given us such a thorough answer... Pardo Typed on keyboard projected onto a glass surface. Please excuse typos. On 24/09/2011, at 4:43, Aashish Gupta wrote: > Dear all > > Hello. I have been thinking about this for sometime, and thought I should > intervene. I do have a few questions, though. What is the evidence on the > price elasticity of demand for petrol and diesel consumption in private > vehicles? I think this is an extremely important question. Of course Ashok > (and I too, along with many others) thinks that raising diesel prices will > lower demand for private travel, even shift middle class households (or > others, who might be using two wheelers) to public transport, and while this > is an extremely plausible hypothesis, I do want to see the results on this. > One could imagine several counters-points to this, for instance by arguing > that actually, travel demand is inelastic to small price changes, since > these dont affect the middle class that much; even if they do, they cant > help it much because they have already brought a car or a motorcycle and > making changes would require other lifestyle changes, that they are > "locked-in" to using a car or a motorcycle, etc. Any pointers? If there > arent enough good studies of this, then this is an excellent topic for > research, since fuel price hikes are common in india. :) > > The other thing, of course, is the impact o inflation on food and other > prices (of fuel price hikes). I have tried looking around that in the past, but > there are several senses of the data. In the past, various economists > associated with the government of India have claimed (at different points of > time) between .4%and > 1%(or > this) > percentage points in the inflation rate because of such hikes. Of course, I > dont think we should believe the economist's words on these, especially > because some of them have made really bad statements in the past about > inflation. > > I think members of this community would be extremely interested in this > report , specially table P1 > (section 4.2). Just for background, this report provided the basis for the > change in the policy to allow for "freeing of prices". I also quote from the > report, > > Even assuming that the truckers, power generators, industrial users > etc.(other than the passenger car owners) are able to pass on fully the > additional cost of diesel, an increase of Rs. 4 > per litre would mean an increase of around Rs. 20,000 crore in their cost of > diesel which would be around 0.4 % of GDP in 2008-09. This should be > compared with the inflationary impact of subsidies, which would be similar. > > Overall, of course, this isn't enough evidence on the impact of inflation, > and if someone can do this analysis or point out independent evidence of the > same, that would be just great. I wish I had the econometric prowess to do > it, but I am just learning, and cant. On the other hand, I do know that its > not a very difficult analysis. One just has to regress past inflation rates > on changes in petrol prices and some other variables, to find out the > impact. Again, excellent research topic. > > Having said inconclusive things about the most important things in this > debate, I would like to come to other things mentioned. Karthik, bang on > target that targetting has failed (horrendously) in India. For instance, > around 2005, several studies (IHDS, NFHS, NSS) point out that half the > people in the bottom quintile did not have BPL (below poverty line) cards. > > Ashok, that food should not be unduly cheap and that higher prices benefit > farmers is a very important debate, again, globally. For instance, one finds > echoes in this debate on food prices between > oxfamand > others. > It is also true that if prices of food or agricultural commodities rise > because of increase in prices of diesel, farmers dont benefit. You are right > on prices reflecting true costs, which would include the cost of > environmental externalities for diesel or petrol. However, it is because of > this notion of true cost that i support subsidies in modern cooking fuels > for the poor - remember, that there are positive externalities for women in > households from smokeless chulhas, lpg, methane or kerosene. Karthik, the > use of bio-fuels, however, is another blind-spot, mainly because until very > recently it was thought that the use of these (things such as wood or > cow-dung) by the poor is carbon nuetral - the poor are only using carbon > sequestered recently, and this carbon can be again sequestered by growth in > vegetation. Of course, to check whether this is true, one has to compare the > rate of consumption with the rate of regeneration. I do agree about your > analysis of cooking subsidies. > > Before I leave, I would also like to mention that diesel has become an > important input for farmers as well, especially in areas which dont have > reliable or any power supply. As is clear, farmers use diesel pumps for > irrigation. Of course, whether thats enough justification for fuel > subsidies, is another point. > > What I personally find abominable is the response of the left-parties in > India (but also of others, including the main opposition) on fuel prices - > things such as food prices are much more relevant to the poor, and the > solutions for them (such as an expanded PDS) are much nearer in sight than > this petrol price debate. What is also harrowing is that the environmental > side of the debate is completely absent: India that way desperately needs a > party with a 'green' vision. The reason for this anger by mainstream > opposition parties on fuel price hike appears clear to me, that is their > very middle class bases and leadership - the organised labour movement for > the left (public sector bank or railways employees, eg.) and high caste > middle class people in the case of the BJP. > > Warmly > Aashish > > On 24 September 2011 09:52, Karthik Rao-Cavale wrote: > >> Rutul, >> >> This is an excellent question to ponder about, and I am not sure about the >> empirical answer either. We do know that the cost of production of most >> food >> items (grain, fruit, vegetables) in India is only a fraction of the sale >> price. We cannot rule out the possibility that the cost of transportation >> as >> a fraction of the total sale price is large enough to have a noticeable >> impact. But there is also the fact that many of the protests at the time of >> a fuel hike are organized by the trucking companies and also the communist >> parties in India (I vivdly remember the all-India protests by the Communist >> Party in July 2008, when my trip to the north-east was punctuated by >> consecutive strikes in Orissa and Assam) Whose economic interests do these >> protesters represent? >> >> That said, I feel that the simple counter-argument to the middle-class >> argument is to say that if we want food prices to be maintained at low >> levels, then the straight-forward answer is to have larger food subsidies. >> The mood in the neo-liberal camp is increasingly in favour of targeting >> subsidies - here would be an excellent place to start! Why subsidize the >> owner of a diesel-guzzling SUV if all we want is to keep prices of food >> low? >> Why not increase subsidies to the PDS (Public Distribution System) instead? >> >> There is now enough consensus to push for universal PDS and to get rid of >> the discredited system of targeted food subsidies only for people who have >> been identified as below poverty line (essentially, it is impossible to >> identify people according to economic status, which results a great deal of >> exclusion). I once did some back-of-the-envelope calculations and found >> that >> savings from removing fuel subsidies could cover as much of 2/3rds of the >> additional cost of converting the targeted PDS to a universal PDS system. >> >> There is also another angle to this. The cost of transportation does not >> depend on the cost of fuel alone. It also depends on the quality of the >> infrastructure. What we now have is a transportation infrastructure that is >> over-used in cities (and therefore of bad quality) and non-existent in the >> hinterland. Fuel subsidies exacerbate the over-use of infrastructure, and >> my >> suspicion is that the net effect on transportation costs in some places >> might very well be to increase it. Another alternative to fuel subsidies >> would be to focus on improving transportation infrastructure, especially in >> the rural hinterland (which includes both rail and road). >> >> One important qualifiers: my analysis does not extend to cooking fuel. >> Subsidizing cooking fuel does have the effect of creating a black market >> for >> adulterated fuels. But given the affordability gap, taking away cooking >> kerosene subsidies will result in a sudden shift towards burning wood, >> charcoal and dung-cakes, all of which are extremely harmful to female >> health >> and also potential causes of global warming. That is not something I will >> ever recommend. >> >> karthik >> >> On Fri, Sep 23, 2011 at 10:36 PM, Rutul Joshi >> wrote: >> >>> Hi all, >>> >>> >>> I have a query - probably a naive one. >>> >>> >>> Every time there is a fuel price hike in India, the complete hoax >>> starts doing rounds on the social-networking site about 'how fuel is >>> cheaper in other countries in Asia?' and 'how this rise in fuel prices >>> is going to affect the economic growth'. The argument put forward by the >>> middle-class and their friendly media is the links between the fuel >>> cost and inflation leading to price-rise in the food items and the >>> shrinking of the food basket of the poor people. Some other people (in >>> ultra-minority) argue that it is just middle-class propaganda to shield >>> themselves in the name of the poor. However, I don't know how valid or >>> in-valid these arguments are. Intuitively, I am with the second group >>> but I don't really have stronger basis for it. Can some of you who know >>> these issues in detail, throw light on the same? >>> >>> Thanks, >>> Rutul >>> -------------------------------------------------------- >>> To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit >>> http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss >>> >>> ================================================================ >>> SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, >>> equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries >>> (the 'Global South'). >>> >> -------------------------------------------------------- >> To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit >> http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss >> >> ================================================================ >> SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, >> equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries >> (the 'Global South'). >> > -------------------------------------------------------- > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). -------------------------------------------------------- To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss ================================================================ SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). -------------------------------------------------------- To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss ================================================================ 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 eric.britton at ecoplan.org Mon Sep 26 19:40:28 2011 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric britton) Date: Mon, 26 Sep 2011 12:40:28 +0200 Subject: [sustran] =?iso-8859-1?Q?Op-Ed=2C=A0Cornie=A0Huizenga=3A=A0The=A0?= =?iso-8859-1?Q?transport=A0sector=A0as=A0leader=A0in=A0the=A0susta?= =?iso-8859-1?Q?inability=A0debate=3F?= Message-ID: <015801cc7c38$baaa0860$2ffe1920$@britton@ecoplan.org> New post on World Streets: A New Mobility Agenda Op-Ed, Cornie Huizenga: The transport sector as leader in the sustainability debate? There are a lot of reasons which need to be investigated if we are to have a snowball's chance in hell of winning the sustainable transportation wars. The first step in this necessary process is to accept that by any reasonable measure, we are losing the war and losing it badly -- in such a [...] Read more of this post Eric Britton, editor | 26 September 2011 at 11:21 | Categories: energy, Governance, op-ed, Pattern break, Strategies/tactics, sustainability, United Nations | URL: http://wp.me/psKUY-1RS Comment See all comments in this post Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://worldstreets.wordpress.com/2011/09/26/op-ed-cornie-huizenga-the-trans port-sector-as-leader-in-the-sustainability-debate/ Thanks for flying with WordPress.com From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Tue Sep 27 17:48:50 2011 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric britton) Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2011 10:48:50 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Re: (From: Cornie Huizenga) Consultation on Singapore's National Climate Change Strategy - Transport In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <010201cc7cf2$4aaddd60$e0099820$@britton@ecoplan.org> Comment by Lake Sagaris appearing in World Streets today ? in reflection on yesterday's Op-Ed piece by Cornie Huizinga: Source: http://worldstreets.wordpress.com/2011/09/26/op-ed-cornie-huizenga-the-trans port-sector-as-leader-in-the-sustainability-debate/#comments 1. http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/f019abdd4e5d4066bda05fd69506ac84?s=48&d=http%3A %2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&r=GLake Sagaris | 26 September 2011 at 22:28 | Reply | Edit The Achilles heel of the transport sector is its failure to engage citizens and particularly their organizations, at both the community and the thematic levels, in framing the issues and setting political agendas. Part of the problem is that ?innovative? projects themselves often interact with existing urban systems, particularly parks and public space, as brutally as highways, sending a very negative message to city users, i.e. citizens. Hard to identify BRT with a socially just, inclusive transport plan when it is destroying bike lanes and public space, as occurred in Santiago (Chile) with Transantiago. Transport engineers and planners continue to insist on transportation as if it were just a ?technical? problem, involving project design and implementation. But above all it is a political issue, which requires careful attention to the design of processes that will favour innovation in thinking, planning, design and use of cities. Where are the grassroots advocates of BRT and other more sustainable transport systems? We all need to take a good look at how cyclists and walkers are successfully pushing their highly marginalized modes back onto public agendas, all over the world. We need to learn from them. And work with them, as well as neighbourhood, recycler/wastepicker and other constituent communities. An additional weakness to date is that cities and neighbourhoods are treated as if they were just smaller versions of national (or global) issues, rather than cultural and spatial realities with their own very particular possibilities for pushing a sustainable transport agenda ahead, or blocking its progress. It is largely citizens and particularly those organized in civil society organizations at different policy-making and implementation scales that have put the environment and energy on public agendas so successfully. Until innovative and sustainable transport initiatives can start building broad coalitions that bring in walkers, cyclists, environmentalists, poor and marginal communities and other organizations, sustainable transport may hit the occasional political agenda, but it will not stay there long enough to really make the kind of deep changes required for a sustainable world in the face of 21st century challenges. _____________________________________________________ World Streets Eric Britton, Editor / Managing Director World Streets / New Mobility Partnerships / Sustainability Seminar Series 8, rue Jospeh Bara 75006 Paris France Tel. +331 7550 3788 | editor@newmobility.org | Skype: newmobility P Avant d'imprimer, pensez ? l'environnement -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/png Size: 181 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20110927/178c11f2/attachment-0001.png From bruun at seas.upenn.edu Wed Sep 28 23:57:40 2011 From: bruun at seas.upenn.edu (bruun at seas.upenn.edu) Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:57:40 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: : Fuel prices and inflation In-Reply-To: <49232857A143A54AAD6D08E173ED3AB704150F@exmbx2010-9.campus.MCGILL.CA> References: <1316831768.89842.YahooMailNeo@web137313.mail.in.yahoo.com> <99BF4855-911A-40C0-AFA2-C0E1B53C195E@gmail.com>, <00bc01cc7b89$a1db94c0$e592be40$@org> <49232857A143A54AAD6D08E173ED3AB704150F@exmbx2010-9.campus.MCGILL.CA> Message-ID: <20110928105740.79095rnvb41nzco4@webmail.seas.upenn.edu> I think that the vilification of diesel is unwarranted. Diesel engines can only be as clean as the fuel that is consumed by them. With ultra low sulfur fuel, diesel engines can be a lot cleaner. Do we really want trucks to consume 30 percent more fuel by switching to petrol? I don't agree that the differences in efficiency are small, at least for trucks and buses. The solution has to be to mandate and enforce cleaner diesel fuels. CNG has its own problems. It is an extremely serious GHG if it leaks to the atmosphere and raises the cost of operation of buses and trucks in most cases, as well as reduces their power and range. It also will increasingly come from hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and other methods that risk our groundwater. The situation with cars is different. Again referencing Lee Schipper, one of his most recent reports showed that diesel autos in Europe aren't getting the expected efficiency gain since many people are just buying larger autos instead, and perhaps driving more when their out of pocket cost go down. But the solution for this has to be to use distance based taxes and not just fuel taxes, not to reduce engine efficiency. Eric Bruun Quoting "Madhav Badami, Prof." : > Greetings all, > > Last year, I wrote a short article on energy consumption in road > transport in India -- among other things, I (briefly) discussed the > issue of fuel subsidies: > > http://casi.ssc.upenn.edu/iit/badami > > As it happens, I quoted one of the late lamented Lee Schipper's > papers, plus a World Bank study which makes Carlos's point about > removal of subsidies not being necessarily regressive. Indeed: even > if they did not constitute a leakage of purported social benefits to > the wealthy, as in the case of diesel subsidies which provide them > an incentive to purchase, and vehicle manufacturers to market, > diesel automobiles, with concomitant adverse health effects, and > little if anything to show for in the way of climate change > benefits, fuel subsidies impose massive fiscal costs and hamper > social spending that could potentially benefit the poor. I say > potentially, because how savings from fuel subsidy reductions are > chosen to be deployed -- in, for example, public transit and > infrastructure and facilities for non-motorized modes -- is vitally > important for outcomes for the urban poor, and the poor generally. > > One last point: had I more space in my article, I would have also > pointed out, as I believe Karthik did, that removing kerosene > subsidies (absent cleaner fuel alternatives that the poor can > afford) is a dicey business, since it is likely to encourage the > increased use of lower quality fuels, thus (massively) exacerbating > their exposure to indoor particulate emissions**, and possibly > accelerating deforestation. > > Cheers, > > Madhav > > ** Indoor PM concentrations as a result of using firewood, dung and > other such fuels can be as high as 6000 micrograms per cubic metre, > several times higher than even some of the most polluted outdoor > urban environments in Asian cities. > > ************************************************************************ > > "As for the future, your task is not to foresee, but to enable it." > -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery > > Madhav G. Badami, PhD > School of Urban Planning and McGill School of Environment > McGill University > > Macdonald-Harrington Building > 815 Sherbrooke Street West > Montreal, QC, H3A 2K6, Canada > > Phone: 514-398-3183 (Work) > Fax: 514-398-8376; 514-398-1643 > URLs: www.mcgill.ca/urbanplanning > www.mcgill.ca/mse > e-mail: madhav.badami@mcgill.ca > ________________________________________ > From: > sustran-discuss-bounces+madhav.g.badami=mcgill.ca@list.jca.apc.org > [sustran-discuss-bounces+madhav.g.badami=mcgill.ca@list.jca.apc.org] > on behalf of Todd Alexander Litman [litman@vtpi.org] > Sent: 25 September 2011 09:47 > To: 'Pardo'; 'Aashish Gupta' > Cc: sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org > Subject: [sustran] Re: Fuel prices and inflation > > For a review of information on the elasticity of vehicle fuel consumption > and travel with regard to fuel prices see: > > Todd Litman (2010), "Transportation Elasticities: How Prices and Other > Factors Affect Travel Behavior," Victoria Transport Policy Institute > (www.vtpi.org); at www.vtpi.org/elasticities.pdf. > > This analysis indicates that fuel prices do tend to have a significant > impact on vehicle travel and fuel consumption, although it takes several > years for the impacts to reach their full impacts, so short term price > fluctuations have relatively small effects. Some studies indicate that these > price elasticities declined significantly in North America during the last > third of the Twentieth Century (between about 1960 and 2000) but more recent > research indicates that transport elasticities are now returning to more > typical levels. See: > > Todd Litman (2010), "Changing Vehicle Travel Price Sensitivities: The > Rebounding Rebound Effect," VTPI (www.vtpi.org); at > www.vtpi.org/VMT_Elasticities.pdf. > > > For international comparisons of fuel prices see: > > International Fuel Prices (www.internationalfuelprices.com) is a website > with information on international fuel price reports from GTZ (a German > international development agency) and other sources. Their lead researcher > Gerhard Metschies has produced a series of reports that examine > international fuel prices and subsidies. If you are interested in these > issues you can ask to receive their email notices. > > > For analysis of economic subsidies, such as underpriced fuel, see: > > Subsidy Watch (www.globalsubsidies.org/subsidy-watch) a project by the > International Institute for Sustainable Development's Global Subsidies > Initiative (GSI) designed to put the spotlight on subsidies and the > corrosive effects they can have on environmental quality, economic > development and governance. > > > Sincerely, > Todd Litman > Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org) > litman@vtpi.org > facebook.com/todd.litman > Phone & Fax 250-360-1560 > 1250 Rudlin Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, CANADA > "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" > > > -----Original Message----- > From: sustran-discuss-bounces+litman=vtpi.org@list.jca.apc.org > [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+litman=vtpi.org@list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf > Of Pardo > Sent: September-24-11 2:48 AM > To: Aashish Gupta > Cc: sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org > Subject: [sustran] Re: Fuel prices and inflation > > Please see the section on fuel prices of www.sutp.org . One of the most > recent publications there discusses that point. There is also the fuel price > survey which has prices from 100+ countries which shows a better reality on > how cheap or expensive fuel is. The middle class argument is not well > founded, deeper research shows that higher fuel prices are better even for > low-income groups. > > If Lee Schipper were with us, he would have given us such a thorough > answer... > > Pardo > > Typed on keyboard projected onto a glass surface. Please excuse typos. > > On 24/09/2011, at 4:43, Aashish Gupta wrote: > >> Dear all >> >> Hello. I have been thinking about this for sometime, and thought I should >> intervene. I do have a few questions, though. What is the evidence on the >> price elasticity of demand for petrol and diesel consumption in private >> vehicles? I think this is an extremely important question. Of course Ashok >> (and I too, along with many others) thinks that raising diesel prices will >> lower demand for private travel, even shift middle class households (or >> others, who might be using two wheelers) to public transport, and while > this >> is an extremely plausible hypothesis, I do want to see the results on > this. >> One could imagine several counters-points to this, for instance by arguing >> that actually, travel demand is inelastic to small price changes, since >> these dont affect the middle class that much; even if they do, they cant >> help it much because they have already brought a car or a motorcycle and >> making changes would require other lifestyle changes, that they are >> "locked-in" to using a car or a motorcycle, etc. Any pointers? If there >> arent enough good studies of this, then this is an excellent topic for >> research, since fuel price hikes are common in india. :) >> >> The other thing, of course, is the impact o inflation on food and other >> prices (of fuel price hikes). I have tried looking around that in the > past, but >> there are several senses of the data. In the past, various economists >> associated with the government of India have claimed (at different points > of >> time) between > .4% ce_hike_impact_June_inflation/223614.html>and >> > 1% n.html>(or >> > this o-go-upeffects-uncertain/399478/>) >> percentage points in the inflation rate because of such hikes. Of course, > I >> dont think we should believe the economist's words on these, especially >> because some of them have made really bad statements in the past about >> inflation. >> >> I think members of this community would be extremely interested in this >> report , specially table P1 >> (section 4.2). Just for background, this report provided the basis for the >> change in the policy to allow for "freeing of prices". I also quote from > the >> report, >> >> Even assuming that the truckers, power generators, industrial users >> etc.(other than the passenger car owners) are able to pass on fully the >> additional cost of diesel, an increase of Rs. 4 >> per litre would mean an increase of around Rs. 20,000 crore in their cost > of >> diesel which would be around 0.4 % of GDP in 2008-09. This should be >> compared with the inflationary impact of subsidies, which would be > similar. >> >> Overall, of course, this isn't enough evidence on the impact of inflation, >> and if someone can do this analysis or point out independent evidence of > the >> same, that would be just great. I wish I had the econometric prowess to do >> it, but I am just learning, and cant. On the other hand, I do know that > its >> not a very difficult analysis. One just has to regress past inflation > rates >> on changes in petrol prices and some other variables, to find out the >> impact. Again, excellent research topic. >> >> Having said inconclusive things about the most important things in this >> debate, I would like to come to other things mentioned. Karthik, bang on >> target that targetting has failed (horrendously) in India. For instance, >> around 2005, several studies (IHDS, NFHS, NSS) point out that half the >> people in the bottom quintile did not have BPL (below poverty line) cards. >> >> Ashok, that food should not be unduly cheap and that higher prices benefit >> farmers is a very important debate, again, globally. For instance, one > finds >> echoes in this debate on food prices between >> oxfamand >> > others -prices/>. >> It is also true that if prices of food or agricultural commodities rise >> because of increase in prices of diesel, farmers dont benefit. You are > right >> on prices reflecting true costs, which would include the cost of >> environmental externalities for diesel or petrol. However, it is because > of >> this notion of true cost that i support subsidies in modern cooking fuels >> for the poor - remember, that there are positive externalities for women > in >> households from smokeless chulhas, lpg, methane or kerosene. Karthik, the >> use of bio-fuels, however, is another blind-spot, mainly because until > very >> recently it was thought that the use of these (things such as wood or >> cow-dung) by the poor is carbon nuetral - the poor are only using carbon >> sequestered recently, and this carbon can be again sequestered by growth > in >> vegetation. Of course, to check whether this is true, one has to compare > the >> rate of consumption with the rate of regeneration. I do agree about your >> analysis of cooking subsidies. >> >> Before I leave, I would also like to mention that diesel has become an >> important input for farmers as well, especially in areas which dont have >> reliable or any power supply. As is clear, farmers use diesel pumps for >> irrigation. Of course, whether thats enough justification for fuel >> subsidies, is another point. >> >> What I personally find abominable is the response of the left-parties in >> India (but also of others, including the main opposition) on fuel prices - >> things such as food prices are much more relevant to the poor, and the >> solutions for them (such as an expanded PDS) are much nearer in sight than >> this petrol price debate. What is also harrowing is that the environmental >> side of the debate is completely absent: India that way desperately needs > a >> party with a 'green' vision. The reason for this anger by mainstream >> opposition parties on fuel price hike appears clear to me, that is their >> very middle class bases and leadership - the organised labour movement for >> the left (public sector bank or railways employees, eg.) and high caste >> middle class people in the case of the BJP. >> >> Warmly >> Aashish >> >> On 24 September 2011 09:52, Karthik Rao-Cavale wrote: >> >>> Rutul, >>> >>> This is an excellent question to ponder about, and I am not sure about > the >>> empirical answer either. We do know that the cost of production of most >>> food >>> items (grain, fruit, vegetables) in India is only a fraction of the sale >>> price. We cannot rule out the possibility that the cost of transportation >>> as >>> a fraction of the total sale price is large enough to have a noticeable >>> impact. But there is also the fact that many of the protests at the time > of >>> a fuel hike are organized by the trucking companies and also the > communist >>> parties in India (I vivdly remember the all-India protests by the > Communist >>> Party in July 2008, when my trip to the north-east was punctuated by >>> consecutive strikes in Orissa and Assam) Whose economic interests do > these >>> protesters represent? >>> >>> That said, I feel that the simple counter-argument to the middle-class >>> argument is to say that if we want food prices to be maintained at low >>> levels, then the straight-forward answer is to have larger food > subsidies. >>> The mood in the neo-liberal camp is increasingly in favour of targeting >>> subsidies - here would be an excellent place to start! Why subsidize the >>> owner of a diesel-guzzling SUV if all we want is to keep prices of food >>> low? >>> Why not increase subsidies to the PDS (Public Distribution System) > instead? >>> >>> There is now enough consensus to push for universal PDS and to get rid of >>> the discredited system of targeted food subsidies only for people who > have >>> been identified as below poverty line (essentially, it is impossible to >>> identify people according to economic status, which results a great deal > of >>> exclusion). I once did some back-of-the-envelope calculations and found >>> that >>> savings from removing fuel subsidies could cover as much of 2/3rds of the >>> additional cost of converting the targeted PDS to a universal PDS system. >>> >>> There is also another angle to this. The cost of transportation does not >>> depend on the cost of fuel alone. It also depends on the quality of the >>> infrastructure. What we now have is a transportation infrastructure that > is >>> over-used in cities (and therefore of bad quality) and non-existent in > the >>> hinterland. Fuel subsidies exacerbate the over-use of infrastructure, and >>> my >>> suspicion is that the net effect on transportation costs in some places >>> might very well be to increase it. Another alternative to fuel subsidies >>> would be to focus on improving transportation infrastructure, especially > in >>> the rural hinterland (which includes both rail and road). >>> >>> One important qualifiers: my analysis does not extend to cooking fuel. >>> Subsidizing cooking fuel does have the effect of creating a black market >>> for >>> adulterated fuels. But given the affordability gap, taking away cooking >>> kerosene subsidies will result in a sudden shift towards burning wood, >>> charcoal and dung-cakes, all of which are extremely harmful to female >>> health >>> and also potential causes of global warming. That is not something I will >>> ever recommend. >>> >>> karthik >>> >>> On Fri, Sep 23, 2011 at 10:36 PM, Rutul Joshi >>> wrote: >>> >>>> Hi all, >>>> >>>> >>>> I have a query - probably a naive one. >>>> >>>> >>>> Every time there is a fuel price hike in India, the complete hoax >>>> starts doing rounds on the social-networking site about 'how fuel is >>>> cheaper in other countries in Asia?' and 'how this rise in fuel prices >>>> is going to affect the economic growth'. The argument put forward by the >>>> middle-class and their friendly media is the links between the fuel >>>> cost and inflation leading to price-rise in the food items and the >>>> shrinking of the food basket of the poor people. Some other people (in >>>> ultra-minority) argue that it is just middle-class propaganda to shield >>>> themselves in the name of the poor. However, I don't know how valid or >>>> in-valid these arguments are. Intuitively, I am with the second group >>>> but I don't really have stronger basis for it. Can some of you who know >>>> these issues in detail, throw light on the same? >>>> >>>> Thanks, >>>> Rutul >>>> -------------------------------------------------------- >>>> To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit >>>> http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss >>>> >>>> ================================================================ >>>> SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, >>>> equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries >>>> (the 'Global South'). >>>> >>> -------------------------------------------------------- >>> To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit >>> http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss >>> >>> ================================================================ >>> SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, >>> equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries >>> (the 'Global South'). >>> >> -------------------------------------------------------- >> To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit >> http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss >> >> ================================================================ >> SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > (the 'Global South'). > -------------------------------------------------------- > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > (the 'Global South'). > > > -------------------------------------------------------- > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > ================================================================ > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing > countries (the 'Global South'). > -------------------------------------------------------- > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > ================================================================ > 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 krc12353 at gmail.com Thu Sep 29 02:28:08 2011 From: krc12353 at gmail.com (Karthik Rao-Cavale) Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:28:08 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: : Fuel prices and inflation In-Reply-To: <20110928105740.79095rnvb41nzco4@webmail.seas.upenn.edu> References: <1316831768.89842.YahooMailNeo@web137313.mail.in.yahoo.com> <99BF4855-911A-40C0-AFA2-C0E1B53C195E@gmail.com> <00bc01cc7b89$a1db94c0$e592be40$@org> <49232857A143A54AAD6D08E173ED3AB704150F@exmbx2010-9.campus.MCGILL.CA> <20110928105740.79095rnvb41nzco4@webmail.seas.upenn.edu> Message-ID: I don't think Prof. Badami's arguments amount to a "vilification" of diesel. The discussion was about the particular case of India where diesel is subsidised whereas gasoline is not. The incentive created to buy diesel cars (which are typically larger and heavier than gasoline cars) does have an effect on pollution both through the induced travel effect and because diesel engines produce certain kinds of pollutants in greater quantity than gas and CNG engines. Improvement in fuel quality or distance-based taxation is not an appropriate response to a problem created by a special subsidy for diesel. On Wed, Sep 28, 2011 at 10:57 AM, wrote: > > I think that the vilification of diesel is unwarranted. Diesel engines > can only be as clean as the fuel that is consumed by them. With ultra low > sulfur fuel, diesel engines can be a lot cleaner. Do we really want trucks > to consume 30 percent more fuel by switching to petrol? I don't agree > that the differences in efficiency are small, at least for trucks and > buses. > The solution has to be to mandate and enforce cleaner diesel fuels. > > CNG has its own problems. It is an extremely serious GHG if it leaks > to the atmosphere and > raises the cost of operation of buses and trucks in most cases, as > well as reduces their power > and range. It also will increasingly come from hydraulic fracturing > (fracking) and other methods > that risk our groundwater. > > The situation with cars is different. Again referencing Lee Schipper, > one of his most > recent reports showed that diesel autos in Europe aren't getting the > expected efficiency > gain since many people are just buying larger autos instead, and > perhaps driving more > when their out of pocket cost go down. But the solution for this has > to be to use > distance based taxes and not just fuel taxes, not to reduce engine > efficiency. > > Eric Bruun > > > > Quoting "Madhav Badami, Prof." : > > > Greetings all, > > > > Last year, I wrote a short article on energy consumption in road > > transport in India -- among other things, I (briefly) discussed the > > issue of fuel subsidies: > > > > http://casi.ssc.upenn.edu/iit/badami > > > > As it happens, I quoted one of the late lamented Lee Schipper's > > papers, plus a World Bank study which makes Carlos's point about > > removal of subsidies not being necessarily regressive. Indeed: even > > if they did not constitute a leakage of purported social benefits to > > the wealthy, as in the case of diesel subsidies which provide them > > an incentive to purchase, and vehicle manufacturers to market, > > diesel automobiles, with concomitant adverse health effects, and > > little if anything to show for in the way of climate change > > benefits, fuel subsidies impose massive fiscal costs and hamper > > social spending that could potentially benefit the poor. I say > > potentially, because how savings from fuel subsidy reductions are > > chosen to be deployed -- in, for example, public transit and > > infrastructure and facilities for non-motorized modes -- is vitally > > important for outcomes for the urban poor, and the poor generally. > > > > One last point: had I more space in my article, I would have also > > pointed out, as I believe Karthik did, that removing kerosene > > subsidies (absent cleaner fuel alternatives that the poor can > > afford) is a dicey business, since it is likely to encourage the > > increased use of lower quality fuels, thus (massively) exacerbating > > their exposure to indoor particulate emissions**, and possibly > > accelerating deforestation. > > > > Cheers, > > > > Madhav > > > > ** Indoor PM concentrations as a result of using firewood, dung and > > other such fuels can be as high as 6000 micrograms per cubic metre, > > several times higher than even some of the most polluted outdoor > > urban environments in Asian cities. > > > > ************************************************************************ > > > > "As for the future, your task is not to foresee, but to enable it." > > -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery > > > > Madhav G. Badami, PhD > > School of Urban Planning and McGill School of Environment > > McGill University > > > > Macdonald-Harrington Building > > 815 Sherbrooke Street West > > Montreal, QC, H3A 2K6, Canada > > > > Phone: 514-398-3183 (Work) > > Fax: 514-398-8376; 514-398-1643 > > URLs: www.mcgill.ca/urbanplanning > > www.mcgill.ca/mse > > e-mail: madhav.badami@mcgill.ca > > ________________________________________ > > From: > > sustran-discuss-bounces+madhav.g.badami=mcgill.ca@list.jca.apc.org > > [sustran-discuss-bounces+madhav.g.badami=mcgill.ca@list.jca.apc.org] > > on behalf of Todd Alexander Litman [litman@vtpi.org] > > Sent: 25 September 2011 09:47 > > To: 'Pardo'; 'Aashish Gupta' > > Cc: sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org > > Subject: [sustran] Re: Fuel prices and inflation > > > > For a review of information on the elasticity of vehicle fuel consumption > > and travel with regard to fuel prices see: > > > > Todd Litman (2010), "Transportation Elasticities: How Prices and Other > > Factors Affect Travel Behavior," Victoria Transport Policy Institute > > (www.vtpi.org); at www.vtpi.org/elasticities.pdf. > > > > This analysis indicates that fuel prices do tend to have a significant > > impact on vehicle travel and fuel consumption, although it takes several > > years for the impacts to reach their full impacts, so short term price > > fluctuations have relatively small effects. Some studies indicate that > these > > price elasticities declined significantly in North America during the > last > > third of the Twentieth Century (between about 1960 and 2000) but more > recent > > research indicates that transport elasticities are now returning to more > > typical levels. See: > > > > Todd Litman (2010), "Changing Vehicle Travel Price Sensitivities: The > > Rebounding Rebound Effect," VTPI (www.vtpi.org); at > > www.vtpi.org/VMT_Elasticities.pdf. > > > > > > For international comparisons of fuel prices see: > > > > International Fuel Prices (www.internationalfuelprices.com) is a website > > with information on international fuel price reports from GTZ (a German > > international development agency) and other sources. Their lead > researcher > > Gerhard Metschies has produced a series of reports that examine > > international fuel prices and subsidies. If you are interested in these > > issues you can ask to receive their email notices. > > > > > > For analysis of economic subsidies, such as underpriced fuel, see: > > > > Subsidy Watch (www.globalsubsidies.org/subsidy-watch) a project by the > > International Institute for Sustainable Development's Global Subsidies > > Initiative (GSI) designed to put the spotlight on subsidies and the > > corrosive effects they can have on environmental quality, economic > > development and governance. > > > > > > Sincerely, > > Todd Litman > > Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org) > > litman@vtpi.org > > facebook.com/todd.litman > > Phone & Fax 250-360-1560 > > 1250 Rudlin Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, CANADA > > "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: sustran-discuss-bounces+litman=vtpi.org@list.jca.apc.org > > [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+litman=vtpi.org@list.jca.apc.org] On > Behalf > > Of Pardo > > Sent: September-24-11 2:48 AM > > To: Aashish Gupta > > Cc: sustran-discuss@list.jca.apc.org > > Subject: [sustran] Re: Fuel prices and inflation > > > > Please see the section on fuel prices of www.sutp.org . One of the most > > recent publications there discusses that point. There is also the fuel > price > > survey which has prices from 100+ countries which shows a better reality > on > > how cheap or expensive fuel is. The middle class argument is not well > > founded, deeper research shows that higher fuel prices are better even > for > > low-income groups. > > > > If Lee Schipper were with us, he would have given us such a thorough > > answer... > > > > Pardo > > > > Typed on keyboard projected onto a glass surface. Please excuse typos. > > > > On 24/09/2011, at 4:43, Aashish Gupta wrote: > > > >> Dear all > >> > >> Hello. I have been thinking about this for sometime, and thought I > should > >> intervene. I do have a few questions, though. What is the evidence on > the > >> price elasticity of demand for petrol and diesel consumption in private > >> vehicles? I think this is an extremely important question. Of course > Ashok > >> (and I too, along with many others) thinks that raising diesel prices > will > >> lower demand for private travel, even shift middle class households (or > >> others, who might be using two wheelers) to public transport, and while > > this > >> is an extremely plausible hypothesis, I do want to see the results on > > this. > >> One could imagine several counters-points to this, for instance by > arguing > >> that actually, travel demand is inelastic to small price changes, since > >> these dont affect the middle class that much; even if they do, they cant > >> help it much because they have already brought a car or a motorcycle and > >> making changes would require other lifestyle changes, that they are > >> "locked-in" to using a car or a motorcycle, etc. Any pointers? If there > >> arent enough good studies of this, then this is an excellent topic for > >> research, since fuel price hikes are common in india. :) > >> > >> The other thing, of course, is the impact o inflation on food and other > >> prices (of fuel price hikes). I have tried looking around that in the > > past, but > >> there are several senses of the data. In the past, various economists > >> associated with the government of India have claimed (at different > points > > of > >> time) between > > .4%< > http://www.steelguru.com/indian_news/Macroeconomic_indicators_-_Fuel_pri > > ce_hike_impact_June_inflation/223614.html>and > >> > > 1%< > http://www.deccanherald.com/content/77451/fuel-price-hike-impact-inflatio > > n.html>(or > >> > > this< > http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/fuel-price-rise-inflation-t > > o-go-upeffects-uncertain/399478/>) > >> percentage points in the inflation rate because of such hikes. Of > course, > > I > >> dont think we should believe the economist's words on these, especially > >> because some of them have made really bad statements in the past about > >> inflation. > >> > >> I think members of this community would be extremely interested in this > >> report , specially table P1 > >> (section 4.2). Just for background, this report provided the basis for > the > >> change in the policy to allow for "freeing of prices". I also quote from > > the > >> report, > >> > >> Even assuming that the truckers, power generators, industrial users > >> etc.(other than the passenger car owners) are able to pass on fully the > >> additional cost of diesel, an increase of Rs. 4 > >> per litre would mean an increase of around Rs. 20,000 crore in their > cost > > of > >> diesel which would be around 0.4 % of GDP in 2008-09. This should be > >> compared with the inflationary impact of subsidies, which would be > > similar. > >> > >> Overall, of course, this isn't enough evidence on the impact of > inflation, > >> and if someone can do this analysis or point out independent evidence of > > the > >> same, that would be just great. I wish I had the econometric prowess to > do > >> it, but I am just learning, and cant. On the other hand, I do know that > > its > >> not a very difficult analysis. One just has to regress past inflation > > rates > >> on changes in petrol prices and some other variables, to find out the > >> impact. Again, excellent research topic. > >> > >> Having said inconclusive things about the most important things in this > >> debate, I would like to come to other things mentioned. Karthik, bang on > >> target that targetting has failed (horrendously) in India. For instance, > >> around 2005, several studies (IHDS, NFHS, NSS) point out that half the > >> people in the bottom quintile did not have BPL (below poverty line) > cards. > >> > >> Ashok, that food should not be unduly cheap and that higher prices > benefit > >> farmers is a very important debate, again, globally. For instance, one > > finds > >> echoes in this debate on food prices between > >> oxfamand > >> > > others< > http://www.adamsmith.org/blog/international/oxfam-is-wrong-about-food > > -prices/>. > >> It is also true that if prices of food or agricultural commodities rise > >> because of increase in prices of diesel, farmers dont benefit. You are > > right > >> on prices reflecting true costs, which would include the cost of > >> environmental externalities for diesel or petrol. However, it is because > > of > >> this notion of true cost that i support subsidies in modern cooking > fuels > >> for the poor - remember, that there are positive externalities for women > > in > >> households from smokeless chulhas, lpg, methane or kerosene. Karthik, > the > >> use of bio-fuels, however, is another blind-spot, mainly because until > > very > >> recently it was thought that the use of these (things such as wood or > >> cow-dung) by the poor is carbon nuetral - the poor are only using carbon > >> sequestered recently, and this carbon can be again sequestered by growth > > in > >> vegetation. Of course, to check whether this is true, one has to compare > > the > >> rate of consumption with the rate of regeneration. I do agree about your > >> analysis of cooking subsidies. > >> > >> Before I leave, I would also like to mention that diesel has become an > >> important input for farmers as well, especially in areas which dont have > >> reliable or any power supply. As is clear, farmers use diesel pumps for > >> irrigation. Of course, whether thats enough justification for fuel > >> subsidies, is another point. > >> > >> What I personally find abominable is the response of the left-parties in > >> India (but also of others, including the main opposition) on fuel prices > - > >> things such as food prices are much more relevant to the poor, and the > >> solutions for them (such as an expanded PDS) are much nearer in sight > than > >> this petrol price debate. What is also harrowing is that the > environmental > >> side of the debate is completely absent: India that way desperately > needs > > a > >> party with a 'green' vision. The reason for this anger by mainstream > >> opposition parties on fuel price hike appears clear to me, that is their > >> very middle class bases and leadership - the organised labour movement > for > >> the left (public sector bank or railways employees, eg.) and high caste > >> middle class people in the case of the BJP. > >> > >> Warmly > >> Aashish > >> > >> On 24 September 2011 09:52, Karthik Rao-Cavale > wrote: > >> > >>> Rutul, > >>> > >>> This is an excellent question to ponder about, and I am not sure about > > the > >>> empirical answer either. We do know that the cost of production of most > >>> food > >>> items (grain, fruit, vegetables) in India is only a fraction of the > sale > >>> price. We cannot rule out the possibility that the cost of > transportation > >>> as > >>> a fraction of the total sale price is large enough to have a noticeable > >>> impact. But there is also the fact that many of the protests at the > time > > of > >>> a fuel hike are organized by the trucking companies and also the > > communist > >>> parties in India (I vivdly remember the all-India protests by the > > Communist > >>> Party in July 2008, when my trip to the north-east was punctuated by > >>> consecutive strikes in Orissa and Assam) Whose economic interests do > > these > >>> protesters represent? > >>> > >>> That said, I feel that the simple counter-argument to the middle-class > >>> argument is to say that if we want food prices to be maintained at low > >>> levels, then the straight-forward answer is to have larger food > > subsidies. > >>> The mood in the neo-liberal camp is increasingly in favour of targeting > >>> subsidies - here would be an excellent place to start! Why subsidize > the > >>> owner of a diesel-guzzling SUV if all we want is to keep prices of food > >>> low? > >>> Why not increase subsidies to the PDS (Public Distribution System) > > instead? > >>> > >>> There is now enough consensus to push for universal PDS and to get rid > of > >>> the discredited system of targeted food subsidies only for people who > > have > >>> been identified as below poverty line (essentially, it is impossible to > >>> identify people according to economic status, which results a great > deal > > of > >>> exclusion). I once did some back-of-the-envelope calculations and found > >>> that > >>> savings from removing fuel subsidies could cover as much of 2/3rds of > the > >>> additional cost of converting the targeted PDS to a universal PDS > system. > >>> > >>> There is also another angle to this. The cost of transportation does > not > >>> depend on the cost of fuel alone. It also depends on the quality of the > >>> infrastructure. What we now have is a transportation infrastructure > that > > is > >>> over-used in cities (and therefore of bad quality) and non-existent in > > the > >>> hinterland. Fuel subsidies exacerbate the over-use of infrastructure, > and > >>> my > >>> suspicion is that the net effect on transportation costs in some places > >>> might very well be to increase it. Another alternative to fuel > subsidies > >>> would be to focus on improving transportation infrastructure, > especially > > in > >>> the rural hinterland (which includes both rail and road). > >>> > >>> One important qualifiers: my analysis does not extend to cooking fuel. > >>> Subsidizing cooking fuel does have the effect of creating a black > market > >>> for > >>> adulterated fuels. But given the affordability gap, taking away cooking > >>> kerosene subsidies will result in a sudden shift towards burning wood, > >>> charcoal and dung-cakes, all of which are extremely harmful to female > >>> health > >>> and also potential causes of global warming. That is not something I > will > >>> ever recommend. > >>> > >>> karthik > >>> > >>> On Fri, Sep 23, 2011 at 10:36 PM, Rutul Joshi >>>> wrote: > >>> > >>>> Hi all, > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> I have a query - probably a naive one. > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> Every time there is a fuel price hike in India, the complete hoax > >>>> starts doing rounds on the social-networking site about 'how fuel is > >>>> cheaper in other countries in Asia?' and 'how this rise in fuel prices > >>>> is going to affect the economic growth'. The argument put forward by > the > >>>> middle-class and their friendly media is the links between the fuel > >>>> cost and inflation leading to price-rise in the food items and the > >>>> shrinking of the food basket of the poor people. Some other people (in > >>>> ultra-minority) argue that it is just middle-class propaganda to > shield > >>>> themselves in the name of the poor. However, I don't know how valid or > >>>> in-valid these arguments are. Intuitively, I am with the second group > >>>> but I don't really have stronger basis for it. Can some of you who > know > >>>> these issues in detail, throw light on the same? > >>>> > >>>> Thanks, > >>>> Rutul > >>>> -------------------------------------------------------- > >>>> To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > >>>> http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > >>>> > >>>> ================================================================ > >>>> SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > >>>> equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing > countries > >>>> (the 'Global South'). > >>>> > >>> -------------------------------------------------------- > >>> To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > >>> http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > >>> > >>> ================================================================ > >>> SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > >>> equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing > countries > >>> (the 'Global South'). > >>> > >> -------------------------------------------------------- > >> To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > >> http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > >> > >> ================================================================ > >> SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > > (the 'Global South'). > > -------------------------------------------------------- > > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > > > ================================================================ > > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries > > (the 'Global South'). > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------- > > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > > > ================================================================ > > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing > > countries (the 'Global South'). > > -------------------------------------------------------- > > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > > > ================================================================ > > SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, > > equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing > > countries (the 'Global South'). > > > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------- > To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss > > ================================================================ > 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 yanivbin at gmail.com Thu Sep 29 02:29:01 2011 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2011 22:59:01 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Spending under JNURM encouraging priavte transport: Study Message-ID: http://www.newkerala.com/news/2011/worldnews-77064.html Spending under JNURM encouraging priavte transport: Study New Delhi, Sep 28 : A study carried out by the Centre for Science and Environment has found that 70 per cent of the funds under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission(JNURM) have been spent on widening roads and flyovers which has encouraged vehicular and long-distance transport, ultimately leading to more emission of harmful gases. The findings of the study were presented at a seminar on 'Clean and Sustainable Mobility: An Agenda for Reform' here today. After roads and flyovers, the major amount of the JNURM funds have gone to construction of multi-level parking for personal car owners, which was again a great incentive for multiplication of motorised vehicles and disincentive for taking to public transport. CSE director Sunita Narain said the government has fiscal stimulus to the Bus industry during the global crisis, and did not bail out the car industry, which was the right policy, but still the measures taken to encourage public transport which was affordable and easily affordable were not adequate. The CSE calls for early declaration of road map for vehicle emissions for the post 2010 period. India implemented the Auto Fuel policy for 2005-10 under which 13 cities implemented Bharat Stage 1V and the rest of the country Bharat Stage 11 emissions standards in 2010, but so far no efforts have been made for setting the emission standards for the period 2010 to 2020. The adoption of such standards was urgently needed in view of the fact that vehicle production was expected to expand phenomenally in the country in the coming decades, says CSE. From dazzle_dwds at yahoo.com Fri Sep 30 00:15:27 2011 From: dazzle_dwds at yahoo.com (Roselle Leah K. Rivera) Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2011 08:15:27 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [sustran] Nuns in Asilo chapel start dawn rosary; sisters alarmed by Gorordo flyover plan In-Reply-To: <8f570458640a848fbb9437fd69219cbe@xpertmailer.com> References: <8f570458640a848fbb9437fd69219cbe@xpertmailer.com> Message-ID: <1317309327.78514.YahooMailNeo@web125312.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> Cebu City is located in the Visayas, one of the three major islands of ?the Philippine archipelago.?Below is an interesting piece about cultural resistance to concrete dominated change,?a manifestation of ?motorization driven "development." ?We will know if the nun's prayers are indeed able to get the graces of the Gods above to overpower the Gods of the City Hall of Cebu.? ? ? ? ? ? ?? Nuns in Asilo chapel start dawn rosary; sisters alarmed by Gorordo flyover plan Source: newsinfo.inquirer.net Nuns in the Asilo dela Milgarosa are turning to prayer power to try to head off the construction of a flyover next to their chapel in Gorordo Avenue, Cebu City, which they worry will destroy the ?solemnity? of the place. ? ----------------------------------------------------- Roselle Leah K. Rivera Chairperson Department of Women and Development Studies College of Social Work and Community Development University of the Philippines Diliman Quezon City Partner Producer/Host, Sikhay Kilos Radio Program Sa?DZUP 1602, Kasali Ka! Matinong?usapan?para sa maunlad na?bayan. You can listen to us live streaming?www.dzup.org From sutp at sutp.org Fri Sep 30 17:46:12 2011 From: sutp at sutp.org (SUTP Team) Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2011 14:16:12 +0530 Subject: [sustran] =?windows-1252?Q?e-Learning_course_Sustainable_Urban_Mo?= =?windows-1252?Q?bility_in_Developing_Countries_=96_Register_now!?= Message-ID: The Local Development Programme of UNITAR, in partnership with GIZ, is launching a new session of the e-learning course Sustainable Urban Mobility in Developing Countries, from 14 November 2011 to 2 March 2012. The online course Sustainable Urban Mobility in Developing Countries, based on the material jointly developed by GIZ and UNITAR, is designed to provide answers solutions and alternative approaches in the area of urban transport planning that target a more sustainable transport system in Developing Cities. The e-course aims to enhance the capacity of local decision makers and urban and transportation planners to formulate and implement appropriate policies that contribute to sustainability in urban transport in developing countries. It allows an analysis of the main issues of sustainable transport including transport demand management, improved public and non-motorized transport, environmental protection, road safety, and gender in transport. It also deals with means such as economic and financial instruments, institutional improvements, regulation of markets and environmental standards. The 6-module course is based on sound adult pedagogical principles including, among others, self-assessment activities, quizzes and case study, as well as social elements such as group review exercises and a discussion board. It is distributed in such a way to ensure the achievement of the learning objectives in a flexible manner, as participants can choose the learning pace that is the most adequate to them. The course consists of the 6 following modules: ? Module 1 - Urban growth and strategies for sustainable development ? Module 2 - Municipal mobility management ? Module 3 - Public transport services ? Module 4 - Management, financing and institutions ? Module 5 - Energy and environment ? Module 6 - Safety and social issues Comprehensive information about the course and registration at www.unitar.org/event/urbanmobility. View the course flyer at http://www.sutp.org/documents/FLYR-UNITAR-NOV-MAR-ELC-EN.pdf For any enquiry, please send an email at e-ldp@unitar.org. From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Fri Sep 30 21:39:01 2011 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric britton) Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2011 14:39:01 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Google+ as possible support for international collaboration on carsharing. Message-ID: <013201cc7f6d$f0919fa0$d1b4dee0$@britton@ecoplan.org> Subject: Testing Google+ as possible support for international collaboration and exchange on carsharing. Here is the proposal. In brief: to invite a certain number of you who are game for this sort of thing to test with me and others interested the possible usefulness of putting the "circle" concept of Google+ to work for our good cause. I am still fairly early on my learning curve on this, but from what I can see I think it could become a winner for us. If we can get it up and working properly, it should, I believe, be more focused and useful than the other social media options. I also much like the idea of using it for group videoconferences in support of specific projects or events. In addition I feel that their circle concept is going to be far more efficient and less useless disruptive than the other social media. To get a feel for how it works, you might have a look at http://www.google.com/+/demo/. To come to our Google+ page for the World Carshare circle, try https://plus.google.com/stream/circles/p122e9e20ad77b52 . But also a cautionary note: This networking approach is, as we all know, a very delicate business, dangerous even at worst. One is constantly challenged by trying to find the fine line between communication and intrusion, creativity and wastefulness, and from what I understand from my own experience with this in recent years, the only answer to that once you have something up and going is eternal vigilance. But still, in the case of this new approach I do think it is worth at least a try. A final word on chatting in these circles. For my part I prefer that we intrude on each other's time with moderation. The people here have shown in the past that there are responsive to useful information but are not so happy with personal remarks and chat-like calls of their time. So lightly lightly. Hope to hear from you on this and that it will serve you and all of us well. Getting carsharing into the place we need it in our societies is not a one man job. Team work!