23 July 2000 Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia and the Pacific (SUSTRAN) Dr A. Rahman Paul BARTER P.O. Box 11501, Kuala Lumpur 50748, Malaysia. TEL/FAX: +60 3 2274 2590 E-mail: sustran@po.jaring.my Web: http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/2853/ CONTENTS
1. SOUTH ASIA STARTS TO TACKLE AUTO RICKSHAW POLLUTION Air pollution from South Asia's 3-wheeler taxis (known as Auto Rickshaws or "baby taxis") is prompting action. These vehicles are South Asia's version of Thailand's "Tuk Tuk" or the Philippines' "tricycles". In India, Bajaj auto, the manufacturer of the three wheeled autorickshaws, has announced that it will stop production of its two-stroke model, as it had developed a less polluting four stroke engine. In addition, a four stroke CNG autorickshaw is being released. The vehicle is claimed to deliver 50 km per kg of CNG. A three litre stand-by petrol tank is also included, for emergencies. Bajaj hopes to produce the vehicle at the rate of 1000 a month by July at its Pune plant. In Nepal, diesel-run auto-rickshaws, have been banned altogether after a campaign by environmentalists against them. They have been at least partially replaced by battery-operated three- wheelers, called "safa tempo" (clean tempo), which do not emit smoke or the loud noises associated with diesel auto-rickshaws. In Dhaka, about 400 auto rickshaw mechanics recently took part in the first of a series of training programs. It focused on maintaining and repairing engines, and advising drivers on the proper quality and quantity of lubricant oils. These are two simple practices that can drastically reduce emissions. For example, baby taxi drivers typically use as much as 10 percent four-stroke engine oil with their petrol. But by using only 3 percent of quality two-stroke engine oil, they could save money and reduce emissions. The workshops are being run by an NGO, the Society for Urban Environmental Protection and Uttara Motors, with funding from the World Bank and the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program, a global technical assistance effort funded by the World Bank, UNDP, and 15 public and private donors. There are an estimated 50,000 auto rickshaws in Dhaka, most of them using two-stroke engines. They contribute approximately 35 percent of particles and nearly half of hydrocarbons emitted by all vehicles. Sources: compiled from forwarded stories from Press Trust of India; BBC World Service News, and the World Bank's Daily Webzine, Development News, http://www.worldbank.org/developmentnews/ 2. EXPRESSWAY SCEPTICS ARRESTED IN BANGALORE 
On 5 July several activists were violently arrested as they protested a lack of public information on a major proposed expressway project in Karnataka State in southern India. The event took place during a statutory "Environmental Public Hearing" on the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor - an 111km expressway between the cities of Bangalore and Mysore with a 9.1Km link road into downtown Bangalore. In addition, it involves setting up seven townships. The anticipated cost is US$ 500 million. A number of civic groups are concerned, among other things, that the project is being pushed forward with undue secrecy, that alternatives have not been realistically considered and that there are worrying signs that resettlement of people in the path of the project will not be handled properly. At a similar hearing at Mysore on 30 June a pro- project crowd of thugs prevented any discussion on the merits and demerits of the project - anyone raising questions was shouted down by the rowdy crowd. Sceptics have expressed concern that project may simply a huge real estate development for corporate gain but implemented at great public expense and social cost. For more information contact: Environment Support Group (R), S-3, Rajashree Apartments, 18/57, 1st Main Road, S.R.K. Gardens, Jayanagar, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore 560 041, INDIA. Telefax: +91-80-6341977, Fax: +91-80-6723926 (PP), Email: esg@bgl.vsnl.net.in, http://www.altindia.net/esg/index.htm 3. RESEARCH ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT FOR THE URBAN POOR Low-income areas of Karachi are the subject of a research project investigating critical issues in public transport for the urban poor. The team is led by the Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) of Loughborough University in UK and includes the Urban Resource Centre (URC) Karachi, Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). The focus is on how to improve access to public transport by the urban poor in general, and especially women, children and the aged. Contact: Dr M. Sohail, WEDC, Loughborough University, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK. Fax: +44 1509 211079, Email: M.Sohail@lboro.ac.uk, Outputs of the research can be seen at the project website: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/cv/wedc/projects/ptup/index.htm 4. CAR FREE DAY UPDATES A diversity of activities and events are being planned in cities on several continents for the proposed World Car Free Day on Thursday Sept 21 and the European Car Free Day on Friday September 22. In addition, Chengdu in China is now said to be planning an similar event for October. For more information on how your city or organisation can become involved please see http://www.ecoplan.org/carfreeday/world/wc_home.htm and the somewhat more radical http://www.carbusters.ecn.cz - follow the links to World Car Free Day, and then to the articles "Past, Present and Future of Car Free Days". In a related initiative, Ecoplan is calling for nominations to a "CarFree Honour Roll" and a corresponding "Badge of Shame Award". If you think your city (or any city you are familiar with) deserves a place of honour or shame in one of these lists as a result of its efforts or failures in transport planning and policy then please visit http://www.ecoplan.org and from there follow the menu to CarFree Honor Roll where you can express your views. You can also express your views on what criteria should be used in choosing cities for each of the lists. With luck the lists will be used in a high profile announcement on September 21 and 22. Contact: Eric Britton, The Commons, Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France. E-mail: Eric.Britton@ecoplan.org, URL http://www.ecoplan.org 5. FIRST INTERNATIONAL WALK TO SCHOOL DAY (IWALK) Meanwhile, October 4 is the first International Walk to School Day (iwalk for short). "The ultimate goal is to create a more walkable world, community by community." Try these sites for more information: http://www.goforgreen.ca, http://www.dorset-cc.gov.uk/walktoschool/wts.htm, http://www.walktoschool-usa.org/ 6. ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF CYCLING The Interface for Cycling Expertise has published results of a study on the Economic Benefits of Cycling with case studies from several cities around the world (Bogota, Delhi and Morogoro in Tanzania, and Amsterdam). The study was launched at the recent Velo Mondiale conference in Amsterdam. Benefits were divided into internal benefits of cycling policy (better health, employment opportunities, less travel time for cyclists, fewer stolen bikes and less travel costs) and reduced external costs of other modes (less investment in other modes, less congestion and use of space, better quality of life, less pollution, less road accidents). The study faced formidable challenges in obtaining data but nevertheless reached clear conclusions. Benefits exceed costs in all cities and the greatest benefits come from improved mobility of cycling (internal benefits are higher than reduced external costs). The results indicate that improved mobility and lower user costs contribute most to the economic significance of cycling facilities. The report costs 12.50 Euro plus postage. Contact: Interface for Cycling Expertise (I-ce), Predikherenstraat 17, 3512 TL Utrecht, The Netherlands. Fax +31 30 231 23 84, E-mail: i-ce@cycling.nl, http://www.cycling.nl/start.htm 7. SAFETY AS A HUMAN RIGHT? Those who attended the 5th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Control held in New Delhi in March 2000 declared their support for a human rights approach to be taken to the issue of safety and injury control. If successful, such an initiative could have great implications for our approach to transport safety. The Delhi Declaration on Peoples' Right to Safety argues that much greater action and accountability is needed on safety, given that injury is a huge global burden as measured by its impact on disability-adjusted life years. Contact: Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme (TRIPP), Main Building (Room MS808),Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT), Hau Khas New Delhi - 110016, INDIA. Fax. +91 11 685 8703, Email: maheshgaur@hotmail.com or the South Asia Forum for Human Rights, GPO Box 12855, Kathmandu, Nepal 8. SPOTLIGHT ON AVIATION IMPACTS The environmental impacts of aviation are receiving increasing attention. The IGFR Open Research Program Research Group <20. transport> (contact: igfr@igfr.org) recently drew our attention to Issue No. 3 of the Sustainable Transportation Monitor which focuses on aviation. It states that '...of all transport modes, aviation is the least environmentally sustainable at present, and shows the least promise of becoming sustainable.' At currently typical vehicle occupancies and fuel efficiencies, air travel fuel use per person is similar to the rate for car travel. However, the climate change impact of air travel is estimated at about three times the rate of car travel - primarily because engine emissions at altitudes of 10-11 km appear to have a more potent greenhouse effect than the same emissions at sea level. For example, high altitudes enhance the formation and greenhouse potency of ozone from NOx emissions. Global air travel is growing at about 5 percent annually. The Sustainable Transportation Monitor is available in pdf format at http://www.web.net/~cstctd from the Sustainable Transportation Centre in Canada. Contact: Centre for Sustainable Transportation, 15 Borden Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2M8. Phone (1 416) 923-9970, Fax (1 416) 923-6531, E-mail: cstctd@web.net 9. INFORMATION RESOURCES AND LINKS Car Lines Newsletter Back Issues of the Car Lines newsletter on transport-related emissions and pollution issues are now available at http://walshcarlines.com. Contact: Michael P. Walsh, 3105 N. Dinwiddie Street, Arlington, Virginia 22207, USA. Tel: +1 703 241 1297 Fax: +1 703 241 1418, E-mail: mpwalsh@igc.org UK DETR Documents Online A wealth of informative documents (mostly in pdf format) from the United Kingdom Dept. of Transport and Environment (DETR) are available on-line including: Traffic Advisory Leaflet on Traffic Calming on Major Roads; Framework for a local walking strategy (2/00); and a series of bibliographies including on Cycling Bibliography (4/00), Traffic Calming (5/00), Walking (3/00). The URL is http://www.roads.detr.gov.uk/roadnetwork/ditm/tal/index.htm UITP Resources The MOBI+ on-line documentation centre is an extremely rich source of information about urban/regional public transport and its environment. For a fee it is accessible via UITP's website http://www.uitp.com UITP has also published a series of conference proceedings in book form and CD-ROM. Recent titles include: Automatic Fare Collection (Bologna, Feb. 2000); Organisation of Transport and Quality of Service (Florence, Sept. 1999); Urban Public Transport Funding (Paris, Oct. 1999); Urban Structure and Modal Split (Vienna, 1998); The challenge of Urban Mobility. Contents pages can be seen at http://www.uitp.com/pubs/pubslist.htm (see conference proceedings) Contact: UITP, Avenue Herrmann- Debroux 17, B-1160 BRUXELLES. Fax: +32 2 660 10 72, E-mail: publications@uitp.com Call for Papers on Barrier Free Transport Calling for the Submission of Papers on Special Feature of IATSS RESEARCH Vol.25, No.1 (Spring 2001) on "Transportation for Handicapped People: Barrier-Free". Abstracts are due by August 31, 2000 to: IATSS Research Editorial and Advisory Board, International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences, 6-20, 2-chome, Yaesu, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0028 JAPAN. Fax: +81-3-3272-7054, E-mail: iatss@db3.so-net.ne.jp Spanish version of "Mobility for All" "Mobility for All: Accessible Transportation around the world" is now available in Spanish and on the web. "Movilidad para Todos: Transportación Accessible Alrededor del Mundo" is available at http://www.independentliving.org/ (under the download texts link) along with the English version. Arrangements are also being made for Japanese, Portuguese and Malay versions. Contact: Access Exchange International (AEI), 112 San Pablo Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94127-1536, USA. Fax: +(1 415) 661 1543, E-mail: globalride-sf@worldnet.att.net Reforms in estimation of traffic generation At http://www.vtpi.org see "Estimation of Generated Traffic by New Developments: Current Practice and Possible Improvements Based on Bangkok Experience" by Shihana Sulaiha Mohamed and Kazunori Hokao. It critiques current traffic generation prediction models based on ITE methods and data and recommends better approaches that take into account additional factors that may be particularly important for use in developing countries. Open Research Group on Transport The Institute for Global Futures Research (IGFR) has an on-line Open Research Program and their Research Group #20 is on TRANSPORT. There is a growing list of collaborators and they are also providing a contact point for the purchase of relevant publications. Contact: Institute for Global Futures Research (IGFR), P.O. Box 263E, Earlville, QLD 4870, Australia. E-mail: igfr@igfr.org A Key Contact: ITDG's Transport Programme Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG), which is a development agency and British registered charity, has a growing Transport Programme under its Senior Specialist, Ranjith de Silva, who is based in Sri Lanka. ITDG currently has transport programs in Kenya, Nepal, Peru, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Zimbabwe. For more information contact: Ranjith de Silva, Senior Transport Specialist, International Transport Programme, c/o Intermediate Technology Development Group, South Asia Regional Office, 5 Lionel Edirisinghe Mawatha, Kirulapone, Colombo 5, Sri Lanka. Fax: (++ 94 1) 856188, Email: ranjith@itdg.lanka.net, Web: http://www.oneworld.org/itdg/itatwork/transpor.html Other web sites of interest Sierra Club sprawl and transportation website http://www.sierraclub.org/sprawl Australian Pedestrian Charter is available at http://www.walk.com.au/pedcouncil/summit_charter.html 10. COMING EVENTS AND MEETINGS "6th International Conference on Urban Transport and the Environment for the 21st Century", July 26-28, 2000, Cambridge, UK. Contact: Sally Walsh, Conference Secretariat, UT 2000, Wessex Institute of Technology, Ashurst Lodge, Ashurst, Southampton, SO40 7AA, United Kingdom. Fax: +44 238 029 2853, Email: slwalsh@wessex.ac.uk "10th Road Engineering Association of Asia and Australasia", 4-8 September 2000, Tokyo, Japan. Contact: REAAA Conference Secretariat, Fax: +81 3 3519 5092, E-mail: reaaa@extec.or.jp, URL: http://www.extec.or.jp/reaaa/eng/index.html "Traffic Safety on Three Continents", September 20-22, 2000, CSIR Conference Centre, Pretoria, South Africa. Contact: Dr Richard Pain, Transportation Research Board, 2101 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington DC, 204 18 USA. Fax: +1 202 334 2003, Email: rpain@nas.edu "UITP Melbourne 2000 Public Transport Conference Event", 8-13 October 2000, includes both the International Union of Public Transport (UITP) Light Rail Conference and the Asia/Pacific Congress and City Transport Exhibition. Additional information is available on the website of the Government of Victoria (Australia) at: www.lightrail2000.vic.gov.au Contact: International Association of Public Transport (UITP), Avenue Herrmann-Debroux 17, B-1160 Brussels, Belgium, Tel +32 2 673 6100, Fax +32 2 660 1072, E-mail: administration@uitp.com, URL: http://www.uitp.com "Smart Urban Transport - Using Transitways and Busways" conference, 17-20 October 2000, Brisbane, Australia. Contact: Ozaccom Conference Services, PO Box 164, Fortitude Valley QLD, Australia 4006. Tel: +617-38541611 Fax: +617-38541507, Email: ozaccom@ozaccom.com.au "Regional Policy Seminar on Transport and Communication Challenges for Urban Local Governments in the 21st Century", Organised by CITYNET, UN-ESCAP and the City of Kuala Lumpur, 8-10 November 2000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Contact: CITYNET Secretariat, 5F, International Organizations Center, Pacifico Yokohama, 1-1-1 Minato Mirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama 220-0012 Japan. Tel: 81-45 223-2161, Fax: 81-45 223-2162, E-mail: citynet@po.iijnet.or.jp, http://www2.itjit.ne.jp/~citynet "Seminar on Accessible Transport in South China", November 9-14, Shenzen, Guangdong, China. Contact Access Exchange International (AEI), 112 San Pablo Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94127-1536, USA. Fax: +1 415 661 1543, E-mail: globalride-sf@worldnet.att.net "XI Panamerican Conference in Traffic and Transportation Engineering" , 19-23 November, 2000, Gramado, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Contact: Dr. Luis Antonio Lindau, President of the Organising Committee, Escola de Engenharia/UFRGS, Praça Argentina n.9 Sala 408, 90040-020 Porto Alegre, Brasil. Tel: + 55 51 316 3596, Fax : + 55 51 316 4007, email: panam@orion.ufrgs.br, Web: http://www.ufrgs.br/panam "4th International Workshop on Transportation Planning & Implementation Methodologies for Developing Countries: Transport Infrastructure" 5-7, December, 2000. Contact: Prof. S. L. Dhingra / Dr K. V. Krishna Rao, Co-ordinators, TPMDC-2000, Transportation Systems Engineering Group, Civil Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai - 400 076, India. Fax: +91 22 5767302/5783480, Email: tpmdc2k@civil.iitb.ernet.in "Australia: Walking the 21st Century - An International Walking Conference", 20-22 February 2001. Perth, Western Australia. Contact: John Seaton, Manager, Pedestrian Strategy, Metropolitan Division, Department of Transport, PO Box 7272 Cloisters Square, Perth 6850, Western Australia, Australia. Tel: +61 8 9313 8680, Fax: +61 8 9320 9497, e-mail: jseaton@transport.wa.gov.au "54th UITP International Congress" to be held in London, 20-25 May 2001. International Exhibition of Public Transport - City Transport 2001. London, England, 21-24 May 2001. In conjunction with the 54th UITP International Congress. Contact: International Association of Public Transport (UITP), Avenue Herrmann-Debroux 17, B-1160 Brussels, Belgium, Tel +32 2 673 6100, Fax +32 2 660 1072, E-mail: administration@uitp.com, URL: http://www.uitp.com "Transed 2001: Towards Safety, Independence and Security. 9th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and Disabled People." Warsaw, Poland, 2-5 July 2001. Contact: TRANSED, PO Box 10, 02-783 Warsaw 59, Poland. Fax: +48 22 8316526, Email: transed2001@idn.org.pl, Web: http://transed2001.idn.org.pl "9th World Conference on Transport Research (WCTR)" to be held at ASEM International Convention Center, Seoul, July 22-27, 2001. Co-organisers: Korean Society of Transportation & The Korea Transport Institute. Deadline for submission of abstracts April 15, 2000. For further information, contact: Secretariat of 9th WCTR Conference, The Korea Transport Institute, 2311 Daehwa-Dong, Ilsan-Gu, Koyang-city, Kyonggi-Do, 411-410, KOREA. Tel : +82-344-910-3100, Fax: +82-344-910-3200, Email: wctr@cis.koti.re.kr, Web: http://www.koti.re.kr/~wctr "Fourth Conference of the Eastern Asian Society for Transportation Studies (EASTS)", Hanoi, Vietnam, 24-26 October, 2001 hosted by the Transportation Science Society of Vietnam (TSSV). Contact: Office of the EASTS Secretary General, c/o Association for Planning and Transportation Studies, K-Wing 6F, 5-2-1 Kojimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0083, Japan. Tel: +81 3 32651774, Fax: +81 3 32215489, Email: easts@sa2.so-net.ne.jp, http://ichini.cv.titech.ac.jp/~easts/ 11. LIGHTER SIDE
The Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia & the Pacific (SUSTRAN)
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