Study Finds Transport on Unsustainable Path in 3 Asian Cities

ASIAN COUNTRIES and cities need to prioritize public transport that meets their economic requirements rather than accommodating more vehicles, according to a new ADB-backed study.

The study, Sustainable Urban Transport in Asia, was carried out in partnership with three Asian cities – Hanoi in Viet Nam, Pune in India, and Xi'an in the People's Republic of China. The aim was to help decision makers better understand the long term viability of their urban transport systems and develop more structured approaches to policy making.

It was carried out by the Partnership for Sustainable Urban Transport in Asia (PSUTA) established in response to the huge and largely uncontrolled growth of motorized transport in Asia over recent decades.

Vehicle fleets are doubling every five to seven years, says Bindu Lohani, Director General of ADB's Regional and Sustainable Development Department, in the Foreword.

“Poor road safety, increased congestion, and air pollution not only negatively affect the quality of life but also carry large economic and social costs,” he writes.

“An effective and sustainable transport system for people and goods is a prerequisite for sustainable economic growth.”

He points out that in many cases, the emphasis has been on adding roads or building high cost systems such as rail-based metros at the expense of more environmentally sustainable modes, such as nonmotorized transport and lower-cost bus systems.

The study developed a set of indicators for each of the three cities, including on access, safety, environment, economic and social sustainability, and governance.

The project found that based on these, passenger transport is heading in unsustainable directions in all three partner cities.

“This is because the number of individual vehicles is growing much more rapidly than public or private forces can accommodate them and is slowing all traffic,” the report says.

“Traffic deaths are low relative to population, but high relative to distances traveled. Average speeds are low, except in the outlying regions of cities, but there the high speeds lead to greater traffic deaths.”

The study finds air pollution from motor vehicles particularly serious in Pune, but also bad in Xi’an and in Hanoi.

“Because roughly 50–70% of all trips in these cities are made on foot or by 2- or 3-wheeled vehicles, exposure of a majority of people to direct emissions from motor vehicles is a problem.”

Fortunately, the indicators on these cities have helped convince city leaders that time for action is short, the study adds. It says that the most important lesson is that transport planning and the resulting infrastructure projects such as roads and flyovers must be based on a quantitative approach using indicators for diagnoses.

“Building a road, for example, could have a profound impact on vehicle emissions by stimulating traffic,” according to the study. “Will pedestrian traffic be bolstered through better facilities, or will the road cut off footpaths, perhaps stimulating more motorized traffic to permit long detours around the road? These are the kinds of quantifiable outcomes, often unintended, that must be understood before transport is modified.”

PSUTA is a pilot program of the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia) and is funded by the Swedish International Development Agency and the Shell Foundation through ADB, and the World Resources Institute's Center for Transport and the Environment (EMBARQ).

The study was launched at the Better Air Quality 2006 being held in Yogyakarta this week.

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