Strategic Framework Sustainable Urban Transport in Asia

1. Strategic Framework Sustainable Urban Transport in Asia Charles MelhuishCornie HuizengaLee SchipperPartnership for Sustainable Urban Transport in Asia (PSUTA) Better Air Quality (BAQ) 2004 workshop 6-9, December 2004 Agra, India

2. Background • PSUTA is the Partnership for Sustainable Urban Transport in Asia • Partners: Asian Development Bank, EMBARQ, Hanoi city, Pune City and Xian city • PSUTA is financed by Sida through ADB and EMBARQ, Shell Foundation through EMBARQ and contributions by Hanoi, Pune and Xian City • The Strategic Framework for Sustainable Urban Transport is a high-level conceptual framework which aims to guide city authorities and other decision makers in policy and investment decisions related to urban transport systems in Asia

3. Strategic Framework Process • Strategic Framework brainstorming workshop in Hanoi, Vietnam in September 2004 with 30 experts from government, private sector, academe, civil society and development agencies • Presentation and Discussion draft SF at BAQ 2004 (Powerpoint version -December 2004) • Drafting Text Version January – March 2005 • Discussion draft SF at national and city level (Text version March – June 2005) • Presentation of draft final SF at EST conference, Nagoya, Japan (August 2005)

4. Strategic Framework Stakeholders • Land-use planners deciding on the shape and structures of cities • Land developers implementing land-use plans • Policy makers and transport planners deciding on structure and shape of urban transport systems • Regulators responsible for environmental quality, transport prices, competition issues • Financing groups: local and international • Technology providers: vehicles, fuels, Intelligent Transport Systems, etc. • Commercial providers goods and passenger transport • Users of good transport systems • Users of passenger transport systems

5. Key Challenges • Population growth, increased urbanization and associated growth in demand for mobility • Poor air quality resulting from transport and other sources • Growth in the use of motorized transport, at the expense of NMT, which frequently has resulted in reduced access to transport for (absolute) urban poor and other vulnerable groups • Land-use planning paradigms and flawed land pricing mechanisms, which have favored the development of “motorized hungry transport” systems • Governance of the transport system: limited coordination among, and lack of organizational capacity in regulatory and planning agencies. Fragmented structure of the public transport sector in many Asian cities has seriously hampered the introduction of proven non-technical and technological solutions towards improving the environmental, economic and social sustainability of urban (public) transport systems in Asia. • Policy makers do often not prioritize sustainable urban transport

6. What is Sustainable Urban Transport • SUT focuses on access and mobility rather than the movement of vehicles • SUT provides access for and to all groups in society in a manner which is within the environmental carrying capacity of a city or region in a manner which is affordable to both providers and users of transport systems • SUT allows for generating economic growth without compromising economic and social dimensions to a point beyond repair • SUT is a pre-condition for improved quality of life in Asian cities • SUT systems combine technological and non-technological measures to enhance the sustainability of transport systems

7. Environmental Dimension of Sustainable Urban Transport • Pollution from transport should not exceed assimilative carrying capacity of the (local) environment (air, water and soil) • Rate of use of non-renewable resources should not exceed the rate at which renewable substitutes are developed • Air: both local urban pollution to be considered as well as greenhouse gasses.

8. Social Dimension of Sustainable Urban Transport • Vision for road safety: no deaths and no injuries. • Provide access to all sections of society including those below the poverty line • There are high class transport options available at an affordable end-price for all groups in society • People do not feel threatened and their personal security is assured

9. The Economic and Financial Dimension of Sustainable Urban Transport • Transport policies to focus on goals and objectives: market mechanism to determine how to get there • Policy making on transport systems to incorporate full cost allocation of all external costs: life-cycle, social and environmental externalities • Application of full cost allocation system will guide changes in land-use planning and enhance changes in transport planning in Asia • Subsidies or incentives can be considered, they need to take into account equity considerations and environmental impacts, be backed by stable financial mechanisms • Transport systems require the resources to sustain themselves and to allow for continual improvements.

10. Governance of Sustainable Urban Transport • Improved data collection • Genuine efforts to strengthen sustainability of transport systems require involvement of all stakeholders and full access to information on all topics by all groups • Sustainable transport requires consistent political support and well coordinated transparent administrative structures and processes • Sustainable urban transport can require proactive government involvement • Sustainable urban transport requires a well organized public transport sector with a limited number of providers which operate in the formal economy

11. Sustainable Urban Transport and Technology • Technology has an important role to play in strengthening of sustainability of urban transport systems both in terms of “hard ware”: cleaner fuels, vehicles and ITS, as well as in terms of “software”: modeling, intelligent transport systems • Technology does not always mean expensive technology. Also Technology should be improved on continuous basis • The use of technology can be enhanced through the creation of a conducive governance environment and by combining technology with non technological policy measures, e.g. clean busses with BRT and promotion of NMT to “feed” public transport • Technology assessment to be based on environmental, social and economic criteria – trade off process. Certain technologies are more suitable for certain cities and purposes in Asia. • Public transport versus private transport • Bus versus rail • Motorized versus non-motorized

12. Use of Strategic Framework • Sustainable Urban Transport is a vision that cities should work towards • The SF helps decision makers in taking policy and investment decisions to bring cities closer to the vision, rather than to take them further away • The SF allows for a trade-off process between the environmental, social and economic dimension. The outcome of the trade-off process will be different from location to location • SF can help policy and decision makers to “step outside the box” and challenge the status quo on transport policy

13. Implementation of the Sustainable Urban Transport at city level • Teamwork within government, national – local as well as between departments is required to achieve common goal of SUT. Reorganization of institutional mandates can be required to achieve this or the creation of dedicated administrative structures • Visionaries or champions are needed to move the process forward • Effective communication strategies are required to win “hearts and minds” • The use of indicators can greatly help in analyzing current sustainability levels and to support implementation processes of SUT policies and investments • Independent or third party monitoring and evaluation • Substantive capacity building required among stakeholders (government, private sector and civil society) to enable the formulation and implementation of SUT policies in Asia

14. Financing of Sustainable Urban Transport • Polluter pays principle should apply • Infrastructure use to generate revenue • Cities and states to broaden revenue generation to enhance the sustainability and self-reliance • Public private partnerships within a strong regulatory framework • Policies and measures to ensure that free-riders do not gain from value capture on land and decreased congestion • Cross subsidization based on polluter pays principle • Strong public transport sector backed by strong governance • Development agencies to increase funding for sustainable urban transport systems