1. Expanding our contacts list
2. Report slams Trans-Israel Highway plan
3. Calcutta rickshaw ban
4. Developing countries curbing global warming gas emissions
5. CANSEA training workshop
6. Save Bombay committee on transport in Mumbai/Bombay
7. Proposed APEC virtual centre on transport research and education
8. Seoul congestion pricing success
9. Malaysian Highland Highway Shelved
10. Resources
11. Quick facts.

1. EXPANDING OUR CONTACTS LIST

We in the SUSTRAN Secretariat are eager to expand our list of contacts. Do you currently forward our material to anyone else? If so, please let us know and we can add them directly to our list. Any other suggestions of organisations or individuals for the SUSTRAN Network's mailing list would be most welcome. Please send contact details. This will also assist us in preparing a contacts directory for the region.
Of course, we would like to know of any transport-related organisations in Asia or the Pacific. In addition, we are also keen to make contact with many other kinds of organisations, including: transport-related research organisations or individuals, environmental organisations of all kinds; urban resource centres; advocates for various disadvantaged social groups; housing rights advocates; built heritage advocates; consumers' organisations; etc. "Watchdog" organisations, which monitor aid flows, multi-lateral organisations, and large corporations, are also relevant to SUSTRAN's mission.

2. REPORT SLAMS TRANS-ISRAEL HIGHWAY PLAN

Israel, like many developing countries, is experiencing rapid motorisation. The government there recently approved a plan to build a massive (up to 12 lanes) highway through the country. Proponents claim that it will be self-supporting through tolls and still provide benefits many times higher than its costs, but a recent study by the Floersheimer Institute challenges many of the assumptions used to evaluate it.
The report finds that the project contradicts national transportation and land use goals and criteria. The cost-benefit analysis ignored virtually all environmental and social costs, including air pollution, accident injuries, severance and community disruption, traffic noise, visual intrusion, and loss of recreational, cultural and heritage amenities. The benefit-cost analysis ignored the effects of generated traffic. This significantly overvalues the net benefits of highway capacity expansion (the report gives an excellent summary of recent research on generated traffic). Project traffic demand modeling was based on no toll, but the project is intended to be tolled. The cost of land that will be used for the highway was calculated based on its restricted use (agriculture), although its market price would be 10x or more higher. The highway project was presented to decision makers without any alternatives.
The Floersheimer report argues that these omissions and distortions in the analysis have greatly overstated the net benefits of the project, and that this project (and the lack of support for travel alternatives) creates a self-fulfilling prophesy of increased motorisation and automobile dependency.
[The report is: Yaakov Garb, "The Trans-Israel Highway: Do We Know Enough To Proceed?", Floersheimer Institute for Policy Studies, Jerusalem, April 1997. It is available for US$25 from the Floersheimer Institute, 9A Diskin Street, Jerusalem, 9/6440, Israel; floerins@actcom.co.il. Also, for more information contact the author, Yaacov Garb ygarb@cc.huji.ac.il].

3. CALCUTTA RICKSHAW BAN

The State of West Bengal has announced that it intends to ban cycle rickshaws, hand-pulled rickshaws and hand-pulled carts in a wide area of central Calcutta. In addition, the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) has proposed and arranged financing for six new flyovers to "relieve congestion" at crowded intersections. The Government also intends to close a number of sections of tram route which traverse congested streets.
All of this can be summarised as the exact opposite of sustainable transport. This lurch in the direction of a Western model of development deprives many of the poorest of their livelihood and adds to the pollution for those who spend most of their time on the streets. The abolition of cycle rickshaws and hand-pulled carts would add about another 200,000 to the ranks of those without income and livelihood. Calcutta has an excellent tram system which is starved of funds and carries only 20% of the passengers that it is capable of, with zero pollution. Calcutta's tram, metro and waterway possibilities make it potentially one of the most sustainable cities in the world. Calcutta could become a role model for the rest of the world, but it is about to become the latest victim of motorisation and the destruction of architecture, heritage and culture.
[Source: Extracted from an article "Rickshaws Banned in Calcutta", by John Whitelegg, in Auto Free Times, Issue #12, Late Summer 1997, p. 40. Contacts: John Whitelegg: j.whitelegg@lancaster.ac.uk; Auto Free Times: c/o Fossil Fuels Policy Action Institute, PO Box 4347, Arcata, CA 95518, USA. E-mail: autofree@tide-pool.com, Web: http://www.bikeroute.com/autofree/].
Postscript: The next issue of the journal World Transport Policy and Practice (volume 3, no 3) is a special issue on Calcutta with 5 articles written by Calcuttans active in the transport/environment policy debate there. It will be out in the third week of October. Requests for subscriptions should go to the subscription manager (Pascal Desmond) at pascal@gn.apc.org.

4. DEVELOPING COUNTRIES CURBING GLOBAL WARMING GAS EMISSIONS

A report by the World Resources Institute in Washington, DC, suggests that developing countries may be doing relatively better than developed countries in containing their emissions of greenhouse gases. WRI cites examples including: China's fuel price rises in the 1980s, which led to a 20% reduction of carbon emissions from expected levels; energy efficiency standards and subsidies for renewable energy in Brazil, Mexico, and India; and reduced fossil fuel subsidies in 14 major developing countries have led to lowered rates of carbon emission growth. [Such price rises are not without controversy, however. Fuel price rises have led to political strife and/or strikes in India, Bangladesh and the Philippines recently. Ed.].
[For more information, contact: Shirley Geer, World Resources Institute, Fax: +1 202 638 0036, e-mail: media@wri.org ].

5. CANSEA TRAINING WORKSHOP

The Climate Action Network-Southeast Asia (CANSEA) held a workshop in early June to train its members to analyse and criticise the "National Communications" of their respective countries to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. These national communications document the national inventories of anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases by source. Five participants each from Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia attended the workshop. The transport sector was one of the sectors discussed and one of the resource persons was John Ernst, sustainable transport program coordinator in the Asia regional office of the International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC) in Bangkok.
[Contact: Gurmit Singh or Rabin Jacob, CANSEA Regional Secretariat, c/o CETDEM, PO Box 382, 46740 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Tel: +60 3 775 7767, Fax: + 60 3 775 4039, e-mail: cetdem@po.jaring.my].

6. SAVE BOMBAY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT IN MUMBAI/BOMBAY

The World Bank has now withdrawn from the huge Mumbai Urban Transport Project II (MUTP II), although it says it will consider funding aspects of the project if it is broken up into smaller projects. The withdrawal has caused recriminations and soul searching in the city. A coalition of NGOs, the Save Bombay Committee has become involved in debate over where this leaves the transport agenda there. In a recent feature article, the group's president, Kisan Mehta, outlined a number of criticisms and suggestions, including:

• criticising existing policies that from national to local level are targeted towards increasing car ownership;
• easy finance is denied to buy bicycles but is readily available to aspiring car owners;
• the state government charges dismally low levels of vehicle registration tax (the wheel tax for a Fiat has not risen in 60 years);
• the government programme to construct 50 flyovers and overbridges through privatisation is aimed at providing faster movement to the small number of car owners;
• the time has come to curb the movement and parking of private cars in congested areas through measures such as, congestion and area pricing, higher parking charges (at least to cover the full cost of land and construction);
• the proposal for the 36.6 km long Western Relief Road from Searock Hotel to Dahisar will cause serious environmental degradation and should be abandoned;
• the main priority must be to improve public transport and more efforts must be made to improve bus services.

7. PROPOSED APEC VIRTUAL CENTRE ON TRANSPORT RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

Harun Lubis of the Institute of Technology in Bandung is conducting a study on the formation of an APEC Virtual Centre on Transport Research and Education, with the objective to share information on the state of the art in the transport field. They hope first to collect information on existing transport research and education institutions within the APEC member countries. Transport-related institutions in APEC countries are being invited to fill in a questionnaire which is available at:
http://www.sistelindo.net.id/personal/halubis/index.htm The APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum) members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and USA.
[Contact: Harun al-Rasyid S. Lubis, Department of Civil Engineering, INSTITUT TEKNOLOGI BANDUNG, Jl. Ganesha 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia. Tel/Fax. : +62-22-2502350, e-mail: vapec@ibm.net].

8. SEOUL CONGESTION PRICING SUCCESS

In Seoul...passenger vehicles occupy 65% of all road space, but transport only 15% of the population. So, from a cost-benefit perspective, it has been necessary to reduce the use of passenger cars for individual commuting purposes.
In November 1996, the city government of Seoul introduced economic incentive policies regarding traffic and transport demand management. A particularly effective policy measure has been the congestion charge of W2,000 (approx. US$2.10) levied on private cars entering two of the Namsan Tunnels leading to the center of Seoul. This charge is in effect on weekdays for every vehicle carrying fewer than three people during rush hours.
Results of the charge include a reduction of traffic [on the effected routes?, ed.] by 26%, an increase in average car speed in the tunnels, and an increase in the use of public transport. The number of passengers using car pools for more than 3 persons during rush hours has increased by 76% [on the effected routes?, ed.]. The feasibility of introducing a citywide congestion charge in Seoul is under study. More generally, a system of tolls is being studied to reduce the number of cars entering heavily congested areas at peak times.
The Seoul municipal government plans to use the returns from the Traffic Congestion Charge System to enhance the transport infrastructure as an incentive for citizens to continue using responsible and sustainable transport options."
[Source: The APEC Clean Cities Web Site which includes useful contacts and case studies of innovations in improving the environment in APEC cities. There are a number of transport examples. The item above is a brief excerpt from the case study on Seoul's Congestion Pricing. The site address is: http://www.cleancities.com].

9. MALAYSIAN HIGHLAND HIGHWAY SHELVED

The proposed Highland Highway in Malaysia is opposed by a number of Malaysian environmental groups and was highlighted in a previous SUSTRAN news flash (#21, 24 April 1997). The Federal Works Minister announced on Thursday that the project had been shelved as part of the Government's effort to cut spending in the economy and restore investor confidence. However, the Environmental Impact Assessment, which is half completed, is to continue. Other major projects which have been put on hold include the Bakun Dam, the Linear City in Kuala Lumpur, and the second phase of the new administrative centre, Putra Jaya. These decisions are part of the fallout from the recent currency crisis in Southeast Asia.

10. RESOURCES

a. Mumbai/Bombay Activists' Website The Mumbai Nagrik Vikas Manch, a citizens' action group, which represents ten social groups in the city, has launched a website on their fights against urban decay and the social and environmental effects of major infrastructure and development projects. Topics include the controversial proposed new airport at Mandwa-Rewas ("we question why this project is being pushed through despite low feasibility, gross violation of human rights, no transparency, with total disregard for the environment and against all common sense.").
[The site address is: http://www.mafatlal.co.in/guests/MNVM/default.html].

b. New Book on Transport and Urban Health "Health at the Crossroads: Transport Policy and Urban Health", edited by Tony Fletcher and Anthony McMichael is based on the proceedings of the Fifth Annual Public Health Forum at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. There are 28 chapters with sections on Pollution and Health, Traffic and Injury, Wider Public Health, City Case Studies, and Transport Policies. Contributions of particular relevance to this region include ones on road safety in the developing world by D. Jacobs of TRL, on Bangkok in international perspective by Jeff Kenworthy, and on safety in Delhi by Geetam Tiwari.
[Publisher: John Wiley and Sons, Baffins Lane, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 1UD, UK. Tel. +44 1243 779777, e-mail: cs-books@wiley.co.uk].

c. Transport Demand Management Examples "Commuting in the Greenhouse: Automobile Trip Reduction Programs for Municipal Employees". This Policy & Practice Manual provides local governments with advice and examples on Trip Reduction Programs for employees. Published by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives in 1996. 33 pages. US$20. Along with other transport-related case studies, this can be ordered through http://www.iclei.org/.
[Contact: ICLEI Secretariat: 8th Floor, East Tower, City Hall, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5H 2N2, Fax: +1 416 392 1478, email: iclei@iclei.org or Matt Nichols in ICLEI's U.S. Projects Office, within the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign-U.S. mnichols@iclei.org].

d. ESCAP newsletter on Rural Infrastructure REORIENT is a new newsletter from ESCAP's Transport, Communications and Tourism Division. It is on Participatory Planning of Rural Infrastructure. The two editions so far have concentrated on the pilot project in Laos, which is an initiative of several United Nations and other agencies. There is also news of a UNDP initiative to provide funding to ESCAP to undertake best practice studies of "Transport Interventions and Poverty Alleviation" in five countries (Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, and the Philippines).
[For more information contact: Nasreen A. Khan, Transport, Communications and Tourism Division, ESCAP, United Nations Building, Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok 10200, Thailand. E-mail: khann.unescap@un.org]

11. QUICK FACTS

The production of a typical US car requires more than 50 times its weight in water.
[Source: A.R. Lubis, Coordinator, Water Watch Asia, 120 Armenian Street, 10200 Penang, Malaysia. Tel: +60 4 262 0123, Fax: +60 4 263 3970, e-mail: lubisksn@tm.net.my].