1. Season's Greetings
2. Alarm Bells over World Bank/Vehicle Industry Meeting??
3. Sustran Assembly Members
4. Congratulations to Samjin Lim
5. Opposition to Mumbai-Pune Expressway
6. Indonesia's Public Transport Crippled
7. Tips on Access to Public Transport For Persons With Disabilities
8. More Roads in Beijing
9. Chinese Pollution Clampdown Worries Auto Industry, Sparks Debate
10. Delhi's Motorcycle Taxis Banned
11. "Women Can't Ride"
12. Contacts List
13. On The Lighter Side: LRT Station Prayers
14. Resources
15. Web Sites
16. Events

1. SEASON'S GREETINGS
1998 is coming to an end and a spiritual and festive time of the year is here for many with the arrival of Ramadan and the Christmas season and Chinese/Lunar New Year preparations are just around the corner. We wish everyone all the best in their various observances and festivities! The SUSTRAN Resource Centre is happy to have been in touch with so many people who are actively working towards people-centred and sustainable transport. Thank you so much to all of you who have contacted us. It has been an eventful year for some, painful for others. We wish everyone peace and love for the new year.

2. ALARM BELLS OVER WORLD BANK/VEHICLE INDUSTRY MEETING?
A recent meeting, "Vehicle Industry/World Bank Roundtable on Pollution and CO2 Emissions in Developing Countries, Oct 29-30 1998" was recently highlighted in the sustran-discuss list. The meeting follows up on a paper commissioned by the Environment Department of the Bank (and completed in August, 1998): "Transport and CO2 Emissions -- Flexing the Link: A Path for the World Bank" (Environment Department, World Bank, forthcoming). A major finding is that initiatives to restrain GHG emissions should be aligned closely with overall strategies to reform the transport sector. It also argues that vigorous research and marketing of new low-fuel, clean vehicles is a key element of a durable strategy to combat both air pollution and rising CO2 emissions in developing countries. Recently, vehicle manufacturers have entered into discussions with the Bank Group to explore options for leveraging lending to achieve the pollution reduction and CO2 restraint goals. The ensuing seminar was attended by representatives and experts from motor vehicle manufacturers (Chrysler, Ford, GM, Toyota, Honda, Daimler-Benz, Fiat, Volvo, Skoda, Bajaj, and the Association of Indian Automobile Manufacturers). They were joined by several divisions of the Bank, the IFC, the GEF, and a limited number of officials of outside organizations with similar interests.

COMMENT FROM THE SUSTRAN RESOURCE CENTRE:
Discussions between various "stakeholders" are welcome, but it is alarming to see hints here that the World Bank and GEF may see "cleaner" vehicle technology as THE solution to the environmental impacts of transport. It will be even more alarming if this leads to a large proportion of Bank and GEF funds for this issue going to vehicle manufacturers. Many of us are adamant that cleaning up vehicles is only one of a wide range of policies to bring transport closer to sustainability (in both North and South) - and in many cases, not the most important one. We urge anyone who is concerned about this to visit the web site (see end of this item) to judge for yourselves. We welcome your comments - as would the meeting organisers, we are sure. [A detailed description of the meeting by Lee Schipper and Robin Segal and other additional information is on the web (at http://www.back-to-work.com/clearingtheair.html).]

3. SUSTRAN ASSEMBLY MEMBERS
SUSTRAN is a light and participatory network - We welcome everyone who demonstrates commitment to our goals by becoming active in the "networking" process. However, SUSTRAN does now also have a core group of formal members as a result of the General Assembly meeting in June 1998 in Manila. This group with a say on the running of the network is known as the SUSTRAN Assembly. Here is the current list of SUSTRAN Assembly members:

INDIA

• Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) (Ms Shefali Verma);
• Mr Debasish Bhattacharyya (public transport campaigner, Calcutta);
• People's Science Institute (PSI) (represented by Dr Rajeev Saraf of Transport Research & Injury Prevention Program (TRIPP) see below);
• Save Bombay Committee (Mr Kisan Mehta and Ms Priya Salvi);
• Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP) (Ms Prema Gopalan);
• Transport Research & Injury Prevention Program (TRIPP), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi (Dr Rajeev Saraf);

INDONESIA

• Lembaga Pengembangan Inisiatif Strategis untuk Transformasi (LPIST) (Mr Abdul Hakim and Mr Dharmaningtyas);
• Yayasan Lembaga Konsumen Indonesia (YLKI) (Indonesian Consumers Organization) (Ms Tini Hadad);

KOREA

• Networks for Green Transport (Mr Samjin Lim);

MALAYSIA

• Sustainable Transport Environment Penang (STEP) (Mr Ganesh Rasagam);

PHILIPPINES

• Alternative Planning Initiatives (Alterplan) (Ms Anna Maria Gonzales Biglang-awa and Ms. Sylvia P. Lagunoy);
• Citizens Alliance for Consumer Protection (CACP) (Mr Francis Joseph de la Cruz);
• Co Multiversity/COTRAIN (Ms Fides Bagasao and Ms Luz Malibiran);
• Cycling Advocates (CYCAD) (Mr Ramon Fernan and Ms Dazzle Rivera);
• Green Forum (Mr Sam Ferrer and Mr Gil Reoma);
• Philippine Greens (Mr Robert Verzola);

THAILAND

• Thailand Cycling Club (Mr Vivat Songsasen and Thongchai Panswad (President));

INTERNATIONAL

• Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (ITDP) (Dr Walter Hook);
• International Forum for Rural Transport and Development (IFRTD), Ms Priyanthi Fernando (Executive Secretary);
• SUSTRAN Resource Centre (Mr A. Rahman Paul Barter and Ms Sreela Kolandai) {this is the Secretariat of the Network);
• Transport Working Group, International Forum on Urban Poverty (Mr Brian Williams);
• Dato' Anwar Fazal of Asia Pacific 2000 and Sahabat Alam Malaysia;
• Ms Sri Husnaini Sofjan of Asia Pacific 2000 and the SUSTRAN Resource Centre, Malaysia.

4. CONGRATULATIONS TO SAMJIN LIM
Last month Mr Samjin Lim resigned as Secretary General of the strong Korean sustainable transport advocacy group, Network for Green Transport. He has taken up a new position as Assistant Secretary to the President. He will assist President Kim Dae Jung with his recently launched "Rebuilding Korea Movement" for fundamental reform. This is a well-deserved recognition of Samjin's remarkable organising and advocacy skills. We hope that Network for Green Transport will continue to thrive and be involved in the SUSTRAN network and that Samjin might be able to bring sustainable transport issues into the mainstream national reform agenda in his new role. Samjiin's enthusiastic presentation at the June SUSTRAN meeting on the achievements of his organisation was a great inspiration to everyone who was there. Congratulations to Samjin Lim on his new appointment!

5. OPPOSITION TO MUMBAI-PUNE EXPRESSWAY
A number of non-governmental organisations are coming out in opposition to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, including the Save Bombay Committee and PARISAR, a Pune-based group. The Times of India (by Gunavanthi Balaram, 16 November 1998) has exposed the impact of the expressway on Katkari tribal groups. PARISAR's Mr Sujit Patwardhan further criticised the project in a letter to the newspaper (and distributed to environmental groups throughout India). He alleges that the hugely expensive project is to be constructed without proper study of all the facts and impact on the environment or social structures. He describes it as an unaffordable white elephant, saying that the present National Expressway NH4 between Mumbai and Pune has already been widened to four lanes and will meet the needs of essential road traffic for the next decade if growth in private vehicles is controlled. Several NGOs have been asking for documents and details about this project but they say that the authorities, particularly the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), refuse to release information and continue to spread misinformation about the benefits of the project. [Contact: Sujit Patwardhan, PARISAR, Yamuna, ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007, India. Tel: + 91 212 327955, Email: sujit@vsnl.com].

6. INDONESIA'S PUBLIC TRANSPORT CRIPPLED
Many of Jakarta's buses will stop running if fares are not raised to offset increased operational costs, according to Priyatmedi of the Jakarta chapter of the Association of Land Transport Entrepreneurs. He said that following the rupiah's drastic fall, prices of spare parts and maintenance had soared while fares had not been raised for the past two years. If the demand for a fare hike was rejected, the government might have to take over all city bus lines. Although most bus lines are operated by private companies, the fares are set by the government. Operations have already been halted on 79 of the 690 public transport routes in Jakarta in the past year. The minibus fleet in Jakarta operated by a cooperative, Kopaja, has dropped to 600 vehicles from 1,500 in pre-crisis times and is facing imminent collapse, according to Syarifuddin, heads of Kopaja operations. Demonstrations by public transport workers and drivers have occurred in Medan, Banjarmasin and Samarinda in recent months to demand a subsidy for spare parts and other assistance [Sources: AFP news service, October 1998, The Sun (Malaysia), December 1998].

7. TIPS ON ACCESS TO PUBLIC TRANSPORT FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
Several interesting items from the recent TRANSED Conference in Perth, Australia were kindly passed to the SUSTRAN Resource Centre by Naziaty Yaacob of Universiti Malaya. Among them is a briefing sheet by Access Exchange International that provides a very useful 2-page introduction to the basics of accessibility to public transport for people with disabilities in the South. Some of these ideas are virtually without cost, others are very low-cost, while some are moderate cost. The SUSTRAN Resource Centre can email a copy to anyone who is interested. See also the longer booklet, "Mobility For All: Accessible Transportation Around the World", from Access Exchange International which is listed in the resources section below along with their contact details.

8. MORE ROADS IN BEIJING
A series of major road improvement projects have been launched in Beijing. Deputy Mayor Wang Guangtao said that the Second (33 km) and Third (48 km) ring roads are to be upgraded and 10 major routes linked to the ring roads will be transformed into expressways, 13 overpasses will be added and 22 additional feeder roads will be improved or widened in areas between the ring roads. New express lanes for buses will be linked to the existing city network. The project will be completed by the end of July 1999. The authorities hope the project will raise the average speed of vehicles by as much as 30 percent [This sounds a little optimistic unless the predictions in the next item come true, Eds.]. The two ring roads were built in the late 1970s when there were 400,000 motor vehicles in the Chinese capital. The number has now increased to more than 1.3 million. [Source: Xinhua newsagency, 12 Nov. 1998].

9. CHINESE POLLUTION CLAMPDOWN WORRIES AUTO INDUSTRY, SPARKS DEBATE
The China Daily has questioned tougher emissions standards, a new fuel tax and tight bank loans for car purchases, saying these factors may stall China's automobile sales next year. In a response to choking air pollution in China's cities, the central government has been pressuring auto manufacturers to produce cleaner cars. In 1999, Beijing and Shanghai plan to enforce new standards requiring that cars be outfitted with electronic fuel injection systems and catalytic converters, thus forcing tens of thousands of outdated automobiles and tractors off city roads. Manufacturers argue that the rules would put car prices out of reach and point to the poor quality of locally made unleaded gasoline, saying it would stall fuel-injected engines. A proposal to replace road maintenance fees with a fuel tax could also make the cost of operating an automobile prohibitively high, since it would concentrate the burden of funding road repairs on car owners. [Source: Reuters].

10. DELHI'S "MOTORCYCLE TAXIS" BANNED
Delhi's 600 motorcycle taxis (Harley Davidson bikes fitted with three wheels and seating for 8 or more people at a squeeze) have been banned by an early October Supreme Court order to phase out the old commercial vehicles because of their contribution to pollution. Popularly known as "phat-phattiyas" after the noise their engines make, they first appeared in the 1940s. Some are nostalgic over the loss of the "historic"vehicles and the now-jobless drivers are pressing the government to fulfil its promise to replace their junked vehicles with new jeeps and to lower the cost of the transition. [Source: Outlook (Indian weekly news magazine) October 18,1998]

11. "WOMEN CAN'T RIDE"
In many parts of Africa, where bicycles often represent the only viable alternative to miles of walking, women who ride bicycles are often considered altogether TOO independent. When asked why so few women in Beira, Mozambique ride bicycles, the following were among the responses: "Women don't know how to ride bikes"; "It's not ladylike for women to spread their legs"; "Women are afraid to ride bikes"; "Women can't be trusted to ride bikes because they may go off and have affairs"; and "The man of the house deserves to ride a bike more than the women". [Source: "Breadwinners, Homemakers and Beasts of Burden" Paper by Dieke Peters, ITDP, New York. Email: mobility@igc.apc.org].

12. CONTACTS LIST
Thank you to those who have sent in your details for inclusion in our Contacts List. The initial (short) version of SUSTRAN's Contacts Directory is posted on our web site. Apologies to a few of you who sent your details but have not yet been included. We will be constantly updating and expanding the list. Please help us to keep our records up to date. If your contacts details have changed recently or if you notice any errors, please let us know. As always, any other comments and ideas on SUSTRAN, its mission and on SUSTRAN News Flashes are most welcome.
Website: http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/2853/#SUSTRAN News Flashes

13. ON THE LIGHTER SIDE: LRT STATION PRAYERS
On Fridays just after midday, the foyer of one of Kuala Lumpur's LRT stations is put to an unusual use. The Masjid Jamek Station in central Kuala Lumpur is next to the Jamek Mosque (as its name suggests) and during Friday prayers the large congregation overflows from the mosque compound into the LRT station foyer and onto nearby footpaths. Passengers emerging from the LRT at that time are greeted by the impressive and perhaps surprising sight of ranks of Muslim men praying the Jumaat (Friday congregational) prayers in unison. So far, there is no problem with this since the station is not very busy at that time and passengers need make only a small detour to avoid the congregation.

14. RESOURCES

• " National Cycle Network: Guidelines and Practical Details" by Sustrans, UK and Ove Arup & Partners (Issue 2, March 1997). £29.50 plus £5.90 post and packing. This set of guidelines is rich in illustrations and accessible diagrams and is slightly less technical than the similar set of Dutch Guidelines from CROW that were highlighted in an earlier news flash. [Contact: SUSTRANS, 35 King Street, Bristol BS1 4DZ, UK. Tel: +44 117 929 0888, Fax: +44 117 929 4173, E-mail: Rachel_Bromley@sustrans.org.uk or philipi@sustrans.org.uk].

• "Mobility For All: Accessible Transportation Around the World" by Tom Rickert. A guide to making transportation accessible for persons with disabilities and elders in countries around the world. [Contact: Access Exchange International (AEI), 112 San Pablo Avenue, San Francisco, California 94127 USA. Tel: 415 661 6355, Fax: 415 661 1543, Email: globalride-s@worldnet.att.net].

• "Inland Water Transport" by Colin Palmer 1998, IFRTD Issues Paper on country boat operations in Bangladesh, Peruvian Amazon and the Niger delta.[Contact: IFRTD, New Premier House (2nd Floor) 150 Southampton Row London WC1B 5AL UK. Tel: +44 171 278 3670, Fax: +44 171 278 6880, Email: ifrtd@gn.apc.org, Web: http://www.gn.apc.org/ifrtd].

• "Networking for Development" by Paul Starkey 1998 Comprehensive survey and synthesis of networking issues and animal traction networks in Africa. [Contact: IFRTD, details as above].

• "Chasing Rickshaws" by Tony Wheeler and Richard l'Anson, Lonely Planet Publications, 1998. Documentation of rickshaw culture, stories of NMV pullers, riders and artists. Proceeds help ITDP. [Contact: ITDP, 115 W.30th St., Suite 1205, New York, NY10001.USA. Email: mobility@igc.apc.org, Web: http://www.itdp.org/].

• Three Publications from IBF: -"The Bicyclist's Dilemma in African Cities, "Transportation, Bicycles And Development in Africa: Progression or Regression", "Transportation Patterns in Nairobi" [Contact: International Bicycle Fund, 4887 Columbia Drive South, Seattle, WA 98108-1919 USA Tel & Fax: +1 206 767 0848, Email: ibike@ibike.org., http://www.ibike.org].

• "Transportation Planning and Management in Tokyo, Japan" by Katsuaki Takai. UNCRD Discussion Papers [Contact: Publication and Information Dissemination Office, United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), Nagono 1-47-1, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya 450-0001, Japan. Tel: +81 52 561 9379, Fax: +81 52 561 9458, Email: info@uncrd.or.jp].

• "Traffic Impact Of Highway Capacity Reduction: Assessment of the Evidence" by Sally Cairns, Carmen Hass-Klau and Phil Goodwin. ISBN 1 899650 10 5 A4 [Contact: Landor Publishing, Quadrant House, 250 Kennington Lane, London SE11 5RD, UK. Tel: +44 171 582 6626, Fax +44 171 735 1299, Email: landor@compuserve.com].

• "Car Busters Bulletin" [Contact: Car Busters, 44 rue Burdeau, 69001 Lyon, France. Tel: +33 4 72 00 23 57, Fax: +33 4 78 28 57 78, Email: carbusters@wanadoo.fr].

• "Our Cities our Homes: A to Z Guide on Human Settlements Issues" by Sri Husnaini Sofjan and Eugene Raj Arokiasamy. [Contact: Asia Pacific 2000-UNDP, Wisma UN Block C, Complex Pejabat Damansara, Jalan Dungun, Damansara Heights, 50490 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tel: +603 2559122, Fax: +603 2532361, Email: umpap@po.jaring.my, http://www.undp.org/undp/fomys/regproj2.htm#ap2000].

• "GATE magazine", Special Issue on "Mobility for the Majority", 3/98 September 1998. [Contact: GTZ, GmbH, Post Box 5180 D-65726 Eschbom, Germany. Fax: +49 6196 79 73 52, Email: gate-isat@gtz.de, Web: http://gate.gtz.de/isat/].

• "Urban Transport Models: A Review", Working Paper 39. By the Australian Bureau of Transport Economics. It includes a comparative analysis of various types of transport models and concludes that integrated land use-transport models incorporating behavioral relationships are most accurate. A good overview of available models. [Available for free by email (bte@dot.gov.au) or from the website (www.dot.gov.au/programs/bte/bethome.htm)].

• "Habitat Debate" Volume 4 No.2 1998, Journal of The UNCHS. This is a special issue on "The Missing Link: Towards Sutainable Urban Transport". [Contact: UNCHS (Habitat), PO Box 30030 Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 2 623988/623147, Fax: +254 2 624060/624333, Email: rasna.warah@unchs.org, Web: http://www.unchs.org/ or http://habitat.unchs.org/home.htm].

• "Benefits of Mileage Based Auto Insurance" by Economic Policy Institute, December 10, 1998, Washington DC. [Contact: Stephanie Scott-Steptoe, Tel: +1 202-775-8810 or Todd Litman, Victoria Transport Policy Institute, 1250 Rudlin Street Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada. Tel/Fax: +1 250-360-1560, E-mail: litman@islandnet.com, Website: http://www.islandnet.com/~litman]

15. WEB SITES

• CarShare Consortium WebSite, HotLine and Chat facility: http://www.ecoplan.org/carshare/cs_index.htm
• CarShare Discussion List: via http://egroups.com/list/carsharing/
• Transport-Prof, a new international e-mail group for professionals working in Public transport in urban areas: http://www.kopke.net/list.
• The transport Web provides interesting information and services available to the transport world. Web: http://www.transportweb.com
• Copy of Phil Goodwin's Inaugural Lecture 'Solving Congestion': via http://www.ucl.ac.uk/transport-studies/
• New Discussion Forum in support of the International Car Free Day Consortium: http://www.ecoplan.org/carfreeday or http://egroups.com/list/carfreeday/

16. EVENTS

"VELOZITY" Australasian Cycling Conference, February 17-19, 1999, Adelaide, Australia. [Contact: VeloZity, PO Box 2617, Kent Town, South Australia 5071, Australia. Tel: +61 8 8227 2055, Fax: +61 8 8227 2044, http://www.velozity.adelaide.net.au ].

"Urban Public Transportation Systems" ASCE's First International Conference, March, 1999. [http://www.asce.org/conferences/upts/index.html].

"Velo-City '99" International Cycle Planning Conference April 13-16, 1999, Graz, Austria. [Contact: Semaco ges.m.b.H, Firmianstrasse 3, A-5020 Salzburg, Austria. Fax: +43 662 826 8784, Web: http://kamen.uni.mb.si/velo-city99].

"53rrd UITP International Congress 1999", May 23-28, 1999, Toronto, Canada. [Contact: International Union of public Transport-UITP, Avenue Herrmann-Debroux 17, B-1160 Bruxelles, Belgium. Tel: +32 2 673 61 00, Fax: +32 2 660 10 72, Email: events@uitp.com].

"Riding for Life" June 6 - 11, 1999. An 800 km ride from Singapore to Penang, Malaysia, organized by Action for AIDS to raise money for AIDS patients. [Contact: George Bishop, National University of Singapore, E-mail: swkgb@leonis.nus.edu.sg, Web: http://www1.swk.nus.edu.sg/swk/gb/].

"DEALS ON WHEELS: SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION INITIATIVES SUPPORTING THE ECONOMY AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES" July28-30 (tentative dates), 1999, San Salvador, El Salvador. This meeting seems set to become the major meeting on sustainable transport in the South for 1999. [Contact: Maria J. Figueroa., UNEP Collaborating Centre on Energy and Environment, Risoe National Laboratory, P.O. Box 49, Roskilde, DK-4000 Denmark. Fax: +45 46 32 19 99, E-mail: maria.figueroa@risoe.dk]

"City Trans Asia '99 Conference", September 16-19, 1999, Singapore. [Contact: Ms Josephine Tay or Ms Yap Lai Cheng, The Conference Secretariat, City Trans Asia Management Pte Ltd, 20, Kallang Avenue, 2nd Floor, Pico Creative Centre, Singapore 339411. Tel: +65 297 2822, fax: 65 292 7577 / 296 2670, Email: mpconven@singnet.com.sg].

"Velo Mondiale 2000" World Bicycle Conference, June 18-22, 2000, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. This one will be a whopper! [Contact: Congress Organisation Services, PO Box 1558, 6501 BN Nijmegen, The Netherlands, Fax: +31 24 360 1159].

"URBAN 21" Global Conference on the Urban Future, July 4-6, 2000. International Congress Centre, Berlin, Germany. [Contact: Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning, URBAN 21, Am Michaelshof 8, D-53177 Bonn, Germany. Fax: +49 228 826 315 Email: info@urban21.de, Web: http://www.urban21.de].

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Written and compiled by A.R. Paul Barter and Sreela Kolandai. There are currently 442 direct subscribers to the SUSTRAN News Flash service.

The Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia & the Pacific (SUSTRAN) is dedicated to promoting transport policies and investments that foster accessibility for all; social equity; ecological sustainability; health and safety; public participation; and high quality of life.

We rely on you, the participants in the network, for our news. Thank you to everyone who has sent material. Please keep it coming. We welcome brief news and announcements from all over the world.

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