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Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and prospects for high-density cities1

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Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

Paper submitted to the Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, April 2000

Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and prospects for high-density cities

Paul BARTER

The SUSTRAN Network and Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy (ISTP), Murdoch University

Introduction

Recent decades have seen rapid change in the urban transport of many Asian cities. New transport

opportunities have emerged but so have great challenges. Certain cities in the region have been hailed as

success stories while in others transport problems are threatening environmental quality, safety, economic

performance and even development goals.

This has been in the context of rapid urbanisation and accelerated economic change generally for cities in

Asia (Drakakis-Smith, 1992; ESCAP, 1993; Forbes, 1996). The middle-income countries of Asia are in the

midst of the so-called urban transition and the populous low-income regions of South Asia, China and

Indochina are now also facing accelerating urbanisation (United Nations, 1993). The fact that Asia has

lagged behind most other regions in urbanisation rates means that as a whole it still has a high potential for

further large increases in urban populations. This is rapidly creating large numbers of significant cities in the

region, each of them facing considerable challenges and growing pains, not least in the arena of urban

transport.

This paper presents a spatial perspective on the main fundamental public policy choices faced by transport

decision-makers in Asian cities. It also takes a long-term and comparative view of the issue. Many Asian

cities, in common with others around the world, face a key dilemma, namely how to enhance “accessibility

for all” in the face of spiralling traffic problems, deteriorating public transport service and a lack of

investment funds. The results of a comparative analysis provide insights on several key public policy choices

for low-income and middle-income cities, particularly those that are motorising quickly from previously low

levels of vehicle ownership. For reasons that will be explained, the choices are often particularly stark in

Asia. Scenarios for the future of transport systems in such cities and relevant policy implications are

This paper is based primarily on research presented in “An International Comparative Perspective on Urban Transport

and Urban Form in Pacific Asia: The Challenge of Rapid Motorisation in Dense Cities”, PhD Thesis by Paul A. Barter

in the Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy (ISTP), Murdoch University, 1999

(http://wwwistp.murdoch.edu.au/research/pbarter/pbarter.htm). The work was part of a major team effort at ISTP to

collect urban transport data which has been published in Kenworthy and Laube et al. (1999). The cities included in that

study were as follows. Wherever regional averages are shown in this paper, these are the cities that are being referred to.

Asia: Bangkok, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Seoul, Singapore, Surabaya, Tokyo.

Australia: Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Canada: Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg

Europe: Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, London, Munich, Paris, Stockholm, Vienna, Zurich

United States: Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, Portland (Oregon),

Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Washington

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

discussed. Evidence is drawn from a wide range of cities but most especially from 9 cities in eastern Asia for

which very detailed data have been compiled as part of a large international study (Barter, 1999; Kenworthy

and Laube et al., 1999). Several contrasting urban transport models or “strategies” can be identified, each

representing fundamentally distinct choices with profound long-term consequences.

Regional Urban Transport Trends and Comparisons

This first section of the paper will put current transport patterns and trends in Asia into a wider historical and

international perspective in order to better understand the range of choices available.

Asian urban transport until the 1960s

To set the scene let us take a brief look at urban transport patterns in Asia in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. This is

based on a more detailed historical review in Barter (1999). During this period, in most Asian cities outside

Japan, the vast majority of residents were served by a mixture of bus and/or jitney-based

public transport.

Non-motorised transport, including walking and increasingly bicycles and pedicabs in many cities, was

dominant for short trips of up to 5 km or so. Buses and/or jitneys were the main mode only for longer trips

but were very significant only in larger cities (of more than 500,000 people or so). Low-cost taxi-like modes

(either motorised or non-motorised) tended to provide feeder services to bus and jitney routes. Only a very

small elite group of high-income people owned private cars. Modest tram systems had existed in almost

every large Asian city during the early decades of the century but by the 1960s they had been removed

almost everywhere, in line with the international fashion (Rimmer, 1986). Suburban rail services were

significant only in certain Indian cities, primarily Bombay, and in Japan. The 1960s saw the beginnings of an

upsurge in vehicle numbers in many cities, but this had not yet created high motorisation levels by 1970.

Large Japanese cities differed from most other Asian cities by developing strongly rail-based transport

patterns (continuing a process that had begun before the war) with extensive tram systems (later replaced by

subways) and suburban railways. As a result, Japanese urban land-use patterns were strongly influenced by

railways, the dominant mode of transport (Cervero, 1998).

Asian urban land-use patterns

Most Asian cities were expanding quickly in the post-war decades and the urban land-use patterns that

emerged in these developing cities reflected the post-war transport patterns that helped to shape them.

Accordingly, by the 1960s key land use features of most developing Asian cities included: a) a centralised,

The word “jitney” refers to public transport vehicles operated by small enterprises or owner-drivers using minibuses,

minivans or similar vehicles on fixed or semi-fixed routes with little or no government regulation. Manila’s jeepneys

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

but not highly concentrated, distribution of jobs; b) generally high urban densities; c) mixed land use in most

areas; d) commercial activity in long strips along major roads; and e) a radius of at most 15 km or so. These

“bus, jitney and NMT cities” tended to have urban densities well above 100 persons per hectare over their

urbanised area

, although large areas devoted to institutional land uses and elite housing could give a

misleading impression of low density in parts of the cities. Overall, Asian urban densities were usually much

higher than those found in European cities and many times higher than the densities in American or

Australian cities. Central areas were not empty of population and often had as many residents as jobs. A

schematic map of the main land-use features of these cities is shown in Figure 1.

are perhaps the most famous example but similar services can be found in many countries and also operated in many

Western cities earlier in the 20

Century.

Urban density is calculated by dividing the population of the metropolitan area by its urbanised area, where the

urbanised area is the sum of the areas taken up by urban land-uses, including residential, industrial, offices, commercial,

public utilities, hospitals, schools, cultural, sports grounds, wasteland (urban), transport facilities, and small parks and

gardens.

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

Figure 1 Schematic map of bus, jitney and NMT-dominated Asian cities

Source: Barter, 1999.

There were variations on these patterns of course, depending on local topography, the size of each city and

other factors. For example, Hong Kong developed exceptionally high densities as a result of a factors that

included a constrained site, a high role for ferries (which can cater to very concentrated flows of people) and

urban planning policy in the city.

Despite such variations, all large Asian cities outside Japan shared a number of characteristics that made

them vulnerable to serious problems later as vehicle numbers began to rise quickly. Firstly, almost all of the

developing Asian cities were highly dependent on bus or jitney-based public transport and lacked significant

traffic-segregated public transport, such as rail, that had been relatively common in large Western cities and

Japan. Secondly, most of the Asian cities had much higher urban densities than had been the case in most

Western cities at the equivalent stage in their motorisation. These factors made developing Asian cities more

vulnerable to the impacts of growing traffic than most Western cities had been earlier when cars began to

intrude in large numbers.

Many Asian cities retain a rather high density character today, with some variations from city to city and

country to country (Table 1). Only Japanese and Malaysian cities have middle-densities in the same range as

European cities. Some of the highest urban densities in the world are to be found in Korea, Vietnam, China

and South Asia.

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

Table 1 Urban density in Asian and selected other cities, ca. 1990

Urban

Density

(persons

per ha)

Population

(millions)

Year of

Data

Source of Data

Cairo (Egypt) ~400 ~10 ~1988 United Nations (1990)

Mumbai (Bombay) (India) 321 14.4 ~1991 WS Atkins at al. (1994)

Hong Kong (SAR, China) 301

5.5 1990 Kenworthy and Laube et al, 1999

Hanoi (Vietnam) 256

1.1 ~1992 Padeco Co. Ltd. (1993)

Shanghai (China) 251

6.2 1990 Hu and Kenworthy (1997)

Seoul (Korea) 245

16.7 1990 Barter, 1999

Pusan (Korea) 245

3.8 1990/91 Seoul Metropolitan Government (1992)

Taipei (Taiwan, China) 230

5.9 1995 Data compiled by the author

Manila (Philippines) 198

7.9 1990 Barter, 1999

Taegu (Korea) 190

2.2 1990/91 Seoul Metropolitan Government (1992)

Surabaya (Indonesia) 177

2.5 1990 Barter, 1999

Chennai (Madras) (India) 172 5.8 1991 Pura Abdullah (1996)

Jakarta (Indonesia) 171

8.2 1990 Barter, 1999

Medan (Indonesia) 164

1.8 1988 Nippon Koei Co. Ltd (1990)

Guangzhou (China) 157 2.9 1990 Hu and Kenworthy (1997)

Mexico City (Mexico) 150

~17 1988 Bauer (1991)

Bangkok (Thailand) 149

7.5 1990 Poboon (1997)

Beijing (China) 141

5.6 1990 Hu Gang and Kenworthy (1997)

Kwangju (Korea) 133 1.1 1990/91 Seoul Metropolitan Government (1992)

Santiago (Chile) 100

~5 ~1990 Rivasplata (1996)

Taejon (Korea) 91

1.0 1990/91 Seoul Metropolitan Government (1992)

Singapore 87 2.7 1990 Kenworthy and Laube et al, 1999

Vienna (Austria) 68

1.5 1990 Kenworthy and Laube et al, 1999

Tokyo (Japan) 71

31.8 1990 Kenworthy and Laube et al, 1999

Klang Valley/KL (Malaysia) 59 3.1 1990 Barter, 1999

Zurich (Switzerland) 47

1.2 1990 Kenworthy and Laube et al, 1999

Paris (France) 46

10.6 1990 Kenworthy and Laube et al, 1999

London (UK) 42

6.7 1991 Kenworthy and Laube et al, 1999

Ipoh (Malaysia) 38

0.4 1985 Majlis Perbandaran Ipoh (1986)

Toronto (Canada) 26

4.2 1990 Kenworthy and Laube et al, 1999

New York (USA) 19

16.0 1990 Kenworthy and Laube et al, 1999

Sydney (Australia) 17

3.5 1991 Kenworthy and Laube et al, 1999

Washington, DC (USA) 14

3.6 1990 Kenworthy and Laube et al, 1999

Asian cities tend to be densely settled largely because they mostly had low mobility until recently and

therefore needed to remain compact in order to maintain accessibility through non-motorised modes and

low-cost public transport. However, as we will see in the next section, rapid changes in transport over the last

decade or two have begun to create a traumatic and dangerous imbalance between new higher levels of

mobility, especially private mobility, and many aspects of the pre-existing urban fabric and transport

infrastructure.

Asian urban transport trends since the 1960s

Motorisation

The timing of when the trickle of new vehicles into the cities turned into a flood has varied from country to

country in the region. Table 2 shows some data on this. For example, a brief upsurge in motorisation

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

occurred in the late 1960s in Hong Kong and Singapore, although these cities then took strong steps to slow

their rates of motorisation during the 1970s and 1980s. Vehicle ownership in Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan

surged quickly upwards from the late 1970s onwards. Both cars and motorcycles grew quickly in numbers

and Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan were among the first places in the region (or the world) to reach

extremely high levels of motorcycle ownership (well above 100 motorcycles per 1000 persons) in their

cities. Korea began a spurt of rapidly increasing car ownership from the mid-1980s as a result of rising

incomes and the relaxation of strict restraint on private car ownership that had previously kept car numbers

to extremely low levels. The 1980s and early 1990s also saw rapid rises in both car and motorcycle

ownership in Indonesia. Car ownership rose more gradually in the economically troubled Philippines until

the early 1990s when car numbers shot up sharply. Vietnamese cities have seen an amazingly rapid boom in

the number of motorcycles since the early 1990s (see Ho Chi Minh City in 1996 in Table 3). In the late

1990s Indian cities too have experienced rapid rises in both car and motorcycle numbers following economic

reforms and Chinese cities may be following soon.

Table 2 Growth in car and motorcycle ownership in Asian cities with other regional averages from an

international sample of cities, 1960 - 1993

Car Ownership

(cars per 1000 persons)

Motorcycle Ownership

(motorcycles per 1000 persons)

1960

1970

1980 1990 1993 1960 1970 1980 1990 1993

Hong Kong 11 27 42 43 46 1 4 6 4 4

Surabaya - 14 20 40 47 - 35 91 147 175

Manila - 38 55 66 79 - 6 4 6 8

Jakarta - 22 38 75 92 - 32 66 98 113

Singapore 39 69 64 101 110 12 51 49 45 42

Seoul City

- 6 16 83 123 - - 6 18 -

Klang Valley

72 86 170 206 - 50 65 180 201

Bangkok 14 54 71 199 220 6 20 35 124 179

Tokyo

16 105 156 225 236 16 9 14 36 -

European 122 243 332 392 - - - - - -

Canadian 274 348 447 524 - - - - - -

Australian

223 321 443 491 - - - - - -

United States 376 460 547 608 - - - - - -

Sources: Barter, 1999 and Kenworthy and Laube et al., 1999.

Notes:

a. KL’s 1970 figures are for 1972, Surabaya’s 1970 figures are for 1971 and Jakarta’s are for 1972.

b. The data in this table for Seoul are for Seoul City only.

c. Kuala Lumpur’s 1960 car ownership data is for 1963.

d. Tokyo’s figures are for Tokyo-to only.

e. The Klang Valley is the metropolitan area of Kuala Lumpur.

Table 3 shows the levels of vehicle ownership in a number of other Asian cities by about 1990. It confirms

that high rates of motorcycle ownership are common in Asia, especially in Southeast and South Asia.

Motorcycles are already significant in Indian and in Vietnamese cities, despite the low income levels of those

countries. It should also be noted that in most Asian cities motorisation continued to occur rapidly during the

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

1990s, with a pause or a slowing only since 1997 in those countries impacted by the regional economic

crisis.

Table 3 Motorisation in other Asian cities, ca. 1990

City Cars per

1000

persons

Motor-

cycles per

1000

persons

Total

vehicles per

1000

persons

Year of

data

1990 National

GNP per capita

(US $)

Taipei City (Taiwan) 157 219 403 1990 7,761

Taegu (Korea) 60 35 132 1990 5,400

Taejon (Korea) 52 32 117 1990 5,400

Pusan (Korea) 44 16 91 1990 5,400

Kwangju (Korea) 42 23 95 1990 5,400

Penang (Malaysia) 165 367 566 1991 2,320

Semarang (Indonesia) 42 147 215 1992 570

Medan (Indonesia) 38 134 ? 1989 570

Delhi (India) 32 81 127 1993 350

Mumbai (Bombay) (India) 21 18 49 1990 350

Bangalore (India) 17 67 94 1986/87 350

Chennai (Madras) (India) 17 52 76 1990 350

Lucknow (India) 14 104 129 1990/91 350

Varanasi (India) 10 106 150 1991 350

Hanoi (Vietnam) ? 116 161 1992 ? ~250

Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam) 8 291 ? 1996 ? ~250

Dhaka (Bangladesh) 13 8 33 1992 210

Notes: 1990 National GNP per capita data are from the World Bank (1992) except for Taiwan’s which is from O’Connor (1994).

Sources for motorisation data: Pusan, Taegu, Kwangju, Taejon: Korea Transport Institute (1993); Penang: Road Transport Dept.,

Malaysia; Chiang Mai: Padeco Co. Ltd. (1993); Medan: Nippon Koei Co. Ltd (1990); Semarang: China Engineering

Consultants (1995a); Ho Chi Minh City: MVA Consultants (1997); Hanoi: Padeco Co. Ltd. (1993); Mumbai, Delhi,

Chennai, Bangalore, Lucknow: UNCHS (1994); Varanasi: Elangovan (1992); Dhaka: PPK Consultants (1993); Mexico

City: Bauer (1991); Taipei City: Taipei City Government (1998).

Motorisation and income

It is often assumed that income levels can fully explain the variations in the levels of motorisation around the

region. Indeed, purchasing power is certainly an important factor. However, other factors must also be

important. Figure 2 shows for a sample of Asian cities that the relationship between income levels (indicated

by Gross Regional Product per capita) and the ownership and use of private motor vehicles is not as simple

as might have been expected. For example, Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul and especially Hong Kong had lower

levels of private vehicle use than might be expected given their incomes. On the other hand, Kuala Lumpur

and, to a slightly lesser extent, Bangkok, had vehicle usage levels that were surprisingly high given their

relatively modest incomes in 1990. Jakarta, Surabaya and Manila all had low private vehicle use, which is

understandable given their lower-middle income levels. It is also noteworthy that European cities tended to

have lower private vehicle usage than would be expected according to their incomes and the American and

Australian cities had higher private vehicle use than their incomes would lead one to predict.

Figure 2 points to the influence on vehicle use of other factors in addition to that of income. These other

influences on vehicle ownership and usage besides income may include: fiscal measures that make vehicle

ownership or usage expensive; the influence of urban land-use characteristics; levels of road infrastructure;

levels of public transport service and infrastructure; and various other policies under the broad category of

transport demand management (TDM) (Newman and Kenworthy, 1995; Tanaboriboon, 1992).

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

Figure 2 Private passenger vehicle use per capita versus GRP per capita in an international sample of

cities, 1990

Private Passenger VKT/capita (km)

Surabaya

Bangkok

Manila

Jakarta

Kuala Lumpur

Seoul

Singapore

Hong Kong

Toronto

Tokyo

100

1000

10000

1000 10000

GRP/ca

ita

(

US$ 1990

)

y = 25.174x

0.533

= 0.432

Group 2:

Unrestrained

Group 1:

Restrained

Group 3:

Low motorisation,

“choice” cities

Australian cities

American cities

European cities

Source: Barter, 1999

Note: Both axes are on logarithmic scales. Goods traffic is not included here.

Public transport

Prior to the arrival of mass car ownership a high proportion of urban travel was on public transport in all

large cities of the industrialised world. This might lead us to expect public transport to be playing a very

large role in all Asian cities that still have relatively low levels of motorisation. When we examine the

available data we find that very high levels of public transport use have indeed been achieved in some Asian

cities but perhaps surprisingly not in all of them.

Figure 3 shows the relative importance of public transport (whether by rail systems or by road-based public

transport) in some Asian cities. Figure 3 also shows that there is often a high level of dependence on road-

based public transport in Asia. This highlights the vulnerability of public transport in these cities, and

therefore their whole transport systems, to the impact of traffic congestion. It also highlights the vital

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

importance of policy measures to provide on-road priority to buses in Asian cities and to develop segregated

public transport systems. It should also be noted that the importance of rail in Seoul, Hong Kong and

Singapore is relatively recent and buses remain very important in each of these cities despite the existence of

urban rail. Singapore’s mass transit rail system was only opened in 1987. Seoul’s first subway line opened in

1974 and most suburban rail development has also been since that time. Hong Kong’s mass transit rail

system opened in 1979.

Figure 3 Public transport usage (rail and buses/jitneys/trams) as a percentage of total motorised

travel in Asian and selected European cities in an international sample of cities, 1990

Public transport % of motorised passenger kms

Bus + tram

Rail

332

25 24

Source: Barter, 1999 and data from Kenworthy and Laube et al., 1999.

Note: Bus figures here include jitneys, such as Manila’s jeepneys or Jakarta’s Mikrolet.

Table 4 shows data on public transport in a number of other Asian cities. Public transport plays a very large

role in a number of cities, including several Indian and Korean cities. However, public transport use is

surprisingly low in several others, with Semarang, Denpasar and Ho Chi Minh City being the main examples

in Table 4. Interestingly, these cities also have rather high rates of motorcycle ownership. In fact, in the low-

income and middle-income countries of Asia, low public transport use seems usually to go together with a

high popularity for motorcycles. Other examples include Kuala Lumpur, Surabaya, Taipei, Penang, Medan

and, to some extent, Bangkok. It appears that the popularity of motorcycles may be partly a response to poor

public transport. Then high motorcycle ownership subsequently creates further problems for public transport

by competing for the same low-income and middle-income passengers.

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

Public transport usage is also surprisingly low in most Chinese cities, where bicycles are extremely

important (as was the case in Vietnamese cities and Taipei before their motorcycle influx). Public transport is

really significant only in the largest of the Chinese cities, Shanghai and Beijing, where public transport

ridership exceeded 400 trips per person per year. In most other Chinese cities, and even in the large cities of

Tianjin, Shengyang and Guangzhou, there were fewer than 200 public transport trips per capita per year in

1990 (Hu and Kenworthy, 1997).

Table 4 Public transport in other relevant international cities, ca. 1980 to 1990

Public transport

% of all trips

Public transport

% of Motorised

Trips

Rail % of public

transport trips

Cities with a strong role for public transport

Chennai (Madras) (India) 1984

55 91 17

Bangalore (India) 1988

? 73 1

Delhi (India) ~1988

36 71 4

Mumbai (Bombay) (India) 1986

? 67 50

Taegu (Korea) 1990

? 55 0

Pusan (Korea) 1990

? 54 15

Cities with a low or moderate role for public transport overall

but a strong role relative to other motorised modes

Shanghai (China) 1990

33 89 ?

Dhaka (Bangladesh) 1992

13 69 negligible

Lucknow (India) 1990

16 54 0

Keihanshin

(Japan) 1980

23 53 80

Cities with a relatively low role for public transport - both overall

and relative to motorised modes

Semarang (Indonesia) ca.1990

? 39 0

Taipei (Taiwan, China) 1992

? 33 0.4

Denpasar (Indonesia) ca.1990

? 16 0

Ho Chi Minh City, 1996

? 3 0

Notes: *Keihanshin is the name of the metropolitan region that includes Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe.

Sources: Keihanshin 1980: (City Bureau and Building Research Institute, 1990; Nagasawa, 1992); Pusan 1990,

Taegu 1990: (Korea Transport Institute, 1993: 99); Shanghai 1990: (Chen, ca. 1993); Semarang: (China

Engineering Consultants, 1995a); Denpasar: (China Engineering Consultants, 1995b); Delhi: (Gupta, Singh, and

Jain, 1996) citing Patankar, 1989; Mumbai 1986: (UNCHS, 1994); Delhi, Chennai 1984, Bangalore 1988,

Lucknow 1990: (UNCHS, 1994); Dhaka 1992: (PPK Consultants, 1993); Ho Chi Minh City 1996 (MVA

Consultants, 1997); Taipei 1992 (Institute of Transportation, 1992).

Motorised travel trends and evolution

In order to get a clearer understanding of passenger transport trends in Asian cities it is useful to present data

on private travel and public transport travel together on one graph. Figure 4 below shows how motorised

passenger travel has been changing in some Asian cities and in cities of some high-income regions of the

world. The trends in different regions and cities vary very widely. Notice the positions on the graph of Asian

cities such as Surabaya, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Hong Kong in 1970 or 1980. These confirm

that most Asian cities had low levels of motorised travel until recently, whether by private vehicles or public

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

transport. It seems certain that other low-income cities around Asia also currently have low motorised

mobility levels and would appear in the lower-left corner of this graph along with Surabaya and Jakarta.

Figure 4 Trends in motorised travel (private versus public) in Asian cities and regional averages from

an international sample of cities, 1970 to 1990

Sura. 80

USA 70

USA 80

USA 90

Sura. 90

Aust. 80

Aust. 90

KL 70

Aust. 70

Jak. 70

KL 80

Jak. 80

Jak. 90

Euro. 70

KL 90

Euro. 80

Bkk 70

HK 70

Euro. 90

Sin

. 80

Bkk 90

HK 80

Manila 90

Manila 80

Sin

. 90

Seoul 90

HK 90

Tok

o 70

Tok

o 80

Tok

o 90

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000

Public Trans

ort Passen

er kms

er ca

ita

Can. 90

Private Passenger kms per capita

Sources: Barter, 1999 and including data from Kenworthy and Laube et al., 1999.

Strong contrasts can be seen among the Asian cities in the time trends in Figure 4. Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok,

Surabaya and Jakarta have seen greater rises in private travel than in public transport travel. In contrast,

Singapore’s public transport use almost kept pace with increasing private transport. In Hong Kong, almost all

of the increased passenger travel since 1970 was in public transport. Manila and Tokyo already had very

high levels of public transport use by 1980 but have seen faster growth in private transport since then. The

Indonesian cities can be seen to have unusually low absolute levels of motorised travel compared with the

other cities shown.

The United States, Australian and Canadian cities already had very high private and low public travel in

1970. On average, this pattern has increased further, with private transport increasing much faster than public

transport use in these regions, especially in the United States. European cities on average have seen moderate

increases in both private and public transport use.

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

Non-motorised transport

Data on non-motorised trips must be read with great caution because of the often inconsistent methods for

dealing with such trips in surveys. Just one example is that many surveys exclude very short trips, which

therefore tend to especially underestimate the number of walking trips. Nevertheless, Table 5 provides some

data on walking and use of non-motorised vehicles in a number of Asian cities and a few others for which

such data were available in the literature. There is great diversity, especially in the levels of bicycle and

pedicab usage.

Table 5 shows the great importance of walking in many low-income cities, for example in Dhaka where

motorised transport accounts for only a small minority of trips. The significant role of bicycles in Chinese

cities and in some Indian cities is well known. Vietnamese cities also had a very high role for bicycles in the

1970s and 1980s, although no specific mode split data were available (Luu Duc Hai, 1995). Taipei, which is

now motorcycle-dominated, had a high level of bicycle use in the 1960s (McNeill, ca. 1977). Kuala Lumpur,

Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bangkok have seen drastic drops in the use of non-motorised vehicles since their

height in the post-war decades.

Even in wealthy Tokyo the great importance of non-motorised trips, including bicycle trips, is extremely

noteworthy, considering that this is an enormous urban area of more than 30 million very affluent people.

Japanese cities and a number of European countries demonstrate that high incomes do not necessarily

exclude the possibility of a large role for bicycles and for walking. By contrast, American and Australian

cities have low levels of walking and bicycle use, with an average of less than 5% of work trips by non-

motorised transport (Kenworthy and Laube et al., 1999).

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

Table 5 Non-motorised transport in Asian cities and other relevant cities, ca. 1990

Percent of all trips Sources

Walk Bicycle Pedicab NMT Total

Tianjin (China) 1990 11 75 ?

86 Liu, Shen and Ren (1993: 2)

Guangzhou (China) 1984 46 37 ? 83 Liu, et al.

Dhaka (Bangladesh) 1992 60 1 19

80 PPK Consultants (1993)

Lucknow (India) 1990 25 29 15

69 UNCHS (1994)

Beijing (China) 1986 14 54 ?

68 Liu, et al. (1993: 2)

Delhi (India) ~1987 49 9 ?

58 Gupta, et al. (1996: 67)

Jakarta (Indonesia) 1985 40 2.4 4.6

47 Barter, 1999

Amsterdam (Netherlands) ~1990 ~23 ~24 0

~47 Pharoah and Apel (1995: 254)

Tokyo (Japan) 1990 27 15 0

42 Barter, 1999

Madras (India) 1984 28 11 1

40 UNCHS (1994)

Munich (Germany) ~1990 ~24 ~13 0

~37 Pharoah and Apel (1995: 254)

London (UK) ~1990 ~34 ~2 0

~36 Pharoah and Apel (1995: 254)

Sao Paulo (Brazil) <~36 tiny ~0

36 Poole, et al. (1994: 57)

Surabaya (Indonesia) 1995 19.6 10.5 4.8

35 Barter, 1999

Manila (Philippines) 1996

tiny ~1-2?

30 in 1980 Barter, 1999

Stockholm (Sweden) ~1990 ~24 ~6 0

~30 Pharoah and Apel (1995: 254)

Zurich (Switzerland) ~1990 ~25 ~4 0

~29 Pharoah and Apel (1995: 254)

K. Lumpur (Malaysia) 1985 ~26 ~2 0

28 Barter, 1999

Singapore 1990 25 <1 tiny

25 Barter, 1999

Seoul (Korea) 1990 ? <2 0

? Barter, 1999

Hong Kong 1990 ? tiny 0

? Barter, 1999

Bangkok (Thailand) 1990 ~15 tiny tiny

15 Poboon, 1997

Challenges and Opportunities

The first section of this paper has placed the urban transport trends of Asian cities into historical and

international context. It also introduced some of the major urban land-use characteristics commonly found in

Asian cities. This next section now examines the implications of the existing transport and land-use

characteristics for the future. What challenges and opportunities do Asian cities face in trying to improve

their transport systems and in trying to provide adequate access for all of their residents and for the

economically vital movement of goods? The focus here is mainly on spatial issues that are extremely

pressing but which have been neglected in the literature on urban transport in Asia (Barter, 1999).

Spatial challenges for Asian urban transport

Spatial issues and their transport implications are central to an understanding of the transport and land use

choices that are open to Asian cities. High urban densities can be both positive and negative in their transport

implications depending upon policy settings and choices. High densities mean that urban road capacity per

person is inherently limited and that very high traffic intensities can emerge quickly, creating high levels of

traffic impacts.

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

Local impacts versus global impacts

The major negative local impacts of urban transport include air pollution, noise pollution, water pollution,

the severance of communities by roads or railways, transport accidents and congestion. Urban transport also

contributes significantly to a number of the important human impacts on the global environment. Prominent

among these is the build-up of greenhouse gases, in particular carbon dioxide (CO

), in the atmosphere. This

is a by-product of the burning of fossil fuels, primarily oil in the case of transport.

The variations from city to city and region to region of local negative impacts of transport are in stark

contrast to the variations in global impacts. This is shown in Figure 5 where an index of per hectare local air

pollution emissions

from transport is used as an indicator of the severity of local impacts of transport and

per capita CO

emissions from transport are used to indicate global impacts. It turns out that local impacts

per hectare of urban transport are already very high in many Asian cities, despite relatively low levels of

vehicle use per capita and therefore rather low contributions per capita to the global problem of CO

emissions. Asian cities, such as Bangkok, Manila or Hong Kong, may be “traffic-saturated” but not

“automobile-dependent”.

Data on emissions of four of pollutants (CO, SO

, NO

, and VHC) have been combined to calculate a simple index of

local pollutant emissions (Barter, 1999).

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

Figure 5 Global impacts versus local impacts of transport: CO2 emissions per capita from transport

versus local air pollutants from transport per hectare for Asian cities and regional averages in an

international sample of cities, 1990

Australian

Tokyo

American

European

Kuala Lumpur

Jakarta

Surabaya

Seoul

Bangkok

Manila

Hong Kong

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

Transport CO2 per capita

0 100 200 300 400

Pollutants per hectare index

It must be acknowledged that high emissions per hectare do not always translate into a major air pollution

problem, since this also depends on other factors, such as climate, prevailing wind patterns, the layout of the

city, topography, etc. Nevertheless, these data do show that dense cities face an inherent danger of direct,

severe local emissions impacts from traffic.

Traffic per hectare or traffic intensity

The findings above on local air pollution per hectare relate to the fact that a number of these cities have high

levels of traffic per hectare (as measure by vehicle kilometres travelled or VKT per hectare), despite low

levels of vehicle travel per person (Figure 6). Low quality fuels and the polluting vehicle fleets found in

many low-income or middle-income cities are only partly to blame. A high level of traffic per hectare is the

more fundamental reason and is at the centre of the spatial challenge for transport in dense Asian cities.

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

Notice in Figure 6 that the two highest density cities in this group, Hong Kong and Seoul, with almost the

lowest vehicle kilometres per capita in the whole sample of cities, had almost the highest levels of traffic per

hectare. The American cities had relatively low vehicle use per hectare, despite their very high rates of

vehicle use per person. This is related to their low urban densities, which also explains the fact that the

Australian cities have the lowest traffic intensities of all of the cities in the sample, since their densities are

similar to US cities, but their VKT per capita figures are lower.

Figure 6 Traffic per hectare compared with traffic per person in an international sample of cities, 1990

494

489

473

320

293

282

273

271

253

229

204

174

100

200

300

400

500

VKT per hectare ('000 km)

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

VKT per capita (km)

VKT per hectare

VKT per capita

Note: These vehicle kilometres of travel (VKT) data include on-road public transport vehicle kilometres.

Road expansion is no panacea

Traffic congestion is another obvious impact from transport. It is felt by those in private vehicles and even

more so by the goods transport industry and by bus or jitney passengers and operators. Some commentators

argue that too much attention is focused on solving congestion at the expense of other transport costs and

problems that may be more significant (Litman, 1995; McNeill, ca. 1977). Perhaps congestion is best viewed

as a symptom of deeper problems rather than as the primary problem to be tackled directly. In any case, there

is considerable evidence (some of it anecdotal) that congestion is a particularly serious problem in Asian

cities, especially those middle-income cities that have been experiencing rapid motorisation. Bangkok’s

traffic nightmare is now legendary with speeds having reached extraordinarily low levels in the early 1990s

(Poboon, 1997).

Some authors attribute this problem primarily to low levels of road infrastructure in Asian cities (Bodell,

1995; Midgley, 1994; Tanaboriboon, 1993). This diagnosis and the strong popular focus on congestion as a

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

problem tends to encourage road expansion to be seen as the main solution. However, the issue is not so

simple.

It is true that many Asian cities do indeed have low levels of road length per person, and main road length

per person, relative to cities in Europe, Australia or North America (Figure 7). However, it is too simplistic

to blame traffic problems only on a lack of road space. The problem is in fact more fundamentally a spatial

one, related to the high densities of development of most of the Asian cities and to the rapidity of

motorisation, which have meant that both the road network and the land use patterns of most Asian cities

remain highly unsuited to mass use of private cars.

In fact, high-density urban form is the central underlying reason for the low road provision per person in

dense Asian cities. Road space is inherently a scarce commodity in dense cities. In fact, logically ANY

measure of road capacity per person

will necessarily be low in a dense city unless road capacity per hectare

can be made unusually high. Figure 7 illustrates these points by showing the main road length per person

against the main road length per hectare in a range of cities. Asian cities do NOT have unusually low road

network densities (or road length per unit of urbanised area). If anything, the higher density Asian cities

tended to have slightly higher arterial road densities than others (the Asian cities’ average was 29 metres per

hectare, while for the non-Asian cities in Figure 7, the average was 18 metres per hectare). However, high

urban densities mean that these dense road networks amount to rather low levels of road length per person. In

fact, a city of 150 persons per hectare (common in Asia) would have to provide 10 times more road capacity

per hectare than a city of 15 persons per hectare (like many American cities) in order to achieve the same

road capacity provision per person.

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

Figure 7 Main roads network density compared to main length per person in Asian cities and a

number of other cities in an international sample, ca. 1990

0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.8 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.5 1.7

Main road network density (metres per ha)

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

Main road length per capita (metres)

Main road network density

Main road length per capita

Sources: Barter, 1999 and Kenworthy and Laube et al., 1999.

Notes: a. Tokyo’s arterial road data are for Tokyo-to, not the larger Tokyo Metropolitan Transportation Area (TMTA).

b. It is difficult to consistently draw the line between “main” and “local” roads with available data. The street types that have

been included in the definition of main roads in each case are:

Hong Kong (all major roads as defined in traffic census);

Seoul (includes avenues >~40m width, streets 25~35 m, roads 12~20 m, excludes “paths” <~10 m);

Jakarta (“arterials” included. “local” roads excluded);

Bangkok (“expressways” and “main roads”, excludes “local” streets);

Surabaya (all “arterials” and “collectors”);

Tokyo (all categories except local “shi” and “gun” roads);

Singapore (includes “expressways”, “major arterials”, and “collectors”, excludes “local” streets);

Kuala Lumpur (“expressways, primary distributors, district distributors, local distributors”);

London (“classified roads”);

Paris (all roads except ordinary departmental roads);

Sydney (includes “main roads”, excludes “local” streets);

Adelaide (includes “arterial roads”, excludes “local” streets);

New York (includes “freeways and arterial”, excludes “local”);

Washington (excludes only “collectors and local streets”);

San Francisco (excludes “city streets”);

Detroit (excludes “local roads”);

Denver (includes “freeways, expressways” and “arterials”).

Perhaps Asian cities could substantially expand road capacity through extraordinary measures such as smart

highways, and multilevel or underground roads and parking stations (indeed many are trying to do so).

However, the fact that some Asian cities already have very high traffic intensities suggests that this might be

a disastrous strategy. Further expansion of road capacity will of course allow increased traffic volumes and

hence increased traffic intensity (unless such cities rapidly reduce their density). Very dense cities, perhaps

more so than any others, do not have the choice of building enough roads to satisfy demand. Simple

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

calculations reveal that this would destroy the fabric of the city long before the demand for private travel

could be satisfied (Zahavi, 1976). In fact, a case can be made that even in lower density cities, the burden of

attempting to cater to the full demand for roads is overwhelming (Goodwin, 1991). Furthermore, major road-

building programs can directly undermine the alternatives to private motorised transport as well as indirectly

starving them of investment.

Spatial opportunities for better urban transport in Asia

This section turns to some of the opportunities presented by the dense land use characteristics that are

common in Asian cities.

Public transport

It is well known that high urban densities (of population, jobs and services) provide an opportunity for high

service levels of well-used and potentially profitable public transport and for a significant role for non-

motorised modes of transport (see for example Pushkarev and Zupan, 1977). The case of very dense and

wealthy Hong Kong, with 82 percent of all motorised passenger kilometres by public transport and with 570

passenger boardings of public transport per person per year, best exemplifies the opportunity that high urban

density presents to public transport.

Figure 8 illustrates that a very high role for public transport is possible in high density cities, even in those

with high incomes. However, the examples of Bangkok and Surabaya and the wide scatter of points on the

graph suggest that high density does not necessarily guarantee success for public transport and that other

factors, such as service quality and the competitiveness of public transport speeds with private transport,

must also be important.

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

Figure 8 Public transport percent of total motorised passenger kilometres versus urban density in an

international sample of cities, 1990

Kuala Lumpur

Tokyo

Singapore

Bangkok

Jakarta

Surabaya

Manila

Seoul

Hong Kong

Public transport % of pass. km

25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300

Urban density (pph)

y = 39.870LOG(x) - 41.773 r

= 0.759

A number of mechanisms explain why there is at least the potential for high levels of public transport in

dense cities. In high density environments there will be large numbers of potential customers within the

catchment of most public transport services. Another mechanism is that dense areas can be effectively served

by space-efficient but high-capacity public modes (Bruun and Schiller, 1995). Third, high density makes it

easier to provide highly accessible public transport. For a given level of service kilometres per person,

service kilometres per hectare (and hence ease of access to public transport) will be higher in a higher

density city. The tendency for high density cities to also have mixed land use encourages demand for public

transport to be well spread throughout the day, as many trip purposes will be served within a small area.

Finally, high density, mixed land uses generate sufficient demand to justify high-frequency public transport

service, which further strengthens the convenience of public transport for passengers, especially by making

transfers between services easy. An integrated network of high frequency services can unleash the benefits

for passengers of the network effect to make all parts of the urban area accessible to all and allowing public

transport to serve random trip destinations and actually compete with the convenience of private vehicles

(Laube, 1995; Mees, 2000).

Non-motorised accessibility

Another opportunity presented by the high urban densities found in many Asian cities is the possibility that

many trips can be short and therefore easily made on foot or by non-motorised vehicles. Mixed land uses,

that are often associated with high densities, also encourage short trips and non-motorised transport by

allowing a diversity of destinations to be available within a short distance.

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

The potential should be high, in theory, for non-motorised transport to play a very large role in dense Asian

cities. Even in large Asian cities with rather high levels of motorisation, such as Bangkok, high proportions

of trips are still within non-motorised range. In Bangkok in 1989, according to a JICA study, about 51% of

motorised trips were less than 6 kilometres. This implies that if non-motorised trips are included, then

approximately 60 percent of all trips in Bangkok were less than 6 kilometres in length (Poboon, C., August

1996, pers. comm.). However, high density again does not guarantee that non-motorised transport will play

an important role. For example, Bangkok seems to have remarkably little walking or cycling to work despite

its high density. The levels of non-motorised transport in high and very high-density Asian cities are often no

higher than levels found in many middle-density European or Japanese cities (Table 5). The hostile street

environments for pedestrians or cyclists in many Asian cities can negate the potential provided by the land-

use patterns

It would appear from this very brief investigation of opportunities that many Asian cities are not fully

exploiting the potential that their high urban densities present to encourage flourishing public transport and

non-motorised transport. This is particularly apparent with respect to non-motorised transport. Nevertheless,

there is no doubt that the land-use characteristics of the Asian cities mean that they have a high inherent

potential for these modes of transport to do well. Policy settings that work with this opportunity are likely to

reap rapid and significant rewards for dense cities. This is primarily because the local negative impacts and

the spatial demands of public transport and non-motorised transport are much lower (per kilometre travelled)

than those of private cars or motorcycles (Bruun and Schiller, 1995; TEST, 1991).

Choices and Visions for Better Urban Transport

This final main section of this paper now turns to an investigation of the principal transport choices that are

available to Asian cities by looking in some detail at the alternative development paths that have been

followed by a number of cities and which might provide lessons for others.

Walking cities, transit cities, bus/jitney cities, auto cities and motorcycle cities

It is possible to apply transport-based descriptive labels to different types of city. These labels can be used as

a short-hand to describe in general terms both the transport systems and the land-use patterns that typically

go with them, making it easier to describe the evolution of transport and land-use systems. This is possible

because historically distinctive urban land-use patterns have tended to arise in association with each new

important and dominant transport mode. For example, all cities prior to about 1850, relied primarily on

walking, with small contributions from animal drawn vehicles and water transport in some cities. This city

type has been called “the walking city” or the “pre-public transport city”, or the “foot city” (Hall, 1983;

Newman and Hogan, 1987; Shaeffer and Sclar, 1975). A walking city cannot be anything but compact and is

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

generally unable to extend more than about 5 kilometres in diameter (meaning that all destinations can be

reached within about a half-hour walk).

The importance of bicycles, trams and urban rail between 1860 and 1920 allowed “public transport cities”

(or “transit cities”) to emerge, at least in high-income countries. These generally spread 10 to 20 kilometres

along rail and tram corridors and could have lower densities than walking cities (of between 50 and 100

persons per hectare) (Newman and Hogan, 1987). Transit cities tended to have important, concentrated

central business districts (CBDs), which emerged as a result of the accessibility pattern created by the mainly

radial public transport. The “bus, jitney and NMT city” (or bus/jitney city) shown in Figure 1 could be

viewed as a variation on this transit city type. The bus/jitney city is also very similar to the “low cost” urban

transport and land-use strategy described by Thomson (1977).

Finally, in many wealthy Western cities, diesel buses, mass car-ownership and widespread road building

after the Second World War facilitated the extreme dispersal of development up to 50 kilometres from the

centre and with densities of only 10 to 20 persons per hectare. The car became the mode of transport that

shaped new urban development and allowed the emergence of a new city type, called the “automobile city”

by Newman and Hogan. One perspective on modern cities is to see then as hybrids, having elements of two

or more of the “pure” types.

A further speculative city type is proposed here, namely the “motorcycle city”. Motorcycle cities seem to be

a new phenomenon and thus were not observed by Thomson or by Newman and Hogan. An increasing

number of Asian cities that previously depended upon non-motorised transport, are apparently now moving

directly to motorcycle-oriented transport, without any intervening period with a significant role for collective

public transport. Examples include Denpasar, Chiang Mai, and Ho Chi Minh City. It is not yet clear whether

motorcycle domination will persist for long in any particular city. Furthermore, if it does persist, it is also not

clear what land-use characteristics will emerge in such cities. For the moment, they can perhaps best be

understood as being part of a more general low-cost city type that takes in both bus/jitney cities and

motorcycle-oriented cities. Over time, a truly motorcycle-oriented city could probably have a more dispersed

pattern of activities than a bus city. On the other hand, a motorcycle-oriented city can probably cope with

higher densities than are possible for a car-oriented city due to the more modest space demands of

motorcycles (especially for parking space).

Figure 9 shows a schematic plot of how various city types can be interpreted in terms of a graph showing

travel by both private and public transport (of the kind in Figure 4). It represents this author’s assessment of

where the various city types would approximately lie on such a graph of private versus public travel.

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

Figure 9 City types on a plot of private versus public motorised travel per person

Source: Barter, 1999.

Land-use considerations or spatial constraints cannot be ignored when we consider what will happen as the

transport systems in a city change. For example, it has been demonstrated in this paper that serious problems

arise if significant numbers of cars quickly enter dense cities that were previously dominated by non-

motorised vehicles, buses or motorcycles.

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

Alternative paths of Asian urban transport development

A schematic diagram, Figure 10, illustrates the main potential alternative paths of evolution between the

different Asian city types and some of the key choices that play a role in influencing these paths. Many of the

urban transport trends described earlier in this paper can be interpreted in terms of the paths in Figure 10.

The conclusions that are summarised in Figure 10 are based on a detailed review of events and detailed

policies in nine Asian cities over recent decades (Barter, 1999). It concluded that an important turning point

arrives when a bus/jitney city is in the early stages of an upsurge in vehicle numbers and the extent to which

private cars are either welcomed or discouraged at that time appears to have an important long term impact.

Option 1: Restraint of cars and promotion of public transport

Hong Kong, Seoul and Singapore seem to have followed the path portrayed on the right-hand side of the

model in Figure 10, from bus/jitney cities towards “modern transit cities”. In each case, this evolutionary

path involved early policies that discouraged the ownership and use of private vehicles. Hong Kong,

Singapore and Seoul have long had policies restraining private vehicle ownership and/or use, and have

fostered high quality public transport. Expressway networks in each of these cities are relatively modest

relative to population (Barter, 1999). In South Korea, restraint of car use and ownership was achieved

through high gasoline prices, a high yearly car ownership tax, and low availability of credit for private

consumption (World Bank 1986; Kim 1991). Car ownership stayed very low in Seoul until the mid-1980s

In Hong Kong and Singapore, restraint on private car ownership began in the early 1970s in response to

upsurges in traffic. Usage restraints soon followed, such as increased petrol prices, area licensing (in

Singapore), and parking restrictions. Decision-makers recognised that they could ill-afford the spatial

demands of many cars. In both Hong Kong and Singapore, restraint measures have been strengthened several

times since they began (Pendakur, Menon et al. 1989; Phang 1993; Hau 1995; Ang 1996). These policies

dramatically slowed motorisation in the two city-states, despite tremendous increases in incomes. It is

important to note that in Seoul, Hong Kong and Singapore restraint on cars began early in the motorisation

process. All began restraint before car ownership reached 70 cars per 1000 people. This may have been one

factor in making the restraint policies more politically palatable.

The slowness of their motorisation helped these cities to retain high ridership on buses and then eventually to

invest in mass transit. Restraint of private transport in Hong Kong, Seoul and Singapore has been helpful by

discouraging middle class customers from deserting buses, thereby maintaining the customer base and

reducing the impact of traffic congestion on buses. Until relatively recently, Seoul, Hong Kong and

Singapore had bus-dominated public transport, but all have now built very significant mass transit systems

At that time the cost of driving in Seoul suddenly decreased just as incomes continued to increase. By 1990/91, the

real price of gasoline in Korea was less than half of its levels in the period, 1975 to 1985 (World Bank 1995). However,

a congestion crisis in Seoul is forcing it to renew efforts to restrain traffic, to enhance bus priority and to expand urban

rail (Lim 1993; Chae, Kim et al. 1994).

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

It is important to point out that Seoul, Singapore and Hong Kong traffic restraint began BEFORE mass

transit was built

. The actual building of mass transit systems came rather late in Singapore, Hong Kong and

Seoul, and was not the initial impetus behind their “transit-oriented” paths. In fact, it seems that traffic

restraint policies in these cities had the effect of ‘buying time’ that allowed them to later be able to afford

world-class public transport systems, the viability of which was not threatened too soon by rising private

vehicle ownership. Public transport in these cities was able to retain the middle class as customers and cater

to their rising aspirations for mobility by improving services gradually and eventually with urban rail

systems. Private vehicle ownership remained below 150 vehicles per 1000 persons by the time mass transit

systems could be completed in these cities. The metro systems in Singapore, Hong Kong and Seoul as well

as their overall public transport systems have among the highest cost recovery rates in the world (Allport

1994; Kenworthy, Laube et al. 1999).

Option 2: Unrestrained motorisation

By contrast, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, among others including Taipei and recently also Jakarta and

Manila, have not yet restrained private vehicle ownership or usage and to a greater or lesser extent have

become “traffic saturated”. Most of these cities (with the exception of Kuala Lumpur) have not yet

fundamentally altered their urban form or transport network characteristics sufficiently to cope with cars.

They have thus become “traffic-saturated bus cities” as shown in the centre of the diagram in Figure 10. The

emphasis of urban transport planning in both Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok has long been on efforts to

increase the flow of traffic (Spencer 1989; Jamilah Mohamed 1992; Poboon 1997). Vehicle ownership

restraint has been rejected in both places and proposals for traffic limitation measures for congested central

areas were seriously considered then dropped by both in the 1980s (Spencer 1989; Tanaboriboon 1992).

Public transport and non-motorised transport have been neglected (Barter 1996). Since the 1970s the Kuala

Lumpur metropolitan area has been pursuing probably the most ambitious program of expressway

construction in Asia and has achieved by far the highest figure for length of expressway per million people

among the Asian cities in the sample (Barter, 1999).

In Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Taipei, Jakarta and Manila public transport was very slow to improve and

remains much slower than private transport (Barter, 1999). Rapid motorisation made the improvement of

public transport particularly difficult. As congestion crises emerged in the 1990s in each of these cities,

public transport failed to offer a viable alternative to the cars and motorcycles of the emerging middle-class

(even if the cars could only move at a crawl). Significant urban rail investments have generally occurred

recently only after motorisation reached rather high levels and large road investments have continued in

competition with the new urban rail. There was no bus priority in Kuala Lumpur until 1997, contributing to

the decline of patronage as buses came to be a “mode of last resort”. Bangkok had some success with giving

Seoul’s first subway line opened in 1974 but the system remained small until 1979. Hong Kong’s MTR opened in

1979. Singapore’s MRT did not open until 1987, whereas traffic restraint started in the early 1970s.

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

buses priority but did not persevere. A network of bus lanes in Bangkok was successful in the early 1980s

(Marler 1982) but by 1990, just as congestion was making the lanes more and more crucial to maintaining

the viability of the bus service, the network had become largely ineffective due to lack of enforcement

(Tanaboriboon 1992).

Urban traffic restraint and the enhancement of public transport are intimately linked. Allport (1994) argues

that much of the importance of mass transit investment is in making traffic restraint politically palatable. A

major reason for Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok’s rejection of traffic restraint in the 1980s was the argument

that public transport must improve first (Spencer and Madhaven 1989). Similar arguments have been used in

Jakarta (Forbes 1990). However, the argument that mass transit must precede restraint is not really supported

by the evidence from Seoul, Hong Kong and Singapore where restraint began much earlier than urban rail

investment (although the circumstances in those cities may be difficult to reproduce elsewhere). In the

absence of traffic restraint, motorisation may quickly reach high levels as incomes rise, before improved

public transport can be put in place. This is especially likely if cheap motorcycles find a ready market as they

do in many Asian cities. In Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Taipei, private vehicle ownership, including

motorcycles, passed 400 per 1000 people soon after 1990, before any significant mass transit was opened.

Except for the few contra-flow lanes, which are self-enforcing. No-one wants to run head-on into a bus.

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

Figure 10 Simple generic model of urban transport and land-use evolution in developing cities

Walking cities

Bus cities

(or low-cost cities)

Automobile cities Modern transit cities

Spectrum of city types between

automobile cities and transit cities

Continued unrestrained

motorisation; very high

investment in road

building; rapid

surburbanisation

Early restraint of

motorisation

NMV cities

TRAFFIC DISASTER

very low accessibility,

economic stagnation,

pollution, urban decay

Traffic-saturated

bus cities and

motorcycle cities

(“Bangkok syndrome”)

Unrestrained/rapid/

early motorisation

Restrain motorisation

and vehicle use;

invest in public

transport and NMT;

prevent car oriented

land-use patterns

Slow motorisation;

restrained vehicle use;

moderate road building

Continued motorisation; do

nothing else

Motorcycle cities

Low investment in

public transport.

Mass transit-oriented

land-use patterns

become the norm;

investment in NMT

facilities

Car dependence

becomes “built in”

Continued unrestrained

motorisation

Investment in mass transit

(when affordable);

transit-oriented land-use

development

Note: This scheme is intended to describe the paths taken or potentially to be taken by cities that are in the so-called

developing world or which were in the “developing world” until the 1960s or so.

Traffic restraint and equity

Importance has been attached here to the potential of restraint policies aimed at slowing motorisation and at

discouraging rapid increases in private vehicle use. Wherever transport demand management (TDM)

policies are proposed they always generate considerable debate. In particular, mistaken equity arguments are

often heard over TDM. It may seem on the surface that policies that increase the price of private car usage

Transport Demand Management (TDM) includes such policies as car parking limits or taxes, parking “cash-outs”,

road pricing, fuel pricing, congestion pricing, distance-based insurance and many other related tactics. TDM can

increase occupancy of vehicles and shift travel to public transport, to off-peak times or to less congested routes.

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

are unfair. In fact, the opposite is true (Litman, 1996). Among the reasons for this are that car users,

especially those who use their vehicles the most, are generally in the highest income groups. This is

especially so in low-income cities where cars are owned only by the rich. The earlier in the motorisation

process that traffic restraint policies begin, the more equitable they are. Conversely, in low-income cities,

policies that subsidise private car use (eg gasoline subsidies) are extremely inequitable, since they help rich

people much more than the poor. The economic burden of TDM-related charges, such as road pricing, fuel

taxes or parking surcharges, depends greatly on the availability of alternatives, especially good public

transport and a safe environment for cycling and walking. These alternatives will wither away unless there is

a financial incentive for middle-income travellers to use them, at least occasionally. In cities with successful

public transport, such as Zurich, Seoul or Hong Kong, it is used by upper-income, middle-income people and

the poor alike. The equity impacts of TDM-related charges also depend very much on how the revenues are

used so it is important that any such revenue be used to benefit lower-income households, either by

improving travel alternatives or in some other direct way.

Scenarios

The simple generic model of Figure 10 also includes possible future paths for Asian cities. Which of these

paths is chosen will depend upon the outcomes of debates (whether public or among decision makers) in

each city. It is hoped that the framework developed in this study can help to inform such debates. The

conditions that led Bangkok to face such extreme transport-related problems are widespread among large

cities in the developing world. Any such city with high urban densities and a bus-oriented, non-motorised or

motorcycle-oriented transport system and a high rate of economic growth must consider the “Bangkok

syndrome” to be an imminent danger unless the growth of private vehicle ownership and usage can be

slowed down.

In the dense, traffic-saturated bus cities, continuing on the current path of allowing unrestrained motorisation

is an extremely problematic choice. Nevertheless, it is a choice that some cities may make. The result of such

a choice is depicted on the generic model as “Traffic Disaster”. This scenario is likely to be associated with

chronic pollution, urban decay and possibly even economic stagnation for the city. Small motorcycles may

continue to proliferate in such cities as the only mode that remains viable. Activities and land-use patterns

would most likely continue to disperse and gradually make the option of turning to the transit-oriented

strategy more and more difficult. For dense, middle-income, traffic-saturated bus cities with modest financial

resources, road investments are unlikely to be sufficient to allow the cities to spread out rapidly enough to

relieve the pressures of pollution, congestion and traffic impacts generally. Such cities can apparently

continue to function, but an unpleasant scenario emerges. Traffic will tend to dominate every public space,

the city will expand outwards at upper-middle or high densities but with centres of activity widely scattered,

traffic speeds will be low and conditions for walking or cycling will be unpleasant. Public transport will

become increasingly unattractive due to low speeds and poor service levels. This kind of city will have

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

moderate levels of mobility but a very low level of accessibility. Unfortunately, this description can already

be applied to Bangkok today.

Despite this gloomy scenario, there is still hope. Traffic-saturated bus/jitney cities, such as Bangkok, have

not yet substantially reoriented their urban fabric towards the needs of private cars, and it is considered that a

transit-city path still remains an option for the future. However, such a path will only be possible if the

choice is taken to embark vigorously on new policies that restrain and slow further motorisation and vehicle

use, and which increase investment in, and priority for, public transport and non-motorised transport.

Curitiba in Brazil is one such city that has managed to turn away from a disastrous path of traffic growth

with vigorous public policy and a determined low-cost approach (Cervero, 1995). Lower-income cities,

many of which are apparently following paths similar to Bangkok’s, can turn away from the path towards

“traffic disaster” by adopting vigorous policies aimed at switching to a transit-oriented path. The chances of

success in improving public transport in lower-income cities would be greatly improved by traffic restraint.

For some cities with relatively higher incomes, moderate densities and smaller population sizes, it may be

possible to make high investments into roads and low-density suburban development and hence to allow a

car dependent city to emerge (possibly accompanied by some investment in public transport aimed at

maintaining access to older central areas). The signs are that Kuala Lumpur’s metropolitan region, the Klang

Valley, is following just such a path with its continued very high rate of motorisation growth and with huge

investments in urban expressways (Barter, 1999). It is a high-cost strategy that depends on continued very

high investment in transport infrastructure. It is a path that ultimately leads to a city with many of the same

accessibility and environmental problems of “automobile dependence” that are seen in Australian and

American cities today.

It is more difficult to speculate on future possibilities for cities in which non-motorised vehicles or

motorcycles are currently predominant. The prospect of an influx of cars into such cities, which now have

very limited public transport, is a relatively new phenomenon. There is an urgent need to examine the

question of which choices can best contribute to sustainable, equitable and efficient urban transport

development in such cities in the future, especially as incomes rise further and bring car ownership within

the reach of even a small part of the populations of these cities. Like the large bus/jitney cities that have been

a focus of this paper, non-motorised vehicle cities and motorcycle cities tend to be dense or very dense.

Therefore, these cities face severe spatial constraints to the widespread use of four-wheeled private vehicles.

In many cities of this type, public transport plays a small role and will be difficult to improve quickly.

Conclusions

A key argument in this paper has been that rising incomes do not necessarily mean that a traffic-dominated

urban transport future is inevitable. Urban decision-makers need to be aware that there are effective public

Barter, P.A. (2000) Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and Prospects for High-Density Cities, Asia-Pacific Development Monitor, 2, 1,

33-66.

policy levers that can have a major influence on transport trends and that they will have most success if

policy is made with a keen awareness of the high density urban land-use patterns that exist in most Asian

cities. The high urban densities of cities in Asia are best served by high levels of public transport, walking

and cycling. The same density factor means that it is physically difficult to accommodate many private motor

vehicles. It is not possible to provide the same level of road provision in dense cities as in lower density

cities. Bangkok illustrates that a ‘traffic disaster’ can arise very quickly as motorisation increases in a dense

city. The high densities of most Asian cities provide transport planning with both challenges and

opportunities. There are challenges because such cities are vulnerable to traffic saturation, but there are

opportunities because land-use patterns in Asian cities are potentially highly suited to the non-automobile

modes of transport. Policy settings aimed at exploiting this opportunity are likely to reap rapid and

significant benefits

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Parking Management Strategies for Asian Developing Countries

Thesis

Full-text available

Dec 2017

Truong Thi My Thanh

Rapid motorisation with high motorcycle volume is a unique traffic situation in Asian developing countries. The travel behaviour in these countries is dominated by motorcycle- traffic-culture in which the convenience of this transport mode is exploited. With the ability to enter small alleys and to serve door-to-door mobility, motorcycles are excellent in accessibility. They are also relatively small in size, offering manoeuvring flexibility and freedom to park practically nearly anywhere. At user level, such a motorcycle-dominated culture has resulted in a number of parking issues in Asian developing countries. Transport users are having a unique travel behaviour regarding parking duration, parking searching time and walking distance. The number of private vehicles has been increased while the available space on the roads has remained unchanged, leaving a huge gap between parking supply and demand. Illegal parking occurs frequently in many urban areas, especially central business districts. At city level, rapid motorisation and its uncertain future growth rate are making the planning for parking a challenge. The parking policy has not only poorly aligned with transport policy but also rarely been a particular focus of policies of urban systems. Furthermore, parking spaces have attracted higher opportunity cost due to increased land price in densely-populated urban areas. Given the current problematic parking situation in Asian developing countries, parking management is of critical significance and must be addressed. Appropriate parking planning could positively influence destination choice, modal choice, the volume of car traffic, traffic flow quality, and even land-use and urban structure. Proper parking management might significantly contribute to the sustainability of urban transport development. This study aims to develop parking management strategies for urban areas in Asian developing cities to control motorisation and promote public transport, walking and cycling. Firstly, the study investigates the parking situation and policies in urban areas of developing countries with a higher focus placed on eight selected Asian cities. Eight principles of parking management are then proposed: 1) Parking policy should align with the overall transport management policy and the urban development policy to ensure the liveability of the cities; 2) Parking policy should be made specific for individual urban zones due to their dissimilar characteristics; 3) Mutual effects of parking policies in neighbouring zones should be considered by implementing an area-wide parking management; 4) Parking demand should be analysed for specific user groups; 5) Qualified demand, which should be satisfied by the parking supply, should be distinguished from the general parking demand; 6) Different parking regulations should be used to prioritise specific user demand groups; 7) The amount of parking supply should be controlled to ensure that not any parts of the supply remain unregulated; and 8) Illegal parking should be avoided by physical measures and strict enforcement of parking regulations. Secondly, parking planning methodologies are investigated and compared to recommend a method to efficiently analyse parking supply and demand. Data collection in parking studies in Asian developing cities has been a major challenge due to the local rapid motorisation. Two-step planning at macro and micro level is recommended in this study to overcome this challenge. At macro level, the parking analysis mostly utilises the O-D traffic data within city zones to estimate type and volume of transport mode and required parking spaces. In many Asian cities, data on attraction and modal split of many urban zones are yearly collected. The data can be re-utilised for long period of time. At micro level, the parking analysis helps to verify the planning by analysing parking demand, behaviour and characteristics at typical streets and land use types. The case of Hanoi, focusing on parking supply and demand and parking user’s behaviour, is further studied. Thirdly, potential parking management measures are defined, followed by a thorough discussion on their advantages and disadvantages in the local context. It is argued that a localised parking supply enhancement measure is needed. The concept of para-parking or the legalisation of illegal parking is developed, covering the requirements of different stakeholder groups, detailed parking regulations, strict enforcement of parking, and a parking pricing scheme. Para-parking is positioned as a significant measure which could potentially enhance the sustainable mobility in urban areas of developing cities. It particularly benefits transport planners in the sense that parking resources can be reasonably shared and efficiently utilised and that unplanned land use is controlled. Furthermore, para-parking also helps develop new parking businesses in urban areas while establishing reasonable pricing schemes and effective regulations. Finally, zone-based parking management strategies are recommended to facilitate the reduction of automobile dependency and promote environment-friendly public transport and non-motorised transport. In summary, the application of two-step parking planning method, para-parking concept, and zone-based parking management strategies in Asian developing cities would be useful for transport planners and authorities. Those actions facilitate sustainable mobility for all user groups, which has been seen as one of the most important factors for urban development and a vital goal of traffic management.

Exploring automobile dependency of housing estate residents and kampung dwellers in suburban Bandung, Indonesia

Conference Paper

Full-text available

Sep 2019

Fenita Indrasari

Housing and transportation has become a pair of factors when it comes to decision of buying a house for the middle-income. This particular group of society is unique as they are aspired to luxury yet with limited affordability, particularly in the developing countries such as Indonesia. In many cases, housing estates are built in the form similar to gated community. Built in the suburban when usually the new housing estates are located quite in far distance to facilities, the residents are forced to own private vehicle(s) to conduct their daily activities. This situation shows the tendency of automobile dependence (Newman & Kenworthy, 1996; 1999). It has also been reflected in the vehicle ownership statistics figures and the notorious traffic congestion of Indonesian cities. The middle-income housing and their gated community has not only impacted their own travel pattern but also the residents living in kampung adjacent to their housing estate. Kampung dwellers have also reflected the middle-income characteristics with their lifestyle and automobile dependence. It has become eminent in suburban Bandung where pockets of kampung are found to be hidden amidst the housing estates whilst cars are parked on the roadsides. This is problematic in terms of affordability where they cannot really afford to own a car or motorbike as well as to rent a parking space since they usually live in small houses at kampung. To understand the above phenomenon, this paper tries to explore the extent of automobile dependency of the residents living at housing estate and its adjacent kampung at three locations. Data collected from questionnaires and group interviews are descriptively analysed. Results have shown that most residents travel in far distance to reach their job location but do not travel in far distance to conduct their shopping, studying, and exercise activities though some of them own a motorbike. The latter is due to the presence of mobile green grocers, warung, traditional markets, good quality schools, sport facilities and open spaces within walking distance to their houses. However, these nearby facilities are regularly visited mostly because the residents can travel within shorter distance through access points made available for public use. These access points help to create a network of alleys and streets connecting kampung and these facilities through the housing estates. When these access points are restricted or non-existed, the travel pattern would differ as has been uttered by the kampung dwellers. In one of the cases, the following disconnections between the kampung alleys and streets of housing estates have made the kampung dwellers altered either the location or the transportation mode of their activities. There are lessons to be learned from these travel patterns. Housing estate development shall always have access to the kampung that have existed and vice versa. Such spatial connections may contribute to a change of travel behaviour from automobile dependence to active travel. However, it should be kept in mind that these results may not be generally applicable to other places with different socio-economic and spatial characters. Further work in the field may be benefited from more cases and larger population sample.

Equity and Sustainability of Housing Estate Development: Case Study of Suburban Bandung

Chapter

Full-text available

Oct 2018

Fenita Indrasari

Inequity and unsustainability are particularly apparent in housing development. With its perimeter walls and gates, housing estates are built in sharp contrast to the adjacent kampung. Meanwhile, more people are driven to use private vehicles regardless of where they live and what it entails on the environmental sustainability. Looking at how in Indonesia the use of automobiles shows the notion of automobile dependency and brings multiple social and ecological effects, this article investigates the linkage to housing development and criticise the development through the lens of equity and sustainability. Based on photographs documentation, mapping and observations, housing estates are descriptively analysed. Looking at the form, how the housing estates cut off public path, create private roads, and set curfew, it is implied that inequity and unsustainable travel pattern are at place. The rapid development of housing estates leaves the non-affluent to survive within kampung and carries on to gentrify the kampung by replacing its dwellers with the more affluent or by rebuilding as housing estate. Additionally, interviews with local planners and developers have dissected the formal housing permit process. It is found that the permit process may have overlooked sustainability and equity between the affluent and the poor. It brings result in the form that prioritizes one group over the other. It has also reflected a disregard on sustainability at least from the viewpoint of how people travel.

Analysis of Accessibility in an Urban Mass Transit Node: A Case Study in a Bangkok Transit Station

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2018

Urban mass transit is significant for the urbanization of cities, and the demand for public transit has increased rapidly in recent years. Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, is experiencing an imbalance between demand and supply. Bangkok is facing a transportation problem, particularly in terms of public transport. Accessibility is one of the issues that should be addressed as soon as possible, as it is one of the most important aspects of a transit station. However, there is little analysis of the accessibility of transit nodes. The aim of this paper was to analyze the characteristics of connectivity and accessibility of existing transit stations and station buildings based on the theory of space syntax. This paper selected three transit stations located in high-potential areas, which are the main hubs of public transit in each zone of Bangkok. The integration values of different stations were compared, and objective, quantitative, and graphical methods were used to evaluate the effectiveness of their internal series of spatial accessibility through spatial syntax-related professional software Depthmap, theoretical interpretation of the derived data and images, and exploration of their spatial structure layouts. Also, a spatial analysis of activities located along the connection routes was conducted using betweenness analysis in order to identify the interaction between activities and architecture space in the station building regarding transit connection behavior. The results will contribute to a better understanding of the accessibility of transit stations and the relationship between the architecture spaces and station facilities that affect accessibility for passengers.

A Study of Traffic Congestion Influenced by the Pattern of Land Use

Article

May 2022

Traffic congestion has contributed to economic loss and increased the number of traffic accidents. Previous studies have revealed that the land use pattern in Kuala Lumpur is dispersed and leads to traffic congestion. Thus, this study is to investigate the type of land use that affect the traffic congestion in Kuala Lumpur. The data in this study was collected by using 384 design questionnaires and analysed by using descriptive analysis. The results showed that the high proportion of commercial land use causes the highest level of traffic congestion. This study makes contributions as a reference for the students to gain knowledge on how traffic congestion is influenced by the land use pattern and appropriate land use planning such as mixed-land use or grid plan are important to reduce traffic congestion.

Walkability and the Right to the city: A snapshot critique of pedestrian space in Maputo, Mozambique

Article

Mar 2021
Res Transport Econ

On the premise of transport inequality, urban mobility and the production of pedestrian space, this research explores pedestrians (im)mobility in Maputo, Mozambique's capital city, as a means of unravelling deeper-rooted issues of societal inequality. Borrowing from the Right to the City (RTTC), walking is repositioned as a potential ‘equalising mode’, reflecting on the social, physical and individual drivers of inequalities for walking in the city. Such analysis responds to existing gaps in a literature about walking that has little to offer about its links with social and economic inequalities in the global South. The paper builds on 22 semi-structured interviews and a journey audit exercise to discover that whilst the unfavourable pedestrian infrastructure makes walking difficult, the social stigmas of this space have a greater impact on people's perceptions of walkability. As such, low-income identities are more likely to walk, frequently in parts of the city where walking infrastructure is minimal (if at all), and may therefore find it more difficult to exercise their RTTC than their high-income counterparts. To challenge the status quo, this study concludes that more ‘hubs’ of opportunity must be created to make walking more equitable in addition to improving the most urgent infrastructural shortages.

Can We Have Our Cake and Still Eat It? A Review of Flexibility in the Structural Spatial Development and Passenger Transport Relation in Developing Countries

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2020

With growing urban populations, higher mobility needs, limited available space for transport infrastructure, and the increasing need for more attractive urban areas, these urban areas are faced with a complex dilemma, which gets more challenging by the day. This paper examines the role of flexibility in the relationship between structural spatial development and passenger transport, its economic, environmental, and social perspectives, the long-term impacts of this relationship and the role of this relationship in developing countries. The paper identifies the need for a better understanding of long-term flexibility in development options in order to make better future-proof decisions as a key research avenue, and sets a pathway to achieve this. Main research gaps as identified in the paper include the lack of understanding on the potential for flexibility in optimizing the structural spatial development and passenger transport relationship, the valuation of flexibility, and the application of flexibility approaches in developing countries. This paper emphasizes the importance of acting sooner rather than later, since the future costs of sub-optimal development are rising by the day and the bill is being pushed towards future generations.

Micro-scale particle simulation and traffic-related particle exposure assessment in an Asian residential community

Article

Jun 2020
ENVIRON POLLUT

Conducting studies on sharp particulate matter (PM) gradients in Asian residential communities is difficult due to their complex building arrangements and various emission sources, particularly road traffic. In this study, a synthetic methodology, combining numerical simulations and minor field observations, was set up to investigate the dispersion of traffic-related PM in a typical Asian residential community and its contribution to PM exposure. A Lagrangian particle model (GRAL) was applied to estimate the spatiotemporal variation of the traffic-related PM increments within the community. A detailed topography dataset with 5 m horizontal resolution was used to simulate a micro-scale flow field. The model performance was comprehensively validated using both in-situ and mobile observations. The coefficient of determination (R²) of the simulated vs. observed PM2.5 reached 0.81 by an artery road, and 0.85 in alleys without significant road traffic. The maximum increments of kerbside PM exposure concentration contributed by road traffic during rush hour were found to be 38% (PM10) and 40% (PM2.5). This synthetic method was used to assess the impact of synoptic wind and canyon orientation on residents' PM2.5 exposure related to traffic exhaust. Perfect exponential decay curves of traffic-related PM2.5 were found within canyons. The decrease of road-traffic PM2.5 on five different floor levels, compared with that on kerbside levels, ranged between 42% and 100%. The results demonstrated that in complex Asian communities, Lagrangian particle models such as GRAL can simulate the spatial distribution of PM10 and PM2.5 and assess the residents’ outdoor exposure.

BRT in the Philippines: A Solution to Manila and Cebu Traffic Problems?

Article

Nov 2019

Yves Boquet

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), where buses run on dedicated roads at high frequency, almost in a metrorail manner, has been adopted as a backbone of urban mobility in the cities of many developing countries. Originally developed in South America (Curitiba, Brazil and Bogotá, Colombia), it has entered Asia with force, from Indonesia (Jakarta’s Transjakarta ) to India and China. In the case of the Philippines, where intercity bus transportation is widely used due to the current lack of a railway network, city traffic, especially in Manila, is heavily congested, partly due to a high number of city buses running half-empty, the small proportion of road space relative to the vehicle population, and the insufficient provision of urban rail transportation. This paper examines the current situation of congestion, and its adverse effects, in the two main urban areas of the Philippines, Manila and Cebu, and the plans to implement BRT, looking at the routes chosen, the financing, the schedule of development and the expected outcomes. A major impediment to improvement in traffic conditions in the Philippines is the current boundary system, which coupled with the high number of bus operating companies leads to wild competition on the road, with the strong potential for multiple traffic jams and traffic accidents. Implementing a BRT system to make traffic smooth and fluid will require not only some road work and financing, but also a profound change in the way the bus system operates. It will also require a profound re-evaluation of intermodality between the renovated bus system, the rail system and two iconic Filipino transport modes, the aging jeepney and the lowly trisikel.

Socio-economic forces behind sprawl and compactness in Beijing

Conference Paper

Full-text available

Jun 2007

Lei Qu

For the city of Beijing, extensively losing farmland in the periphery and socio-spatial segregation happening in central urban area are main environmental and social problems being criticized as unsustainable and considered to a great extent correlated to sprawl and intensification. This paper will try to analyse the socio-economic forces behind these two urban development processes, in order to understand the unique growth mechanism of this city under the current globalisation background. Focusing on industrial and demographic changes, the methodology of this research is comparing the geographic distribution and morphology of various industries and residential communities, related to working opportunities, the housing market and housing policies. With such comprehensive analysis, the problems of socio-spatial segregation happening in the intensified central urban area and low efficiency of land use pattern accompanying urban sprawl in the periphery may both be led to the root of urban spatial structure and housing policy, where comments may be given on planning interventions.

WHITHER TRANSPORT PLANS IN KUALA LUMPUR? PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES IN URBAN TRANSPORT PLANNING

Article

Full-text available

Jan 1992
Malays J Trop Geogr

Jamilah Mohamad

The first transport study of Kuala Lumpur was commissioned in 1963. This article is an account of transport planning and development over the last 25 yr and will examine in particular the problems of implementation of major plan proposals. Proposals which are less capital-intensive in nature and which uses existing resources are likely to be more appropriate to the situation in Kuala Lumpur. The urban population should not be allowed to think that large amounts of money were being wasted in undertaking expensive transport studies without producing any tangible results, that is, in terms of actually reducing congestion on the roads. Planners need to explore in future appropriate public transport systems which may involve the enhanced use of conventional buses in bus way systems. -from Author

Evaluating transportation equity

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2002
World Transport Pol Pract

Todd Litman

Transportation cost analysis for sustainability

Article

Full-text available

Jan 1996

Todd Litman

An overview and future direction of transport demand management in Asian metropolises

Article

Jan 1992

Y. Tanaboriboon

Presents an overview of the transport demand management (TDM) concept and explores the current management measures which have been implemented in Asian metropolises. Recommendations towards future directions of demand management schemes, particularly in the Southeast Asian metropolises will also be mentioned. Only two selected metropolises will be examined: Singapore and Bangkok. These metropolises are chosen on the basis of their success and lack of success in implementing demand management strategies, respectively, There is a comment by D.C. Kneebone on pp 71-73. -from Author

Moving People: Transport Policy in the Cities of Brazil.

Book

Jan 1994

Regina Silvia Pacheco

An international comparative perspective on urban transport and urban form in Pacific Asia: the challenge of rapid motorisation in dense cities

Article

Jan 1999

Paul Barter

Urban transportation management and energy savings: The case of Singapore

Article

Jan 1996
INT J VEHICLE DES

B.W. Ang

Since the early 1970s, Singapore has adopted an integrated approach to tackle the problem of road traffic congestion. A host of measures related to land use planning, transportation infrastructure development, control of road vehicle population, and traffic management systems have been implemented. Many of these measures have resulted in substantial energy savings in addition to many other social, economic and environmental benefits. The paper describes Singapore's transportation energy demand structure, the energy implications of the measures taken, and three specific schemes which have had significant impacts on transportation energy demand.

Asian Metropolis: Urbanisation and the Southeast Asian City

Article

Jul 1999

In Asian Metropolis: Urbanisation and the South-East Asian City, Dean Forbes provides an accessible introduction to the rapidly expanding urban areas of South-East Asia. It focuses on the social, economic and environmental problems faced by urban policy makers.

RIKISHA TO RAPID TRANSIT: URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTMES AND POLICY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Article

Apr 1990
NEW ZEAL GEOGR

D. C. JOHNSTON

Land-use change and transport policy

Article

Dec 1983
HABITAT INT

Peter Hall

Urban Transport in Asia: Problems and prospects for high-density cities1

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