Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia (SUMA) News Digest -Vol. 5 Issue 13

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Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia (SUMA) News Digest

Vol. 5 Issue 13 - 22 August 2008

SUMA News Digest is a free weekly e-mail publication that features
news, information, and events related to sustainable urban
transportation in Asia.

*** VISIT THE SUMA PAGES: http://www.cleanairnet.org/suma ***

SUMA PARTNERS ON THE MOVE!

ADB: Asia on the Move: Energy Efficient and Inclusive Transport

The Forum is organized by ADB and co-sponsored by the global
Transport
Knowledge Partnership. The Resource Speakers would be renowned
experts
from governments, financial institutions, civil society, academia,
and
international organizations. Visit the link to know more about the
workshop

http://www.adb.org/Documents/Events/2008/ADB-Transport-Forum-2008/

NEWSREPORTS

China: Work begins at Tianjin's eco-city

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72965.html

China: Beijing's pedal power revolution restores lost kingdom

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72947.html

India: Hyderabad to Get 71-Km Metro 'Free Of Cost'

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72981.html

India: Ahmedabad BRTS (3)

Public to be educated about BRTS three months before launch

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72969.html

Ahmedabad to have elevated BRTS road

http://www.gujaratglobal.com/nextSub.php?id=4316&catype=NEWS

AMC raises floor height of buses on BRT route

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/AMC-raises-floor-height-of-buses-on-BRT-route/348671/

Malaysia: Malaysian Public Transport: Long Journey "Home"

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72968.html

Philippines: Manila's public transport system shows the strain as
prices soar

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72966.html

Philippines: Commuters give up cars, jostle for ride

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72961.html

Bangladesh: Study Says Air pollution Major Cause Of Mortality,
Morbidity In Bangladesh

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72963.html

Srilanka: Transport links key to SAARC prosperity

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72938.html

Global : Megacities look at public transport traffic jams increase

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/226851,megacities-look-at-public-transport-traffic-jams-increase.html

* * * *
INTERESTING FINDS/SEMINARS

Effects of Rising Gas Prices on Bus Ridership for Small Urban and
Rural Transit Systems: Jeremy Mattson

Newsreports from past several months indicate high increase in public
transport ridership due to increase in fuel prices. This study
estimates the effects of gasoline prices on bus ridership by employing
a variety of models. Since the price of gasoline can have a delayed
effect on the demand for transit, a dynamic polynomial distributed lag
model is utilized which measures short-run and longer-run effects. The
model is applied to individual transit systems as well as aggregate
data for cities grouped by size. Access this document at

http://www.ugpti.org/pubs/pdf/DP201.pdf


2008 Bus Rapid Transit-Vehicle Demand & Systems Analysis Update:
Federal Transit Administration

This latest document from Federal Transit Administration reflects the
current state of affairs of BRTS- Heavy Systems in US. It is the third
is a series of market demand analyses and as such, charts the trends
in this evolving market. Via phone interviews and electronic surveys
of transit planners, and also via published reports from the transit
properties and industry publications, the report compiles data about
the quantities of vehicles, delivery timing, and vehicle preferences
such as vehicle type, length, propulsion, image, and appearance, as
well as supporting technologies such as signal priority.
Access this document at

http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/2008_BRT_VDSA_Final.pdf

Integrating Climate Change into the Transportation Planning Process:
Federal Highway Administration

With ever increasing emissions and its adverse impact on Climate,
Federal Highway Administration has developed a paper on including
Climate Change in the Transportation Planning Process. The objective
of this study is to advance the practice and application of
transportation planning among state, regional, and local
transportation planning agencies to successfully meet growing concerns
about the relationship between transportation and climate change. This
report explores the possibilities for integrating climate change
considerations into long range transportation planning at state DOTs
and MPOs.

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/climatechange/climatechange.pdf

Shreekant Gupta- Associate Professor from Lee Kuan Yew School of
Public Policy -National University of Singapore, delivered a
presentation on National Urban Transport Policy: A Re-orientation in
Urban Transport Thinking in India at ADB Environment CoP Green Bag
Seminar. The Presentation is accessible at

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72956.html


FOOD FOR THOUGHT

· A World Bank study states that nearly 80% of fuel subsidies
go to the Top Earning Category of people.

Source: siteresources.worldbank.org/INTISPMA/Resources/Training-Events-
and-Materials/Day3_Session5_DCoady.ppt

· Transportation is a large and growing user of petroleum in
India, already accounting for 46 percent of all oil consumed in the
country.

Source: Transportation in Developing Countries: Greenhouse Gas
Scenarios for Delhi, India- Ranjan Bose& Daniel Sperling

· The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) is offering free
rides on 800 ordinary buses plying 73 routes.

Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/010808_News/01Aug2008_news08.php

· Malaysia pioneered a “daytime running headlights” campaign
in 1992 which reduced conspicuity related motorcycle accidents by
almost 30 per cent. As of May 2006, “always-on” motorcycle front-
lights were mandatory in a number of ESCAP member countries, including
Armenia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand and the
Republic of Korea. In Brunei Darussalam, it is practiced but not
mandatory

Source : http://www.unescap.org/ttdw/roadsafety/files/MCT_SGO_9E.pdf

CALL FOR RESEARCH PAPERS

We in CAI-Asia are looking for good analytical/research papers on
Sustainable Transport and Air Pollution. If you would like your paper
to be linked/ published in the CAI website, please let us know…

* * * *
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
ADB: Asia on the Move: Energy Efficient and Inclusive Transport,
September-9-12/2008

http://www.adb.org/Documents/Events/2008/ADB-Transport-Forum-2008/

"BRT Systems in India and Abroad" from 24 to 26 September, 2008 at
Visakhapatnam, India.

http://www.gvpcoeedu.org/brts.html

Fourteenth International Conference on Urban Transport and the
Environment in the 21st Century, 1 - 3 September 2008, Malta,

http://www.wessex.ac.uk/conferences/2008/urban08/

PODCAR City Sustainable Transport Conference,
14-16 September 2008, Ithaca, New York,

http://www.podcar.org/ithacaconference/

UITP 2nd Sustainable Development Conference
Making tomorrow today
22-24 October 2008, Milan, Italy

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72425.html

Better Air Quality (BAQ) Workshop 2008
12-14 November 2008 Bangkok, Thailand

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-72312.html


See more SUT events http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/propertyvalue-27089.html

See CAI-Asia's events calendar http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/propertyvalue-13577.html

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* * * ABOUT SUMA * * *

The Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia (SUMA) program of the Clean
Air Initiative for Asian Cities
(www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia), Asian Development Bank ( www.adb.org),
EMBARQ-the World Resources Institute Center for Sustainable
Transport ( http://embarq.wri.org ), GTZ Sustainable Urban Transport
Project
( www.sutp.org), Interface for Cycling Expertise ( www.cycling.nl),
Institute for Transportation and
Development Policy (www.itdp.org), and United Nations Center for
Regional Development (www.uncrd.or.jp/est) is made possible through
the generous support of the Swedish International Development
Cooperation Agency
( www.sida.se). SUMA works with Asian countries and cities to
strengthen then formulation and implementation of sustainable urban
transportation policies, specifically in
(i) Improving urban air quality by adopting AQM planning in
sustainable transport policies and promoting public transportation,
(ii) Improving road safety by encouraging non-motorized transport and
public transport, and
(iii) Reducing transport's contribution to climate change by adopting
a co-benefits approach with urban air quality management