Work, space and transportation

Nice piece Priyanka. I wonder if the Rickshaws drivers mentioned have a syndicate or some sort of association that can help them overcome the government regularities.. We have same transport means in Cairo, however also they are not welcomed in all Cairo districts given the housing standard in each place..

Hi Priyanka, thanks for the recent updates on e-Ricks in Delhi. I've been hearing about these since the Commonwealth Games, but it seems for a variety of reasons, they haven't taken off. Besides the recent roadblock with classification as motorized transport, do you have any other sense of why they've been so slow to expand in the city? Have any of them actually been in use over the last few years? I also wonder what would be the incentive to drivers to switch to an e-rick.The initial costs would be higher, though they would save on fuel in the long-run. Look forward to any other specifics on their potential in the city. Thanks, Carlin

Hi Priyanka,
I have to agree, policies for transportation really need to consider its overall effects, particularly on the economy and those the different modes of transportation target. Lagos traffic is terrible and the fastest and cheapest mode of transportation way the commercial motorcycles, like Delhi, transport policies recently banned most of these from major roadways for safety reasons,however its benefit can be argued outweighed its detriments. This ban cost arguable the urban poor operating these machines their jobs, and middles class citizens a cheap and fast way to making livelihood, and created increased hours in traffic which at the end of the day affects productivity.

Transport policy in Lagos in the city's defense is attempting to upgrade the transport system to the 21st century through BRT systems, trains, cable cars etc. The issue with this however is the complex systems of the city's transport network, its varied class groups and economic status of residents are not being fully evaluated in the decisions being made. This affects not only the poor but also general economic productivity as most workers tend to spend half of their day on the road.

I would disagree that the primary question in forging transport policy should be what can it achieve for the poor but more looking at transport policy from the perspectives of what problem these policies solve, which do they create and how best to make it work for the majority of city residents both poor and rich.

Hi Hilary,
Interesting article, for cities like Lagos and Nairobi, the ability to map transport routes and traffic routes real time is invaluable. Much progress has not been made in this aspect in my city so I was wondering if there was a lot of corporation between the government and the efforts to map transport systems with the programs mentioned like the Digital Matatus project, Ma3route, and Sonar, or was it easier to get them going as the transportation was private? It would be interesting to see how these programs got integrated into policy planning if they were fully created privately without government support.

Hi Eliana,

I was a bit concerned about the idea of building hundreds of kilometers of bike lanes on the short term. The experience in Bogotá shows that it is best to plan carefully and not to cut on necessary costs. In Bogotá much of the bike lanes were built on the sidewalks, thus bikers are forced to share the space with pedestrians, informal sellers and cars turning into the streets that often are looking for cars at the opposite side where bikes are coming. This is a highly risky and inefficient approach. In some streets, as is the caso on 11thy St., the bike lanes are on the right side of traffic, where bus and taxi riders board and unboard their vehicles. The result is chaos, mutual anger and ultimately risk for pedestrians and bikers alike. Lack of proper maintenance is making an already bas situation even worse.

I am wondering if the plan for Sao Paulo avoids these pitfalls, and if dedicated, safe bike lanes are the proposed solution. Building hundreds of kilometers of unsafe and unsustainable lines can be politically advantageous on the short term, but will do little to improve the transportation problems of Sao Paulo on the long term.

Hi, Wura. I wonder if you can provide some more info on the planned cable cars for Nairobi. They were used very successfully in Medellin, but they have been much less so in Rio de Janeiro. Once again, proper planning and sufficient investment on upkeep are essential. Thanks for your comment!

Hi Carlin, in Mexico City has been implemented the same bike system in array that people have more transportation options, however this transport is just available in areas where there is greater sharing of economic activities. In this sense, one of the major challenges is the mobility of people living in marginalized and remote areas of the City, as they first have to use other means of transportation to get to these areas and such means offer poor quality of transportation due that is highly demanded by passengers..

Hi Tam,
I think we covered similar topics this month. I’ve been to Vietnam twice and visited HCMC and Hanoi and experienced moto taxi culture. It is quite an experience because the city is full of motorcycles and drove pretty scary and I am wondering if this moto taxi company is providing their drivers with new motorcycle or recruiting current drivers and renews their motors? Because giving new motor will increase possibility of traffic. I agree with Pembletons that to change this kind of culture will be difficult, and Indonesia also found it hard because every year, there is high increase of motorcycle ownership in the city due to cheap price of Indian and china-made motor plus low awareness of city government in providing good and affordable public transportation.

Wura , you have strong argument and I am totally agree with you. City of Jakarta and Surabaya inhabits largely by middle-income people, and public transportation that is affordable and serve many routes for the poor are mainly city bus (Kopaja) with poor condition. While only people live in the city afford to use MRT (TransJakarta). Although the price is sometimes affordable for people live in poorer are, most of the time, few line of MRT reach their place, therefore, only few of poor people can actually enjoy good public transportation.

Hey Carlin,

Are there any network maps currently available to commuters? It would be interesting as you say to see how the skywalks can be better incorporated into other modes of public transit to increase use overall. However, safety issues are still considerable. Utilizing gender-inclusive planning is one step to addressing these issues and female security officers are an important aspect.

I would be really interested to see in other cities how skywalk networks have been successfully incorporated into overall mass transit networks. Do you know of any good examples?

Olatwara & Priyanka,

I am responding jointly as your articles both covered very interesting topics which I've seen challenge low income commuters and small business owners/entrepreneurs across Kenya who operate Boda boda [motorcycle taxis] &/or Piki piki [Keke].

In specific the frustrating and compounding effect of requiring at times expensive registrations and training while also daily facing extorted fees. Though a rather simple public transit good with respect to E-Rickshaws, by dragging their feet the Delhi authorities actually increase the burdens on operators and commuters. I say this because demand will require that they still be on the road, as you have noted they continue to operate at the fringes of town and in the evenings. As a result operators will undoubtedly face fees from police and traffic officials while indirectly increasing the cost of commuting for many of the cities poor. At the same time an opportunity for income generation is missed that could support a highly concentrated issue of urban poverty. Hopefully, a more equitable solution can be reached that accounts for the needs of low-income commuters, operators and local officials.

I agree with you Oltwara that any policy must be conceptualized and driven by a holistic understanding of its affects on all levels of society. This goes back to the point you raised regarding how these informal fees and extortion make it extremely difficult for individuals who took loans to begin small scale transportation businesses can be stifled and as a result the underlying poverty meant to be addressed continues to persist.

The challenge is how do you address the fact that there is a lack of accountability at the street level will individuals are faced with officers? For matatu drivers in Nairobi I know that paying bribes is simply part of the business. You get pulled over, boarded, and pay then move on. If you don't then all of your passengers disembark [often demanding their money back] and your towed or stand around until a price the authorities believe to be reasonable has been agreed upon.

This I think also highlights an opportunity. Reporting platforms such as I Paid A Bribe launched in Bangladesh allow for simple SMS reporting which would at least provide a time stamp and way to quantify the cost of these external pressures while also allowing the development of a better understanding of how from the supplier [transport operators] perspective, opportunities exist that can support poverty alleviation.

Id be interested in finding out if any city has a user-driven movement of this nature that attempts to hold public officials accountable while also providing commuters with valuable information on routes and fees.

Great articles enjoyed reading them both.