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Transport Strategy Avoid Shift Improve Developed Countries


Reduce vehicle kilometres (VKM) through Transport Demand Management (TDM), land use planning, localised production, and shorter supply chains.


Shift from private vehicles to Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) and Public Transport (PT) and from aviation to rail/PT. Transfer freight from road to rail and water transport.


Improve existing vehicles. Down-scale vehicle engine size. Increase penetration of electric vehicles and carbon-neutral liquid fuels. Electrify rail (for both freight and passengers).


Table 2: Avoid, Shift and Improve strategy Source: Dalkmann (2009)


in 1982, US$ 85 billion in 2000, and US$ 115 billion in 2009. Furthermore, congestion in the US cost 3.9 billion gallons of wasted fuel and 4.8 billion hours of extra time. According to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2009), congestion in Toronto, Canada costs the city around US$ 3.3 billion Canadian dollars a year in productivity (1.2 per cent of Toronto’s GDP), while in the UK the estimated cost of time lost in traffic is £ 20 billion a year, or 1.2 per cent of GDP (The Telegraph Business Club et al. 2009). In developing countries, a lack of traffic data often makes it difficult to estimate the loss of productivity. Data are available for Lima, Peru: people living within the city are estimated to lose an average of four hours in daily travel, which leads to a loss of approximately US$ 6.2 billion, or around 10 per cent of GDP every year (UNESCAP et al. 2010). The traditional approach to tackling congestion – providing more road capacity – has often been counter-effective, as the extra capacity induces further demand for traffic activity (SACTRA 1997).


Accessibility and severance Traffic-filled roads can become physical and psychological barriers that can sever communities and divide entire cities (see Cities Chapter). There are various ways in which accessibility and severance can be quantified and monetised. Although values are highly context- dependent and differ greatly by region, Sælensminde (2002) in VTPI (2007) notes an extra cost of US$ 0.54-0.62 per mile of vehicle activity shifted from non-motorised transport to the car. Transport systems dominated by motor vehicles have been shown to hinder access to jobs, markets and essential facilities, particularly for the poorest and most vulnerable members of society.


Land use and loss of biodiversity Roads, railways, airports, harbours and other transport infrastructure can have a severe impact on the natural environment, from the removal of vegetation during construction or the subsequent fragmentation of habitats (CEU 2002; Kaczynska 2009). Fragmentation, without proper ecological infrastructure planning can severely disturb wildlife and reduce biodiversity.


2.2 Opportunities


Leapfrogging towards green transport Responding to these challenges will require a paradigm shift in the way the transport sector develops in the coming decades. Action is required in all countries, but opportunities are greatest for developing countries, where future patterns of transport can be shaped by the investment and planning decisions made today. Investing in green transport will enable such countries to leapfrog towards a sustainable path, rather than reproducing


the mistakes made by countries (Dalkmann 2009).


Avoid, Shift and Improve strategy Making a decisive shift to green transport arguably requires a holistic strategy that combines the following three elements:9


1. Avoiding or reducing the number of journeys taken.


This can be achieved by integrating land use and transport planning; designing denser, more compact settlements; harnessing telecommunication technologies such as


teleconferencing and localising consumption10 production and . Demand for freight transport can be


reduced by localising production and consumption and by optimising logistics to reduce empty runs and ensure a high load factor.


2. Shifting to more environmentally efficient forms of transport.


9. For further information, see Dalkmann and Brannigan in GTZ (2007), and the Common Policy Framework on Transport and Climate Change, which represents an increasing level of consensus amongst transport experts and policy makers on this approach. Available at: http://www.sutp.org/ slocat/bellagio-process/common-policy-framework-cpf-on-transport- and-climate-change-in-developing-countries/ The combination of the above three strategies will ensure transformation of both behaviour and technology.


10. Such technologies may not necessarily reduce the demand for travel activity by itself, and need to be combined with measures to reduce incentives to travel by private modes, such as road user charging, parking charges, vehicle tax and fuel tax.


387 industrialised Developing Countries


Avoid unnecessary generation of VKM through land use and trans- port planning.


Enable conditions for the lowest-emitting modes (both freight and passenger). Prevent shift from NMT and PT to private vehicles by ensuring that attractive alternatives to private vehicles exist.


Ensure future vehicles/fuels are cleaner, encouraging small efficient cars. Design innovations for traditional NMT such as cycle rickshaws.


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