National Transport Policy Research Articles

Mobility Challenges Faced by Rural Women and the Implementation of the National Transport Policy in Busega District, Tanzania

This article is a product of a study that sought to analyse mobility challenges faced by rural women in Busega District, Tanzania, and examine the practice of implementing the National Transport Policy of 2003. Through adopting the intersectionality theory, the study sought to establish a connection between the implementation of the National Transport Policy (NTP) and its potential to improve the mobility of rural women. The study utilized a cross-sectional research design to collect data from a sample of 210 respondents through a household survey, interviews, focus group discussions, non-participant observation, and documentary review. Thematic analysis was applied to qualitative data, while descriptive statistics and Chi-square test were used for quantitative data. Based on the distribution analysis, it is evident that the majority of rural women were compelled to walk a long distance to access public transportation services. In addition, the Chi-square test results indicate a statistically significant difference at p<0.001 from the five-point Likert-scale, implying that rural women’s satisfaction level on the access to transportation services differed based on the location of their households. The study concludes that despite the intentions of the NTP, its practical implementation has failed to adequately address the unique transport needs and mobility challenges faced by rural women. The study recommends that the government undertake an intersectional analysis of the existing transport policy by identifying and addressing the mobility challenges faced by rural women when accessing public transportation services. This should be achieved by implementing measures that improve the accessibility and availability of transportation options for rural women. Also, the government can promote an equitable and inclusive transportation system that caters for the needs of all citizens.

Re-thinking the role of municipalities in mobility transitions: Co-working spaces in suburban and rural areas as a “new normal”

The global COVID pandemic changed how we work. Telework has become the “new normal” in suburban and rural areas. National and regional transport policies have been using these new trends of work to address mobility problems and provide development of low-traffic cities and regions. Companies face the challenges to lead and coordinate teleworkers. Private providers now offer spatial concepts for telework such as co-working spaces in suburban and rural as well as urban areas. Moreover, less attention has been paid to the role municipalities play in adapting to the “new normal” of work in collaborating between stakeholders from different institutional spheres especially in suburban and rural areas. This study explores this lacuna by adopting a quadruple helix model. It integrates a focus group approach for qualitative data collection and uses two suburban cities in the Hannover region of Germany as a case study. The findings raise the question of how the role of municipalities can be strengthened to effectively adapt to a “new normal” of work in suburban and rural areas for the mobility transition. The study broadens the discussion about supporting the reduction of CO2 emissions from commuting through the implementation of co-working spaces in suburban and rural areas. Finally, a three-step collaborative innovation process is offered.

Effects of the Implementation of Transport-Driven Poverty Alleviation Policy on Health Care-Seeking Behavior and Medical Expenditure Among Older People in Rural Areas: Quasi-Experimental Study.

Improving the rural residents' accessibility to and affordability of health care is recognized as a common target globally. The Health in All Policies approach, from the Declaration of Helsinki to the United Nations' Decade Of Healthy Ageing, strengthened the far-reaching effect of large-scale public policies on health care-seeking behavior; however, the effects of national transport policy on health care-seeking behavior is unclear. This quasi-experimental study aimed to examine the effects of the implementation of transport-driven poverty alleviation (TPA) policy on health care-seeking behavior and medical expenditure among older adults in rural areas and the mechanism underlying these effects. We designed a quasi-experiment to estimate the effects of TPA policy implementation on health care-seeking behavior and medical expenditure among older adults in rural areas through a difference-in-differences (DID) analysis based on data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2018. The underlying mechanism was analyzed and effect modification patterns were further investigated by poor households, health status, and age. Our findings validated a positive contribution of TPA policy on health care-seeking behavior among older adults in rural areas. After the implementation of TPA policy, the number of inpatient visits increased by annually 0.35 times per person, outpatient medical expenditure increased by 192% per month, and inpatient medical expenditure increased by 57% annually compared with those of older adults in rural areas without the implementation of TPA policy. Further, there was a significant modification effect, with a positive effect among poor households, healthier older adults, and those aged 60-80 years. Additionally, the policy improved the patients' capabilities to seek long-distance care (β=23.16, 95% CI -0.99 to 45.31) and high-level hospitals (β=.08, 95% CI -0.02 to 0.13), and increased individual income to acquire more medical services (β=4.57, 95% CI -4.46 to 4.68). These findings validate the positive contribution of TPA policy on health care-seeking behavior among older adults in rural areas; however, the medical expenditure incurred was also high. Concerted efforts are needed to address health care-seeking dilemmas in rural areas, and attention must be paid to curbing medical expenditure growth for older adults in rural areas during TPA policy implementation.

Understanding the Policy Integration Challenges of Sustainable Urban Mobility in the Context of Rapid Decarbonisation

AbstractGiven the state of the climate emergency, European Union (EU) cities must find innovative ways to achieve a sustainable and decarbonised urban mobility trajectory. This requires integrated and cross-sectoral approaches that enable all sectors influencing such mobility to contribute to this goal. Building on the concept of the climate-connected city and drawing on an extensive empirical investigation of two Dutch cities (Rotterdam and Maastricht), this study reflects on how decarbonisation targets are integrated with other sustainability objectives across all policies and levels involved in reconfiguring mobility towards an environmentally sustainable model. The study finds that spatial development tools and processes, in combination with regulatory instruments imposing strict limits on emissions, can strengthen cross-sectoral support for the behavioural changes needed to decarbonise urban mobility. However, this integrative dynamic may be countered by local economic actors and by national and EU economic and fiscal instruments, whose narrow focus on reducing vehicle emissions and expanding road capacity forces cities to dilute their sustainable mobility policies. This suggests that in order to accelerate the decarbonisation of urban mobility, these instruments should be aligned with a broader set of sustainability goals and solutions and be combined with greater attention being given to the urban dimension into national and European transport policies.

Collaborative challenges and barriers when planning and implementing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). Lessons from Swedish BRT projects

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to improve the knowledge of collaborative challenges when planning and implementing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). Collaborative challenges are here understood as the barriers that may arise in BRT planning and implementation as a consequence of several formally independent actors, occasionally with different interests, participating in the planning. The results are based on an analysis of actor interactions in Swedish BRT projects. These projects are analysed in relation to the state of the art in the research field of collaborative approaches. The results show two main and interrelated collaborative challenges. The first category of challenges concerns difficulties for actors in creating a common understanding of what a BRT system is, the second category concerns details of bus priority measures, e.g. busways, priority at intersections, and how to handle and deal with conflicting interests when removing speed bumps or pedestrian and cycle crossings. In terms of policy is in the early stages of the planning processes. This can be generated by working practices and tools that facilitate agreements on how to handle different interests and trade-offs. BRT guidelines adapted to national transport policy, legal and organisational conditions could function as tools in assisting actor dialogue.

Review of South Africa’s public transport system

This paper provides a review of public transport policy and strategy initiatives in South Africa for the period 1996 to 2021 and reviews the progress made in public transport provision against the policy guidelines and strategies of the 1996 White Paper on National Transport Policy, relevant strategies, and legislation.Formal public transport is increasingly losing market share against the informal minibus taxi industry. In the 2021 National Household Travel Survey minibus taxis accounted for 80.2% of work trips in 2020 compared to 67.2% in 2013 and 63% in 2003 while buses accounted for 16.6% (19.5% in 2013 and 22% in 2003) and train 3.2% (12.9% in 2013 and 15% in 2003) of work trips respectively.The research finds that a lack of policy implementation is at the center of the issues experienced in public transport in South Africa together with a lack of adequate transportation planning and financing. Most public transport users are not served by BRTs and the high-speed Gautrain services and have become largely dependent on the informal, lightly regulated, minibus taxi industry for their transportation needs. Users are dissatisfied with public transport services in the country. Policy objectives set out in government policy documents are, in general, not being achieved.

Incorporation of Dry Ports into the National Transport Policy: A Proposal for International Trade Acceleration

The Malaysian National Transport Policy (NTP) aims to develop a conducive ecosystem for the transport sector, facilitate seamless cargo movement, promote public mobility, enhance public transport competitiveness, and build an intelligent and green transport system. However, the policy does not comprehensively cover the lack of assimilation of inland components with the seaport system. To close the gaps, this paper thoroughly discusses the three main objectives proposed for the study: first, to understand the current practicability status of the Malaysian NTP; second, to identify policy limitations concerning the integration of seaports and dry ports in Malaysia; third, to give constructive insights for future strategies to upgrade the Malaysian NTP for national and international trade development. This study adopted a traditional literature review method incorporated with an integrative literature review analysis (ILRA) to scrutinise literature analysis. The findings of this paper indicate that Malaysia should develop a novel and comprehensive seaport-inland policy model integrated with the existing NTP model. Integrating dry ports with the seaport system is crucial to determining NTP sustainability and enriching the nation with an effective transportation system.

Assessment of the Environmental Impact of Pas-senger Road Transport Fleet in Ukraine

Abstract. Problem. Nowadays, the global transport system is still highly dependent on fossil fuels like light oil products, diesel fuel, and gas. This makes it difficult to solve the well-known global problems of the 21st century which are environmental pollution and climate change. In Ukraine, the transport sector remains among the main emitters of greenhouse gases which causes the need to estimate the current situation in fuel consumption and emissions by road transport to get an understanding of the ways to deal with the problem. Because of the high difficulty of this question, it was decided to split it up into two parts which relate to freight and passenger transportation. This paper is aimed to address the latter. Goal. The goal of the paper is to develop an approach to assess the environmental impact of road passenger transport in Ukraine based on corresponding state-of-the-art European methodologies for the estimation of fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Methodology. Provided that there are no open sources with up-to-date information on passenger transport fleet, the regression model based on retrospective state statistical data was used to estimate the number of passenger cars and buses in the country. To calculate their fuel consumption and emissions, the approach based mainly on HDM-4 model was applied. Results. The developed approach allowed determining total fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions for the passenger road transport fleet in Ukraine. Originality For the first time, the approximate up-to-date environmental impact of the entire passenger road transport fleet in the transport system of Ukraine was obtained. Practical value. The estimated volumes of total fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are a good basis for developing a national transport policy aimed to improve the ecological parameters and the composition of the passenger road transport fleet.

URBAN MOBILITY AND TRANSPORTATION STRATEGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE CITIES: A CASE STUDY IN KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

— In recent decades, the rates of urbanization, motorization, population growth, and population density have increased. Congestion has detrimental effects on the efficiency of transportation, as well as on travel times, air pollution levels, and fuel consumption. Kabul is the most crowded city in Afghanistan. Unrestrained urbanization and motorization often lead to a socially, economically, and ecologically unsustainable urban land use and transportation system. In developing nations, urban mobility systems are quite diverse, taking into consideration their components in terms of transport modes and the development path associated with urban expansion. As a case study, this article examines Kabul, the most populated and economically significant city in Afghanistan. This study starts by doing a literature review on sustainable transportation systems to help the reader comprehend the link between sustainable development and transportation. The article then assesses the present transportation and infrastructure system, national transportation regulations, and urban transportation initiatives to see whether the current paradigm is shifting toward or away from sustainable mobility. Furthermore, the principles for sustainable urban transportation are designed to determine the importance that national transportation policies have given to urban transportation from the standpoint of sustainable transportation. Finally, I proposed several public transportation alternatives and strategies for Kabul city, the implementation of which may result in a more sustainable urban development and transportation system in the future.

Rail policies in Turkey after 2002: Is there a modal shift?

Since 2002, the Turkish government has increased its interest in rail transport after neglecting it for more than half a century. The government invested significant sums in the high-speed network and allocated substantial funds for the modernization of conventional rail infrastructure, the expansion of the network, and the construction of logistics centers. In addition, in 2013, the government restructured the rail market and opened it to competition. This paper examines recent rail policy in terms of modal shift to determine whether there is a radical shift in national transportation policy, which has been dominated by road programs. Despite significant steps to help rail achieve a breakthrough, our analysis does not show a strong shift in investment priorities that would lead to modal shift.

Adoption of Micro-Mobility Solutions for Improving Environmental Sustainability: Comparison among Transportation Systems in Urban Contexts

Sustainable transport frameworks are gaining attention within national and international transportation policies, given the key role that decarbonisation plays in making urban environments people-friendly. Within this context, several shared services and micro-mobility options are being developed, especially as first/last mile facilities, further increasing public transport coverage levels. We present an overview of the environmental impacts of different transport modes and compare them from different perspectives, namely, CO2 emission levels, total costs (also including the user generalised cost) and service life of vehicles involved. The proposed methodology is applied to an urban context, using real trip data and showing the main findings under real conditions.

Regional Decision-Making in Oregon’s Area Commissions on Transportation

Long after other areas of Oregon had already done so, the local agencies in the Portland region served by the Oregon Department of Transportation decided to form a regional Area Commission on Transportation. Why they decided to do so and what caused local agencies to delay forming one until long after other regions was not immediately clear. In this article, I examine the policy documents around the formation of the Region 1 ACT and how its policy history represents wider historical trends on regional transportation decision making nationally. To do so, I describe Oregon’s regional policy making structure followed by an overview of the organization, composition, and authority of the ACT system. I then examine broad national transportation policy trends and regional governance literature in the United States, concluding with an evaluation of the ACT system based on this analysis. I use this evaluation to identify improvement opportunities and future research needs. While the ACT system exhibits many characteristics of an inclusive regional process, there remain opportunities to improve and clarify ACT decision-making authority and regional stakeholder participation.

Strategic Management and Crises Management as the Main Pillars of Recovery in the International Tourism and Civil Aviation Transport

Abstract Tourism and air transport are among the sectors most affected by the covid-19 crisis. The pandemic lasting almost two years has been reflected in short-term effects in both sectors, but there are also serious long-term consequences including the impact on quantitative and qualitative employment change. National authorities will have to set recovery plans in accordance with the relevant policies and in international cooperation with public and private entities. The aim of the paper is to identify a set of strategic and crises measures to recover the international tourism and international civil aviation transport in the context of the long-term human resource management and the optimisation of future quality and quantity of human resources in both mentioned sectors. These strategic recommendations are intended for application in national tourism and transport policies. The methodology of the paper is based on current statistical data and strategic documents at the national and international level represented by the international organisations (esp. UNWTO, WTTC, IATA, ICAO, ECAC). Attention is focused on crises management of the public sector entities in terms of the definition and implementation of reconstruction strategies, on private sector stakeholders, on the interconnection of the tourism and air transport sectors, as well as cooperation in the international environment. Methods and tools for the renewal of both sectors are based on a strategic approach of the public sector, support for the introduction of new business models in the private sector, change in the product and marketing mix, digitization, innovation and education.

Estimating the Long-Term Effects of National and International Sustainable Transport Policies on Energy Consumption and Emissions of Road Transport Sector of Pakistan

Energy/fuel consumption and associated emissions are major concerns of transport sector. During the fiscal year (FY) of 2018, Pakistan’s transport sector consumed 22 million tons of oil equivalent (TOE) energy from burning of fossil fuels and emitted 52.8 million metric tons (MMT) of CO2, which accounted for 30% of country’s overall carbon emissions. Different scenarios, such as business as usual (BAU), International Energy Agency Vision 2030 (IEA V30), International Energy Agency Vision 2050 (IEA V50), China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and newly developed Pakistan National Electric Vehicle Policy (NEVP), are analyzed for Pakistan’s transport sector and results are forecasted for the next 17 years. The results show that effective electric vehicle (EV) adoption can cause significant reductions in energy/fuel consumption as well as atmospheric emissions. The distinctive outputs are important parameters in analyzing future energy demands, emissions and introducing effective sustainable energy policies for the transport sector of developing countries.

A REVIEW ON SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT POLICY IN MALAYSIA

Sustainable transport is an essential aspect of supporting urban mobility. The current percentage of urban population growth, with an estimated 75% of the population living in urban areas in Malaysia has led to increased travel demand. This population growth supported an increase in travel trips from 40 million trips in 2010. It is estimated to increase to 133 million trips in 2030. Based on the expected increase in Trips and CO2 emissions, the Government's priority is to provide consistent policies with the need for Global Sustainable Transport Policy. Therefore, this study will assess the interrelationship of global sustainable transport policies with the relevant national transport policies. This assessment will measure the translation level of global transportation policy to national policy. Therefore, using a Y shape matrix with seven criteria related to sustainable transport will be used to see the relevance of each policy. As a result, it was found that there is a relationship between global policy and national policy provided. The Five-Year Malaysia plan and National transport policy have translated the sustainable development goal policy and new urban agenda related to sustainable transport at most. However, the National Physical Plan also has a policy that covers almost all SDG and NUA policies. Overall, based on the global policy outlined by the United Nations and the national policy, the growing demand for trip development and analysis of the existing policy shows that the current transport policy focuses almost the same criteria as the global. Among the focus are road safety, transportation for all and sustainable infrastructure. These three criteria have highlighted most policy statements globally and nationally.

Probabilistic evaluation of truck transport performance based on ecoefficiency measures in Brazil

This study aims to present a probabilistic evaluation of the eco-efficiency performance of truck transport, considering the implementation of improvements in technology and public and private management, which can help reduce fuel consumption, accidents, and emissions of CO2. We applied the Monte Carlo simulation to verify the possible performance levels achievable via the proposed actions. The results show that the roadway mode slightly improved its performance, when compared with nine intermodal alternatives, rising from last place to eighth place for transport of ethanol. Thus, the research points to two approaches that should be the agenda of a national transport policy: (1) intermodal transport alternatives remain the best options for transporting ethanol and it should be encouraged; (2) actions to reduce CO2 emissions by applying better technology and actions by public officials to reduce the number of accidents have the greatest impact on the likelihood of improving the performance of trucking.

Formation of an efficient system of legal regulation of the transport services market

The article aims at developing approaches to the formation of an efficient system of legal regulation of the transport services market. It is established that to create an efficient system of legal regulation of the transport services market, it is necessary to formulate and consolidate the main provisions of the national transport policy. It is proposed to provide for certain specifics that combine state regulation and supervision of transport activities with the contractual principle of the transport services and works provision. It is determined that, according to the general rule, transport obligations should be based on the freedom-of-contract doctrine. In this case, the parties will always have the autonomy of will in deciding whether to enter or not into a contractual relationship, except for the cases where the services are provided by public transport and mediated by a public contract.

USERS’ PREFERENCES ON THE PROVISION OF FACILITIES FOR MASS RAPID TRANSIT SUNGAI BULOH – SUBANG – PUTRAJAYA LINE (MRT2) STATIONS

National Transport Policy (2019-2030) strives to improve the transportation sector towards a conducive and competitive sector while fulfils the demands of people. The new development of Mass Rapid Transit (MRT2) Sungai Buloh – Subang – Putrajaya Line is expected to complete in 2022 and would benefit 529,000 users. This paper analyses the preferences of users on the facility provision at mass rapid transit stations in the local context. This paper was based on secondary and primary data sources such as official documents, websites and data collected for the Integrated MRT2 Land Use Masterplan. Document analysis method was employed to review official sources from public transport providers across selected benchmarked countries. Six categories of facility at mass rapid transit stations were evaluated using 40 criteria. Results suggested improvements are needed in barrier-free considerations and convenient facilities. Statistical analyses, involving descriptive and inferential analyses, were conducted. The results show that gender and travel time to station influenced users’ preferences on facilities needed at stations. This paper suggests that certain criteria of facilities must be considered based on universal needs of the population to encourage usage of MRT2 as public transport as well as to provide convenient travel experiences.

What Do Weather Disasters Cost? An Analysis of Weather Impacts in Tanzania

Weather-related disasters negatively impact livelihoods and socioeconomic activities and often lead to the loss of lives and homes. This study uses disaster data from the Disaster Management Department (DMD) in Tanzania to describe the spatial distribution of weather-related disasters, their socioeconomic impacts and highlight opportunities to improve production and uptake of weather and climate information by climate sensitive sectors. Between 2000 and 2019, severe weather accounted for ~69% of disasters in Tanzania. The Government spent over 20.5 million USD in response to these disasters, which destroyed over 35,700 houses and 1,000 critical infrastructures (roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals), affected over 572,600 people, caused over 240 injuries and 450 deaths. To reduce these impacts, it is important to understand the decision-making process in terms of what and how national guidelines create and enabling environment for integration of weather and climate information into disaster risk reduction strategies. For example, the National Transport Policy which is supposed to provide cross-sectorial guidelines on the use of weather and climate information addresses the use to marine industry but remains silent to other climate sensitive sectors and the public. Whilst weather warnings are available Tanzania continues to suffer from the impacts of weather-related disasters. There is a clear need to better understand the value of weather warning information at short timescales (1–5 days) and how this information can be better used in the individual decision-making processes of those receiving advisories and warnings. The review of policies to guide on cross- sectoral actions to foster the uptake of weather and climate services, decisions across climate sensitive sectors, both nationally and sub-national level is recommended.

Deconstructing accessibility – discursive barriers for increased cycling in Sweden

ABSTRACT Society’s planning for and dependence on automobility has created several major problems and calls for a shift away from car-based mobility are proliferating. There is a growing recognition of the positive effects of cycling and modal shares for cycling are on the rise in cities. Nevertheless, bicycling is still marginalised in national transport policies. In Sweden, cycling shares are decreasing at a national level, and to steer towards increased cycling, a policy shift is needed. We adopt a post-structuralist view and consider a policy shift to be a discursive shift. With the help of Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory, the paper depicts the position of cycling in Swedish national transport policy. As accessibility is a key concept in national transport policy and planning, we consider the meaning bestowed upon this concept paramount with regard to the marginalisation of cycling at the national level. The lack of decisiveness in national bicycle policy can be traced back to a suppression of certain meanings of accessibility. This calls for a reinterpretation of accessibility and a revaluation of the national responsibility for cycling. The framing of cycling as a local and primarily urban issue hampers the pro-activity of the national government regarding cycling.