Michael Replogle

Sustainable Transportation Strategies for Third World Development

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Abstract

There is a growing transportation crisis in many lesser developed countries. This crisis is the product of multiple forces, including the rapid pace of urbanization and a mismatch between the supply of transportation infrastructure, services, and technologies and the mobility needs of the majority of third world people, whose incomes are very low. This crisis is exacerbated by the dependency of many developing countries on imported oil to fuel motorized transport. Many countries now spend a third to half of their scarce foreign exchange earnings on oil imports. Growing motorization across the world puts increasing strains on finite global petroleum reserves, environmental quality, and many local and national economies.

Transportation development policies and investments in most developing countries are focused on encouraging motorization and are indifferent or hostile to low-cost, informal, non-motorized transportation modes, despite the vital role they play in mobility for lower-income groups. Under current priorities, low-cost non-motorized modes--such as bicycles, tricycles, carts, little boats, and locally-produced carrying devices--are marginalized and displaced like their users, for whom these are the sole affordable means of personal transportation.

The concept of "sustainable transportation" calls for a more holistic approach to transportation policy and investment planning, with an emphasis on achieving a diverse and balanced mix of transport modes and a sensible arrangement of land use that enables conservative use of energy and capital to fulfill mobility needs. Sustainable transportation strategies are those that can meet the basic mobility needs of all and be sustained into the foreseeable future without destruction of our resource base. This paper provides an overview of some the key issues related to sustainable transportation and suggests new priorities for transport system development and research.

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