Connections

57 items available

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/10986/22293

Connections is a weekly series of knowledge notes from the World Bank Group’s Transport & Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Global Practice. It covers projects, experiences, and front-line developments.

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 22

How China's Transport Sector Can Contribute to Carbon Reduction

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-06) Zhou, Weimin

The Chinese government, based on its commitment to carbon reduction in the Paris Climate Agreement,laid out its intention to achieve peak CO₂ emissions by 2030, and to make its best effort to peak as early as possible. It committed to lowering CO₂ emissions per unit of GDP by 60–65 percent of their 2005 levels, and to increasing the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to about 20 percent. Although these targets were set up for the country as a whole, it is essential for decision makers and practitioners to understand the contribution the transport sector can make if its development path is aimed at sustainability.
Safety: Why Safety Matters for Sustainable Mobility

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-12) Job, Soames ; Gomez, Hilda

Safety is one of four global goals identified in the Global Mobility Report (GMR)—along with universal access, efficiency, and green mobility. The safety goal is aimed at curbing the human pain, suffering, loss, grief, and economic costs of transport-crash-related injuries and deaths. The scale of the safety problem is profound across all transport modes, including air, rail, road, and water. Safety efforts need to be focused on Low- and Middle- Income Countries (LMICs), where 90 percent of the 1.4 million transport crash deaths occur each year. The inclusion of road safety in the Sustainable Development Goal targets has created opportunities for an increased global commitment. Nevertheless, to date there has been no overarching effort to set an overall target for safety of mobility and to collect reliable global data on transport safety across all modes. To increase the momentum, the GMR sets targets for global transport safety aimed at setting a unified transportation safety goal.
Efficiency: Why Efficiency Matters for Sustainable Mobility

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-12) Wyrowski, Lukasz ; El-Hifnawi, Baher

Efficiency is one of the four global goals framing sustainable mobility in the Global Mobility Report (GMR). The GMR posits that efficiency is crucial to ensure that transport demand is met effectively at the least possible cost. Because efficiency cuts across multiple aspects of mobility, the GMR arbitrarily defines the scope of the efficiency goal from a macro-economic perspective. Putting in place a transport system that is efficient would mean achieving, among other things: (i) seamless integration across transport modes; (ii) optimal traffic volumes that reduce congestion and delays at borders; and (iii) minimal use of energy for moving people and goods. This would be done at the macroeconomic level—including sub-country, country, region, and world—with all actors optimizing resources such as space and energy, adopting adequate technologies, and making use of regulations and institutional capacity. Given that demand for the transport of goods worldwide is projected to triple between 2015 and 2050, the GMR claims that transport infrastructure and services will have an ever-greater role to play in meeting additional demand. Therefore, addressing inefficiencies must be a priority across the entire system of interconnected roads, railroads, ports, and airports, in any given area.
Universal Access in Urban Areas: Why Universal Access in Urban Areas Matters for Sustainable Mobility

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-12) Mason, Jacob ; Turner, Philip ; Steriu, Mircea

As one of the four global goals framing sustainable mobility in the Global Mobility Report (GMR),universal access in urban areas is the ability for people to reach the destinations necessary to lead productive and fulfilling lives. But transport infrastructure and services are rarely distributed equitably, and ensuring equity of access is of paramount importance. By 2050, the world’s urban population is expected to grow by 2.5 billion people, reaching 66 percent of the total global population. Most urban growth is projected to take place in developing countries inAfrica and Asia. As economic activity continues to shift from mature economies toward these emerging markets, the number of daily trips made by people in urban areas could increase by 50 percent between 2005 and 2025. The GMR positioned access to economic and social opportunities for everyone as a key goal for achieving sustainable mobility, regardless of income, gender, age, disability status, and geographical location. The Global Tracking Framework (GTF) proposes indicators to measure progress toward that goal. This work supports Sustainable Development Goals 9 and 11 and the Habitat III New Urban Agenda.
Framing Sustainable Mobility: How to Ensure that Today's Mobility Needs Are Not Met at the Expense of Future Generations

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-11) Vandycke, Nancy ; Kauppila, Jari

In its crucial role, transport fosters development as it connects people to goods, services, social, and economic opportunities. But today’s data shows social exclusion linked to accessibility gaps in transport services—in rural areas, women, and the elderly—, high costs tosociety from poorly integrated transport systems, road fatalities, traffic congestion, air pollution, and environmental degradation. The question for global and country transportdecision-makers is how to meet the mobility needs of people and goods now, while preserving futuregenerations? The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) identify an important and rich array of characteristics that define a sustainable world. Those characteristics, along with those identified in the economic literature, can be used to frame“sustainable mobility” around four global goals, which should address more than access. Formobility to be sustainable, it should have four attributes—equitable, efficient, safe, and green. In this way, mobility can benefit both present and future generations.
Tracking Sustainable Mobility: A New Way to Assess Transport Sector Performance to 2030 and Beyond

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-11) Alam, Muneeza ; Powell, Julie

In 2015, the world embraced the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030, and agreed on a framework of targets and indicators for tracking progress across multiple economic sectors. Because of the cross-cutting nature of the transport sector, several transport-related targets and indicators are reflected in the SDGs. But in contrast to the health, education, water, and energy sectors, there is no single SDG dedicated exclusively to transport. The sector is also scant in direct targets, indicators, and direct data collection. To address this, the Sustainable Mobility for All (SuM4All) initiative—a multi-stakeholder partnership acting collectively to help transform the transport sector—has developed a Global Tracking Framework (GTF) for transport, complementing the targets and indicators in the SDGs. This Global Tracking Framework is featured in the GlobalMobility Report which provides the first-ever assessment of all modes of transport across theglobe. The framework will provide crucial information and tools to inform transport policy and investment decisions, and provide a baseline for measuring progress toward sustainable mobility.
Time for a Tailored Approach to South African BRTs :

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-06) Munoz-Raskin, Ramon ; Scorcia, Harvey

Johannesburg and other cities in South Africa are rolling out integrated rapid public transport networks as part of an overall effort to address significant urban mobility challenges and to increase the use of public transport.The initial phases of these networks used a traditional Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) trunk and feeder approach, patterned after the successful Latin American systems developed in the 2000s. The Rea Vaya BRT in Johannesburg is South Africa’s first such system, with 43.5 km of trunk bus corridors in operation by 2016. But the results in ridership and operating cost recovery from fares were approximately one-third of initial estimates. Urban form and travel demand patterns for transport in South African cities differ greatly from those in Latin America. South Africa’s national government, with World Bank support, has been examining these differences to reassess how South African metropolises could interpret and rethink their rapid transit operations, services, and finances.
From Sidewalk to Subway: Achieving Sustainable Financing for Urban Transport

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-06) Ardila-Gomez, Arturo ; Ortegon-Sanchez, Adriana

This brief talks about achieving sustainable financing for urban transport in developing countries. The state of urban travel in many developing countries is grim. Congestion and low-quality infrastructure, including limited network coverage and poor roads and sidewalks slow travel times, which slows economic development. Lower-income residents rely the most on public transport and bear a disproportionate share of the burden of its failures. The low quality of urban public transport systems in developing countries indicates a chronic financing gap, underfinancing for capital investments, operations, and maintenance. Though urbanization is an important ingredient in poverty reduction, it inevitably strains urban transport, so it is widening the financing gap. World Bank research released this year has pinpointed sources of the financing problem and proposed a response based on the concept of, "who beneﬁts, pays." By tapping into innovative revenue sources that promote efficient pricing, increase overall revenue, and strengthen all elements of sustainable transport, urban areas in developing countries can fund a wide variety of urban transport projects in a manner that will ensure their sustainability. To conclude, by combining appropriate financing instruments and focusing on the “Who benefits, pays” principle, overburdened urban transport systems can be revived with wise and sustainable investments to cover capital, operation and maintenance of all parts of a transport system,“from the sidewalk to the subway.”
Transport Policies for Climate Change: The Transformative Role Transport Can Play in Mitigation and Adaptation

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-05) Hallegatte, Stephane ; Bangalore, Mook

The choices developing countries make today in building and expanding transport networks will irreversibly shape development for the next century. That is why urgent steps are needed to ensure that transport development avoids locking in carbon intensive or high-risk patterns. While investments in urban planning and public transportation pay off over the long term, they also entail high up-front costs, making it essential to scale up support from the World Bank Group and other international institutions. The commitment to achieving zero net emissions by 2100 made at the Paris climate negotiations cannot be achieved without radical changes in how cities grow, and transport planning must be part of green growth strategies. Furthermore, climate-related issues such as food security, extreme weather events, and the health impacts of urban pollution have ties to the quality, affordability, and availability of affordable transport in both rural and urban areas. With many cities in developing countries only now planning transport infrastructure, this is the ideal time to ensure that transport planning incorporates climate-smart and low-carbon priorities.
Enhancing Road Resilience in Pacific Island Countries: World Bank Assisting Adaptation to Climate Change

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-12) Michaels, Sean David

Pacific island countries are experiencing higher temperatures, rising sea levels, and extreme weather that is increasingly frequent and intense. The resulting damage has likewise been extreme. Between 2012 and 2015, for example, losses from three cyclones ranged from 11 percent to 64 percent of GDP in Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu. In many of these countries, primary roads and critical infrastructure are adjacent to the coast, and the majority of the population lives within 1 kilometer of the sea. Expected climate change effects will place coastal assets and communities at a higher level of risk. Governments are well aware of these challenges. Today, more than one-fourth of the World Bank’s transport commitments support mitigation and adaptation to climate change (a share that is growing), and its work with Pacific island countries is one of the ways it is responding to the rising demand for climate action. The demand from Pacific island countries in recent years has focused on road resilience, and early lessons will provide a strong basis for further progress.