Transport Notes

53 items available

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/10986/9432

The goal of Transport Notes series is dissemination of recent experiences and innovations in the World Bank Group’s transport sector operations.

Items in this collection

Now showing 1 - 10 of 18

World Bank Gender Transport Surveys : An Overview
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-09) Babinard, Julie
Between 2008 and 2010 the transport sector initiated several country surveys to measure road transport needs and the constraints of both men and women, and more specifically how transport is facilitating or constraining access to resources, markets, and employment. These surveys were conducted as part of a lending operation or Economic Sector Work (ESW) with financial support from the Gender Action Plan (GAP), which seeks to advance women's economic empowerment and accelerate the implementation of the Millennium Development Goal 3 (MDG3), promoting gender equality and women's empowerment). A report that reviews the methodology used for each country GAP-funded survey, the design and content of the questionnaires and the likely effect on the analysis shows that women tend to have access to a wider range of social and economic opportunities when transportation is available, safe and secure. The main recommendation of the analysis is that a standardized approach should be promoted for collecting and evaluating gender data in transport and the possible creation of a questionnaire module to be easily adaptable for future surveys to collect and report gender-disaggregated data that can meaningfully inform transport policy. Substantial background work in the transport sector was done to develop a transport module to be used in nationally representative surveys. This work could be expanded upon to focus on gender and transportation.
Improving Secondary and Local Roads in Albania : Lessons from a Programmatic Approach
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-03) Humphreys, Martin; Guxho, Artan; Ishihara, Satoshi
Albania has made considerable progress since transition in overcoming the legacy of nearly forty years of autarky. But despite significant progress and some of the fastest rates of gross domestic product (GDP) growth in South East Europe, it remains one of the impoverished countries in Europe, with the majority of the population, and the majority of the poor, living in rural areas. These areas, despite the acknowledged links between infrastructure provision and poverty reduction, are currently poorly served by infrastructure, with the majority of the secondary and local road network in poor condition, and often impassable in inclement weather. Accordingly, in 2006, the Prime Minister established a task force to prepare a program to improve a significant proportion of the secondary and local network and requested the assistance of the World Bank to prepare, and contribute to the financing, of such a program. This transport note summarizes the experience of the World Bank and details the key factors underpinning what has became a very successful program, together with the main lessons learned.
Improving Local Roads and Creating Jobs through Rapid Response Projects : Lessons from Armenia Lifeline Roads Improvement Project
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-02) Ishihara, Satoshi; Bennett, Christopher R.
In late 2008 the Republic of Armenia requested the Bank's assistance to mitigate the impact of the global financial crisis. This technical note describes how the Lifeline Road Improvement Project (LRIP) was prepared and implemented as a Rapid Response Project, prepared in only six weeks. This project saw over 150 km of roads improved and almost 12,000 person-months of employment generated during an eight month period between May to December 2009. The lessons learned may guide other projects with similar objectives.
Assessment of Road Funds in South Asia Region
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-12) Guillossou, Jean-Noel; Stankevich, Natalya
Sustaining an adequate level of resources for road maintenance has been a continuous issue worldwide, including in South Asia. Since the late 1990s South Asia has developed different models of Road Funds (RFs), at the national level, or in the case of India at the state and local level, to improve sources of financing for road maintenance and development. The World Bank South Asia transport team has carried out a review of RFs in the region to draw lessons learned from the past experience. The review provides the analytical underpinning for advising governments on how to improve the performance of existing RFs or how to establish new RFs for road maintenance, and for providing guidance to the World Bank for revising its transport sector strategy in relation to road policy reforms in the South Asia region.
Transport as a Factor in the Investment Climate
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2006-08) Aoki, Naomi; Roberts, Peter
This Note shows how, through a process of consultation between the World Bank Transport Sector and Private Sector Department, some focus on transport has been introduced into the Global "core" module of the Investment Climate Survey. The Note also shows the scope for achieving much more focus on specific transport constraints in Investment Climate Assessments for countries where these are expected to be particularly important. Examples are given of questionnaires which have been developed to complement the "core" module and specifically to meet the needs of two Regions, Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, where different aspects of transport have been identified as significant considerations for investors. For Africa the focus is on the availability of suitable transport services. For Latin America the emphasis is rather on the role of transport in influencing the location of enterprises. Application of these revised questionnaires will provide more data on the contribution of transport to doing business in different countries.
How a Road Agency Can Transform Force Account Road Maintenance to Contracting
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2006-06) Andreski, Adam; Seth, Subhash; Walker, Wendy
Recent international trends in the reform of road management, point to the need to transform force account road maintenance services. With Force Account, funding tends to be erratic; management of equipment and its support facilities inadequate, planning, supervision and execution require high standards of staffing, quality control may be poor; and reporting systems weak. Contracted works have the advantages that payment of work is done to specification, rates are known making budgeting and planning easier, risk is transferred from the Public Sector to the Private Sector, and the profit motive tends to promote efficiency and reduce unnecessary waste. An International Labour Organization study in Cambodia found that contracted road maintenance is 24 percent cheaper than force account and Talvitie found contracting out gave 5-15 percent in efficiency gains. Many countries have already gone through this process and every country has a different experience. This paper brings a systematic approach with a focus on situation analysis, identification of options, developing transformation strategy, addressing social issues, management options, and monitoring efficiency and effectiveness of the program.
Highway and Railway Development in India and China, 1992-2002
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2006-05) Harral, Clel; Sondhi, Jit; Guang Zhe Chen
This Note compares the development of highway and railway infrastructure in India and China during 1992 and 2002. It examines key strategies pursued by the countries including China's highway financing schemes; China's planning, design, tendering, and supervision of construction; potential lessons learned from India's highway sector development; the comparative financial and operational performance of the two countries; and lessons learned from China railways, particularly its ability to achieve to achieve higher output and productivity.
Surfacing Alternatives for Unsealed Rural Roads
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2006-05) Henning, Theuns; Kadar, Peter; Bennett, Christopher R.
Despite extensive road construction programs over the last century, a substantial proportion of roads remained unsealed especially in developing and emerging economies. As these economies develop, the demand arises to seal previously unsealed roads. The most economical transition point between unsealed and sealed roads depends on many conditions that need to be evaluated. The purpose of this Note is to provide guidance for decision makers, engineers and administrators on selecting the most appropriate surface for unsealed road given the prevailing conditions. It is based on the report "Surfacing Alternatives for Unsealed Roads" (report 37192).
Why Road Maintenance is Important and How to Get it Done
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-06) Burningham, Sally; Stankevich, Natalya
Roads, and means of transport, make a crucial contribution to economic development and growth and bring important social benefits. Poorly maintained roads constrain mobility, significantly raise vehicle operating costs, increase accident rates and their associated human and property costs, and aggravate isolation, poverty, poor health, and illiteracy in rural communities. This Note highlights the economic and social importance of regular road maintenance and recommends ways to achieve sustainable road maintenance with scarce public resources. Its audience is not specialists but rather people who need to understand road maintenance enough to discharge their responsibilities effectively: government policy-makers, mayors, ministry staff, new World Bank staff and staff in sectors such as rural development and social funds. The reference section offers sources providing more detailed information.
Rural Access and Mobility in Pakistan : A Policy Note
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-01) Essakali, Mohammed Dalil
This note presents a number of policy options to improve basic access and promote the mobility of Pakistan's rural population in support of the Government's Poverty Reduction Strategy. This is achieved through more focused and community driven interventions to meet the direct needs of the rural population. The current state of rural accessibility and mobility are examined together with their effect on both the social and economic dimensions of rural poverty. Key challenges and constraints to reform are identified. The note contributes to the current debate within Pakistan with regard to the better targeting of interventions to assist the rural poor. It should also be of interest to policy makers in other countries concerned with how rural transport policy may be developed to meet the Millennium Development Goals.