Publication: A Framework for Urban Transport Benchmarking
Loading...
Published
2011
ISSN
Date
2013-03-21
Editor(s)
Abstract
This report summarizes the findings of a study aimed at exploring key elements of a benchmarking framework for urban transport. Unlike many industries where benchmarking has proven to be successful and straightforward, the multitude of the actors and interactions involved in urban transport systems may make benchmarking a complex endeavor. It was therefore important to analyze what has been done so far, propose basic benchmarking elements and test them, and identify lessons for a simple and sustainable urban transport benchmarking framework. A major component of this study was to investigate (a) the availability of data for benchmarking and (b) the value of benchmarking on the basis of limited data. The study therefore proposes a benchmarking framework for urban transport, focusing on the performance of public transport. Because the design of a benchmarking framework depends on the objectives sought from it, the study focused on the performance of public transport systems from the policymaker s perspective. The study included pilot application of the proposed framework in five cities from three continents Beijing, Bucharest, Cape Town, Colombo, and Singapore. The pilot application and comparative analysis helped gauge applicability and practicality of the proposed framework.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Henning, Theuns; Essakali, Mohammed Dalil; Oh, Jung Eun. 2011. A Framework for Urban Transport Benchmarking. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/12847 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Review of the Urban Transport Sector in the Russian Federation : Transition to Long-Term Sustainability(2013-04)Russian cities are undergoing critical economic and social changes that affect the performance and condition of their urban transport systems. While the population of most large cities in Russia (over one million residents) has remained relatively unchanged over the last decade, the average income of the urban dwellers has sharply increased. The number of private cars per capita has increased rapidly, generating a demand for urban mobility which is increasingly difficult to meet. This review of the urban transport sector in the Russian Federation (the Review, hereafter) aims to assess the current condition and performance of urban transport systems in medium-to-large size Russian cities and to identify key issues and underlying causes. The review principally covers software of urban transport in the secondary cities of Russia, including institutional arrangements, legal and regulatory issues, operation of public transport systems, traffic management, and parking, and less extensively hardware aspects, such as construction of road network.Publication Results in the Latin America and Caribbean Region(Washington, DC, 2013-02)A focus on development results is at the heart of the Latin America and Caribbean Region s approach to delivering programs and policy advice with partners in middle-income and low income countries alike. Through knowledge, convening activities, and financial services we strive to help people across the region create better opportunities and build a better future for themselves, their families and their country. Documenting, measuring and evaluating results of what we do, helps us and our partners to engage more effectively, learn from our experiences and apply lessons to the design and implementation of future interventions. This collection of result stories shows our continuous efforts to adopt and integrate technical analysis, timely policy advice, and a variety of financial instruments into programs that are aligned with client priorities. Results show the increased demand and the effectiveness of peer-to-peer learning, have led to a scaling up our support for South-South exchange activities and the use our convening power to support successful partnerships and mobilize additional resources to finance development work.Publication Controlling Greenhouse Gas Emissions Generated by the Transport Sector in ECA : Policy Options(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-02)Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) generated from transport are among the fastest growing in Europe and in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region, posing a challenge in creating a low-carbon future, as economic development has been paralleled with a modal share increasingly dominated by roads.1 This modal shift, as in the European Union (EU), has been driven by a number of factors, including growing affluence, suburbanization, and falling land use densities in urban areas, which have translated into more widespread vehicle ownership, increasing trip numbers and lengths, while reducing the financial viability of public transport and non-motorized transport. This paper begins by reviewing recent trends in transport and GHG emission trends in the ECA region, using trends in the EU-15 and EU-27 as comparators.8 Subsequently, it will provide an overview of climate friendly transport policies for the road, rail, and air transport modes, before presenting some land transport success stories and then turning to a discussion on how to use revenues generated from pricing policy instruments. The objective is to provide a menu of policy options to improve the functioning of the transport sector in ECA, while addressing the externalities generated by the sector.Publication Urban Accessibility / Mobility Index Feasibility Stage Report(Washington, DC, 2010-06)Given the increasing importance of the urban transport sector, the World Bank decided to explore the feasibility of setting up a possible urban accessibility/mobility index. The purpose of such an index would be to provide an indicator / measurement, of how urban transport systems in different cities compared to one another, and how the transport system developed in each individual city. The aim is to provide client cities and countries, along with the World Bank and other institutions, with some evidence-based information. It is for this reason that the Bank decided to develop a suitable index. However, urban transport has multiple dimensions, and cannot be comprehensively assessed by a single indicator. There is an acute lack of reliable data on different aspects concerning urban transport. Therefore, a compromise was decided upon, in order to develop an index that was both comprehensive and practical. The compromise required that data for the index / indicators should be easy to collect, easy to interpret and understand, and replicable from one city to another. It was also essential that the data be regularly updated and easily available. The core urban transport policy of the Bank is to help countries and cities develop policies that favor public transport and non-motorized transport modes, versus private cars and motorcycles. The outline design of the urban accessibility/mobility index explored in this feasibility stage report, has been envisaged to indeed reflect these objectives.Publication Urban Transport and CO2 Emissions : Some Evidence from Chinese Cities(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-06)This working paper provides a bottom-up estimate of energy use and Green-House Gas (GHG) emissions for the transport sector based on data available at the city and municipal levels. For urban transport in China, GHG emissions primarily consist of carbon dioxide (CO2), so these terms are used interchangeably. Energy use and CO2 emissions are also highly correlated based on the predominance of fossil fuels in transport. A database of self-reported indicators was developed and verified for the fourteen participating cities of the China World Bank-Global Environment Facility (GEF) Urban Transport Partnership Program. Other supplemental sources were also used to enrich the dataset for urban transport and energy analysis, namely the most recent China City Statistical Yearbooks. Beijing and Shanghai were also included where data was available from existing studies given their relevance in broad comparison of Chinese cities. Section two discusses the general demographic and economic trends in the sample of cities that may be influencing the sector. Section three points to stylized facts about the most relevant urban transport demand, supply and performance characteristics in recent years and suggests how they may be driving energy consumption and GHG emissions. Section four is the analysis and forecast of energy use and GHG emissions using the urban transport drivers identified. Finally, general conclusions and next steps are suggested in section five, as well as additional details on the data, methodology, definitions, and a map of China with the seventeen selected cities in the annexes.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Global Economic Prospects, January 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-16)Global growth is expected to hold steady at 2.7 percent in 2025-26. However, the global economy appears to be settling at a low growth rate that will be insufficient to foster sustained economic development—with the possibility of further headwinds from heightened policy uncertainty and adverse trade policy shifts, geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and climate-related natural disasters. Against this backdrop, emerging market and developing economies are set to enter the second quarter of the twenty-first century with per capita incomes on a trajectory that implies substantially slower catch-up toward advanced-economy living standards than they previously experienced. Without course corrections, most low-income countries are unlikely to graduate to middle-income status by the middle of the century. Policy action at both global and national levels is needed to foster a more favorable external environment, enhance macroeconomic stability, reduce structural constraints, address the effects of climate change, and thus accelerate long-term growth and development.Publication Global Economic Prospects, June 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-06-10)The global economy is facing another substantial headwind, emanating largely from an increase in trade tensions and heightened global policy uncertainty. For emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), the ability to boost job creation and reduce extreme poverty has declined. Key downside risks include a further escalation of trade barriers and continued policy uncertainty. These challenges are exacerbated by subdued foreign direct investment into EMDEs. Global cooperation is needed to restore a more stable international trade environment and scale up support for vulnerable countries grappling with conflict, debt burdens, and climate change. Domestic policy action is also critical to contain inflation risks and strengthen fiscal resilience. To accelerate job creation and long-term growth, structural reforms must focus on raising institutional quality, attracting private investment, and strengthening human capital and labor markets. Countries in fragile and conflict situations face daunting development challenges that will require tailored domestic policy reforms and well-coordinated multilateral support.Publication Digital Progress and Trends Report 2023(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-05)Digitalization is the transformational opportunity of our time. The digital sector has become a powerhouse of innovation, economic growth, and job creation. Value added in the IT services sector grew at 8 percent annually during 2000–22, nearly twice as fast as the global economy. Employment growth in IT services reached 7 percent annually, six times higher than total employment growth. The diffusion and adoption of digital technologies are just as critical as their invention. Digital uptake has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic, with 1.5 billion new internet users added from 2018 to 2022. The share of firms investing in digital solutions around the world has more than doubled from 2020 to 2022. Low-income countries, vulnerable populations, and small firms, however, have been falling behind, while transformative digital innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) have been accelerating in higher-income countries. Although more than 90 percent of the population in high-income countries was online in 2022, only one in four people in low-income countries used the internet, and the speed of their connection was typically only a small fraction of that in wealthier countries. As businesses in technologically advanced countries integrate generative AI into their products and services, less than half of the businesses in many low- and middle-income countries have an internet connection. The growing digital divide is exacerbating the poverty and productivity gaps between richer and poorer economies. The Digital Progress and Trends Report series will track global digitalization progress and highlight policy trends, debates, and implications for low- and middle-income countries. The series adds to the global efforts to study the progress and trends of digitalization in two main ways: · By compiling, curating, and analyzing data from diverse sources to present a comprehensive picture of digitalization in low- and middle-income countries, including in-depth analyses on understudied topics. · By developing insights on policy opportunities, challenges, and debates and reflecting the perspectives of various stakeholders and the World Bank’s operational experiences. This report, the first in the series, aims to inform evidence-based policy making and motivate action among internal and external audiences and stakeholders. The report will bring global attention to high-performing countries that have valuable experience to share as well as to areas where efforts will need to be redoubled.Publication The Container Port Performance Index 2023(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-07-18)The Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) measures the time container ships spend in port, making it an important point of reference for stakeholders in the global economy. These stakeholders include port authorities and operators, national governments, supranational organizations, development agencies, and other public and private players in trade and logistics. The index highlights where vessel time in container ports could be improved. Streamlining these processes would benefit all parties involved, including shipping lines, national governments, and consumers. This fourth edition of the CPPI relies on data from 405 container ports with at least 24 container ship port calls in the calendar year 2023. As in earlier editions of the CPPI, the ranking employs two different methodological approaches: an administrative (technical) approach and a statistical approach (using matrix factorization). Combining these two approaches ensures that the overall ranking of container ports reflects actual port performance as closely as possible while also being statistically robust. The CPPI methodology assesses the sequential steps of a container ship port call. ‘Total port hours’ refers to the total time elapsed from the moment a ship arrives at the port until the vessel leaves the berth after completing its cargo operations. The CPPI uses time as an indicator because time is very important to shipping lines, ports, and the entire logistics chain. However, time, as captured by the CPPI, is not the only way to measure port efficiency, so it does not tell the entire story of a port’s performance. Factors that can influence the time vessels spend in ports can be location-specific and under the port’s control (endogenous) or external and beyond the control of the port (exogenous). The CPPI measures time spent in container ports, strictly based on quantitative data only, which do not reveal the underlying factors or root causes of extended port times. A detailed port-specific diagnostic would be required to assess the contribution of underlying factors to the time a vessel spends in port. A very low ranking or a significant change in ranking may warrant special attention, for which the World Bank generally recommends a detailed diagnostic.Publication Business Ready 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-03)Business Ready (B-READY) is a new World Bank Group corporate flagship report that evaluates the business and investment climate worldwide. It replaces and improves upon the Doing Business project. B-READY provides a comprehensive data set and description of the factors that strengthen the private sector, not only by advancing the interests of individual firms but also by elevating the interests of workers, consumers, potential new enterprises, and the natural environment. This 2024 report introduces a new analytical framework that benchmarks economies based on three pillars: Regulatory Framework, Public Services, and Operational Efficiency. The analysis centers on 10 topics essential for private sector development that correspond to various stages of the life cycle of a firm. The report also offers insights into three cross-cutting themes that are relevant for modern economies: digital adoption, environmental sustainability, and gender. B-READY draws on a robust data collection process that includes specially tailored expert questionnaires and firm-level surveys. The 2024 report, which covers 50 economies, serves as the first in a series that will expand in geographical coverage and refine its methodology over time, supporting reform advocacy, policy guidance, and further analysis and research.