Publication: Limitation of Competition in and for the Public Transportation Market in Developing Countries Lessons from Latin American Cities
Abstract
This paper analyzes the limitations of providing public transit service because of competition in the market. Evidence from seven cities in Latin America is used to show how this service arrangement leads to inflated fares, oversupply of buses, and low-quality service. The paper then analyzes the solution advocated by the literature-competition for the market as a means to properly arrange public transit service. Next, four cities that have implemented public transit service in this competitive market are analyzed. It is found that competition for the market offers a solution but needs to be complemented by solid barriers to market entry, centralized fare collection, and the creation of a bus rapid transit (BRT) line, if demand justifies it. BRT creates a system in which competition for the market blossoms and demands for much-needed institutional capacity in operators and government agencies are met. Finally, after implementing these measures, cities should create integrated transit networks to complete the reform and institutionalize strong government service planning and supervision. The provision of actual service should remain in private hands.
Link to Data Set
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Lessons from Urban Risk Assessments in Latin American and Caribbean Cities(Taylor and Francis, 2014-08-08)This paper draws on the results from a recent World Bank-funded project designed to inform policy-making and climate change adaptation planning in small and medium-sized cities in Latin America and the Caribbean. The focus was on floods and landslides, which are the two most common climate-related risks in cities across the region. The project allowed the application of the Urban Risk Assessment (URA) tool developed by the World Bank and the drawing of valuable lessons which may also be applicable to the many methods and tools available for climate change adaptation planning in the rapidly urbanising cities of developing countries.Publication Decarbonizing Cities by Improving Public Transport and Managing Land Use and Traffic(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-10)Urban transport is a significant contributor to climate-warming greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in cities, with most urban transport emissions coming from cars. More than seventy percent of global carbon dioxide emissions come from cities, making mitigation efforts at the local level an important contributor to decarbonization. Urban transport also plays a fundamental role in the economic activity and welfare of urban citizens. Therefore, developing cities must find a way to continue to improve accessibility, while decoupling growth in travel demand from growth in GHG emissions. Affordable, safe, and convenient urban passenger mobility systems are critical for the welfare of urban residents, connecting people to jobs, education, health care, and recreation. This paper argues that cities in developing countries have a unique opportunity to preserve and encourage sustainable urban passenger mobility by building on their existing modal shares in public transport, walking, and biking the low carbon modes. Section 2 of this paper provides additional detail on key mobility and land use challenges that developing cities are facing. Section 3 outlines strategies to overcome the challenges. Section 4 summarizes the high-level takeaways and suggests a way forward for the international community to support city governments in providing better transport infrastructure, services, and enabling environments to ensure their long-term financial and environmental sustainability.Publication Only Walking for transportation in large Latin American cities(Taylor & Francis, 2020-09-04)Walking for transportation is a common and accessible means of achieving recommended physical activity levels, while providing important social and environmental co-benefits. Even though walking in rapidly growing urban areas has become especially challenging given the increasing dependence on motorized transportation, walking remains a major mode of transportation in Latin American cities. In this paper we aimed to quantify self-reported walking for transportation in Mexico City, Bogota, Santiago de Chile, Sao Paulo, and Buenos Aires, by identifying both walking trips that are conducted entirely on foot and walking events involved in trips mainly conducted on other means of transportation (e.g., private vehicle, public transit) among individuals 5-years old. We show how walking-only trips account for approximately 30 percent trips in the analyzed cities, and we evidence how the pedestrian dimension of mobility is largely underestimated if walking that is incidental to other transportation modes is not accounted for: when considering all walking events, we observed an increase between 73 percent and 217 percent in daily walking time. As a result, authors estimated that between 19 percent and 25 percent of residents in these cities meet the WHO physical activity guidelines solely from walking for transportation. The results of the study also suggest that the promotion of public transportation in large Latin American cities can especially help certain population groups achieve the daily recommended levels of physical activity, while among low-income groups accessibility and safety seem to be the key challenge to be addressed.Publication Accessibility of Urban Transport for People with Disabilities and Limited Mobility : Lessons from East Asia and the Pacific(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-04)Accessibility of transport is not always a priority in transport planning and implementation. There can be barriers in the physical environment and delivery of services that render transport inaccessible. The principle of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD) brings new momentum to ensuring accessibility in the delivery of transport infrastructure and services. The CRPD recognizes that obstacles and barriers to indoor and outdoor public facilities and buildings and the physical environment should be removed to ensure equal access by people with disabilities and all members of society. This note summarizes the analysis done of the accessibility features of recent transport projects in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region. It seeks to highlight good practice in national laws, policies and project implementation to improve the welfare of transport users across projects. The overarching objective is to suggest how to improve the implementation of accessibility features in transport projects for people with disabilities and people with limited mobility. Mobility and access requirements of people with disabilities should be considered by planning and designing barrier- free transport systems. This implies an understanding and identification of the circumstances that create barriers for people with disabilities. Many countries have made progress in reducing barriers in the transport environment, particularly in high income countries. Countries have implemented regulation and design guidelines which explicitly consider accessibility for people with disabilities.Publication The Quality of Life in Latin American Cities : Markets and Perception(Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank, 2010)This book suggests how that exploration should be undertaken, and how a monitoring system that has a solid conceptual basis and is both easy to operate and reasonable in cost can then be put into practice. Long the ideal of many scholars and observers of urban problems, such a system may now be close to realization. In this book, examples of Latin American cities are used as case studies. As argued in the first chapter, there are good reasons to concentrate on Latin America: it is the world region with the most rapid urban development and is the most urbanized region in the developing world. In contrast to residents of cities in poorer regions, Latin Americans have managed to democratize homeownership and to extend basic services to the majority of households. That means that improving the Quality of Life (QoL) in Latin American cities is no longer primarily a matter of bricks and mortar. But the challenges are as large as they are diverse. Chapter two introduces the reader to the hedonic price and the life satisfaction approaches and presents a comparative summary of the conclusions of the six case studies. This chapter, like the first, is essential for the policy maker or activist in urban affairs who wants to understand the possibilities of the new systems for monitoring the quality of urban life. Chapter three is a concise and self-contained introduction to the economic theory on which the hedonic pricing and life satisfaction approaches are based and which forms the backbone of this book. Chapters four-eight then summarize the most notable findings of the case studies, each emphasizing a different topic and focus.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
No results found.