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The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research
Non-motorised transport (NMT) is often a key element of successfully encouraging clean urban transport. It can be a very attractive mode of transport for relatively short distances, which make up the largest share of trips in cities. The key to reversing the trend towards more private vehicle use is making walking and cycling attractive, together with improving public transport. This can be done by a range of activities including construction of sidewalks and bike lanes, bike sharing programmes, urban planning and pedestrian-oriented development. NMT is a highly cost-effective transportation strategy and brings about large health, economic and social co-benefits, particularly for the urban poor. The main barriers are the perceived low status of NMT, and the current focus on car-oriented planning. IntroductionNon-motorised Transportation (also known as active transportation and human powered transportation) includes walking and bicycling, and variants such as small-wheeled transport (cycle rickshaws, skates, skateboards, push scooters and hand carts) and wheelchair travel. These modes provide both recreation and transportation (VTPI, 2010; gTKP, 2010), and are especially important for short trips up to 7 kms, which take up the largest share of trips in urban areas (Witting et al., 2006). NMT can be stimulated by a policy package consisting of investments in facilities, awareness campaigns, smart urban planning, improved public transport and disincentives for the use of motorised private vehicles. Specific ways to improve non motorised transportation are, inter alia (VPTI, 2010; Litman, 2009):
Additional information on Non-Motorized Transport, targeted at developing country policy makers, can also be found in a reading list compiled by GTZ which is available here. Figure 2: Non-motorized transport in Bogota (Hook, 2003) Feasibility of technology and operational necessitiesIncreasing the modal share of NMT is possible in any country; however the successfulness depends on many country-specific factors, including climate, geography, culture, political commitment, public awareness, policy effort and consistency, long-term vision and the attractiveness of the alternatives. Several of these are interdependent, and as shown by the example of Bogotá, strong NMT policies, awareness campaigns and political commitment can bring about a shift in public attitudes towards NMT and a 4-fold increase in cycle trips (Witting et al., 2006; IPCC, 2007). The main barriers towards implementing a successful NMT policy are (based on ICE (2000):
Status of the technology and its future market potentialIn many developing countries, NMT takes a larger share of trips than in developed countries. However the reverse is often true for the trends: modal shares of walking and cycling decreases in developing countries, and (slowly) rises in the developed world. However it’s hard to make generalisations, as modal splits are highly country and city-specific, with NMT shares between 10% and 66% for different Western-European cities, and cycling in urban areas varying between 1% (US) and 27% (The Netherlands) of total trips (VTPI, 2010). NMT is mostly used for short-distance trips, with cycling particularly relevant up to 7.5 kms, and walking up to 2.5 kms. As up to 70% of cars trips cover less than 5 kms, NMT has a large potential to replace car travel (IPCC, 2007). Several studies have shown that 5-10% of car trips can be replaced by NMT provided good policies are in place (VTPI, 2010). One of the key parameters is urban density, with typical American cities having relatively low density and more car-oriented policies than European (see also the figure below). Most cities in developing countries are high-density and therefore very suitable for NMT-oriented policies, and with their rapid expansion and development now taking place, there may be opportunities to choose a lower-carbon path than the developed countries have done. Figure 1: Modal shares in cities (UITP, 2006; courtesy of SYSTRA) How the technology could contribute to socio-economic development and environmental protectionGood walking and cycling opportunities are a key part of any sustainable transport and planning strategy, and provide an overall improvement of the quality of life (Penalosa, 2004). More specifically, sustainable development benefits of NMT are: Environmental
Non-motorized transport does not emit greenhouse gas emissions, nor local air pollutants. Every increase in NMT therefore leads to a direct decrease in emissions. Social
Economic
Financial requirements and costsGenerally speaking, NMT policies and investments have a positive benefits-cost ratio (often larger than 5), particularly when co-benefits for health, safety and quality of life are taken into account (VPTI, 2010; Wittink & Godefrooij, 2009; ICE, 2000). For a detailed description and review of costs and benefits of NMT policies see Litman (2009). Figure 3: Overview of estimated benefits of NMT in developed countries per mile travelled (Litman, 2009) For Latin American cities, costs for increasing bicycle modal share by 1-10% have been estimated at 14 $/tCO2, and a policy package covering bus rapid transit system, cycle lanes and pedestrian upgrades at 30 $/tCO2 (IPCC, 2007). The cost of bicycle paths, including construction, maintenance and awareness campaigns, has been estimated at being $ 200,000 per km (Wittink & Godefrooij, 2009). For many developing country citizens, purchasing a bicycle is a substantial investment, which can be a barrier even though the owner is likely to become more productive (Witting et al, 2006). References
Author affiliation: Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), Policy Studies |