Saving nature: Sustainable transport would help eliminate poverty
Environmentalist calls for shifting to mass transits, walking and cycling
ISLAMABAD:
Sustainable transport is an important pathway to eradicate poverty, improve health conditions, resources efficiency, decarbonisation, decongestion, connectivity, trade and growth.
A top environment official, while talking to Express Tribune, called for innovative, smart, cost effective, solutions that significantly helped in reducing air pollution and greenhouse gases from energy, industry, transport, area resources by ensuring a safe, equitable environment and people friendly transport system by accelerating the shift towards more environmentally sustainable transport in cities of the country.
“Win-win strategies that favour resources efficient transport including walking, cycling, public transit and limit auto traffic to what the urban road system can accommodate can help to achieve the goals of the Bangkok 2020 Declaration and Bali Vision including zero congestion, zero pollution and zero accidents,” said Environmental Protection Agency Director Ziaul Islam.
He insisted that walking, cycling and public transit are more energy efficient. Transit-oriented cities tend to have less traffic, casualty rates and a diverse transport system that is more affordable for consumers. Pakistani cities have an opportunity to lower death rates through transit oriented development (TOD), travel demand management (TDM) polices and application of advance technologies such as intelligent freight systems (IFS) and dedicated non-motorised transportation (NMT) facilities.
The EPA director added that it was important to introduce sustainable transport solutions that meet people’s mobility needs while causing least pollution.
Islam further stated that most of the road network in Islamabad is for vehicular traffic and lacks footpaths or have uneven footpaths. The master plan of the city included cycle tracks which have now vanished. Bicycle tracks are visible on a few roads, but are either in a deplorable condition, or encroached by parked cars.
He shares that electric vehicle technologies have made significant advances in recent years and a surge in witnessed in the number of people considering electric mobility as an option to address the challenging issues of rapid urbanisation and motorisation in Pakistan. However, while electric mobility may reduce energy use, air pollution and greenhouse gases emissions, it can do very little to solve traffic congestion or to resolve the conflict between vehicles and pedestrians, therefore, electric mobility should also be seen as a partial, rather than a complete solution.
In addition to promoting safe, affordable and attractive public transport in cities, there the transit system, will have potential to reduce negative symptoms of increased motorisation and significantly increasing access to rural areas.
According to the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) a total of 8,988 accidents were registered with the police in 2013, of which 3,884 were fatal and killed as many as 4,719 people. A total of 237 road accidents were reported in Islamabad of which 118 were fatal.
“The Government should build parking plazas at Islamabad’s entry points and commuters should be provided with decent and reliable transportation up to their destinations inside the city for a minimal fee. This would help reduce traffic congestion in the city as well as help save fuel and energy costs. For this, the government should limit its role only to legal aspects and should encourage private sector investment by facilitating them,” he suggested.
Sharing similar views, an EPA director said on condition of anonymity that the government should build parking plazas at the entry points of Islamabad and arrange access to mass transit near these plazas.
Saleem, a low cadre CDA employee, who uses his bicycle to move around the city, complains that the traffic makes things difficult for him. “The vehicles parked along footpaths are also a source of difficulty for us,” he stated.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 30th, 2014.
Sustainable transport is an important pathway to eradicate poverty, improve health conditions, resources efficiency, decarbonisation, decongestion, connectivity, trade and growth.
A top environment official, while talking to Express Tribune, called for innovative, smart, cost effective, solutions that significantly helped in reducing air pollution and greenhouse gases from energy, industry, transport, area resources by ensuring a safe, equitable environment and people friendly transport system by accelerating the shift towards more environmentally sustainable transport in cities of the country.
“Win-win strategies that favour resources efficient transport including walking, cycling, public transit and limit auto traffic to what the urban road system can accommodate can help to achieve the goals of the Bangkok 2020 Declaration and Bali Vision including zero congestion, zero pollution and zero accidents,” said Environmental Protection Agency Director Ziaul Islam.
He insisted that walking, cycling and public transit are more energy efficient. Transit-oriented cities tend to have less traffic, casualty rates and a diverse transport system that is more affordable for consumers. Pakistani cities have an opportunity to lower death rates through transit oriented development (TOD), travel demand management (TDM) polices and application of advance technologies such as intelligent freight systems (IFS) and dedicated non-motorised transportation (NMT) facilities.
The EPA director added that it was important to introduce sustainable transport solutions that meet people’s mobility needs while causing least pollution.
Islam further stated that most of the road network in Islamabad is for vehicular traffic and lacks footpaths or have uneven footpaths. The master plan of the city included cycle tracks which have now vanished. Bicycle tracks are visible on a few roads, but are either in a deplorable condition, or encroached by parked cars.
He shares that electric vehicle technologies have made significant advances in recent years and a surge in witnessed in the number of people considering electric mobility as an option to address the challenging issues of rapid urbanisation and motorisation in Pakistan. However, while electric mobility may reduce energy use, air pollution and greenhouse gases emissions, it can do very little to solve traffic congestion or to resolve the conflict between vehicles and pedestrians, therefore, electric mobility should also be seen as a partial, rather than a complete solution.
In addition to promoting safe, affordable and attractive public transport in cities, there the transit system, will have potential to reduce negative symptoms of increased motorisation and significantly increasing access to rural areas.
According to the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) a total of 8,988 accidents were registered with the police in 2013, of which 3,884 were fatal and killed as many as 4,719 people. A total of 237 road accidents were reported in Islamabad of which 118 were fatal.
“The Government should build parking plazas at Islamabad’s entry points and commuters should be provided with decent and reliable transportation up to their destinations inside the city for a minimal fee. This would help reduce traffic congestion in the city as well as help save fuel and energy costs. For this, the government should limit its role only to legal aspects and should encourage private sector investment by facilitating them,” he suggested.
Sharing similar views, an EPA director said on condition of anonymity that the government should build parking plazas at the entry points of Islamabad and arrange access to mass transit near these plazas.
Saleem, a low cadre CDA employee, who uses his bicycle to move around the city, complains that the traffic makes things difficult for him. “The vehicles parked along footpaths are also a source of difficulty for us,” he stated.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 30th, 2014.