http://www.malaysiakini.com/News/2001/09/2001090302.php3

Malaysiakini.com
Monday September 3

Jakarta's touchy 'becak' dilemma
Kafil Yamin

10:00am, Mon: feature

To some, the Indonesian capital's becak or pedicabs are a cheap,
people-friendly mode of transport. To others, they are an eyesore and cause
of traffic jams. Others find pedicab driving an informal job valuable in
hard times.

  The truth is, millions of residents in this megacity of 10 million people
use the colourful, three-wheeled, non-motorised transport for short
distances.

''I need becak badly to go the market,'' said Sulastri, a homemaker in Kebon
Jeruk, West Jakarta. ''It is too far to walk, and this road is not served by
public transport.''

''From the market, we would carry a lot of things and it would be terrible
to have to walk to my house from there,'' she added.

But despite its popularity, city officials and some residents consider them
a headache that adds to traffic congestion and draws migrants from outside
the capital - and want them banned from the streets.

Tugiman, who came from Mojokerto in Central Java, has been driving pedicabs
for 15 years. "Becak driving is my job. I cannot do other jobs. If the
government provides me a place to sell things, I will firmly tell them that
I am not a vendor, not a businessman.''

''If they (government) just allows us to pull becak - that has been
providing us jobs,'' he added.

...
for the rest of the feature please visit
http://www.malaysiakini.com/News/2001/09/2001090302.php3

The story in Delhi is a complete contrast to whats happening with respect to
becaks in Jakarta. The Prime Minister of India has taken an initiative to
improve the condition of the rickshaws drivers and hawkers in delhi who are
often subjected to the atrocities of the local authorities.

Also the work done by India Cycle Rickshaw Improvement Project (by ITDP, New
York) on cycle rickshaws was commended by the PM office and we have been
asked to also help in developing improved hawker/vendor carts for the city
of Delhi.

G Shyam,
Consultant Designer,
India Cycle Rickshaw
Improvement Project

=====================================================================
PM DRAFTS POLICY FOR HAWKERS, RICKSHAW PULLERS IN THE CITY
August 27, 2001
India Express

DELHI may well become the first city to abolish the current system of
licenses
given to street hawkers and cycle rickshaws. The revolutionary reforms could
become a reality because the directions have come from the highest office in
the
country that of the Prime Minister's.He has written to Delhi Lieutenant
Governor
Vijay Kapoor to address to the "task of policy reform urgently".

The concerns of the unorganised urban sector were brought to Prime Minister
A.B.
Vajpayee's notice in early August, after which some of the concerns found
mention in his Independence Day speech. According to sources in the PMO, the
Prime Minister is of the view that these reforms be implemented in "days and
not
months". This is the first time that he has taken personal interest in the
concerns of this sector.

The biggest fallout of the reforms would be that the present licensing
system,
which gives ample scope for rent-seeking and harassment by Licensing and
Enforcement officials, would be scrapped completely. A concept note
outlining an
alternate regulatory system for street hawkers and cycle-rickshaws has been
prepared by the PMO."...It should recognise street hawking and
cycle-rickshaw
pulling as legitimate occupations which help reduce poverty and facilitate
their
integration into formal economy," says the note to the LG.

An alternate regulatory regime for street hawkers and cycle rickshaws has
been
envisaged in the note as follows:

• The existing licensing system with quantitative limits must be scrapped
forthwith.
• The metropolis must be divided into "green, amber and red" zones,
signifying
free-based access and prohibited
access, respectively. The division into the three categories may vary with
the
time of the day, the day of the week and the week of the month. The division
may
be made separately for street hawkers and cycle rickshaws.

The zoning will be formally notified and prominent streetlights to be put up
to
indicate their boundaries and timings. The division would be made by the
MCD/NDMC in their jurisdiction, but invariably with the formal consultation
with
the resident associations and elected representatives.

Other general restrictions like avoidance between midnight and 5am and no
overnight parking on pavements, would remain as before.

• Any person who wishes to be a street hawker or cycle rickshaw puller may
do so
by simple act     of registration
involving two steps—Reliable identification by any means like voter ID Card
or
by payment of nominal fee to cover costs of issue of these cards.

Upon registration, which has to be done on the spot , the person would have
unrestricted access to all the green areas. Penalties have to be restricted
to
surcharge of fee, but impounding, destruction of goods by any authority will
be
prohibited.

The registration must be renewed once a year. The sole purpose of the
registration should be to provide identification. It would not be a permit
to
ply the trade. No such permit is needed as hawking etc. represent the
fundamental right to livelihood (as established in the Soudam Singh versus
NDMC/MCD case). Accordingly, there must be no limits on the registrations.

• A registered street hawker who wishes to ply in an amber zone, may do so
by
paying a fee, upon which sticker may
be affixed on the registration ID. The number of hawkers may be regulated by
adjustment of fees periodically. The fee may be scaled to different
categories
of street hawkers, peddlers on foot or using pedalised vehicles.
• NGOs with a record of working for the welfare of street hawkers and
rickshaw
pullers may be authorised to
interface between them and the concerned MCD/NDMC authorities.

The licensing system as it exists today was meant to limit the number of
these
tradespersons. The new concept is based on the presumption that the licenses
impose a number of restrictive conditions, which do not seem to relate to
general convenience of the public like health and safety consideration.
Instead,
hawkers and rickshaw pullers are subject to atrocities by these
functionaries.

The restrictive licensing system enables rents to be collected by the
officials
who process, issue and enforce licenses. These rents are estimated in a
study
done by an NGO, MANUSHI, to be approximately Rs 50 crore a month. The
unlicensed
hawkers are estimated at 5,00,000.

"It is time that the licensing system is reformed so that the hawkers and
rickshaw pullers belonging to the poorest sections of urban society are
enabled
to pursue their modest livelihood without extortion. This would convey the
message that policy reforms benefit the poor, and not only the middle –class
or
well-to-do," the note adds.


HAWKERS, CYCLE–RICKSHAWS GET HIGH–LEVEL SUPPORT FROM PM

Aug 28, 2001
Hindustan Times

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has started that genuine policy reform
is
called for in the present licensing systems for hawkers and cycle rickshaws
in
the national Capital Region of Delhi.

In a letter written to Lt. Governor V. K. Kapoor, Vajpayee has emphasised
policy
reform to eliminate the scope for rent seeking and harassment by licensing
and
enforcement officials and recognise street hawking and cycle rickshaws as
legitimate occupations.

In what may be seen as an extension of his Independence Day speech made from
the
ramparts of the Red Fort, the Prime Minister has advised the government of
the
NCR of policy reform urgently. "Street hawking and cycle rickshaws help
reduce
poverty and facilitate their integration into the formal economy, "the
letter
said on the importance of the trade which faces harassment from a battery of
officials in the Capital.

The Prime Minister's office has also prepared a concept note outlining an
alternative regulatory system for street hawkers and cycle-rickshaws,
embodying
the objectives in the letter written to the LG.

Outlining the broad points on which the Prime Minister deliberated, the
letter
said that the policy of restrictive issue of licenses for hawkers and
rickshaw-pullers is a perversion of the Supreme Court judgement in Saudam
Singh
versus NDMC case in 1987. The case represented a fundamental right to
livelihood
and was subject only to reasonable regulations to avoid potential social
costs
of these activities (street and pavement obstruction).

Criticising the existing system, Vajpayee said that the restrictive
licensing
system enables rents to be collected by the officials who process, issue and
enforce licenses. Giving statistics from a study, he said that while the
rents
are estimated to be approximately Rs 50 crore a month from 20,000 licensed
hawkers, the number of unlicensed hawkers is estimated to be at around five
lakhs.

The Prime Minister also said in his letter that the hawkers and
rickshaw-pullers
are subject to atrocities by the government functionaries like destruction
or
misappropriation of the hawkers' wares, impounding and destruction of
rickshaws.

In his letter to the LG, the PM expressed the need to ameliorate the
condition
of these two sections urgently. The letter said that the CVC N Vittal has
already written to the Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on the issue.




HAWKERS, CYCLE – RICKSHAWS GET HIGH LEVEL FROM PM
Aug 28, 2001
Hindustan Times

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has stated that genuine policy reform is
called for in the present licensing system for hawkers and cycle rickshaws
in
the National Capital Region of Delhi.

In a letter written to Lt Governor VK Kapoor , Vajpayee has emphasised
policy
reform to eliminate the scope for rent seeking and enforcement officials and
recognise street hawking and cycle rickshaws as legitimate occupations.

In what may be seen as an extension of his Independence Day speech made from
the
ramparts of the Red Fort, the Prime Minister has advised the government of
the
NCR of Delhi to address this task of policy reform urgently. "Street hawking
and
cycle rickshaws help reduce poverty and facilities their integration into
the
formal economy," the letter said on the importance of the trade which faces
harassment from a battery of officials in the Capital.

The Prime's Minister office has  prepared a concept note outlining an
alternative regulatory system for street hawkers and cycle rickshaws,
embodying
the objectives in the letter written to the LG.

Out lining the broad points on which the Prime Minister deliberated, the
letter
said that the policy of restrictive issue of licences for hawkers and
rickshaws
pullers is a perversion of the Supreme Court judgement in Saudam Singh
versus
NDMC case in 1987. The case represented a fundamental right to livelihood
and
was subject only to reasonable regulations to avoid potential social costs
of
these activities (street and pavement obstruction).

Criticising the existing system, Vajpayee said that the restrictive
licensing
system enables to rent to be collected by the officials who process, issue
and
enforce licenses. Giving statistics from a study, ha said that the while the
rents are estimated to be approximately Rs 50 crore a month from 20,000
licensed
hawkers, the number of unlicensed hawkers is estimated to be around five
lakhs.

The Prime Minister also said in his letter that the hawkers and rickshaws
pullers are subject to atrocities by the government functionaries like
destruction or misappropriation of the hawkers wares impounding and
destruction
of rickshaws.

In his letter to the LG,the PM expressed the need to ameliorate the
conditions
of these two sections urgently. The letter said that the CVC N Vittal has
said
written to the Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in the issue.


LG GETS CRACKING ON PM’s POLICY ON RICKSHAW PULLERS
August 28, 2001
Indian Express

THE Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Vijai Kapoor, today went through the
letter
addressed to him by Prime Minister A.B.Vajpayee wherein he had charted out
measures that could be taken to do away with could be taken to do away with
the
licensing regime for hawkers and cycle rickshaw-pullers in some selected
parts
of the Capital. Sources in Delhi government said the "letter was being
studied
with utmost importance''. Newsline had published the Prime Minister’s
suggestions in detail.

In fact, on receipt of the letter, Kapoor summoned the Principal Secretary,
and
Urban Development Minister R. Narayanaswamy, and held detailed discussions
with
him. There are likely to be further meetings with key officials tomorrow.
The
NDMC and the MCD would also become involved in the implementation of the
Prime
Minister’s suggested measures shortly. Sources in the PMO had said that
Vajpayee
wanted as early as possible.

The Prime Minister had sent his letter yesterday. He had categorically said
that
the”policy of restrictive issue of licenses for hawkers and rickshaw-pullers
is
a perversion of the Supreme Court judgement of 1987which had ruled that
hawking
etc. represented a fundamental right to livelihood and was subject only to
reasonable regulations to avoid potential social costs of these activities
(eg.
Street/pavement obstruction”.

_________________________________________________________________
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Lancaster & Paris
3 September 2001

World Transport Policy & Practice, a quarterly journal edited by
Professor John Whitelegg, is available free of charge as Adobe
Acrobat� PDF files on the internet at
[http://www.ecoplan.org/wtpp/wt_index.htm]. This will help it to
reach a wider readership, encompassing advocates and activists as
well as academics and advisers.

Please advise [mailto:pascal@...] if you no longer wish to
receive these quarterly announcements.

We have just placed Volume 7, Number 2, 2001 as a 1.1 MB PDF file on
the internet at [http://www.ecoplan.org/wtpp/wt_index.htm]. In
addition, you are welcome to browse the site for other back issues.

*** If you have difficulty in downloading the file,
*** please contact [mailto:eric.britton@...]
Eric recommends that you use MS Internet Explorer to access the website.

Contents of Volume 7, Number 2, 2001:

Editorial
John Whitelegg

Cycling in African Cities: Status & Prospects
Theo Rwebangira

National symbolism undermining healthy transport policies? A case
study of Canberra's V8 Supercar race
Paul J. Tranter & Timothy J. Keeffe

Twisted Logic in the upside-down world of 'road safety' ideology: A
case study of 'The Safety & Security issues of Women drivers &
passengers'
Robert Davis

Determinants of air travel growth
Stefan K. Nielsen

Liveable Neighbourhoods
Evan Jones

Walking as a local transport modal choice in Adelaide
Andrew Allan

World Transport Policy & Practice
ISSN 1352-7614
Eco-Logica Ltd.,  53 Derwent Road,  LANCASTER,  LA1 3ES.  U.K.
telephone +44 1524 63175    fax +44 1524 848340
           Editor: Professor John Whitelegg [mailto:ecologic@...]
           Business Manager: Pascal Desmond [mailto:pascal@...]

http://www.ecoplan.org/wtpp/wt_index.htm

Update of State Violence against the urban poor of
Jakarta, 1 - 6 September 2001

- Becak (pedicab)
Number of becak confiscated by area up to 6 Sept
- Central Jakarta        311
- North Jakarta          321
- West Jakarta           553
- East Jakarta           752
   Total                  1.937 becaks

- Insidence of violence
Wednesday, 5 Sept. 2001, a confiscation operation was
underway in Teluk Gong, North Jakarta at 05.30 a.m. A
becak driver, Agus Samsudin who alerted his friends by
beating the lamp post was being gang attacked by
around 20 municipality police armed with knife, stick,
and sword. He got severe concussion, was unconscious
for around 10 hours, and the back of his head was
deeply cut for around 10 cm long.He is now
hospitalized.

- Other casualties: demolation and confiscation
604 sidestreet food stalls
253 street vendors
25 car wash services

- Arrest
435 street sex workers
465 beggers and homeless
  27 difabled
  93 street children
318 informal "traffic policemen"
247 street musicians
386 other street workers

- Demolition of poor communities
716 sacks/houses

Sources: urban poor consortium (primary data: reports
from casualties and field data collection; clippings)

Chronology of events of state violence, year 2001

27 November 2000 - 16 January 2001:
51 operation days (evictions,
demolitions,confiscations, arrest)

victim (vendors, street children, pedicab, etc):
west jakarta: 1503 people
central jkt : 1237 people
south jkt   : 9297 people
east jkt    : 8813 people
Total         20.850 people

Isidents of retaliation by the people: 4

April 2001

- 20 operation days; personnel deployed: 2800
- Victims: 17.305 people (categories as above:
     central jakarta:    2.172 people
     north jakarta  :    3.369 people
     west jakarta   :    4.720 people
     south jakarta  :    4.954 people
     east jakarta   :    2.090 people

Isidents of retaliation by the people: 3

8 - 29 August 2001

Operation: every day, not only during day time but
also midnight to dawn

8 August2001:
- Eviction and demolition happened in East Jakarta
from 11.00 - 04.00 p.m..
- personnel deployed: 1000, armed with tear gas,
buldozer, trucks, vans
- Victims: 200 food stalls, 30 car wash, and tire
repair stall

13 August 2001, 11.00 p.m.:
- Pedicab confiscation in Central Jakarta
- personnel deployed: 300; 50 vans, 5 trucks,
- Victims: 203 pedicabs confiscated; 1 driver was
arrested and tortured

13 August, 10.00 p.m. - 04 p.m.
- Eviction, demolition and confiscation in East
Jakarta
- personnel deployed: 500 with 20 pick-ups, 10 trucks,
1 buldozer
- victims: 30 garbage collectors workshops; 200
pedicabs

August 14, 09.00 a.m. - 2.00 p.m.

Roxy Insident: a retaliation by the urban poor
(pedicab drivers, street
vendors, childern and others). One municipality guard
died, 1 badly injured,
some cars and trucks burnt.

18 August 2001
Six students from Bonn University,  who were guests of
the UPC and were
visiting a poor community in Central Jakarta,1 upc
activist and 1 community
leader were arrested by the police. They were accused
of being involved in the
Roxy incident. They were being detained and questioned
for 20 hours, were
released the next day.

19-29 August 2001
Operations continues to happen in all parts of
Jakarta, confiscating almost one
thousand pedicabs. Some small incidents happened here
and there.

Now thousands of people do not have job to earn money
from and are terrorized.

Chronology of events of state violence, year 2001

27 November 2000 - 16 January 2001:
51 operation days (evictions,
demolitions,confiscations, arrest)

victim (vendors, street children, pedicab, etc):
west jakarta: 1503 people
central jkt : 1237 people
south jkt   : 9297 people
east jkt    : 8813 people
Total         20.850 people

Isidents of retaliation by the people: 4

April 2001

- 20 operation days; personnel deployed: 2800
- Victims: 17.305 people (categories as above:
     central jakarta:    2.172 people
     north jakarta  :    3.369 people
     west jakarta   :    4.720 people
     south jakarta  :    4.954 people
     east jakarta   :    2.090 people

Isidents of retaliation by the people: 3

8 - 29 August 2001

Operation: every day, not only during day time but
also midnight to dawn

8 August2001:
- Eviction and demolition happened in East Jakarta
from 11.00 - 04.00 p.m..
- personnel deployed: 1000, armed with tear gas,
buldozer, trucks, vans
- Victims: 200 food stalls, 30 car wash, and tire
repair stall

13 August 2001, 11.00 p.m.:
- Pedicab confiscation in Central Jakarta
- personnel deployed: 300; 50 vans, 5 trucks,
- Victims: 203 pedicabs confiscated; 1 driver was
arrested and tortured

13 August, 10.00 p.m. - 04 p.m.
- Eviction, demolition and confiscation in East
Jakarta
- personnel deployed: 500 with 20 pick-ups, 10 trucks,
1 buldozer
- victims: 30 garbage collectors workshops; 200
pedicabs

August 14, 09.00 a.m. - 2.00 p.m.

Roxy Insident: a retaliation by the urban poor
(pedicab drivers, street vendors, childern and
others). One municipality guard died, 1 badly injured,
some cars and trucks burnt.

18 August 2001
Six students from Bonn University,  who were guests of
the UPC and were visiting a poor community in Central
Jakarta,1 upc activist and 1 community leader were
arrested by the police. They were accused of being
involved in the Roxy incident. They were being
detained and questioned for 20 hours, were released
the next day.

19-29 August 2001
Operations continues to happen in all parts of
Jakarta, confiscating almost one thousand pedicabs.
Some small incidents happened here and there.

Now thousands of people do not have job to earn money
from and are terrorized.
--
Urban Poor Consortium - Konsorsium Kemiskinan Kota
Billy Moon Blok H-I/7 Jakarta 13450, Phone/Fax:
62.21.8642915
Urban Poor Website: http://www.urbanpoor.or.id/
       http://welcome.to/urbanpoor/

Paul...

Re the efforts to rid Jakarta and Delhi of becaks and rickshaws, is it fair
to view this as something of an elitist agenda to rid the communities of
something seen as unsightly? What are the people who use these systems
supposed to do? Walk? Eventually buy cars? Appears to be a real dilemma and
would be interested in perspectives on this.

Best regards,
Wendell Cox



DEMOGRAPHIA & THE PUBLIC PURPOSE (Wendell Cox Consultancy)
http://www.demographia.com (Demographics & Land Use)
http://www.publicpurpose.com (Public Policy & Transport))
Telephone: +1.618.632.8507 - Facsimile: +1.810.821.8134
PO Box 841 - Belleville, IL 62222 USA

12 September 2001


Dear Wendell,
Attitude of the typical middle class urban Indian would be somewhat along
these lines.
They feel "We have lacked basic infrastructure of roads, communication
networks and mobility for years. Roads and highways need to be better and
wider to enable faster movement of traffic" (in their minds only the
motorised vehicles fit this definition).
Slow moving vehicles are seen not only as obstructions but also as symbols
of backwardness. So rickshaws, cycles and other "non-modern" and
"non-high-tech" modes are really an eyesore for this class.
They would say "people who use these modes should switch to buses or
subways" and perhaps add "why should these outdated pre-historic vehicles
be allowed on major roads? They (rickshaws) slow the traffic, are a threat
to safe driving and hence should use the narrower, less important roads and
keep out of our way". Roadside trees are also seen as obstruction and cause
of road accidents.  They have been butchered on most roads in Mumbai, Pune,
Nagpur and other growing cities as a result of the never-ending
road-widening drive, which by the way is seen as panacea for solving all
traffic congestions / pollution problems.
The media by and large re-enforces this view by trumpeting every
road-widening / flyover proposal with articles on how the traffic
congestion will disappear when the sickly roads are transformed into
impressive four-lane highways fit for the fast auto vehicles, preferably
fortified by:- road dividers to keep out the pedestrians (for them the
steep climb up and down the over -bridge). The exercise is often
accompanied by the removal of "excessive" bus stops on newly widened roads
(they interrupt speedy movement of autos)... this is not exaggeration but
actually happening in Pune....pavements are also removed or narrowed with
the result that the pedestrians have to fight for space with telephone
junction boxes, roadside vendors, garbage containers and other stationary
or moving objects that are attracted to the additional unused space offered
by the newly widened road. Some roads widened far in excess of the needs of
traffic also encourage car owners to exceed the speed limit and to overtake
other vehicles including two wheelers from the left (in India we are
supposed to drive on the left side of the road and overtake a vehicle from
the right).
Only a small section of population understands that infrastructure like
roads and flyovers need to be expanded judiciously as more/wider roads
encourage even more traffic, and it is wiser to manage traffic demand than
to convert more and more open spaces into red-carpets for auto vehicles. If
you manage traffic demand, road-widening can be avoided and mixed modes
encouraged, optimising the road space. But we are still wearing the old hat
and blindly imitating the west, although in many parts of Europe and the US
these policies are increasingly coming under attack from people opposed to
the domination of their cities by auto-vehicles.
Sorry if this has become trifle too long.
Regards
--
Sujit



-----------------------------------------------------------
At 09:40 AM 9/10/01 -0500, you wrote:
>Paul...
>
>Re the efforts to rid Jakarta and Delhi of becaks and rickshaws, is it fair
>to view this as something of an elitist agenda to rid the communities of
>something seen as unsightly? What are the people who use these systems
>supposed to do? Walk? Eventually buy cars? Appears to be a real dilemma and
>would be interested in perspectives on this.
>
>Best regards,
>Wendell Cox
>
>
>
>DEMOGRAPHIA & THE PUBLIC PURPOSE (Wendell Cox Consultancy)
>http://www.demographia.com (Demographics & Land Use)
>http://www.publicpurpose.com (Public Policy & Transport))
>Telephone: +1.618.632.8507 - Facsimile: +1.810.821.8134
>PO Box 841 - Belleville, IL 62222 USA


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sujit Patwardhan.
PARISAR,
Yamuna, ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007
Tel: 5537955
Email: sujit@...
*****************************************************************
In nature there are neither Rewards nor Punishments---
there are Consequences.
*****************************************************************

Hello Colleagues

You are welcome to download Volume 3, Number 3, (1997) of "World
Transport Policy & Practice". This special issue on Calcutta contains
an article by Jai Sen 'The Left Alliance and the Unintended City: Is
a civisilsed transition possible'.
Abstract:
Attempts have been made to ban hand-pulled rickshaws in Calcutta in
the past. Hand-pulled rickshaws are one of the last vestiges of
feudalism and imperialism. The lives and livelihoods of those who
pull the rickshaws are not normally considered because some
politicians believe that 'the poor must suffer a little for the good
of the larger community'.
--
Kind regards
Pascal Desmond

Dear all.

Our heartfelt sympathies to those who lost their dear ones
and to those injured for no fault of theirs or of the victims.
Terrorism has assumed such a giganmtic proportion that no
body can for certain say as to when and how it will strike
and who would be the victims.

Some countries like India, Sri Lanka. erstwhile parts of the
disintegrated USSR and its former friends  have been facing
and suffering from terrorism and other violence in which
common man loses his life.

The outrage in Washington and New York has exploded the
myth that super interlligence, surveilance or higher strike
capability can protect anybody on this earth.

It sometimes looks like that less than humane activities and
approach to all create tensions that are misdirected to
such extreme acts.   Widening gaps between the rich
and the poor - individuals, family, communities and nations
end up in tensions that become irreconcilable and  then
in showing up in places and situations far away from the
people and policies responsible for creating tensions.

Let us learn from whatever has happened to the mightiest
power this globe has witnessed to develop  a more
humane approach to our fellow human beings. Taking
revenge is not the way out. Deepest sympathies.

Kisan Mehta   mailto:kisansbc@...
620 Jame Jamshed Road, Dadar East,
MUMBAI 400 014 India

Dear Friends,
It is really a pain, that may persist long, to know about the failure of
technological growth cannot be replaced by human values. This pathetic
situation arises among the human species only inspite of the sixth sense
bestowed by God.Again this confirms that our species carried away far from
the basic values ,taking shelter under a false pride of misplaced
technological and religious supremacy.
Why should nations spend so much of valuable time energy and resources and
funds, when their people want only a meagure shelter, food and clothing? God
only knows.
Humans, QUO Vadis?
I fully agree with Kisanji and all the majority of thepublic all over the
world.
Saranathan


>From: "kisan mehta" <kisansbc@...>
>Reply-To: sustran-discuss@...
>To: <gaia-members@...>, <ban-toxics@egroups.com>,
><hcwh-europe-admin@...>, <sustran-discuss@...>,
><etoxic@yahoogroups.com>, "IFOAM Head Office" <Headoffice@...>,
><yumeher@...>, <bwc@...>,
><toieditorial@...>, <mailbag@...>,
><etbom@...>
>CC: "Aditi Mehta" <iaditimehta@...>, "priya salvi"
><priya_salvi@...>, "Harshad Kamdar" <hjk@...>
>Subject: [sustran] Attack on Humanity
>Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 06:02:30 +0530
>
>
>Dear all.
>
>Our heartfelt sympathies to those who lost their dear ones
>and to those injured for no fault of theirs or of the victims.
>Terrorism has assumed such a giganmtic proportion that no
>body can for certain say as to when and how it will strike
>and who would be the victims.
>
>Some countries like India, Sri Lanka. erstwhile parts of the
>disintegrated USSR and its former friends  have been facing
>and suffering from terrorism and other violence in which
>common man loses his life.
>
>The outrage in Washington and New York has exploded the
>myth that super interlligence, surveilance or higher strike
>capability can protect anybody on this earth.
>
>It sometimes looks like that less than humane activities and
>approach to all create tensions that are misdirected to
>such extreme acts.   Widening gaps between the rich
>and the poor - individuals, family, communities and nations
>end up in tensions that become irreconcilable and  then
>in showing up in places and situations far away from the
>people and policies responsible for creating tensions.
>
>Let us learn from whatever has happened to the mightiest
>power this globe has witnessed to develop  a more
>humane approach to our fellow human beings. Taking
>revenge is not the way out. Deepest sympathies.
>
>Kisan Mehta   mailto:kisansbc@...
>620 Jame Jamshed Road, Dadar East,
>MUMBAI 400 014 India
>


_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

----- Original Message -----
From: kisan mehta <kisansbc@...>
To: <sustran-discuss@...>
Cc: <<tr_saranathan@...>>; <<asuttle@...>>;
<<priya_salvi@...>>
Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2001 8:47 PM
Subject: : Attack on Humanity


> Dear Dr Saranathan, Aine, Priya and Sustran friends,
>
> I read emails sent by Dr Saranathan and Aine.  Terrorism has
> been a major issue for many peoples and nations.  The attack
> on New York and Washington only reemphisises the need for coordinated and
> perseverant action everywhere and anywhere
> where people are persecuted, whether one or multitudes like
> the present one.  Technology cannot provide solutions.
>
> Can the world community come out of false sense of security
> and work for staving starvation and deaths from the poor,
> shunned and shunted downtrodden whether they are in the
> rich countries or the poor.  Let us not develop
> `NIMBYISM' any more.  The western pattern emerged
> and persistent is going to increase tensions because the man is
> ranged against another, nation against another.
>
> Kisan Mehta mailto:kisansbc@...
>
> From: TR Saranathan <tr_saranathan@...>
> To: <sustran-discuss@...>
> Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2001 9:05 AM
> Subject: [sustran] Re: Attack on Humanity
>
>

Dear Colleagues

Below, please find a short synopsis of a project and a call for
collaboration. Please share this call as widely as you can with colleagues.

Best wishes

Priyanthi Fernando
Executive Secretary,
IFRTD

_________________________________
Project synopsis and call for collaboration
Comparative Assessment of the operational characteristics of Rural Water
Transport

The Problem

The IFRTD Secretariat, supported by a grant from DFID's Knowledge and
Research Programme has initiated a two year research programme to assess the
operational characteristics and affordability of rural water transport under
different physical and social conditions.

For poor people in rural areas in many parts of the developing world, the
non motor-vehicle transport services provided by the informal, mechanised
and non-mechanised, inland water transport sector ('rural water transport')
can be a principal means of affordable mobility and access. This mode is
particularly important in the wet season, the very part of the year when
other transport options are at their least reliable. There are locations
where rural water transport is effective (notably Bangladesh and Vietnam)
and others where, though the operating environment appears to offer similar
opportunities, RWT is little used or is very costly. The reasons for these
differences are unclear. There is no comparative data, so investigating the
potential for improvement or demonstrating the comparative economic
advantages of efficient systems is almost impossible. The existing knowledge
is highly uneven with much less known about the use of RWT in Africa and
South America.

In addition to the lack of information, a hostile policy and institutional
environment limits the potential of RWT even where it is effective at the
local level. ESCAP figures suggest that even though almost 50% of the
freight in Vietnam is moved on water, the sector only receives 1% of the
national budget devoted to transport infrastructure. This neglect has a
significant impact, particularly on isolated communities with fewer assets
and limited access to goods, services and opportunities.

This project will undertake to compare the different operational conditions
and identify the critical success factors associated with low cost rural
water transport. The outputs will provide information for integrating rural
water transport into rural access planning and generating information that
can be used to improve the viability of RWT operations and reduce the
isolation of poor rural communities in Asia, Africa and Latin America. It is
hoped that the activities of the project will raise the profile of these
issues among those working on improving access and mobility for the poor.

The approach

The research will be coordinated by the IFRTD Secretariat and implemented by
a core team comprising Colin Palmer, Farhad Ahmed andPriyanthi Fernando who
will work with collaborators in 10 countries to develop the framework for
the research and to collect the information. It is envisaged that the
project will comprise 4 phases: In the first inception phase, the core team
will identify collaborators and together agree a research framework. Phase 2
will involve the collaborators conducting the field research , and working
with the core team to carry out the comparative analysis. This will be
shared with key stakeholders and partners. In Phase 3 the programme will
identify key audiences, 'messages' and appropriate information products and
develop a strategy for dissemination that will be implemented as the final
phase of the project.

Collaboration

The work of the collaborators will be critical in achieving the project's
objectives and outputs.

The IFRTD Secretariat is pleased to invite expressions of interest for
collaboration from organisations in developing countries with an interest in
the subject and the capacity to carry out a short piece of research. As
noted above, rural water transport is a neglected subject so direct
experience of the sector is limited. We recognise that it will not always be
possible to identify organisations with prior experience of the subject.
This will therefore not be a requirement for participation in the project.
Remuneration will be in the range of 3500 pounds.

Collaborators will be required to:

participate in an initial workshop currently scheduled for February 2002
(this could change)

contribute to the development of the research framework

spend six months carrying out the research and writing the report

participate in the final workshop (planned for February 2003) that will
present the analysis and identify key audiences for the information.


If you are interested, please respond by October 5, 2001 to the address
below, providing a short capability statement of your organisation, a very
brief overview of the operational environment of rural water transport in
your country and why you are interested in researching this subject.

We have already identified potential collaborators in Cambodia, Bangladesh,
Madagascar, Uganda and Peru. Selection of collaborators will depend on the
capacity of the collaborators to carry out the research and the operational
environment of rural water transport in the country.

Rural Water Transport Project
IFRTD Secretariat
2 Spitfire Studios
63-71 Collier Street
London N1 9BE
UK Tel: +44 20 7713 6699
Fax: +44 20 7713 8290
Email: ifrtd@... OR priyanthi.fernando@...


________________________________________________________________________
Priyanthi Fernando Executive Secretary International Forum for Rural
Transport and Development 2 Spitfire Studios 63-71 Collier Street London N1
9BE UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7713 6699 Fax: +44 (0)20 7713 8290 email:
ifrtd@... OR priyanthi.fernando@... Web page:
http://www.gn.apc.org/ifrtd

-----Original Message-----
From: To promote discussion, research and exchange of information into
rural tran [mailto:RURAL-TRANSPORT-DEVELOPMENT@...]On Behalf
Of Priyanthi Fernando
Sent: Friday, 14 September 2001 5:47
To: RURAL-TRANSPORT-DEVELOPMENT@...
Subject: Africa Rural Transport on BBC World Sept 17-23


Below is a message sent out by the World Bank which some of
you may not have received.  Any feedback on the programme is
welcome!  Please share it with friends and colleagues.

Best wishes

Priyanthi Fernando
IFRTD Secretariat



-----Original Message-----
From: Sgiltner@... [mailto:Sgiltner@...]
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2001 09:12
To: ...
Subject:
Africa Rural
Transport on BBC World Sept 17-23


Apologies to those who receive more than one copy of this
message.

  Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program (SSATP)
Colleagues and Friends:

This is an early alert that the BBC World will broadcast a half-hour
program called "The Long Walk" about transport in rural Africa
several times between September 17 and 23.  "The Long Walk" will
appear as part of the BBC World series "Earth Report."  Earth
Report is produced by the Television Trust for the Environment.
This program on rural transport in Africa is sponsored by the
SSATP's Rural Travel and Transport Program (RTTP) and
ILO/ASIST through funds allocated to those programs by DFID.
The RTTP and ILO/ASIST worked together to suggest themes and
shooting locations.  IFRTD was also important in developing the
original idea to sponsor a broadcast program on rural transport in
Sub-Saharan Africa.

The program is about aspects of rural transport in Africa, not about
the RTTP or the ILO as such. Videotaping occured in Senegal,
Guinea, Tanzania, and Malawi and covers several projects, favoring
the themes of lack of access to adequate transport, IMT solutions
(donkeys, bicycles), and rural road maintenance.  The themes are
presented almost entirely via stories of local people.  We hope this
program will raise awareness of rural transport issues in Sub-
Saharan Africa among the general population and policymakers in
Africa and elsewhere. Judging from the script, the Television Trust
for the Environment (TVE) has produced a program that should
engage a wide public.

BBC World is a commercial arm of the BBC that reaches some 167
million homes (not to mention some 600,000 hotel rooms!) in
nearly 200 countries and territories.  Seventy-one million of these
homes receive BBC World on a 24-hour basis, while 96 million
receive it on a part-day basis.  BBC World is of course not the
same as the BBC World Service, which is the radio broadcast part
of the BBC.

      BBC World broadcasts "Earth Report"  several times a week.
The broadcast time in your location will depend on whether BBC
World reaches you via a parabolic antenna (a "dish") receiving the
London broadcast, or through local cable or broadcast.  If you have
a parabolic that receives the London broadcast, "Earth Report" is
on at  (Greenwich Mean Time) Mondays (03:30, 21:30), Tuesdays
(08:30, 11:30, 14:30), Wednesdays (01:30), Saturdays (18:30), and
Sundays (07:30).  The rural transport program will
be the only "Earth Report" program during the week of September
17-23.
However, broadcast in local markets through cable or other means
can have different schedules, which may not even include "Earth
Report."   Local cable/broadcast schedules for most countries can
be obtained for the coming week from the BBC World website
http://www.bbcworld.com/

Information about "Earth Report" can be found on TVE's website
page http://www.tve.org/earthreport/schedule/index.html

      We will send a reminder closer to the broadcast date;  there will
also be information on the SSATP website at
www.worldbank.org/afr/ssatp.  We hope you will let others know
about the program.  It would be splendid if RTTP
and RMI coordinators could determine the channel and local times
in their markets and inform colleagues and friends about the BBC
World coverage.
Please feel free to forward this message.

      Thank you!


Compliments
Sandra Giltner
Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program

Office 1 202 473 0444  Mobile 1 202 253 4743
MSNJ7-700/Room J-7058
1818 H St NW
Washington DC 20433

________________________________________________________________________
Priyanthi Fernando
Executive Secretary
International Forum for Rural Transport and Development
2 Spitfire Studios
63-71 Collier Street
London N1 9BE
UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7713 6699
Fax: +44 (0)20 7713 8290
email: ifrtd@... OR priyanthi.fernando@...
Web page: http://www.gn.apc.org/ifrtd

...
What's new at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi,
India.

SABOTAGE

The saboteurs' campaign to derail the Supreme Court orders to move public
transport to CNG has reached a feverish pitch, betraying a tone of almost
desperation.

The Right To Clean Air Team exposes the saboteurs and the games they are
playing.



The past five months have been incredible. When we launched
our campaign for clean air in 1996, with the publication of the
book, Slow Murder, we had no idea that we were entering into a
realm of high intrigue and deception. In all our years of public
work, we had never seen such powerful vested interests at work,
and indeed the lengths and depths they are prepared to go to
compromise public health.

The one thrill is that we have achieved what we set out to do, at
least to some extent. The air of Delhi is cleaner. People can feel
the difference. It is not that pollution levels have dropped
dramatically, but that we have stemmed the rot and stabilised
pollution. Delhi has added over 200,000 vehicles in the last year
itself and it has more vehicles than Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai
put together. But the capital's pollution levels are coming down
unlike the other cities, which are choking and wheezing because
of unhealthy air.

The saga of saboteurs has been fascinating learning. When we
published our cover story 'Saboteurs' (Down To Earth,
Vol 9, No 20) on the implementation of the Supreme Court (SC)
order of July 1998 to convert the Delhi's public transport to
compressed natural gas (CNG), we hardly noticed the devious role
of the greatest saboteur, the ministry of petroleum and natural
gas (MPNG). Till April 2001, it did nothing probably because the
ministry's high command did not think the court order would be
implemented (as its then secretary pointed out). There was never
any question of shortage of gas to supply Delhi and certainly the
fact that gas reserves of India were depleting was never the issue.
Till March, the disinformation campaign centred on the unreliability
of the untested technology. CNG buses had not made it to the
roads in large numbers and experts came up with wild statements
that politicians lapped up buses would blow up in Delhi's
extraordinary summer, the buses would not drive up the inclines of
flyovers, etc. But by May, there were enough buses on the roads
to vindicate the technology.

Now a new game was in town. We learnt how easy it was to
tell a lie and how difficult to dig up the truth. Three main tricks were
played. The first strategy was to confuse the public with an alternative
that did not exist. The Tata Energy Research Institute
(TERI) led this plank. It advocated the use of ultra low sulphur diesel
(ULSD), which has less than 0.005 per cent sulphur as the alternative in
public. But when asked to make a recommendation to the court, through the
Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control)
Authority (EPCA), it quietly recommended low sulphur diesel (0.05 per
cent)which is currently in use in Delhi. The idea of the missing zero was
brilliant. It completely confounded the media and, of course, was
purposely used by the politicians to promote clean diesel, which was a
fancy terminology for current diesel.

MPNG led the second brigade to push the line that there was no gas. Oops,
we forgot. Sorry, there is no gas in the country. The Gas Authority of
India Ltd (GAIL), which reports to the petroleum
ministry, was given the gag order. The plight of bus and
autorickshaw drivers waiting all night, maybe even longer, made
hearts bleed. CNG was anti-poor. CNG was unworkable. Politicians
jumped in to fight for justice. The anger against CNG grew. Brilliant.

The third plank was to attack CNG itself. As the air of Delhi got
visibly cleaner, convoluted science and models were used by TERI
to show that we should forget that we could breathe better.
Actually the air was getting worse, they said. If there was any
improvement it was because of the monsoon. Forget that the
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) figures showed marked
improvements. In this attack, the prestige of an Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT) was roped in as its professor, Dinesh Mohan, with
funds from oil and motor companies went on a binge using
assumptions and models to discredit CNG. So great was the
confusion caused that diesel suddenly was being viewed as clean
(it only causes asthma said one newspaper) while CNG was the
devil (it causes cancer). The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC),
which is certainly not known for its agility of action, was last seen
rubbing out the signage on its buses, so that instead of 'CNG
pollution free bus' it only read as CNG bus. Of course, at times with
the Freudian slip of the brush, some buses now read 'polluting
CNG bus.'

In all this disinformation was the key. Stories were planted with
impunity in the media. For instance, it was widely and frequently
reported that the ministry of environment and forests (MEF) had
filed an affidavit going against its committee, the EPCA, and that
it supported current diesel as a clean fuel. It was said so often that
it became the truth, at least in the public mind. We found out
later that the ministry had done no such thing. In fact, it had
opposed the diesel lobby.

What remains unclear is what solution the anti-CNGwallahs are
advocating. After all we were not in a high school debate on CNG
versus diesel. The operation was to find solutions to air pollution in
the city. All written presentations to the EPCA recommended the
use of current diesel as clean fuel. There is absolutely no scientific
basis that this will reduce air pollution given Delhi's extremely high
bus density, pollution levels and growing number of vehicles. TERI
still advocates ULSD publicly but only because it knows that the
government will not import or produce clean, near-sulphurless
diesel, and that the technology of particulate traps (which can
bring down pollution levels) is still far from being implemented in
the country. Tata Engineering (TELCO) in its written submission to
EPCA also says that in any case it will take two years for it to
manufacture a Euro II compliant bus with a simple particulate
trap. The MPNG, of course, is even more obvious. It wants current
diesel and only just that. Nothing more.

We cannot have buses on one fuel only. No other city in the
world has done this. We should not dictate a technology option.
Let the market decide. We must have a comprehensive
approach. Pearls of wisdom. Who can disagree with their
sagacity? But can they be implemented in ungoverned India?
Can the court simply say, follow the emission norms, use any
technology, just make sure it cleans the air of Delhi? Let there be
a mix of CNG and diesel buses. Implement your own law. That
would be as good as saying, let the government govern. What a
good idea!

What will happen next is hard to say. Director-general
of TERI, R K Pachauri, in a recent article says that public
decisions cannot be based on personal ill-health. But
then, what should public decisions be based on? Profits, deep
pockets?

Right To Clean Air Campaign Team
Centre for Science and Environment


More details at

http://www.cseindia.org/html/cmp/air/cng/cng_index.htm

*************************************************

Visit our website at www.cseindia.org and check out what's new. Our
website carries our science and

environment fortnightly Down To Earth, a daily environment news flash by
subject categories, a catalog of books and publi cations that are
available, and all of our recent press releases. We also
give regular updates on all of our campaigns on topics like vehicular
pollution, climate change, biodiversity, water resources, wildlife,
forests, environment education etc. Our online library of books,
journals, images and videos is searchable through a thesaurus of
environmental keywords at

http://data.cseindia.org

We are also looking for reciprocal linking to other website in this area.
Let us know your website address and we would be happy to link to you.
Please feel free to forward this message to other interested individuals.


Past archives of this bulletin are available at

http://www.cseindia.org/html/au/au6.htm

....

Sucheta Sharma
Website Unit
Centre for Science and Environment


****************************************************************
          CENTRE FOR SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT  ( CSE )
  41, TUGHLAKABAD INSTITUTIONAL AREA, NEW DELHI- 110 062
             TELE:        608 1110, 608 1124
                          608 3394, 608 6399
             FAX :        91-11-608 5879
             VISIT US AT: http://www.cseindia.org

                 Email: webadmin@...
****************************************************************

Dear John,

The following message sent to Eric Brittain and
copied to you and Sustran Discuss bounced so
I am trying to forward to you now, trusting I shall
have success this time.  Best wishes
Kisan Mehta

----- Original Message -----
From: kisan mehta <kisansbc@...>
To: <eric.britton@...>; <j.whitelegg@...>
Cc: <sustran-discuss@...>
Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2001 7:13 PM
Subject: Re: common interests

> Dear Eric, John and Sustran friends,
>
> I apologise for not responding till today to your warm
> message offering to an issue on Mumbai's traffic conditions.
> I could not open references mentioned by you due tomy
> computer illiteracy.
>
> We have referred to Mumbai's traffic conditions in the past. The
> issue now is relvant as the World Bank is being persuaded to
> revive its offer to assist with a loan of Rs
> 45 billion to extend help (so called) bus and rail service managers,
> city municipality. The WB dropped the offer
> when the state government embarked on a flamboyant programme of 50
> flyover/elevated roads spending
> Rs 18 billion uptil now and another 80 billion on a sea link now
> under consideration for likely benefit to max 20,000 private cars.
> This would totally defeat public transport plan.  The government
> would not understand the fallacy of interfering with the
> muni plans.  Your studied stand may help us to talk
> to the govt and WB.  Any WB money  loaned would be additional
> burden on citizens where one out of 15-20 persons owns a car.
> As usual, cars will not pay a penny.
>
> Mumbai is practically sealocked unlike Calcutta (Kolkata now)
> and with average population density of 27,000 persons per sq km,
> it is by far the densest city in the world.  65% of population stay in
slums
> having no sanifary amenities. Your help will at least stop the
> WB from giving loan now when practically every major road has one
> or more flyovers.  Tell us as to how we can go about. Best wishes.
>
> Kisan Mehta kisansbc@...
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <eric.britton@...>
> To: <kisansbc@...>
> Cc: John Whitelegg <j.whitelegg@...>
> Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2001 11:19 AM
> Subject: common interests
>
> > Dear Mr. Mehta,

> > Just the shortest of notes to tell you that I read your latest note to
> > Sustran with the greatest interest, and I would like to think that the
> work
> > of some of the programs under The Commons might be of
> interest and use to you.  They are all, of course, entirely free
> and are made possible through the work of volunteers. Perhaps
> I can particularly recommend:
> >
> > * The @New Mobility Agenda at http://newmobility.org
> > * Journal of World Transport Policy & Practice   at
> > http://www.ecoplan.org/wtpp
> > * @World CarFree Day Consortium at http://carfreeday.com
> >
> > The Journal has published a special number on transport and related
issues
> in Calcutta.  Perhaps it is time we do the same for Mumbai?
> With all good wishes,
> >
> > Eric Britton
: <eric.britton@...>
To: <kisansbc@...>
Cc: John Whitelegg <j.whitelegg@...>
Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2001 11:19 AM
Subject: common interests


> Dear Mr. Mehta,

Dear Kisans and Sustrans

This is in response to the email communications sent by
kisan mehta <kisansbc@...>
on  Fri, 14 Sep 2001 05:50:01 +0530
and Fri Sep 21 10:45:34 2001

        Some of us see terrorist activities as a fight between
        civilizations. But it is not so.  Its just a fight between mighty
        nations one against the other to prove their superiority.
        The poor countries are at times compelled to take sides for their
        very existance.

        The mighty powers have suceeded in creating a situation where
        poorer countries are left with no choice, but to remain as
        Banana republics obeying the orders of the mighty nations.

        Religion  being an intergral part of society, has played a major
        role in fomenting communal tension all over the world (as in
        Kosovo, Yugoslavia, Palestine, Indonesia, etc.) just as it had been
        during  the  Crusades of the 11th Century and the era of
        colonization from the 15th to the 19th century..

        The only period when tension used to exist otherwise in the name of
        ideology was during the cold war period between the US and the USSR
        -between Capitalism and Communism/Socialism.

        The vacuum that resulted after the collapse of the USSR is now
        filled by religious fundamentalists and terrorists. It seems
        that the world rather refuses to remain subservient to a single
        master. It finds new ways and means to  keep the mighty ones in
        check one way or the other.

        THE FALL OF THE WTC has futher revealed the truth that military or
        technological superiority will in no way ensure the security of
        any nation.  Terrorists have always chosen the most suitable weapon
        they can bargain with - the lives of the innocent  people.  Have we
        ever made a count of lives lost in Srilanka and India due to
        terrorist activities?

        The time has come for all nations  to stand together to fight not
        only terrorism, but all forms of oppressions in this world.


        Dr. Varghese George
        Deptt. of Civil Engg.,
        Karnataka Regional Engineering College,
        Surathkal, South Karnataka Pin-574157

-----------
                         VTPI NEWS
                        -----------
            Victoria Transport Policy Institute
               "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"
            ------------------------------------
                Summer 2001    Vol. 4, No. 2
             ----------------------------------

The Victoria Transport Policy Institute is an independent research
organization dedicated to developing innovative solutions to transportation
problems. The VTPI website has many resources addressing a wide range of
transport planning and policy issues. VTPI also provides consulting services.

  			   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


VTPI ONLINE TDM ENCYCLOPEDIA - MAJOR EXPANSION AND UPDATE
=========================================================

The VTPI "Online TDM Encyclopedia" is being significantly expanded and
updated. This is a unique and comprehensive resource to help transportation
professionals identify and evaluate innovative solutions to transportation
problems. The Encyclopedia now has more than 75 chapters with hundreds of
pages of text and thousands of Internet links. The Encyclopedia is likely
to become one of your most useful information resources for transportation
and land use planning. It is available free at http://www.vtpi.org/tdm.

NEW CHAPTERS - There are more than a dozen new chapters, including:
- Freight Transport Management
- Aviation Transport Management
- Taxi Service Improvements
- Pay-As-You-Drive Vehicle Insurance
- Universal Design (accommodating people with special needs)
- Individual Actions for Efficient Transportation
- Transportation Costs and Benefits (monetized estimates)
- Costs of Driving (and savings from reduced vehicle use)
- Transportation Statistics (data sources)
- TDM and Sustainable Transportation
- TDM in Developing Regions
- Safety and Health Impacts
- Parking Solutions
- Parking Evaluation
- Pricing Evaluation
- Pricing Methods (techniques for collecting parking and road fees)
- TDM Planning and Implementation
- Comprehensive Transportation Evaluation
- Measuring Transportation
- Evaluating Transportation Choice
- Glossary
- and more...


Below are some highlights of this update:

* PRINTABLE! - You can now print chapters of the Encyclopedia directly from
your browser. (We corrected a glitch in the Microsoft Word HTML conversion
function that inserted numerous unnecessary page-break codes, resulting in
many wasted sheets of paper. If you experienced this problem, please
invoice Bill Gates at Microsoft Corporation for any costs.)

* MORE COMPREHENSIVE - There is much more detail on many issues, including
additional information on specific strategies, evaluation techniques and
best practices.

* NEW AND BETTER REFERENCES - We regularly update references, many of which
are available directly through the Internet. This allows you to obtain
additional information and resources on each subject.

* PARKING MANAGEMENT - New and expanded chapters including "Parking
Solutions," "Parking Evaluation," "Parking Management," and "Parking
Pricing" provide information on a variety of ways to address parking
problems and encourage more efficient use of parking resources.

* PLANNING TECHNIQUES - The "TDM Planning and Implementation,"
"Comprehensive Transportation Evaluation," and "Measuring Transportation"
chapters provide information on improved transportation planning and
evaluation techniques.

* TRANSPORTATION COSTS - We have significantly updated and expanded the
"Transportation Cost" chapter, and have added a new chapter on the "Costs
of Driving." This can help you calculate the savings that result from TDM
strategies that reduce vehicle use.

* SAFETY, SECURITY AND HEALTH IMPACTS OF TDM - A new chapter examines the
safety, personal security and health benefits that can result from various
TDM strategies. These are significant and often overlooked impacts.

* INDIVIDUAL ACTIONS - The "Individual Actions for Efficient
Transportation" chapter describes ways that people can support TDM in their
own lives.


This update is nearly complete. Over the next month we plan to make minor
changes. As always, we appreciate any suggestions for improving these
resources.

			   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NEW & UDATED REPORTS
====================
The following documents are posted at http://www.vtpi.org.


During the last few months we have worked on several projects related to
distance-based vehicle insurance. As a result, our reports on this concept
have been significantly revised:

* "Distance-Based Vehicle Insurance As A TDM Strategy" This 25-page paper
is an updated version of the article originally published in Transportation
Quarterly in 1997. It describes and compares various distance-based
insurance pricing strategies.

* "Distance-Based Vehicle Insurance Feasibility, Costs and Benefits;
Comprehensive Technical Report"
This is the 80-page (plus 35 pages of appendices) detailed study of the
benefits, costs, equity impacts and feasibility of distance-based insurance
pricing.


* "Efficient Vehicles Versus Efficient Transportation: Comprehensive
Comparison of Fuel Efficiency Standards And Transportation Demand
Management," submitted for presentation at the Transportation Research
Board 81st Annual Meeting, January, 2002.

Fuel efficiency standards and other strategies to increase vehicle fuel
efficiency reduce the cost of driving, resulting in increased vehicle
travel. This "rebound effect" typically offsets 10-30% of the fuel
efficiency gains, so a 10% increase in average fuel efficiency causes a
1-3% increase in vehicle mileage, resulting in a net fuel savings of 7-9%.
The increased vehicle mileage imposes a number of costs on society,
including increased traffic congestion, road and parking facility costs,
crashes, urban sprawl, and increases in some pollution emissions. These
incremental costs are significant compared with fuel savings benefits.
Emission reduction strategies that increase total vehicle mileage by even a
small amount may be harmful to society overall, while those that also
reduce vehicle mileage can provide far greater total benefits to society.


* "What's It Worth? Life Cycle and Benefit/Cost Analysis for Evaluating
Economic Value." Originally presented at the Internet Symposium on
Benefit-Cost Analysis, Transportation Association of Canada
(www.tac-atc.ca), 2001.


"My Toughest Challenge...The Clearwater Roundabout Charrette," by Dan Burden.
Dan Burden is one of America's leading advocates for pedestrian
transportation and livable communities. This short paper describes his
experience dealing with a hostile crowd, and how his team won the community
over with good communication and a positive vision. It is an excellent
illustration of the obstacles and opportunities facing planners who must
deal with public involvement. (Posted with permission.)

"Does Public Transit Raise Site Values Around Its Stops Enough To Pay For
Itself, Were The Value Captured?," by Jeffery J. Smith.
This paper examines research on the land value impacts of public transit
service, and particularly whether the value increases can repay some or all
of public transit service costs. It summarizes the results of more than 70
studies. Jeffery J. Smith is the President of the Geonomy Society, a group
of academics and activists who provide information about how the flow of
natural rents impacts economies, societies, and the environment. (Posted
with permission.)


PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE
The following VTPI articles were published in peer-reviewed journals.

"Generated Traffic; Implications for Transport Planning," ITE Journal, Vol.
71, No. 4, Institute of Transportation Engineers (www.ite.org), April,
2001, pp. 38-47; also available at Victoria Transport Policy Institute
(www.vtpi.org). This is the first article on this subject published in the
ITE Journal, directed at transportation practioners.

"Optimal Level of Automobile Dependency; A TQ Point/Counterpoint Exchange
with Peter Samuel and Todd Litman," Transportation Quarterly, Vol. 55, No.
1, Winter 2001, pp. 5-32.

"You Can Get There from Here; Evaluating Transportation Choice,"
Transportation Research Record, forthcoming 2001; available at www.vtpi.org.


			   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OTHER NEWS:
===========

*  Centre For Sustainable Transportation President Search
---------------------------------------------------------
Centre for Sustainable Transportation is a Canadian-chartered, membership
based, non-profit organization that began work in 1996. Its mission is to
provide leadership in developing more sustainable transportation by
facilitating research and cooperative action by government agencies,
industries and individuals. In the past four years, the Centre has launched
a number of projects including its annual Sustainable Transportation
Monitor newsletter. The Centre has an ambitious work plan of important
projects that can come to fruition only through more membership and
funding. More information about the Centre is available at www.cstctd.org.

The Centre is currently searching for a new president. The ideal candidate
is well versed in all aspects of sustainable transportation. He/she
understands the dynamics between governments and private sector parties
involved in transportation and will be acquainted with many of the
stakeholders.

The candidate should be a self-starter, capable of working independently
and as a team member, with the energy and motivation to take on an
interesting and important set of challenges. At this time, an annual
compensation of up to $50,000 is available depending upon experience and
qualifications.

If you are interested, please send your resume electronically by September
28, 2001 to:

Michael S. McNeil
Chair  - Search Committee
Centre for Sustainable Transportation
Email: mmcneil@...


*  Distance-Based Vehicle Insurance
-----------------------------------
Bill 3871 introduced in the 2001 Oregon legislature, which would have
provided tax credits to insurers that offer "pay as you drive" pricing
failed to pass this year, but supporters hope it will be reintroduced in
the next session. It was endorsed by the National Association of
Independent Insurers, regional governments, the Oregon/Idaho chapter of the
American Automobile Association, the Oregon Consumer League, environmental
organizations, citizen transportation reform groups and the Interfaith
Global Warming Campaign. For information see
http://www.leg.state.or.us/01reg/measures/hb3800.dir/hb3871.intro.html or
contact Christine Hagerbaumer at the Oregon Environmental Council
(www.orcouncil.org).

* The USEPA is working on a program to encourage vehicle insurers to offer
Pay-As-You-Drive insurance pricing. Background analysis is currently being
performed, with the hope of having program guidelines developed over the
next year.

* We submitted the final report on our major study of distance-based
pricing for the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), the
government corporation that covers 90% of vehicle insurance in this
province. We have a new government in BC, which appointed an entirely new
ICBC board of directors that we hope will be interested in this pricing
option.

* The US Federal Highway Administration's Value Pricing Program has
received at least three proposals for distance-based insurance pilot
projects. The final decision as to which will receive grants is expected
within the next few weeks. For more information contact Allen Greenberg at
202-366-2425.


			   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOTES CONCERNING TERRORISM AND TRANSPORTATION POLICY
====================================================

This newsletter was originally scheduled for distribution on September 11,
the day the terrorist attacks occurred in New York and Washington DC. We
deferred it a week in response.

We share grief, sorrow and frustration from this event, and would like to
express sincere condolences to everybody who suffered from this tragedy. We
have many colleagues in New York and Washington DC. I sometimes visit these
cities, and attended a conference at the World Trade Center. I realize with
great sadness that some intended recipients of this newsletter may have
been killed or injured by the attack.

These events and society's responses can be viewed from many different
perspectives. Here are some implications with regard to transportation policy.

* The damage and confusion in downtown New York City illustrates the value
of having a diverse and robust transportation system that functions under
unexpected or extreme conditions (what engineers call "resilience" and
economists call "option value"). Walking, cycling, public transit, taxi
service and telecommunications tend to be particularly important during a
major disaster or other unplanned event. For discussion see the "Evaluation
Transportation Choice" chapter of our Encyclopedia at
http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm65.htm.

* Transportation management is important during and after a disaster,
including the ability to communicate with travelers, control vehicle
access, prioritize roadway capacity (for example, giving top priority to
emergency vehicles, secondary priority to public service vehicles, third
priority to transit and HOV vehicles, and lowest priority to general
traffic), and encourage use of alternative modes. For discussion see the
"Special Event Transport Management" chapter at
http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm48.htm.

* Some travelers may become more fearful of flying, and additional security
precautions at airports will increase the financial and time costs of air
travel, reducing total air travel demand, or at least its growth rate. This
has mixed blessings: it will be difficult for the airline industry but will
reduce airport congestion and aviation pollution, and can help achieve
sustainability objectives. See the "Sustainable Transportation" chapter at
http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm67.htm.

* There may be opportunities to encourage shifts from air travel to
alternative modes, such as interregional bus and rail travel for
medium-distance (100-1,000 mile) trips. For discussion see the "Aviation
TDM" chapter at http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm77.htm and the "Tourist
Transport Management" chapter at http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm46.htm.

* The airline industry will face significant financial difficulties for the
foreseeable future, causing reductions in employment and revenues, and
perhaps some bankruptcies. There is likely to be political pressure to
subsidize the industry, based on claims that air travel is critical for
national economic development. But there are good reasons to resist such
demands and question whether increased air travel necessarily contributes
to economic development. See the "Economic Development" chapter at
http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm54.htm.

* Although the destruction and pain caused by these terrorist acts is
grievous, it is much less than the deaths and damages caused by "normal"
traffic crashes. Fatal traffic crashes are so common that they tend to be
overlooked compared with occasional, large, malicious disasters. It would
be unfortunate if increased concern about terrorism results in reduced
efforts to prevent more common transportation risks. For discussion see the
"Safety and Health Impacts of TDM" chapter at
http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm58.htm.

* There may be new concerns about petroleum supply and price uncertainty,
and perhaps price spikes and temporary shortages in the future. This
increases the importance of transportation management for energy
conservation, affordability and emergency response. See the new "Emission
Reduction and Energy Conservation Strategies", currently under development,
which should be posted by the end of October.

* There are likely to be many changes proposed to transportation system
policies and management practices in response to terrorist threats. It is
best if a comprehensive framework is used to evaluate these options, so
solutions can be selected that also help achieve other transportation
improvement objectives. For discussion see the "Comprehensive
Transportation Evaluation" chapter at http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm76.htm.

			   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please let us know if you have comments or questions about any information
in this newsletter, or if you would like to be removed from our mailing
list. And please pass this newsletter on to others who may find it useful.

Sincerely,

Todd Litman, Director
Victoria Transport Policy Institute
"Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"
1250 Rudlin Street
Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada
Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560
E-mail:  litman@...
Website: http://www.vtpi.org

----- Original Message -----
From: kisan mehta <kisansbc@...>
To: <Dr. Varghese (Pz:) George <varghese@...>>
Cc: <sustran-discuss@...>; <surekha52@...>; <hjk@...>;
<priya_salvi@...>; <sujit@...>
Sent: Monday, September 24, 2001 10:45 PM
Subject: Re: [sustran] A feedback on - Attack on Humanity


> Dear Dr Varghese,
>
> Thanks for your 21.09  message in response to mine
> giving my feelings on terrorism.  I fully agree with you
> that terrorism rises from the vast disparities.  What is
> the way out? I am copying my email to Surekha Sule, volunteer for peace.
> It  appears people have
> started using email communications as an excuse
> for not practising.   We have to do something concrete
> to bring peace and make life safe for the common
> man who becomes the victim.
>
> Dear Surekha
>
> The attack on the WTC has atleast placed the terror
> of terrorism on the global map.   Till then, countries
> would be expected to treat and fend out the internal
> and external terrorism as a local aberration even though fuelled by other
> states.    Hence the reply to terrorism
> had limited response.
>
> Whatever the US administration may do is not going
> to go beyond the defending of the sovereignty of the
> US and protecting of the US people even though in
> the WTC attack itself nationals from other countries
> have lost their lives.     I do not expect change of mind
> in the diehard Republican who is wont to see beyond
> his immediate interest.    Pakistan has been provided
> larger credibility to what it is doing to the other side of
> the wall.
>
> In this light we have to work for the protection of
> human beings more than Indians and Colombians.
> Can we mobilise?
>
> With your wide contacts, we can start.   Please send away two letters that
> you have received from me in
> last 24 hours to as many firends, contacts etc as the first shoot out.
We
> shall send our article on
> Freedom Struggle to interested people. This article
> brings out the superiority of moral force over
> physical violence by coincidence.
>
> We need to mobilise sane citizens of the world who accept the need for
> objectivity and neutrality against terrorism.  Bush has pulled up himself
> only on realising
> that his tower of pride for Free Trade has been pricked.
>
> Whatever it may be `is'.  We can strive to create an atmosphere to fight
> religious bigotry, including in one's religion by birth or ritual,
> fundamentalism, bullying by
> one nation of another.   We know this requires the
> combined strength of the fire power of all states on
> the earth and much more.  I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT THOSE FIGHTING FOR PEACE
> SHALL HAVE AND
> ACQUIRE IF THEY STAND UP BEHIND THE CAUSE
> RESOLUTELY. Best wishes
>
> Kisan Mehta kisansbc@...
>
> Dr Varghese, Please let us know as to what we
> can and must individually and jointly do.   Do not
> expect ministers. politicians and all those who should
> matter to be with you. People have to work out
> strategies and work them out.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Dr. Varghese (Pz:) George <varghese@...>
> To: sustran <mailto:sustran-discuss@....
> Cc: Kisan Mehta <kisansbc@...>
> Sent: Friday, September 21, 2001 11:25 AM
> Subject: [sustran] A feedback on - Attack on Humanity
>
> > Dear Kisans and Sustrans
> >
> > This is in response to the email communications sent by
> > kisan mehta <kisansbc@...>
> > on  Fri, 14 Sep 2001 05:50:01 +0530
> > and Fri Sep 21 10:45:34 2001
> >
> >        Some of us see terrorist activities as a fight between
> >        civilizations. But it is not so.  Its just a fight between mighty
> >        nations one against the other to prove their superiority.
> >        The poor countries are at times compelled to take sides for their
> very existance.
> >
> >        The mighty powers have suceeded in creating a situation where
> >    poorer countries are left with no choice, but to remain as
> >        Banana republics obeying the orders of the mighty nations.
> >
> >        Religion  being an intergral part of society, has played a major
> role in fomenting communal tension all over the world (as in >
> Kosovo, Yugoslavia, Palestine, Indonesia, etc.) just as it had been during
> the  Crusades of the 11th Century and the era of colonization from the
15th
> to the 19th century..
> >
> >        The only period when tension used to exist otherwise in the name
of
> >        ideology was during the cold war period between the US and the
USSR
> >        -between Capitalism and Communism/Socialism.
> >
> >        The vacuum that resulted after the collapse of the USSR is now
> filled by religious fundamentalists and terrorists. It seems that the
world
> rather refuses to remain subservient to a single master. It finds new ways
> and means to  keep the mighty ones in check one way or the other.
> >
> >        THE FALL OF THE WTC has futher revealed the truth that military
or
> >        technological superiority will in no way ensure the security of
> >        any nation.  Terrorists have always chosen the most suitable
weapon
> >        they can bargain with - the lives of the innocent  people.  Have
we
> >        ever made a count of lives lost in Srilanka and India due to
> terrorist activities?
> >
> >        The time has come for all nations  to stand together to fight not
> only terrorism, but all forms of oppressions in this world.
>
> >        Dr. Varghese George
> >        Deptt. of Civil Engg.,
> >        Karnataka Regional Engineering College,
> >        Surathkal, South Karnataka Pin-574157
>
>

Dear Friends,
As for international terrorism a gbig group of countries is trying to have a
grip over the problem. But National Terrorism is the one we have to look
closely. Each one of us should collect lots of info regarding Fundamentalist
, Political and Smuggling organizations .The genesis of these ,mode of
operation and funding etc. This may be of use to tackle the problem at the
political, NGO and other levels.
We lack statistics and full info on topics that grow under our own feet.
Many experts in different walks of life have to come together.
As for me at 70 plus, whatever is possible I shall do.
Dr. T.R.Saranathan


>From: "kisan mehta" <kisansbc@...>
>Reply-To: sustran-discuss@...
>To: <varghese@...>
>CC: <sustran-discuss@...>, <surekha52@...>,
><hjk@...>, <priya_salvi@...>, "Sujit Patwardhan"
><sujit@...>
>Subject: [sustran] Fw: [sustran] A feedback on - Attack on Humanity
>Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2001 07:45:30 +0530
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: kisan mehta <kisansbc@...>
>To: <Dr. Varghese (Pz:) George <varghese@...>>
>Cc: <sustran-discuss@...>; <surekha52@...>; <hjk@...>;
><priya_salvi@...>; <sujit@...>
>Sent: Monday, September 24, 2001 10:45 PM
>Subject: Re: [sustran] A feedback on - Attack on Humanity
>
>
> > Dear Dr Varghese,
> >
> > Thanks for your 21.09  message in response to mine
> > giving my feelings on terrorism.  I fully agree with you
> > that terrorism rises from the vast disparities.  What is
> > the way out? I am copying my email to Surekha Sule, volunteer for peace.
> > It  appears people have
> > started using email communications as an excuse
> > for not practising.   We have to do something concrete
> > to bring peace and make life safe for the common
> > man who becomes the victim.
> >
> > Dear Surekha
> >
> > The attack on the WTC has atleast placed the terror
> > of terrorism on the global map.   Till then, countries
> > would be expected to treat and fend out the internal
> > and external terrorism as a local aberration even though fuelled by
>other
> > states.    Hence the reply to terrorism
> > had limited response.
> >
> > Whatever the US administration may do is not going
> > to go beyond the defending of the sovereignty of the
> > US and protecting of the US people even though in
> > the WTC attack itself nationals from other countries
> > have lost their lives.     I do not expect change of mind
> > in the diehard Republican who is wont to see beyond
> > his immediate interest.    Pakistan has been provided
> > larger credibility to what it is doing to the other side of
> > the wall.
> >
> > In this light we have to work for the protection of
> > human beings more than Indians and Colombians.
> > Can we mobilise?
> >
> > With your wide contacts, we can start.   Please send away two letters
>that
> > you have received from me in
> > last 24 hours to as many firends, contacts etc as the first shoot out.
>We
> > shall send our article on
> > Freedom Struggle to interested people. This article
> > brings out the superiority of moral force over
> > physical violence by coincidence.
> >
> > We need to mobilise sane citizens of the world who accept the need for
> > objectivity and neutrality against terrorism.  Bush has pulled up
>himself
> > only on realising
> > that his tower of pride for Free Trade has been pricked.
> >
> > Whatever it may be `is'.  We can strive to create an atmosphere to fight
> > religious bigotry, including in one's religion by birth or ritual,
> > fundamentalism, bullying by
> > one nation of another.   We know this requires the
> > combined strength of the fire power of all states on
> > the earth and much more.  I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT THOSE FIGHTING FOR PEACE
> > SHALL HAVE AND
> > ACQUIRE IF THEY STAND UP BEHIND THE CAUSE
> > RESOLUTELY. Best wishes
> >
> > Kisan Mehta kisansbc@...
> >
> > Dr Varghese, Please let us know as to what we
> > can and must individually and jointly do.   Do not
> > expect ministers. politicians and all those who should
> > matter to be with you. People have to work out
> > strategies and work them out.
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Dr. Varghese (Pz:) George <varghese@...>
> > To: sustran <mailto:sustran-discuss@....
> > Cc: Kisan Mehta <kisansbc@...>
> > Sent: Friday, September 21, 2001 11:25 AM
> > Subject: [sustran] A feedback on - Attack on Humanity
> >
> > > Dear Kisans and Sustrans
> > >
> > > This is in response to the email communications sent by
> > > kisan mehta <kisansbc@...>
> > > on  Fri, 14 Sep 2001 05:50:01 +0530
> > > and Fri Sep 21 10:45:34 2001
> > >
> > >        Some of us see terrorist activities as a fight between
> > >        civilizations. But it is not so.  Its just a fight between
>mighty
> > >        nations one against the other to prove their superiority.
> > >        The poor countries are at times compelled to take sides for
>their
> > very existance.
> > >
> > >        The mighty powers have suceeded in creating a situation where
> > >    poorer countries are left with no choice, but to remain as
> > >        Banana republics obeying the orders of the mighty nations.
> > >
> > >        Religion  being an intergral part of society, has played a
>major
> > role in fomenting communal tension all over the world (as in >
> > Kosovo, Yugoslavia, Palestine, Indonesia, etc.) just as it had been
>during
> > the  Crusades of the 11th Century and the era of colonization from the
>15th
> > to the 19th century..
> > >
> > >        The only period when tension used to exist otherwise in the
>name
>of
> > >        ideology was during the cold war period between the US and the
>USSR
> > >        -between Capitalism and Communism/Socialism.
> > >
> > >        The vacuum that resulted after the collapse of the USSR is now
> > filled by religious fundamentalists and terrorists. It seems that the
>world
> > rather refuses to remain subservient to a single master. It finds new
>ways
> > and means to  keep the mighty ones in check one way or the other.
> > >
> > >        THE FALL OF THE WTC has futher revealed the truth that military
>or
> > >        technological superiority will in no way ensure the security of
> > >        any nation.  Terrorists have always chosen the most suitable
>weapon
> > >        they can bargain with - the lives of the innocent  people.
>Have
>we
> > >        ever made a count of lives lost in Srilanka and India due to
> > terrorist activities?
> > >
> > >        The time has come for all nations  to stand together to fight
>not
> > only terrorism, but all forms of oppressions in this world.
> >
> > >        Dr. Varghese George
> > >        Deptt. of Civil Engg.,
> > >        Karnataka Regional Engineering College,
> > >        Surathkal, South Karnataka Pin-574157
> >
> >
>


_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

Dear sustran-discussers

I certainly understand that we may be keen to discuss the current and recent
frightening events on the world stage.

However, sustran-discuss is not the right place for that. The main purpose
of the sustran-discuss list is to focus on transport issues, especially
those most relevant to the global South (the lower-income parts of the
world).  Let us stick to postings that are relevant to this focus please.

Best wishes,

Paul
(list manager)

-----Original Message-----
From: hyowoo na [mailto:locoa2000@...]
Sent: Saturday, 29 September 2001 10:22
To: Kirtee Shah; Mr. Leo Shah; Rajesh Shah; Myung Ho Shin; SeungMin
Shin; Tomoe Shitaba; Johan Silas; Amarasiri de Silva; Teresita Silva;
Raajen Singh; Dibalok Singha; dickson Singha; Sri Sofjan; Sofyan; Thomas
Soi; Thomas Steinbugler; Sustran; Amor Tampubolon; Jo Hann Tan; Tibet
Fund; Edicio De La Torre; UCDO; UDLE; Dennis Upa
Subject: Update, Jakarta Issue [LOCOA]


            UPDATE,August 15 to 26 September 2001
                   - Jakarta, Indonesia -

A. NUMBER OF CASUALTIES OF STATE VIOLENCE
AGAINST THE URBAN POOR OF JAKARTA

1. Confiscated becak
"X Central Jakarta                 1904
"X North Jakarta 		 2283
"X West Jakarta 		 2665
"X East Jakarta 		 2147
Total number who lost jobs        8,999

This means 8999 people lost their jobs, thus the same
number of families lost their earnings.

2. Food vendors (evicted, demolished) 71.857
3. Car wash service (demolished)            40
4. Houses (demolished) 		 1.010
Total number of people lost jobs 72.907

3. Urban poor arrested/detained
"X 436 street sex workers
"X 23 lepers and mentally disturbed
"X 12 alms collectors
"X 735 beggars and homeless
"X 27 difables
"X 95 stree children
"X 329 ¡§informal¡¨ traffic policemen
"X 250 street musicians
"X 386 others
   3.293 Total

4. Houses demolished  1.010


B. Chornology of Urban Poor Resistance

5. September 2001-09-26
Pademangan Subdistrict, North Jakarta
Confiscation of becak started at 02.00 a.m. One becak
driver was shot by the police in a physical
confrontation that followed. Becak drivers, street
vendors and others retaliated, they attacked
Pademangan sub-district office, resulted in glass
windows, the foor and the front gate of the office all
broken.

Teluk Gong, North Jakarta
Confiscation operation started by 04.30 a.m. One becak
driver who alerted his friends by beating the lamp
post was gang-beaten by around 20 municipality
security guards; his skull was 10cm fractured.
7 September 2001: Muara Angke, North Jakarta
A physical confrontation between becak drivers, food
vendors and others with municipality security guards
has resulted in 5 becak drivers badly injured.

11 September 2001: Muara Baru, North Jakarta
Hundreds of becak drivers demonstrated at the Muara
Baru village office that resulted in the village head
agreed to stop becak eviction in the area.

13 September 2001: Jelambar Baru, West Jakarta
Confiscation of becaks happened in Jelambar Baru the
day before. Hundreds of becak drivers, food vendors
and others attacked Jelambar Baru village office. The
glass windows, doors and roof were broken.

15 September 2001: Municipality Office of East Jakarta
More than 500 becak drivers, street vendors, street
children and others attacked EastJakarta municipality
office, resulted in glass doors, windows and roof were
broken and 1 bus ruined.

One becak driver was badhly hurt in the head, 4 others
were detained in the Jakarta police headquarters. They
were interrogated, beaten and was jailed in a very
small room together with around 15 more people.

17 September 2001: Kalianyar, West Jakarta
A municipality team confiscated a number of becaks in
Kalianyar. Hundreds of urban poor, the majority of
whom were becak drivers then attacked the village
office. They threw stones to the building, the glass
windows and doors of the office.

Three becak drivers were arrested, one was released on
21 September, the other two were still detained in the
police precinct of Tambora, West Jakarta. The two were
beaten.

25 September 2001: Angke, North Jakarta
1 becak in Angke, North Jakarta and 5 in Kwitang,
Central Jakarta wre confiscated.

26 September 2001: Sunter, Central Jakarta
16 becaks were confiscated, the team involved hundreds
of policemen, mobile brigade, the army and
municipality security guards.

Sources: UPC (field data and clippings)



=====
LOCOA
  Leaders and Organizers of Community Organization in Asia
  80-A, Malakas Street, Brgy Pinyahan, 1100 Quezon City,
  Philippines
  Tel: (632) 925-8432,426-4118      Fax :(632) 426-4132
  E-mail: locoa2000@...       http://www.locoa.net

__________________________________________________
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Listen to your Yahoo! Mail messages from any phone.
http://phone.yahoo.com

A poem on the recent incident at Mannady in Chennai.
                       The Perilous Path
                       -----------------
What a cherubic boy was he
Barely five and raring to go
His eyes had just opened
To the joys of this earth.

Tamilmani, he was named
By hopeful parents
That one day he will adorn
His mother tongue like a jewel in the crown.

Only cheer knew he when
Trotting home from school
Satchel yoked behind, eager
To gorge on Mama's evening delicacies.

He knew not what was in store
When eyes gaping and heart jubilant
He set foot on soil loose
Down he went and eight feet deep.

And thus began a saga
That brought inconspicuous Mannady
A tiny spot in North Chennai
To hog the international flashlights.

Was it for this that the fateful path
Was named Aadiya Padam Street?
Nataraja danced, but surefooted enough
He did not fall into a thirty-feet bore well.

And when Tamilmani did fall
Every tongue wagged about how perilous
Our city roads are - lip sympathy the
Easiest help to offer.

Sure there was assistance
For the milk of human kindness still flows
They tugged at his shirt
And his collar came ripping off.

Not content with holding him eight feet within
Mother earth sucked in the lad
Loosening her throat
Into her 30-feet long mouth.

There he stayed for two days and nights
As humanity worked above
Pumping gallons of oxygen
Digging and redigging wells about him.

When the whole world watched
On television and newspapers
Fire service remained hopeful each minute
At 1-30 past midnight they sniffed death.

Onlookers aghast - their prayers in vain
When personnel in masks drew out of cruel earth
Chirpy, joyous and bouncy Tamilmani
Secure in a jute sack.

When it was all over - the three day drama
Arc lights off, all went back home
Like dispersing after a thrilling school game
Letting Tamilmani into the hospital morgue.

The Government announced solatium
Of a few lakhs of Rupees
But the grief of loss for doting parents
Can it ever replace?

Here was one case of social apathy
An illegal well scooped out
Covered like a camouflage trap
Laid in the forest to catch an elephant.

But how many we have in our cities and villages
Pushing the hapless pedestrian
To the edge of extinction
Is one Tamilmani enough or do we need more?

                           - Akhilananda Bharati.







_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

Hi, Paul,
it is good that you share this information with other people. But I think,
to have a balance information, please check also with government why they
do all of this. I am sure they don't do that just for fun, it must be a
reason.

Thanks,

Paul Butarbutar

-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Barter [SMTP:geobpa@...]
Sent: Saturday, September 29, 2001 10:20 AM
To: 'sustran-discuss@...'
Subject: [sustran] FW: Update, Jakarta Issue [LOCOA]

-----Original Message-----
From: hyowoo na [mailto:locoa2000@...]
Sent: Saturday, 29 September 2001 10:22
To: Kirtee Shah; Mr. Leo Shah; Rajesh Shah; Myung Ho Shin; SeungMin
Shin; Tomoe Shitaba; Johan Silas; Amarasiri de Silva; Teresita Silva;
Raajen Singh; Dibalok Singha; dickson Singha; Sri Sofjan; Sofyan; Thomas
Soi; Thomas Steinbugler; Sustran; Amor Tampubolon; Jo Hann Tan; Tibet
Fund; Edicio De La Torre; UCDO; UDLE; Dennis Upa
Subject: Update, Jakarta Issue [LOCOA]


            UPDATE,August 15 to 26 September 2001
                   - Jakarta, Indonesia -

A. NUMBER OF CASUALTIES OF STATE VIOLENCE
AGAINST THE URBAN POOR OF JAKARTA

1. Confiscated becak
"X Central Jakarta                 1904
"X North Jakarta 		 2283
"X West Jakarta 		 2665
"X East Jakarta 		 2147
Total number who lost jobs        8,999

This means 8999 people lost their jobs, thus the same
number of families lost their earnings.

2. Food vendors (evicted, demolished) 71.857
3. Car wash service (demolished)            40
4. Houses (demolished) 		 1.010
Total number of people lost jobs 72.907

3. Urban poor arrested/detained
"X 436 street sex workers
"X 23 lepers and mentally disturbed
"X 12 alms collectors
"X 735 beggars and homeless
"X 27 difables
"X 95 stree children
"X 329 ??informal?? traffic policemen
"X 250 street musicians
"X 386 others
   3.293 Total

4. Houses demolished  1.010


B. Chornology of Urban Poor Resistance

5. September 2001-09-26
Pademangan Subdistrict, North Jakarta
Confiscation of becak started at 02.00 a.m. One becak
driver was shot by the police in a physical
confrontation that followed. Becak drivers, street
vendors and others retaliated, they attacked
Pademangan sub-district office, resulted in glass
windows, the foor and the front gate of the office all
broken.

Teluk Gong, North Jakarta
Confiscation operation started by 04.30 a.m. One becak
driver who alerted his friends by beating the lamp
post was gang-beaten by around 20 municipality
security guards; his skull was 10cm fractured.
7 September 2001: Muara Angke, North Jakarta
A physical confrontation between becak drivers, food
vendors and others with municipality security guards
has resulted in 5 becak drivers badly injured.

11 September 2001: Muara Baru, North Jakarta
Hundreds of becak drivers demonstrated at the Muara
Baru village office that resulted in the village head
agreed to stop becak eviction in the area.

13 September 2001: Jelambar Baru, West Jakarta
Confiscation of becaks happened in Jelambar Baru the
day before. Hundreds of becak drivers, food vendors
and others attacked Jelambar Baru village office. The
glass windows, doors and roof were broken.

15 September 2001: Municipality Office of East Jakarta
More than 500 becak drivers, street vendors, street
children and others attacked EastJakarta municipality
office, resulted in glass doors, windows and roof were
broken and 1 bus ruined.

One becak driver was badhly hurt in the head, 4 others
were detained in the Jakarta police headquarters. They
were interrogated, beaten and was jailed in a very
small room together with around 15 more people.

17 September 2001: Kalianyar, West Jakarta
A municipality team confiscated a number of becaks in
Kalianyar. Hundreds of urban poor, the majority of
whom were becak drivers then attacked the village
office. They threw stones to the building, the glass
windows and doors of the office.

Three becak drivers were arrested, one was released on
21 September, the other two were still detained in the
police precinct of Tambora, West Jakarta. The two were
beaten.

25 September 2001: Angke, North Jakarta
1 becak in Angke, North Jakarta and 5 in Kwitang,
Central Jakarta wre confiscated.

26 September 2001: Sunter, Central Jakarta
16 becaks were confiscated, the team involved hundreds
of policemen, mobile brigade, the army and
municipality security guards.

Sources: UPC (field data and clippings)



=====
LOCOA
  Leaders and Organizers of Community Organization in Asia
  80-A, Malakas Street, Brgy Pinyahan, 1100 Quezon City,
  Philippines
  Tel: (632) 925-8432,426-4118      Fax :(632) 426-4132
  E-mail: locoa2000@...       http://www.locoa.net

__________________________________________________
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1 October 2001


Hello Friends,
I am always amazed by the naive faith people have in "Governments'
intentions". Though I don't know everything about the problem highlighted
by Paul (Barter) it is obvious isn't it that the Government is acting in an
inhuman manner and striking out against the poor, when their efforts should
actually be directed at improving their lot. This is a common trait with
all Governments, in developing as well as in the developed world as should
have become clear from what the US President is doing (in this case under
the excuse of stamping out terrorism). Ignoring people's protests against
expanding and destructive motorways in the UK during the seventies (?) the
government went ahead and built the roads which ultimately did not benefit
the population as a whole. I'm sure there will be tons of such cases from
countries of the third world .

Paul's (Butarbutar) suggestion "to have a balance(d) information, please
check also with government why they do all of this. I am sure they don't do
that just for fun, it must be a
reason." makes me wonder if he has ever tried to interact with any
government representative on a controversial issue.

Is it our experience that the government is ever AT ALL interested in
explaining what it is doing?  Particularly to those holding a different
viewpoint? Is it our experience that documents, project reports,
calculations, cost benefit analysis, on basis of which such action is
initiated are ever given out to ordinary citizens? Is it our experience
that the voice of the weak and the powerless even reaches the rulers and
policy makers who time and again try to justify their anti-people drives in
the name of progress, development and modernization when actually all that
these schemes succeed in doing is to line the pockets of the powerful, the
rich and those close to the rulers, at the cost of thousands who are robbed
out of their meagre livelihoods.

Of course they don't do it ONLY for the fun. There are many good reasons...
the main one is to use their power and their position for their own benefit
rather than for the benefit of the common man in the street.

Mahatma Gandhi whose birthday (2nd October ) will be celebrated with much
fanfare in my country tomorrow, characteristically had a very simple way to
judge if any policy should or should not be implemented. "Look at the
poorest and the weakest man out there, and see if HE will benefit from what
you are planning to do". Sadly we still need to heed what the old man had
said so many years back.
--
Sujit Patwardhan
Parisar.
Pune, India



-----------------------------------------------------------------
At 09:48 AM 10/1/01 +0000, you wrote:
>Hi, Paul,
>it is good that you share this information with other people. But I think,
>to have a balance information, please check also with government why they
>do all of this. I am sure they don't do that just for fun, it must be a
>reason.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Paul Butarbutar
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From:   Paul Barter [SMTP:geobpa@...]
>Sent:   Saturday, September 29, 2001 10:20 AM
>To:     'sustran-discuss@...'
>Subject:        [sustran] FW: Update, Jakarta Issue [LOCOA]
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: hyowoo na [mailto:locoa2000@...]
>Sent: Saturday, 29 September 2001 10:22
>To: Kirtee Shah; Mr. Leo Shah; Rajesh Shah; Myung Ho Shin; SeungMin
>Shin; Tomoe Shitaba; Johan Silas; Amarasiri de Silva; Teresita Silva;
>Raajen Singh; Dibalok Singha; dickson Singha; Sri Sofjan; Sofyan; Thomas
>Soi; Thomas Steinbugler; Sustran; Amor Tampubolon; Jo Hann Tan; Tibet
>Fund; Edicio De La Torre; UCDO; UDLE; Dennis Upa
>Subject: Update, Jakarta Issue [LOCOA]
>
>
>            UPDATE,August 15 to 26 September 2001
>                   - Jakarta, Indonesia -
>
>A. NUMBER OF CASUALTIES OF STATE VIOLENCE
>AGAINST THE URBAN POOR OF JAKARTA
>
>1. Confiscated becak
>"X Central Jakarta                      1904
>"X North Jakarta                                2283
>"X West Jakarta                         2665
>"X East Jakarta                         2147
>Total number who lost jobs             8,999
>
>This means 8999 people lost their jobs, thus the same
>number of families lost their earnings.
>
>2. Food vendors (evicted, demolished)   71.857
>3. Car wash service (demolished)            40
>4. Houses (demolished)                  1.010
>Total number of people lost jobs        72.907
>
>3. Urban poor arrested/detained
>"X 436 street sex workers
>"X 23 lepers and mentally disturbed
>"X 12 alms collectors
>"X 735 beggars and homeless
>"X 27 difables
>"X 95 stree children
>"X 329 ??informal?? traffic policemen
>"X 250 street musicians
>"X 386 others
>   3.293 Total
>
>4. Houses demolished            1.010
>
>
>B. Chornology of Urban Poor Resistance
>
>5. September 2001-09-26
>Pademangan Subdistrict, North Jakarta
>Confiscation of becak started at 02.00 a.m. One becak
>driver was shot by the police in a physical
>confrontation that followed. Becak drivers, street
>vendors and others retaliated, they attacked
>Pademangan sub-district office, resulted in glass
>windows, the foor and the front gate of the office all
>broken.
>
>Teluk Gong, North Jakarta
>Confiscation operation started by 04.30 a.m. One becak
>driver who alerted his friends by beating the lamp
>post was gang-beaten by around 20 municipality
>security guards; his skull was 10cm fractured.
>7 September 2001: Muara Angke, North Jakarta
>A physical confrontation between becak drivers, food
>vendors and others with municipality security guards
>has resulted in 5 becak drivers badly injured.
>
>11 September 2001: Muara Baru, North Jakarta
>Hundreds of becak drivers demonstrated at the Muara
>Baru village office that resulted in the village head
>agreed to stop becak eviction in the area.
>
>13 September 2001: Jelambar Baru, West Jakarta
>Confiscation of becaks happened in Jelambar Baru the
>day before. Hundreds of becak drivers, food vendors
>and others attacked Jelambar Baru village office. The
>glass windows, doors and roof were broken.
>
>15 September 2001: Municipality Office of East Jakarta
>More than 500 becak drivers, street vendors, street
>children and others attacked EastJakarta municipality
>office, resulted in glass doors, windows and roof were
>broken and 1 bus ruined.
>
>One becak driver was badhly hurt in the head, 4 others
>were detained in the Jakarta police headquarters. They
>were interrogated, beaten and was jailed in a very
>small room together with around 15 more people.
>
>17 September 2001: Kalianyar, West Jakarta
>A municipality team confiscated a number of becaks in
>Kalianyar. Hundreds of urban poor, the majority of
>whom were becak drivers then attacked the village
>office. They threw stones to the building, the glass
>windows and doors of the office.
>
>Three becak drivers were arrested, one was released on
>21 September, the other two were still detained in the
>police precinct of Tambora, West Jakarta. The two were
>beaten.
>
>25 September 2001: Angke, North Jakarta
>1 becak in Angke, North Jakarta and 5 in Kwitang,
>Central Jakarta wre confiscated.
>
>26 September 2001: Sunter, Central Jakarta
>16 becaks were confiscated, the team involved hundreds
>of policemen, mobile brigade, the army and
>municipality security guards.
>
>Sources: UPC (field data and clippings)
>
>
>
>=====
>LOCOA
>  Leaders and Organizers of Community Organization in Asia
>  80-A, Malakas Street, Brgy Pinyahan, 1100 Quezon City,
>  Philippines
>  Tel: (632) 925-8432,426-4118      Fax :(632) 426-4132
>  E-mail: locoa2000@...       http://www.locoa.net
>
>__________________________________________________







-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sujit Patwardhan.
PARISAR,
Yamuna, ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007
Tel: 5537955
Email: sujit@...
*****************************************************************
In nature there are neither Rewards nor Punishments---
there are Consequences.