Guangzhou urban transport

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Learn Transport Innovation for City Replication

Distinguished officials on Workshop for Thought Leaders: Innovation in Urban Transportation for the Future City; Guanghzhou, October 30 – November 3, 2017.

UCLG ASPAC inspired its members to innovate in the field of urban transportation through peer-learning activity session on Workshop for Thought Leaders: Innovation in Urban Transportation for the Future City from October 30 to November 3, 2017 in Guangzhou. Attended by 15 officials representing local governments from Asia Pacific, Europe and Latin America, the workshop became a fruitful platform to exchange knowledge and provoke participants to take action and improve transportation system applied in their respective cities. Participants were divided into focus groups and discussed challenges, opportunities, and action plans to be taken to improve the transportation system.

Transportation system in Surakarta (popularly called Solo) was one of the highlighted cities during discussion. The focus group mentioned there was a need to transform transportation system in the city to be more transit-oriented and encourage people to use public transportation. For that to happen, political negotiation that brings together all public transportation groups need

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to be conducted: busses, angkot (minibuses), app-based transportation, motorcycles, and BRT. In the discussion, balance of role distribution also needed to be taken into account. To cover the interest, public-private partnership scheme was also proposed.

The workshop encouraged delegates to make use of the technologies in developing transportation; as reflected by the technologies used during the workshop.

Other focus group discussed not only one, but three transportation systems in different cities: La Paz, Catbalogan, and Denpasar. The discussion brought up the need for La Paz to reduce congestion and improve public transportation by using transportation data management. When discussion came to the City of Catbalogan, it was needed to connect transportation improvement with climate change mitigation actions. One of the possible actions included the promotion of non-motorized transportation and surely the use of public transportation instead of private. Similar concern was expressed for the transportation case in Denpasar. The group also proposed action plans for each city. Emergence of new parking management that considers public space, time, and fare was proposed as applicable action for each city.

In addition, proposals for each city were also explored, including the need to integrate all transportation modes (for La Paz), regulate parking, apply higher tax for vehicle, and bicycle sharing system (for Catbalogan), and develop pedestrian and non-motorized transportation to reduce road accidents.

Other study group put under spotlight the transportation system of Hyderabad.

The focus group saw the city’s lack of commuter friendly transport system.

According to the group, safety, economic, time-bound should be integrated in the system. List of action plan was also drafted, which includes the efficient ticketing (also means minimizing ticket price), facilitating commuters’ security, and encouraging driver’s awareness to drive on-time and thus deliver better services to public.

The workshop was held as platform to discuss the use of technologies and shared experience to help governments implement high quality transport systems and create policy to make cities more livable, equitable, and sustainable. Relating to the transport system, global thinkers shared their opinion during the workshop, “Urban transportation is more than just infrastructure. It is about humanity.”

- Dr. Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi, Secretary General of UCLG ASPAC “Innovation is not only about technologies, but the best innovation is making life healthier for the citizens."

- Dr. Lee W. Munnich, Senior Researcher of University of Minnesota

Whatever interpretation that we adapt, we share the same goal, putting citizens as the center in implementing high quality systems in our city.

The Workshop was opened by Mr. Chen Zhiying, Vice Mayor from Guangzhou, Secretary Generals of Metropolis and UCLG ASPAC.

Delegates taking picture together in the insightful event.

UCLG ASPAC congratulated local government of Guangzhou for the success of this event and wish its sustainability and globally-praised transportation system will continuously inspire more city governments, especially in the Asia Pacific region.