Transport Meeting

Â

Encouraging Sustainable Transport: the Sustainable Connection for Development

th

The 16 International Conference on Traffic and Transportation Engineering, held back to nd back with 2 Transportation Committee of Asian Mayors Forum

WITH more and more people living in urban areas, traffic congestion and its consequences become one of the most important problems. As an effort to contribute to find solution, UCLG ASPAC, representing the Asia-Pacific, shared knowledge in the 16th International Conference on Traffic and Transportation Engineering, back-to-back with 2nd Transportation Committee of Asian Mayors Forum, was held in Tehran, Milad Tower from 28 February – 1 March 2017. The Conference was held by the Asian Mayors Forum.

Transport Specialist of UCLG ASPAC shared important roles of local government in this matter. Sustainable transport requires political commitment of local leaders to make this successful. Moreover, local authorities also play important role as the real executing agency; meaning that it is local leaders that makes all external technical assistances work and well implemented.

Further, as sustainable transport is a reform of public transport system, there is room for local government to use its authority to deal with social implication before and during the technical planning implementation.

Â

Finance is one of challenges faced in the realization of sustainable transport.

Sharing the global financing scheme, there were actually available funds for sustainable transport at the global level; which, among many, include multiateral, bi-lateral, and thematic global finance. However, those fundings were channeled mostly through central government, and only limited number were given directly to local government. Therefore, it is essential for local government to be pro-active to benefit from the global financial scheme. This practice has been conducted by local governments in China, India, and Vietnam. Included in the effort is empowerment of local government, as the main executor.

It was also important for local government to embrace the philosophy of sustainable transport as a basis for political commitment. In this stage, local government needs support, for example from central government or bilateral cooperation support. For better policy reform, inclusion of participatory process was required; and for that to happen, clear understanding about existing system of transportation (the actor, the business, the process, the quality) is inevitable. To be able to reach sustainable transport, basic transport performance should be initially delivered. Finally, on top of everything, sustainable transport should not be a cosmetic project; in which facilitation to come back to the true will of basic service delivery in transport sector might be needed.