Poverty and sustainable transport How transport affects poor people with policy implications for poverty reduction A literature review Paul Starkey Consultant in integrated transport John Hine Consultant in transport planning October 2014 The views in this paper are those of the authors and they do not necessarily reflect the views of UN-Habitat, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) or SLoCaT Table of Contents Acronyms and abbreviations ............................................................................................ 3 1 Executive summary ............................................................................................. 4 1.1 Background .................................................................................................................. 4 1.2 Rural transport and poverty ........................................................................................ 4 1.3 Urban transport and poverty ...................................................................................... 7 2 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 9 2.1 Background .................................................................................................................. 9 2.2 Research methodology .................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Research questions ................................................................................................... 11 2.2.1 Supply-side ................................................................................................................ 11 2.2.2 Demand-side ............................................................................................................. 11 2.2.3 Externalities............................................................................................................... 11 3 Literature review: sources and issues ................................................................ 12 3.1 Poverty and transport focus...................................................................................... 12 3.2 Poverty and economic growth .................................................................................. 12 3.3 A caveat: the origins of reviewed literature and authors ......................................... 13 4 Rural roads ....................................................................................................... 14 4.1 Poverty, access and isolation .................................................................................... 14 4.2 Agricultural production ............................................................................................. 15 4.3 Access to health care ................................................................................................ 16 4.4 Access to education .................................................................................................. 17 4.5 Non-equal benefits .................................................................................................... 18 4.6 Long-term benefits and negative consequences ...................................................... 19 4.7 Policy implications ..................................................................................................... 19 4.8 Measurability of pro-poor benefits and investment priorities ................................. 20 4.9 Involving rural people in road construction and maintenance................................. 21 4.10 Concluding observations on rural roads ................................................................... 22 5 Rural transport services and intermediate means of transport (IMTs) ................ 24 5.1 Access, proximity and mobility ................................................................................. 24 5.2 Intermediate means of transport (IMTs) .................................................................. 24 1 5.3 Motorcycle taxis and three-wheelers ....................................................................... 25 5.4 Animal-drawn carts and two-wheeled tractor-trailers ............................................. 26 5.5 Rural bus services, taxis, minibuses and passenger trucks ....................................... 26 6 Poverty, urban transport, urban growth and employment ................................. 29 6.1 The challenges of urbanisation ................................................................................. 29 6.2 Decreasing urban density and its implications ......................................................... 29 6.3 Urban traffic congestion ........................................................................................... 31 6.4 Road condition, construction and resettlement issues ............................................ 32 6.5 Public transport ......................................................................................................... 33 6.6 Employment and opportunities for the poor in urban transport construction ........ 36 6.7 Direct employment opportunities in providing urban transport services ................ 37 6.8 Participation in urban transport planning to address poverty issues ....................... 37 7 Poverty and urban access .................................................................................. 40 7.1 Access to transport services, employment and other urban facilities ..................... 40 7.2 Access to basic facilities ............................................................................................ 40 7.3 Walking and cycling ................................................................................................... 41 7.4 Affordability of public transport ............................................................................... 42 7.5 Trip distances, and travel time and the journey to work .......................................... 43 7.6 Urban transport for women and disadvantaged groups .......................................... 44 8 Urban transport externalities and the poor ....................................................... 46 8.1 Road crashes ............................................................................................................. 46 8.2 Transport-induced air pollution and the effects on health and poverty .................. 48 8.3 Effects of traffic congestion on the poor .................................................................. 49 8.4 Displacement of the poor resulting from transport projects ................................... 49 9 Implications for pro-poor urban transport policies ............................................ 52 10 References cited and bibliography .................................................................... 53 2 Acronyms and abbreviations ADB Asian Development Bank PM2.5 Particulate matter up to 2.5 AFCAP African Community Access Programme micrometres in size (‘fine’) AIDS Acquired immune deficiency PMGSY Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojan syndrome (Indian road programme to connect all BRT Bus Rapid Transit villages) CBD Central Business District RED Roads Economic Decision (software) COHRE Centre on Housing Rights and RTS Rural transport services Evictions RTSi Rural transport services indicator DFID Department for International SLoCaT Partnership on Sustainable Low Development, UK (UKaid) Carbon Transport eg for example SO2 Sulphur dioxide EPWP Expanded Public Works Programme, SPARC Society for Promotion of Area South Africa Resource Centres FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation of SSATP Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy the United Nations, Rome Program, World Bank, USA GDP Gross domestic product STAR Sustainable Transport Appraisal Rating GIS Geographical information systems TRL Transport Research Laboratory, UK GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Tsh Tanzanian shilling Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH UITP International Association of Public GRSF Global Road Safety Facility Transport (Union internationale des HDM4 Highway Development and transports publics) Management Model UK United Kingdom (of Great Britain and HIV Human immunodeficiency virus Northern Ireland) h hour UN United Nations ICT Information and communication UN-Habitat United Nations Human Settlement technologies Program ie that is to say UNFPA United Nations Population Fund IFRTD International Forum for Rural USA United States of America Transport and Development USD United States Dollar ILO International Labour Organisation, VOC Vehicle operating costs Geneva WHO World Health Organisation, Geneva IMT Intermediate means of transport IRAP Integrated rural accessibility planning IT Intermediate technology (although IT Transport is now a name not an acronym) km kilometre LAMATA Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority LGED Local Government Engineering Department, Bangladesh m million MDB Multilateral development bank MDG Millennium Development Goals MUIP Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project MUTP Mumbai Urban Transport Project NGO Non-governmental organisation NO2 Nitrogen dioxide OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development ODI Overseas Development Institute PM10 Particulate matter up to 10 micrometres in size (‘coarse’) 3 1 Executive summary 1.1 Background This review of the poverty implications of urban and rural transport was requested by the Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT), contracted by UN-Habitat and implemented by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) with funding from UK Department of International