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New Study Highlights Opportunities and Challenges for Indonesia Forest Morato...
February 17, 2012
Today WRI releases a working paper that provides new information about Indonesia’s moratorium on new forest concessions. Our analysis concludes that the…
Aqueduct Will Feature in World Water Forum’s “Village of Solutions”
February 17, 2012
Last week Aqueduct was selected to be featured in the “Village of Solutions”, a collection of innovative new concepts in the world of water management that will be on display at the World Water Forum…
China’s Population Challenge: Designing Sustainable Cities for the Future
February 15, 2012
This piece originally appeared on Forbes. Between meetings…
How Businesses Can Integrate Ecosystem Services into Performance Systems
February 15, 2012
Over the past decade, more companies have recognized the value that healthy ecosystems provide to business. Proactive companies have started managing their connection to ecosystems in order to avoid being blindsided by unexpected risks arising…
Transparency and Accountability (MRV) in the Durban Climate Deal
February 13, 2012
The Durban climate deal reached in December 2011 marked an important milestone in the design of a system to measure, report, and verify (MRV) countries’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and their actions to reduce them. The deal succeeded in making…
Ambition in the Durban Climate Deal
February 13, 2012
The UNFCCC’s ultimate goal is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a “level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.” Thus, the most compelling measure of success of the Durban…
“Candidate Species” Marketplace Can Help Protect Gopher Tortoise Habitat
February 13, 2012
This piece was written with Josh Donlan and James Mulligan of Advanced Conservation Strategies. Hundreds of imperiled wildlife species across the country are…
WRI Helps Launch First Eco-Audit of Mesoamerican Reef
February 10, 2012
This week, two of my colleagues, Ben Kushner and Lauretta Burke, travelled to Mexico and Belize, respectively, for the launch of a new multinational evaluation of…
MEDIA ALERT: Launch of New Report on Auto-Rickshaws in India
February 9, 2012
Sustainable Urban Transport in India: Role of the Auto-Rickshaw Sector
Background
Across India, auto-rickshaws are becoming an increasingly important part of urban transport in cities. Currently, the number of auto-rickshaws in India ranges from 15,000 to 30,000 in medium-sized cities (population between 1 and 4 million) to more than 50,000 in large cities (population greater than 4 million). Now, the World Resources Institute and EMBARQ are releasing the most comprehensive report ever on auto-rickshaws.
The report, “Sustainable Urban Transport in India: Role of the Auto-rickshaw Sector,” by Akshay Mani, Madhav Pai and Rishi Aggarwal, examines the role auto-rickshaws play in promoting public transport usage and reducing private motor vehicle trips in cities. The report also provides a policy vision for the auto-rickshaw sector that improves sustainable urban transport in India.
The publication highlights the need for regulatory reforms to promote dispatch services and vehicle-related reforms to address emissions and road safety. Adopting these reforms is key to ensuring that auto-rickshaws contribute to a more efficient, clean and safe transport system.
Statement by Akshay Mani, Project Manager – Urban Transport, EMBARQ India
“Given the current urban transport trends and challenges, such as rising emissions and road fatalities, there is a critical need to promote more sustainable transport options in India. Implementing the recommended reforms – such as the promotion of fleet-based dispatch services and vehicle improvements – will be key to ensure that auto-rickshaws can serve as an effective alternative to private motor vehicles. These reforms are essential to mitigate the environmental and road safety challenges that currently exist in this sector.”
Key Facts
Market size of auto-rickshaws varies from around 15,000 to 30,000 vehicles in Tier II cities (population between 1 and 4 million) to more than 50,000 in Tier I cities (population greater than 4 million). Mumbai has the largest market with around 150,000 auto-rickshaws.
Auto-rickshaws serve between 10-20 percent of daily motorized road transport trips for people in Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune and Rajkot.
Production of auto-rickshaws in India has doubled between 2003 and 2010.
High concentration of particulate matter less than 10 microns (PM10) in Indian cities is a key public health issue. Auto-rickshaws running on two-stroke engines are a major contributor to PM10 emissions.
Contrary to popular belief, auto-rickshaws are the second safest motorized mode of travel (after buses) for pedestrians, in terms of contribution to fatalities, in both Mumbai and Bangalore.
However, safety of auto-rickshaw occupants is a key issue of concern, due to mixed-flow traffic conditions in Indian cities as well as current vehicle design aspects, which needs to be addressed urgently.
Meanwhile, the population of Indian cities will grow from an estimated 340 million in 2008 to 590 million by 2030.
Resources
The publication is available online at: http://www.embarq.org/en/sustainable-urban-transport-india-role-auto-rickshaw-sector
Read blog posts by Akshay Mani at: http://thecityfix.com/blog/author/akshay142
Watch and link to videos at: www.embarq.org/multimedia
Mumbai Rickshaws: http://www.embarq.org/en/video/cities-focus-mumbai-rickshaws
Vikram: http://www.embarq.org/en/video/snapshot-vikram
Vatsala: http://www.embarq.org/en/video/snapshot-vatsala
The report will be launched Friday, February 10, at Rickshaw Rising – An Auto-rickshaw Entrepreneurship Summit, in Mumbai, India: http://www.embarq.org/en/events/12/02/rickshaw-rising
For more information about the launch or to set up interviews, contact:
Erica Schlaikjer, EMBARQ, Media Relations Coordinator, (202) 729-7722, eschlaikjer@wri.org; or
Lauren Zelin, WRI, Senior Press Officer, (202) 729-7736; lzelin@wri.org
2012: A Breakthrough for Renewable Energy?
February 9, 2012
In his annual State of the Union address, President Obama declared: “I will not walk away from clean energy.” His words were a sharp rebuttal to critics harping on the Solyndra bankruptcy and others making dire predictions about the…
