Public Transport Subsidies and Affordability in Mumbai, India

Public Transport Subsidies and Affordability in Mumbai, India PDF Author: Maureen Cropper, Soma Bhattacharya
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Bus
Languages : en
Pages : 28

Book Description
Abstract: This paper describes the role of public transport and the nature and incidence of transport subsidies in Mumbai, India. Mumbai has an extensive rail and bus network, and public transport is used for over 75 percent of all motorized trips in Greater Mumbai. Both rail and bus fares in Mumbai are subsidized: BEST, which operates public buses in Mumbai, is also an electric utility, and subsidizes bus fares from electricity revenues. We analyze the incidence of these subsidies, and their effect on mode choice, using data from a survey of households in Greater Mumbai. In Mumbai, as in many cities, the middle class is more likely to use public transport for travel than the poor. The poor, however, also use public transit, and their expenditure on public transit constitutes, on average, a larger share of their income than it does for the middle class. It is, therefore, the case that the poor benefit from transit subsidies in Mumbai, as well as the middle and upper-middle classes; however, the poorest 27 percent of the population receives only 19 percent of bus subsidies and 15.5 percent of rail subsidies. Indeed, 26 percent of the lowest income households surveyed do not use rail, while 10 percent do not use bus, implying that they receive no transit subsidies. Expenditure on transport accounts for 16 percent of income in the lowest income category (

Affordability and Subsidies in Public Urban Transport: What Do We Mean, What Can Be Done?

Affordability and Subsidies in Public Urban Transport: What Do We Mean, What Can Be Done? PDF Author: Nicolas Estupinan
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Air
Languages : en
Pages : 53

Book Description
Abstract: Subsidy policies on public urban transport have been adopted ubiquitously. In both developed and developing countries, subsidies are implemented to make transport more affordable. Despite their widespread implementation, there are virtually no quantitative assessments of their distributional incidence, making it impossible to determine if these instruments are pro-poor. This paper reviews the arguments used to justify subsidy policies in public urban transport. Using different tools to quantitatively evaluate the incidence and distributive impacts of subsidy policy options, the paper analyzes the findings of a series of research papers that study urban public transport subsidy policies in developed and developing countries. The available evidence indicates that current public urban transport subsidy policies do not make the poorest better off. Supply-side subsidies are, for the most part, neutral or regressive; while demand-side subsidies perform better-although many of them do not improve income distribution. Considering that the policy objective is to improve the welfare of the poorest, it is imperative to move away from supply-side subsidies towards demand-side subsidies and to integrate transport social concerns into wider poverty alleviation efforts, which include the possibility of channeling subsidies through monetary transfer systems or through other transfer instruments (food subsidies, health services and education for the poor). The general conclusion of the paper is that more effort should be devoted to improve the targeting properties of public urban transport subsidies using means-testing procedures to ensure a more pro-poor incidence of subsidies.

Public Transport Subsidies and Affordability in Mumbai, India

Public Transport Subsidies and Affordability in Mumbai, India PDF Author: Maureen Cropper
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 28

Book Description
This paper describes the role of public transport and the nature and incidence of transport subsidies in Mumbai, India. Mumbai has an extensive rail and bus network, and public transport is used for over 75 percent of all motorized trips in Greater Mumbai. Both rail and bus fares in Mumbai are subsidized: BEST, which operates public buses in Mumbai, is also an electric utility, and subsidizes bus fares from electricity revenues. We analyze the incidence of these subsidies, and their effect on mode choice, using data from a survey of households in Greater Mumbai. In Mumbai, as in many cities, the middle class is more likely to use public transport for travel than the poor. The poor, however, also use public transit, and their expenditure on public transit constitutes, on average, a larger share of their income than it does for the middle class. It is, therefore, the case that the poor benefit from transit subsidies in Mumbai, as well as the middle and upper-middle classes; however, the poorest 27 percent of the population receives only 19 percent of bus subsidies and 15.5 percent of rail subsidies. Indeed, 26 percent of the lowest income households surveyed do not use rail, while 10 percent do not use bus, implying that they receive no transit subsidies. Expenditure on transport accounts for 16 percent of income in the lowest income category (lt;5000 Rs./month), with 10 percent of income, on average, spent on bus and rail fares. This percentage, however, is not evenly distributed: it is much higher than 10 percent for households in which workers take the bus or train to work, and lower for households in which the main earner walks to work. Even in these households, however, 12.5 percent of income is spent on transportation. Expenditure on public transport would be even higher if bus fares in Mumbai were not subsidized. In 2005-2006, transport revenues of BEST fell below total costs by 30 percent and below operating costs by 20 percent. Rail fares, which are much lower than bus fares per km traveled, officially covered operating costs and almost covered depreciation expenses.

Improving Urban Access

Improving Urban Access PDF Author: Elliott D. Sclar
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317404351
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 403

Book Description
By 2050, two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities. To thrive, they will need efficient and sustainable forms of transport, but to achieve this, the financial incentives guiding urban transport operation must change – and change rapidly. Urban transport plays a critical role in determining the social, environmental and economic shape of cities. Improving Urban Access: New Approaches to Funding Transport Investment provide innovative ideas on how we might reorganize transport finance to ensure that it is suited to serving the social, environmental and economic principles that must guide future urban living. Continuing the work begun by its predecessor, Urban Access for the 21st Century, the authors assess the complexity of implementing new finance approaches and suggest ways to make positive and radical changes. Although the range of revenue raising options remain limited to users, indirect beneficiaries, and the general public, these can be recast to transform the way transport is paid for and therefore how its services are delivered. New finance models only succeed when they are intrinsically linked to the economic, social, cultural and political forces that create urban life. Together these volumes provide a starting point for the deeper research and policy design needed to successfully create urban transport finance systems that can address the challenges that 21st century cities present.

Handbook on Transport Pricing and Financing

Handbook on Transport Pricing and Financing PDF Author: Alejandro Tirachini
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1800375557
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 497

Book Description
Taking a comprehensive approach to two central, closely intertwined themes in the field of transport economics, this illuminating Handbook recognizes the critical socioeconomic importance of transport pricing and financing.

Geospatial Infrastructure, Applications and Technologies: India Case Studies

Geospatial Infrastructure, Applications and Technologies: India Case Studies PDF Author: N.L. Sarda
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9811323305
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 432

Book Description
This book is a valuable resource for the increasing body of researchers and practitioners in the field of geospatial technologies. Written by leading researchers and experts it is designed in such a way that technical achievements and challenges of geospatial computing applications are followed by various applications developed for society. As such, they serve as a bridge between technologists and solution developers, which is critical in the context of developing countries. There have been significant advances in geospatial technologies in India in the last decade, including advances in spatial data infrastructures, geocomputation and spatial databases, and innovative applications in natural resource development. Ranging from LIDAR standards, to data integration using ontologies, and mobile computing, such progress enhances the utility of the technology for both urban and rural development. This book discusses these achievements and considers the way forward.

Fiscal Decentralization and Local Finance in Developing Countries

Fiscal Decentralization and Local Finance in Developing Countries PDF Author: Roy Bahl
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1786435306
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 430

Book Description
This book draws on experiences in developing countries to bridge the gap between the conventional textbook treatment of fiscal decentralization and the actual practice of subnational government finance. The extensive literature about the theory and practice is surveyed and longstanding problems and new questions are addressed. It focuses on the key choices that must be made in decentralizing, on how economic and political factors shape the choices that countries make, and on how, by paying more attention to the need for a more comprehensive approach and the critical connections between different components of decentralization reform, everyone involved might get more for their money.

Moving People

Moving People PDF Author: Peter Cox
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1848134541
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 271

Book Description
The local and global environmental impacts of transport are more apparent than ever before. Moving People provides an attention-grabbing introduction to the problems of transport and the development of sustainable alternatives, focusing on the often misunderstood issue of personal mobility, as opposed to freight. Re-assessing the value and importance of non-motorized transport the author raises questions about mobility in the face of climate change and energy security, particularly for the developing world. Featuring original case studies from across the globe, this book is essential for anyone studying or working in the area of environmental sustainability and transport policy.

Planning and Design for Sustainable Urban Mobility

Planning and Design for Sustainable Urban Mobility PDF Author: Un-Habitat
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317932870
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 344

Book Description
Urban transport systems worldwide are faced by a multitude of challenges. Among the most visible of these are the traffic gridlocks experienced on city roads and highways all over the world. The prescribed solution to transport problems in most cities has thus been to build more infrastructures for cars, with a limited number of cities improving public transport systems in a sustainable manner. However, a number of challenges faced by urban transport systems – such as greenhouse gas emissions, noise and air pollution and road traffic accidents – do not necessarily get solved by the construction of new infrastructure. Planning and Design for Sustainable Urban Mobility argues that the development of sustainable urban transport systems requires a conceptual leap. The purpose of ‘transportation’ and ‘mobility’ is to gain access to destinations, activities, services and goods. Thus, access is the ultimate objective of transportation. As a result, urban planning and design should focus on how to bring people and places together, by creating cities that focus on accessibility, rather than simply increasing the length of urban transport infrastructure or increasing the movement of people or goods. Urban form and the functionality of the city are therefore a major focus of this report, which highlights the importance of integrated land-use and transport planning. This new report of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the world’s leading authority on urban issues, provides some thought-provoking insights and policy recommendations on how to plan and design sustainable urban mobility systems. The Global Report on Human Settlements is the most authoritative and up-to-date global assessment of human settlements conditions and trends. Preceding issues of the report have addressed such topics as Cities in a Globalizing World, The Challenge of Slums, Financing Urban Shelter, Enhancing Urban Safety and Security, Planning Sustainable Cities and Cities and Climate Change.

The World Bank Research Observer

The World Bank Research Observer PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Developing countries
Languages : en
Pages : 364

Book Description