Improving Transnational Transport Corridors
In the OIC Member Countries: Concepts and Cases
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ICM the traffic can appropriately be diverted to parallel routes containing unused capacity.
There are two groups of ICM models: one focusing on the information provision and travellers’
response and the other more on evolution and interaction of the traffic.
Gerald (2014) points at social costs that can occur as a consequence of the success of a
corridor. He takes the example of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), that
has increased trade between Canada, the United States (US) and Mexico by reducing tariffs on
imports and exports. This has an influence on foreign direct investment, economic growth and
reduces trade barriers in these regions. This has strongly stimulated commercial traffic
through these countries continental transportation corridors. In this case the transportation
and distribution services are operating independently and lack interconnectivity among each
others’ logistical channels. As a result, the transportation channel participants are not able to
prevent congestions and delays along their routes. Gerald (2014) concludes that US and
Mexico government and private agencies need to establish policies and regulations that
address environmental and infrastructure issues that affecting their transportation network
systems.
Litman (2017) and also Hesse and Rodrigue (2004) point at research indicating that generated
traffic often fills a significant portion of capacity added to congested urban road
infrastructures. Generated traffic reduces the congestion reduction benefits of road capacity
expansion, it increases many external costs and it provides relatively small user benefits
because it consists of vehicle travel that consumers are most willing to forego when their costs
increase. These aspects should be included in analysis.
2.8. Safety, Security and the Legal liability factors
The aspects of trade route safety and security are very important indeed and tend to pre-
occupy the thoughts of politicians and decision makers. And yet, there is precious little
research and study into these vital issues. Transport corridors tend to be looked at from an
economic point of view, but freedom of movement and trade seem to have become linked
issues with terrorism, and other negative forces that serve only to undermine the peaceful
coexistence of friendly relations. In this section, the issues of invasive plant species,
communicable diseases and phytosanitary aspects will be covered.
In a paper entitled trade transport and trouble, Hulme (2009) explains that invasive species of
plants and animals tend to migrate along the paths of the great trade routes. That species of
plants, animals and microorganisms are introduced by humans to the different countries that
they have moved to has been apparent for centuries and examples abound to prove the case. A
measure of the relative importance of different transport vectors is the number of invasive
species that can be attributed to it (Bax et al., 2003). Regarding the spread of disease along
trade routes, the silk route is historically notorious for the spread of the bubonic plague that
led to the death of millions and the depopulation of a continent in the 12th century and beyond.
More contemporary diseases such as HIV/AIDS has been observed to spread along
international transport routes (Morse, 2001). It can be concluded that transport corridors