Urban Transport in the OIC Megacities
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Apart from having an impact on the urban form and the mobility patterns within a city, slums should
also be examined from a social exclusion point of view. Planning for adequate levels of accessibility
for slums not only facilitates the lives of the residents but also, in the long term, can contribute to
alleviating the long standing social exclusion of such areas and therefore increase the overall quality
of life in the megacities of the developing world. For example, in La Vega Barrio, Caracas one of
Venezuela’s largest and oldest informal settlements, 30 pathways along the steep hillsides of the
neighbourhood were rehabilitated or built in order to improve access to jobs, schools and medical
facilities, as part of a major upgrading initiative.
In terms of gender, although substantial efforts to improve equality have been made in sectors such
as health and education, few attempts can be found in the transport sector. The differences in the
mobility needs between men and women are grounded in the gender based division of labour within
the family and the community. Despite the fact that men’s traditional role is to earn the biggest part of
their family’s income, women perform in parallel with employment other tasks such as homemaking
and childcare, which require the undertaking of shorter, more frequent and more dispersed trips
during the day. Accessibility to different modes of transport is therefore very important for the quality
of women’s lives.
Transport systems are not gender neutral either. Inadequate transport systems can restrict women’s
access to education, economic opportunities and healthcare. In many developing countries, such as
India, women face harassments in public transport which often leads them to stop using public
transport for safety reasons. In Bangladesh, female labour (mostly garment workers) heavily relies on
public transport to go to work. In many Asian megacities, women rely on various forms of cycle
rickshaws for shopping and taking children to school. In recent years, this form of NMT has been
banned from primary and arterial roads, in some cases like Jakarta and New Delhi across the entire
city. This is had a disproportionately negative impact on the mobility of women and increased their
exclusion from social activities. These countries have been attempting to include gender specific
measures in public transport by providing separate space for women in vehicles.
Within the developing world, the provision of services for disabled people is still often seen as a
welfare function of the state and of civil society. The human rights approach to disability, in terms of
which every citizen has the right to be included in social and economic opportunities, is slowly gaining
acceptance. Some developing countries, particularly in Latin America and Asia, have applied this
approach to transport, taking some significant first steps towards improving the mobility and access
of people with disabilities (Venter et al, 2002).
In order to improve the accessibility and mobility opportunities for disabled people, actions should
focus on four key areas: policy and legislation, advocacy and planning, vehicle and infrastructure
solutions, and training and awareness. In terms of legislation and policy, the United Nations’ Standard
Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, adopted in 1994, provide an
international framework within which advocates and legislators can address disability issues.
Improved access and mobility are important factors in reducing poverty and can facilitate the
participation of people with disabilities in economic, social and political processes. However, major
obstacles remain to translate accessibility policies into the provision of inclusive transport.
Inadequate monitoring and enforcement of compliance with existing accessibility legislation is widely
cited as the key impediment to providing inclusive transport in developing countries. In most cases,
countries have adopted inclusive policies and specific regulations regarding the accessibility of people
with disabilities, which are not enforced (Venter et al, 2002; World Bank, 2004).
Advocacy and planning are key factors contributing to the recognition of the fact that access for people
with mobility difficulties and disabilities is a human right. Training and awareness are closely related
as they contribute to the acceptance of policy andmeasures by the public. Policies andmeasures range
from providing appropriate training to public transport personnel to allowing dedicated spaces on
public transport and clear messages to other passengers about how important this is. Concessions and