Issue 4 May 2010 - LTA Academy

Naleeza Ebrahim
When we open our minds, the
possibilities are great. As
any philosopher would say,
everything begins with a thought. Today, the
world is thinking in eco-friendly terms, and
‘green’ initiatives will follow suit. In this fourth
issue of JOURNEYS, we are transported
around the world – in the greenest possible
way, our armchairs – to learn of green
transport development. At the heart of these
measures are people-centric values because
transportation systems are there to serve
people, not the other way around.
Hwang Kee Yeon and Park Jin Young from
the Korea Transport Institute not only share
Korea’s efforts to green the country’s
transportation system, but also propose
pushing the envelope to execute ideas,
such as, bicycle highways, and photovoltaic
transport infrastructure.
Michael Replogle and Michael Kodransky,
of the Institute for Transportation and
Development Policy (USA), give a stimulating
Editor’s Note
overview of how urban transport policy
makers around the world, from Colombia
to China, India to Ecuador, USA to UK, are
putting people-centric schemes forward.
The moniker for Ahmedabad, India’s, Bus
Rapid Transit system, ‘Janmarg’ or ‘people’s
way’, says it in a nutshell.
China, the fastest growing economy
in the world, which could become the
biggest greenhouse gas emitter, aims to be
equally fast in getting its urban transport
standards to eco-friendly levels. Jiang Yulin
and Li Zhenyu, at the China Academy of
Transportation Sciences, describe the slew
of successful measures that China has
been effecting.
Making changes in the virtual world
can have real impact. Singapore’s Land
Transport Authority (LTA) has developed a
Geographic Information System (GIS), using
digital maps to vastly improve land transport
planning and public safety. This eco-friendly
solution allows urban and transport plans
and scenarios to be more extensively and
rigorously tested on computers before they
are finally executed, thus, saving precious
physical resources.
Michael Quah and Dickson Yeo from the
National University of Singapore’s Energy
Studies Institute give insights regarding
current research and Singapore’s test
JOURNEYS May 2010 5