Haruo Ishida

MOTORCYCLE-PROPELLED PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND LOCAL POLICY DEVELOPMENT : THE CASE OF "TRICYCLES" AND "HABAL-HABAL" IN DAVAO CITY PHILIPPINES

In most developing countries, motorcycles are part of the essential mode of transportation. In the case of the Philippines, local public transport in the form of tricycles as well as “habal-habal”, or “motorcycle taxi” exists. This paper reviewed the local transport policy development with regards to innovating motorcycles as tricycles or using motorcycles as a public transport mode. It assumes that motorcycle-propelled public transport precedes the development of local public transport policy. Davao City is chosen as the site for the case study since a wide variation of motorcycle-innovations can be observed. Philippine tricycle is classified as a motor vehicle composed of motorcycle fitted with a single wheel sidecar or with a two-wheel cab, operated as a public transport for a fee. In Davao City, three forms of tricycles can be observed: side-cab, center-cab and open cab. An emerging mode, in the form of motorcycle taxi known as “habal-habal” can also be found. The study shows that the presence of various motorcycle-propelled public transport in Davao City is attributed to inadequacy of either national or local policy that defines its operation and physical design. The policy response of eliminating “triciboat” and the presence of private motorcycle credit facility led to the emergence of informal and illegal modes like the “habal-habal” and open-cab tricycles. The issues and gaps in policy implementation and the importance of relating policies to local urban and transportation planning and management were discussed.

PEOPLE'S OPINIONS AND ROAD POLICIES: EFFECTS OF PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT ACTIVITIES BY THE ROAD COUNCIL IN JAPAN

The Road Council is the adviser to the Japanese Ministry of Construction (MOC) on matters of road policy at the national level. To be more responsive to society’s needs, the council implemented public involvement (PI) activities to solicit people’s opinions about the New 5-Year Road Improvement and Management Program. The council issued a series of reports that provided information to the people and solicited their opinions before it made its final recommendations to MOC. The focus was on the effects that people’s opinions have on the road policies contained in the reports. The relationship between road policies set by the Road Council and MOC and people’s opinions was analyzed. A document-analysis methodology for extracting key words representing policy measures and identifying policy fields was developed. The study assumed that the number of key words indicates the degree of emphasis in the report. Frequency of opinions for each policy field also was determined. Relationships between the number of key words and the frequency of opinions were analyzed using Kendall’s correlation coefficient. Causal relations within each policy field were analyzed. The results clearly established the influence of people’s opinions on the resulting road policies. The findings also showed two kinds of changes in the documents: (a) changes initiated by people’s opinions and (b) changes initiated by the Road Council. So far, PI activities have been applied only at the national planning level. These activities also can be applied to other levels and aspects of planning.

Deployment of Intelligent Transportation Systems in Countries with Developing and Transitional Economies: ITS Toolkit

To provide guidance to countries with developing and transitional economies on strategies for introducing intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and to help with the challenges of surface transportation, the World Bank and Japans Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport published the ITS Toolkit. In brief, ITS is the application of information technology (IT)—computers, communications, sensors, databases, and the like—to these challenges. Most ITS applications, however, have arisen in developed countries because of the rapidly falling costs of IT equipment, the prevalence of tried and tested off-the-shelf ITS solutions, and the prevalence of other general-purpose IT infrastructure, such as mobile phone networks, the Internet, and digital road maps, which have allowed new services, or old services provided in a different way, to be acquired with much less outlay. This suggests that as ITS becomes more affordable, the chances to introduce ITS are expanding to countries with developing and transitional economies. Discussed are the emergence of affordable ITS, ITS culture around the world, issues to consider in ITS deployment, and policy recommendations for ITS deployment in countries with developing and transitional economies. A brief overview of the guidance of the ITS Toolkit is also included. The guidance is aimed primarily at policy makers and decision makers in those countries with developing and transitional economies. It strives to provide the background, context, and tools for effective ITS planning and decision making and addresses social, institutional, and legal issues as well as technology.

DRAFTING JAPAN'S NEW 5-YEAR ROAD IMPROVEMENT AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM: A NEW APPROACH

In Japan, a public-involvement approach (PI Approach) was adopted for the new 5-year road improvement and management program that was approved by the Prime Minister’s cabinet in May 1998, with a view to reflecting increasingly diverse public opinion in the program. The program was based on a proposal by the Road Council and reflected the opinions of approximately 130,000 people, in addition to the vision and recommendations submitted by local business communities and regional requests concerning the program. The proposal of the Road Council was produced by means of dialogues with the general public. People’s opinions were collected via The Kick-Off Report, The Voice Report, and The Interim Report. The PI Approach was adopted in a policy-making process at the national level for the first time. The process is described, along with results of communication with the general public leading up to the formation of the new 5-year road improvement and management program. Also discussed are the end products of each phase: The KickOff Report, The Voice Report, The Interim Report, the Road Council proposal, and The New 5-Year Road Improvement and Management Program.

A STUDY ON INFLUENCE OF TRAFFIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PROGRAM BY ADDING HEALTH ASPECT

本研究では，近年の成人の生活習慣病の増加傾向と小学生の肥満傾向を踏まえて，学校教育モビリティマネジメントの主な題材である交通と環境の関係に，交通と健康の関係を加えた授業を実施し，その効果を検証することを試みた．具体的には，神奈川県秦野市の小学校5年生とその保護者を対象とし，従来の交通環境教育を受講した群と，交通環境教育に健康問題も追加した授業を受講した群を比較することで，授業内容の違いが態度に及ぼす影響を分析した．その結果，児童の態度変容効果については，授業内容の差よりも学校間の影響の方が大きい可能性が示唆された．また，交通環境教育に健康問題を追加した授業は，従来の環境のみに着目した授業と同程度に環境と交通に関する意識が活性化することに加え，健康に関する意識も活性化することが示唆された．