Urban Transport Institutional Reform for Developing Countries, Realistic Views

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Urban Transport Institutional Reform for
Developing Countries, Realistic Views
by Ali S Huzayyin
Professor of Transport and Traffic Engineering
and Planning, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo
University.
Dec. 2002
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• Problems of Existing Practice

• Realistic Reasons of the Weak Practice

• Suggested Approach for Realistic Institutional
  Reform

• Questions for Future Research

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Problems of Existing Practice

• Top City Ranks

• Institutional

• Resources

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Problems of Existing Practice
Top City Ranks
Decision-makers
City managers, sometimes mayors
Powerful non-specialists
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Problems of Existing Practice
Institutional
Multiplicity of institutions
Misbalance between Local/National governments
Lack of professional technical practice of the
modern transport engineering profession
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Problems of Existing Practice
Resources
Limited resources
Misuse/non-use of such resources if they exist
Lack of innovative funding mechanisms
Weak information information dissemination
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Realistic Reasons of the Weak Practice

• Individuals

• Institutional

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Realistic Reasons of the Weak Practice
Individuals
Politicians/technocrats misunderstand modern
transport engineering profession (planning and
management)
If understanding exists, it is constrained by
domestic forces/limited resources
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Realistic Reasons of the Weak Practice
Individuals
Non-existence of modern transport engineers
If they exist, the job city transport/traffic
engineer does not exist in the city technical
departments staff cadres.
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Realistic Reasons of the Weak Practice
Individuals
Interested non-professionals are more powerful
than the transport professionals, when they exist
Strong resistance to change from the traditional
engineers
City staff benefiting from city provision of
certain services prevents private sector
participation
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Realistic Reasons of the Weak Practice
Institutional
Interference of certain national government
agencies diverts funding to less priority
transport projects
Formal transit public private operators and
individual drivers of informal modes each works
as if in own separate Kingdom!
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Realistic Reasons of the Weak Practice
Institutional
Traditional public financing cannot cope with the
increasing requirements
Old regulations strongly impede any change
Foreign aid is sometimes traditional and
non-sustainable
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Realistic Reasons of the Weak Practice
Institutional
Human resource capacity building offered by donor
agencies is not properly planned
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Suggested Approach for Realistic Institutional
Reform

• Creation of understanding of modern transport
  engineering profession among politicians/technocra
  ts is a prerequisite for creating
  political/managerial will

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Suggested Approach for Realistic Institutional
Reform

• Foreign aid and domestic research effort to work
  as catalysts for creation of will and
  understanding

• Reform to stem from within the urban government
  itself, not from external foreign/domestic
  channels, which should be supportive and not
  initiative

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Suggested Approach for Realistic Institutional
Reform

• Phased out over a reasonable period, gradual
  introduction of a transport/traffic formal
  entity within the city engineering department is
  to take place in parallel with gradual decrease
  of dependence on contracted transport
  consultants for the small-scale improvements

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Activities
1
2
3
Years
TA / Consultancy
City Trnspt. Eng. Entity
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Suggested Approach for Realistic Institutional
Reform

• Capacity building is to be adaptive to the
  existing realities and coordinated between local
  and foreign expertise.

• Practical mechanisms, acceptable to all players,
  for realizing private participation

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Suggested Approach for Realistic Institutional
Reform

• Foreign aid to create healthy environment for
  practicing modern transport engineering
  profession alleviating interference of powerful
  external agencies/individuals.

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Suggested Approach for Realistic Institutional
Reform

• Foreign technical assistance aid is to be

• Conditioned with appropriate sustainable reform
  (institutional change and creation of political
  will/understanding)

• Followed up periodically afterwards

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Questions for Future Research

• How to make efforts of foreign aid and domestic
  research institutions supportive of creation of
  political/managerial will and understanding?

• What are the practical means for making
  institutional reform to stem from within the
  local government?

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Questions for Future Research

• How to institutionalize modern transport
  engineering profession (planning and management)
  in the city technical department?

• How to adopt practical innovative ways for
  private financing of urban transport projects and
  operation?

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Questions for Future Research

• How to remove persisting bureaucratic obstacles
  and regulations?

• How to stop imposing transport decisions by
  powers from the national/local governments, city
  non-specialists and private players?

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Questions for Future Research

• How to setout clear identification/separation of
  the roles of politicians/managers from the duties
  that should be done by (modern) transport
  professionals?

• How to improve transport information collection
  and dissemination?

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Questions for Future Research

• What are the practical ways for
  hearing/responding to the needs of the urban poor
  (e.g. pedestrians) who pay tax and do not get
  fair share of transport investment?