Washington D.C., January 24, 2012 (Source, ITDP): San Francisco, USA and Medellin, Colombia were honoured as the winners of the 8^th annual Sustainable Transport Award, which were held during the annual Transport Research Board (TRB) conference. This year’s slate of nominees was unique in that all four shortlisted cities showcased a breadth of interventions that put citizens first.  Each city is also a leader in embracing social media and online technologies to reach out to those citizens, giving a better more informative and convenient service.The winners were selected based on four characteristics: increasing mobility for residents, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution from transportation, improving safety, and increasing access for cyclists and pedestrians.
"These cities are setting the example of working on various fronts - giving people opportunities through high quality transport options,” said Walter Hook, chief executive officer of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. 

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A key component of a sustainable transport system is an in-use vehicle testing system. This is essential to ensure that vehicles are properly maintained, from both an environmental (emissions) and safety (roadworthiness) perspective. This module provides advice on the types of inspection and maintenance systems appropriate for a developing country and how developing cities can develop and implement an effective Inspection & Maintenance system.

The module was updated in English and the updated version is now available in Spanish. SUTP users can download the document free of charge from here (4.5 MB). Non-registered users to first register here and then proceed to download.

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Poor parking management or unregulated parking results in traffic congestion, disruption of the usability and aesthetics of urban spaces, corruption,  hinderance of pedestrian access and movement, safety concerns, inequitable usage of road space, etc.

Parking controls and pricing are transport demand management measures implemented frequently by local authorities, yet little of the academic literature deals with experience of this policy, preferring instead to concentrate on the politically “more lucrative” topic of congestion charging. This module, authored by Tom Rye, attempts to redress that balance a little. It discusses the various definitional, operational, planning, institutional and social challenges around parking practices in cities, and how these could be overcome. The module also discusses topics like types of parking, parking demand and common myths associated with vehicle parking.

The Indonesian version of this module is now available and can be accessed here (4.3 Mb) by registered users. Non-registered users click here to register and then proceed for download.

The latest Case Study #7 in the series of SUTP case studies, deals with the transition process from informal paratransit services to a full-scale BRT scheme in Johannesburg, South Africa. It provides a rare, detailed insight in the complicated but successful negotiations between the City of Johannesburg and representatives of more than 300 individual minibus-taxi owners. The Case Study outlines the enormous challenges in bringing together the interests of public bodies and paratransit operators faced with a radical change to their business models and possible income losses. Further, it shares some of the lessons learned by the City of Johannesburg's negotiations team in the process that may be useful to other cities transforming their public transport networks, with the participation of affected public transport operators.

The document is available for download here.

Beijing will offer residents 20,000 rental bikes this year to ease the city's notorious traffic jams, according to authorities with the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform. Five hundred rental kiosks will be set up around the city to offer residents over 20,000 rental bikes, the Commission said. Beijing has also proposed creating new bike lanes in some areas, including main streets, historical and cultural conservation areas and some major business districts, from 2011 to 2015, according to the commission. The capital city currently has about 5 million vehicles on its roads, leading to serious traffic congestion that frustrates the city's residents on a daily basis.

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