MANILA, 9 November 2012: Asian Development Bank and the Government
of Japan, Thursday, formally launched a bicycle-sharing scheme which will be
tested in three cities in ASEAN.
Based on the success of the test
phase, the scheme could be adopted across the Asia Pacific region.
Davao in the Philippines and
Vientiane in Lao People’s Democratic Republic have been selected as
demonstration sites, while the third yet to be identified city will be in
Indonesia. The cities were selected after consultations with local, national
and international stakeholders.
“This initiative will show that
urban transport conditions can be improved through the low-cost and
zero-emission solution of bicycle-sharing systems,” said ADB’s regional and
sustainable development department, senior transportation specialist, Lloyd Wright.
The US$2 million project is
funded on a grant basis by the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction and
administered by ADB.
The project will help improve air
quality, as well as reduce the rate of pedestrian accidents and fatalities
linked with too many private vehicles on the road. In 1980s, only 9% of the
world’s 360 million motorised vehicles were found in the Asia and Pacific
region.
By 2030, it is estimated that
nearly half of the world’s projected 1.5 billion vehicles will be in the
region.
Aside from contributing to
cleaner air, bicycle-sharing is recognized as a means of traveling on short
trips that are too long to walk, and a way to close the gaps between public
transport and a rider’s final destination – otherwise known as the “last-mile”
issue.
Globally, bicycle-sharing schemes
became popular after Paris inaugurated its system in 2007. Since then, more
than 300 systems have opened across the Americas, Asia and Europe.
The US$2 million project is
funded on a grant basis by the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction and
administered by ADB.
In addition, ADB and Australian
Agency for International Development (AusAID) will provide an US$87.39 million
package of loans and grants to help Lao PDR and Viet Nam pair infrastructure
upgrades with community-based disaster risk management and enhanced regional
forecasting to improve flood and drought preparedness in the Greater Mekong
Subregion.
It will involve upgrading or
developing canals, drainage pumps, and embankments in Vientiane capital region,
Lao PDR and Dong Thap and Tien Giang provinces in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.
The assistance will also be used nation-wide in both countries to collect data
and information to prepare flood and drought forecasts.
Design criteria for flood and
drought mitigation measures in the Mekong Delta will also be developed, and
transboundary flood management options will be assessed. A National Early
Warning Centre will also be established in Lao PDR.
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