Despite rising costs and the outlook for dwindling 

 petroleum supplies, the upward trend in vehicle 

 ownership continues. During the 1960s, the number of 

 vehicles worldwide increased more than 100 percent — by 

 a total of 120 million. One-fourth of the gain was 

 registered in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. By the 

 mid-1970s, there were 300 million motor vehicles in the 

 world, one for every 14 people, most of them in cities. 

 It is estimated that there will be over half a billion 

 motor vehicles in the world by 1985 — 103 million trucks 

 and buses and 407 million cars. Well over 100 million 

 will be operating in Africa, Asia, and Latin America 

 (Gilewica et al. 1976) . 



Transportation investments are key elements in the 

 character and quality of the urban environment. 

 Streets make up a large percentage of the total area of 

 the city, often as much as 20 to 30 percent. Streets 

 are the structural framework of the city, they insulate 

 neighborhoods, separate industry from housing, and 

 delineate industrial estates, neighborhoods, markets, 

 and recreation areas. They even serve, in many 

 communities, as expansions of the home, where social 

 and economic activities of the household take place. 



Urban transportation also affects other aspects of 

 the urban environment. Modern transport solutions are 

 often so costly that they influence the level of 

 resources available for schools, water, sewer, health, 

 and other municipal services- In many cities, per 

 capita outlays for transport infrastructure are several 

 times greater than the combined per capita outlays for 

 health, education, and utilities. 



It is important, therefore, to avoid unnecessary 

 expenditures for transportation. Expressways, subways, 

 and other rapid transit may not be feasible if other 

 needs are to be met. Thus the wise choice of transport 

 technology and the ability to make effective use of 

 existing streets and other transport investments may 

 turn out to be a key factor in urban living standards. 



Proposed Initiatives 



The world's cities operate largely without the 

 benefit of systematic analyses of the successes and 

 failures of innovative approaches to transportation in 

 other countries, and even in their own countries. 

 Cities in developing countries do not have ongoing 

 analyses of such important subjects as the design and 

 operating experience or financial results of various 

 rapid transit systems, the possibilities of alternative 

 busway solutions, or the effects of pricing and 

 regulatory measures on transportation supply and 

 demand. The world's cities provide a laboratory that 



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