Mitigation of Environmental Impacts of Transportation

A wellorganized transportation system is essential for economic development and it offers a wide range of benefits such as accessibility to goods and services. However it is obvious that it also causes serious problems in the form of negative impacts on environment. Motor vehicles and other modes of transportation are significant contributors to air and water pollution not only on a local level as well as regional and global levels. In addition transportation is a ma!or source of noise and gives rise to other environmental problems such as water pollution and fragmentation of land. "hen we say mitigation it means the elimination or reduction of the fre#uency magnitude or severity of e$posure to ris%s or minimization of the potential impact of a threat or warning. Mitigation of environmental impacts of transportation has the ob!ective of reducing the environmental impact of transportation system and ma%ing this sector more sustainable. Mitigation of environmental impacts aims to ma%e decisions that are based on understanding of environmental conse#uences ad ta%e actions that protect restore and enhance the environment. The following are approaches for mitigation of environmental impacts in its correct order&se#uence' (. Mitigation by avoidance this approach represents cheapest and most effective form of impact mitigation. It measures considering siting design process technology route alternatives and )no go* options to avoid impacts. +. Mitigation b reduction this approach aims at limiting the severity of impacts and not avoiding them altogether. ,. Mitigation by remedy measures underta%en to restore the environment to its previous condition or to a new e#uilibrium. -. .ompensation this approach opens a window of opportunity for negotiations between developers and decision/ma%ers. 0. Enhancement applied in parallel with other compensation measures to encourage opportunities to limit the scope and scale of impacts and on improving the environmental features. 1eferences' http'&&www.twoeam/eu.net&handboo%&20.pdf http'&&environment.fhwa.dot.gov&pro!dev&tdmmitig+.asp http'&&www.lumes.lu.se&database&alumni&2,.2-&theses&anderson3!it%a.pdf

4roblems and Issues on 4hilippine Transportation 5ystem According to a blogger http'&&getrealphilippines.com the following are the fundamental roadbloc%s to improving 4hilippine public transport' (. 6elegation of mass transit capability to private enterprise / It is considered as the most fundamental problem with the way public transport is being managed in the 4hilippines. 7uses and !eepneys which are the basic mode of transportation wor% under the )boundary* system. 8ehicles are leased to drivers who agree to pay a fi$ed minimum daily fee to the lessor. 9ther than this the government do not have regulations on the number of operators authorized to ply on the routes. And even that is sub!ect to abuse and mismanagement as it seems many of these routes have been over/subscribed way beyond their capacities to accommodate transport sectors.

+. Aversion to wal%ing / 6ue to the tropical climate :ilipinos does not prefer to wal% which gives an avenue to tricycles and pedicabs to have a mar%et on transportation thus adding to the congestion. Add to this is the unfriendly streets open sewers vendors etc.

,. 5tunted ethnic wor% schedules / :ilipinos want their transport service serving them door to door any minute of the day. However not everyone could afford t ta%e ta$i cabs so

they rely on cheaper transport. A scheduled limited/route mass transport service will be unable to compete with personalize and e$tremely fle$ible service available.

9n the other hand the Asian 6evelopment 7an% addresses three core issues within the t transport sector' Enhancement of transport efficiency 6evelopment of urban transport 5ustainability of the transport system in terms of the physical sustainability of assets the social sustainability of operations in relation to safety and security and its environmental sustainability.

To address the three core issues the strategy supports four %ey areas of intervention' Improvement of national highways 6evelopment of urban transport 5trengthening of sector governance :acilitation of private sector infrastructure development and regional operations.

1eferences' http'&&www.adb.org&documents&philippines/transport/sector/assessment/strategy/and/ road/map http'&&getrealphilippines.com&blog&+2((&2-&three/fundamental/roadbloc%s/to/improving/ philippine/public/transport&

;eading .ountries in Terms of Transportation 5ystem

(2. 6enmar% 6enmar% has a well/developed and generally environmentally friendly transport system. The transport system has been improved in several areas including public transport integration of the different modes of transport and new technologies li%e electric vehicles and modular vehicle combinations. In 6enmar% many individuals rely on the bi%e as their primary means of transportation. Initiatives that improve the facilities for

cyclists are therefore of priority. They have an urban bi%e program that allows people to use a #uarter to unloc% a par%ed bi%e then go for a ride and par% it in another zone across town. The .openhagen Metro which is the main transit system of 6enmar% is lin%ed by anther train system that connects people to the suburbs and outside regions of 6enmar%. The trains use an Automated Train 5ystem <AT5= that runs the train networ% through a computer which increases both efficiency and safety. Higher mobility and accessibility are important in 6enmar%. Thus efforts are focused on strengthening the lin%s between different modes of transport and integrating these to a higher e$tent than today. The 6anish >overnment wants to invest +&, of the funds for infrastructure in greener transport choices such as public transport light rails and the use of bi%es. ?. >ermany Although the >erman transportation networ% was heavily damaged during "orld "ar II the >erman transport system is now one of the best in Europe. In +22+ the railroad system consisted of -- 222 %m of operational trac% oth the greater part erated by the government/owned :ederal 1ailways 5ystem. >ermany had @+0 airports in +22( which includes :ran%furt International Airport that is %nown as one of the top ten airports. It is the airport with the largest number of international destiations served worldwide. The A/7ahn is an underground networ% that covers (,+ %m of the city. This lin%s to the 5/7ahn the above ground train networ% that lin%s to other transportation routes throughout the city. B. Hong Cong Appro$imately ?2D of all travel in Hong Cong is done via the Mass Transit 1ailway <MT1= a%a the Hong Cong subway. The system ta%es Emillion riders a day through (E0%m long networ% with trains that are %nown to run on time. MT1 also offers ,> networ% coverage for phones and computers. The Hong Cong Airport E$press is the high/speed train that will ta%e you from the HC Airport to .entral 5tation. Hong Cong buses are double/dec%er !ust li%e 5ingapore and AC. Hong Cong also has Tramways and 4ea% tram which carries both tourists and residents to the upper levels of Hong Cong. E. Anited 5tates of America Transportation in the Anited 5tates is facilitated by road air rail networ%s. The vast ma!ority of passenger travel occurs by automobile distances and airplane or railroad for some people for longer distances. In order most cargoes travel by railroad truc% pipeline or boatF air shipping used only for perishables and premium e$press shipments. and water for shorter descending is typically

The Gew Hor% 5ubway system offers ,E0 %m of coverage across the city e$press services that run on separate trac%s from local trains and it runs +-/hour a day every day of the year. The Anited 5tates also has advanced air transportation infrastructure. The Atlanta International Airport is the worldIs busiest in terms of passengers and the Memphis International Airport is the worldIs busiest in terms of cargo. @. :rance

The :rench transportation system is one of the best in "estern Europe. It has developed EuropeIs fastest passenger train the high/speed J >rande 8itesse which began to operate in (?B(. In (??- the English .hannel Tunnel or ).hunnel* was completed and it established the first direct rail lin% between :rance and >reat 7ritain. The 1E1 (1Kseau E$press 1Kgional= is a rapid transit system in :rance. 1E1 acts as an underground or subway train within 4aris. 5hippers also use the internal waterways of the country particularly for low/cost bul%y and heavy goods. The ton/miles carried by canal and river barges amount to +2D of the total for rail freight. The three principal waterways deep enough to accommodate the ( 022/ton barges common in Europe are the 1hine 1iver the 5eine between ;e Havre and 4aris and the canalized section of the Moselle 1iver below Metz. Although the :rench are avid motorists :rance was slow to build modern superhighways. This was because the relatively thinly populated country had a good e$isting networ% of older main roads. In (?@E :rance had fewer superhighways <autoroutes= even than tiny Getherlands. 5ince then however building has been rapid and by (?B+ :rance had , ,22 miles <0 ,(2 %m= of autoroutes, almost as many as Italy and twice as many as 7ritain. The :rench merchant shipping fleet is the worldLs ninth largest in total tonnage about the same size as ItalyLs and half the size of 7ritainLs. In tonnage handled including oil grain and other bul% cargoes Marseille is the worldLs eighth/largest port and ;e Havre the (,th largest. 0. 5outh Corea 5outh CoreaIs railroad networ% lin%s the entire country. The first railroad lin%ing 5eoul and Incheon opened 5eptember (B??. The Corean "ar badly damaged the railroad networ% which the government rebuilt and improved. The high/speed railway %nown as Corea Train E$press <CTM= currently operates between 5eoul and 7usan. These trains reach a ma$imum speed of ,22%m&hr on dedicated high speed trac%s. The subway system manages Bmillion travellers a day and covers +BE%m of trac% that also integrates with 5eoulIs bus system. The 5eoul public transit system is seriously user/friendly. It has train arrival systems with ;E6 screens that tell riders when the ne$t train is coming its announcements are in Corean and English it has "i/:i access underground and in its stations and it has robots that help passengers find information. -. England

.ommonly referred to as )The Tube * ;ondonIs underground networ% is the oldest in the world as well as the longest with -22%m of trac%. ItIs also one of the most travelled with over one billion passengers recorded in +22E. .ities in England generally have e$cellent public bus systems as well as underground rail services in the bigger cities. 4asses for these services are relatively cheap. There are also two %inds of ta$is in England' the blac% cabs which are metered and can be summoned in the street and minicabs which are cheaper and reserved by phone. ;ong-distance buses called coaches are usually the cheapest mode of long/distance transportation but can also be the slowest. Transportation by train is often faster and more comfortable but can cost a bit more. Train tic%ets can be purchased ahead of time

online <best for longer trips= or on the spot at train stations. 9n the trains there is usually a standard class and a more e$pensive first class. ,. Taiwan The system of transportation in Taiwan is well developed and provides customized service to the people from home and abroad. The roads railways and airlines along with the ta$is sightseeing buses and M1Ts are ma!or means of transportation in Taiwan. The Taipei M1T is one of the most e$pensive systems in the world. It is the top in terms of safety reliability and #uality. It consists of B2 stations and ?2.0%m of revenue trac% with ? subway lines. The system carried an average of over (.- million passengers per day. The airways in Taiwan are controlled by .hina Airlines. There is a total of (B airports and heliports. Marine ships and local ferries comprise the sea transportation. +. 1ussia 1ussia has the worldLs second/largest railway networ% second only to that of the Anited 5tates. The Moscow Metro has one of the oldest grids in the word ad is also the second most heavily used system carrying over E.0 million people daily. Its networ% of routes is close to +?,%m long with clean stations. Many consider it to be the most reliable subway in the world running up to -2 trains an hour. 1ussia has adopted two national transport strategies in recent years. 9n (+ May +220 the 1ussian Ministry of Transport adopted the Transport 5trategy of the 1ussian :ederation to +2+2. Three years later on ++ Govember +22B the 1ussian government adopted a revised strategy e$tending to +2,2. (. Napan Napan has an efficient public transportation networ% especially within metropolitan areas and between the large cities. Napanese public transportation is characterized by its punctuality its superb service and the large crowds of people using it. This subway system alone is the most used in the world averaging eight million passengers a day. Napanese culture puts a huge importance on cleanliness so the subway is virtually spotless of garbage plus it has heated seats and a computerized messaging system in Napanese and English that tells you where you are on your !ourney and when you can e$pect your ne$t stop. The trains have a strong reputation for running on time very rare incidents of crime or vandalism and their stations have mar%ers on their platforms to indicate where people can stand to be located directly in front of a subway door. Napan currently has ?B airports. The main international gateways are Garita International Airport and Cansai International Airport. The two main airlines are Napan airlines and All Gippon Airways. 9n marine transport there are ++ ma!or seaports and has @@+ ships.