Transportation fuels economic development around the world, moving people, goods, and materials from place to place and providing access to health, education, and employment opportunities. Unfortunately, greenhouse gas emissions from transportation are growing more than in other sectors. 

Experts predict that in the next two decades, nearly 45 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions from the developing world will come from transport as increasing numbers of people drive motorcycles and cars. 

Urgent action is needed to address the rapid increase in greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector and to transform the way in which urban transport is growing. That is particularly vital in the developing world, where transport systems are currently being developed. 

CIF supports the emerging “Avoid-Shift-Improve” approach to low-carbon transport. This approach emphasizes land use planning to reduce travel distance and time; more energy-efficient modes of transport such as rail, bus, or nonmotorized vehicles; and improved vehicle and fuel technologies. 

Bus rapid transit systems, in particular, provide a versatile form of public transportation. Buses can travel on existing roadways, so capital costs are lower than for rail systems. Well-designed bus rapid transit systems can improve operating speed and reliability, serve a large number of locations in a metropolitan area, and help facilitate a shift from automobiles to comfortable and convenient public transit. 

Along these lines, CTF is supporting a sweeping transition to more efficient mass transit systems in major cities around the world, including Bogota, Colombia; Cairo, Egypt; Mexico City, Mexico; Manila and Cebu, the Philippines; Bangkok, Thailand; and Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. 

These investments in sustainable, energy-efficient mass transport promise numerous benefits—from reduced carbon dioxide emissions, to better public health because of reduced air pollution, to less traffic congestion, to providing inclusive transport systems. They will also help shape the cities of the future by reducing urban sprawl and decentralization. 

CTF is currently supporting the following urban transportation projects:
 

Manila and Cebu, The Philippines:

• Introduce first bus rapid transit systems in the country.
• Invest in busways, terminals, stations, control systems, development of a feeder route system, and pedestrian and commuter access.
• Support institutional development to strengthen the capacity of transport officials from the Department of Transportation and Communication. Bangkok, Thailand
• Accelerate the implementation of selected bus rapid transit lines.

Bangkok, Thailand:

• Accelerate the implementation of selected bus rapid transit lines.
• Promote low-emission bus technologies.
• Implement support for managing and operating a bus rapid transit system.

Cairo, Egypt :

• Introduce six new bus rapid transit corridors, which are linked to rail and other bus systems.
• Implement light rail transit linking Cairo with New Cairo City and other areas.
• Replace 613 old and polluting public minibuses with 1,310 new large-capacity buses operating on compressed natural gas or hybrid drive.

Bogota, Colombia:

• Implement integrated public transit systems.
• Introduce hybrid buses and natural gas buses to reduce emissions.
• Support policies to replace an estimated 9,000 old buses with new vehicles.

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam:

• Support a comprehensive urban transport system.
• Strengthen linkages between transport modes.
• Introduce high-efficiency buses, urban rail/bus interchanges, and park-and-ride facilities.

Mexico City, Mexico:

• Expand metro systems based on a low-emission power supply.
• Introduce 18 low-emission integrated mass transit corridors.
• Integrate with other modes of transport.
• Introduce hybrid bus technologies.
• Scrap old, inefficient buses

Expected Results: Major cities in developing countries will improve the quality of life by reducing air pollution and traffic congestion through CTF-funded greener transport systems.