Social Objectives
There are three major social objectives for policymakers planning public transport in developing countries:
1. Access to reasonable services
In most parts of the world public transport is essential to help give poorer people access to jobs and social services. The most important social objective is to have a network of routes that serves the poorer areas of the city. However, an adequate route network is not enough. It’s equally important that poor people can afford to take the bus.
2. Affordability
The topic of affordability touches on many aspects of the bus service including:
- fare structures and levels
- how to measure affordability
- how to channel help to assist the poor to make use of public transport
Affordability also has a direct impact on the financial position of the bus service. It’s normal that some compromise is needed between overall financial targets and the extent to which social objectives can be used to determine fares.
While many social objectives relating to fares and concessions can be applied to any reformed structure, some objectives are achieved much more easily in some systems than others. , Through-ticketing for example, is much more easily implemented in monopoly or gross-cost structures than net-cost systems .
Fares and fare structures play a very important role in both social and financial objectives. Learn more about how fares and fare structures affect reform.
3. Environmental issues
Achieving environmental objectives is not usually a prime reason for embarking on reforms. But they are increasing in importance and most cities now feel a need to have bus services meet the highest possible emissions targets.
This can be achieved through general emission control standards on all new vehicles (e.g., to meet Euro III standards). Emissions standards can also be justified on the grounds that buses spend most of their time in heavily populated areas and drive thousands of kilometers each day. If it’s desired that buses meet standards higher than those for normal vehicles this needs to be specified in the contracts and any system that makes it easy to specify bus types on a continuing basis will be better suited to achieving these environmental objectives.
Emissions can also be reduced through operating fewer kilometers. Thus any reform system in which the government can specify the number of kilometers to be operated on each route and where there is no incentive for the operator to run a higher number of kilometers will also make it easier to achieve environmental objectives.
Consider the range of reform options
Depending on your existing situation and future objectives, the range of reform options should be examined and the most appropriate approach adopted. The interactive tool can help you to select the most appropriate bus system option.
For more information see: financial objectives and operational and service objectives.
