Surveys are a important tool to better understand the availability and needs for transport services in a particular rural area. For example, in rural areas of Africa, domestic transport needs (travel for water, firewood and food-processing) are the largest part of a household's time expenditure on transport and it is women who disproportionately bear the burden of these tasks. Since economic, social and cultural differences can vary greatly across regions, countries, provinces, or between villages within the same province, it is often necessary to undertake a current travel survey in order to capture an accurate picture of needs.

Several comprehensive surveys of travel patterns and needs have taken place in Africa as part of the Rural Travel and Transport Project (RTTP) of the Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Programme. The specific objectives of the RTTP are to (i) develop and disseminate improved policies to plan, finance, build and maintain rural roads; and (ii) to recommend approaches to the improvement of rural transport services, and to the adoption of intimidate technologies to increase personal mobility and agricultural production.

An inefficient transport system can serve as a significant constraint on agricultural efforts in rural areas, both by raising the cost and effectiveness of inputs to production and by delaying the sale of harvested crops. In Africa, increased agricultural output in some areas has been accomplished through an increase the supply of intermediate means of transport, largely through an increase in the number and area of cultivated plots. Also, the reduction of costs associated with the transportation of associated inputs and outputs. Additional evidence as to the role of particularly bicycles in the transportation of agricultural commodities comes from a recent survey in Uganda.

Rural children in developing countries face many problems in getting to and staying in school. The relationship of distance and schooling is particularly critical in rural areas where children must walk long distances to widely dispersed schools. While studies have shown that social and economic factors contribute to high drop out rates in rural areas, a lack of public transportation and an inability to pay for private transportation, lead many rural children abandon the school system after relatively few years.

Although planning for rural transport services begins at the national level with appropriate policies and incentives, it is state and local governments which most are often are primarily responsible for the development and implementation of plans. Thus, plans at all levels (national, state-regional, local/municipal) must be consistent so as to ensure that both national and local-level objectives are met. To be sustainable, an integrated RTS plan, must meet the needs of the rural end-users.

Studies of travel and transport patterns in rural areas reveal that travel is predominantly on foot and is very time consuming. Depending on local conditions, there are a wide range of vehicles which are appropriate in increasing rural accessibility and lowering costs for both agricultural and personal travel. These fall into three broad categories: (a) animals and non-motorized transport; (b) tractors and agricultural related vehicles; and (c) conventional (motorized) transport. A recent research project looked into various aspects of rural transport and outlined ways of improving planning for, and choice of, transport technology (modal choice) as appropriate for local conditions. Non-motorized vehicles (NMVs) are already the predominate form of travel in many parts of Asia.



Bicycle technology is not static. Some interesting work has been going on in India under the India Cycle Rickshaw Improvement Project which is documented in an article in The Daily Star on June 30, 2006. The project was undertaken by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), New York in association with some Indian organizations, under grants provided by the United States Agency for International Development, New Delhi and some other funding groups.

Another example of innovative use of a comparatively low-tech solution is the Bamboo Train in Cambodia (BBC News Article July 4, 2006).

Rural transport services in many countries are limited by two problems: (i) regulation or government interference; and (ii) a lack of available credit for the private ownership of vehicles, especially NMT/IMTs.

1. Regulation
   In many countries transport services are highly regulated or subsidized. For example, there is often a heavy union presence which controls membership, pricing, routes, and even queuing for loads. Cross-subsidization of non-profitable bus routes (often rural) is also common practice in many developing countries. The result of these types of regulation is often inefficient service, routing, and/or pricing in rural areas. In these cases, the elimination of price and quantity controls and the introduction of competition can be used to improve system efficiency. Where there is a desire to continue to subsidize routes into low-income or along unprofitable routes, a system of service contracts can be competitively tendered so as to allow both competition among providers and continued service into low-income/rural areas.
   
   
2. Credit
   For most rural households, income limits vehicle ownership to only the most affordable types of non-motorized vehicles. However, even these vehicles can represent a nearly impossible burden when monthly income is below certain thresholds. For example, data from India and Malaysia suggests that before bicycle ownership becomes common (40 percent or more of households) income must reach about ten times the cost of a bicycle and, due to low ownership propensities, the figure is likely even higher in Africa. In Ghana and Peru, the establishment of credit schemes (for example, hire-purchase) to support private ownership of NMT/IMT vehicles has proven to be a successful way of increasing the availability of RTS.
   
   

In considering rural transport services interventions, a success outcome may depend on factors which lie outside the traditional scope of economic analysis. Three areas which are most often overlooked and have been shown to be important considerations are equity and gender.

1. Equity
   Although successful rural infrastructure investments can increase economic activity, they can also have adverse distributional consequences. For example, upgrading rural roads can increase access for motorized transport users at a cost to non-motorized users. In addition, studies have shown that although rural road projects usually increase total income, the differentials between rich and poor also tend to increase, that is, the rich are able to benefit from increased accessibility to a greater extent than the poor. (Howe, John D.G.F., Peter J. Richards. 1984. Rural Roads and Poverty Allevation: A Study Prepared for the International Labour Office within the framework of the World Employment Programme. ISBN: 946688052. Thus, in planning rural accessibility interventions, it is important to identify likely gainers and losers. Where specific losers are identified, specific measures may be necessary to minimize or cancel any negative effects. For example, including shoulders as part of road design standards for rural road construction.
   
   
2. Gender
   Women’s labor serves a vital role in the transport needs of a typical rural household, collecting water, firewood and processing agricultural outputs. However, they are often ignored in the design of RTS interventions. Evidence has shown that if interventions are to have an substantial impact at the household-level their design must be based on an understanding of the local situations of women; must incorporate the expertise, knowledge and perceptions of women on the water and firewood collection, cooking and crop processing tasks; and must substantially involve women in their implementation. Read more at the World Bank Gender and Transport Website.