NON-MOTORIZED TRANSPORT Walking – the most basic urban transport mode for all short-to-medium length travel, and bicycling and bicycle-derived modes play an essential role in urban transport in most low- and middle income countries of the world. For people at the lowest rung of the income ladder, these modes affect survival. In countries like China and India, until very recently, this was true of most population strata. In an entirely different dimension –urban air quality, shift to non-motorized modes is always a net gain. Despite all this, interests of non-motorized travelers tend to be systematically neglected in both investment, network management and infrastructure maintenance. Without continuous, dry, good-quality and secure infrastructure networks, people will not risk walking and bicycle travel. Both lending and research program of the World Bank aim to support the development of a comprehensive vision and action plan for non-motorized modes in the client countries. In the planning and management of infrastructure, the excessive emphasis on motorized transport may be redressed by (a) clear provision for the rights as well as responsibilities of pedestrians and bicyclists in traffic law; (b) formulation of a national strategy for non-motorized transport as a facilitating framework for local plans; (c) explicit formulation of local plans for non-motorized transport as part of the planning procedures of municipal authorities, including the traffic police; (d) provision of separate infrastructure where appropriate (such as for safe movement and secure parking of vehicles); and (e) incorporation of standards of provision for bicyclists and pedestrians in new road infrastructure design; (f) incorporation of responsibilities to provide for non-motorized transport in road fund statutes and procedures; and (g) development of small-scale credit mechanisms to finance bicycles.
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