ISSN 1880-8468
Technical Report ofInternational Development Engineering࿖㓙㐿⊒Ꮏቇႎ๔TRIDE-2012- 01

January 4, 2012

Shinya Hanaoka, Surya R. Acharya, andPuspita Dirgahayani
Mitigating Adverse Impacts of Transportin Asian Megacities

Department of International Development Engineering,
Graduate School of Science and Engineering,Tokyo Institute of Technology
http://www.ide.titech.ac.jp/TR

Mitigating Adverse Impacts of Transport in Asian Megacities
Shinya Hanaoka*1, Surya R. Acharya*2 and Puspita Dirgahayani*3*1: Associate Professor, Department of International Development Engineering, Graduate School of
Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan.

E-mail: hanaoka@ide.titech.ac.jp.

*2: Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Transport Policy Study, Japan.
*3: Lecturer, Urban and Regional Planning, School of Architecture, Planning and Policy Development,
Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia.

This report is a part of the international collaborative research study, STREAM (Sustainable
Transport in East Asian Megacities) organized by Institute for Transport Policy Study (ITPS),
and endorsed by the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies (EASTS) as one of its
International Research Group (IRG) activities from 2005-2008. The study design and theviews expressed are the sole responsibility of the authors.

1. Adverse Impacts on Urban Transport in Asian Megacities
In order to accommodate the fast growing economy as well as to facilitate growing demand of
higher quality of life, there has been an upsurge in the urban development in the Asian
megacities. More urban areas and economic growth lead to a rising vehicle population, which
eventually produces some adverse impacts including the emission of greenhouse gas and local
air pollutants, traffic accident, etc.
Vehicles emit carbon dioxide (CO2) which is a typical greenhouse gas and local air pollution
such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), hydrocarbons (HC), particulatematters (PM), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, etc. in gaseous andparticulate forms. In developing Asians mega-cities, used vehicles are popular for both private
cars and buses which are sometimes imported from developed countries. These old used
vehicles emit more pollutants than new ones. Motorcycles are popular in some Asianmega-cities e.g. Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Taipei and Bangkok. However, this mode has ahigher emission load factor per person than four wheel vehicles. Furthermore, worsening
traffic congestion exacerbates these problems, and also imposes direct economic and healthcosts on users and non-users in the form of wasted money, stress, and other illnesses.
The level of CO2 emissions is related to the amount of energy consumed. In general, the1energy intensity per passenger of bus and rail is lower than that of private vehicles.
Comparing rail and buses, rail has smaller energy intensity in most cities. In Tokyo, forexample, the energy intensities of rail and bus are one-tenth and one-third that of private
vehicles (WCTRS and ITPS, 2004). While, in developing Asian cities, the average energy
intensity of every mode is below that of developed cities because of high load factors (thenumber of passengers per vehicle).
Besides pollution, another significant issue of transport sectors is road accidents which cause
substantial impact to road, public health as well as economic sectors. In economic terms, thecost of road crash injuries was estimated at roughly 1% of gross domestic product (GDP) in
low-income countries, 1.5% in middle-income countries and 2% in high-income countries(Jacobs et al, 2000). It is obvious that the urbanization and the magnitude of road accident as
a problem are highly correlated.
World Report on Road Traffic Injury (WHO, 2004) showed that fatality rates in high-income
countries have been declining, while in the low- and middle-income countries, they are stillon an upward trend. Although the magnitude of increase varies by region, it is unfortunatethat the highest rise happens to be in Asia (Tanaboriboon and Santiennam, 2005).
As indicated above, this report focuses on air pollution and traffic accidents as the major
adverse impacts on urban transport. It attempts to show the current impact and issues of thesetwo problems. Further it looks into recent challenges by pointing out some common andsuccessful practices adopted in Asian megacities. Finally, in the last section, this reportsuggests some policy recommendation to manage the challenges in mitigating the adverse
impacts of urban transport.
2. Current Impact and Issues
2.1 Trends of Global Climate Change in Asian Countries
CO2 emission data of country level can be obtained from International Energy Agency (IEA)
and United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). However,
UNFCCC data focuses on only Annex I Parties which are mostly developed countries, thus
International Energy Agency (IEA) data was used for analyzing the trends of CO2 Emission
in STREAM member Asian countries.

2

6,000Total CO2 Emissions (Mt)
Excluding China and Japan

450
5,000

400
350

4,000

300
3,000

250
200

2,000

150
100

1,000

50
0

0
1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

Total CO2 Emissions (Mt) of China and Japan

500

2004

Indonesia

Korea

Philippines

TaiwanThailand

Vietnam

China

Japan

Figure 1 Trends of CO2 Emission in STREAM member countries
Source: International Energy Agency Data Service

Figure 1 shows the trends of total CO2 emission. CO2 emissions in China are dramaticallyincreasing after year 2000 by mainly Industrial Sector. In 1998, CO2 emission of South Korea,
Indonesia and Thailand were decreased by the “Asian Financial Crisis in 1997”, but theemissions of these countries were finally “recovered” at most within three years. Emission
volume in Japan is stable at around 1200 Mega (Mt) -ton of CO2 in 2003 – 2005. On the other
hand, in South Korea, the emission starts decreasing from 2005.
In Transport Sector as shown in Figure 2, CO2 emission in China is continuously increasing,
however its ratio among all sectors are very low, which is 5 - 7 percent only. In Japan, peakvolume was 260 Mt-ton of CO2 reached in 2001 and since then the emission starts decreasingalong with the decrease of emission in road sub-sector. Similar tendency also occurs in South
Korea and Indonesia.
In general, road sub-sector is the main contributor of transport sector’s CO2 emission. All
countries except Japan’s emission volume from road sub-sector are increasing, especiallyChina. It should be noted that in China, aviation, rail and domestic navigation sub-sectors also
emit high level of CO2, and thus road sub-sector contributes less than 70 percent.

3

250

300

200

150

200

100
100

50

0

0
90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

98

99

00

01

02

03

04

90

05

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

98

99

00

01

02

China

Indonesia

Japan

Korea

China

Indonesia

Japan

Korea

Philippines

TaiwanThailand

VietnamPhilippines

TaiwanThailand

Vietnam

03

04

05

Note:
Right: trend in transport sector; left: trend in road sub-sector
No data available of Thailand and Taiwan for Domestic Aviation, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam for Rail and Vietnam
for Domestic Navigation. Source: International Energy Agency Data Service

Figure 2 Trends and Percentage of CO2 Emission in Transport Sector and Road Sub-sector
Source: International Energy Agency Data Service

The trend in regional CO2 emissions (IEA, 2009) shows that between 1971 and 2007, global
emissions doubled in which industrialized countries (Annex II Parties to the UNFCCC
including Japan) dominating the historical totals. However, the share of Annex IIprogressively shrank (61% in 1971, 47% in 1990 and 39% in 2007), as developing countries,
led by Asia, increased at a much faster rate. Between 1990 and 2007, CO2 emissions raised by
108% for non-Annex I countries as a whole and more than doubled for Asia. The growth in
Asian emissions reflects a striking rate of economic development, particularly within China
and India. In 2007, China, the United States, the Russian Federation, India and Japan, thelargest emitters, produced together 55% of the global CO2 emissions, 50% of the world GDP,and comprised 46% of the total population.

4

2.2 Trennd of Locall Air Polluttion caused
d by Transp
port Sectorr in Asian M
Megacities

Figuree 3 Averagee Ambient Air
A Quality Levels
L
Source : Huizenga, et al.,a 2004

The air in Asian megacities is amongst thhe most pollluted in the world as shhown in Fig
gure 3. In
1most citties, the levvel of SO2 was
w less thann WHO staandard , howwever SPM,, PM10 and NO2 areover thee WHO stanndard in mo
ost cities. Baangkok, HC
CMC, Jakartta, Manila, SSeoul and ShanghaiSare highh levels off SPM/ PM
M10, while Tokyo is twice levelss of NO2 ccompared tot WHOstandardd.
Referrinng to ADB study (2006
6), the data from 20 larrge cities inn Asia show
w a general situationof slow improvemeent in air quuality, especcially for To
otal Suspend
ded Particullate (TSP) anda SO2.
The greeatest area ofo improvem
ment has beeen reducing
g levels of TSP and SO
O2, while th
he levelsof PM100 – by far thhe most crittical air polllutant – hav
ve shown a limited deecline. PM100 average
concenttrations in manym
Asiann cities stilll far exceed
d WHO guiidelines, whhich for PM
M10 is anannual average off 20 μg/m3. None off the large Asian citiees meets thhe WHO guidelinegalthoughh Bangkok and Singap
pore are the closest.
2.3 Trennd of Trafffic Accidentt in Asian C
Countries
1

The W
World Health Organization
O(WHO) Guiddelines for Air
A Quality (GGAQ) are bassed on epidem
miologicalstudies thhat emerged inn the late 1980
0s and 1990s.

5WHO data for 2002 found that road traffic deaths accounted for 23% of all injury deaths
worldwide. Around 85% of all global road deaths, 90% of the disability-adjusted life years
lost due to crashes and 96% of all children killed worldwide as a result of road traffic injuries
occur in low and middle income countries. In these countries – Africa, Asia, the Caribbean
and Latin America, the majority of road deaths are among pedestrians, passengers, cyclists,
users of motorized two-wheelers, and occupants of buses and minibuses. According to theWorld Bank’s Traffic Fatalities and Economic Growth (TFEC) predictions using transport,
population and economic data, between 2000 and 2020, South Asia will record the largest
growth in road traffic deaths, with a dramatic increase of 144%.

120,000
100,000
80,00060,00040,00020,00001994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Indonesia

Philippines *Thailand *Vietnam

Note: In Thailand, no. of accidents given for both injury accidents plus accidents with damage only; In Indonesia andVietnam, number of accidents given resulting in injury or death

Figure 4 Trend of total number of road accidents of STREAM countries in ASEAN
Source: ADB-ASEAN Regional Safety program, country reports

Among STREAM countries in ASEAN, Thailand recorded the highest number of accidents inthe past one decade and showing a steady increase year by year, followed by Vietnam,
Philippine, and Indonesia. Nonetheless, in Thailand, the number of accidents once decreased
during the period of 1994 to 1999. It further increases but remains at lower level compared to
the record of 1994. The number of accidents in Indonesia also decreases. In the case of Viet
Nam, following a steady increase, a sharp decrease occurred in 2003, so did the number ofdeaths and injuries (see Figure 4 and 5).

6

18,000
16,00014,00012,00010,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Indonesia d)

Philippines a)

Thailand

Vietnam (b)Note: In this data, correction factor of definition of killed is not used. a) on the spot (e.g. Philippines); b) 24 hours (e.g. VietNam); c) 7 days; d) 30days (e.g. Indonesia).

Figure 5 Number of Road Accidents’ Deaths of STREAM Countries in ASEAN
Source: ADB-ASEAN Regional Safety program, country reports

Fatalities and injuries caused by road accident in Thailand is the highest. Nonetheless, adecreasing trend of number of deaths is found in Thailand’s case. It should be noted thoughthat the definition of killed measured by time of death is different among countries.

80,00070,00060,00050,00040,00030,00020,00010,00001994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Indonesia

Philippines

Thailand

Vietnam

Note: Including serious and slight injuries; Source: ADB-ASEAN Regional Safety program, country reports

Figure 6 Number of Road Accidents’ Injuries of STREAM Countries in ASEAN
Source: ADB-ASEAN Regional Safety program, country reports

73. Challenges: How to Mitigate Adverse Impact
STREAM member mega-cities have put several measures in place to mitigate the two adverse
impacts of transport. This section introduces those measures starting from the common ones
followed by four measures that are considered successful.
3.1 Common Practices
3.1.1 Mitigating Local Air Pollution
For controlling local air pollution, Asian countries generally have adopted some related
standards and carried out some programs to improve the fuel quality of in-use vehicles asfollows.
Ambient Air Quality Standards
One of Air Quality Management (AQM) tools is ambient air quality standards in form of
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) which have been introduced by mostAsian countries since the late 1990s to early 20th century. The standards are not harmonizedand vary considerably in terms of the level and the type of pollutants regulated. They also
tend to be more lenient than WHO guideline, EU limit or US Environmental Protection
Agency (USEPA) standards, except Japan’s NAAQS under its Basic Environment Law and
Air Pollution Control Law which is to some extent more stringent than USEPA standard.
In Korea, due to differences of regional characteristics, local governments of each province
have the authority to enforce their own municipal ordinances for environmental quality
standards. Therefore, in March 1998, Seoul implemented stringent standard for SO2, NOx and
PM. Similar approach is also implemented for Bangkok in Thailand and Jakarta in Indonesia
to address more severe environmental problems faced by most capital cities compared to therest of the countries. Jakarta regulates stricter standard for SO2, NO2, O3 and CO under the
2001 Jakarta’s Governor Decree No. 551, two years after the country’s NAAQS wasestablished (Government Decree No. 41/1999). In case of China, under the NAAQS which
was put into effect in October 1996 and amended in January 2002, the standards are
categorized into three Grades whereby different functional zones are expected to comply withspecific Grade limits. China has Grade 1 applied for specifically protected areas such asconservation areas, scenic spots and historical sites; Grade 2 for residential areas, mixed
commercial/residential areas, cultural and rural areas; and Grade 3 for special industrial areas.
Vehicle Emission Standards
The next AQM tool is vehicle emission standards in which the standards that Asian countries
adopted tend to be stricter as shown by Table 1. Japan, Korea and Taiwan are not included in8this table but they are more advanced. For many years, Japan has had its own set of emissions
standards. These standards are being tightened to address NO2, O3 and PM problems in major
Japanese cities. Section 8.3.2 describes the details of Tokyo’s adequate sophistication andcompleteness in ensuring the application of such standards. Whilst, in Korea, the current
standards for new vehicles powered by gasoline and diesel fuel have met Euro-III and 2002
TLEV standards and further strengthened to Euro-IV and ULEV standards in 2006. Taiwan
also began the implementation of Phase I earlier in 1987 for gasoline and diesel engine
vehicles and in 1988 for motorcycles. Starting from 1 October 2006, diesel engine vehicles
have been required to comply with Phase 4, followed by gasoline engine vehicles startingfrom January 2008, whereas motorcycles have to pass phase 5 which went into effect on 1
July 2007.
Table 1 Vehicle Emission Standards in Some Asian Cities
Country95

BangladeshaBangladesh

b

96

97

98

99

0

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

Hong Kong, SAR
India

c

India

d

Indonesia
Malaysia*

Philippines

*

*

a

PRC

e

PRC

*

SingaporeaSingaporeb

Sri Lanka
Thailand
Vietnam*Euro 1Euro 2Euro 3

Euro4

Note:
*Under discussionagasoline; b diesel; c Entire country; d Delhi and other cities; Euro 2 introduced in Mumbai, Kolkata, andChennai in 2001; Euro 2 in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Khampur, Pune, and Ahmedabad in 2003, Euro 3 to be
introduced; e Beijing and Guangzhou (as of 01 September 2006) have adopted Euro 3 standards; Shanghai
has requested the approval of the State Council for implementation of Euro 3; f Euro 4 for gasoline vehicles
and California standards for diesel vehicles
Source: reproduced from Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities 2006b9

As shown in Table 1, most of the countries are currently at the stage of EURO-I (i.e.
Philippine by 2003) or II equivalent (i.e. Indonesia by 2005 and Vietnam by 2007). Amongst
Asian developing countries, China, India and Thailand are moving faster. China adopted aroad map for new vehicle standards, laying out a schedule to introduce vehicle emission
standards equivalent to the Euro emissions standards for light duty vehicles. Beijing
implemented Phase III in 2005 and Phase IV in 2007 for light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles,
while in Guangzhou, Phase III started in September 2006. Shanghai which currently adopts
Euro-II equivalent emission standards for vehicles since 2003, is also considering the
adoption of Euro 3 standards. Shanghai is also implementing strict measures to limit thecirculation of non Euro-II compliant vehicles in some major road arteries. In Thailand, thecontrol of CO and NOx levels in gasoline vehicles are performed using catalytic converters
which are required to be installed by all cars with engine size greater than 1600 cc startingfrom 1 January 1993 and by lesser than 1600 cc after 1 June 1993.
However, targets are not always implemented as scheduled because of the lack ofpre-conditions such as required fuel quality or an effective vehicle inspection system. The
following section will further describe the progresses made in this matter.
Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Program
Japan is on the lead in vehicle inspection and maintenance (I&M) program and by 1967 it has
added an exhaust gas test to the vehicle inspection program, followed by a noise test in 1970.
The Japanese standards which will be explained further in the next section highlighting
successful practices (WTCRS & ITPS, 2004) are notably rigorous, and thus lead to a real risein the rate of compliance with the regulation.
Korea, Taiwan and Thailand have included routine spots check both for cars and motorcycles
for enforcing the program (ADB, 2006; Haq et al., 2002). In Korea, vehicles undergo
inspections at least every two years and are subject to mandatory maintenance orders with thepossibility of fines if any pollutants are exceeded (Schwela et al., 2006). Random roadsidechecks are also conducted with over 200 inspection teams based around Korea. Additionally,in Taiwan, dynamometer testing facilities have been installed at 31 inspection lanes in 22
cities and counties nationwide (Feng et al., 2007). Furthermore, automobiles over 5 years old
are required to undertake a smog check once every year and those over 10 years are required
to be checked twice a year.
Compared to other developing countries in Asia, Thailand does make a considerable progress
in I&M program, although the current decentralized I&M program for in-use vehicles is being
10

criticized for its effectiveness because authorized private inspection centers or garages arealso allowed to repair, making the procedure becomes questionable and requires further
evaluation and improvement (ADB, 2006, Haq et al., 2002). One concrete achievement is thatroadside inspection for smoky vehicles in Bangkok is carried out every day by four related
authorities. Drivers violating emission standards for in-use-vehicles are fined and the vehicles
are not allowed to be used unless they have been repaired and passed the re-inspection. For
such inspections, Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA) set up black smoke inspection
points, six mobile black smoke inspection units in six areas and motorcycle white smoke(along with noise level inspection) units in inner areas of Bangkok. Moreover, several
supporting measures have also been implemented by BMA in 1999 to increase public
supports including providing free car engine tune-up service stations for public, publishingcar engine maintenance manuals for public distributions, reporting about air pollution in
critical areas through display boards, air quality reports accompanied by campaign boards,
designating pollution-free roads which prohibited single occupant-vehicles and also car-free
streets.
Whilst the three countries above have proceed routine inspections, Viet Nam undergoes
periodic inspection starting from 1995 consisting of 55 inspection items before being granted
appropriate inspection certificates and allowed to operate on the road again. On the other hand,Indonesia, especially Jakarta, adopted the program much later than the other Asian countries
starting from 2000 and it was voluntary instead of mandatory. Since 2005, under Local
Regulation No.5, Jakarta makes it mandatory for all vehicles including public transports tomeet the national vehicle emission standards and take vehicle emissions test at least every 6(six) months. Vehicles that passed the test will be given stickers, while those that failed will
be subjects to detention or fine. The result of the test is part of the requirements for paying
vehicle tax. The sticker has been a requirement for getting strategic parking spaces also. To
increase public awareness, the government of Jakarta holds periodic emissions test for free.
After July’s operation, the most recent operation was on October 2009 resulting hundreds ofbuses being banned from the street and many vehicles getting warning letters to fix andmaintain the vehicles. In 2008 operations, according to Environment Protection Agency ofJakarta, from 30,000 vehicles being tested, 67% failed (Warta Kota, March, 2009).
To address motorcycle booming in Taiwan, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA of
Taiwan, 2009) recently revised the regulations governing the types of motorbikes that need toundergo exhaust emission tests, the frequency of testing and the length of time allowed before
retesting. The revisions came into effect on 19 December 2008. The motorbikes in question
are those that are registered in Taiwan and are over three years old. Such motorbikes have to
be tested once annually for exhaust emission pollutants; if they do not meet the standards laid11

out in Article 34 of the Air Pollution Control Act the owners have one month in which to
make repairs and have the motorbike retested. If the vehicle is not tested within the statedtime periods, or fails to meet the required standards on retesting, registration of the vehicle
will not be renewed.
Unleaded Gasoline: Phasing out the Use of Leaded Gasoline
Japan is one of the first countries that phased out the use of leaded gasoline (in 1970)
responding to concerns about widespread lead contamination of the atmosphere in Tokyo in
1970. As a result of rapid phase-out of lead from gasoline and early introduction of catalytic
converters that required increasing of unleaded fuel, only 1-2 percent of gasoline containing
lead by early 1980s and free-lead gasoline has been produced and used since 1986 (Lovei,1998). It is followed by Korea (since early 1993), China (starting from Beijing in 1997 andthen in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin and other big cities), Thailand and Philippine both inlate 1990s. Taiwan carried out a gradual phase-out in Taiwan starting in 1993 and since 2000
gasoline in Taipei has been leaded free.
Compared to other countries especially developing ones, Thailand completed the leadphase-out in a quite short term. Strong leadership and coordination are believed to be the key
factors. Since 1991, the Excide Department has imposed a lower tax on unleaded gasoline formarker penetration. Leaded regular gasoline RON 83 and leaded premium RON 95 wereavailable until early 1991 and since then the unleaded premium was introduced for the firsttime, followed by the unleaded regular in 1993. In 1994, leaded regular gasoline wascompletely phased out. Two years later, from 1 January 1996, both kinds of leaded gasoline
were prohibited from use. Furthermore, the benzene content of gasoline is limited to less than
3.5% by volume and the aromatic contest is set to be lower than 35% by volume, while fordiesel fuel, sulfur content is reduced from 1.0 to 0.5% by weight.
Stringent standards of benzene and sulfur content are also adopted in Taiwan and Philippine
besides phasing out the use of leaded gasoline. In Taiwan, the allowable sulfur content ofdiesel fuel was gradually reduced from 5,000 ppmw in 1989 to 50 ppmw in 2005. A 50 ppmw
cap was out on gasoline fuel, effective 1 January 2007. Philippine also reduced aromatic andbenzene content in gasoline to 35% and 2% by volume respectively in 2003 and sulfur
content of automotive diesel fuel to 0.05% by weight in 2004. Despite the fact that Viet Nam
has only made unleaded petrol available in the market since July 2001 but not phased it out, a
new directive issued in 2006 similarly provided standards to limit sulfur content in unleaded
transport fuels to be cut to 0.05% and 0.25% for industrial use diesel. Nonetheless, there is nofurther information on the monitoring of the implementation of these standards.
12

Indonesia, on the other hand, is lagged behind, although the 1999 Ministry of Energy andMineral Resources Decree (No. 1585/K/32/MPE) required phase out of lead in gasoline forthe whole country by 1 January 2003 (ADB, 2006). From July 2001, unleaded gasoline has
been available to residents of greater Jakarta, followed by some other cities. In 1 July 2006,
PERTAMINA, the state-owned oil company, stopped the production of leaded gasoline in the
country and the phase-out has not been realized.
Phasing out of Two-stroke Engines for Motorcycles
Due to their high mobility and convenience not to mention affordable, motorcycles become
extremely popular in both urban and rural areas of Asian countries. There are two types ofmotorcycle engines: two-stroke and four-stroke. Emissions from two-stroke engines that run
on a mixture of gasoline and lubricating oil generates 40% more pollution than four-stroke
engines at the same size, especially for PM, HC, CO2, but lower NOx emissions. Besides theadvantage of ‘green label product’ for both local and global pollution, four-stroke vehicles
also better in terms of: (i) much improved fuel economy; (ii) much less noise; (iiii) not muchhigher in price than comparable two-stroke version (around 15%); and (iv) establishedtechnology (Iyer and Shah, 2004).
Considering the political difficulty and huge social impacts it may cause, no country hascompletely phased-out those two-stroke engine vehicles. However, in 2005, all gasoline
two-wheelers are phased out in Shanghai although few are still operating in suburban areas(Schwela et al., 2006), while Taiwan (since 2004) and Thailand (since 2001) have made theshare of four-stroke engines for motorcycles higher by tightening vehicle emission standards.
Such approach indirectly forced phasing out of two-stroke motorcycles which have higher
emissions.
In Taiwan, the burden is not limited only to the owners but also the manufacturer. If the
motorcycles have been properly maintained yet fail to meet the standards, manufacturers are
obliged to recall and repair them. Fines will be imposed for failing the roadside inspections
and of periodic idle tests. For the case of Thailand, emissions standards for motorcycles havebeen tightened for eleven years (1993-2004), and by 2001, the standards have been strict
enough to preclude the manufacturer of two-stroke motorcycles. Some countries like India,
Taiwan (China) and Thailand have adopted strong measures to mitigate emissions fromtwo-stroke engines including the use of low-smoke lubricant, installation of oxidation
catalysts, and mechanical metering of lubricant (Iyer and Shah, 2004).

13

Instead of phasing out two-stroke engines for motorcycles, in 2003, Viet Nam capped thenumber of motorcycles to be registered to one million down by more than one-third on theprevious year (WCTRS & ITPS, 2004). While in Indonesia, under the Blue Sky Program or
PRODASIH developed by BAPEDAL (The Indonesian Environmental Impact Management
Agency), phasing out two-stroke engines for motorcycles is under consideration sinceapproximately 60% of motorcycles in Indonesia have two-stroke engines and these engines
contribute about 20% of the SPM, NO2 and lead pollutants in the air.
From the production side, Honda, the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer, hasestablished a near-term goal of 100 percent four-stroke production. The four-stroke share ofannual motorcycle output in China, the largest national producer and consumer of small
motorcycles, was 90% in 2002 (Meszler, 2007).
Restricting Para-transit Vehicle Registration
Informal transport services or para-transit varying from minibuses, three-wheelers to
motorcycle-taxis play important roles in third-world cities including Asians. On the one hand,these small vehicle modes provide convenient access to residential areas that are mostly
connected with narrow streets which cannot be penetrated by formal larger transport services.
This particular sector also provides significant employment opportunities to low-skilledworker and became one of the safety-nets during the monetary crisis back in 1998. Yet, they
contribute to traffic congestions, accidents, air and noise pollution since informal transport
vehicles are often low-performing and old.
Thailand and China have made some efforts to restrict para-transit operations. In Thailand,
Land Traffic Department imposed ban for the new tuk-tuk registration in 1984 and limit the
number of tuk-tuk operating up to 7,400 units (Hanaoka, 2007). In 1995, the official passenger
van transit system was launched by BMTA and also sets the van routes, and adopts
law-enforcement for any violations (Leopairojna and Hanaoka, 2005). In May 2003, Bangkok
further required motorcycle taxis to register themselves and being granted a vest as
authorization proof (Hanaoka, 2007), whereas in China including Shanghai, most jitney
services were banned from major urban areas (Liu and Guan, 2005).

14

3.1.2 Controlling Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions are far more difficult to control than conventional air
pollutant emissions, especially in transport sector. IPCC (2007) identified key mitigation
technologies and practices of transport systems and road traffic management that are currently
commercially available and could be adopted, including: (i) promoting cleaner fuel vehicles;(ii) promoting modal shift from road transport to rail and public transport systems,
non-motorized transport (cycling, walking); and (iii) integration of land use and transport
planning to restraint vehicle demand and use. This report focuses on the first category.
The first category takes into account all technology-based strategies and options to restrain
GHG emissions. Sperling and Salon (2002) consider three waves of technological innovations
that are sweeping through the international automotive industry. The first wave which isunderway in most developing countries in response to stringent emissions standards discussed
previously includes improvement of combustion processes, treatment of exhaust gases (e.g.
with catalytic converters) and use of cleaner burning fuels. A second wave of innovation is
aimed at increasing the energy efficiency of conventional engines. The third wave is moreradical involving a transition away from internal combustion engines to electric-drive
propulsion technology. These innovations have the potential for the greatest reductions in
GHG emissions which would improve energy efficiencies by 50% or more with the potential
for much less pollution. The first two waves are underway in most Asian countries to someextent. The most common practice pointed out here is promoting the use of clean fuel as
explained in the following.
Promoting Alternative Fuels (LNG, LPG, CNG) for Buses and Taxis
Buses and taxis are the most dominant public transport system in developing countries
including Asians. The fact that the majority of the vehicles are old and not roadworthy has
prompted the countries to promote clean fuel particularly for them.
In Korea, the share of LPG rose from 3.5% of the energy mix in 1980 to over 14% in 2005
and is used mainly in taxis, buses and trucks (Liu et al., 1997). LPG fuel vehicle was firstly
used in 1973 and all taxis were converted into LPG cars in 1982. In fact, 10% of all registeredvehicles in Korea are LPG-fueled due to the rapid growth brought about by a large excise tax
advantage over gasoline and diesel. Besides LPG, 50% of Korea’s intra-city buses are CNG
fueled.
While in Japan, LPG is primarily used by taxis which to date, 260,000 taxis (94%) are
LPG-fueled. The government offers grants for conversion or purchase of LPG vehicles and15

installation of refueling stations. In larger picture, besides the use of LPG, Japan actually
features a good example for combining the regulatory, fiscal, and technology instruments
altogether to promote the use of fuel efficient and clean fuel vehicles (see subsection 8.3.2.1
for details).
In the case of other Asian countries, although they exhibit a far modest increase of LPG andnatural gas use for vehicle fuel compared to Korea and Japan (Timilsina and Shrestha, 2009),
some attempts to promote these clean fuels are progressing, especially in China where theGovernment has played a major role in promoting LPG and CNG fuels in public transport
buses through various R&D programs, direct investments, incentive programs, and targets(Yeh, 2007). Starting in November 1997, Hong Kong’s government launched a trial program,
involving 30 LPG taxis (20 new and 10 old) and aimed to encourage all taxis (18,138 taxis atthat time) to switch to LPG. To increase the incentive for using LPG, government arranged aconcession to reduce the price of LPG over diesel with LPG refueling station operations
through waiving land premium and further offered a one-time grant of HK$40,000 for eachreplacement of a diesel taxi which would last only within three years. Such incentives were
expected to reduce hesitation over having to drive longer distances to refuel at few refuelingstation in town. By early 2002, more than 75% of taxis had switched to LPG (Hung, 2006).
In April 1999, twelve Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, participated in the“National Clean Vehicle Action” program that introduced alternative fuels, particularly CNG
and LPG. CNG and LPG vehicles and stations increased rapidly in some demonstration cities.
In China, local governments, especially Shanghai and Beijing that have led the promotion of
CNG and LPG vehicles in the country, played a major role through developing infrastructure(e.g. refueling stations), designing policies (e.g. stringent environmental standards in Beijing)and providing financial support (e.g. subsidy for retrofitting taxis to use LPG and R&D on
CNG/LPG vehicle technologies adopted in Shanghai) (Zhao and Melaina, 2006).
As a result, by 2003, CNG and LPG vehicles account for a large amount of urban buses andtaxis in some regions, for example, more than 74% of taxis in Shanghai and 85% of buses in
Sichuan province, while Beijing has one of the largest bus and taxi in the world implementing
LPG and CNG, with around 5,500 buses (of 11,000 buses in Beijing) and 37,000 taxis (Zhaoand Melaina, 2006). However, the majority of China’s LPG/CNG vehicles are retrofitted, with
about 16% being newly manufactured. Initially, most retrofitted LPG vehicles usedtechnology that could improve emission levels compared to the same technology in traditional
gasoline vehicles, but the vehicles still could not meet the Euro I standard.

16

In smaller scale, other countries have also started to convert buses to LPG/CNGs. Indonesia
particularly Jakarta through the establishment of TransJakarta Busway has employed 70% of
the fleets with CNG fuelled buses, while the rest is Euro II-compliant diesel buses. Thailand
has guaranteed in the recent past to hold the CNG price at THB 12/kg for the period
2005-2010 for application in Bangkok’s urban bus fleet (103 buses). The Philippines has juststarted to apply the use of CNG for its current 25 buses plying strategic routes of Southern
Luzon to Metro Manila. Furthermore, not only for public transports, the country encourages
public to use LPG for other vehicles as an alternative fuel by providing subsidy of NT$3 perliter LPG on 1 October 2001. It further change into NT$2 per liter between 1 January 2007
and 31 December 2008 (EPA, 2009).
Besides buses, some Asian countries have also replaced the majority of taxis and para-transit
fleets with LPG/CNG fueled vehicles, including Bangkok (1,500 LPG taxi and 7,400 LPG tuktuk) and Taiwan (LPG taxis). Whereas Indonesia has started to introduce a new Euro-II
compliant four stroke CNG bajaj model (three-wheelers para-transit) in cooperation with
Bajaj Auto which expects to replace about 15,000 two-stroke bajaj in the coming years(APEC, 2008; USAID, 2006).
Promoting Low Emission Vehicles (LEVs) Use
One emerging LEVs is electric vehicles. Japan through Japanese Electric Vehicle Association(JEVA) has conducted various leasing and purchasing incentive programs since 1978 topromote the use of electric vehicles, supplementary to R&D program and infrastructure
supports (Ahman, 2006). In 1996, electric vehicle purchasing incentive program subsidizing
50% of the extra incremental vehicle price was introduced to replace the previous incentive
program. Since 1995, under the Environment Conservation Program, the Government
gradually took initiatives to replace some public vehicles and government fleets with LEVs.
The plans included a total number of almost 100,000 electric vehicles and 170,000
LPG-vehicles in the year 2000, although higher penetration rates were not even remotely
being met.
The use of electric-fuel for vehicles in China began with the introduction of electric bikes andwas quite successful. Annual electric bike sales grew from 40,000 in 1998 to 10 million in2005 (ADB, 2006) and largely brought about by legislations banning gasoline-fueled scootersand bikes introduced from 1996 onwards in several major Chinese cities, including Beijing
and Shanghai. In cities such as Chengdu and Suzhou, electric bikes have reportedly surpassed
the share of regular bicycles. It is estimated that there are 40-50 million electric bikes on
China’s roadways today (Jamerson and Benjamin, 2007).
17

Nonetheless, electric bikes have been criticized on a number of grounds, including
environmental performance compared to bus or bicycle, contribution to congestion and safety.
By far, the biggest environmental reservation associated with electric bikes is Pb pollution,
not from tailpipe emissions but rather from production, recycling and disposal processes ofbatteries, spread over the life cycle of the vehicle. On the other hand, the use of electric bikes
may create advantages to the extent that they displace car and conventional motorcycle. Such
concerns have forced policy makers to act rapidly to develop national and local policy topromote, discourage or regulate electric bikes (Cherry et al., 2009). In 2006, Beijing followed
by Guangzhou banned the use of electric bike. Whilst Beijing quickly retracted the ban,
Guangzhou continues it until today. In case of Chengdu, the city has announced a licensing
scheme that will restrict the use of electric bikes in the city center based on size and speed
characteristics.
Furthermore, the Chinese government updated excise tax rates, cutting rates by 5-2% on
small-engine (1.0-1.5 l) vehicles, while raising rates by 8-20% on vehicles with larger engines(more than 4 l), to further encourage the manufacture of smaller-engine vehicles (An et al.,2007). This was supplemented by the elimination of the preferential 5% tax rate on
sport-utility vehicles (SUVs). In 2009, more intensive policies and initiative have been
initiated, including the implementation of a demonstration project introducing 1,000 electricvehicles (EVs) in 10 cities and providing financial subsidies for energy-saving vehicles and
AFVs buyers (Ou et al., 2010).
Similarly, on 27 July 2004, the Thai Cabinet approved a new car excise tax package resulting
in the abolition of the off-road purpose vehicle (OPVs) class used for SUVs with
four-wheel-drive systems. The tax rate for OPVs was increased from a fixed 29% to ranging
between 30% and 50% based on four different levels of engine size. This policy reduced thenumber of cars with engines larger than 2500 cc up to 2%. The excise tax for pickups was set
to 20%, fuel cell and hybrid vehicles 10%, and those using natural gas 20% (Goedecke et al.,2007). Afterwards, in 2007, Thai authorities approved a range of incentives for the productionof eco-cars. Eco-car manufacturers were granted a maximum eight-year exemption from
corporate income tax payment and machinery import duties, and excise rates for eco-cars
were set at 17%, compared with a rate of 30-50% for other type of cars in Thailand(Economist Intelligence Unit, 2008).

18

3.1.3 Traffic Safety
Haddon (1968) defined three phases of time sequence of a crash event – pre-crash, crash, andpost-crash. In each phase, there are three possible factors causing a traffic accident, be it
human factor, vehicles and equipment factor and/or road and environment factor. It results innine-cell Haddon Matrix models with each cell allowing opportunities for intervention to
reduce road traffic agency. It led to substantial advances in the understanding of the
behavioral, road-related and vehicle-related factors that affect the number and severity ofcasualties in road traffic (WHO, 2004).
Road Safety Measures in Developed Countries
In addition to seat belt and helmet regulation since 1992, in January 2001, the Korean policebegan a special control including stiff fines, license suspension and more frequent monitoring
for traffic violations in relation to seven risky driving behaviors including drunken driving,
driving without license, speeding, violation of traffic signals, intrusion on median strip, wild
driving by motorcyclists, etc. As a result, there was a significant drop in the number offatalities in four categories of risky behavior: drunk driving, driving without license, speeding
and violation of traffic signals (Yang and Kim, 2003). Similar approaches have also been
implemented in Japan through the Initiative for Stricter Drunk Driving Penalties and Other
Measures against Dangerous Driving (IATSS, 2006).
From February to May 1994, enforcement of helmet use for motorcyclists was also
implemented in Taipei City. The initiatives showed positive impact in reducing motorcycle
fatalities. After intense lobbying and discussion, a motorcycle helmet use law was enacted andimplemented in the whole country on June 1, 1997. Under this law, unhelmet motorcyclists
caught by the police were fined the equivalent of US$15. Chiu et al. (2000) found that the law
is quite effective shown by a 33% decrease in motorcycle-related injuries and decreases inseverity of injuries. Data provided by the Department of Health showed that after the
implementation of the law, the number of motorcycle related injuries decreased by 14%.
Besides helmet regulation, Taipei City also amended drunk-and-driving regulation to heighten
awareness and institute more severe penalties, carried out night-time on-street inspection ofpassing drivers, and installed speed monitoring at a total of 335 intersections or mid-block
sections.
Starting from 1997 to 1999, Korean authority placed monitoring camera systems to checkspeeding in more spots. The policy successfully reduced 28% number of crashes and 60%
number of fatalities within a diameter of 1 km from the camera spots. Moreover, Japan, since191996, has been developing its Universal Traffic Management System (UTMS) aiming toensure traffic safety and comfort through a network of advanced traffic control centers. The
system is to monitor the traffic, manage vehicular operations, give priority to public vehicles,
support safe driving, and ensure pedestrian safety by installing facilities for near-infraredbeacons. The work also continued on cruise-assist systems which aim to support safe andsecure highway cruising. The system communicates possible hazards to drivers
instantaneously using telecommunication systems which connect the car with the highway.
In April 2001, the government of Korea introduced a reward system for citizens reporting
traffic violations with graphic evidences. Police agencies also initiated several
education-related programs for improved road traffic safety (RTS) from pre-school to highschool students and for the elderly in nursing homes. In the second half of 2002, a new
education program was to be enforced for people who apply for driver’s license test, making
it mandatory for every applicant to take seven hours of RTS education before taking the test.
To further mitigate traffic accidents, synthesizing from Haddon’s work, it is also necessary to
focus on the road and environmental factor, including road design and layout, speed limit
regulation, and provision of pedestrian and cycling facilities. In Japan, “people first”
philosophy acknowledging that, in a civilized society, consideration and sympathy must exist
for those who are weaker than others becomes the basis of all traffic safety policies. Hence,
Japanese cities are pursuing improvement of sidewalks along school routes, residential roads,
and major thoroughfares in urban districts. Despite the scarcity of lands particularly in its
major megacities, the nation further continued to provide a safe and comfortable transit
environment for pedestrians and bicycle riders through road reconstruction projects.
Responding to the aging society, Japanese cities also implemented projects to develop broad,level sidewalks and to install barrier-free signals in areas around train stations and otherpublic facilities. Since 2001, in Korea, the road safety inspection system has been applied to
all newly constructed roads starting from their planning stage to their completion.
Road Safety Measures in Developing Countries
In developing countries, road design and road traffic condition are major contributing factor
to traffic accidents. According to World Health Organization (2004), most of the victims
killed in road accidents in developing Asian cities are pedestrians and motorcyclists. Theseroad users increasingly have to share the road with four-wheeled modes including cars, buses
and trucks. Road design and traffic management are generally poor and fail to provide
adequate safety in such mix traffic. Lack of pedestrian facilities typically runs a gauntlet ofchallenges that directly contribute to the high injury and fatality rates witnessed in these20countries. The challenges include (Lloyd and Hook, 2007): Complete lack of or poor quality of pedestrian pavements;
 No physical separation from high levels of traffic and from high-speed traffic;
 Intersection designs aimed at facilitating high vehicular speeds at the expense of safe
pedestrian crossing; and Obstructed pavements due to parked cars (illegal or legal), poor design, utility poles
and signs, uncollected rubbish, vendors, etc.
One example of practices to intervene this issue is the adoption of Road Safety Audit (RSA)2
in Thailand. The country took the initiatives to institutionalize it and set up a new committee
known as the National Road Safety Management Center composing of high-ranking
government officials representing various concerned agencies as well as respected academics.
The committee implemented several measures under the 5-E strategy (Engineering, Education,
Enforcement, EMS or Emergency Medical Services, and Evaluation), including the RSA (seedetails in section 8.3.2.4), the setting up of the Thailand Accident Research Center for R&D
activities on road safety and the most controversial measure of banning alcoholic drink
advertisements on TV and radio.
Another major issue is how to mitigate motorcycle accidents anticipating the growth of
motorcycle’s users in many Asian cities. In Thailand, one contributing factor to highcasualties of motorcycle accidents may be the lack of proper driving skill. According to
Kasantikul’s research (2001 in Tanaboriboon and Santiennam, 2005) among motorcycle
accident victims, the majority of them did not have driver licenses. Moreover, the number oflicense holders is much lower in the provinces apart from Bangkok which reflects the fact thata substantial number of motorcyclists still ride illegally and perhaps improperly. Therefore,
Bangkok enforces motorcycle users to turn on the headlight all the time and builds motorcycle
lanes (Tangpaisalkit, 2007). Bangkok also throws safe-driving campaigns by using protection
devices especially helmet although it is a pity that may of motorcyclists still choose to takerisk by not wearing one. In fact, only 78% wore helmet while riding and this rate dropped
dramatically during night time. Among those who whore helmet, only around 30% usedhelmet with the quality complies with Thai Industrial Standard.

2

As defined by AUSTROADS (2002), RSA is a formal examination of a future road or traffic project or an
existing road, in which an independent, qualified team reports on the project’s crash potential and safety
performance.

21

Figure 7 Three Typ
pes of Motoorcycle Lanees in Thailaand [COPYRRIGHT]
Sourcee: Tangpaisalkitt (2007)

In 20011, wearing helmet beccame manddatory in Viet
V Nam foor all motoorcycle driv
vers andpassenggers on speecific roadw
ways (Pervvin et.al, 2009).
2
Unfo
fortunately, there was limited
enforcem
ment of thiis legislationn and hencce, its effecttiveness waas low resullting approx
ximately
30% mootorcyclistss using helm
met on averrage. On 29
9 June 2007
7, the Vietnnamese Gov
vernment
releasedd Resolution 32, a deccree that mmade its maandatory in Viet Nam for all mo
otorcycle
drivers and passenggers to wearr a helmet oon all roads from 15 Deecember 20007.
Whereaas in Shanghhai, since noot only that motorcyclee has the low
west safety factor of alll type of
vehicless but also thhat air pollu
ution induceed by motorcycle is seriious, the Shhanghai gov
vernment
determined to prohhibit the opeeration of m
motorcycless on main rooads inside the circle line,
lfivevehicle roads, and some otherr regions. M
Meanwhile, the governm
ment enlargged the areaas wheremotorcyycles with out-of-city
y licenses are prohibited and set stringgent penallties formotorcyycles withouut licenses operatingoilllegally (APPEIS RISPO
O, 2003).
Traffic accidents canc be moree effectivelyy reduced if
i the driveers are awarre of any risks that
may happpen if theyy are drivingg recklesslyy. Thereforee, trainings anda campaiigns both addults andchildrenn for nurturing approp
priate driviing behavio
ors in the futuref
are nnot less immportant.
Thailannd has initiiated the program unnder its 5E’s strategy as briefly mentioned
d above,
includinng driver training and testing, roaad safety ed
ducation for children, and other forms
fofroad saffety publicitty and camppaigns.
In term
ms of post-ccrash meassures, ensurring the acccess to medicsmand rescue facilities is
considered criticall. Technicaally is to provide eaasy access to emergeency servicces, likeemergenncy assistannce to road accidentsaviictims in Th
hailand. Unfortunately,, severe con
ngestions
may be one barrierr to immed
diate servicee. Financiially is by insuring vehhicle whichh usually
covers iindemnity forf death, medicalmexpeenses for injjuries includ
ding third pparties, and costs forrehabilitation. Mosst countries have introdduced laws thatt require drivers to iinsure their vehicles
22

including China and Thailand which have established two-tier vehicle insurance system: thecompulsory and the additional one.
In Thailand, the Protection for Motor Vehicle Accident Victims Act (1992) stipulates that theowner of a motor vehicle takes out insurance with an authorized insurance company. Failure
to do this is liable to a fine between 10,000 and 50,000B. Upon taking out insurance, theowner will receive an insurance policy and an insurance sticker. The law requires the owner toadhere the insurance sticker on the motor vehicle or liable to a fine not exceeding 2,000B. On
the basis of the provisions of Article 76 of the “Road Traffic Safety Law of PRC”, Shanghai
adopted similar regulation to institute a mandatory third party liability insurance system on
motor vehicles and apply the determination of compensation liabilities for road accidents ofmotor vehicles in the administrative area of concurrent municipalities.
3.2 Successful Case Studies in Asian Megacities
3.2.1 Japan’s Regulation and Economic Instruments for Reducing GHG Emissions fromTransport Sector
Japan’s Automotive NOx and PM Law
In 1992, to cope with the NOx pollution problems from existing vehicle fleets in highly
populated areas, the Ministry of Environment (MoE) adopted the “Motor Vehicle NOx” law.
The regulation is designated for a total of 196 communities in the Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa,
Osaka, and Hyogo Prefectures. It was amended in June 2001 to tighten the existing NOx
requirements and to add PM control provisions and called as “Automotive NOx and PM” lawwhich became effective starting in October 2002.
This law introduces emission standards for specified categories of in-use highway vehicles
including commercial goods (cargo) vehicles such as trucks and vans, buses, and special
purpose motor vehicles, irrespective of the fuel type. This regulation also applies to diesel
powered passenger cars, but not to gasoline cars. To meet the 1997/98 emission standards,
vehicle owners must either replace old vehicles with newer and cleaner models or retrofit
their old vehicles with the approved NOx and PM control devices. Vehicles have a grace
period between 9 and 12 years from the initial registration classified upon type of vehicles.
Furthermore, the regulation allows postponing its requirement by an additional 0.5-2.5 years
depending on the age of the vehicle. This delay was introduced in part to harmonize this law
with the Tokyo diesel retrofit program explained in the following.

23

Tokyo’s Diesel Retrofit Program
In December 2000, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) adopted a new “Ordinanceon Environmental Preservation”, which includes an array of regulatory measures to control air,water, soil, as well as noise pollution. One of the program components is diesel emission
control regulation (retrofit program). This new ordinance took effect on April 1, 2001, withseveral provisions related to vehicle emissions (including the diesel retrofit program) effective
by October 1, 2003.
According to the diesel emission regulations, PM emissions from in-use diesel vehicles must
be reduced by retrofitting with emission control devices. The retrofit requirements apply tobuses, trucks, and special category vehicles based on buses and trucks, such as campers,
garbage collection trucks, and refrigerator/freezer vehicles. Passenger cars are not subject toretrofit requirements. The PM emission reductions requirements depend on the vehicle
emission level at the time of its manufacture. Older vehicles have higher PM reduction
requires and vice versa. The retrofit program has a two-tier structure: the Tier 1 requirements
become effective in October 2003 and somewhat more stringent Tier 2 PM emission reduction
requirements come to power in 2005.
Table 2 Diesel PM Reduction Requirements and Categories
Tier 1 (2003.10)
Vehicle Descriptions

PM
Reduction

Meets 1989/1990 standards, or Fails to

Tier 2 (2005)
Category

PM
Reduction

Category

>60%

1

>70%

3

Meets 1993/1994 standards

>30%

2

>40%

4

Meets 1997/1998/1999 standards

N/A

>30%

5

OEM-fitted with PM after treatment

Meet PM standards

Meet PM standards

meet 1998/1990 standards

Note:*All vehicles receive 7 years of grace period from the date of their first registration. In effect, vehicles must be retrofittedwith PM controls either on the Tier 1/2 dates, or in 7 years after first registration, whichever occurs latter.
**All vehicles must comply with the national “Automotive NOx and PM Law”.
Source: Bureau of Environment, TMG, 2006.

Once retrofitted, vehicles are affixed with stickers bearing the approval number of a given PM
control device. Owners of non-complying vehicles may receive injunction on operating thevehicles until retrofitted. If the injunction is not obeyed, the vehicle owner’s name is madepublic and a fine up to 500,000 yen is imposed. Within the period of March, 2003 to
December, 2004, the compliance ration increased from 33% to 97% (Bureau of Environment,
24

TMG, 2006).
Green Tax System in Japan
In Japan, the so-called green tax system was launched in April 2002, in order to reduce
automotive tax on LEVs and to increase the rate for old diesel vehicles. Since implementation,
its effect has been so significant that the tax revenue in fiscal year 2002 fell out much lower
than expected because the share of LEVs qualifying for tax relief increased to twice the level
estimated. In the face of such customer behavior, automobile makers began to compete
fiercely in the development of LEVs, recognizing that makers without an LEV range will not
be able to survive.
The tax scheme consists of reduction on automobile tax applied to low-emission andfuel-efficient vehicles (introduced in 2001) and reductions on the acquisition tax (introduced
in 1999) for purchasers of low-emission and fuel-efficient vehicles. It should be noted that
10% surcharges on the tax are mandated for diesel vehicles on the road 11 years or longer, andfor gasoline vehicles on the road 13 years or longer, since first registration.
Table 3 Tax Incentives for Low-Emission and Fuel-Efficient Vehicles in Japan
Incentives
Emissions Performance

Fuel Efficiency
Compliant +25% toPassenger

Emissions down by 75% from2010 standards

Cars

2005 standards

Compliant +15% toAutomobile Tax

Acquisition Tax

50% reduction

Amount deducted:¥300,000

25% reduction2010 standards
Heavy-duty
VehiclesCompliant with 2009 standards

Compliant

Amount deducted:¥150,000with-

2% reduction2015 standards

Note: Eligible vehicles are those newly registered in 2008 and 2009
Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (Japan).

CO2 emissions in Japan’s transport sector peaked in 2001 and have been on a downward trend
ever since, as projected. Japan has often referred as one of the most energy-efficient country
worldwide. The positive trend is attributable to efforts in Japan’s road transport sector to: (i)increase vehicle fuel efficiency; (ii) upgrade roads and road infrastructure; (iii) implement
other traffic flow-related measures e.g., transport demand management; (iv) use motor
vehicles more efficiently, through eco-driving among other measures (JAMA, 2008).

25

3.2.2 Road Safety Measures in JapanThe annual number of fatalities from road traffic accidents in Japan peaked at 16,765 in 1970.
In the same year, the Diet enacted the Traffic Safety Policies Law. In accordance with this law,
expert panels have developed plans known as Fundamental Traffic Safety Programs (FTSP)
every five years since FY1971. These programs have provided the framework forcomprehensive and systematic measures aimed at improving traffic safety. Since 1971, traffic
fatalities began to decline and continued a steady downward trend until reaching 8,466 in
1979. Thereafter, however, fatalities turned upward again and continued to rise until 1992,
when a new downward trend began. However, in terms of the number of accidents andcasualties were increasing and the year 2004 recorded the worst levels in history, which roseto 952,191 and 1,190,478, respectively.
Nevertheless, in 2005, the condition is improving. Traffic fatalities decreased to 6,871 for the
first time in 49 years (since 1956) that the death toll fell below 7,000. Moreover, accident andcasualties declined to 933,828 and 1,163,504, respectively, marking the firstyear-on-year-decrease in three years and continue to decrease to date. It should be noted thatvehicle kilometers travelled has also been decreasing since 2005. Hence, if we look into thenumber of accidents per 100 million vehicle-km, it can be found that since 1990s accident rate
is relatively steady as shown in Figure 9.
The decline in fatalities compared to 1970’s peak until recent years can be attributed largely toefforts to carry out a comprehensive set of measures based on the FTSP, including measures
aimed at improving the road traffic environment, at disseminating and reinforcing messages
on traffic safety, and at ensuring safe driving practices, and, in addition, measures aimed atadvancing vehicle safety, preserving order on roads, and improving rescue and emergency
medical systems. Certain quantitatively measurable improvements also contributed to thisdecline, including (1) increased seat belt usage; (2) lower pre-accident speeds; and (3) the
effects of the Initiative for Stricter Drunk Driving Penalties and Other Measures against
Dangerous Driving.

26

(accidents, persons)(persons)

1,400,000

25,0001,183,120 ('04)
21,535 ('70)
1,156,633 ('05)

20,00016,765 ('70)
1,000,000

15,000800,000
600,000

10,00011,451 ('92)

400,000

Traffic Fatalities

Traffic Accidents and Injuries

1,200,000

6,871 ('05)

10,079 ('59)

5,000

5,744 ('07)

200,000
0

0
1959

1964

1969

1974

1979

1984

No. of Accidents (by NPA Statistics)
Fatalities within 24 hours (by NPA Statistics)
Death Toll (by the Health and Welfare Statistics)

1989

1994

1999

2004

No. of Injuries (Serious and Slight by NPA Statistics)
Fatalities within 30 days (including in 24 hours)

Note:1) Since 1960, figures include minor accidents such as injury requiring less than eight days to be cured or property damage under¥20,000. Since 1966, figures exclude property damage. Since 1972, figures include those of Okinawa Prefecture.
2) The definition of fatality used by National Police Agency since 1976 is a person who dies within 24 hours of its occurrences.
While by Health and Welfare Statistics, the number of fatalities where the original cause of death was a traffic accident. Since
1995, it excluded those who were not clearly involved in a road traffic accident, such as railroad workers from those involved insome kind of transport accident on land.
3) Serious injury is an injury resulting from a traffic accident and requiring medical treatment for a month (30 days) or more, whileslight injury requires less than a month. The figure of injury is the total amount of both types of injuries.
4) The figures for the leap year are calculated on 366-day basis.
5) Fatality within 30 days data is provided by NPA since 1993.

Figure 8 Changes in Road Traffic Accidents, Injuries and Fatalities in Japan
Source: Statistics by the Traffic Bureau, National Police Agency (NPA)
Accidents, persons
per 100 million Veh-km

persons
per 100 million Veh-km

500

8

450

7
6

350
5

300
250

4

200

3

Fatalities

Accidents and Injuries

400

150
2
100
1

50
0

0
1970

1980

1985

Accidents

1990

Injuries

1995

2000

2005

Fatalities

Figure 9 Changes in Road Traffic Accidents, Injuries and Fatalities
per 100 million Vehicle-Kilometers Travelled in Japan
Source: Statistics by the Traffic Bureau, National Police Agency and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport

27

Within the fiscal year (FY) of 2004, thhe governm
ment aggresssively purs
rsued the fo
ollowing
projectss for enhanncing the trraffic safetyy infrastruccture, in lin
ne with thee “Priority Plan forSocial IInfrastructurre Developm
ment”:
1.
Inntensive acccident prevention meaasures weree implemen
nted at inteersections anda roadseections that were desig
gnated as “bblack spots”” in 2003 forf having a high incid
dence ofcaasualty-inflicting accid
dents. In adddition, thee project team createed a “Roadd SafetyM
Manual for Hazardous
H
Spots” andd “Compilaation of Acccident Prevvention Meeasures”,
immplemented scientific measuresmaggainst accid
dents in blaack spots annd other daangerous
areas, and devveloped an accident coountermeasu
ure databasee.
2.

Figuure 10 Meassures for Hiigh Acciden
nt-risk Locations [COPY
PYRIGHT]
Source: Road Bureau, Minnistry of Land, InfrastructureIanda Transport, JJapan3.

4.

Too date, urgent measurres for blacck spots haave been im
mplementedd in at least 3,200
locations thrrough placcement of right-turn introducin
ng route, lane and signals;
immprovementt of intersecctions (placcing road lig
ghting, bicy
ycle lane att crossings, colored
annd anti-slipp pavementt, changingg corner ed
dge locatioons), securiing parking
g space,regulation off illegal parking, widenning road, buryingbelectricity cabbles in undeerground
treenches, elim
mination ofo grades aand slopes, improvem
ment of aliignment, addditional
veehicular lanee, etc.
Unnder the Safe
S
Pedestrrian Area project, thee coordinattors, with the cooperration of
prrefectural publicpsafetyy commissiions and rooad management agenncies, contiinued toimmplemented comprehen
nsive, wide--area accideent preventiion measurees in residen
ntial andcoommercial districts that were deesignated as target areas in 20003 for haviing highacccident casuualty rates. It includess safety meaasures for pedestrians
p(sidewalkss, shared
peedestrian annd bicycle tracks, peddestrian ov
verpasses an
nd underpaasses) and accident
prrevention measuresmfor vehicles (mmedian strip
ps, protective fencing foor vehicles).
Inn order to helphseniorss and disabbled peoplee lead indep
pendent, soocially activ
ve lives,
28

projects were implemented to develop broad, level walkways and install barrier freesignals in areas around train stations and other public facilities. Other efforts included
the elimination of utility poles, conversion of traffic signals to LED lighting, andenhancements to road signs and markings to make them more visible to elderly
motorists.
Japan has also developed an advanced intelligent transport system (ITS) in accordance with
the Comprehensive ITS Initiative formulated in 1996 which is used to integrate people, roads
and vehicles into a unified system to improve safety, transport efficiency, and other aspects ofroad traffic. Some of the outputs are the deployment of VICS (Vehicle Information andCommunication System) which provides real-time information on traffic congestion and othertravel conditions to automobile navigational systems and the UTMS (Universal Traffic
Management Systems) which is aimed at preserving road safety and convenience throughactive, comprehensive management of traffic flow and volume.
In accordance with the UTMS project and other initiatives, efforts were made to accelerate
rescue and cleanup responses to traffic accident and other road emergencies by further
expanding HELP (Help systems for Emergency Life saving and Public safety), a GPS-based
system designed to improve the rescue success rate by allowing accurate accident information(location, etc.) to be instantly sent via mobile phones and other communicators. In order toreduce the response time and collision risk of ambulances en route to accident sites, work wascontinued on the development of FAST (Fast Emergency Vehicle Preemption Systems) for
assisting emergency vehicle drivers, including automatic control of traffic signals to givethem immediate right-of-way.
To improve vehicle safety, the government strengthened its efforts to monitor vehicle safety
by bolstering its system for collecting vehicle defect information from users via a hotline
service and accident information from the police, Japan Automobile Federation (JAF), andother relevant organizations, and by conducting focused audits of suspect manufacturers. In
January 2003, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport established a recall ordersystem, additional penal measures, and larger fines as part of an effort to ensure proper recallof defective vehicles. Furthermore, promulgated on June 9, 2004, the Law to Partially Revise
the Road Traffic Law (Law No. 90 of 2004) which took effect on November 1, 2004 includes
among its changes a new set of penalties for mobile use while driving, tougher measuresagainst motorcycle gangs, and stricter penalties against drivers who refuse to tale sobriety
tests.

29

Within the period of FY2006 to FY2010, under the Eighth FTSP, Japan continues to improvecurrent measures and practices particularly in response to aging population and declining
birthrates, such as by adopting stronger “people first” measures to provide safe and secure
walking spaces for children and the elderly.
3.2.3 Motorization Control and Road Safety Measures in Shanghai
Besides banning motorcycles in some areas within the city, Shanghai also put forward more
rigorous parking policy to relieve the parking and traffic pressure in the urban center byadopting parking control area, high limit of public parking area (garage) charging, andkeeping on generalizing centralized “parking meter” (Pan, 2007). Moreover, since 1994, thelicense tag of private car in Shanghai has exercised auction by tender with reverse price. From
2000, for cars, it has changed into public auction without bottom price. The license tag
auction has restrained the speed of motorized vehicles in Shanghai, decreased the demand of
low-quality vehicles, increased car purchase cost, and, consequently suppressed the residents’desire to own cars.
Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China which was passed on October 28,
2003, is the People's Republic of China's first-ever law on road traffic safety, and wasintended to address an alarmingly high traffic fatality rate, which is four or five times greaterthan other nations. The new law has a number of focus points:
1. Under the new law, when accidents occur between pedestrians or non-motorized vehicles
and motor vehicles, except for the case where the pedestrian or the non-motorized vehicle
deliberately causes the incident, the motorist must always bear responsibility.
Responsibility for the motorist is reduced if the pedestrian or non-motorized side violated
traffic laws.
2. The new law enforces a vehicle insurance system. Insurance on motor vehicles is now
compulsory instead of voluntary.
3. It abolished a previous regulation which banned holders of driver's licenses of the PRC
driving rights on expressways until one year after they had held the license.
4. Expressway speed limits were increased from 110 km/h to 120 km/h.
5. Even harsher penalties were put in place for drunk driving and driving by people who did
not hold a valid driver's license, or drove a vehicle without license plates.
6. Cases where drivers were speeding 50% in excess of the applicable speed limit will resultin the revocation of the driver's license.
7. The penalty for hit-and-run accidents is permanent revocation of one's driver's license.
8. The pre-existing point system for penalties was integrated into the new law.
9. Penalties are now higher, from the former RMB 200 up to RMB 2000. Also, provinces,30

municipalities and autonomous regions can only enact specific penalties within the given
range. Previously, the nationwide maximum penalty was RMB 200, but areas like Beijing
and Kunming had enacted laws mandating penalties in the thousands of RMB.
3.2.4 Road Safety Audit in Bangkok
As described in the previous section, Thailand implemented several measures under its 5E’s
strategies for mitigating traffic accidents. One of which is the implementation of Road Safety
Audit. It is a new approach with proactive principles to help minimize road safety problems.
So far, The Toyota Motor Thailand Co., Ltd. Commission with the Thailand Accident
Research Center and the Department of Highways performed a road safety on six national
highways as shown in Figure 10. Some benefits obtained from RSA are: (i) the severity ofcrash is reduced; (ii) the safety performance of road network is improved; (iii) cost of theconsequence of road accident can be reduced; and (iv) safety awareness for road users can beraised.
4. Comparison between Developed and Developing Countries Measures in Asia
This report discussed about two adverse impacts of transport sector, greenhouse gas emissions,
air pollution and traffic accidents. Globally, the contribution of these two impacts in Asian
countries shows an increasing trend and, thus, requires serious mitigation efforts. Despite theconcerns about the negative impacts, it cannot be overlooked that there are many positive
features of transport. The challenges are how to manage the benefits of transport so that thebroad set of environmental and other impacts is reduced while ensuring acceptable outcomesin terms economic performance and equity which become the main concerns of most mega
cities in developing countries. Developing megacities should have more options to avoid themore damaging path some developed cities have taken.
Referring to an analysis of over 400 climate change policies implemented in European andAmerican cities (Short et al., 2009), most measures fall into the fuel efficiency (31%) throughtax differentiation and regulation. Asian countries especially Japan are no exception. In thisstudy, Japan is regarded as one of the best examples in combining regulation and technology
instruments to improve the quality of vehicle running on the road through the implementationof the national law of automotive NOx and PM altogether with diesel retrofit program inTokyo and its green tax system. It also complemented those instruments by involving
cooperation instruments with private sectors particularly in developing lower emission
vehicles.
Most STREAM developing countries have also made considerable progress in developing31

some forms of AQM by setting up ambient air quality and vehicle emission standards;
adopting vehicle inspection and maintenance program; and also making efforts in phasing out
leaded gasoline ranging from a complete ban to at least having made unleaded gasoline
available in the market like in Indonesia and Viet Nam. Though the standards and otherrelated regulations have been enacted, the degree of implementation varies and most cases
indicate weakness in law enforcement. Although the standards have been established, they are
not necessarily well implemented in all cities as part of an integrated AQM system due tofinancial or institutional constraints.
In terms of GHG emission control, most Asian countries have attempted to replace buses,
taxis, and three-wheelers to LPG/CNG-fueled vehicles through various R&D programs, direct
investment, incentive programs, etc. Although some countries still have to establish morerefueling stations to overcome market’s hesitation from using LPG/CNG-fueled vehicles due
to operational inefficiencies.

32

Table 4 Comparison of Measures between Developed and Developing Countries and Future Challenges
ADVERSE

CATEGORIES OF

IMPACTSMEASURESDEVELOPED COUNTRIESDEVELOPING COUNTRIES(i) Stringent NAAQS and vehicle(i) Adopted NAAQS and emission standards but

Improve vehicle fuelemissions standards; (ii) Mandatory I&M

varied in the degree of enforcement including the

combustion

program with harsher penalty; (iii)vehicle I&M program; (ii) Phasing out leaded

performance

Mandatory retrofit program (e.g. Tokyo’sgasoline; (iii) Limiting the use of two-stroke

diesel retrofit program)engines for motorcycle

FUTURE CHALLENGES(i) Efficient and effective Air Quality governance (ii)
Mandatory and routine vehicle I&M inspections;; (iii)
1)

Phasing out the use of two-stroke engines for
Local

motorcycles
Air
Pollution

Improve road
network: traffic

Taking into consideration air quality

management andinformation in the planning of new roads12)(i) Banning motorcycles and/or para-transit from(i) Smart growth-oriented road/highway development;

major streets; (ii) Providing motorcycles and(ii) Stricter rules for motorcycles; (iii) Improvement ofpedestrian/bicycle lanes

segregated non-motorized modes lanes

control(i) Providing direct investments, subsidies, or(i) Meeting the demand of refueling stations to reduce
incentives to replace buses, taxis andPromote clean fuel(i) Excise tax advantage for LPG/CNG

GHG

the time required to refuel; (ii) Adopting morepara-transits (e.g. three-wheelers) with

3)

(LPG, CNG) forover gasoline and diesel; (ii) Establish

Emissionseffective fiscal instruments to promote the use of
LPG/CNG-fueled; (ii)buses and taxis

establishing refuelingsufficient number of refueling station

LPG/CNG not only for public transports but also forstations; (iii) R&D on CNG/LPG vehicles
other vehicles
technology (China)

33

ADVERSE

CATEGORIES OF

IMPACTSMEASURESDEVELOPED COUNTRIESDEVELOPING COUNTRIESFUTURE CHALLENGES(i) Tax differentiation to promote LEVs;(i) Promote the use of electric bikes and scooters(i) Involvement of business/private sectors in(ii) Vehicle efficiency regulations; (iii)(in China); (ii) excise tax rate (China, Thailand);promoting LEVs and efficient fuels throughInvolving cooperation instruments with(iii) Some incentives including tax exemptions

incentives, tax exemptions, etc.; (ii) Fiscal scheme to

private sectors for LEVs

for eco-car manufacturer (Thailand)take into account a broad range of GHG emissions

Promote the use of4)

low emission
vehicles (LEVs)(i) Stringent regulations and harsher penalties should(i) Training and campaign have been promoted in

be adopted; (ii) Strengthening the licensing system forvarious degree; (ii) Stringent regulations havewell-trained driver; (ii) The law enforcement

been adopted; (iii) Insufficient monitoring

authorities should be sufficiently equipped and funded;

system(iii) Technological barriers to improve monitoring

Establish monitoring system (ITS), training
and campaign for reducing risky driving
behavior
Pre-crash: crashsystem (ITS)

5)
prevention
Traffic

Improving road facilities particularly at

Accidents

black spots, traffic signs, speed limits, etc.

(i) Motorcycle and bicycle lanes are being

to protect vulnerable parties: pedestrians,

provided in some countries; (ii) Inadequate

bicyclists, elderly people, children throughpedestrian facilities ; (iii) Road Safety Audit(i) Providing adequate and safer facilities fornon-motorized modes and motorcycles; (ii) Put
emphasis on "smart growth" road planning focusing on
reducing motorization
road safety audit and road reconstructions

6)

Crash: injury

Adopted stringent regulations on the usage

Similar approaches also implemented in(i) More aggressive approach in promoting people's

prevention during theof vehicle safety measures such as seat belt,

developing countries but more emphases are put

awareness and enforcing the law; (ii) Economic

crashhelmet, child restraint, etc.

on motorcyclists

instruments may be one approach to be considered34

ADVERSE

CATEGORIES OF

IMPACTSMEASURESDEVELOPED COUNTRIESDEVELOPING COUNTRIESFUTURE CHALLENGES

Post-crash: life(i) Two-tier motor vehicle insurance system consists of mandatory and compulsory insurance

Severe congestion may become the barrier tosustaining

system; (ii) Improving access to emergency service

immediate access to emergency service

7)

Note: 1 such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo (Short et al., 2009)35

In future to come, it is still necessary to supplement the regulations with fiscal schemes
taking into account a broad range of GHG emissions as Japan and other developed
countries adopted, especially to promote the use of LEVs. Not until recently, countries
like China and Thailand started to implement excise tax rates with some financial
subsidies for energy-saving vehicles. Thailand also provides incentives for eco-car
manufacturer. Needless to say, such measures are quite challenging for many
developing cities due to limited funds and planning expertise, and inexperienced local
institutions to enforce them.
Another major concern for developing cities pointed out by this study is the rapid
growth of motorcycles. Limiting the use of two-stroke engine for motorcycle andreplacing it with four-stroke engine has become one of the approaches to reduce theemissions. Iyer and Shah (2004) suggested Asian countries to carry out more selectivebans instead of phasing them out completely, such as through banning only older (andtypically more polluting) two-stroke engine vehicles from urban areas, banning new
two-stroke engine vehicles, banning or applying high tax for imported two-stroke
vehicles. Economic instruments may also be useful to encourage people to change theirvehicle such as through trade-in subsidy or ensuring adequate credit is available. As for
reducing the use of motorcycle itself, in some cities, motorcycles are restricted fromsome major streets. Thailand has also provided motorcycle lanes in some road segments.
The measures are not only for reducing emissions but also relevant for reducing thenumber of traffic accidents since motorcycles have lowest safety factor.
When it comes to reducing the number of traffic accidents, an aggressive set ofmeasures updated every five years have been demonstrated by Japan in the last four
decades since 1970 which marked its peak of traffic fatalities rate. The first outstandingachievement is the improvement of safer road designs particularly at black spots.
Second, the country made a significant improvement in road traffic environment tomake travelling a lot safer for all users including children and the elderly. Japan also
invested considerable resources in developing ITS system in order to integrate people,
roads and vehicles to prevent accidents, reduce the fatality of the accidents and enable
immediate rescue to accidents.
Japan’s measures have been partially adopted by developing countries but, needless tosay, in relatively modest approaches, such as embedding awareness into people’s
behaviors regarding the dangerous of reckless driving. In this case, Shanghai, Thailandand some of Asian countries have adopted stringent regulations, harsher penalties, and36

continuous traffic safety training and campaigns. As motorcycle accidents are increasing
while anticipating its expected growth in the future, most Asian cities, have made using
helmet a mandatory. Similar to Japan, attentions have also been paid on safer public
facilities for vulnerable parties including pedestrians, bicyclists, children, elderly people,
and motorcyclist in the case of developing countries. Road safety audits and roadreconstructions for allowing adoptions of more safety measures are being carried out toreduce fatalities.
5. Conclusion
Conclusively, rapid acceleration of motorization is the root of worsening GHG
emissions, local air pollution and increasing traffic accidents. Therefore, it may be more
effective if developing megacities tackle the issues almost simultaneously by controlling
the growth of motorization. Most Asian cities have established the necessary regulationand schematic procedure to reduce local air pollution. Moreover, to some extent, direct
investments have been made to promote the use of clean fuel (CNG/LPG) for buses,
taxis and para-transits.
Nonetheless, unlike developed countries, it remains uncommon to introduce fiscal
scheme for accelerating the use of LEVs in developing countries. There have been someexamples of tax policies and incentives helping to lower the overall cost to society ofmeeting regulations by encouraging companies with the greatest capacities to take thelead, but these tax policies are nonetheless complemented with regulations, public
outreach and other tools, which are quite challenging for most developing Asian
countries.
In terms of improving road safety, most Asian cities have adopted more stringent
regulations and penalties and further exercised more aggressive training and campaigns
as preventive measures to reduce fatalities of traffic accidents, especially in Thailand
and Shanghai. Although road traffic environment has been recognized as significant
factor causing accidents, measures as thorough as Japan’s have not been implemented inother Asian countries possibly due to the financial constraint since Japan’s measures are
relatively expensive. Generally speaking, safety issues remain to be a significant tackles
for Asian megacities to be at the core while discussing policy options for both private
and public modes. More aggressive approaches are required to avoid drastic increase of
fatalities.

37

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41

Appendix 1
Local Air Pollution and GHG Emissions Reduction Measures in STREAM Member Countries

Common Practices

Country
Japan

Korea

TaiwanChina

ThailandPhilippine

Indonesia

Viet Nam

1980, amended
several times

1975, revised in
2002

Oct 1996,
amended in Jan
2000

1981, revised in
1995 under NEQA
1992

1999

1999 Government
Decree No. 41(national)

1995, updated in
2005

SO2, CO, NOx,
O3, Pb, PM10
and total SPM

PM10, SO2, NO2,
CO, O3

SO2, TSO,
PM10, NO2, CO,
O3

TSP, PM10, NO2,
CO, O3, Pb, SO

SO2, TSP, PM10,
NO2, CO, O3, Pb(short and long term
PM10 and SO2)

SO2, PM10, NO2,
CO, O3, SPM, Pb

SO2, TSP, NO2,
O3, Pb,Municipal
ordinances areencouraged toaddress different
characteristics ofregions

Local government
agencies may draft
stringent standards
with central
authority's
approval

Apply specific
Grades limit fordifferent
functional zones(three grades)

More lenient thanWHO values

More lenient thanWHO values

Equal to USEPA;
PM10 and NO2
lenient than EU
limit values

Grade 2 standards
for SO2, NO2
and O3 arelenient thanWHO values

SO2 and NO2
more lenient thanWHO values

SO2, NO2, leadmore stringent
than USEPA

Short and long-term
PM10 and SO2 morelenient than WHO
values, relatively
similar to USEPA
valuesNone

In 2001, Jakarta
adopted stricter
standards for SO2,
NO2, O3, CO

None

Local Air Pollution
1. Ambient Air Quality Standards
Legal Basis
Enactment

1973

SO2. CO, SPM,
NO2.
Photochemical
Oxidants
Level of Standards
Coverage of
Pollutants

National
scale

City scale

Stricter than
USEPA

None

In 1998, Seoul
adopted stricter
standards for
SO2, NOx, PM

None

None

None

42

Country
Japan
Vehicle Emission Standards

Common Practices
2.

3.

4.

National scale

Set its own
emissionsstandards:
Japan’s
automotive NOx
and PM law

City scale

Since 1992, being
tightened toaddress NO2, O3
and PM problems
in major cities

VehicleInspection and
Maintenance
Program

LeadedGasoline
Phase-out

Exhaust gas test
was added to theprogram in 1967
and a noise test in
1970

1986

Korea

China

ThailandPhilippine

Indonesia

Viet Nam

Euro-IV (2006)

Euro II - III

Euro III (2004);
Control CO andNOx level ingasoline throughcatalytic converters
since 1993

Euro II (2007)

Euro II (2005)

Euro II (2007)

None

Beijing (Euro IV
for light-duty andheaby-duty
vehicles)

None

None

None

None

Mandatory atleast every two
years; random
roadside checks

routine inspections;spot checks

Has recently beentightened andbecamemandatory forgasoline vehicles
since 1 July 2005
under two-speed
idle conditions

I&M program
adopted but subject
to review; roadsidechecks, publiccampaign

Under 1999 Clean Air
Act, annual
inspection is required
prior to registration;
random check forsmoke emission
testing

Becamemandatory inJakarta since2005, thegovernment holds
periodic emissions
test for free

Since 1995,
periodic
inspection began

Early 1993

Gradual phase out
since 1993, andsince 2000 Taipei
has been
leaded-free

December 2000

Unleaded gasoline
has been available
in the market since2001 for Jakarta,
followed by other
cities

Unleadedgasoline has been
available in themarket since July
2001

Euro IV andULEV in 2006

None

TaiwanIn Beijing from1997, followedby other cities

1996

43

Common Practices
5.

6.

Country
Japan

Korea

Phasing Out
Two-stroke
Engines forMotorcycle

TaiwanChina

ThailandTightening vehicle
emission standards
incl. motorcycle(2004)All gasoline
two-wheelers arephased out inShanghaiTightening vehicle
emission standards
incl. motorcycle(2001)

Most jitneys arebanned fromurban areas

Imposed ban for
new taxi tuk-tuk
registration; BMTA
launched licensing
system forpassenger van in
1995

Para-transit
Restrictions

Philippine

Indonesia

Viet Nam

Under
consideration

Capped the no. of
motorcycles

GHG Emissions

1.

2.

Promote Clean
Fuel for Buses
and Taxis

Promote LEVs
Use

Subsidies for
CNG, hybrid andelectric buses andtaxis

Incentive
programs forpurchasing LEVs,
replacing buses
and government
fleets with LEVs

Large excise tax
advantage on
LPG overgasoline anddiesel (LPG taxis
and CNG buses)

LPG taxis

Subsidy for
retrofitting taxis ,refueling stations,R&D programs(LPG/CNG buses
and taxis)

LPG-powered taxi
and tuk-tuk

Subsidy of NT$2
per liter of LPG

Banning the useof gasoline fueled
bicycles andscooters Æincrease inelectric scootersand bikes use;
excise tax rates
and subsidies

New car excise tax;
lower tax for fuelcell, hybrid, andnatural gas
vehicles; incentive
for eco-car
manufacturers

Started to apply theuse of CNG for somestrategic routes ofbuses in Metro
ManilaSubsidy for CNG
and Euro-II
compliant diesel
buses for BRT(Jakarta); CNG
four stroke bajaj(three-wheeler)44