Report on sustainable urban transport index : Lautoka City, Fiji

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Date
2023
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Transport Division
+66 2 288-1234
escap-td@un.org
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According to research published in UN-Habitat’s flagship report, “The State of the World’s Cities 2010-2011”, developing regions including Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, will have more people living in urban than rural areas by the year 2030. With half of the world’s population already living in urban areas, the challenges we face in the battle against urban poverty, our quest for cities without slums, for cities where women feel safer, for inclusive cities with power, water and sanitation, and affordable transport, for better planned cities, and for cleaner, greener cities is daunting. Lautoka, one of the two cities in Fiji, is known as the ‘Sugar City’ due to its status as the home to the country’s largest sugar mill. With the growing trend of rural-to-urban migration and the large number of urban populations, Lautoka suffers from various urban transport problems. These include a lack of reliable public transport systems, inadequate transport infrastructures, insufficient bus stops and facilities, and increasing fuel consumption and vehicle emission. To assess the state of urban transportation systems and services in Lautoka, a quantitative analysis is undertaken in this report by employing the Sustainable Urban Transportation Index (SUTI) developed by UNESCAP, comprising 10 indicators. Data collected and presented in the report are mostly secondary data. The basic benefit of this study is that it can provide valuable insights to the Town councils, the Ministry of Public Works, Transport & Meteorological Services in Fiji, the Road Authority, and other related stakeholders, guiding them toward enhancing overall accessibility and sustainability of urban transport systems and services. The report also highlights the necessity of putting laws and procedures in place aimed at increasing the utilization of active and public transport, addressing the absence of air quality monitoring stations, and boosting investments in public transport. Even though greenhouse gas emissions are within acceptable limits, this suggests the necessity to build a new station. Numerous laws and actions are required for a transition to a carbon-neutral transport system, while the country should seek to raise the SUTI score overall by the indicator.

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