Hasan, MMU; (2013) Unjust mobilities: The case of rickshaw bans and restrictions in Dhaka. Doctoral thesis , UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Planning mobilities in contemporary cities, particularly in developing countries, increasingly focuses on promoting motorised transport (MT) at the expense – side-lined if not banned – of non-motorised transport (NMT). As NMT serves the needs of a range of users, decisions of this kind are highly politicised favouring some forms of mobility, and interest, over others; this raises concerns about justice in access to transport. To planners and decision-makers the question of just mobilities - a concept developed in this research combining literature mainly on social justice and mobilities - poses a range of challenges: equitable distribution of direct/indirect benefits and burdens, fair process of decision making and execution in introduction or restriction/ban of any given transport mode or infrastructure, justification of motivations in political terms. Apart from redressing weakness in sustainability studies on mobility and transport, the proposition provides a broader framework to look into the distribution of existing and potential human mobilities, process and associated motivations (politics). The framework is used to explore the impact of a planning intervention – rickshaw bans/restrictions in Dhaka, Bangladesh - on the users at household level. Around one million rickshaws – a human pedalled tri-cycle usually carrying two persons – shared more than one-third of the total of 19.58 million trips in Dhaka in 2009. The volume of passengers transported (7.6 million person-trips/day in 2009), is equally astonishing; close to double the highest number of passengers (4.4 million) carried by London Tube in a single day during the 2012 Olympics. Yet in the name of increasing mobility rickshaws are being restricted/banned in Dhaka roads, particularly since 2002. The study hypothesis is that the withdrawal of rickshaws from the roads is a manifestation of unjust mobilities in the (transport) planning; devised by biased studies and plans, and fuelled by vested motivations. While short and medium distance travellers, women, school going children and their guardians, aged and sick members of the household and non-work activities are adversely affected by the decision; long distance activities, work trips and car-users are benefitted. This research also reveals a cross-sectoral, informal and productive global to local coalition against NMT in an uneven geography of power relations and multiple interests; which is also contextual and relevant to cities in developing countries in Asia and elsewhere in the globe. Apart from reviewing a broad range of theoretical and empirical literature, the research collected information on individual and household mobility patterns, on the effects of the ban/restriction and on potential modal options and preferences using a combination of questionnaire surveys, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions.

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