Urban transport management in rapidly urbanizing countries, from standard to integrated approaches: the case of Bangkok and Singapore.

Summary The thesis shows that a strictly economic approach, although important, is not sufficient for managing the external effects of congestion and pollution from urban transport in megacities in developing countries. An integrated approach, which includes policy measures related to urban transport demand management, transport infrastructure development and management, and technology options, is proposed. Two contrasting experiences in rapidly urbanizing Asian countries, such as Bangkok (a relative failure) and Singapore (a success), are used to demonstrate the above proposition. The study also shows that while the measures adopted by an economy could explain the relative success or failure of a given policy, the choice and effectiveness of a measure can only be properly understood by taking into account the institutional context of an economy, in the case of Bangkok and Singapore.