Why Transport MattersAir Pollution
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Urban air quality is listed as one of the world’s worst pollution problems. Given that the most common sources of air pollution are motor vehicles, increased motorization within cities poses a significant threat to the health of its residents as well as to the natural environment.
Promoting sustainable transportation alternatives, like cycling, walking, and mass transit removes motor vehicles from the road and reduces levels of air pollution.
- In Bangkok, studies estimated 400 additional deaths per year due to the effects of lead in the air.
- A World Bank study, on Mumbai, Shanghai, Manila, Bangkok, Krakow and Santiago, showed that the total social cost of air pollution in these cities was as high as US $2.6 billion.
- In Delhi, the transport sector accounts for over 70 percent of air pollution
- Road transport contributes 18 percent of the world’s total CO2 emissions from fuel combustion in the year 2000
