Exactly! 

There is a whole front in this battle for more sustainable transport that is about dealing with people’s visions of just what it means to be part of the ‘developed’ world and ‘middle class’. And done in a way that doesn’t ironicize their wishes - the exact same wishes we have - who doesn’t want a car in the ‘developed’ world? 

The only hope with the developing world is that they might be able to technologically ‘leapfrog’ us - maybe missing some of the worst mistakes of city planning (Robert Moses anyone?). But I don’t hold out a lot of hope. Anyway, the sheer numbers of people in somewhere like Hanoi mean that it’s probably at ‘peak scooter’ so there’s really no hope for car transport that isn’t more than a very pricy way to travel at less than walking pace… 





> On 19 Sep 2018, at 13:35, Simon Batterbury <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> Short paper from my masters student on HCMC. Similar findings and blaming rise of the middle class - who, bizarrely, aspire and achieve car ownership, but then go everywhere on scooters because of the appalling gridlock! 
> 
> Nguyen Thi Cat Tuong. 2014. Determinants of private mode choice in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: from the individual perspective. World Transport Policy and Practice 18(1): 56-69  http://www.eco-logica.co.uk/pdf/wtpp20.1.pdf
> World Transport Policy and Practice Volume 20.1 January 2014
> www.eco-logica.co.uk
> World Transport Policy and . Practice Volume 20.1. January 2014. ECO-LOGICA LA1 LTD ISSN 1352-7614
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Dr. Simon Batterbury |  Professor of Political Ecology, LEC, Lancaster University, UK, Europe. [log in to unmask]
> Principal research fellow| School of Geography | University of Melbourne, 3010 VIC, Australia | simonpjb @ unimelb.edu.au | http://www.simonbatterbury.net
> 
> 
> From: Cycling and Society Research Group discussion list <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Alan Munro <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2018 8:19 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Capitalist transition on wheels: Cars, motorbikes and mobility in Hanoi
>  
> Thanks for this. I spent some time in Vietnam and Laos a few years ago, 2011 and then I was amazed by the almost gridlock in Hanoi with motor bike traffic. The fumes and pollution at rush hour were quite amazing, and lots of people were wearing masks. As powered transport, the bikes didn’t take up as much space as a car, and could have a whole family, or a LOT of luggage, but still, even then, the old city was in near gridlock - and that’s without much motor transport yet. I can only see things getting worse unless there’s an innovative transport solution. 
> 
> Interestingly, there were bike taxis in various places, but they had a very bad reputation. There were tales that the riders would ‘not understand’ if one wished to just have a short trip, then wait and demand money for a full sightseeing tour. The sad thing was that a non-polluting and useful form of transport has become tainted with a bad reputation, whereas jumping on the back of an informal moped taxi in Saigon/HCMC was generally thought by my partner (quite experienced in Vietnam) to be safe. 
> 
> Anyway, this is an area of much needed investigation! 
> 
> best,
> 
> alan munro
> 
> 
> 
> > On 19 Sep 2018, at 10:36, Javier Caletrío <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > 
> > Capitalist transition on wheels: Cars, motorbikes and mobility in Hanoi
> >  
> > Arve Hansen’s excellent PhD thesis on the transition from bicycles and walking to motorbikes and cars in Hanoi is available here bit.ly/2MJEPOU
> > 
> > This is one of the ten doctoral and Masters theses recognised for its outstanding quality by the Mobile Lives Forum. The next call for participation will be announced in the coming weeks.
> > 
> > 
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