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Car trouble
Asian motor vehicle use has risen rapidly in the last decade, creating the same predictable problems that plague traffic clogged western nations.

Fatalities from motor vehicle crashes have risen to 600,000 per year and vehicle exhaust has become a major contributor to urban air pllution, climate change, lung cancer and heart disease. Noise pollution is further eroding quality of life and causing permanent hearing loss.

Finding space for cars in densely populated Asian cities is proving impossible. Congestion has reduced average weekday motor vehicle speeds to 10km/h in Shanghai and Bangkok [5] and is now gripping much of the region.

Non motorised mobility
Asia produces more than 75 million bicycles per year [3], three times more than the rest of the world combined. Specifically in China there are claimed to be over 500 million bicycles, compared with less than 20 million cars. Bicycle manufacture in China employs over 150,000 people and generates over one billion USD in foreign exchange [4].

Walking and cycling still accounts for the bulk of short trips in Asia, with obvious health, economic and environmental advantages. Despite this, non-motorised mobility is being increasingly marginalised by car-centered attitudes and infrastructure changes.

Rail
Rail in Asia moves 16 billion passengers 1.3 trillion passenger-miles/year [2]. In 1964 Japan lead the world with the 210km/h Shinkansen bullet train. Today Japan boasts five high-speed rail lines. Indian rail is the world's second largest employer. In 2002 Shanghai built the world's first commercial maglev train, with a 430km/h top speed, and later work began on a high-speed rail line to Beijing. In 2005 China anounced plans to build a high-speed line connecting Asia with Europa and in 2006 China completed the world's highest railway (5072m), from Qinghai to Lhasa.

Bus Rapid Transit
BRT creates dedicated space for buses, so they are not affected by congestion. Benefits are similar to light rail, but with less capital investment and greater flexibility for local variations. Following spectacular success in Latin America, BRT is gaining momentum across Asia. Projects have recently been completed in Australia, Indonesia, China, Japan and Korea. New systems are also planned in India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.