Carts, bicycles and other slow-moving vehicles should not be prohibited, but allocated special lanes or routes.

Transport planners should recognise the value of local transport solutions and plan for their integration and safe use.

Potentially dangerous loads

Many laden carts, cycles and motor vehicles are dangerous. Owners maximise usage. Investment in safety is not their priority. Legislation for improved safety may be needed. This should be developed through participative discussions with the users of the technologies to identify problems and solutions. Photo right: Motorcycle with bulky load, Sri Lanka



Steel-rimmed cartwheels and sledges can cause damage to roads. Pneumatic tyres may be a solution but people may be unable to afford to buy and maintain such carts. Prohibition of cartwheels and sledges may cause financial and social problems to rural people. Prohibition should not be contemplated until affordable alternative technologies are available
Photo left: Buffalo-pulled sledge on a road in The Philippines

Prohibition or planning for mixed traffic?

Drivers of motor vehicles often consider intermediate means of transport to be dangerous nuisances. They want them banned from towns and from rural roads. They do not understand how important rural roads are for short-distance local transport. The combination of fast traffic and slow-moving means of transport can be dangerous. Solutions may include traffic-calming measures or special lanes for slow vehicles.

Some urban authorities have banned carts and rickshaws from city centres, for reasons of safety or improved traffic flows or as a matter of prestige - they want 'modern' cities. Authorities in Addis Abeba and Bamako banned horse carts, and those in Islamabad banned almost all intermediate means of transport.

Some cities in India and Indonesia have banned cycle rickshaws. They have been replaced by more 'modern' autorickshaws. These motorised vehicles do not appear to have reduced traffic congestion but they have increased pollution. In urban areas the prohibition of slow vehicles has not automatically improved traffic flows, since traffic speed is often limited by vehicles stopping for loading and unloading.