Transportation and Environment: Problems in Delhi and Beijing

Transportation and Environment:
Problems in Delhi and Beijing
Prof. Peter Rogers and Karolin Kokaz
September 28, 2000

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• Recently with the population growth and economic expansion,
the number of vehicles has been increasing rapidly in China
and India.
• Automobile emissions are the most rapidly growing source of
urban air pollution in most developing cities.
• These emissions contribute to a disproportionate amount to
human exposure. And also, the highest polluting vehicles
provide an huge amount of these total emissions.
• Therefore, targeting vehicular pollution control is more cost
effective than the industrial sector.
• The following slides include some international comparisons
in transport system characteristics of different cities in the
world, the description of Delhi’s and Beijing’s transportation
sector and its effect on the environment.

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Share of Air Pollutant Emissions
from the Mobile Sector
CO
HC
NOx
SO2
PM
Mexico, 1994
100% 53.3% 70%
26.5% 4.3%
Santiago, 1992
94.2% 82.7% 84.6% 24%
11.5%
São Paulo, 1995
96.4% 90.9% 97.3% 85.5% 42.7%
Rio de Janeiro, 1978 96.4% 73.2% 69.6% 9.5% 3.5%
Beijing, 1992
63.4% 73.5% 21.7%
Beijing, 1995
86.2%
49.1% 10%
Delhi, 1995
80.5% 95.2% 69.4% 4.6% 6.6%
As the polluting industries which are scattered all around the urban
area in Delhi and Beijing move out to the suburban areas and the
transportation sector continue to grow, the share of mobile sources
emissions will keep on rising.
Source: World Bank Report. Vehicular Air Pollution: Experience from Seven
Latin American Urban Cities, 1997. Data in Beijing comes from the report
titled China’s Strategies for Controlling Motor Vehicle Emissions, 1997.

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Comparison of passenger trip mix
among big cities in the world
Tokyo
1990
Paris
1990
London
1990
Bus
New York
1990
Car
1992
Light rail
Buenos Aires
Subway
Rio de Janeiro
1995
MC
Bangkok
1992
NMV
Seoul
1992
Others
Mexico city
1992
Beijing
1995
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Delhi, 1994
Buses
Cars
Light Rail/Subway
MC
NMV
Others
%
62.00%
6.94%
0.00%
17.59%
6.61%
6.86%
Others:
Autorickshaws
Taxis
Rail
Others
%
2.80%
0.06%
0.38%
3.62%

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Comparison of Vehicle Ownership and Pollution
in Big Cities in the World
12
120
3
10.2
9.3
10
100
8
7.2
80
,
µ
g/m
6
60
nership, million
3.9
w
4
2.9
40
2
1.4
20
concentration x
0
0
Vehicle o
NO
London New York
Paris
Tokyo
Delhi
Beijing
Data for Delhi vehicle number is in 1997, NOx pollution is monthly
average in 1998. Data for Beijing is in 1998. Others are in 1990.

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Comparison of Road Infrastructure & # of
Vehicles in Big Cities in the World
Road Supply (m/person)
Total Vehicles per km of Road
New York (1991)
4.70
99
Paris (1991)
0.90
410
London (1991)
1.90
186
Tokyo (1991)
1.90
140
Beijing (1995)
0.94
50
Delhi (1992)
2.17
90
Source: Newman and Kenworthy (1991). For Beijing; "China's Strategies for Controlling Motor Vehicle
Emissions: Summary Report", China Environmental Technical Assistance Project: B-9-3, World Bank, May 1998.

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Air Pollution in Different Cities in the World in 1995 (µg/m3)
City
TSP
SO2
NO2
Beijing
377
90
122
Delhi
415
24
41
Tokyo
49
18
68
Mexico City
279
74
130
London
25
77
New York
26
79
Los Angeles
9
74

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WHO Standards and Standards in Beijing
WHO / Beijing
Time-Weighted Average
Other
1 hour
24 hours
1 year
Averaging Times
NOx (µg/m3)
/ 150
/ 100
30 / 50
95 (4 hours)
Ozone (µg/m3)
150-200 / 160
100-120 (8 hours)
SO2 (µg/m3)
350 / 500
125 / 150
40-60 / 60
500 (10 min)
TSP (µg/m3)
120 / 300
60-90 / 200
PM-10 (µg/m3)
70 / 150
50 / 100
CO (mg/m3)
30 / 10
/ 4
60 (30min)
100 (15 min)
Annual Ambient Air Quality Standards in Delhi
Pollutant
Concentration in Ambient Air
WHO
(µg/m3)
Industrial
Residential
Sensitive
(µg/m3)
SO2
80
60
15
40-60
NOx
80
60
15
SPM
360
140
70
60-90
PM10
120
60
50
50
CO (mg/m3)
5
2
1

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Beijing
• 5 ring roads
• new housing under
construction around the 5th
ring road area
• 14 satellite cities being built
in the suburban and rural
areas
• This suburbanization and
decentralization plan of
Beijing will increase future
pass-km demand and put
more strain on the
transportation system.
• Car ownership (1995): 9
New housing
vehicles/1000 people

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Beijing, China
• 1 meter resolution
black-and-white
image of the
Forbidden City,
Beijing.
• IKONOS satellite
collected the image
on October 20,
1999.

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