Decisions on rural road building have historically been made on mainly economic grounds. Planners and donors are now keen to include measurements of potential social benefits that new and improved roads can make to rural poor people.

A report by the Transport Research Laboratory, IT Transport and the University of Birmingham describes field studies on the social costs and benefits of rural road improvements in three developing countries. Researchers asked whether more and better roads in rural areas improve access to social services and economic opportunities and increase social networking.

Traditionally, cost benefit analysis has been used as the basis for justifying road investment in developing countries. Using information from Vietnam, Ethiopia and Zambia a clearer picture of how and when such benefits are actually realised emerges.

The geographical and economic context of a country or region affects the social impact of new and improved rural roads. Specifically, social costs and benefits depend on: Terrain - poor terrain makes travel more difficult with or without roads. Few people in rural areas have motorised transport, so even where roads are present, walking or cycling in very hilly or muddy areas is difficult.

• Wealth - the most common way for people to move around is on foot. Public transport or private vehicles require investment and spending by individuals. Therefore, where incomes are low, mobility is often correspondingly low, regardless of whether a road exists.
• Location of services - in some cases, roads mean people travel less often than before. This happens because roads can bring services like markets, schools and health centres to the village, making travel less necessary.

Rural road development, economic growth and access to services are all interdependent. If an economy is doing well, people can afford to pay for public transport or buy vehicles. This allows them to take advantage of roads for economic benefit and access to services. In depressed economies, people cannot afford to use the road to travel and the government cannot afford to extend services to villages newly connected by road building.

When planning rural road investment, policymakers need to consider the broad and interdependent processes and factors at work:

• Rural roads improve access to social services both by making it easier to get to them and because services are simpler to set-up in well-connected villages:
• In Vietnam people living near roads travel more because they can afford to, while in Ethiopia people travel less because services come to them.
• Economic opportunities also improve with rural roads. However, in an economically depressed country like Zambia, people cannot afford to use the roads to access services or to earn money, so roads have less beneficial impact.
• In Zambia and Ethiopia, mobility has to increase for poor people to reap the potential social and economic benefits of roads. Governments of such countries should encourage greater use of bicycles and pack animals by assisting with savings and training schemes.

Source(s):
‘Framework for the inclusion of social benefits in transport planning: final report’, Unpublished report by the Transport Research Laboratory for DFID, by DF Bryceson, ASC Davis, F Ahmed and T Bradbury, May 2004 Full document.

Funded by: DFID R8123

id21 Research Highlight: 28 September 2005

Further Information:
Annabel Bradbury
TRL Limited
Crowthorne House
Nine Mile Ride
Wokingham
Berkshire, RG40 3GA
UK

Tel: +44 (0) 1344 770398
Fax: +44 (0) 1344 770356
Contact the contributor: abradbury@trl.co.uk

Transport Research Laboratory, UK

Deborah Bryceson
The Policy Practice
33 Hamilton Road
Oxford OX2 7PY
UK

Tel: 44 (0)1865 292801
Contact the contributor: deborah.bryceson@thepolicypractice.com; dfbryceson@bryceson.net

IT Transport, UK

University of Birmingham, UK

Other related links:
'On the move – new approaches to improving rural transport'

'Creating rural transport: lessons from a failed road project in South Africa'

'Stopping poverty in its tracks: road building in China'

'Smoothing the way for bicycles – rethinking bicycle transport planning'