Key Takeaways
- Using design thinking tools like visual journey maps, an ADB-assisted project in Mongolia developed transportation solutions that are responsive to user behavior and needs.
- ADB worked in partnership with communities and the local government in Ulaanbaatar to improve the personal safety of residents as they travel on roads and in public buses in ger areas.
- The visual journey maps helped increase the residents’ stake in road safety and community well-being.
Accessibility and usability challenges
With every squeak and roll of his wheelchair, Byambadorj Batjargal’s daily commute is a struggle for accessibility and usability. Before the project started, he had to maneuver his wheelchair through a steep gravel street in Ulaanbaatar’s Chingeltei district to go home. "To go down, I have to go inch by inch," he says.
He depends on the assistance and goodwill of other passengers to board buses. "For a person on a wheelchair, boarding a bus is a miracle. It would be better if buses have ramps."
For Tserenbadam Jamts, an elderly mother, her daily commute risks her personal safety. "Our street is rocky. It is difficult to walk here in the summer." At certain hours, "there is a long wait for the bus," and when it comes, with a hurried bus driver, she rushes to board with other harried commuters. "One bus is racing with another bus. They often race with each other to get more passengers."
Uzmee Khurstbaatar walks her three children to school and back in all seasons and sees severe road safety gaps. "There should be barriers on roadsides because children often run onto the road. We should analyze frequently used exits and entrances." She regularly sees vulnerable elderly and families with young children wait for buses in the heat or cold. "A proper bus shelter would be a refuge from the cold for children."
Byambadorj, Tserenbadam and Uzmee live in Ulaanbaatar’s ger areas–home to an estimated 850,000 people, which is about 60% of the city’s population. It is characterized by low-density and low to medium-income households. Municipal services cannot reach many of these areas; most roads are unpaved. Infrastructure is poor or non-existent. Road safety elements such as signs, signals, speed bumps, pedestrian crossings, and footpaths are rarely provided, resulting in unsafe or difficult journeys for residents.
ADB’s assistance improves transport services
The ADB-assisted project, Improving Transport Services in Ger Areas used insights generated from visual journey maps and focus group discussions to inform the project’s design. The project, funded by the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific and the Republic of Korea e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund, aimed to improve the accessibility, safety, security, and quality of transport services along the Chingeltei street corridor in Ulaanbaatar ger areas.
Byambadorj, Tserenbadam and Uzmee wore body cameras year-round to map how various people travel across seasons and narrate the daily challenges of their travel as part of the project’s human-centered design approach.
"Transport is not simply the provision of infrastructure and services," said ADB Senior Transport Specialist Rebecca Stapleton. "It is important to understand barriers to access, and enable people to achieve their potential, through safe, self-reliant, and independent mobility."
Stories like these, along with road safety auditing and traffic police data, helped ADB and the government design infrastructure improvements in the ger areas that are not just technically sound, but also responsive to user behavior and needs.
To address road safety concerns, speed cushions were constructed to slow traffic in areas with heavy pedestrian activity while allowing smooth bus flow, well-signed zebra crossings were installed to alert drivers to pedestrians, and missing footpath sections were completed. The project also installed handrails, ramps and stairs in strategic areas with the most foot traffic.
For people who travel differently like Byambadorj, the Public Transport Department also deployed low-floor buses with accessible ramps along the Chingeltei corridor.
Weather-protected bus shelters were installed at 14 stops with accessible information boards with bus schedules and routes, as well as eco-toilets. A fully enclosed bus shelter including heating and public toilets was constructed at kindergarten and business incubator built under the Ulaanbaatar Urban Services and Ger Areas Development Investment Program (GADIP), which sees a lot of foot traffic from families.
Personal safety and harassment when walking and riding buses were also addressed. Sarnai Narantsetseg, a young student, also used her visual journey map to chronicle her daily commute. "Here in this bus stop, there is no lighting. It would be good if there is lighting. Crime occurred behind that house with no lighting," she said. She shared how her female friends had been inappropriately touched by male passengers while riding the bus. Sarnai’s and her friends’ stories reinforce a project survey that reported the prevalence of sexual harassment on public transportation. Principles of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design were applied to help address these concerns.
System-wide solutions
Bus drivers and informal taxi drivers were trained for safe driving and to reduce harassment in public transportation. Bus shelters were carefully designed to reduce blind spots, and CCTV cameras which are connected to the Ulaanbaatar Traffic Control Center and monitored 24-7 were strategically placed throughout the corridor. Fences were painted in bright colors by community members to enhance community ownership. The fully enclosed terminus bus stop is equipped with a resting area for drivers, and a security desk. Residents are encouraged to report their experiences through a feedback mechanism.
A local NGO, Beautiful Hearts Against Sexual Violence, was also engaged to develop and roll out a public awareness campaign: students, teachers and school administrators were trained to recognize, report and prevent sexual harassment and violence on public transport.
Finally, to encourage the feedback and participation of the community throughout the project’s implementation and beyond, a 16-member community council was formed, comprising of residents, school representatives, and bus company representatives.
Through a series of system-wide solutions and using a community-led approach, ADB, the Municipality of Ulaanbaatar and the Public Transport Department improved the safety of vulnerable road users.
The project directly benefited 23,644 persons, including 12,104 women, 7,336 children, and 454 persons with disabilities (PWDs) in two khoroos in the ger areas.
According to ADB Country Director for Mongolia Shannon Cowlin, "It takes a combination of infrastructure, policy, public communication, and behavior change to transform urban mobility."
