Asian Transport Outlook

ADB launched the Asian Transport Outlook (ATO) in March 2021 to strengthen knowledge on transport in the Asia and the Pacific region. The ATO is an open data resource for transport data and policy information collection, analysis, and documentation. It collects, organizes, and shares national data on transport in 51 economies in the region using more than 399 national indicators. It also documents the institutional frameworks, policies, and financing of transport in these economies. Apart from the national level database, the ATO also contains an urban database which consists of 101 urban indicators covering 460 cities. A detailed assessment of 41 cities is also available with 180 indicators and policy information. The various ATO outputs are now being integrated to a web-based interface at https://asiantransportoutlook.com/

Commuters wearing protective masks inside a train in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: Richard de Guzman/ADB

ADB is working with other interested parties in developing the ATO as an instrument to track the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement, and other relevant international agreements in the transport sector. The ATO also serves as input into regional transport initiatives, such as the ESCAP Regional Action Programme for Transport Development in Asia and the Pacific, the ASEAN Kuala Lumpur Strategic Action Plan and the Aichi 2030 Declaration on Environmentally Sustainable Transport. The ATO is a multiyear program initially funded by ADB but eventually intended to become a stand-alone program with funding from multiple sources. ATO is currently undergoing planning for its Phase 3.

For information on the ATO please contact James Leather or the ATO team.

Asian Transport Outlook Outputs

ATO Website

The ATO Website is now available at https://asiantransportoutlook.com/. This web-based interface was developed to improve the accessibility to various ATO products. Currently, the ATO National Database, the ATO National Transport Policy Documents Database, and the ATO Cost Database are now available in the website. In the coming phase, other database and knowledge products will be integrated to the website as well.

ATO National Database

The information collected through the ATO is documented in Excel Workbooks that are available for download. The information is initially organized by categories and sub-categories.

This information is also now available through https://asiantransportoutlook.com/snd/". For information on the structure of the ATO National Database, see the ATO user guide. A web-based user guide is also available at https://asiantransportoutlook.com/snd/snd-userguide/.

Data will be released in batches. Following the initial launch of the ATO, containing 234 indicators in March 2021, a second version of the ATO National Database was published in May 2021 with 58 new or modified indicators. The third version of ATO National Database, released in November 2021, added data for 51 new indicators and updates 34 existing indicators. This latest release includes updates to 155 indicators, plus new sources for 29 indicators. This update also streamlines the Masterlist of Indicators, which excludes those with yet-to-be available information.

ATO Urban Database

The ATO Urban Database consists of one Excel workbook that consists of 101 indicators covering 460 cities. The structure of the ATO Urban Database follows the structure of the ATO National Database but includes one additional category of data: Urban Form, Structure and Land-use. The ATO Urban Database was released in November 2021.

ATO Urban Database - Detailed Assessment

Following the ATO Urban Database, a detailed assessment on 41 Asian cities was conducted to provide additional indicators with timeseries across different primary sources. Transport-related targets and policies were also included from official city sources.

ATO User Guide

The ATO User Guide provides an overview of the ATO indicators documented in the ATO Master List of Indicators divided by main categories and sub-categories. It describes the procedures for adding, subdividing or deletion of indicators.

The ATO User Guide also describes how to sort ATO indicators by type or scope as well as their linkages to global and regional processes on sustainable development and climate change. It also defines the linkage between ATO indicators and ADB’s Operational Priorities under ADB Strategy 2030.

The structure of the ATO National Database and the ATO Urban Database is also described in the guide. It also includes an introduction to the different country typologies that can be applied to presenting individual ATO indicators.

ATO National Database Masterlist of Indicators

The ATO Masterlist of national level Indicators provides an overview of the indicators that have been gathered and documented in the ATO National Database. This provides tabular information about the indicators such as indicator definition, scope, mode, sector, source, and status. The Masterlist is structured based on the 9 workbooks and corresponding subcategories.

The Masterlist is regularly updated whereby indicators are added or deleted. A web-based version of the Masterlist is available at https://asiantransportoutlook.com/snd-masterlist/

ATO Analysis

ADB actively encourages the use of ATO data in transport research and policy analysis. We would highly appreciate if you could share the results of your analysis with the ATO team.

In addition, the ATO team will also carry out its own analysis ATO data and information. This analysis will result in brief documents focusing on specific topics. A number of knowledge products are currently uploaded at https://asiantransportoutlook.com/analytical-outputs/ such as:

• Asian Transport 2030 Outlook
• Tracking Transport and Climate Change Indicators in Asia and the Pacific 2000-2020
• 2021 Report on the Status of Transport-related SDG Targets in Asia and the Pacific

The ATO is also being used to support the tracking of the Aichi 2030 Declaration on Environmentally Sustainable Transport – Making Transport in Asia Sustainable. This Declaration was adopted in October 2021 by 21 member countries of the Regionally Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Forum, coordinated by United Nations Center on Regional Development (UNCRD). ATO developed a baseline report which describes the status of the 6 adopted goals under the declaration.

ATO National Transport Policy Documents

As a byproduct of policy information collection, an annotated repository of transport-related policy documents from the 51 economies was developed. This is also available at https://asiantransportoutlook.com/transportpolicy/