In the Asia-Pacific region, due to urban sprawl and transport infrastructure characteristics, the distance from a location to a public transport node is often longer than the 500m mark to conveniently cover on-foot. This has given rise to informal transport modes, which play a vital role in providing low-cost mobility services to a large number of people between points that are not served, or are inefficiently served, by public transport. For example, communal for-hire vehicles and motorbikes that travel into capillaries that extend from the main transport hubs are quite common across the region. They offer affordable and relatively fast short-distance transport services, but also come with concerns surrounding safety and air pollutant emissions.

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11, target 2 calls upon United Nations member States “to provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons”. Progress towards this target is measured by the proportion of the population that has convenient access to public transport (Indicator 11.2.1). For this indicator, public transport is considered convenient for those living within 500 m (for low-capacity public transport systems) and 1000 m (for high-capacity public transport systems) walkable distance of the nearest stop.

The indicator describes what is more commonly referred to as the first and last-mile problem (FLM), which is the challenge commuters face in travelling between the public transport stop and their final destination at both the start and end of their journey. According to the latest UN-Habitat data on Indicator 11.2.1, the Asia-Pacific region is performing below the global average for access to public transport – with a regional average of 44 per cent (Figure 1).

Figure 1