Sustainable urban transport in Pakistan: threats and opportunities

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to explore this phenomenon, how initial choice in the history of transport policy in Pakistan became “locked into” suboptimal transport policies biased towards private vehicles and roads and now resisting change to a more sustainable transport policy. Design/methodology/approach The methodology was designed by applying the concept of “path dependence” on a case study of Pakistan. This approach helped to locate the “critical juncture” for explaining how transport decision has been made over time and on which basis. Findings Pakistan transport development, including urban transport planning, has become both “resource dependent” and “path dependent” upon international agencies which shapes the outcomes and limits the application of sustainable solutions in transport in ways that could be consistent with the local situation. Research limitations/implications The paper is a part of a research project, “identifying the institutional barriers to sustainable urban transport in Pakistan” which is in progress. Therefore, the paper may develop its findings at the end of the research project. Practical implications The paper provides valuable information to getting insight into urban transport politics of Pakistan. Originality/value The research paper has implied the concept of “path dependence” to explain the difference between reality and ideal in urban transport planning of Pakistan by the interventions of global agencies.