COMPARISON OF TRANSPORTATION PLANNING IN DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

The importance of careful planning and resource allocation in developing countries is quite evident. The resources are often allocated inefficiently due to uncoordinated planning, lack of planning expertise, transplantation of inappropriate solutions optimized for developed countries, lack of adequate data, distortions due to the external financing sources, and other deficiencies in the planning. Although developing countries differ considerably in their resources, circumstances, problems and solutions, some trends in their transportation planning can be identified and some comparisons can be made with developed countries. Specifically, the comparisons drawn in this article lead to several recommendations for transportation planning in developing countries.