The absence of public transport in Lebanon has a substantial economic impact on the country, with congestion clogging the country’s main transport arteries. Without a sustainable transport system in place, this will only get worse; the average delay per vehicle will nearly double and the average speed will be halved according to a 2015 working…
Lebanon needs to build a railway network
Lebanon needs a disaster policy for earthquake risks
Over the past 2,000 years, Lebanon has experienced over 13 major earthquakes. These tremors are a result of the country’s location within an active tectonic system called the Dead Sea Rift, which divides the African and Arabian plates. One of Lebanon’s most devastating earthquakes occurred in 551 AD, a 7.5 magnitude quake along the Mount…
Exports must be part of economic growth strategy
Successive Lebanese governments have largely neglected the manufacturing sector. Policies were instead limited to a number of financing schemes, based on subsidized interest rates and several trade agreements with EU and Arab countries. Industrialists were left to contend with multiple challenges, including high production costs, inefficient provision of public services, and significant skills mismatch. Consequently,…
Shared mobility apps provide more options, but may fuel congestion
Beirut suffers from heavy congestion and a lack of proper public transportation that causes commuters to be stuck in traffic for long periods of time and fuels CO2 emissions. The likes of shared mobility apps like Carpolo, Loop, and Careem give some Lebanese residents more options for getting around while seeking to reduce congestion and…
Smart mobility in Lebanon
The first digital revolution was centered around the movement of data and information in the virtual world; the next digital revolution may very well be around optimizing the movement of people and things in the real world. The concept of “smart mobility” is the intersection between the real and the virtual worlds, and this is…
The case for increased cycling in Lebanon
Worldwide, the bicycle is making a comeback as part of the future of sustainable cities. Here in Beirut, despite appearances, there is the potential to foster a bike-friendly city. Beirut’s small size, compact urban form, organic and narrow street structure, and the inter-connectivity of neighborhoods make it an ideal city to cycle in. Even the…
Lost in Trainslation
Kan ya ma kan (once upon a time), Lebanon had a well-developed railway network established by the different foreign authorities that governed the country before its independence. The first major rail line was developed during the Ottoman period in 1895 and ran from Beirut to Damascus. It was constructed by the French upon a concession…
Hybrid and electric vehicles in Lebanon
Lebanon still lags behind when it comes to implementing eco-friendly solutions across the board. In the automotive industry this has meant little progress toward the adoption of electric vehicles, despite some positive movement this past year. In April 2018, the government announced under article 55 that those wishing to purchase a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV)…
Public transport projects in Greater Beirut and beyond
While it is true that exaggeration is somewhat of a national trait, when it comes to congestion getting in or out of Beirut—and driving inside it—it often feels that no hyperbole is enough to describe the sense of despair evoked when inching forward in bumper to bumper traffic breathing in exhaust fumes and listening to…
Strategies, opportunities, and natural limitations to EV infrastructure in Lebanon
Based on discussions with the two Lebanese gas station network operators—Medco and IPT—it seems fair to describe the first step of the journey into this particular private-sector infrastructure construction as based on the understanding that electric vehicles will make their appearances in Lebanon sooner or later, and that the country could ill afford to fall…
Private sector embarks on creation of EV charging-point infrastructure
The most eye-catching developments in mobility involve cars. The world is filled with cars; many of us sit in these machines for inordinate lengths of time every day. Surveys done in recent years in the United States found that the average person might spend upward of 17,500 minutes per year at the steering wheel or…
Lebanon’s informal public transport system
Public transport is part of Lebanon’s mobility heritage, as is evident by our popular culture. In the song entitled “Ala Hadir el-Bosta,” the late Joseph Sakr sings of his love Alia’s pretty eyes while on a shared bus from Hammana to Tannourine, humorously describing the passengers who were with him—the song was composed by Ziad…
The importance of Lebanon’s macro and micro mobility
“Nobody ever saw a dog make a fair and deliberate exchange of one bone for another with another dog.” Adam Smith Online economic literature has no ready answer to the question of whether Adam Smith had a deep personal bond with a canine, nor if he was an expert on animal behavior by the standards…
Transport is transforming and Lebanon must keep up
When compared to political revolutions, it has never been exactly clear what economic revolutions entail nor how long they take. But it is clear that these economic revolutions combine multiple change and adaptation processes, whether one talks of periods of fundamental economic transformation as “revolutions,” beginning with the first agricultural revolution in the fertile crescent…
Groundhog Day
Some repetitions have become part of our routine; it is amazing what human beings can learn to accept. We have become used to daily power cuts, as the electricity switches back and forth between state supply and generator, and to water shortages in the summer and waiting for private companies to refill the tanks. We…