Transporting actor networks: Examining the role of human and non-
human actors in the transfer of Bus Rapid Transit to Lahore, Pakistan
A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy
Sadaf Saeed
M.Sc. Infrastructure Planning, University of Stuttgart (Germany)
B.Sc. City and Regional Planning, University of Engineering and Technology Lahore
(Pakistan)
School of Global, Urban and Social Studies
College of Design and Social Context
RMIT University
September 2021
ii
Declaration
I certify that except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that of the author
alone; the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part, to qualify for any other
academic award; the content of the thesis is the result of work which has been carried out
since the official commencement date of the approved research program; any editorial work,
paid or unpaid, carried out by a third party is acknowledged; and, ethics procedures and
guidelines have been followed.
I acknowledge the support I have received for my research through the provision of an
Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.
Sadaf Saeed
20 September 2021
iii
Acknowledgements
Throughout the period of research regarding my thesis, I owe thanks and gratitude to several
people and institutions. First and foremost are my respected and honorable supervisors,
Marco Amati, Annette Kroen, and Ian Woodcock, who became the embodiment of excellence
for me. They not only supervised my research but also provided me with valuable insight and
ideas and kept refining my thesis draft. I am thankful to them for igniting the spark of intellectual
and scholarly taste within me through their vigorous training in research and determined
attitude to supervising me.
I am also thankful to RMIT University and the School of GUSS which provided me with this
opportunity to carry out my doctorate and generously offered me the best of academic
environments, necessary literature, highly qualified professors, and intense learning sessions.
Through all these factors, my university and department enabled me to pursue my higher
studies and research with utmost zeal. I am also grateful to the University of Engineering &
Technology, Lahore, for giving me study leave to pursue my PhD degree. I am also thankful
to the Transport Department Punjab for helping me to get the required data.
I acknowledge the support I have received for my research through the provision of an
Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.
I’m also indebted to my other Ph.D. colleagues, Leul, Mariana and Louisiana, who made these
years cheerful and memorable for me through their friendship and thought-provoking
interesting discussions, diversity which they brought with them and exchange of ideas.
I also express my enormous thanks to my loving family, which includes my parents, siblings,
husband, and my wonderful daughters, Ajar and Ananya. Their unwavering support, faith and
prayers allowed me to fulfil this enormous task with much ease. Their patience with my busy
schedule regarding my research also helped me remain completely focused on my academic
tasks. The sense of accomplishment which I feel now is a proud moment for me that I could
deliver as a reward to my family, who stood by me through thick and thin.
Professional accredited editor Mary-Jo O’Rourke AE provided copyediting and proofreading
services according to the national university-endorsed ‘Guidelines for editing research theses’
(Institute of Professional Editors, 2019). I’m extremely indebted to Mary-Jo for editing my
thesis and correcting the mistakes if there were any.
iv
Table of Contents
Research background ............................................................................................. 3
Research problem................................................................................................... 6
Research questions and aim ................................................................................. 10
Research design ................................................................................................... 11
Research significance ........................................................................................... 12
Thesis structure .................................................................................................... 13
Lahore City: urban development and mobility trends ............................................. 15
Urban development and changes in mobility patterns .................................... 16
Role of master plans in promoting road-based development .......................... 20
Influential role of international actors in transport planning in Lahore ............. 23
Pre-BRT urban transport conditions in Lahore ...................................................... 25
BRT as implemented in Lahore ............................................................................. 27
Post-BRT urban transport conditions in Lahore ..................................................... 29
Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 31
The extensive spread of BRT – a case of transport policy transfer ........................ 35
Concept of policy transfer ..................................................................................... 39
Policy transfer framework............................................................................... 40
Types and roles of policy actors ..................................................................... 43
Limitations of policy transfer concept ............................................................. 43
Concept of policy mobilities ................................................................................... 45
Global policy transfer networks ...................................................................... 45
Contextual relationships between policy actors .............................................. 47
Transformation in policy exchange ................................................................. 48
Role of technology in policy transfer analysis ................................................. 49
Actor Network Theory – an ethnographic lens for policy transfer analysis ............. 50
Inclusion of non-human actors ....................................................................... 52
Formation of actor networks ........................................................................... 54
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Translation framework ................................................................................... 56
The theoretical understanding of policy transfer in BRT circulation ....................... 60
Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 61
Conceptual framework .......................................................................................... 63
The concept of heterogenous assemblages – identifying roles of human and
non-human actors ........................................................................................................ 65
The concept of translation – examining the actor networks ............................ 66
The concept of transformation – examining the policy variations.................... 67
Qualitative research approach .............................................................................. 70
Case study approach ..................................................................................... 71
Research methods ................................................................................................ 72
Document review ........................................................................................... 73
Semi-structured interviews ............................................................................. 74
Focus group discussion ................................................................................. 78
Field work observations and site visits ........................................................... 79
Data analysis ........................................................................................................ 80
Fieldwork challenges ............................................................................................ 82
Ethical considerations ........................................................................................... 84
Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 84
Ineffective role of transport planning institutions .................................................... 86
Inconsistency in planning decisions of transport institutions ........................... 87
Lack of integration between national and provincial institutions ..................... 87
Blocking the role of national transport institutions in the selection of BRT ...... 89
Disciplinary (engineering) bias of transport institutions at the city level .......... 91
Professional rivalry between transport institutions at the city level ................. 93
Planning inconsistency in transport policy documents ........................................... 95
Outdated and ineffective policy documents at the city level............................ 96
No policy documents at the provincial level .................................................... 98
Conflicted transport planning approach at the national level .......................... 98
The Challenges of BRT transfer faced by local transport policy actors ................ 100
Challenges of non-integrated transport planning system .............................. 101
Challenges of coordination between local and international designers ......... 103
Challenges of a short time frame for implementation ................................... 104
Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 105
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Role of international actors as policy promoters .................................................. 107
Promoters of light rail ................................................................................... 108
Advocates of BRT Bogota model ................................................................. 111
Proponents of the Istanbul Metrobus model ................................................. 115
Role of local political actors as policy selectors ................................................... 120
Light rail as a project of Pakistan Muslim League Q (2005–2007) ................ 120
BRT concept as a project of Pakistan People’s Party (2008–2010) .............. 121
The Istanbul Metrobus as a project of Pakistan Muslim League N (2011–2013)
123
Role of mass transit technology as a non-human actor ....................................... 126
Influence of light rail transit technology ........................................................ 129
Influence of the BRT Bogota model ............................................................. 131
Influence of the Istanbul Metrobus model ..................................................... 132
The complexity of actor networks in BRT transfer ............................................... 134
Network instability in Lahore light rail project................................................ 134
Network instability in the BRT Bogota model ............................................... 136
Network stability in the Istanbul Metrobus model ......................................... 138
Three sub-networks made an intact actor network to transfer BRT ..................... 140
Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 143
Personal reflections and selection of elevated busway as a central BRT variation
146
Translation analysis: the story of the influential role of elevated busway ............. 152
The actors generating the need for the elevated busway ............................. 153
Elevated route – the familiar approach of local transport engineers ............. 155
Elevated route –the design feature in common with the Lahore light rail project
157
Elevated route – the resemblance to the Bosphorus Bridge, Istanbul .......... 159
Local level resistance to elevated route design ............................................ 162
The elevation as a part of the BRT translation ............................................. 165
Local level transformations – elevated busways as a new trend in Pakistan ....... 166
Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 171
Transfer of BRT – an outcome of actor networks ................................................ 174
Influential and significant roles of non-human actors .................................... 175
Role of international actors as policy promoters ........................................... 177
Role of political leaders as policy selectors .................................................. 179
Ineffective role of local transport planning institutions .................................. 181
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Transfer of BRT – an outcome of the symbolic role of a non-human actor .......... 182
The symbolic use of elevated BRT in politics ............................................... 184
The significance of ANT in policy transfer analysis.............................................. 188
Discussion summary ........................................................................................... 189
Research overview ............................................................................................. 191
Key conclusions of the thesis .............................................................................. 193
Limited role of local transport planning institutions in BRT transfer .............. 193
Roles of actors in the form of actor networks in BRT transfer ....................... 194
Role of symbolism in BRT translation at the local level ................................ 197
Potential of ANT to broaden transport policy transfer analysis ..................... 199
Policy recommendations ..................................................................................... 201
Research limitations ............................................................................................ 201
Implications for future research ........................................................................... 202
Outlook ............................................................................................................... 203
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List of Figures
Figure 1.1: An elderly man walking up a staircase to get to the Lahore Metrobus ................. 4
Figure 1.2: The elevated route of the Lahore Metrobus and local traffic conditions at Data
Sahib station ......................................................................................................................... 4
Figure 2.1; Population growth in Lahore from 1 million to 11 million .................................... 15
Figure 2.2: Map of Lahore showing the trends of urban spawl along major road corridors .. 19
Figure 2.3: The contrast between old (paratransit) and new (Metrobus) modes of transport 27
Figure 2.4 : The BRT project in Lahore ............................................................................... 28
Figure 2.5: The light rail Orange Line metro train in Lahore................................................. 31
Figure 4.1: The conceptual framework ................................................................................ 69
Figure 4.2: Focus group discussion with urban and transport planners in Lahore ............... 79
Figure 6.1: The Mayor of Istanbul and the Chief Minister Punjab in Istanbul to sign the MOU
for the Metrobus project .................................................................................................... 118
Figure 6.2: Route of Lahore Metrobus symbolising the close connections between Turkey
and Pakistan in showing the two national flags at the inauguration ceremony in Lahore ... 133
Figure 6.3: First sub-actor network of Lahore light rail transit technology .......................... 136
Figure 6.4: Second sub-actor network of BRT Bogota model ............................................ 138
Figure 6.5: Third sub-actor network of the Istanbul Metrobus model ................................. 140
Figure 6.6: Overview of transfer process of mass transit to Lahore ................................... 143
Figure 7.1: Advertisement for Lahore Metrobus designed by Punjab government showing it
as a ‘modern’ and ‘unique’ public transport mode ............................................................. 149
Figure 7.2: The elevated bus station of Lahore Metrobus, the staircase, and the disabled
person ............................................................................................................................... 151
Figure 7.3: Elevated route design proposed for light rail in Lahore .................................... 159
Figure 7.4: Elevated route design constructed for Lahore Metrobus .................................. 159
Figure 7.5: Islamabad Metrobus running on elevated route ............................................... 170
Figure 7.6: Multan Metrobus with elevated route ............................................................... 170
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List of Tables
Table 1.1: Overview of thesis study research questions and objectives. ............................. 11
Table 3.1: A policy transfer framework model (Dolowitz & Marsh, 2002, p. 12). .................. 41
Table 3.2: The concepts of actor network theory used in this research. .............................. 59
Table 4.1: Interviewed delegation members who had visited Istanbul to see the Metrobus. 76
Table 4.2: The data selection scheme in the research design. ............................................ 77
Table 5.1: The multilevel transport institutions involved in mass transit decision-making. ... 94
Table 5.2: Policy documents for transport planning at different government levels. ........... 100
Table 6.1: International actors and their proposed mass transit options in Lahore. ........... 119
Table 6.2: Role of political parties in the selection of mass transit options ......................... 125
Table 7.1: Overview of Metrobus projects in Pakistan. ...................................................... 168
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List of Abbreviations
ADB Asian Development Bank
ANT Actor Network Theory
BRT Bus Rapid Transit
C&W Communication and Works Department
CDG City District Government
ECNEC Executive Committee of the National Economic Council
ITDP Institute for Transportation and Development Policy
IMPL Integrated Master Plan for Lahore
IPP Institute of Planners Pakistan
JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency
LDA Lahore Development Authority
LMB Lahore Metrobus
LRMTS Lahore Rapid Mass Transit System
LRT Light Rail Transit
LTC Lahore Transport Company
LUDTS Lahore Urban Development and Traffic Study
LUTMP Lahore Urban Transport Master Plan
NESPAK National Engineering Services Pakistan
NGO Non-government organisation
P&D Planning and Development
PAKSTRAN Pakistan Sustainable Transport Project
PDWP Provincial Development Working Party
PMLN Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz
PMLQ Pakistan Muslim League Quaid e Azam
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PMTA Punjab Mass Transit Authority
PPP Pakistan People’s Party
ROW Right of way
SDG Sustainable Development Goal
TEPA Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency
TPU Transport Planning Unit
WB World Bank
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
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Abstract
In this research study, the concept of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is examined in a qualitative
manner as an example of a transport policy concept with assumed universal applicability,
having been implemented in 177 cities worldwide (BRT, 2020). However, prior research has
indicated that the outcomes of BRT vary in different cities according to local and globally driven
political and economic circumstances (Nguyen & Pojani, 2018; Wood, 2019b). This thesis
contributes to this emergent insight using the geopolitical lens of policy mobilities, contributing
to arguments that BRT implementation needs to be sensitive to geographical, cultural, political
and contextual characteristics (Nguyen & Pojani, 2018; Silva Ardila, 2020; A. Wood & Wood,
2014).
A key contribution of this study is examination of the role of non-human elements in the BRT
transfer process using the lens of Actor Network Theory (Callon & Blackwell, 2007; John,
2009; Latour, 2005). These non-human elements include seemingly neutral technical and
infrastructure features that have agency in creating local-level variations in BRT transfer. The
thesis argues that the role of non-human actors in BRT transfer is a relatively unexplored field
in transport policy transfer. Therefore, building on the literature on transport policy transfer and
particularly the transfer of BRT in the Global South, the research seeks to answer the following
questions:
• Who were the key actors and what were their various roles in transferring BRT to Lahore,
Pakistan?
• How was the universal concept of BRT translated and adapted to the local geographical
and political contexts of Pakistan and how have these transformations influenced the
longer-term BRT outcomes?
Using the framework of policy mobilities and a methodology developed using the approach of
actor–network theory, this study argues that BRT transfer is a networked approach where both
human and non-human actors are involved and create local-level variations as part of the
policy transfer process. This argument is supported by document analysis, semi-structured
interviews with local policymakers, a focus group discussion with urban and transport
planners, and field observations. During the investigation, heterogenous assemblages that
include international consultants, political leaders, local transport planners, elevated busways,
platform design features and project images have been identified as actor networks. Analysis
of these actor networks has revealed the implications of changing actor roles on network
stability during problematising, planning, designing and implementation of BRT in Lahore, and
has described the mechanisms that drove the final outcomes of the BRT transfer.
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Three main conclusions can be drawn from this research. First, by acknowledging the roles of
both human and non-human actors, the empirical findings show that the transfer of the BRT
concept is not merely a neutral exchange of transport technology to enhance mobility options.
Instead, it is a heterogenous process and the outcome of an intact network of policymakers,
international actors, political actors, transport technologies and transport planning institutions.
Overall, the limited participation of local experts, lack of proper planning frameworks,
inconsistent planning approach and ad hoc political interventions, as well as changing socio-
political conditions of the country, shaped the BRT transfer in Lahore.
Second, the research highlights the significant role of mass transit technology as a non-human
actor in the selection of BRT. The empirical findings show that the technological element of
the Istanbul BRT model drove the initial preference for this model based on a visit by the Chief
Minister of the Province of Punjab to Istanbul and the close personal relationship between him
and the Mayor of Istanbul. However, later the preference for BRT was driven by the signalling
of contemporary mass mobility, in particular the symbolic role of an elevated route, inherent
in the Istanbul BRT model’s use of the Bosphorus Bridge. These drivers allowed technologies
packaged as part of the Istanbul BRT solution to convince local policymakers who supported
the stability and intactness of network connections of the selection of the Istanbul model as
the preferred option in Lahore.
Third, regarding the longer-term outcomes at the local level, the study demonstrates the need
to consider the seemingly neutral and incidental considerations of policy mobility as part of the
transfer process. After Lahore, five other cities in Pakistan also implemented BRT systems,
uncritically accepting an elevated busway as part of the design, a set of decisions with major
budgetary consequences for a mass transit solution that is premised on cost-effectiveness
(Cervero, 2013; Wright & Hook, 2007). In Pakistan all the BRT projects now have elevated
busways, which shows that the focus on symbolism in BRT has led to an elevated BRT route
model.
Overall, the research outcomes show that in the absence of clear policy guidelines, planning
decisions that are quick, easy to implement and politically convenient can develop long-lasting,
expensive, and unexpected planning outcomes, as observed in this study. In contrast, a
comprehensive policy framework with clearly defined objectives and roles for actors can
minimise the implications of symbolism in planning and enhance the outcomes of
implementing a foreign transport policy concept such as BRT in a local context.
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Chapter 1 – Introduction
This chapter outlines the initial background that motivated me to conduct this research and
gives an overview of the research aims, research questions and research design. The
motivation for this research was initially influenced by my personal observations as an urban
planner working in the transport sector of Lahore, Pakistan. In Pakistan, the trend of borrowing
foreign transport policy solutions to deal with local transport problems has significantly
increased in the last decade. However, the outcomes of implementing foreign transport
solutions in the local context are quite ambiguous and cases of transport policy transfer in
Pakistan have not been studied in detail. This study explores the transfer of a foreign transport
policy concept into the local context and examines the local level implications of such transport
policy transfers. It is a case study-based research where I have explored the transfer process
of the concept of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Lahore as a foreign policy and analysed the
outcomes of the transferred policy at the local level. I have used an ethnographic approach
along with the theory of policy mobilities and policy transfer to analyse the details of this
transport policy transfer process.
Research background
I would like to share my motivation for the thesis study with the help of the following two
photographs showing the provision of the new BRT concept in Lahore. The first (Figure 1.1)
shows an old man walking up a staircase on one of the main Lahore roads, Ferozepur Road,
to the BRT stop. The second (Figure 1.2) shows the route of this newly provided bus that the
man was trying to reach. He was looking for the Lahore Metrobus, a brand-new articulated
bus with newly designed infrastructure and a route running above all the local traffic. The
Metrobus concept implemented in Lahore is a derived form of BRT where dedicated routes
and high-capacity buses are provided to enhance the public transport service in a city.
4
Figure 1.1: An elderly man walking up a staircase to get to the Lahore Metrobus
(Source: Author 2018)
Figure 1.2: The elevated route of the Lahore Metrobus and local traffic conditions at Data Sahib station
(Source: Author 2018)
5
The concept of BRT is very popular among transport planners due to the flexibility of transport
provision and low-cost road infrastructure. The flexibility refers to the fact that buses can use
existing road infrastructure and thus BRT offers of the potential for seamless integration with
the urban fabric and other modes of transport in a city. However, these advantages are only
partly true for BRT in Lahore due to the elevation which is part of the BRT route there. This
means that the old man in the Figure 1.1 had to struggle up the stairs because he wanted to
get into a bus, as in his area the designed bus route is elevated. The dedicated elevated route
is constructed only for buses and not for cars or other modes of traffic. However, for members
of marginalised groups of public transport users such as elderly passengers and disabled
people, there are no lifts provided as part of the design. In this case just imagine how difficult
it would be to experience this on a daily basis for older persons like him. Therefore, the design
of the new implemented BRT raises a big question mark in terms of consideration of users by
the local policymakers. Moreover, there is a need to explore why the concept of BRT
implemented in Lahore is different from the universal concept of BRT.
The Figures 1.1 and 1.2, raise many questions regarding the provision of the Metrobus in
Lahore. Being an urban planner, I see the Metrobus as a new entrant in the local transport
system; however, the other modes of transport and public transport users are still the same
old features of the system, and I was interested to explore the details of the decision-making
process that led to this result: how was this concept introduced into the local context and why?
Furthermore, the transfer of BRT also followed a unique path in the country in terms of project
approval and execution. For the first time in Pakistan a mega transport project of 30 million
USD (a single 27 km route of a BRT line) was approved at the provincial level instead of the
federal level, which raises many questions about how the project was selected and who the
main actors were in this decision of transferring BRT to Lahore.
6
Finally, I decided to examine the details of implementing the Metrobus concept as a new
transport policy option in Lahore and structured my research based on the findings of other
transport policy transfer studies.
Research problem
Transport policy transfer is an important field in transport planning because transport
policymakers prefer to learn from previous experiences and exchange policy concepts across
various geographies (Marsden et al., 2011). The knowledge-sharing in the transport sector
can be analysed in different ways such as through transport policy concepts, projects,
programs, and infrastructure design models. Although the exchange of policy models and
policy lessons in planning studies is not a new phenomenon (Harris & Moore, 2013). However,
the speed of circulation of planning policies and ideas has significantly increased in the last
decades (Healey, 2013; Peck & Theodore, 2012, 2015). Initially the trend of policy exchange
was observed among developed countries or from developed to developing countries (Stone,
2012). In the last few years, the process of policy circulation has become more complex
because a new trend of policy exchange between developing countries is growing, termed
South to South policy transfer (Stone et al., 2020; A. Wood, 2015). The trend of policy transfer
among countries of the Global South has particularly increased in the transport sector,
although there are few case studies about the details of transfer processes and the outcomes
of transferred policy concepts at the local level.
One of the significant examples in this regard is the circulation of BRT. The concept of BRT
was initially developed in Curitiba, Brazil, as a low-cost mass transit option which was quick
to design in the local context and easy to implement during a single political tenure (Lagos &
Wright, 2005). The BRT system is a form of mass transit system that combines the quality of
rail-based systems Levinson et al., (2002) with the flexibility of bus systems in terms of both
infrastructure and operational characteristics (Wright & Hook, 2007). BRT is generally
comprised of a network of buses running on dedicated routes providing a high-capacity and
low-cost mobility solution (Hidalgo & Gutiérrez, 2013). Overall, the low-cost construction,
7
fewer technical requirements, flexible bus operation, simple design features of bus routes in
the form of existing road infrastructure and quick implementation time have made BRT the first
choice of transport policymakers particularly in developing countries.
Although many cities have implemented the concept of BRT, the outcomes of this
implementation are different across various cities (Lindau et al., 2016; Nguyen & Pojani, 2018).
Currently, 177 cities have implemented the concept of BRT and most of these cities are in
developing countries (BRT, 2020). Accordingly, the concept of BRT is a significant case of
policy transfer and is presented as one of the most circulated transport policy models of the
21 century (A. Wood, 2014). However, the number of successful BRT transfer cases is very
limited (Agyemang, 2015). While the examples of Curitiba and Bogota, Colombia, are
applauded as success stories in the BRT literature Hidalgo et al., (2013), the outcomes of
BRT have been very limited in Bangladesh, Peru and Mexico, and these are considered as
cases of BRT failure (Changzhou et al., 2010; Nguyen & Pojani, 2018).
The variations in BRT outcomes raises questions about why and how this policy concept is
selected in different cities. Only a limited number of studies in the transport policy and planning
literature have focused on exploring why and how certain transport policies are more
widespread than others (Marsden & Stead, 2011). Furthermore, there is also a need for
empirical research to explore how local-level variations can change the outcomes of the
original policy concepts (Pojani & Stead, 2015; Stone, 2017; Thomas et al., 2018). The field
of transport policy transfer between developing countries is a relatively unexplored area of
research with very few examples. Particularly in the South Asian context, more empirical
studies are needed (Mallqui & Pojani, 2017; Nguyen & Pojani, 2018).
In transport policy studies, the circulation of BRT is discussed under two distinct approaches
of policy transfer. The first approach to policy transfer understands the worldwide spread of
BRT as a globally recognised, viable mass transit option which is preferred by policymakers
based on its technical, financial and environmental advantages (Marsden et al., 2011; Wright
& Hook, 2007). Particularly from the perspective of low-income countries, the option of BRT is
8
seen as a low-cost mass transit mobility option based on a dedicated bus service with high
capacity to deal with high public transport demands (Wu & Pojani, 2016). The transfer of BRT
has been seen as a market-based transport policy solution which is promoted by some
international actors and special BRT think tanks such as the Institute for Transportation and
Development Policy (ITDP) and EMBARQ Corporation, who present it as an updated, efficient
and effective form of urban bus service (A. Wood, 2014).
In developing countries, the role of international consultants is particularly significant in
promoting certain transport policy solutions. This can be seen in the influence of international
actors on increased road development to reduce traffic congestion (Imran, 2009). However,
more recently international actors have promoted large public transport projects such as BRT
and rail-based mass transit projects as a counter measure to reduce traffic congestion (S.
Wijaya et al., 2017). Therefore, international actors play a significant role in promoting BRT
circulation particularly in developing countries. Overall, this approach to transport policy
transfer understands that the concept of BRT is promoted as a technically and financially
viable public transport policy option and policymakers in low-income countries with limited
technical and financial resources prefer BRT as a first step towards mass transit to deal with
mobility challenges. Furthermore, the ITDP proposed universal standards for implementing
BRT and, depending upon the number of engineering features, BRT systems are labelled as
gold, silver and bronze levels (ITDP, 2008). The universal criteria for categorising BRT, based
on engineering standards by the ITDP make it a unique case of transport policy transfer with
greater adherence to the rational-technical approach to policy transfer in transport sector
instead of considering the contextual variances (Marsden & Reardon, 2017).
However, the second approach in the analysis of BRT circulation sees the exchange of BRT
as more than just a technical exchange of transport technology. Here the BRT transfer process
is analysed as a case of so-called policy mobilities (A. Wood, 2015). The policy mobilities
ideology argues that the spread of BRT is based on close geographical connections, cultural
traits, political ideologies and network associations of the policy actors (Mallqui & Pojani, 2017;
9
A. Wood, 2019b). Scholars of policy mobilities have analysed how and why certain policy
concepts are transferred across different geographies from the perspectives of geopolitical
and socio-economic conditions (McCann, 2011; Prince, 2012; Si et al., 2020; Stone et al.,
2020). This mobility analysis emphasises the roles of global policy transfer networks rather
than the individual roles of policy actors. In particular, the transfer of the BRT concept between
cities of South America and southern Africa has been explored through the lenses of policy
mobilities and global policy networks. The BRT circulation in southern African countries is
significantly linked with connections among policy actors, geographical connections, and
political ideologies, and with close socio-political relations between these countries. The
transfer of BRT in different cities of South Asia has not been analysed in detail from the
perspective of policy mobilities. Here, this study can provide additional knowledge on transport
policy transfer with an empirical case of a South Asian city.
Furthermore, this research considers another significant dimension of BRT transfer which is
related to the role of non-human elements such as BRT technology and infrastructure design
features as part of transport policy transfer. In the above-mentioned approaches of analysis
of BRT transfer, the BRT technology is considered as a neutral and technical transport entity.
However, in this study I argue that the role of BRT technology may not be merely neutral and
just as a technical object. Instead, it is beneficial to explore BRT transfer as a case of socio-
technical policy transfer where the roles of technology and policy actors are analysed in
relation to each other as parts of the network in the policy transfer process.
Empirical analysis of the BRT transfer process along these lines helps to identify how BRT
technology relates to different actors and why policymakers in developing countries are
interested in implementing this option. This study further explores whether the circulation of
BRT is limited to the role of human policy actors. If not, then how can non-human actors be
involved in the transfer of BRT? A critical analysis of BRT transfer is required in order to
unpack these questions, unmasking the rationales used to execute such projects. Therefore,
this research is designed to fill this gap in the BRT literature by examining BRT as a case of
10
socio-technical policy transfer and exploring the details of BRT-related connections, instead
of considering it just as a neutral engineering solution. Providing this analysis will show the
complexity of policy transfer and the importance of various material and non-material features
and how those features assemble the concept of BRT into a place during the policy transfer
process. The research will also highlight that merely transferring BRT as a technology without
considering the local conditions and without integrating it with the local transport system can
limit or change the original outcomes of BRT.
Research questions and aim
This study explores the details of transport policy transfer process by focusing on how different
actors changed the understanding, planning and implementation of the BRT concept and how
such changes impacted on the policy outcomes. The research questions are:
1. Who were the key actors and what were their various roles in transferring BRT to
Lahore, Pakistan?
2. How was the universal concept of BRT translated and adapted to the local geographical
and political contexts of Pakistan and how have these transformations influenced the
longer-term BRT outcomes?
The overall aim of the research is to explore the role of actors in BRT transfer and to
understand how the BRT transfer from one place to another as a transport policy option can
achieve long-term benefits. To achieve this aim, the objectives of the research are to:
1. identify the role of both material and non-material features as actors in BRT transfer
2. examine the role of different actors as networks in the BRT transfer process
3. analyse the local level variations of the translated concept of BRT and the implications for
future BRT in Pakistan
The first two objectives are related to research question one. By following these two objectives
I have identified the list of multiple actors including human and non-human who were involved
in the BRT transfer process and further analysed their roles by focusing on how they were
linked with each other and have contributed as a network to perform the action of policy
11
transfer. The third research objective is related to research question two. To achieve the third
research objective, I have analysed the translation of BRT concept at local level and describe
the implications on the local transport network which eventually highlight the longer-term
outcomes of BRT transfer at the local level. Table 1.1 below signposts the research questions
and objectives in the thesis.
Table 1.1: Overview of thesis study research questions and objectives.
Research question
Research objective Chapter
Who were the key actors and what
were their various roles in transferring
BRT to Lahore, Pakistan?
-To identify the roles of both material and
non-material features as actors in BRT
transfer
-To examine the roles of different actors
as actor networks in the BRT transfer
process
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
How was the universal concept of
BRT translated and adapted to the
local geographical and political
contexts of Pakistan and how have
these transformations influenced the
longer-term BRT outcomes?
-To analyse the local level variations of
the translated concept of BRT and the
implications for future BRT in Pakistan
Chapter 7
Research design
To analyse BRT transfer as a case of socio-technical policy transfer, the concept of Actor
Network Theory (ANT) is applied in this research as a methodological and analytical
framework (Latour, 1996b). The ANT approach helps in understanding the comprehensive
roles of physical features as non-human actors in relation to the roles of various human policy
actors (Law, 2009). Analysis of human and non-human actors in the form of an actor network
helps in exploring the complexity of transferring the BRT concept across different planning
systems.
I collected the required research data through semi-structured interviews with transport
planners, transport engineers, urban planners, senior provincial-level policymakers, and
members of non-government organisations in Lahore who were involved directly or indirectly
in the Lahore BRT project. I also conducted a focus group discussion with transport planners
and urban planners in Lahore. In addition, I recorded field observation notes made during site
12
visits in Lahore. I analysed the interview and focus group transcripts using qualitative thematic
analysis and arranged the data in a meaningful way in order to describe the roles of various
actors at different stages of the project as part of the policy transfer process. The ANT analysis
further provided an opportunity to explore the process of making and changing the mutual
connections between different BRT-related actors in the form of a network. The translation
framework based on the ANT approach further highlighted the unexpected occurrences during
the BRT implementation, the design conflicts, and the undesired outcomes of transferring the
BRT concept at a local level.
Research significance
This research lies in the intersection of transport policy transfer and transport planning studies
of developing countries. It makes several theoretical contributions and has some practical
implications.
In theoretical terms, the research findings add value to the scholarship on transport policy
transfer studies and extend the understanding of policy actors and networks by determining
the role of non-human actors and heterogenous networks as part of the policy transfer
process. This study particularly shows how the ANT approach can be applied in combination
with the geopolitical lens of policy mobilities to explore the roles of non-human actors in
transport policy transfer. Although ethnographic approaches have been used in other policy
transfer studies (Larner & Laurie, 2010; Schneider, 2012; Stone, 2017). However, this study
specifically adds to the field by showing that transport technology and infrastructure also play
roles as actors in policy transfer in the form of actor networks.
This research also provides empirical evidence of how similar policy concepts can lead to
different policy outcomes when they are transferred to new places. Policy mobilities scholars
in the transport sector have argued that geographical variations can change the outcomes of
transport policy concept across different locations (Marsden & Reardon, 2017; Pojani & Stead,
2015; Stead & Pojani, 2018). This research highlights that by using actor network analysis we
can examine how similar transport policy concepts lead to different policy outcomes based on
13
the changing roles of actors and their networks. Overall, the results of this study extend the
understanding of relational network connections in transport policy transfer and policy
transformations under the policy mobilities approach (Thomas et al., 2018; A. Wood, 2015,
2019b; Wu & Pojani, 2016).
In practice, this research shows that countries in the Global South are particularly susceptible
to the engagement and actions of international transport consultants. The transport solutions
recommended by international consultants are often very costly planning decisions,
particularly in relation to financial and technical resources, which are scarce in low-income
countries. However, local policy actors also prefer to implement foreign solutions based merely
on the recommendations of international actors without considering the socio-political
conditions at local level. Therefore, any study that critically examines the roles of international
and local level actors in a relational manner can provide significant value to the decision-
makers and planners on the receiving end of the transport policy transfer process.
Thesis structure
This dissertation is structured into three sections and into nine chapters.
Section 1 – Research introduction and background
Chapter 2 highlights the need to explore BRT transfer in the context of urban transport in
Lahore. The chapter describes the background of the transport planning and provision of
public transport in Lahore and identifies the need for this research.
Chapter 3 begins with a literature review of BRT as an example of transport policy transfer. It
further describes how policy transfer is subject to numerous theoretical debates from the
concept of policy transfer to policy mobilities. It highlights the changing roles of actors from
individuals to global policy transfer networks under the policy mobilities approach. Finally, the
chapter describes how Actor Network Theory can be used as a novel way to analyse the roles
of non-human and human actors and their networks in transport policy transfer.
14
Section 2 – Contextual framework and methodology of research
Chapter 4 explains the research design of this study comprising three parts: the conceptual
framework, the research approach, and the research methods. The conceptual framework
describes how the concepts from the selected theoretical approach are aligned with the
research objectives of the study. The research design justifies the application of qualitative
and case study approaches in this study. The applied data collection methods are semi-
structured interviews, a focus group discussion, personal observations, and a document
review that explore the details of this transport policy transfer case. The chapter also discusses
the fieldwork challenges faced in data collection and the process of data analysis.
Section 3 – Results, discussion, and conclusion
Chapter 5 analyses the roles of various actors as part of the transport planning process in the
transfer of BRT to Lahore. This is based on the analysis of data from the interviews, focus
group discussion and policy documents.
Chapter 6 examines the role of mass transit technology as a new entrant in the policy transfer
network using actor network analysis.
Chapter 7 examines the influence of another non-human element, the elevated busway, during
the implementation of BRT concept at local level by using the framework of policy translation
of the ANT approach.
Chapter 8 brings the findings of Chapters 5, 6 and 7 together and discusses the dynamics of
BRT as a heterogenous policy concept comprised of both material and non-material features.
The chapter also describes the potential of using ANT as a fundamental part of policy transfer
analysis to examine the variations in the outcomes of transferred policy concepts.
The thesis concludes with Chapter 9, which presents the overall research conclusions and
indicates future research areas.
15
Chapter 2 – Urban Development and Transport Planning in
Lahore
This chapter describes the contextual background of the research by highlighting the urban
transport conditions that evolved in Lahore before and after the implementation of BRT. The
chapter is divided into five sections. Section 2.1 provides an overview of Lahore and its urban
development and urban mobility trends. Section 2.2 describes the pre-BRT urban transport
conditions which led the decision-makers to take the initiative of BRT. The details of the BRT
project in Lahore are described in Section 2.3. Finally, Section 2.4 highlights the post-BRT
urban transport conditions at the local level and identifies the need for this research to achieve
the longer-term benefits of implementing BRT as a new transport planning concept in Pakistan
and Section 2.5 concludes the chapter.
Lahore City: urban development and mobility trends
Lahore is the capital of the Punjab province and the second largest city in Pakistan. The city’s
population is 11 million with an annual growth rate of 4.07%. The historical trend of population
growth, from post-independence period (1951) till the last population census (2017), is
highlighted in figure 2.1, which shows an ongoing increase from one to eleven million people.
Figure 2.1; Population growth in Lahore from 1 million to 11 million
(Source: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, 2017)
16
The increase in population has significantly increased the urban built-up areas in a total city
area of 1772 sq. km (PBS, 2018). The increase of built up area is linked with increased number
of roads and ultimately the increased motorised mobility in the city (Anasari Aziz et al., 2014).
Like many other developing cities, Lahore is also facing the challenges of population growth
coupled with an increased rate of motorisation and high demand for public transport. In the
last ten years the built-up area in Lahore has increased almost two times and the number of
automobiles in the city has increased four times from 0.9 million to 4 million (A Aziz et al.,
2018). In the following subsections I explain the development patterns and mobility trends that
have emerged in Lahore.
Urban development and changes in mobility patterns
Local urban planning scholars have analysed the city development trends in three distinct
periods: the pre-independence pattern 1900–1947, the post-independence development trend
1948–1974 and the modern Lahore development trend 1975-1997 (Anasari Aziz et al., 2014;
Javed & Riaz, 2020). After 1997 till date, the urban development trend of Lahore is linked with
major transport projects in the city. In the context of my research, I find the implications of the
last stage of development more relevant, but I have provided an overview of how the city
development occurred and the roles of different actors in this development.
In the pre-independence period (before 1947), the central parts of Lahore were developed
with mixed residential and commercial areas. In older neighbourhoods, for short-distance trips
walking and bicycles were common modes of travel (Groote et al., 1989). The pre-
independence development pattern showed the old spatial character of the city where high-
density organic settlements were located in the middle of the city, forming the central business
district of Lahore (Malik, 2011). These days this area is called old Lahore or the walled city of
Lahore and is a hub of commercial and residential activities with a high-density urban
population of about 300 to 400 persons per hectare (I. A. Rana & Bhatti, 2018). In most walled
city neighbourhoods, trip lengths are less than two kilometres. The overall development
pattern in the post-independence era was concentric and high density. In those days the use
17
of motorbikes was the common mode of travel in these areas, but these neighbourhoods of
the walled city still had the potential for sustainable travel modes (A Aziz et al., 2018).
However, later the lack of provision of pedestrian-friendly infrastructure such as footpaths,
pedestrian signals and pedestrian zones discouraged the use of non-motorised modes in the
walled city (Aslam et al., 2019). I think it was the first step of local policymakers that moved
Lahore away from sustainable mobility options.
The post-independence development period was from 1948 until 1974. During this time
Lahore city started developing from the concentric pattern of the walled city to the form of a
ribbon development pattern along the major roads of the city (Groote et al., 1989). The concept
of low-density communities in the form of satellite towns was started during the post-
independence stage following the trend of industrialisation (H & PPD, 1973). New industrial,
commercial and residential areas also developed along the main roads of the city and the
intercity roads towards Lahore Sheikhupura and Lahore Gujranwala roads (I. A. Rana & Bhatti,
2018). All the new industrial estates, housing colonies and commercial hubs were planned in
the outskirts (H & PPD, 1973). Therefore, the new network of roads also provided support to
the planned development.
The modern trend of road-based development trend started after 1975. The city growth
between 1975 and 1996 was mainly in the north, south and south-east directions (as shown
with yellow colour on the map in Figure 2.1) in the form of dense settlements because towards
the east the Indian border and on the west the boundary of the River Ravi restricted new
development (Rizwan Hameed & Nadeem, 2008). Overall, the development pattern of Lahore
was changed to the form of clusters of low-density communities (in blue and red) which were
horizontally developed along the major roads of the city. During this time, the urban planning
approach focused more on using green agricultural land for development purposes on the
outskirts, instead of using brown land or having a land reuse policy of using vacant small
pockets inside the built-up area. The star-shaped development was an outcome of using the
green agricultural land of the city. The promotion of road-based, low-density development
18
encouraged the use of motorisation, which was another unsustainable option practised by the
local policymakers of Lahore.
The transport project-based development started from 1997 onwards. Under the approach of
modern development, a trend of introducing major transport projects started in Lahore (The
Urban Unit, 2007). This trend started with the construction of the first national motorway (M2)
from Islamabad to Lahore. This project was completed in 1997 and promoted a new housing
development trend towards the south and south-east side of Lahore. In 2008, the construction
of the Lahore Ring Road was another transport project which attracted further development of
the city towards the outer edges (Imran, 2009). The purpose of the Lahore Ring Road was to
provide an alternative route for traffic by segregating the local and outer city traffic to reduce
congestion. However, instead of reducing traffic congestion, by developing new residential
and commercial areas around the Ring Road the project further increased the traffic and
promoted the use of private modes of transport to access the new low-density communities
along the Ring Road (LDA and NESPAK, 2004). Overall, after 1997 the use of private modes
of mobility was promoted in Lahore by developing low-density communities outside the city
and constructing more roads. In this section I mainly identify the development trends of Lahore
city. I describe in the next section who were the drivers or actors in promoting road-based
mobility options in Lahore and why the local policymakers followed these.
19
Figure 2.2: Map of Lahore showing the trends of urban spawl along major road corridors
(Source: Javed & Riaz, 2020)
In 2013, the BRT project was implemented in Lahore city although as this thesis will show that
how the era of mass transit in Lahore started with the JICA study on light rail as a preferred
mode of mass transit (JICA, 1991b).
For the Lahore BRT project, the north–south corridor of the city – Ferozepur Road – was used
to construct the BRT route. The BRT as an actor could use the potential to cut down the growth
trend of moving to the outskirts by providing an alternative in the form of transit-oriented
development in Lahore, as suggested by many local urban scholars as well (Javed & Riaz,
2020; Nawaz et al., 2019; I. A. Rana & Bhatti, 2018). But in my research, to explore the
potential to use BRT as a foreign policy concept in the local context, I examine the roles of
policy actors in implementing the universal concept of BRT at the local level because from my
20
understanding this information will help to understand how the local policymakers
conceptualised this idea in Lahore and what were their objectives in providing BRT in Lahore.
Accordingly, to develop the background knowledge regarding the roles of different actors in
the urban development of Lahore, I now focus on the role of master plans as a tool of urban
development used by local policymakers.
Role of master plans in promoting road-based development
A master plan is an urban planning policy document which provides guidance for planning and
development of a city in the form of a comprehensive land use plan for a period of 20 years
(Roberts & Legum, 1974). The Town and Country Planning Act of 1947 (UK) initiated the
concept of the master plan (Roberts & Legum, 1974). In the planning history of Pakistan, a
master plan is the main development plan which has been used to plan the cities. The
influence of master planning approach in Pakistan was developed by the colonial institutions
and applied by the local policymakers after independence (Cermeño, 2021).
In the UK, the concept of the master plan was declared obsolete in the late 1990s due to its
rigid focus on physical planning and land use control (Cermeño, 2021). However, the
policymakers of Pakistan still use the concept of master plans for urban planning and
development control of major cities (Rizwan Hameed & Nadeem, 2008). In the planning
practices of Pakistan, two different plan approaches – the master plan and the structure plan
– have both been used, as indicated below in the list of development plans for Lahore. But
overall, the concept of master planning prevails as the main urban development tool. In Lahore
the following plans have been prepared for city development:
(i) The first Master Plan for Greater Lahore 1966
(ii) The structure plan of Lahore 1981–2000
(iii) The third Integrated Master Plan for Lahore 2001–2021
(iv) The fourth Master Plan for Lahore 2040 (in process)
21
The first master plan was prepared in 1961 to solve the problems related to the rapid urban
growth of Lahore (H & PPD, 1973). It was the first development plan which indicated the
growth trends from north to south. It was prepared by the Punjab Housing and Physical
Planning Department with the help of a World Bank (WB)-funded consortium of international
consultants in urban planning (Rizwan Hameed & Nadeem, 2008). According to Aziz et al.
(2014), the concept of road-based development started in Lahore with the MPGL.
In the 1980s the UK international consultants Halcrow applied the structure plan approach in
Lahore that was used in the UK. The second development plan was a structure plan which
was more strategic in nature. Aziz et al. (2014) found that this change in planning approach
was the result of changing the international consultants.
The second plan, called the Lahore Structure Plan, was prepared in 1980. In this development
plan, collaboration between the urban and transportation planning agencies was begun for the
future growth of the city. As part of this plan, the first transport study in Lahore was also
conducted under the title ‘Lahore urban development and transport study’ as a part of Lahore
structure plan (LDA and WorldBank, 1980).This plan provided a guiding framework for the
metropolitan areas of Lahore for a period of 20 years (1981–2000). It focused on expanding
Lahore with medium- to high-density development in the southern area within the boundaries
of the two main city connectors, Ferozepur Road and Multan Road (Rizwan Hameed &
Nadeem, 2008).
However, for the third plan, the integrated master plan of Lahore 2001-2021, the local planning
authorities again preferred the concept of the master plan, considering it a familiar approach
to planning. The concept of master plans emphasises physical planning and land use
development, instead of providing a strategic focus on urban planning. The local policymakers
of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) prepared the third plan, the integrated master plan
of Lahore 2001–2021 (LDA and NESPAK, 2004). In this plan, the focus of development was
again along the major corridors of the city, as shown in Figure 2.1. The ribbon development
patterns towards the outskirts of the city were developed as a result of this plan. However, the
22
concept of compact or mixed-use development to promote short trips and non-motorised trips
within neighbourhoods was missing from this plan (A Aziz et al., 2018).
As of 2021, the fourth master plan for Lahore until 2040 is under preparation with the
collaboration of a Lebanese consultancy firm, Dar Al-Handasah. This plan aims to develop an
infrastructure-driven development pattern for Lahore with major development projects.
The local scholars of urban planning have highlighted that overall in the planning practices of
Pakistan international consultants have played a significant role in changing the plan option
from structure plans to master plans and also in the development of master plans (Anasari
Aziz et al., 2014; Rizwan Hameed & Nadeem, 2008). The international consultants first
promoted the concept of physical planning instead of strategic planning and later promoted
the concept of road-based development considering the industrialisation (Cermeño, 2021).
However, the local planning conditions and the mobility patterns were inconsistent with the
plan proposals prepared by these international actors (Javed et al., 2020).
The role of international consultants was critical and influential in creating a development trend
inconsistent with local demands because the governance system for local planning institutions
was weak in both financial and technical terms (Haider & Badami, 2004; Imran & Low, 2009).
Furthermore, after independence local policymakers had no experience of planning making
and they relied on a UK-based planning consultant in following the planning legacy of colonial
institutions, as determined by Cermeño (2021) as well. Later, instead of focusing on building
the capacity of local planning institutions, local institutions still relied on internaternational
consultants without evaluating the outcomes of the already developed master plans.
Overall, the three previous urban plans for Lahore promoted the concept of a road-based
development pattern along the north-to-south direction. Consequently, this increased
motorised mobility, particularly in terms of private modes along the north-to-south road
networks. The increased traffic has resulted in traffic congestion, longer trip lengths and the
need for more public and private modes of transport in the city (A Aziz et al., 2018; Anasari
23
Aziz et al., 2014; Javed et al., 2020). Therefore, the master plans of Lahore as a tool for urban
development have promoted the urban spawl and ribbon development pattern in Lahore due
to mainly relying on the development of road networks in the city. The master plans were the
main policy documents in Lahore and influenced the local policymakers to promote road-
based development in the city.
In the next section I describe the roles of international actors who were also involved as part
of the development of the city but in an unofficial manner, because these international actors
were not directly accountable in the local planning system.
Influential role of international actors in transport planning in Lahore
Using the background knowledge from transport planning studies in Lahore, I explain in this
section how international actors played a significant role in channelling transport policy
decisions at the local level.
The key reason for involving these international actors in local policy transport planning
decisions was the lack of financial and technical resources at the local level; the limited
resources created major reliance on international funding for transport projects (Haider &
Badami, 2004; Imran & Low, 2007). Imran and Low (2007) further explained using a path
dependency framework how international funding agencies such as the WB and International
Monetary Fund (IMF) promoted certain development trends in Lahore to increase the use of
private modes of transport. For instance, the first national motorway project M2, the Lahore
Ring Road and the longest road tunnel projects in Lahore were completed with international
funding (GOP, 2014). Overall, these projects increased the trend of motorisation in the city.
Hameed and Nadeem (2008) also highlighted that another key reason making international
actors influential was the lack of a clear planning approach at the city level. Furthermore, the
functional and administrative divide between urban planning and transport projects in the city
also created planning ambiguity at the local level and more reliance on international advice.
In the Lahore master plans, the overall development framework for the city was proposed;
24
however, in practice the local experts follow a project-based development approach in
transport instead of following the master planning approach. Because the planning, approval
and implementation of master plans are a time-consuming process at the local level and often
international funding agencies do not agree to provide funding for lengthy and time-consuming
project approvals.
Aziz et al. (2018) recently concluded that the lack of awareness of international actors of the
local culture, living conditions and local mobility patterns has created further challenges in
decision-making processes. For instance, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
is one of the most reliable international consults at the local level and has been involved in
multiple projects of transport development in Lahore. However, JICA (1988) suggested the
new road networks in the inner city areas and the concept of flyovers to encourage use of
private modes of transport in the areas of Lahore where walking trips within two kilometres
were the most common mode of travel (R Hameed & Anjum, 2016). JICA as an international
consultant proposed the mass transit option of light rail to deal with local mobility challenges
based on international experience without considering the local mobility trends and the limited
financial and technical capacity of Pakistan as a developing country (JICA, 1991a).
Therefore, in my opinion different international consultants have widened the gap between
transport planning and urban planning projects in Lahore by promoting two different transport
planning approaches. On one hand international actors promoted more road networks and on
the other hand the proposals for mass transit projects were given by JICA as a transport
consultant. Both approaches can be complementary instead they were competing because
of a lack of integration, which ought to have been the purpose of master planning process.
Also, they are from different eras but overlapping at present. Because massive road
construction continues till date even after the provision of mass transit options. Therefore,
instead of complimenting each other these two approaches are competing in Lahore.
Furthermore, although the use of non-motorised mobility was the most economical option and
25
the most suitable in the context of Lahore. However, international consultants focused on
promoting a low-density urban planning approach and developing more roads.
Overall, instead of following a coherent and long-term transport planning approach to deal with
traffic challenges, the focus of local policymakers remains on providing new transport projects
such as signal-free wider roads, flyovers, underpasses, motorways, and mega mass transit
projects based on international advice. As a result, Lahore is facing the challenges of urban
sprawl, traffic congestion and lack of public transport services.
In the next sections I explain the overall urban transport conditions in the city before and after
the provision of BRT.
Pre-BRT urban transport conditions in Lahore
The transport system of Lahore is comprised of private and public modes of traffic and the use
of these two modes depends upon the socioeconomic condition of citizens. For instance, in
Lahore the use of cars is not a common private mode of transport because common citizens
cannot afford the use of cars due to high vehicle and fuel costs (GOP and JICA, 2012). The
private modes of transport in Lahore are motorbikes and cars; motorbikes with 62% are the
most common mode rather than cars with only 8% of the total modal share in Lahore (A Aziz
et al., 2018).
The public transport system in Lahore before BRT consisted of both formal and informal
modes of public transport. The formal transport system included the urban buses of the Lahore
Transport Company (LTC). These conventional urban buses, minibuses, and local wagons
(14-seaters) are regulated and operated on designated routes assigned by the LTC. There
are only 830 urban buses for about 200,000 daily commuters, making up only 20% of public
transport share (A Aziz et al., 2018). The limited number of buses has created a major gap
between the demand for and supply of public transport in the city. To minimise this gap,
informal modes such as rickshaws and Qingqis (3-wheelers), also called paratransit modes,
are used, and provide door-to-door service. Paratransit is the major reality of the local
26
transport system and more than 60,000 paratransit vehicles are providing transport services
in an informal manner in the city (Tabassum et al., 2016). Previous transport studies reported
that paratransit mobility has significantly increased in Lahore in the last five years due to a
lack of provision of an integrated public transport system (Aslam et al., 2019; A Aziz et al.,
2018; Tabassum et al., 2017). Overall, before the provision of mass transit modes in Lahore
there were two parallel networks of public transport, one consisting of buses and the other
consisting of Qingqis and rickshaws. (A Aziz et al., 2018).
Regarding the provision of an integrated public transport system, on one hand there is a lack
of availability of the required of buses, whereas on the other hand at the city level there is no
central authority in Lahore to plan, design and operate public transport service (A Aziz et al.,
2018; Sajjad, 2014). The LTC, is the only government organisation which acts as the regulator
of various private bus operators that are providing bus services all over the city. Paratransit
modes are also operated in an informal manner by private operators and provide cheap public
transport services as compared to buses because the fare for paratransit is almost half
compared to the local buses of the LTC.
To summarise, the most common modes of transport in Lahore are paratransit modes as
public transport and motorbikes for private modes of transport, as shown in Figure 2.3 as well.
27
Figure 2.3: The contrast between old (paratransit) and new (Metrobus) modes of transport
(Source: Author 2018)
BRT as implemented in Lahore
The concept of BRT in Lahore was implemented in 2013 following the example of the
Istanbul Metrobus system in Turkey. The government of Punjab, in collaboration with the
Turkish consultant company Al-Barak, implemented the very first BRT system of Pakistan
in Lahore. The construction of the Lahore Metrobus project began in late 2012 and within
11 months’ time the project was operational. The total project cost was 30 million USD for
a single BRT route of 27 km from north to south (PMTA, 2013). The BRT corridor is
designed having elevated portion of approximately 10 km, and 17 km is at grade section as
a highway design with restricted access having steel fence along the corridor giving access
only to BRT buses. The BRT corridor runs from north to south on Ferozepur Road, which
is one of the most congested traffic corridors in Lahore.
28
The system of BRT in Lahore is comprised of a dedicated right of way for buses, secure
and well-designed transit stations, an advanced passenger communication system and an
intelligent transport system for BRT signals along the designated BRT route from Shahdara
to Gajju Matta with 27 transit stations. The average speed of the BRT is 29 km/hour and in
total 64 buses (18-metre-long articulated buses) were introduced as part of the project. The
average ridership is 180,000 passengers per day with a minimum headway of around 3
minutes between buses (PMTA,2014). The system boasts automated off-board fare
collection and digital signboards that allow people to conveniently find their way inside the
stations. Furthermore, parking spaces for cars, motorbikes and bicycles are also provided
alongside the bus stations in a park-and-ride concept. The route of BRT is built in the middle
of the road with a 10-metre-wide dedicated corridor with steel barriers on both sides. The
Metrobus as the first BRT service in Lahore is shown in Figure 2.4.
Figure 2.4: The BRT project in Lahore
(Source: Author 2019)
29
Post-BRT urban transport conditions in Lahore
The post-BRT urban transport conditions describe how the new concept of mass transit was
implemented under the local transport conditions of the city. The average trip length in Lahore
is within five km and less than 15 minutes’ travel time (Aslam et al., 2019). However, the local
policymakers have totally ignored this fact. The concept of mass transit is highly recommended
in order to enhance sustainable modes of travel such as walking and cycling, as already
practised in many cities like Bogota, Curitiba and Ahmedabad (Duarte & Rojas, 2012;
Mahadevia et al., 2013). However, in Lahore no pedestrian or cycling paths are provided as
part of BRT design (Tabassum et al., 2016). Instead, parking areas for cars are provided to
enhance park and ride, whereas I have already noted in Section 2.2 that car use is only 8% in
Lahore.
The paratransit modes of rickshaws and Qingqis are acting as the main access modes to
reach the BRT service and 55% of BRT users approach the BRT using paratransit modes
(Tabassum et al., 2016). The paratransit modes were providing public transport mobility before
BRT but even after the provision of BRT the use of paratransit is still there because the concept
of feeder services with the local buses of the LTC was not integrated into the project. In Lahore
the modal share of cars to BRT cannot be successful because car usage is very limited and
furthermore cars are more of a status symbol in the local culture. A person who can afford a
car never wants to use public transport, considering the car a superior mode of transport.
Local policymakers have neglected this fact.
The local LTC buses are also providing public transport facilities as well as the BRT in the city.
Sajjad (2014) highlighted the lack of integration between local LTC urban buses BRT buses.
Instead, the feeder concept of local buses was introduced after three years of BRT operation:
in 2017 a feeder bus service called Speedo bus was introduced by the Punjab Mass Transit
Authority (PMTA 2017). However, the number of Speedo buses is limited to 48 buses only
and they are not integrated with the local LTC buses (Tabassum et al., 2017)
30
After the implementation of BRT, instead of developing a comprehensive public transport
system in the city, there are now three different types of public transport vehicles in operation:
the BRT and Speedo buses, the urban buses of the LTC and paratransit modes. The BRT and
feeder buses are under the operation of the PMTA, whereas the urban bus service of Lahore
is under the LTC. Instead of integrating the BRT operation and the LTC bus service for
maximum passenger coverage, now two separate bus systems are working in parallel without
coordinating the urban bus routes and bus timetables. The lack of service coordination
between the BRT service, the feeder buses and the LTC buses has created further challenges
for public transport users in Lahore.
Apart from lack of coordination between BRT and other modes of traffic there is also
construction of a new mass transit mode, the light rail, in Lahore in 2019.The light rail train is
called the Lahore Orange Line Metro Train and it was located on the Orange Line route of the
proposed Lahore Rapid Mass Transit System (LRMTS) network. The route is running from
east to west along Multan Road and the total route length is 27 km, of which 25 km is elevated,
as shown in Figure 2.5. It was developed as part of the China–Pakistan economic corridor
project as a road and belt project with a loan from the Chinese government (Imran et al., 2021).
Local transport scholars criticised the decision to introduce a single light rail line in the city
instead of extending the BRT route network into other parts of the city (Ali et al., 2020; Nawaz
et al., 2019; I. A. Rana & Bhatti, 2018). The light rail project is the provision of a fourth public
transport mode, in addition to paratransit, local buses and BRT buses, in the local transport
system of the city. The provision of BRT in 2013 and light rail in 2019 raises an important
question about the transport planning system and the decision-making process for mass
transit projects in Lahore.
The post-BRT implementation situation shows that the concept of BRT in Lahore has initiated
the idea of implementing mass transit options as a new mode of public transport in the local
context. However, there is a need to determine why the concept of mass transit is being
preferred at the local level. Rana and Bhatti (2018) also highlighted the need to explore the
31
potential for using mass transit projects in urban planning in Lahore. This research takes a
fundamental stance in this regard and explores the details of transferring the idea of mass
transit as a foreign transport policy concept. In this research, I raise questions about the roles
of different transport planning actors who were involved in transferring the idea of mass transit
to Lahore.
Figure 2.5: The light rail Orange Line metro train in Lahore
(Source: PMTA, 2020)
Conclusion
This chapter has provided the contextual background to the research by describing the urban
development trends, mobility patterns and transport conditions in Lahore. This chapter
synthesises the roles of master plans and international actors in developing the current
mobility trends in Lahore. The local policymakers applied the master planning approach in
Lahore based on inspiration from colonial planning institutions (Roberts & Legum, 1974).
However, the master planning approach did not play an effective role in urban planning and
32
development control in the city. The key reason for this is the rigid land use approach of master
plans instead of providing strategic guidance and flexible planning options, which has created
multiple challenges of implementation at the local level (Rizwan Hameed & Nadeem, 2008).
Aslam et al. (2019) further reported that the master plans for Lahore did not focus on mixed-
use urban development but instead promoted the approach of exclusive land use zoning and
ribbon development along the main roads, which ultimately created low-density, scattered
settlements throughout the city.
Transport planning studies have further reported the critical influence of international actors in
promoting road-based development (Imran & Low, 2009). Consequently, Lahore is facing the
challenges of traffic congestion, long-distance trips, urban sprawl and lack of public transport
(A Aziz et al., 2018). Recently, international transport consultants also suggested applying the
concept of mass transit in the city and the projects of BRT and light rail have already been
implemented in Lahore (Imran et al., 2018). Overall, urban planning and transport studies on
Pakistan have described the influential role of international actors in local policymaking.
However, this research argues extending the understanding of policy actors and considering
the roles of non-human elements in transport decision-making as well (Callon, 1999b; Latour,
1996b). This argument is based on findings from contemporary studies of transport planning
showing that often the policy actors who are spreading best practices are not well aware of
the effects in the local context (Stead & Pojani, 2018). Therefore, it is suggested for actors to
focus more on assemblage thinking and decode the predefined knowledge in the local context
(Cvetinovic et al., 2017; Marsden & Reardon, 2017). This understanding implies recognising
the significance of objects and things rather than the minds and ideas of policymakers (Rydin
& Tate, 2016). However, this is a relatively an unexplored field in developing countries and
particularly in the local context. Therefore, this research explores the roles of both human and
non-human actors in the selection and implementation of BRT. The outcomes will be helpful
for Pakistan and other developing countries to understand the roles of actors when
implementing foreign transport solutions such as BRT at the local level.
33
Chapter 3 – Bus Rapid Transit: A Case of Transport Policy
Transfer
This chapter establishes the theoretical understanding of the research through a literature
review. The literature review is organised into four sections: the concept of BRT as a case of
transport policy transfer, different theoretical debates on policy transfer process, a description
of ANT in the context of this study and theoretical understanding for the analysis of BRT as a
case of transport policy transfer.
Section 3.1 describes the concept of BRT as a transport policy concept. In transport planning
studies, the concept of BRT is proposed as a sustainable and globally viable transport policy
option based on its low cost, low technical requirements and easy implementation (Cervero &
Dai, 2014; Hidalgo & Gutiérrez, 2013; Wright & Hook, 2007). This concept is mainly discussed
in terms of its technical, economic, and environmental implications. However, this research
focuses on BRT as a transport policy concept and finds that it has become one of the most
circulated transport planning concepts of the 21st century (Wijaya et al., 2017). Many countries
around the world have already implemented this concept and it is still preferred particularly in
the cities of Global South with limited financial and technical resources due to its low cost and
lower technical requirements (Matsumoto, 2006). The concept of BRT has recently gained
focus in policy transfer studies of Global South (Montero, 2017; Si et al., 2020; A. Wood, 2014).
This research also explores the case of BRT as a transport policy concept in Lahore, Pakistan.
Section 3.2 explores the theoretical debates on the policy transfer process and focuses on
two theoretical approaches which I have found relevant to my research context to explore the
transfer process of a transport policy solution. The first approach is policy transfer, which
examines the transfer of new policy solutions from a technical and rational planning
perspective. The model of policy transfer identifies the roles of actors, the types of transfer
and the reasons for policy transfer (Dolowitz & Marsh, 1996). This approach is widely applied
34
in transport studies considering that transport sector is an offshoot of the field of engineering;
accordingly, transport policies are technical solutions for dealing with mobility challenges.
Therefore, the selection of a new policy concept is seen as a technical and rational choice by
policymakers; however, the element of political influence in policy transfer cannot be ignored
as in other areas of public policy (Marsden et al., 2011). Policy transfer approach is concerned
with the roles of policy actors and shows that policy actors are key reasons behind the
exchange of policy knowledge. Pojani (2020a), also described significant role of actors in few
policies transfer approaches under transport sector such as coercive transfer, voluntary
transfer, sponsored or bounded transfer etc.
The second selected approach is policy mobilities. The policy mobilities approach is
concerned with the contextual and relational characteristics as part of policy transfer, instead
of considering it merely a technical exchange of policies (Temenos & McCann, 2013). The
policy mobilities approach focuses more on geographical connections, regional political
influences and cultural traits during the policy transfer process (Peck & Theodore, 2010). This
approach is more concerned with the role of global policy transfer networks, instead of
focusing on the roles of policy actors during policy transfer (McCann, 2013; Peck & Theodore,
2015; Prince, 2012).
In Section 3.3, I explore the ANT as a novel approach to exploring transport policy transfer
analysis. The concepts of ANT have provided an ethnographic dimension to analysing the
empirical details of the BRT transfer process. The ANT approach presents an additional lens
to analyse the roles of different actors under a network approach where equal agency is
assigned to both human and non-human actors during the policy transfer process. I have
selected the ANT framework for transport policy transfer analysis to provide an additional
dimension in the analysis by focusing on the roles of non-humans as well.
Finally, the last section 3.4, describes the relevance of the selected theoretical concepts in the
analysis of BRT as a case of transport policy transfer. The chapter provided me with enough
35
theoretical understanding to develop a conceptual framework for the research that guided me
in how to explore the roles of different actors and networks as part of the policy transfer
process and how to identify the local-level variations as part of policy transfer as posed in the
research questions and section 3.5 concludes the chapter.
The extensive spread of BRT – a case of transport policy transfer
BRT is known as an improved version of a conventional bus system that prioritises rapid and
direct bus movement on segregated busways. BRT is comprised of rubber-tyred high-capacity
articulated vehicles, dedicated running ways, digital information technology and flexible bus
service routes (assuming that it is a bus service using existing road space and that routes can
be changed easily by bus authorities as per passenger demand if needed). All these features
are combined in an integrated manner as a unitary entity and given a new identity as BRT
(Levinson et al., 2003). The primary advantages in designing a BRT service are increased
speed and reliability, high passenger capacity, low-cost investment and efficiency of public
transport (Cervero & Dai, 2014). In addition to these, the BRT concept has also shown success
in attracting passenger ridership from private transport users and demonstrated social,
environmental and economic benefits as well (Campo, 2011; Hidalgo & Gutiérrez, 2013; Silva
Ardila, 2020). In social terms, BRT provides a mobility option for marginalised groups of
passengers who cannot afford to use private modes of transport and also enhances the
livelihoods of people by providing them with easy access to their workplaces (Oviedo et al.,
2019; Venter et al., 2018). In terms of environmental benefits, it significantly reduces the
percentage of vehicular emissions and is considered a green mode of mobility (Rogat et al.,
2015; Wijaya & Imran, 2019). The economic benefits of BRT include the low construction,
maintenance and operation costs of transport service, which is designed to move many people
(Cervero, 2013; Deng & Nelson, 2013). Overall, in transport studies the concept of BRT is
proposed as a sustainable transport option (Cervero, 2013; Ferbrache, 2019; Hidalgo et al.,
2013).
36
Originally the idea of BRT was developed in Chicago in 1950 where the concept of reserved
bus lanes was introduced to prioritise an exclusive bus service (Hossain, 2006; Wirasinghe et
al., 2013). The city of Curitiba is known as an example of modern features of BRT. Here, the
idea of BRT was politically promoted and executed (Ardila-gómez, 2004). The city mayor at
the time, Jaime Lerner, promoted BRT to create an urban transformation in the city. Later this
concept was implemented in other Latin American cities as well, but Curitiba is the best known
and referred to as a successful case of BRT in many transport studies (Cervero & Dai, 2014).
Another well-known example of BRT is in Bogota, where the concept was executed in 2000
in the form of the TransMilenio (Ardila-gómez, 2004). The TransMilenio was a locally
developed high-capacity articulated bus to move large numbers of people. As in Curitiba, the
Mayor of Bogota, Enrique Peñalosa, also favoured this concept due to its quick and easy
implementation within a single political tenure (Ardila-gómez, 2004; Cain et al., 2007). In
Bogota, the concept of BRT was implemented to enhance the use of public transport in the
city (Mahendra, 2008). To prioritise public transport, the use of cars was also restricted in the
city and the use of public transport along with enhanced non-motorised mobility was promoted
as part of this project (Mahendra, 2008). Consequently, along with the TransMilenio hundreds
of new kilometres were developed as footpaths, bicycle paths and public spaces (Hidalgo et
al., 2013). Although the findings of Duarte & Rojas, (2012) shown that BRT is not always a
story of success. However, transport studies repeatedly refer to the examples of Bogota and
Curitiba as successful models of BRT (Campo, 2011; Wright & Hook, 2007).
The option of BRT has been proposed worldwide as one of the most circulated transport policy
options and has spread in 177 cities worldwide (BRT data, 2019; Silva Ardila, 2020). It is
considered particularly viable for developing countries based on its low cost, service flexibility
and quick implementation. In terms of cost, the construction and operational costs have been
found to be three times lower as compared to light rail (Cervero & Dai, 2014). The service is
considered flexible because it is based on buses and can easily use the existing road
37
infrastructure for its route networks. Furthermore, the implementation time is quicker as
compared to light rail projects and can be executed within a time frame of one to five years,
which is mostly a single political tenure. In addition, transport planning assessments have
shown that BRT has significantly improved the quality and performance of public transport in
terms of increased passenger capacity, travel time savings and decreased vehicular
emissions (Wijaya et al., 2017). Based on its technical, financial and social benefits,
policymakers have promoted the concept of BRT and it is known as a significant example of
transport policy transfer in the 21st century (Bell, 2011; Harrison, 2015; Stone et al., 2020).
Although the concept of BRT has been transferred worldwide as a universal transport policy
concept, the outcomes of BRT differ significantly in many cities (Hossain, 2006). The variations
in BRT outcomes have shown that BRT is not a panacea for all transport issues, whereas
policymakers in developing countries prefer this option, considering it a first step towards a
mass transit system (Mahadevia et al., 2013). While many developing cities have faced
challenges in implementing and operating BRT as a successful mode of mass transit but
proponents are still promoting BRT as a standard global transport solution (Mallqui & Pojani,
2017).
For instance, BRT consultancies like the BRT Centre of Excellence, ITDP, BRT Asia and
Trans BRT have published various BRT design manuals and set technical standards.
Particularly, the ITDP has designed a standard criterion to evaluate BRT systems worldwide.
According to the ITDP criterion, BRT systems are assigned gold, silver and bronze rankings
based on certain point scores (Zheng & Hensher, 2020). The points are assigned to a BRT
system against the criteria set by the ITDP: the more features of BRT that apply, the higher
the score. These features mainly include route design, stop design, integration, service
frequency and facilities provided for non-motorised mobility options like walking and cycling.
The focus of the standard ranking of BRT is mainly based on technical design criteria,
assuming that it is a technology transfer. Although many studies of BRT have relied on
38
technical design criteria to evaluate the outcomes of BRT (Duarte & Rojas, 2012; Hidalgo et
al., 2013). The examples of many cities have shown that failure of BRT is not only based on
technical reasons instead political, social, administrative and geographical variances are also
major hurdles in the success of BRT (Alpkokin & Ergun, 2012; Babalik-Sutcliffe & Cengiz,
2015; Changzhou et al., 2010; Wu & Pojani, 2016).
Furthermore, scholars of transport geography and transport policy transfer have also found
that BRT is not merely a case of technical transfer, because the transfer process of BRT is
significantly influenced by social, cultural and geographical variations (Mann & Banerjee,
2011; Silva Ardila, 2020; A. Wood & Wood, 2014). I have found that the literature on transport
planning is biased towards promotion of BRT and highlights the cases of Bogota and Curitiba
(Ardila-gómez, 2004; Breithaupt et al., 2014; Cervero, 2013; Matsumoto, 2006; Wright & Hook,
2007). However, there are many examples of other developing cities showing that the
outcomes of BRT are not always similar. For instance, in Dhaka, Mexico City, Bangkok,
Mumbai, Chennai, and Delhi the effects of implementation in these cities ranged from low
ridership to attempted implementation and abandonment (Changzhou et al., 2010; Mann &
Banerjee, 2011; Rahman, 2008; Wirasinghe et al., 2013). Instead of highlighting the reasons
that changed the outcomes of BRT in many cities of developing countries, the focus is more
on its promotion based only on successful cases of BRT. Policy transfer scholars have also
argued that learnings from failures in policy transfer cases are beneficial for policymakers so
as not to repeat the same mistakes (Lovell, 2019).Therefore, by examining the variations in
BRT outcomes in Lahore, this research contributes to the debate about how BRT is transferred
and what this means for cities where the concept is implemented.
Although BRT is one of the most circulated transport policy concepts, the process of the policy
transfer of BRT is relatively unexplored. This is particularly with regards to developing
countries, although developing countries are often on the receiving end in BRT transfer cases
(Mallqui & Pojani, 2017; A. Wood, 2015). There is a significant need for studies analysing why
39
and how this policy option is selected and whether this option provides the assumed benefits
of mass transit across various geographies or not. This includes analysis of the roles of
different policy actors in the circulation of this concept because in some cases international
consultants and funding agencies promote the concept of BRT as a technically viable option
particularly in low-income countries (Lindau et al., 2016). However, in some cases local
policymakers prefer this option a politically viable transport option (Hossain,2006). Therefore,
the roles of various policy actors are critical in the transfer of BRT.
Overall, in the BRT transfer process BRT technology is considered a neutral and technically
transferable object. Considering BRT exchange a case of transport policy transfer, the
following sections explore the theoretical approaches to policy transfer, policy mobilities and
ANT in order to understand how they can assist in better understanding and analysing the
details of the transport policy transfer process.
Concept of policy transfer
The concept of policy transfer is known as a process in which knowledge about policies,
planning ideas, institutional arrangements or administrative practices developed in one
political system are transferred to another political system for the purpose of learning (Dolowitz
& Marsh, 2000). In public policy studies it is common practice to explore how a particular policy
has performed elsewhere before implementing it into a new place; therefore the importance
of learning through policy transfer cannot be ignored (Dolowitz & Marsh, 1996). There is a
growing trend of using policy transfer in various disciplines like urban studies, geography,
political science, public policy and international studies (Evans, 2017a; Stone, 2017).
Transport policy transfer studies have also confirmed the significance of learning across
various places by using the concepts of the policy transfer process (Marsden & Stead, 2011;
Pojani, 2020b; Stead et al., 2008). The fundamentals of policy transfer are developed in the
form of a policy transfer framework, as described below.
40
Policy transfer framework
Dolowitz and Marsh (1996) developed a framework of the policy transfer process to assist in
analysis of the process. This framework comprises the key concepts for analysing the
complete process of policy transfer. The transfer framework defines a policy as anything in
terms of knowledge, ideas, models, infrastructure, objects, regulatory concepts and planning
ideologies, as well as positive and negative lessons (Dolowitz & Marsh, 1996). The policy
transfer framework also presents the fundamentals of transfer in order to analyse the details
of the process. The framework further identifies different roles of actors under nine categories
and highlights how those actors can influence policy transfer. Furthermore, different types of
transfer processes ranging from voluntary to coercive and in combination are given and then
a link is established between the transfer process and its outcomes in the form of complete,
incomplete, successful, or failed transfer types. However, the findings of policy transfer cases
in South East Asia have identified significant numbers of coercive policy transfer at local level
mainly linked with technical and financial grants provided by the international agencies
(Common, 2017). Therefore, although the concept of policy transfer favours the rational and
voluntary forms of policy transfer but the possibilities of coercive or forced transfer cannot be
ignored particularly in developing nations.
Overall, the main categories of the policy transfer framework are given in Table 3.1.
42
Under this policy transfer framework, the transfer process is shown as a relatively unmediated
transmission of policy lessons between the policy borrower and the lender with mutual
understanding. Transfer cases can be understood as either hard or soft transfers and different
types of policy actors are engaged in this process. The term ‘hard transfer’ covers the
implementation of a new infrastructure project and the adoption of legislation or specific public
policy measures such as housing concepts, urban revitalisation policies and transport
planning projects (Bell, 2011; Hoyt, 2006; Stead et al., 2008). Hard transfers are mainly visible
projects which are developed based on inspiration from elsewhere. For hard transfers, national
policymakers, politicians, bureaucrats, and executives often appoint sector specialists or
policy experts to transfer the knowledge from one place to another. However, in soft transfers
usually non-state actors such as consultancy firms and NGOs promote new ideas and
knowledge to create awareness and develop background understanding at a local level about
why a certain policy option could be adopted or how it could solve existing problems. Overall,
in the policy transfer process the roles of actors are very important because they are the policy
carriers. However, the key understanding is that in policy transfer, policy actors transport policy
lessons from one place to another without making any changes to the original policy concept.
The policy transfer framework provides a complete overview of policy transfer analysis by
showing what is transferred, who is involved, where it happens and how it happens, and finally
highlights the outcomes in terms of complete or incomplete transfer as well. I have focused
more on the roles of actors in policy transfer framework and explored the types of different
actors that are involved in moving policy lessons from one place to another because the focus
of my research is to determine the roles of actors as part of the policy transfer process, rather
than determining the type of transfer or the fate of a transfer as to whether it was complete or
incomplete. In terms of my research, the transfer model provided me with fundamental
analytical guidance to identify the different types of policy actors and their roles in the transfer
process. I have used policy transfer framework as a starting point to identify the roles of the
human policy actors involved in the BRT transfer process.
43
Types and roles of policy actors
Dolowitz and Marsh (2000) identified a comprehensive list of nine different types of policy
actors that can initiate the transfer process. This includes government officials, entrepreneurs,
NGOs, sector experts, think tanks, consultants, transnational corporations, international
funding agencies and regional policymakers (Dolowitz & Marsh, 1996). This list not only
identifies the types of policy actor but also provides guidelines to analyse the comprehensive
role of an actor as a part of policy transfer.
In relation to my research, the key strength of policy transfer approach is the recognition of
the roles of actors in the transfer process through an agent-centred approach (Stone, 2004).
The policy transfer framework confirms that actors have a significant impact on policy selection
and implementation of the selected concept. For instance, state actors such as national
policymakers, politicians and bureaucrats take initiatives to solve local problems using
international experience. The role of state actors is as policy seekers who are interested in
learning how to solve state problems. On the other hand, the role of non-state actors and
international actors is mainly to create awareness among local actors in order to develop the
background about why and how a certain new policy option could solve their problems.
Therefore, determining the roles of actors is a significant and critical step in analysing the
policy transfer process and the transfer model can help in identifying and analysing the roles
of different actors as part of the transfer (Dolowitz & Marsh, 2012).
Limitations of policy transfer concept
Although the policy transfer approach provides an initial framework to analyse the process of
policy transfer, there are some limitations that hinder the use of policy transfer as a single
analytical approach in my research. For instance, findings from the policy transfer literature
claim that the transfer process can be conceptualised as a linear and stage-based process.
However, empirical cases of policy transfer show that the transfer process is complex,
contentious and contextual in nature where the actual process never happens as per the
planned steps (Evans, 2013). Furthermore, the transport policy transfer approach is persistent
44
with the technocratic and rational planning aspects of the policy transfer process (Marsden &
Stead, 2011). However, the elements of uncertainty, unpredictability and transformation in
transport policy transfer are not discussed as a part of policy transfer process (Stead, 2012).
Instead, transport policy transfer studies still focus on the circulation of best policy options or
universally viable policy concepts assuming transport planning a technical field of engineering
without considering the contextual variances (Marsden & Reardon, 2017). Yet some policy
transfer scholars have criticised the idea of a universally viable policy option and argued that
there is no one size that fits all in policy exchange (Evans, 2009; Evans & Davies, 1999;
Montero, 2020; Prince, 2012). Prince (2012) in particular argued that to understand the
concept of best policy options, it is necessary to focus on contextual details and geographical
perspectives in the policy transfer process. Evans (2017a) also emphasised on critically
analysing the roles of policy actors in contextual manner as part of policy transfer process.
Overall, the policy transfer analysis is limited to explanatory, descriptive and rational thinking
of finding the suitable policy options without considering the geographical variances and
changes in policy outcomes (Evans, 2013, 2017a). Si et al., (2020) also provided a
comprehensive review of different approaches used in policy transfer from the perspective of
global south and determined that often soft components of transfer such as regulations,
institutional capacities and cultural traits are ignored during the policy exchange process.
In this research, the selected example of BRT is also a significant example in this regard as
the concept of BRT is often proposed as the best transport policy option in transport studies
(Marsden & Stead, 2011). However, the selection of BRT as a viable transport option based
on previous examples from other cities is not enough to justify the transfer of the BRT concept.
Therefore, there is a need to explore further how and why the concept of BRT was selected
for policy transfer in Lahore and under which geopolitical conditions and concept of policy
mobilities as discussed below can provide useful insights in the analysis of BRT transfer.
45
Concept of policy mobilities
The concept of policy mobilities was created by urban geographers who developed a different
understanding of policy transfer based on contextual aspects of how and why policies move
around. They use the term ‘mobilities’ instead of ‘transfer’ in a plural sense to demonstrate
that the exchange of policy knowledge is not a straightforward process but involves multiple
processes, actors, networks and outcomes (McCann, 2011). The policy mobilities approach
focuses on geographical aspects, political associations, contextual relations, cultural traits and
associations of policy actors (Brenner et al., 2010; McCann & Ward, 2013; Peck, 2011; Peck
& Theodore, 2015). Furthermore, this approach also places more empirical focus on the
exchange of transport planning measures and infrastructure development projects in the
transport sector. For instance, policy mobilities concepts are applied in the analysis of the
transfer of Dutch transport planning policies across Europe (Pojani & Stead, 2015).
Additionally, the concepts of policy mobilities are also applied to analyse the circulation of BRT
in the Global South (Jacobs, 2012; A. Wood, 2019b, 2020).
Therefore, the use of the policy mobilities approach is already established in the transport
policy transfer sector. I have found that, in the context of this study, the policy mobilities
approach focuses more on the roles of policy networks than those of individual actors, on
policy contexts instead of policy contents and on policy transformation instead of policy
transfer. The following three notions are considered relevant to this research.
Global policy transfer networks
Scholars of policy mobilities argue that policy exchange is a complex, contextual, and
contingent process of knowledge exchange, and various policies and policy actors play critical
roles in moving policies across geographies. The complexity of policy exchange needs
multiple actors, multilevel connections and networked approaches (Evans, 2013; Prince,
2012). Stone (2004) particularly emphasised the role of political actors as part of global policy
transfer networks and showed that the involvement of political leaders speeds up the process
46
of policy transfer. Stone et al. (2020) also highlighted the role of international pressure as a
stimulus to initiate the policy transfer process. Policy mobilities scholars have focused on the
policy transfer process mainly from a geopolitical perspective. They have mainly argued that
policies are exchanged by relevant actors based on the social, economic and political aspects
related to certain policy options (Peck, 2011; Peck & Theodore, 2015; Prince, 2012, 2016).
Furthermore, the policy mobilities approach focuses on the roles of actors in a relational and
contextual manner. They are seen as agents of policy assemblage and not just agents of
transfer. According to this understanding, policy actors recognise the need for certain policies
under the given socio-political and socio-economic conditions and therefore they are more
concerned to interact with the networks of relevant actors. Urban geographers have also
examined the roles of various types of global policy networks in the policy circulation process.
The concept of consultancy is a significant example in this regard where technical experts,
sector specialists and policy consultants act as a network to share knowledge and spread
certain policy options (Saint-Martin, 2004). Prince (2016) also concluded that technocrats
mobilise policy concepts as an expert form of practice called technocracy which changes the
policy knowledge across various geographies. Another example is policy ’boosterism’ through
tourism where some international policy experiences are promoted by establishing a certain
lobby behind several policy concepts. There is also interaction through international
conferences, visits and site tours (McCann & Ward, 2013). Hoyt (2006) identified the
significance of site visits in moving the policy ideas of urban revitalisation transnationally.
According to McCann and Ward (2012), site visits for policy borrowers provide a chance to
interact with other policy actors not only to learn from each other but also to develop further
channels for policy dissemination.
In transport policy transfer and particularly in the circulation of BRT, the proponents of BRT
have developed a network of actors who work closely with each other and promote the idea
of BRT worldwide. The key actors of the BRT network include the ITDP, an NGO which is
promoting sustainable mobility options and involved in developing BRT projects worldwide.
47
There is also the BRT Centre of Excellence, a transport research institute which works under
Shell and Volvo providing technical guidance to cities introducing BRT (Wright & Hook, 2007).
EMBARQ is a member of the BRT Centre of Excellence and works to develop BRT projects
in collaboration with the Mayor of Bogota. The role of two political leaders, Enrique Peñalosa,
the Mayor of Bogota, and Jaime Lerner, the Mayor of Curitiba, is also very significant in the
propagation of BRT through developing relationships with the political leaders of other
developing cities (A. Wood, 2019a). Overall, this section indicates that in the transnational
circulation of policies, different international policy actors create global networks for policy
transfer and promote the policy exchange process.
Contextual relationships between policy actors
The contextual and relational perspective in policy mobilities highlights that transfer happens
through developing connections between different policy actors. Peck (2011) argued that
policy exchange is a game of power and politics, and not just a technical selection of a policy
option. Because through power relations some actors shape certain policy options according
to what others want to see (Peck, 2011). McCann (2011) also highlighted the risk of promoting
only certain policy concepts because of personal connections between policy actors.
From the policy mobilities perspective, there are certain ways of initiating the process of
developing meaningful network connections. For instance, some policy options are selected
or preferred based on close geographical connections, such as the transfer of the BRT model
between cities of South America and southern Africa as a case of South-to-South policy
transfer (A. Wood, 2014). Another significant reason for policy exchange can be similar
political ideologies; for example, policies within European countries are promoted by the
European Union as a common political entity (Marsden et al., 2011). The cultural connections
and similar socio-economic conditions between two places can also promote network
connections between different policy actors. The recent trend of exchanging policy options
48
between cities of the Global South instead of transferring policy options from North to South
is a significant example of relational policy exchange (Montero, 2020).
Overall, the concept of global policy networks supports the notions of relational, contextual,
political, and power relationships in various ways. Thus, the exchange of policy is seen as a
complex, relational, and contextual process under the policy mobilities approach. More
importantly in the context of this study, BRT also provides a good example of policy mobilities.
Although it is highly circulated worldwide, many developing countries prefer BRT because it
was started in a developing country and so they feel it will be suitable for all developing cities.
In my understanding, I have found that the contextual and relational perspectives of policy
mobilities are helpful in analysing the results of BRT transfer from the perspective of a
developing country.
Transformation in policy exchange
The last dimension of the policy mobilities approach which is considered relevant to this study
is regarding changes or variations between the transferred policy concept and the original
concept. Policy mobilities researchers have worked on how the form and function of a well-
known global policy concept can be reconceptualised, particularly in terms of local innovations
and transformations (McCann & Ward, 2012, 2015; Peck & Theodore, 2015). Place-based
transformations are also discussed under the notion of policy translation.
When transferring policy knowledge or a concept, there is always a possibility of changes at
the local level due to variations in power structures and planning processes. Therefore, the
outcomes can be a mix of expected and unexpected results. The key assumption in this
research is that policy concepts cannot be implemented without transformations. My analysis
of how local-level variations occur is a useful contribution to policy transfer studies because
such studies provide insights for future learning and help policymakers to understand how to
avoid circumstances which can impact negatively on the outcomes of transferred policies.
49
Regarding variations in transferred concepts, another dimension has been highlighted by
Schneider (2012) in referring to non-cognitive and cognitive policy exchange (Schneider,
2012). In non-cognitive policy exchange, new policies are selected based on inspiration,
empathy, intuition, or aesthetics without considering the contextual variances between places.
In such cases, the outcomes of transferred policies are changed because the contextual
variance, the administrative and institutional setups, can be different. Another important
aspect is that inspiration is an intangible component and may not have real value. Therefore,
insights into policy transformations can provide useful discussion on how policy is changed.
Role of technology in policy transfer analysis
Contemporary scholars of urban planning have indicated that in modern policymaking
processes, the role of technology and its implications should be considered in collaborative
planning, particularly in cases of socio-technical policy and planning concepts (Healey, 2013;
Hillier & Metzger, 2015). In the era of modern planning, planners have to deal with a range of
new tools, infrastructures and technologies during the decision-making process and it is
necessary to consider how such technologies can influence policymakers during the decision-
making process (Rydin & Tate, 2016). Marsden and Stead (2011) also highlighted that the
transfer of various types of transport technologies is critical in policy transfer because the
effects of the same technology can be different in the local context. Therefore, conventional
policy transfer analysis relying more on governance and institutional perspectives is not
sufficient in transport policy transfer analysis; instead, more ethnographical and assemblage
thinking is required for effective policy transfer decisions (Marsden & Reardon, 2017; Stead &
Pojani, 2020).
Furthermore, keeping in view the complexity of policy transfer process, some scholars of policy
mobilities have also suggested the need for ethnographic approaches in analysing the roles
of different types of actors and their mutual connections in policy transfer (Lovell, 2019; Pojani,
2020; Prince, 2012). Prince (2017) further highlighted the topographies of technocracy which
connects different places and create changes in policy knowledge therefore he suggests using
50
assemblages’ approach in policy transfer analysis. Overall, by drawing on the understanding
that ethnographic approach in policy transfer can comprehensively explore the detailed
connections between policy actors and changes in policy knowledge, I preferred using
ethnographic approach in my research along with geopolitical lens of policy mobilities.
In the next section I focus on how ANT, as an ethnographic lens, can be used to analyse the
detailed roles of actors and transport technologies in transport policy transfer analysis.
Actor Network Theory – an ethnographic lens for policy transfer analysis
Actor Network Theory (ANT) was originally developed in the field of science and technology
to integrate scientific knowledge into society in a relational and integrated manner (Callon,
1998; Latour, 1996b). The ANT approach makes its main arguments about the equal roles of
human and non-human actors in social sciences. The term ‘non-human’ is considered as a
broad umbrella term in the ANT approach which includes objects, machines, texts, structures,
animals, technology etc. As Latour (1984, p. 34) said, literally ‘each and every thing’ can be
non-human excluding the human. The key understanding of the ANT approach is the mutual
association between human and non-human actors as a network to perform any action. In
terms of ANT, things and processes work through connections and interactions in the form of
networks (Latour, 2011). Within a network both human and non-human actors are linked with
each other and have equal authority or capacity to perform an action and, most importantly,
non-humans can influence human actors, which is a unique understanding in social sciences
(Callon & Blackwell, 2007). Overall, the ANT concepts provide a unique approach to analyse
the role of objects and things in social sciences.
The ANT approach is also considered a controversial theory in social sciences because of its
focus to non-humans (Sayes, 2014). Some social scientists have criticised the ANT by
arguing that it is not a theory but an approach which is more about how things work, which
means the ANT approach focuses only on connections and provides descriptions of how a
process or an action takes place without exploring the background of why the connections
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were developed between the actors (Mützel, 2009; Palmateer et al., 2016). Whittle and Spicer
(2008) also criticised the word ‘theory’ in ANT and argued that the use of this word is not
justified because ANT presents only a methodology for incorporating non-humans into social
scientific accounts, but it is not a theory.
However, scholars of ANT in response have argued that the methodology in ANT provides a
coherent analytical approach to exploring complex relationships between different things in
society, which is more than the scope of a single theory (John, 2009). Furthermore, the ANT
approach focuses on mutual relations between things and concepts, which provides a better
and more comprehensive understanding than a regular theoretical concept (John, 2009).
Latour (2011) further argued that complexities in society can be best interpreted through
connections because everything plays a role in a particular sphere in relation to every other
thing and that sphere is called a network in ANT. Abend (2008) also clarified the use of term
‘theory’ in social sciences and explained that its use cannot be limited to just theorising
concepts; it can provide methodological insights as well. However, apart from the discussion
of whether it is a theory or not, the use of ANT as a methodological approach is well recognised
and commonly applied in social sciences.
According to John (2009), the main objective of the ANT approach is to uncover the complexity
of society thorough interpretations of how scientific knowledge, technology development and
social processes exist, evolve and endure in relation to each other (Bosco, 2006). Therefore,
this approach provides coherent analytical guidance for exploring the role of technology in a
relational and contextual manner. I have found this perspective very relevant to analysis of the
transfer process of the BRT concept as a case of socio-technical policy transfer.
From the perspective of planning studies, the ANT approach is used in urban planning,
transport planning, urban design and environmental planning (Murdoch, 1998; Ruming et al.,
2016; Rydin, 2013). The ANT approach applies an ethnographic focus to individual policy
components, their interpretations, complex networks and their mutual connections in
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policymaking processes (Rydin, 2010). The ANT-based concepts are widely used to analyse
changes in society, informal connections between actors and power relations, changes in
governance structures and the changing roles of different formal and informal actors in policy
decision-making (Blok, 2010; Rydin, 2010; Rydin & Tate, 2016). The ANT approach has also
been used to explore the socio-technical nature of transport infrastructure projects and
transport policy options. Richardson (2019) examined the engagements of actors, roles of
various networks, planning considerations, policy initiatives and project controversies for case
studies of the Montreal Metro. Ruming et al. (2016) also applied ANT analysis to examine the
role of planning documents and planning processes by focusing on a proposal to replace a
heavy rail system with a light rail system in Newcastle, Australia. Furthermore, the ANT
approach as a qualitative analytical framework has highlighted the roles of various actors in
the policy transfer of the belt and road project from China to other parts of the world (Wang &
Selina, 2018). Therefore, previous studies have shown that ANT is a coherent approach to
analysing the roles of non-human elements in contemporary studies of the transport sector
(Michael, 2016; Rydin & Tate, 2016).
Based on learnings from previous studies, I have found the following three concepts of ANT:
the inclusion of non-human actors, the formation of actor networks and the framework of
translation, relevant to my research context to show the local-level variations in the transferred
BRT concept.
Inclusion of non-human actors
Non-human actors are a critical part of the ANT approach as per key scholars of this approach
(Callon, 1999a; Latour, 1996b; Law, 1992). The ANT approach views society as a combination
of various elements which play the roles of different actors. According to Latour, ‘anything that
modifies a situation by making a difference can be an actor’ (2005, p. 71). In the ANT approach
a new term ‘actant’ is introduced which includes both human and non-human actors.
According to the definition of actant developed by Latour, an actant is an actor that acts by
53
itself and creates activity among other actants (Latour, 1996a). Therefore, in ANT terms all
actors are at an equal level and no priority is assigned to any actor, either human or non-
human. In policy transfer, the human actors can be policymakers, political leaders,
international consultants etc., while non-human actors can be a variety of objects such as
technology, texts, documents, buildings, and some intangibles such as policy ideas, plans and
programs. Thus, the definition of an actor in ANT considers the ‘full range of actors’ including
both human and non-human actors (John, 2009).
Another key strength of the ANT approach is the unpredictable role of actors, because all
actors are responsible for creating an action, so unless the action happens, no one can predict
how it will happen. Instead, the characteristics of actors are highly dynamic and continually
evolving along with different interactions, times, events and contexts (Callon, 1999b; Latour,
1996b). Latour (1987) further categorised the roles of actors in two broader categories based
on their actions: intermediaries and moderators.
a) Intermediaries
Intermediaries are actors who play a passive role in establishing actor networks. According to
Murdoch (1998), intermediaries are actors that do not engage themselves in an activity but
create activities for other actors. Callon (1998) defined the role of intermediaries as connectors
in network assemblages, which means they are necessary to build relations but cannot define
the nature of associations. Therefore, they are known as passive actors because on their
behalf other actors perform actions. Examples are policy studies, scientific texts, technical
artefacts, design manuals and financial proposals (Rydin, 2013). Human actors can also be
intermediaries depending upon their role, for instance sector specialists who transform
knowledge from one place to another (Marsden et al., 2011). Latour (2005, p. 35) also defined
the role of an intermediary as an actor who ‘transports meaning or force without
transformation’. This means the intermediary is a message carrier which can stimulate or
54
generate actions within a network. Thus, intermediaries provide agency in an indirect way and
influence others to perform action.
Previous studies of BRT policy transfer have identified international consultants, think tanks,
multilateral banks and in some cases local political leaders as intermediaries (A. Wood,
2019b). However, the use of ANT as an analytical lens can help in examining how various
design elements such as bus routes, bus bays, station locations, platforms, doors, buses etc.
could be intermediaries. Do these technical features impact on the choices of policymakers?
In this sense the concept of intermediaries is helpful in identifying the roles of objects in the
policy transfer process that might otherwise not be noticed.
b) Mediators
Mediators are actors who actively participate in a network and can define the purpose of the
network formation and take actions. The key role of a mediator is to create change in network
associations in the desired way (Latour, 2005). The role of mediators is very complex and they
can perform various functions by translating, transforming and modifying the meanings of
different elements according to their own interests (Latour, 2013b). In other words, a mediator
is a source of action in a network and can make or break network associations. The role of
mediators is visible in the process of translation (Callon, 1984). Overall, the inclusion of non-
humans as part of policy transfer provides a critical dimension to the roles of policy actors.
Initially policy transfer studies examined the individual roles of actors; later this was extended
to the roles of different policy transfer networks in relation to each other by the policy mobilities
approach. ANT provides another opportunity to strengthen the policy transfer analysis further
by considering equally human and non-human actors as a part of policy transfer network.
Formation of actor networks
The concept of a network in ANT is different to the concepts of technical networks and global
policy transfer networks. In technical networks, various nodes and connectors are linked in a
55
predetermined hierarchy or a designed pattern to develop specific networks. However, in the
ANT approach network connections are unpredictable, relational and heterogenous (Latour,
1996b). The concept of heterogeneity is a key consideration in ANT networks (Latour,1996b).
Furthermore, in ANT terms all the actions happen through network connections and nothing
can happen outside of the network (Latour, 2011). The concept of heterogeneity creates the
key difference between global policy transfer networks and actor networks. Global policy
transfer networks are homogenous because they are comprised of only human networks,
whereas ANT networks are heterogenous including both human and non-human actors.
The concept of heterogeneity is derived from the term ‘heterogenous assemblage’. This is
comprised of two parts, the heterogeneity and the assemblage (Fairbanks, 2019). The term
‘heterogenous’ is used to describe the variety in processes by focusing on multiple roles of
actors and multiple interpretations, descriptions, dialectic meanings, and understandings
regarding an object or subject. The term ‘assemblage’ means connections, relations or
pathways adopted by various actors in order to be connected or separated (Farías & Bender,
2012). In ANT networks these two terms are put together as a unified concept. Network-based
relationships explain how different things exist and endure in relation to each other (Rydin,
2013).
Law (1992) further argued that societies would not exist if they were purely social; instead, the
distinctive feature of ANT is the networked approach to analysing society, which is
heterogenous in nature. This means actors in the ANT analysis are both the individuals as
well as the entities or objects like books, machines, texts, devices, manuscripts and anything
which can connect human actors (Callon, 1999b; Law, 1992). In other words, ANT sets the
perspective through heterogenous networks that neither technology nor society can be
understood in isolation because they are related to both human and non-human actors that
design, translate and interpret the technology. Likewise, it is the technology that shapes the
behaviours and interests of people in society; therefore, both need to be linked and interpreted
in relation to each other.
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Translation framework
The key to a translation framework is the work of actors in the form of networks and it is a
central concept of ANT. The process of translation occurs when a human or non-human actor
agrees on a certain purpose of a project and all the actors mutually shape the network
connections in the desired way to perform actions to achieve that purpose which was
developed at the start of network building (Callon, 1991). Law (1999) viewed translation as a
process of capturing new associations and connections leading towards an outcome. In other
words, a translation framework shows how certain actions are performed by engaging different
actors through a controlled framework in the form of a network. However, the network
associations in the translation process are transient in nature and keeping on changing; this
making and remaking of network connections continue the process of translation.
The translation framework highlights that in actor network connections the actors are not just
message carriers as assumed in the conventional approach to policy transfer. Instead,
translation framework of the ANT identifies that there are number of changes which occur as
part of networking among actors. Therefore, translation frameworks highlight that different
networks of actors can assign different meanings to the same object, as ‘scallop’ was given a
new meaning by fishermen (Callon, 1984).
The reason for these differences in meanings is the changes in mutual connections between
actors and things. John (2009) showed through material semiotics that mutual association
between objects and concepts/subjects is the key to understanding the activities in society.
The concept of translation provides an interpretation of material semiotics and explores the
complexity of network associations in how different small steps act together to create a change
or develop an action. From the perspective of this research, I have found the translation
framework to be helpful in highlighting the local-level variations which occur as part of the
policy transfer process.
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According to Callon (1984), to establish an actor network different actors play different roles
such as intermediates and mediators under the process of translation (Callon, 1984). During
the process of translation, multiple actors assign different meanings based on the project
interests and by using the roles assigned to various actors. Hence, the process of translation
is complex and iterative because there is no concept of assigning fixed roles to the actors;
instead, every time new meanings and roles are assigned to the same actors depending upon
their positions and functions in the network (John, 2009). According to the translation process,
policy knowledge can be developed by enrolling different actors in the process and with
changes in the roles of actors, the meanings and interpretations of policy concepts also
change.
There are four different stages of translation: problematisation, interessement, enrolment and
mobilisation of the translation process (Callon, 1986). Problematisation is considered a
starting part of the translation process where the roles of human and non-human actors are
determined according to the nature of their actions. For instance, the roles of different
consultants, sector specialists, political leaders and local policymakers in this research case
can be analysed in relation to how they constructed the need for the new BRT option. This
stage also provides the opportunity to examine the roles of different non-human features like
development plans, feasibility studies, infrastructure designs and other objects in
strengthening the need for BRT as a new policy option.
Interessement, is a French term used by Callon which means ‘promotion’. It is the second
stage of translation where primary actors further promote the project goals and objectives to
involve and convince more actors to be part of the project (Callon, 1984). It is the stage of
promoting common interest and intent between various actors and attracting actors to
establish wider connections among them. Primary actors further engage other actors to
stabilise network connections by involving more actors in the form of intermediaries and
moderators.
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Enrolment means at this stage of the translation process; different actors are engaged and
interact with each other through network connections because of the promotion created at
stage two. Until the second stage the actors are not connected; they can enter or leave the
network. In the context of this research, by examining the stage of enrolment of various actors
in BRT transfer I can explore the connections between actors and identify where the process
of policy transformations is started and how it is proceeded.
The inclusion of non-human objects such as reports, policy documents, maps, or drawings as
inscription devices as new actors to create common interests among others (Latour, 2005;
Kumar et al., 2012). The purpose of inscription devices is to supplement the discursive
argumentation in the decision-making process. As Latour (1984) said, in the translation model
the power is generated and composed by enrolling more actors under the given socio-political
conditions. Therefore, ANT argues that agency is not something that can be generated or
determined; instead, it comes through a series of interactions between actors. The actor
having more connections with other actors is the powerful actor in actor network.
The fourth and final stage of translation is mobilisation, where the most stable network
connections among actors perform the required actions. The actors at this stage have
developed an intact network with each other and support mutual actions between human and
non-human actors as a single network. Often non-humans have an influential role in the
translation process and humans perform actions under the influence of non-humans (Latour,
2005). At the mobilisation stage, non-human members of the network often act as
spokespeople on behalf of human actors to justify the network actions (Callon, 1998). Finally,
the mobilisation stage enables the actors to relate to their own network in order to perform
actions.
Overall, the above mentioned four stages of translation stabilise the actor network connections
and strengthen the mutual connections for performing actions through the networks which
otherwise individual actors are unable to perform. In translation process, during the formation
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of actor networks different actors get positions as mediators and intermediaries, and then they
make connections with other actors in the network. Finally, actors perform actions in the form
of networks and the whole process is known as the translation process.
To recapitulate, I have found the three selected concepts of ANT relevant to my study in
analysing the transport policy transfer process, as described in Table 3.2. The concept of BRT
is taken as a case of socio-technical policy transfer because it is a technical transfer as per
the ITDP standards, but also a socio-technical transfer as per the policy mobilities view (A.
Wood, 2015). Therefore, the inclusion of non-humans as actors and the analysis of influence
of non-human actors on human actors can be helpful in analysing how non-human actors can
perform as part of the BRT transfer process.
Table 3.2: The concepts of ANT used in this research.
Actors
Intermediaries
Mediators
ANT establishes an understanding of actors in a unique way by considering both
human and non-humans as actors under the specific term ‘actant’. The role of
actants is further divided into intermediaries and mediators (Latour, 1986).
These actors perform a passive role in a network because they cannot create any
change directly by themselves; instead, they facilitate other actors to start new
actions. Policy documents, technical texts, money, technical artefacts, regulatory
scripts etc. are considered intermediaries in ANT terms (Callon, 1995).
These are the actors who actively take part in network formation, connect actors
with each other by creating new connections and have the capacity to change the
network and perform an action (Latour, 2005).
Networks The roles of actors in ANT are not examined as individuals but as a network where
different material and non-material features are linked with each other. A network
is composed of heterogeneous elements which are held together and translated
through various types of associations (Callon, 1986a); the heterogenous
assemblage is crucial to the existence of networks (Law, 1992).
Heterogeneous
assemblage
Treating both human and non-human actors at an equal level is the key feature of
ANT and the heterogenous assemblage establishes this understanding. This
concept rejects a distinction between actors and is used to interpret how different
objects can exist, create, or evolve together as a single entity to make a network
(Callon, 1991).
Translation
framework
Translation is defined as a process where an actor (human or non-human) creates
changes in the network to perform a specific action (Callon, 1986). The process of
translation is observed in four substages, as discussed above.
Source: Adapted from the fundamentals of ANT Latour (1996b)
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The theoretical understanding of policy transfer in BRT circulation
In this research, the concept of BRT is discussed as a case of transport policy transfer. The
understanding of BRT transfer is developed by reviewing previous policy transfer cases in the
transport sector (A. Wood, 2019b). The proponents of this concept argue that it is a low-cost
mass transit option which requires limited technology and shorter implementation time to
provide an efficient mobility service (Breithaupt et al., 2014; Cervero, 2013; Sinaga et al.,
2019). The wide spread of BRT is linked to rational transport planning reasons such as low
cost, lower technical requirements, quick implementation, and flexibility in using existing road
infrastructure. The advantages of BRT are categorised under technical, financial,
environmental, and social aspects. This scenario comes under the notion of policy transfer
where national policymakers select any transportation policy concept assuming that current
policy measures are not sufficient to deal with existing mobility challenges (Marsden & Deakin,
2012).
However, some examples of Bogota based BRT transfer have shown that careful attention is
needed to explore how transport policy concepts circulate especially in the Global South
(Wood, 2015). In particular, BRT transfer cases in southern Africa and South America have
demonstrated that similar political ideologies, cultural traits and close geographical
connections have played significant roles in the BRT transfer process (Silva Ardila, 2020; A.
Wood & Wood, 2014). Furthermore, international funding agencies, transport consultants,
local political leaders and NGOs working in the field of transport have played important roles
in the policy transfer process which makes Bogota BRT an example of coercive transfer.
Under the policy mobilities approach, the roles of these actors in the form of professional,
technical and political networks are discussed as global policy networks (McCann & Ward,
2013). Policy mobilities scholars have particularly highlighted the importance of network
associations between actors in BRT circulation in the Global South, whereas the role of
technology has not been further analysed. However, this study considers the roles of BRT
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technology and other infrastructure features together with the roles of policy actors. For this,
the concept of policy translation from ANT is used to explore the transfer process of BRT.
The case of BRT transfer provides an opportunity to explore the details of transport-based
policy transfer projects and to explore the BRT concept as a heterogenous entity. In the
transfer process of BRT, different inputs can be given from technical and social aspects
through various actors and accordingly the outcomes of BRT transfer can be analysed as part
of BRT transfer. This analytical approach to policy transfer is relevant to the key assumption
of this research that there must be local-level variations when transferring the BRT concept
as a foreign transport policy option. An ethnographic approach can help in analysing how
local-level variations occur as part of policy transfer and what the implications of such
variations could be.
Conclusion
In this chapter I have established an understanding regarding the transfer of the BRT concept
as a transport policy concept by describing three different theoretical perspectives on policy
transfer. Findings from transport studies have described the concept of BRT as a technically
viable transport policy option which is preferred by local policymakers as a low-cost transit
mobility. The policy transfer approach considers the circulation of BRT to be a rational and
technical transport policy transfer. In addition, policy mobilities studies have found that the
concept of BRT is circulated based on geographical connections, cultural characteristics, and
political similarities. The policy mobilities approach also highlights the role of contextual
relations between policy actors and global policy transfer networks in the exchange of the BRT
concept.
This research extends the understanding of relational network connections between policy
actors by considering the roles of both human and non-human actors. The research uses the
ANT approach as an analytical framework to explore the details of the transfer process as a
combination of technical and social features related to BRT. I consider in this study that BRT
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transfer is a case of socio-technical transport policy transfer; therefore, I assume that in BRT
transfer both human and non-human features play important roles as part of the process.
In my understanding, considering the role of non-human actors as part of transport policy
transfer networks will provide an additional dimension to transport policy transfer studies. This
approach will contribute to knowledge in theoretical debates and empirical understandings in
transport policy transfer studies of developing countries.
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Chapter 4 – Research Design
This chapter outlines the research design of the study. This research explores the roles of
actors, the local-level translation of BRT and the implications of local-level variations from the
universal concept of BRT. This study employs a qualitative and ethnographic approach to
analysing roles of actors in policy transfer that uses policy document reviews, semi-structured
interviews, a focus group discussion, and site observations as methods of data generation.
For data analysis the ANT-based actor–network associations and thematic analysis
approaches are applied. This chapter is organised in six sections that explain the conceptual
framework, the research approach, the research methods, and the data analysis technique,
followed by a description of fieldwork challenges and ethical considerations of the research.
Conceptual framework
The conceptual framework of a research study provides the philosophical assumptions and
theoretical stance which provide broader understanding of the research problem to the
researcher (Braun et al., 1994). The conceptual framework shows the researcher’s own
understanding of worldwide views on a certain issue and guides to select the appropriate
research approach and relevant methods. In this research I have designed the conceptual
framework by focusing on three things: the knowledge gap, the theoretical study
considerations, and the study contributions. By reviewing the literature on BRT circulation as
a transport policy concept, I have identified a gap in knowledge regarding the exchange of the
BRT concept across various geographies. This study questions the uncritical acceptance of
BRT technology as a transport policy concept and highlights the need to explore the roles of
various actors who are involved in BRT transfer. The roles of different types of human policy
actors have been discussed in previous studies based on policy mobilities. However, I assume
in this research that the transfer of BRT is not merely a technical exchange where the role of
BRT technology is limited to that of a public transport mode that is selected by certain policy
actors. This research employs the lens of ANT in policy transfer research to analyse the role
64
of BRT technology as a new entrant in the network of policy actors. Therefore, the conceptual
framework of this research uses concepts of policy mobilities and the ANT approach to
analyse the transfer process of BRT in Lahore.
Policy mobilities is a theory applied to analysing the roles of human policy actors (McCann &
Ward, 2013), whereas ANT is a general ethnographic approach used to analyse the role of
technology in association with other features of society in the form of different networks
(Latour, 1996a). I have designed the conceptual framework keeping in view my research
objectives, which have been designed according to the research questions.
The first research question, as mentioned in Section 1.3, is about identifying the key actors,
and describing their roles in BRT transfer and the first two research objectives are related to
Research Question 1:
Research Objective 1. To identify the roles of both material and non-material features as
actors in BRT transfer.
Research Objective 2. To examine the roles of different actors as actor networks in the BRT
transfer process.
The second research question is about the local-level translation of the BRT concept and its
implications, and the third research objective keeps in view this question:
Research Objective 3. To analyse the local level variations of the translated concept of BRT
and the implications for future BRT in Pakistan.
These three research objectives are linked theoretically with the concepts of heterogenous
assemblage, policy translation and policy transformation. Using these theoretical concepts,
this research provides an empirical analysis of the Lahore BRT transfer, and the research
results contribute to the literature on transport policy transfer studies of developing countries.
The application of the selected theoretical concepts according to the research objectives is
described below as part of the conceptual framework.
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The concept of heterogenous assemblages – identifying roles of human and
non-human actors
Research Objective 1: To identify the roles of both material and non-material features as
actors in BRT transfer.
The concept of assemblages is found in both policy mobilities and the ANT approach;
however, the understanding of this concept is different in each theory concept. In policy
mobilities the concept of assemblages is used as a tool to understand the messy processes
of policymaking and policy exchange (Gorur, 2011). Prince (2017) argues by using example
of technocracy that use of assemblages in policy transfer process provides a comprehensive
framework to analyse role of actors and circulation of policies from global to local level.
Furthermore, policy transfer process is also found political and technical in nature therefore
use of ethnographic approach is suggested to analyse how the transferred objects are
articulated in a new geographical location (Prince, 2010). Overall, assemblages concept
provides a comprehensive understanding of how various policy concepts are made up of
different objects and how during policy exchange, policy objects move, manifest and mutate
across various geographies depending upon the intentions of policy actors (McCann & Ward,
2013; Savage, 2020). The concept of assemblages is considered relevant to this study
because in the transfer of BRT both the hard components (such as infrastructure features,
buses, and design models) as well as the soft concepts (such as urban regulations, design
standards and transit-oriented development strategies) are exchanged across different
geographies. Furthermore, in the exchange of BRT different policy actors play significant roles
in policy transfer including international, national, and local-level actors. However, the
influences and roles of actors are seen as limited only to the human actors.
In ANT the term ‘assemblage’ provides an empirical understanding of the different roles of
human and non-human actors. The concept of assemblages shows that in technology
development there are the roles of both technical and social features. The ANT-based
understanding of assemblages is also considered relevant to the first research objective, to
66
identify the roles of material and non-material features as actors in BRT transfer. Therefore,
the concept of assemblage is applied in my research analysis, which acknowledges the
understanding of policy mobilities regarding different forms of policies and different roles of
various policy actors but extends the understanding of roles of actors in the policy transfer
process by considering the roles of non-human elements as well.
I have hypothesised that by applying the concept of assemblage, the roles of BRT technology
and other non-material features in relation to human policy actors can be understood, which
will provide an addition to knowledge regarding the role of BRT technology in the circulation
of the BRT concept across various geographies and in overall transport policy transfer studies
as well.
The concept of translation – examining the actor networks
Research Objective2: To examine the roles of different actors as actor networks in the BRT
transfer process.
The concept of translation exists in both selected theories, policy mobilities and the ANT
approach. In policy mobilities, the concept of translation means that in the policy transfer
process similar policies can be conceptualised in different manners depending upon
contextual, geographical and political variations (Stone, 2012). Scholars of policy mobilities
emphasise the role of global policy networks and particularly focus on the roles of international
actors and NGOs as policy translators.
However, the understanding of translation in ANT is as a process where different actors are
engaged at different stages and all the actors are mutually connected as a network. The
process of translation in the ANT approach is an outcome of various actor–network
associations where the roles of various actors and their actions cannot be predetermined or
predicted unless the action is performed by the actors (Callon, 1998). Furthermore, in the ANT
terms, different non-human actors such as policy documents, technology, money, software,
and planning tools can act as mediators to create network connections between human actors.
67
Therefore, the agency of non-human actors cannot be ignored in the translation of actor–
network associations. Overall, the understanding of translation in both theories is relevant to
the research, but the ANT-based process of translation is found to be more practical for
analysing the roles of different non-human actors in relation to the other actors. Therefore, it
is applied in this study to analyse how the global concept of BRT is implemented at the local
level. However, to understand the roles of the local socioeconomic and political conditions of
Pakistan in the translation of BRT in Lahore, the contextual value of policy translation in policy
mobilities is also considered as part of data analysis.
I assume in this study that ANT-based translation can show how different actors develop
mutual connections with each other to stabilise or destabilise actor–network associations
during the transfer of BRT. This understanding can provide empirical examination of the
contextual features such as political changes, geographical connections, and social variances,
and how they can impact on the actor–network connections and eventually on the policy
translation.
The concept of transformation – examining the policy variations
Objective 3: To analyse the local level variations of the translated concept of BRT and the
implications for future BRT in Pakistan
The concept of policy transformation selected from policy mobilities shows that the outcomes
of transferred policy concepts can never be the same across various geographies (McShane,
2016; Si et al., 2020). This concept is particularly relevant to this research because I assume
that the outcomes of BRT experienced in Pakistan are quite different as compared to the
expected or proposed outcomes of BRT worldwide. Therefore, applying the understanding of
policy transformation will help in analysing what the variations in the transferred concept of
BRT at the local level are, while examining the changes in actor–network associations will
explore the reasons for these variations. This means concept of policy transformation is used
as an applied concept to analyse the local-level variations, whereas ANT provides an
68
extended ethnographic lens to focus on the individual roles of actors in creating the local-level
variations.
Overall, the ethnographic approach of ANT helps in analysing the roles of actors and their
actions during policy assemblage, translation, and transformation as part of the policy transfer
process. The use of translation and transformation framework particularly shows how the
network-based interactions among actors can create temporary stability or instability which
may hinder or facilitate the policy transfer process or cause local variations in the transferred
concepts.
Finally, the conceptual framework of this study hypothesize that universal transport solutions
cannot be simply transferred across different places; instead, they are translated and
transformed in the local context through a network of actors. The network-based
understanding of policy transfer considered in this research explores how the local-level
transformations are created while adapting the foreign solutions to the local context. The
conceptual framework is summarised in Figure 4.1 below.
69
Figure 4.1: The conceptual framework
Heterogenous assemblage Translation framework Policy transformation
Identifying the role of both
non-human and human
actors in the form of actor
networks in BRT transfer
Examining the role of socio-
technical features and
empirical perspectives in BRT
translation at a local level.
Determining the
contingencies of BRT
translation at a local level
Research will provide the
implications of transferring a
foreign transport policy concept
like BRT into a local context.
The role of BRT technology
Analysing a heterogenous
assemblage of actors
Identifying intermediaries /
mediators
Determining actor–network
connections
The changes in actor–
network associations
Analysing the entry and exit of
actors during BRT transfer
Examining changes in socio-
economic conditions of Pk.
Identifying multiple interests,
priorities, and controversies in
BRT transfer
Local-level variations in BRT
Determining transformations in
the Lahore BRT model
Examining the contingencies in
BRT translation in Lahore
Implications of BRT translation
on future BRTs in the country
No understanding of
how non-human
actors influence
BRT circulation.
Limited understanding of
BRT as a case of socio
technical transport policy
transfer.
Limited understanding of
reasons for unsuccessful
transfer of BRT as a case
of transport policy.
Empirical
investigation Knowledge gap Research
considerations
Research
contribution
70
Qualitative research approach
This study applies a qualitative research approach to analyse a transport policy transfer
process. Policy transfer studies fall under the domain of social sciences, where the nature of
research often demands qualitative methods (Grosvenor, 2000). Transport policy scholars
argue that policy transfer is a complex social process where history, context and culture play
significant roles, and a qualitative research approach can be more effective in this regard
(Pojani, 2020b; Stead et al., 2008). Although in transport planning number of studies have
considered BRT as a technical transfer of transport technology and evaluated impacts of BRT
using quantitative methods to show the technical, financial and environmental advantages of
BRT over other modes of transport (Campo, 2011; Cervero, 2013; Hidalgo & Gutiérrez, 2013).
However, in this study the concept of BRT is taken as a socio-technical transport policy option
and the focus of research is on the roles of actors and local-level variations therefore a
qualitative approach is selected as an appropriate method.
The richness of qualitative research lies in exploring real experiences, on-ground realities,
particular events and the effects of certain events, which is not possible to analyse in
quantitative research (Yin, 2015). Furthermore, in previous transport policy transfer research
studies, the qualitative approach is applied as a preferred option (Marsden & Stead, 2011).
The key strength of the qualitative approach in policy transfer is its flexible and narrative
perspective, which captures the personal views of participants and assign various meanings
in order to convey different findings (Næss, 2018; Yin, 2015). The detailed data attributes
related to personal experiences and social happenings cannot be captured in quantitative
research (Ashmore et al., 2019; Grosvenor, 2000). Therefore, to explore the decision-making
process in the transport sector, qualitative methods are preferred as compared to quantitative
research approaches.
Additionally, in this study an ethnographic approach is also applied as part of the research
design. The selection of an ethnographic approach is based on the argument that transport
policy transfer is a complex socio-technical process where multiple actors and stakeholders
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are involved. Some contemporary scholars of policy mobilities have suggested using
ethnographic methods in policy transfer analysis to focus coherently on how policy actors drive
policy transfer and establish global policy networks (Evans, 2013; Pojani, 2020b; Prince, 2012;
Schneider, 2012). In the context of this research, I assume that an ethnographic approach can
provide comprehensive understanding regarding the various roles of actors and their mutual
associations in the form of networks. The key strength of using ANT as an ethnographic
approach is providing equal consideration of human and non-human actors as part of the
process, as discussed earlier (Latour, 2013b). Therefore, based on the requirements of this
study the socio-political approach of policy mobilities and ANT-based ethnographic approach
to the roles of the actors in policy transfer have been found suitable for analysing the details
of BRT transfer in Lahore.
Case study approach
Keeping in view the nature of policy transfer research, I have selected a case study approach.
In policy transfer studies the case study approach is the most common approach, particularly
in the transport policy transfer sector (Marsden & Stead, 2011; Pojani & Stead, 2015). The
key reason for selecting a case study approach is the flexibility of research design that allows
thick descriptions and detailed investigation of a single case through comprehensive intrinsic
data (Yin, 2015). It sets the boundary for an object and gives the opportunity to explore the
subject of interest with questions like: What happened? How did it happen? Why did it
happen? What was connected to what? (Thomas, 2015). It also provides the chance to get
close to a reality by using small questions but with detailed descriptions (Flyvbjerg 2006).
However, there are some limitations in using the case study approach because case study
results cannot be generalised due to the limited sample for data generation and analysis. The
case study approach can also show bias results because it cannot represent a whole system
(Flyvbjerg, 1998, 2006). However, in policy transfer research each case of policy transfer is
unique and contextually different based on policy actors, geographical locations and cultural
characteristics therefore the use of case study is a common approach in policy transfer studies
72
(McCann & Ward, 2013). Furthermore, the detailed empirical analysis of different case studies
can provide more useful research insights. Therefore, policy transfer researchers generally
use the case study approach to explore minor details with thick descriptions.
Yin (2015) also argued that the case study approach is appropriate for empirical inquiry
research, particularly in studies of contemporary planning and policy where the boundaries
between the research context and the phenomenon of interest are not clearly defined.
Therefore, the case study approach is considered suitable in studies of public policy and
exchange of policy because it provides opportunity to investigate transfer cases with in-depth
analysis of the detailed roles of actors, their actions and their associations during the transfer
process (Evans, 2013). Additionally, in policy transfer studies the focus is on exploring the
relationships between different elements of policy transfer in various contexts and case study
approach provides empirical insights (Evans, 2017).
Specifically, in transport planning the case study method is the prime choice for studying the
exchange of transport models from the perspectives of socio-cultural and political dimensions
(Marsden & Stead, 2011; Monois, 2017). Therefore, I have selected the case study approach
for this research.
Research methods
Research methods are significant part of the research design that guide appropriate data
collection tools according to the selected research approach. Research methods include the
procedures of data collection, analysis and interpretation (Creswell & Poth, 2016). For social
inquiries a range of research methods are available to researchers (Creswell & Miller, 2000).
However, in policy transfer research methods focus mainly on examining the policy documents
and the experiences of actors (Cyr et al., 2012). Accordingly, the preferred methods of data
collection are document review, interviews and focus group discussions, and for some
empirical case studies the data from site observations is considered as well (Marsden et al.,
2011; Palinkas et al., 2015).
73
In this study, the main aim of data collection is to explore the details of transferring and
implementing a mass transit concept in Lahore, Pakistan. Accordingly, I divided the data
collection scheme into three phases. In phase one, I collected background information
regarding the mass transit concept through secondary resources. I used document analysis
of previous transport planning studies, planning reports of the Lahore Transport Department,
urban transport plans and international studies on the local transport system of Lahore to
obtain background information. In phase two, I conducted semi-structured interviews with
national, provincial, and local-level actors based on the background information collected in
phase one. I also conducted a focus group discussion with urban and transport planners of
Lahore in phase two. I discuss further details of selection and data collection in the next
sections. Finally, in phase three I conducted site visits to the Lahore Metrobus project and
made personal observations, documenting these in the form of field notes and photographs.
Document review
This study requires an in-depth understanding of the transfer of a mass transit concept from
an international to local level and document review is considered an appropriate research tool
in this regard (Bok & Coe, 2017). According to Merriam (2009), documents can help
researchers to uncover reality, develop understanding and discover insights relevant to the
research problem. Therefore, initially I have relied on document review to obtain background
information on the mass transit project and identify the list of relevant actors at national,
provincial, and local levels and later I included the information from interviews as well.
Using archival analysis for the past ten years of the mass transit project, I collected related
documentation of the government of Punjab from the Transport Department, Traffic
Engineering and Transport Planning Agency, the Punjab Urban Resource Centre of the Urban
Unit and the Transport Planning Unit. The particular emphasis in data collection was on the
details of initiatives taken by the Punjab government in relation to mass transit options and the
recommendations made by foreign consultants. The study required an in-depth understanding
of the planning process for the mass transit concept in Pakistan. The data on mass transit
74
initiatives was arranged and examined chronologically. The following transport planning
documents were reviewed to gain insights into mass transit decisions in Lahore:
a) JICA Comprehensive Study on Transportation System in Lahore 1991
b) Lahore Rapid Mass Transit Study 2007
c) Feasibility Study of the Green Line Mass Transit System 2008
d) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Govt. of Punjab & Istanbul
e) Lahore Urban Transport Master Plan 2010
f) Pakistan Sustainable Transport Project Report 2010
g) Integrated Master Plan of Lahore 2001-2021
h) Annual reports on Metrobus by PMTA (2013-2019)
By examining the above documents, a complete storyline of mass transit concepts in Pakistan
was developed. The document review also helped to identify the relevant actors involved in
defining the need for the mass transit concept at the local level.
Other sources of data were also used in this research such as website data, mass transit news
and related articles published in national newspapers (Temenos & Ward, 2018). The data from
media sources also provided the baseline information on mass transit projects other than from
the Transport Department and identified the points of view of opponents and supporters
related to these projects, which further enhanced the understanding of this research. Flyvbjerg
(2012) suggested that in mega and complex infrastructure projects the role of the media can
be significant particularly in relation to decision-making processes. Therefore, I used the data
from official transport documents and also reviewed news clippings in local newspapers about
decisions on the Lahore Metrobus project between 2012 and 2018.
Semi-structured interviews
As indicated above, I conducted semi-structured interviews with some of the actors involved
in mass transit decision-making. Interviews as a method of data collection are considered a
primary source of data for probing, interrogating and triangulating the qualitative research data
information (Grosvenor, 2000; Yin, 2015). In particular, semi-structured interviews offer a
75
flexible yet focused method of data collection where the researcher can pose certain questions
according to the flow of conversation but keeping in view the already set boundary of the
research project (Barriball & While, 1994; Honeck, 2018). Semi-structured interviews have
been used as a primary method of data collection in policy transfer research studies (Evans,
2013; Marsden et al., 2011). Furthermore, Theodore and Peck (2011) argued that interviews
with ‘casual groups’ of policy actors provide valuable insights about transfer processes. The
members of casual groups include relevant policymakers and the advocates and critics of a
project, who can provide a wider picture of the policy transfer process (Ortegel, 2017).
Keeping in view the research questions to explore the decision-making process from the
transfer to the transformation stage of the Lahore Metrobus project, I set up a list of relevant
actors. I conducted 37 semi-structured interviews with planning officers of the Punjab
Transport Department, transport engineers of the execution agency TEPA, municipal-level
political leaders and the provincial adviser to the transport minister, as well as members of
civil society who spoke against the project due to environmental and cultural heritage reasons.
The average time for an interview was about 60 minutes; however, there were some
variations. For instance, some interviews with the delegation members and the design
engineers took more time because the interviewees gave more details than asked for. I found
this interesting and helpful as well, so I did not interrupt, and those interviews took a maximum
time of about 120 minutes. All the interviews were audio-recorded in local language Urdu and
conducted in the offices of the interviewees.
I relied more on policy actors, who were the transport planners, engineers, and designers,
instead of policy elites, because I was interested in understanding the complete policy process
from the perspective of those who were practically engaged in implementing a foreign idea
into the local context. The policy elite refers to politicians, international actors and senior
bureaucrats at the national level (Evans, 2009, 2017b). Wood (2016) observed that policy
elites could sometimes misrepresent the decision-making process when he explored the BRT
adaptation process in southern Africa. The reasons for this misrepresent is the position of
76
those actors because policy elites have direct interaction with local politicians and international
actors and, considering the sensitivity of their position, they are unlikely to talk openly.
In this research the in-depth semi-structured interview plan was divided into two phases. In
phase one (January–February 2018), I contacted the officials of the Transport Department
from Australia by email and telephone to discuss the details of my research and their
availability for interviews. I prepared the initial schedule of interviews with the help of the
planning head of the Transport Department and finalised the interview guide under the
guidance of my supervisors. The field data collection started in Mrach 2018. I conducted semi-
structured interviews with some of the members of the delegation that had visited Istanbul,
Turkey, in 2012 to observe the details of the BRT concept. The total number of delegates was
twelve and out of twelve, seven agreed to give interviews but five were not available. The
interviewees from among the delegation members and their affiliations are listed in Table 4.1.
Table 4.1: Interviewed delegation members who had visited Istanbul to see the Metrobus model.
Interviewed delegation members who had visited Istanbul from Lahore
Personnel/Official Affiliation Description
Political adviser to
Transport
Department (on
behalf of Chief
Minister Punjab)
Lahore Metropolitan
Corporation
Responsible for infrastructure service provision
Chief Executive
Officer
Urban Unit
Planning and
Development
Department
Responsible for urban policy making at provincial
level
Secretary
Transport
Transport Department
Government of Punjab
Responsible for public transport service provision at
provincial level
Deputy Secretary
Planning
Transport Department
Government of Punjab
Head of planning section for designing public
transport routes and services
Senior Manager
Planning
LTC Subsidiary of Transport Department responsible for
public transport bus service in Lahore
Member Provincial
Assembly
Provincial Assembly Responsible for formulation of Acts, Regulations at
provincial level in Provincial Assembly
Representative
civil society
Civil society Civil society representing common citizens of
Lahore
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The interviewees included members of the PMTA, LTC, Transport Department, the local
members of Metrobus operating company Albarrak (the Turkish company), the executing
agency TEPA and the Environment Protection Agency (EPA). Overall, the interviews provided
information on how BRT was transferred to Lahore. The list of relevant institutions, research
questions applied as part of the research design linked with three selected concepts;
heterogenous assemblage, translation framework and policy translation of conceptual frame
as shown in figure 4.1 are summarised in Table 4.2.
Table 4.2: The data selection scheme in the research design.
Themes of interview
questions linked with
theoretical concepts
Points of inquiry Institutions
Conceptualising mass
transit
Linked with concept of
Heterogenous
assemblage
How was the idea of mass transit
first realised in Pakistan?
What were the considered options
for mass transit?
How was the idea of BRT selected
for Lahore?
What were the other options
explored before BRT?
Provincial Transport
Department
Finance Department
Urban planning institutions
Lahore Development Authority
(LDA).
Institute of Planners Pakistan
(IPP).
Transferring the Metrobus
concept
Linked with concept of
Translation framework
How was the Metrobus concept of
Turkey selected?
What was the role of international
consultants in this transfer?
How were local experts involved in
this transfer?
What was the nature of the
transfer in this project?
How was the Turkish government
involved in this project?
What were the designed objectives
of this project?
Provincial Transport
Department
Urban Sector Policy and
Planning Unit, Punjab
Lahore Transport Company
(LTC)
Traffic Engineering and
Planning Agency (TEPA)
Implementing the Metrobus
concept
Linked with concept of
Policy transformations
Who were the key institutions and
actors involved at the local level?
How were local actors involved in
the planning process for this
project?
How have the local transport
conditions evolved after this BRT
transfer?
Provincial Mass Transit
Authority (PMTA)
Traffic Engineering and
Planning Agency (TEPA)
National Engineering Services
Pakistan (NESPAK)
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Focus group discussion
I also used the focus group discussion method of data collection in my research. A focus group
discussion provides in-depth understanding about a particular topic under the guidance of a
moderator (Hennink, 2013; Wilkinson, 1998). The key strength of the focus group method is
that expert opinions from purposely selected individuals can be collected which provide in-
depth knowledge (Folkeson et al., 2013). In a focus group discussion the role of the moderator
is very critical because time management, topic management, discussion control, timely
facilitation and ensuring equal opportunity to all participants are the key responsibilities of the
moderator (Folkeson et al., 2013; Sim & Waterfield, 2019). Overall, the use of focus groups
for data collection in qualitative research is an approved method (Yin, 2015).
I selected the focus group method in order to get insights from planning professionals on the
concept of BRT as the first mass transit project in the country. I arranged a focus group
discussion with urban and transport planners of Lahore to explore the roles of local urban
planning professionals, policy documents and institutions in planning and implementing the
BRT concept in Lahore. On 28 May 2018, I conducted the focus group discussion under the
platform of the Institute of Planners Pakistan (IPP). The IPP is a professional association of
planners in Pakistan. The members of the focus group consisted of planning officers from
Lahore and other development authorities in Multan, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad,
where the BRT concept has also been implemented. The objective of this focus group was to
explore the role of urban planning agencies in introducing the first Metrobus concept to
Pakistan. In discussion twelve planning professionals participated of whom four were
members of development authorities, three were private developers from Lahore and three
were the heads of the Urban Planning Institutes of the National University of Sciences and
Technology, the University of Management and Technology and the University of Engineering
and Technology. One member was from Transport planning unit, which is a provincial-level
institution assigned to provide planning and policy guidance to the Transport Department, and
79
the last member was the chairman of the IPP. They were all planners and shared their opinions
about the Lahore Metrobus project in four sections:
• Awareness of the BRT concept and its contribution towards the development of a city
• Consideration of the perspective of urban planning while implementing the concept of BRT
in Lahore
• Challenges faced by the development authority during the execution of BRT
• Planning measures needed for decision-making for BRT in the local context of Pakistani
cities
I audio-recorded the focus group discussion, which was conducted in the Urdu language and
held at the office of the IPP in Lahore. Figure 4.2 shows the glimpse of focus group discussion.
Figure 4.2: Focus group discussion with urban and transport planners in Lahore
(Source: Author 2018)
Field work observations and site visits
Site visits and on-site observations is another a common method of data collection in the
transport sector (Stewart, 2011). Ahamat (2019) also suggested that site observations along
with interview analysis are a comprehensive method of collecting qualitative data where the
researcher has an opportunity to listen to others, but also observe and understand the
research context by themselves. It provides the ideal combination in cases of empirical
research where in-depth understanding of the data is needed. The greatest challenge in this
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case can be the bias of the researcher while making the observations because every individual
can interpret things uniquely. However, from the perspective of policy transfer research this is
considered as an advantage as well and the unique understanding and interpretation of the
data by a qualitative researcher are acknowledged, instead of relying only on the numbers
during analysis as done in quantitative research (Yin, 2015). Therefore, considering the
richness of data that I could obtain from site visits and personal observations, I selected this
method in addition to the interviews and focus group discussion. This provided me with an
opportunity to develop background understanding of the BRT project particularly from the
perspective of ANT where I had to analyse the roles of different non-human actors as part of
the research analysis.
Therefore, I made on-site observations during site visits to all 27 Metrobus stations. The site
visits were grouped into two parts: I visited all the stations before conducting the interviews to
understand the background situation and frame the discussion points in interviews. However,
after the interviews I visited the stations again to triangulate the information given in the
interviews. During the site visits to the Lahore Metrobus stations, I took photographs and
documented my observations as field notes for record keeping using in data analysis.
Data analysis
The data analysis scheme for this study has been designed based on two components, the
ANT-based actor network analysis as well as thematic analysis in the form of storylines
(Castleberry & Nolen, 2018). The primary sources of information in this study are the semi-
structured interviews and the focus group discussion. In the first stage, I audio-recorded all 37
interviews and the focus group discussion, for thematic analysis and an inductive qualitative
approach (Guest et al., 2011). Thematic coding was the next step where various data codes
were assigned by applying an iterative procedure and altering codes according to the data
categories (Joffe, 2012). I categorised the data into defined themes after initial analysis. Based
on the project themes, I analysed the tentative story of the BRT transfer.
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The concept of storylines has been applied in this study to determine how the need for mass
transit was developed at the local level. Hajer (1995) argued that storylines describe the
perception of a problem and the ways in which various actors join to exercise power and solve
the problem. Storylines show how different institutions or key stakeholders use certain policy
discourses to engage each other’s power in promoting certain policy options (Vigar, 2017). In
this research the storyline approach has been applied to highlight the roles of actors across
different timelines in the mass transit project. The detailed roles of actors have been analysed
using the ANT approach.
From the site visits I noted and saved the details of BRT-related infrastructure and the use of
the provided infrastructure in the form of photos. I also noted details of the features of BRT
repeatedly mentioned in the interviews. I took photos of facilities provided in and around the
BRT stations and the use of them. Later I used these field notes and photos in my analysis to
understand the network connections (Harrell & Bradley, 2009). The primary information from
the field helped me to analyse how different objects created influence on local policy actors,
particularly relevant to the interview data, for instance, when interviewees talked about
physical design features of the project, paratransit modes at BRT stations and various facilities
provided at BRT stations and identified non-motorised mobility conditions as part of the
project. I used the information from field notes and photos as part of the data triangulation
process and focused on analysing the roles of various actors as part of the BRT transfer
process (Guion et al., 2011).
From the focus group discussion, I analysed the roles of different policy actors at the local
level and identified how planning professionals from different institutions were involved in the
BRT project. I analysed the focus group data in three stages. First, I highlighted how the
different local policy actors interpreted the concept of BRT at the local level. This provided me
with an overview of the awareness of local policy actors of the international concept of BRT.
Second, I highlighted the involvement and inputs of local actors during the planning, designing
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and implentation stages of the project. Third, I focused on the challenges faced by local actors
during the implementation of the BRT project.
Finally in the last stage, I used ANT to analyse the data where the roles of different human
and non-human actors is identified based on mutual associations between actors to form an
actor network. I used the data from the interviews and the focus group discussion to identify
the emergent roles of various actors and their actions during the BRT transfer process. For
instance, the roles of different human policy actors such as international consultants,
politicians, local transport experts and urban planners in Lahore have been highlighted as part
of the process from thematic analysis of interviews and focus group discussion. Furthermore,
by using the understanding of the ANT approach, the roles of non-human actors such as
different transport policy documents, transport technologies, software, infrastructure, and
other objects as actors is analysed when they establish associations with human policy actors.
Overall, as the research analysis progressed, I was also able to position myself as a
knowledgeable actor based on my interactions with interviewees and focus group participants
and through my familiarity with the data during the site visits and analysis stages. Using my
own understanding developed from ANT-based interactions in this research, I analysed the
BRT transfer case as an actor network and highlighted the significant roles of key actors at
various stages of BRT transfer.
Fieldwork challenges
The greatest challenge of the data collection phase was to contact the interviewees who were
not in Lahore at the time of the interviews. I managed to conduct three interviews through
Skype which were earlier planned to be face to face.
A second challenge was to access the BRT-related actors at a particular time for interviews
because often transport officials, particularly those who work in the field at project sites, are
hard to approach. This challenge was minimised with the help of the Punjab Transport
Department. I approached the BRT-related actors with the coordination of the TPU of the
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Punjab Transport Department, where I worked for more than three years before my PhD. I
had a good professional network, which helped me to approach the relevant decision-makers
of Punjab who otherwise would have been difficult to reach.
Another significant challenge faced in the fieldwork was unforeseen circumstances in the
political environment of the province at the time of data collection. During the data collection
phase, the next provincial election was announced for July 2018. This meant that the provincial
machinery was highly engaged in completing ongoing transport projects before the election.
The election date was announced before my data collection phase, so I was prepared and
knew that I might need to change the times or days of some interviews. I had already reserved
some extra time for fieldwork considering the chances of delay of some interviews.
Overall, this situation had both positive and negative effects on data collection. From the
positive perspective, the situation provided a chance to observe closely how in mega transport
projects quick implementation measures can be taken to meet project deadlines.
Implementation of the Lahore Orange Line metro train project was discussed in the interviews
with local transport experts. This scenario also helped me to visualise the project
implementation process for the Lahore Metrobus project in the past before the election
deadline. The negative perspective on the political situation is linked with the availability of
officials; because of their commitments, interview timings were rescheduled in some cases
more than twice or three times. Due to the time limit for the overseas data collection phase, it
was difficult to manage such circumstances and I had to cancel two interviews and reschedule
some others as well. Furthermore, a few key informants were reluctant to discuss the project
details, considering it a political initiative. Therefore, the election situation on one hand created
hurdles to approaching the interviewees in a limited time, while on the other hand it provided
an opportunity to observe how the local planning process can be under political pressure at
times.
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Ethical considerations
In this study I followed the research ethics according to the comprehensive criteria for human
research designed by the Human Research Ethics Committee of RMIT University. After
confirmation of candidature, I submitted an ethics application explaining the details regarding
fieldwork and data collection schemes. Based on the feedback from the Human Research
Ethics Committee, I made necessary alterations twice to the data collection scheme. I ensured
ethical practice during the research period starting from initial contact with the respondents
until the end of data analysis (Wiles, 2012). During the study the participants who wished to
be anonymous could be so, but most of the participants agreed to use their names and/or their
roles.
In addition, I also confirmed their willingness to participate and agreement to use their names
if needed through the consent forms signed by the participants at the start of each interview
(Benatar, 2002). Furthermore, to ensure ethical standards, I provided a copy of the consent
forms to interviewees for their personal records. In addition, the option to withdraw from the
research at any time at their own discretion was provided. Finally, the collected data will be
used for study purposes only and confidentiality of the data has been ensured during and after
the study.
Conclusion
This chapter has outlined the conceptual framework, research approach and methodology that
I have used in this study. As such, I have articulated the merits and relevance of using the
qualitative and ethnographic approach of ANT as an appropriate method for analyzing the
transport policy transfer process. I have explained the process through which I generated and
collected the research data from document analysis, transport policymakers, urban planners,
and site visits. I have also outlined how I approached the ANT-based actor–network analysis
of policy transfer using a thematic analysis technique and storylines to highlight the roles of
various actors and their actions along the project timeline. Furthermore, I have highlighted the
fieldwork challenges and acknowledged the importance of ensuring the research ethics and
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protocols defined by the RMIT University Human Research Ethics Committee. In the
remaining chapters of the thesis, I present the data analysis, starting with the chapter that
analyses the role of the planning process in the BRT transfer followed by the chapters that
examine the role of actor networks and their implications for the transferred concept of BRT
at the local level.
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Chapter 5 – The Local Transport Planning Process: A Missing
Link in the Transfer of BRT
This chapter examines the contingencies in dictating the relationship between the local
transport planning process and the process of the policy transfer of BRT.
To explore the complete process of the policy transfer of BRT, the analysis is divided into the
three stages of planning, designing and execution of BRT. According to the interviews with
local policymakers, the focus group discussion and document analysis, there were three main
actors in the local transport planning system which were directly and indirectly involved in the
transfer of BRT. These actors were local transport institutions, transport policy documents and
transport professionals at the national, provincial, and local levels. I examine the roles of the
identified actors in relation to one another during the policy transfer process of BRT.
Sections 5.1 and 5.2 of this chapter describe the roles of transport institutions and policy
documents as part of the transport planning process and the engagement of these actors in
the policy transfer process of BRT. In section 5.3, I highlight the policy transfer challenges
faced by the local transport policy actors as part of introducing the BRT project in Lahore and
Section 5.4 provides the conclusion of this chapter.
Ineffective role of transport planning institutions
In this section I examine the role of public sector transport planning institutions in introducing
the concept of mass transit concept in Lahore. I selected transport planning institutions at
three government levels, national, provincial, and local levels. I found that the government
transport institutions participated in the policy transfer process of BRT but not in an effective
manner. The following subsections further highlight why the role of transport planning
institutions was ineffective in the BRT selection process.
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Inconsistency in planning decisions of transport institutions
I found from the interviews and document analysis that the selection of BRT was not a direct
decision of the national and provincial level transport planning institutions. Instead, it was a
complex process that started with the idea of implementing light rail transit (LRT) technology
in Lahore based on a transport planning study conducted by an international transport
consultant in Lahore, as described in detail in Section 2.1.2 (LDA and WorldBank, 1990).
Considering the high cost of this project of approximately 200 billion USD, the provincial
government of Punjab requested the national government of Pakistan to provide funding for
the light rail project (Government of the Punjab, 2000).
At the national level, the Ministry of Transport and the Planning Commission worked in
collaboration with different international actors to initiate light rail as the first mass transit option
in the country (ADB, 2007, 2008b; Government of Pakistan, Planning Commission, 2010). But
in 2010 the provincial government selected the option of BRT instead of light rail and executed
the BRT project with provincial funding of the Punjab. The selection of BRT at the provincial
level without considering inputs from the national level identifies the inconsistency in transport
planning decisions between national and provincial level transport institutions. It also
highlights the lack of a clear policymaking framework behind transport decisions. Otherwise,
the transport institutions could not have changed the planning decisions and choices of mass
transit options so often without any technical analysis of different mass transit modes. Overall,
the inconsistency in transport planning decisions has made the position of transport institutions
vulnerable in the selection process of policy transfer and impacted on the rationality of the
policy transfer process of BRT.
Lack of integration between national and provincial institutions
According to the regulations of the Planning and Development Board of Pakistan, projects with
a cost of more than 5 million USD are approved at the national level, whereas projects with a
cost of less than 5 million USD are approved at the provincial level (Pakistan, 2008).
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Furthermore, there are assigned institutions at national and provincial levels for the evaluation
of transport projects as with other public sector development projects.
At the national level, the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Transport are the two main
institutions. The Planning Commission provides sector wide policy guidelines for project
selection and also provides funding for transport projects costing more than 5 million USD.
The Ministry of Transport identifies the need for new transport projects, keeping in view the
policy guidelines provided by the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission examines
projects under the annual public sector development program prepared by the Ministry of
Planning and Development and Special Initiatives (MOF, 2012). The final selection of transport
projects is made at the national level by the Executive Committee of the National Economic
Council (ECNEC) working under the Planning Commission (Government of Pakistan,
Planning Commission, 2010).
At the provincial level, the Planning and Development Department Punjab and the Transport
Department Punjab are the main policy actors. The Transport Department is responsible for
preparing transport policy guidelines at the provincial level and identifying the need for new
transport projects in the major cities of Punjab. The Planning and Development Department
evaluates the transport projects identified by the Transport Department, assigns project
approvals, and allocates provincial-level funding for transport projects costing less than 5
million USD. Transport projects at the provincial level are evaluated according to the annual
development program of Punjab. The final project approval at the Punjab level is done by the
Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP), which works under the Planning and
Development Department. The Transport Department and PDWP finalised the first BRT
project in Lahore (GOP, 2014). The Punjab Mass Transit Authority is another relevant
provincial-level institution that is exclusively responsible for planning, designing, and
implementing BRT projects in different cities of Punjab.
Although the process of project selection and approval is prescribed as per regulations at
national and provincial levels. However, the policymakers identified in interviews that there is
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no mechanism to involve provincial and national level policymakers in project evaluations as
a part of the decision-making process. Instead, the institutions at both levels work in isolation
from each other. One of the policy actors working at the provincial level said:
There is no regulatory process to ensure coordination between national and
provincial level institutions for project approvals … it becomes more complex …
when two different political parties are ruling in federal and provincial levels …
the procedural gap between working of federal and provincial levels … creates
complexities (Interviewee, 2018).
The above statement reveals the lack of integration between national and provincial level
institutions. In my understanding, the lack of integration between the transport-related
institutions impacted on the selection of BRT. In particular, after the 18th amendment to the
Constitution of Pakistan, the provincial governments were declared autonomous bodies to use
their provincial resources (National Assembly of Pakistan, 2010). In the changed regulatory
scenario of the decentralisation of powers, the provincial-level institutions are not accountable
to the national-level institutions (M. A. Rana, 2020). Therefore, by taking advantage of these
regulatory changes that occurred in 2010, the provincial government of Punjab used its
political and administrative power in transport decision-making. Overall, the changes in
regulatory measures and different political parties at federal and provincial level created lack
of integration between transport planning institutions at provincial and federal level.
In the next section I further describe how the lack of integration between the national and
provincial level planning institutions impacted on the rationality of the selection of BRT as a
preferred mass transit option.
Blocking the role of national transport institutions in the selection of BRT
The interviews further identified how the transfer of the BRT concept was unique in Lahore by
showing the unusual path of approving the BRT project at the provincial level. The approval
process highlights that the provincial government blocked the role of the national-level
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transport institutions and I have further analysed below that why the role of national institutions
was blocked and who were the main actors involved in blocking the role?
The analysis informed about the key role of political actors, such as one of the respondents
explained that getting approval for this project at the national level was a significant challenge
in the selection and implementation of BRT in Lahore. The BRT project was a mega transport
project of 30 million USD and as per regulatory approval rules of the country, mega transport
projects (above 5 million USD) must get approval from the ECNEC, which works under the
federal government. The ECNEC is considered the prime forum of the country to scrutinise
major development projects in Pakistan. However, the Punjab government aimed to avoid
getting approval from the ECNEC for several reasons as explained in the interviews.
One major reason repeatedly mentioned by the interviewees was the political rivalry between
two different ruling parties at federal and provincial levels. To avoid the chance of non-approval
from the federal level, the provincial government approved the project through the PDWP,
which works under the Planning and Development Department, Punjab. However, to get
approval from the PDWP the provincial government played with the rules as one interviewee
said:
The total BRT project cost of 30 million USD was split into smaller parts of less
than 5 million USD as project packages and the P&D Department Punjab was
the approving authority (Interviewee, 2018).
The above statement reveals how the provincial government used its power and blocked the
role of the federal-level institutions. The project splitting was a unique solution which opens a
question about the transparency of this project and shows how the provincial government used
a fast track of approval to avoid bureaucratic delays in project implementation. At the time of
approval of the BRT project, at the federal level the political party was the PPP while at the
provincial level the PMLN was the ruling party, and they are political rivals. Therefore, to avoid
the possibility of rejection by the national-level institutions, the provincial government used an
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unexpected method to play with the rules and regulations. This situation further highlights the
significant political influence on transport decision-making processes and created a window of
corruption. I further explore in Chapter 6 how the apparently technical solution of BRT turned
into a political project in Pakistan. But here in this section I focus only on the role of the public
sector transport institutions in BRT transfer. The blocking of the role of national-level
institutions by the provincial-level institutions in BRT selection has shown that the process of
policy transfer of BRT in Lahore was not merely rational. Instead, the BRT selection was highly
controversial and non-transparent, showing the use of taxpayers’ money in an unexpected
manner. In particular, the unexpected entry of the PDWP and blocked role of the ECNEC
indicate that transport intuitions were not the main actors in the BRT transfer, as asked in my
first research question.
I further highlight the ineffective role of city-level transport institutions in the next subsections.
Disciplinary (engineering) bias of transport institutions at the city level
At the city level different there are multiple transport-related institutions for transport planning
and engineering. However, the interview analysis has shown that in the BRT transfer only
selected transport institutions were involved as part of the process, which further impacted on
the transparency of the BRT selection process. For instance, the TPU is a policy and planning
institution which works under the Transport Department Punjab. The key responsibility of this
unit is to provide policy advice and technical guidance to the Transport Department. However,
in the selection of the BRT project, the TPU team was not involved. As one of the interviewees
said:
The selection of BRT option was a big surprise … Transport Department was
working for light rail options (Interviewee, 2018).
The LDA is another key urban planning institution in Lahore city that is responsible for
planning, approving, and executing development projects according to the master plan for the
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city. However, in the selection of the BRT project, the LDA planning team was not involved.
As one of the interviewees said:
The Integrated Master Plan for Lahore, IMPL, is the only policy document that
LDA follows and this project [the BRT project] was not part of IMPL … We [LDA
planning team] were never part of any planning, design or implementation
meetings related to this project.
Furthermore, the LTC is the city-level institution responsible for regulation of urban buses as
the main mode of public transport mode. However, members of the LTC were also not part of
this project. One of the interviewees said:
LTC was expecting that Transport Department will make new mass transit
concept and local buses as a part of public transport system in Lahore, but …
LTC was neglected in BRT planning (Interviewee, 2018).
However, only the engineering institutions of transport were involved by the Transport
Department Punjab as the project team to implement the BRT project at the city level. The two
main institutions included TEPA, the transport engineers’ institution responsible for planning,
design, and construction of transport projects in Lahore. The complete design, execution and
construction of the Lahore Metrobus was carried out by TEPA. TEPA was also involved in the
design and construction of the BRT corridor. The other transport institution was the C&W, also
an engineering institution and responsible for constructing new roads and flyovers in Lahore
city. The C&W was responsible for constructing the BRT stations and maintenance of the
access roads along the BRT corridor.
The above statements highlight that the BRT project as a foreign policy concept was
introduced by the provincial Transport Department without incorporating the comprehensive
inputs of planning institutions at the city level. Furthermore, the lack of participation of planning
institutions like the LDA, TPU and LTC in the selection process of the BRT project identifies
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the biased role of engineering-based transport institutions like TEPA, the Transport
Department, and the C&W.
The local-level institutions considered the option of BRT as a universally applicable
engineering solution and that only transport engineers and civil engineers were the relevant
professionals in BRT selection and implementation. The consideration of BRT as an
engineering artefact creates further doubt about the transparency of BRT selection. The
question arises as to why the role of important city-level planning institutions was neglected
or maybe avoided intentionally. The view of the Transport Department that BRT is a universally
applicable engineering solution went totally against the conclusions of transport policy
mobilities scholars, who have reported that BRT selection is more geographical and contextual
than technical (Nguyen & Pojani, 2018; A. Wood, 2014, 2019a). However, in Lahore the policy
actors acted in the opposite manner and only focused on implementation of the BRT
infrastructure without considering the local urban and transport planning conditions.
Professional rivalry between transport institutions at the city level
The interview analysis also highlights the professional rivalry between transport institutions at
the city level. One of the interviewees from the LTC said:
In Lahore different transport authorities are fighting a war for their own survival
as survival of the fittest prevails … which means the transport professionals and
the heads of different transport organisations, instead of coordinating with each
other as professionals, are in rival positions to take project leads in front of the
Chief Minister’s Office … to get more budget for their departments in future …
Initially LTC started working on this project as an improved bus service project,
but later a retired bureaucrat was successful in establishing a separate
department for BRT and grabbed the project from LTC (Interviewee, 2018).
The above statement identifies the professional conflicts between two transport institutions as
well as the insecurity of the LTC about the newly established PMTA in Lahore. Just to recall
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from Section 5.1.4, the LTC is responsible for regulating the service of urban buses in Lahore
and assuming that BRT is an improved bus service, it could be operated in collaboration with
the LTC. However, in Lahore a separate provincial mass transit authority was established for
the BRT. Therefore, apart from professional rivalry between the two transport institutions, the
above statement also highlights the political influence on transport institutions. The Chief
Minister’s Office was an expected entry in the list of transport institutions. However, the Chief
Minster’s Office as a new entrant in the list of actors replaced the role of the LTC with a new
actor, the PMTA. This situation highlights the fragile role of local transport institutions in BRT
transfer and the influential role of other actors. I ask in my first research question about the
roles of the key actors in BRT transfer. The analysis of this section has explored that some
transport planning institutions were not the real actors in BRT transfer. In Table 5.1, I
summarise multilevel institutions that were involved in the BRT transfer in Lahore.
Table 5.1: The multilevel transport institutions involved in mass transit decision-making.
Level of operation Institution Role assigned
National level Planning Commission Pakistan National level policymaking, approval of mega projects
Ministry of Communications Planning transport initiatives and policy
recommendations
Provincial level Planning & Development
Department (P& D)
Scrutiny of transport projects and budget allocations
Punjab Transport Department Transport policy and planning, provision, and
regulation of public transport services
Punjab Mass Transit Authority
PMTA
Plan, design, operate and regulate mass transit
services in the major cities of Punjab
City level Transport Planning Unit (TPU) Transport policy and research
Traffic Engineering Planning
Authority (TEPA)
Plan, design, and construct projects
Lahore Transport Company
(LTC)
Regulate urban bus services
The Communication & Works
Department (C&W)
Construction of roads in Lahore
Lahore Development Authority
(LDA)
Urban planning and development of Lahore city
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Overall, this section has highlighted from interview analysis that transport planning institutions
are disconnected from each other at multiple levels. Furthermore, there are discrepancies and
lack of clarity in transport planning approaches between the national, provincial, and local
transport planning institutions. Therefore, due to the lack of coordination and unclear functional
divide, the transport institutions did not make effective inputs into the BRT transfer process.
The limited involvement of urban planning institutions also highlights that the option of BRT
was not thoroughly researched but planned in house by the relevant institutions particularly at
the city level. The concept of BRT was instigated as an engineering infrastructure project and
accordingly only the engineering departments were consulted during planning, design, and
construction of the project. The discipline-biased role of the engineering institutions not only
blocked the role of planning institutions in the selection of BRT but also limited the BRT-related
social benefits.
The transport policy documents could also have channelised the policy transfer process and
transport planning decisions in a rational manner. Therefore, in the next section I analyse the
role of the transport planning documents as potential actors in BRT transfer.
Planning inconsistency in transport policy documents
In this section I examine the role of transport planning documents in providing policy guidance
in the transport planning process. Through document review I analysed the role of transport
policy documents, transport master plans and transport studies in local transport planning
processes and the BRT transfer process. The role of planning documents is critical because
local policy actors obtain guidance on planning, design and implementation of transport
projects using policy documents (Rydin & Tate, 2016). However, I have found that transport
policy documents providing guidance on policy transfer of mass transit concepts were
outdated and not consistent with the policy decision to implement the BRT concept as the
selected mode of transit. I explain further details on the inconsistent choices of mass transit
through technical reports below.
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Outdated and ineffective policy documents at the city level
The document review highlighted that the main policy documents existed only at the city level.
The following four transport policy documents were used in transport planning and policy
transfer decisions in Lahore:
JICA comprehensive traffic and planning study, Lahore 1991
Lahore Rapid Mass Transit System (LRMTS), 2007
Lahore urban transport master plan (LUTMP), 2010
Integrated master plan of Lahore (IMPL), 2021
The JICA comprehensive traffic and planning study, Lahore 1991, was the first transport study
that proposed the option of mass transit at the local level, in the form of a light rail project. It
was prepared by an international transport consultant, JICA. Section 6 and Section 7 of this
study proposed that light rail can deal with transport challenges in Lahore (JICA, 1991a;
Lahore Development Authority, 1991). According to the interviews of local transport planners
this study is considered as a baseline document for transport decisions at city level based on
its comprehensive details and trust on international consultant in transport planning of Lahore.
The LRMTS (2007) was a detailed study of the Lahore rapid mass transit system where the
option of light rail was designed in the form of a network of four transit lines. The Green, Blue,
Orange, and purple line routes were proposed in this report for Lahore city. This study was
conducted with funding from the ADB by an international transport consultant, SYSTRA (ADB,
2008a). At the local level, the Transport Department was involved in the preparation of this
study and this report was considered a reference for mass transit options at the local level
(Transport Department, 2007).
The LUTMP (2010) was the transport master plan prepared at the city level by the Transport
Department and JICA as an international consultant. This document could have played the
most significant role in the policy transfer of BRT because the previous reports on the light rail
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option were relatively outdated in terms of traffic demand. However, the LUTMP did not
contribute to BRT selection because it did not have any legal position as an approved policy
document for Lahore. In the local planning system, when an international consultant prepares
a policy document, it is considered just as a report until it is approved by the Provincial
Assembly. Therefore, to make the LUTMP a policy document for the Transport Department
legal approval was required but had not been granted at the time of BRT selection as a mass
transit option. Furthermore, Sections 9 and10 of the LUTMP also proposed the option of light
rail as a preferred mode of mass transit, which was not consistent with the selection of the
BRT option by the Punjab government. Therefore, in practice the LUTMP as a potential policy
document did not play an effective or consistent role; instead, it was shelved at the Transport
Department in having the status of a technical report of JICA.
The IMPL (2001–2021) was the only approved policy document in Lahore at the time of BRT
transfer. However, in this policy document the focus was more on the construction of road
networks as part of urban development in Lahore, as mentioned in Chapter 2. Section 4 of the
LUTMP indicated future road development projects and an annual development plan in 2010;
Lahore allocated 88% of the total transport budget to construction, maintenance, and road
carpeting projects. However, the construction of mass transit as a BRT project on the selected
Green route of the LRTMS was not proposed in the IMPL.
From the above analysis I found that at city level, the mass transit–related transport reports
were outdated and mainly focused only on the option of light rail as the preferred mode of
transit. Overall, all the transport reports were routed towards the first proposal by JICA for the
provision of light rail, instead of exploring the options of BRT as well. The only difference could
have been made in the LUTMP, considering it was a more up-to-date policy document of 2010.
However, the local policy actors did not use the potential of the LUTMP because it was in draft
status but not approved administratively for implementation. Therefore, at city level the
effective role of transport planning documents was missing in the BRT selection and transfer
process.
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No policy documents at the provincial level
Another disparity in the local transport planning documents that there were no policy
documents at the provincial level, although at the provincial level there was a significant need
for policy documents for translating national-level policy agendas in the form of policy guidance
for major cities. Furthermore, the provincial level did not assist the city-level institutions in
identifying the need for future transport projects.
Overall, the Punjab Transport Department has no comprehensive transport policy for all the
cities of Punjab. Furthermore, regarding mass transit provision and selection of new mass
transit projects, there are no policy guidelines for selection and provision of mass transit
projects at the provincial level. Therefore, an opportunity to create consistency in the transport
planning process by providing a link between national and local levels was missed at the
provincial level during the BRT transfer.
The document analysis further highlighted that policy guidance was available at national and
city levels, but not at provincial level. The main reasons for absence of policy guidance at
provincial level mentioned by the local decision makers are more focus on physical planning
than institutional planning, the limited technical and financial capacity and influence of political
interference in transport projects. Therefore, the absence of policy documents at provincial
level also impacted the transparency of decision-making process in transport policy transfer.
Conflicted transport planning approach at the national level
I analyse in this section how at the national level, the national policy vision had a conflicted
approach to transport planning. At the national level, Vision 2030 (see Table 5.2) was the main
policy document prepared by the Planning Commission for Pakistan (2007). However, the
vision regarding sustainable mobility was more aligned towards international development
agendas. For instance, the overall development policy goals of Pakistan for urban services
were linked with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of poverty reduction that was set
by the United Nations (United Nations Development Program, 2010b). To align policy
directions with the SDGs, the national policy document set the goals at the national level for
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sustainable energy and sustainable transport for the relevant departments of transport, energy
and the environment (Planning Commission, 2007).
In the light of Vision 2030, the first draft of a national-level transport policy was prepared by
the Transport Ministry. In this policy, Section 5.2 titled ‘Sustainable transport mobility’
proposed the need for a mass transit system to control vehicular emissions and proposed
enhancement of non-motorised mobility options in Section 5.4 (Planning Commission, 2013).
These two policy suggestions were made along the lines of agenda 11 of the SDGs (United
Nations Development Program, 2010a). However, on the other hand there was no decrease
in construction of more roads in major cities because the same policy document in Section 6.1
titled ‘Road transport’ identified a target of increasing the road network from 260,000 km to
358,000 km (Planning Commission, 2013 p.35).
I found that these two transport planning approaches were opposite to each other. To align
with the international goals of sustainable mobility, the options of mass transit, public transport
mobility and non-motorised mobility were mentioned to ensure that Pakistan valued the SDG.
However, in other sections the targets for new road construction were mentioned, which were
linked with more motorised mobility. Therefore, a conflicted transport planning approach was
proposed at the national level by the Planning Commission.
Overall, I found that the role of transport policy documents was insufficient in creating a
consistent transport planning approach. Although at the national level the need for a mass
transit option was created in Vision 2030 and there was ample opportunity at provincial level
for translating the national transport planning vision by providing detailed policy guidance for
implementing mass transit policy options in major cities. However, this opportunity was not
utilised, and provincial-level institutions did not create policy links between city-level policy
documents and the national-level policy vision. Furthermore, the potential for using the LUTMP
to create an integrated transport planning approach at city level was also ignored by the local
policy actors by not approving the regulatory role of the LUTMP at city level. Therefore, the
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transport policy documents did not play an effective role in the policy transfer process of BRT.
The policy documents at different levels are presented in Table 5.2.
Table 5.2: Policy documents for transport planning at different government levels.
National-level policy documents Authors Features of documents
Vision 2030 – Pakistan Planning Commission Development strategy at national
level for urban services linked with
SDG of poverty reduction
National Transport Policy of
Pakistan
Planning Commission Sustainable public transport
provision
Promotion of non-motorised mobility
No provincial policy documents
City-level policy documents Authors Features of documents
JICA Transport Study 1991 JICA, Transport
Department
First mass transit options for Lahore
suggested
LRMTS 2007 SYSTRA, Transport
Department
Complete plan and feasibility study
of LRT
LUTMP 2010 JICA, Transport
Department
Planning framework for future urban
transport system
IMPL 2001–2021 LDA – NESPAK Planning and development guide for
Lahore
In the next section I highlight the challenges that local policy actors experienced during the
BRT transfer process because of the insufficient and ineffective roles of transport planning
institutions and transport policy documents.
The Challenges of BRT transfer faced by local transport policy actors
In this section I describe the challenges faced by local policy actors during the planning stage
of BRT transfer. The analysis in this section is based on the focus group discussion between
transport engineers and planners. The local transport planners highlighted the challenges they
experienced during BRT transfer. Overall, I found that the role of transport planning
professionals was as passive policy actors in the BRT transfer process because they were
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mainly relying either on the advice of international actors or on the demands of local political
actors. The local transport planners did not perform their role in an effective manner and faced
multiple challenges in the planning, designing and implementation of BRT. I further highlight
several challenges below to identify the ineffective role of planners and the insufficient support
of the local transport planning process in BRT selection and implementation.
Challenges of non-integrated transport planning system
This section highlights the challenges faced by local policy actors during the planning stage of
policy transfer. Aim of the focus group discussion was to explore how the local institutions
were involved in the planning stage before the actual policy transfer, during the selection of
different mass transit options, and how the need for different mass transit options was
generated at the local level. In response, the participants highlighted the challenges of the
non-integrated planning approach between the urban planning and transport planning
institutions. The discussion further highlighted the lack of coordination in the transport planning
system in the city where transport-related projects were carried out by different institutions
without any coordination Overall, I found that the non-integrated transport planning system
was the greatest challenge, proving a barrier to the rationality of transport planning and
negatively influencing the BRT transfer process. The following exchange between two
participants is taken from the focus group discussion:
The transport planning system of Lahore is a true example of Alice in Wonderland
as Alice was quite unsure where she was heading, but she continued travelling
… same in the case of transport planning here … no one knows what is
happening and what to do (Participant 1).
Exactly, this is the major problem … there is no coordination … the Transport
Department is unaware of the projects of the LTC, and the LTC has no idea what
the new initiatives of the Transport Department will be … everything is up in the
air (Participant 2).
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The above two statements illustrate the root cause of all the transport planning challenges and
discrepancies between transport policy transfers in the local context. The lack of vision and
non-integrated transport planning system truly showed the character of little AIice, who
struggled to get out of the forest but without knowing the right direction, kept on going down
the same paths. The analysis of multilevel transport planning institutions and transport policy
documents has also confirmed that the policymakers of Lahore were moving around in
different directions but, in the absence of clear policy guidelines, all their efforts were useless.
For instance, in Lahore the assigned role of the TEPA is to construct roads and deal with the
challenges of increased motorisation. The LTC, on the other hand, is assigned to provide
public transport in the form of urban buses, whereas I found the focus of the Transport
Department was more on implementing new mass transit technology options. However,
overall transport policy guidance on how to integrate the different planning measures was
completely missing at city and provincial levels. This is a situation like Alice in Wonderland as
one participant indicated, where all her struggle to escape without any direction was useless.
Likewise, in Lahore different transport institutions are making efforts to deal with the
challenges of traffic congestion and limited public transport facility. However, the lack of a
comprehensive transport planning approach and non-integrated roles of the transport
institutions ultimately impact on the rationality of transport planning processes and have
impacted on the process of the policy transfer of BRT as well.
The change in decision-making from light rail to BRT without considering the local conditions
is also a reflection of the non-integrated transport planning system in Lahore. Furthermore,
changes in the BRT transfer process without involving all the local-level transport institutions
and the blocked role of the national-level transport institutions also confirm the lack of
transparency in decision-making processes. The non-integrated transport planning process,
lack of public participation, reliance on engineering aspects and lack of transparency are not
in the public interest and prevented rationality in the BRT transfer by putting the role of
technical experts to one side during the decision-making process for the BRT transfer.
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Challenges of coordination between local and international designers
This section highlights the challenges of changing the design several times during the BRT
route construction. These changes were made because of the lack of coordination between
the local transport engineers and the international designers. For the local transport engineers,
this was their first experience in implementing a BRT project and without complete guidance
it was a challenging task for them. Furthermore, the international design experts were not
present in Pakistan during the construction phase of the project. They visited at the start of
the project and gave briefings to local experts about the design requirements of BRT.
However, the detailed project design and construction were carried out by local construction
companies under the supervision of local transport engineers from TEPA. In addition to this,
the local transport institutions did not conduct any separate comprehensive feasibility study of
BRT at the local level and there was no detailed reference design for the BRT project. Instead,
the initial feasibility report for the light rail project was used to design the BRT project. In this
situation the local transport engineers were totally relying on the design instructions from the
international experts. The following exchange is taken from the focus group discussion where
examples of the design changes were shared by the participants:
The design of the BRT route was the most challenging part for us [local
designers]. The initially planned route for BRT [by the local transport experts] was
kerbside because it was easy to reserve the last lane of traffic for BRT and
required less construction … however, the Turkish designers rejected the
kerbside design and suggested BRT route alignment in the middle of the road
based on the experience of Istanbul [where the BRT service runs in the middle
of the road] … finally TEPA prepared a new design with a middle lane
(Participant1).
The design of the bus platform changed three times. The first time it was a few
metres lower than the bus height, the second time it was not long enough to cover
the full length of the bus and the third time it was not aligned with the door
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openings … the platform design issues arose because in Istanbul the Metrobus
runs on the left side of the bus lane but the doors are provided on the right side
of the bus [with bidirectional opening along central platforms] … however, in
Lahore traffic follows the right-hand drive concept … we followed the Turkish
design of platforms but later it did not perform here, so we changed it again
according to local conditions ... these changes were hectic and expensive as well
(Participant 2).
Although the limited coordination between local and Turkish experts caused the frequent
changes in the design of the project, this scenario also highlights the lack of preparedness
and clarity of the local actors in relation to the BRT project design as part of the policy transfer
process. In my opinion, if the local transport institutions had conducted a detailed feasibility
study for the BRT project and had more interaction with the Turkish designers by having them
on site in Lahore during the construction phase, the changes in design and challenge of extra
cost of the project could have been avoided.
Challenges of a short time frame for implementation
This section highlights the challenge of political influence on the project implementation. The
local actors from the Transport Department described how the project deadline was set
according to the election timing in the country. The Chief Minister Punjab instructed them to
complete the BRT project in one year, as shared by the following two participants:
We had a fixed deadline to complete the BRT project in one year before the
national election (Participant 1).
Yes indeed, for timely completion of this project, TEPA started 24/7 working
squads of design engineers and local contractors … otherwise, government
institutions never work around the clock … it was a challenging time indeed
(Participant 2).
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I have already described in section 5.1, the role of political influence where a unique path of
approval was adapted by the Punjab government by blocking the usual method used by
national-level institutions. The interviews and focus group discussion both further highlighted
the implications of local politicians at various stages in the BRT transfer. I found that the
execution of BRT in Lahore could have been better integrated with the local transport modes
and the urban conditions if the local institutions had had more time for its planning, design,
and execution. The rushed implementation limited the benefits of BRT as a mode of mobility
to only a 27 km route because initially the concept of feeder services was not provided, as
highlighted in Chapter 2 (Tabassum et al., 2017). Furthermore, the lack of involvement of the
LDA also limited the benefits of having transit-oriented development linked with road-based
transit options (Cervero & Dai, 2014; Thomas et al., 2018). The implementation of the BRT
concept at the local level could have been more accessible, affordable, and extended in the
form of a network if it had been planned and conceptualised in a comprehensive manner.
Hence, the local experts conceptualised, finalised, and executed the concept of BRT in 11
months, which is a record minimum duration for any public transport project in Pakistan.
Overall, the abovementioned challenges show that during the transfer process, policy actors
faced unexpected challenges mainly because at the local level there was a lack of policy
guidance, and the objectives of the BRT transfer were not clearly defined at the local level.
The roles of local transport institutions and policy documents was insufficient. Therefore, the
non-integrated transport planning system further complicated the selection of this mass transit
option and allowed other actors like international consultants and political leaders to influence
the BRT transfer process.
Conclusion
The empirical findings of this chapter have highlighted that the BRT transfer process was not
merely a rational process of selecting the most cost-effective road-based mass transit option.
Instead, it was complex, contingent, and political in nature; however, it was more difficult in
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the case of Lahore because there were no policy guidelines designed regarding the provision
of mass transit options in Pakistan.
Furthermore, there were multiple other factors that undermined the smooth adoption of the
‘foreign’ concept of BRT in the local context. This included the lack of a clear transport planning
process; and the lack of proper discussion and evaluation of alternatives as they unfolded,
resulting in costly design changes. In particular, the changes in selection of mass transit option
from light rail to BRT, the changes within the alignment of the BRT route and the changes in
platform design also created unexpected hurdles for the BRT transfer. The outdated and
ineffective role of policy documents also impacted on the rationality of BRT selection and
implementation. The disciplinary bias of considering BRT an engineering project based on the
assumption that a universal fix existed and could be applied regardless of the contextual
variances further hampered the social benefits linked with BRT implementation. Additionally,
the political bias in BRT transfer created needless complications in the selection and
implementation. The inconsistency between the transport planning system, the political
influence and the hurdles in BRT transfer validate the findings from policy mobilities that policy
selection is highly complex, contextual, political and contingent, and not merely a technical
process (Pojani, 2020b).
However, these findings contradict the approach to policy transfer that sees successful cases
of policy transfer as universally viable solutions and assumes that best practices can be
transferred across various cities regardless of geographical variations (Dolowitz & Marsh,
2000, 2012). The study findings also reject the assumptions made in transport policy transfer
studies that transport policymakers often select transport solutions based on technical, neutral
and rational decision-making processes (Stead et al., 2008).
This chapter has mainly described the transport planning process in Lahore as poorly
integrated, which not only limited the effective role of planning institutions, policy documents
and transport professionals in BRT selection, but also provided space for other actors to play
roles in the BRT transfer process, as highlighted in the next chapter.
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Chapter 6 – The Role of Actors as Actor Networks in BRT
Transfer
This chapter explores the first research question: Who were the key actors and what were
their various roles in transferring BRT to Lahore, Pakistan? My key argument in this chapter
is that BRT exchange is not merely a unitary transfer of transport technology; instead, it is a
hybridised process comprised of different material and non-material features, which makes
the BRT transfer process a technical as well as a contextual process. Therefore, the role of
actors cannot be limited to human policy actors.
To explore the roles of different human and non-human actors I have analysed the transfer of
BRT as a case of socio-technical policy transfer ( Bell, 2011; Canitez, 2019) and applied the
analytical framework of the ANT approach (Callon, Law, et al., 1986; Latour, 1984; Law, 1992).
The ANT analysis explores through the concept of heterogenous networks how different
human (political and international) actors and non-human actors (mass transit technology)
interacted with each other and developed actor networks to influence the BRT selection
process in Lahore. Finally, the actor network with the strongest stability and most intact mutual
connections was successful in transferring the preferred option of BRT in Lahore.
This chapter has five sections. Section 6.1 examines the role of international actors and
Section 6.2 explores the involvement of political actors in the BRT transfer. Sections 6.3 and
6.4 describe how the mass transit technology consolidated the intactness of the actor network
to contribute to the BRT transfer and Section 6.5 concludes this chapter.
Role of international actors as policy promoters
This section explores the role of different international actors as policy promoters in BRT
transfer to Lahore. Previous studies of transport planning as mentioned in Chapter 2 showed
that international actors promoted the concept of road development and the trend for private
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modes of transport in the country (Imran & Low, 2009). However, the findings of this research
describe that international actor are now promoters of mass transit concept in the country.
The interviews and document analysis both showed that in Lahore the option of BRT was not
a direct choice of local decision-makers. Instead, JICA as an international actor introduced the
concept of mass transit in Lahore in 1990. The ADB also initiated the process of transferring
an overseas solution for mass transit technology by providing the technical and financial
support to the policy actors of Lahore (ADB, 2007). Overall, the process of policy transfer of
mass transit concept was instigated by the efforts of international actors.
Based on the ANT analysis, I assigned the role of policy intermediaries to these international
actors in the actor network of BRT transfer because in the ANT terms, intermediaries are
actors that can establish network connections between actors but have no authority to change
network connections (Callon, 1999a). In this research I have found that international actors
were policy promoters because they introduced the concept of mass transit at the local level.
However, the role of policy promoter was not permanent for any international actor. Instead,
the role of policy promoter kept on changing with the entry and exit of different international
actors and different mass transit options. In the ANT terms, there is no concept of a predefined
hierarchy regarding the roles and positions of actors. Instead, the positions and roles of actors
change with the entry and exit of other actors and with the change in network associations.
In the next three subsections I further describe how different international actors entered the
mass transit network and promoted different mass transit options.
Promoters of light rail
In this section I identify the international actors who promoted the option of LRT in Lahore. In
1990, JICA – a technical transport consultant – proposed the concept of LRT for the first time
in a comprehensive traffic study of Lahore to deal with the increased mobility demands
(JICA,1990). The concept of LRT was a new transport technology for local transport
policymakers and due to limited technical and financial resources at the local level, the
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implementation of LRT was not an easy transport solution. Therefore, the Transport
Department Punjab highlighted the need to review the proposal for LRT and arrange
international funding resources to take up the LRT concept, as highlighted by one of the
interviewees from the Transport Department. The limited resources at the local level created
the need for engaging further international actors as part of the LRT network of actors.
In 1993, the WB joined the promoters of LRT and funded a technical traffic and transport study
of Lahore (GoPB,1993). The WB acknowledged the need for a mass transit system in Lahore
as indicated in the JICA study and provided further project details in terms of the technical and
financial details of light rail project in the form of a feasibility study of LRT. The Provincial
Government of Punjab, approved the initial design concept for LRT on the recommendation
of the WB and decided to implement LRT through a public–private partnership in Lahore
(Government of the Punjab, 2000). The estimated project cost was 2.4 billion USD, which was
a significantly high cost project for Pakistan being a developing country (ADB, 2007). One of
the interviewees also highlighted the financial challenges in the light rail project:
The option of light rail was a very exciting technology for our local transport
system … in fact the most modern transport technology … but locally we had not
enough resources to construct the LRT option (Interviewee, 2018).
In 2005, the ADB also joined the light rail proponents and prepared a detailed financial plan
for the project execution. The ADB further approved a technical loan to the Government of
Pakistan under a scheme of special funds for Asian cities to execute the first mass transit
project in Lahore (ADB, 2008b). The initial loan amount of 6.2 million USD was approved for
a 32-year total loan term (including a grace period of 8 years) with an interest rate of 1% (ADB,
2007). The key purpose of this technical loan was to recruit an international transport advisory
service to design the light rail project in a manner acceptable to the ADB and to present it into
the market for private sector financing. The Transport Department and ADB also agreed with
the proposal of WB to execute the project on a public–private partnership basis.
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In 2006, the ADB further appointed a French transport consultant company, SYSTRA, to carry
out a detailed technical study of the mass transit project in Lahore in collaboration with the
ADB. The ADB sponsored this detailed study of LRT as part of the technical loan. The ADB
also appointed a technical adviser to make the project plan technically sound and float the
technical bid for the project in the international market to find a project investor from the private
sector to construct and operate the project (ADB, 2007). The hiring of a technical adviser
shows the strong commitment of the Punjab Government to the light rail concept. SYSTRA
further prepared a detailed feasibility report, the LRMTS, on the light rail mass transit system.
In 2007, the international consultant MV Asia joined the network of LRT proponents on the
recommendation of the ADB and prepared a detailed reference design for the Green Line as
the first route of the LRMTS (ADB, 2008). According to the ANT analysis, the ADB acted as a
connector in the LRT network because it was the controlling actor for the rest of the consultants
and local policy actors, being the financial mobiliser of the project. I assigned the role of
connector to ADB because it initiated the process of policy transfer and provided funding to
the Transport Department Punjab to execute the light rail option. Furthermore, the Punjab
government also invested 6 million USD on the recommendation of the ADB on detailed
reference design of the light rail project (Interviewee, 2018).
Overall, the government of Pakistan spent 12 million USD (6 million was the ADB loan and 6
million was from the Pakistan government, further divided into 3 million each from the federal
and provincial governments), which was a significant amount for the light rail project on the
recommendations of the international actors. However, the Punjab government could not find
any private investor to execute the project on a public–private partnership basis (Interviewee,
2018). The Punjab government was not successful in attracting any further investors, which
shows that reliance on international consultants without considering the local conditions of the
country can lead to inappropriate choices of foreign policy options and loss of huge public
money.
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The network of actors who promoted the option of light rail reflects the understanding that
policy transfer is technocratic in nature and policy actors prefer only a few selected policy
options on the recommendations of some specific policy actors (Wicaksono, 2018). As one of
the interviewees from the Transport Department said:
The option of light rail was promoted by those international actors who would be
directly or indirectly part of the light rail project in future as well (Interviewee,
2018).
The above statement describes how the role of international actors was very contextual and
relational in promoting light rail as a preferred policy option. Policy mobilities scholars also
concluded that international actors in global policy transfer networks suggest policy options
based on experiences in other cities (Silva Ardila, 2020; Stone, 2004). However, international
actors sometimes promote policies without considering the contextual variances between the
policy borrower and the policy lender (Wu & Pojani, 2016). It happens particularly in
developing countries that international actors suggest policy solutions without considering the
limited financial resources of the country. As one of the interviewees from the Transport
Department further said:
International consultants often suggest transport solutions according to
international trends ... the light rail option was way too expensive for a country
like Pakistan (Interviewee, 2018).
Therefore, the local policy actors must consider the content and the cost of international
proposals in relation to the local context before introducing a foreign transport policy concept
at the local level.
Advocates of BRT Bogota model
International actors also proposed a second mass transit option in the form of the BRT concept
influenced by the Bogota model of the TransMilenio in Lahore (Urban Unit, 2010). The
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proponents of BRT in Lahore were the international think tank the ITDP, the Mayor of Bogota,
the UNDP and GEF (UNDP, 2010a).
As highlighted earlier that the Punjab government did not find any investor for the option of
light rail, considering it was an expensive option for Lahore. In 2008, two well-known promoters
of BRT, experts from the ITDP and the Mayor of Bogota, attended an international seminar on
public transport in Lahore conducted by the Urban Unit. The Urban Unit is a provincial-level
urban sector and policy management unit which works under the Planning and Development
Department Punjab. The basic objective of this policy unit is to provide technical assistance to
the Planning and Development Department on various aspects of urban development. On
behalf of Planning and Development, the Urban Unit organised an international seminar on
transport planning to get input from international transport experts on sustainable transport
options in the Punjab province (PURC, 2009). The Urban Unit invited various international
transport experts with expertise on sustainable transport in the Global South. The two main
experts at the seminar were the Senior Director of the ITDP, Oscar Brendan, and the Mayor
of Bogota, Enrique Peñalosa. Those experts proposed the TransMilenio as an economical
option for Lahore (PURC, 2010).
The Bogota Mayor delivered a detailed presentation on the BRT model in Bogota. He
presented the option of BRT as a low-cost transit technology, a flexible bus service that uses
existing road infrastructure with the potential to enhance non-motorised mobility and to extend
green areas along the BRT route (Urban Unit, 2010). The Bogota Mayor also shared a
comprehensive cost–benefit analysis of the BRT and LRT options in the context of Lahore. In
his concluding remarks, the ITDP expert also made a connection between Lahore and Bogota
by relating both cities to the Global South and having limited technical and financial resources.
Finally, these globally known experts on BRT suggested that Lahore needed a complete
network of BRT routes to meet public transport demand with limited technical and financial
resources at the local level (Interviewee, 2018).
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The presentation of the Bogota Mayor acted as a reference point or in ANT terms the
inscription device for the BRT proposal in Lahore. At the local level the policymakers used that
presentation to convince the local network of transport-related actors that BRT would be a
fitting public transport mode for Lahore. In particular the transport experts of the Urban Unit
and transport planning unit Lahore were the main supporters of BRT (Interviewee,2018). In
2009, the Transport Department also considered working on the BRT project and engaged
the LTC to explore the possibilities of BRT at the local level. The LTC is a regulatory body of
the Transport Department and assigned the task of operating the urban buses in Lahore.
Currently, it is the main public transport provider in the city with 650 buses running all over the
city. The LTC entered the BRT network at the local level because it was run by a foreign
transport expert at that time. One of the officials from the Transport Department said:
The mass transit planning in Lahore was all around the international experts.
Initially we [the Transport Department] were working with JICA, but later this task
was given to the LTC, considering that [Kim, the Korean CEO of the LTC] might
engage the Korean International Cooperation Agency [KOICA] for the BRT
possibilities in Lahore (Interviewee, 2018).
The option of the Bogota BRT model remained in discussion over 2008–2010. The main
supporters were the Bogota Mayor, the ITDP, the Urban Unit, the Transport Department and
the LTC. The first proposal for the BRT was developed by experts from the LTC:
I was determined to work on the BRT project and our planning team also visited
the Seoul BRT under the leadership of Kim [the LTC CEO] and prepared a
detailed presentation on the BRT plan including the kerbside BRT design
proposal for the Ferozepur Road BRT (Interviewee, 2018).
The above statement shows that through the advocacy of international experts, the option of
BRT gradually achieved recognition in the circle of local transport experts such as in the
Transport Department and the LTC. This means the option of BRT made a gradual space by
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engaging the local-level transport institutions. Finally, the federal level also came to favour the
BRT project in 2010 in the form of PAKSTRAN. The PAKSTRAN project was an international
project conceptualised by the federal government of Pakistan. The UNDP and GEF were the
main international actors in this project. These two organisations focused on the provision of
sustainable modes of public transport in developing countries in South Asia to integrate
environment and transport sectors (UNDP, n.d., 2010a). The provision of BRT in major cities
of Pakistan was part of this project. The UNDP and GEF as international actors committed to
provide technical and financial support to introduce the concept of BRT in Pakistan (UNDP,
2010a; UNDP, 2012).
Overall, I found the role of the Bogota Mayor, ITDP experts, PAKSTRAN, UNDP and GEF to
be the intermediaries of BRT in Lahore. These actors promoted the image of BRT at the local
level as a competitive mode to light rail with fewer technical requirements and lower project
cost.
In the BRT network, the mode of LRT replaced BRT and the roles of JICA, ADB and SYSTRA
were replaced by the ITDP, UNDP, GEF and Mayor of Bogota. Although the federal
government aimed to execute the BRT project of PAKSTRAN in 2010, the project could not
be implemented in the major cities of Pakistan because it was not approved by the respective
provincial governments (Interviewee, 2018).
The Mayor of Bogota and the ITDP are called BRT agents in BRT transfer studies of the Global
South (Montero, 2017; A. Wood, 2015). However, in this study these BRT agents failed in
transferring the Bogota BRT model in Lahore. The Bogota BRT model and its promoters were
catalysts or connectors because they provided the opportunity to the transport planners of
Lahore to consider BRT as an alternate option to LRT. Therefore, the proponents of BRT
played a significant role in introducing an alternative transit technology to Pakistan. They
provided an opportunity for the BRT concept to enter the network of local policy actors.
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In the next section I examine how the Istanbul model replaced the Bogota network and
achieved a permanent position in the local transport system of Lahore.
Proponents of the Istanbul Metrobus model
This section highlights the role of international actors in transferring the option of the Istanbul
Metrobus model as the preferred form of BRT in Lahore. In 2011, the Istanbul Metrobus model
entered the network of mass transit actors at the local level. The Istanbul model was selected
during an official visit of the Chief Minister Punjab to Turkey where he travelled on the Istanbul
Metrobus (Interviewee, 2018). After his visit, a special delegation of 12 members from the
transport sector of Pakistan visited Istanbul to examine the details of the Istanbul Metrobus
model for Lahore. As one of the delegates said:
When we visited Istanbul Metrobus on the direction of CM Punjab, we were really
impressed by the speed, level of service, infrastructure features and operational
quality of Metrobus … we found it like a modern train as compared to the
TransMilenio (Interviewee, 2018).
The above statement reveals that local transport policymakers preferred the Istanbul
Metrobus, considering it as an alternative to light rail project in Lahore. The statement also
shows that the initial proposal for light rail had remained in the imagination of local actors, and
they were looking towards the Metrobus as an alternative to light rail. After the delegates’ visit,
further processes regarding implementation of the Metrobus model were considered by the
local-level institutions of transport.
The key document that underpinned the transfer of the Istanbul Metrobus was a Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) between the Mayor of Istanbul and the Chief Minister Punjab. The
MOU ensured technical and financial cooperation between the two cities. As per the MOU,
the municipal government of Istanbul provided the technical guidance to execute the Metrobus
concept in Lahore. However, the government of Punjab completely funded the cost of the
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project. The Turkish consultants provided technical consultancy, design of the route
infrastructure and the operation of the Lahore Metrobus service.
In 2012, The Metrobus design was created by a Turkish company, Ulesiam, and the
construction contract was awarded to another Turkish company, the bus-operating company
Albayrak. The Turkish companies worked in collaboration with the Transport Department
Punjab and TEPA Lahore for the design and execution of the project (Interviewee, 2018).
Although the government of Punjab funded the project, there was extraordinary support
provided by the municipal government of Istanbul city during the project execution. A
significant example is that the Mayor of Istanbul, Kadir Tobas, gifted 100 Metrobuses to launch
the Metrobus project and called it ‘Giving a fresh impetus to the Istanbul–Lahore friendship
journey’ during the ground-breaking ceremony for the Lahore Metrobus project (News, 2013).
Pakistan and Turkey have always shared close historical ties on a cultural and Islamic basis.
Both countries were pioneer members of the Muslim Regional Cooperation for Development
(RCD)1 organisation established in 1964, replaced by the Economic Cooperation Organization
(ECO)2 in 1985, and members of the Developing-8 (D-8).3 Under these agreements both
countries committed to work for the economic development of the Muslim world. In particular
the two countries being members of ECO also emphasise improving urban linkages and
transport infrastructure in central Asia. In this scenario, although the Metrobus project was not
a direct outcome of any of these agreements, but these three agreements had already
developed strong ties and mutual confidence between policy borrowers and lenders that
created a favourable environment for policy exchange of the Istanbul metro bus model to
Lahore.
1 The RCD’s original members were Iran, Pakistan and Turkey and they aimed for regional economic, social and cultural growth. 2 The ECO was established by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey to promote economic, technical and cultural cooperation among member states. 3 The D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation promotes economic cooperation among eight Muslim countries: Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey.
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The interview analysis also shows that there were close relations between the Chief Minister
of Punjab and the Mayor of Istanbul. It also highlights that apart from the Metrobus project,
collaboration between the Punjab government and Turkey was common in other urban sector
projects as well. For instance, Albayrak was providing services in the water and sanitation
sector and solid waste management and Le Park, another Turkish company, was providing
city parking management plans. As one of the provincial policymakers said:
At the city level it was easy to engage Istanbul municipal experts as compared to
any other foreign experts because Istanbul is a second home for our sector
experts. Since Turkish experts are working in many urban services such as solid
waste, water and sewerage design, urban development, and cultural exchange
services as well, so for transport projects it could be an extension of the service
network … which was easy (Interviewee, 2018).
The above statement shows the confidence of local policymakers in the Turkish experts.
Therefore, it was easy for local policymakers to rely on Turkish consultation and the transfer
of the Metrobus could be smooth. Figure 6.1 illustrates the importance of mutual trust and
Pakistani–Turkish friendship (see showing flags of two countries on the Metrobus) as a
fundamental reason behind the policy transfer process. The photo shows the Mayor of Istanbul
and the Chief Minister Punjab sitting together in an Istanbul Metrobus, giving the impression
that Turkey is bringing new technology to Pakistan. This photo was taken in Istanbul after the
signing of the MOU for the Lahore Metrobus project with the Turkish company Albayrak (AA
News, 2013). The photo clearly represents the value of close relations between two political
leaders which led local policy actors to prefer the Istanbul model over the Bogota model.
Usually in case of BRT transfer, policy lenders such as the ITDP, EMBARQ or Mayors of
Bogota or Curitiba advertised the benefits and convinced the policy borrowers (Ardila-gómez,
2004; Campo, 2011; Hidalgo & Gutiérrez, 2013). However, in the case of the Lahore Metrobus
the policy borrower – the government of Punjab – approached the policy lender, which shows
the level of confidence of the government of Punjab in the Turkish actors.
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Figure 6.1: The Mayor of Istanbul and the Chief Minister Punjab in Istanbul to sign the MOU for the Metrobus project
(Source: AA News, 2013)
The findings of this section have highlighted that in the transfer of the Istanbul Metrobus model,
well-recognised BRT actors like the ITDP and Mayor of Bogota, also known as BRT agents,
were not able to initiate the transfer of the Bogota model. Instead, political, and relatively less
well-known actors in BRT promotion and less experienced actors like the Mayor of Istanbul,
the Turkish firm Ulesiam and the Turkish company Albayrak successfully transferred the
Istanbul Metrobus model to Lahore. Unlike the ITDP, which was established for BRT transfer,
the Turkish actors were inexperienced in BRT transfer.
These empirical findings further show the role of political influence in policy transfer as well.
Although the Bogota model was considered a successful example of BRT in transport studies,
the local policy actors preferred the Istanbul Metrobus model due to political ease and close
cultural ties between the two cities. As was determined in BRT transfer between Latin
american cities by Gutierrez & Jaimovich,( 2017) where political ease and cultural similarities
were key factors in exchange of BRT idea.
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Overall, this section concludes that international actors were the policy promoters of this mass
transit concept in Pakistan. The study further identifies how three different international actors
promoted three different mass transit options, as summarised in Table 6.1. These findings
confirm the role of international actors is discussed more in contextual terms as part of global
policy transfer networks to promote certain policy options (Prince, 2012; Stone, 2004, 2008).
Table 6.1: International actors and their proposed mass transit options in Lahore.
International actors involved in mass transit transfer
Time period Actors Role performed
Proposal for LRT
1990
1993–2000
2001–2005
2007
2008
JICA
WB
ADB
SYSTRA
MV Asia
Transport consultant who
recommended first transit options for
Lahore in 1990.
Provided technical loan for traffic study
in Lahore.
Financial donor that sponsored the first
feasibility study for light rail in 2007.
Prepared feasibility study for light rail.
Prepared detailed reference design for
Green route.
Proposal for BRT Bogota
2008
2008
2010
2012
Mayor of Bogota
ITDP
UNDP
Mayor of Istanbul
Suggested BRT model of TransMilenio.
Acted as BRT think tank for BRT project
PAKSTRAN Project of BRT
Provided 100 metro buses from Turkey
at groundbreaking ceremony of Lahore
Metrobus project
Implementation of Metrobus
2011
2012
2013
Chief Minister Punjab
Albayrak- Turkish group
Mayor of Istanbul
Suggested Metrobus after visit to
Istanbul.
Provided technical support for Lahore
Metrobus.
Inaugurated Lahore Metrobus project.
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Role of local political actors as policy selectors
In this section I examine the role of local political actors and locally evolved socio-political
conditions in selecting a foreign transport policy concept. The interviews with local policy
actors showed that there was a strong connection between the changes in the consideration
of mass transit options and the changes in the political setup of Pakistan. This section further
highlights that BRT transfer in Lahore was strongly influenced by local politicians.
In Pakistan during the selection of the mass transit concept, three different political parties
played their role in the selection process. Each political party promoted a particular mass
transit project and made it a point of political rivalry in the country. The transfer of mass transit
may seem to be a technical process of selecting an appropriate technology from overseas for
public transport purposes. However, in Pakistan the project of mass transit was more political
and less technical. In the following three sub sections I analyse the detailed role of political
actors as part of BRT transfer network.
Light rail as a project of Pakistan Muslim League Q (2005–2007)
In 2005, the Pakistan Muslim League Q group (PMLQ) was the ruling party both at federal
level and at provincial level. The provincial PMLQ government started working on mass transit
project in Lahore because it is the capital of the Punjab province. Light rail was the preferred
option at the time suggested by the JICA, WB and ADB, as discussed earlier, and the PMLQ
leadership supported the option of light rail. At the federal level, the national transport
institutions reviewed the light rail project and established networks with the ADB for project
funding. The provincial Transport Department invested in a detailed feasibility report and route
design report for the LRMTS. The PMLQ signed the federal project guarantee with the ADB
and the Transport Department at the provincial level started working on a design and
execution framework for the light rail option in Lahore.
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However, in 2007, suddenly political unrest started in the country where the democratic
government was overthrown, and the Pakistan military took over the administrative leadership
of the country. Interim election dates were announced for three months after the takeover. As
a result, all the mega development projects including the Lahore light rail project went on halt
until the next election term. As one of the respondents said:
We were not sure how the project would go further. It was hard for us to convince
the international donors [the ADB] to invest in a light rail project … it could be a
temporary delay or complete refusal by new government (Interviewee, 2018).
This statement reveals the direct implications of the socio-political conditions of Pakistan on
the process of transferring the concept of light rail. The PMLQ advertised the light rail project
as a mega initiative taken by the PMLQ during the election campaign. The technical LRT
project started becoming a political initiative. The PMLQ committed to completing the light rail
project if it won the election. However, in the elections of 2008 the PMLQ was not re-elected.
BRT concept as a project of Pakistan People’s Party (2008–2010)
In 2008, another political party, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), established political rule at
federal level, while in Punjab province the ruling party was the Pakistan Muslim League N
group (PMLN) party. Both political parties were competitors to each other, and their political
rivalry further influenced the selection of mass transit projects. The PPP entered as a new
political actor in the network of mass transit actors. As one of the interviewees from the federal
level said:
The new government of the PPP was not ready to sign the further state guarantee
for the light rail project with the ADB, considering it an extraordinary burden for
the economy of Pakistan. Instead, the PPP preferred the concept of urban buses
over urban rail (Interviewee, 2018).
The above statement shows that changes in the political setup of the country created instability
in relation to the Lahore light rail network as well. The PPP as a new political actor impacted
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on the actor network LRT connections. The PPP acted as policy selector as the new federal
government and preferred the concept of BRT as an alternative to light rail. In ANT analysis
this was a turning point in network associations where bus technology replaced the role of
light rail technology, and the PPP took over the position of the PMLQ.
In 2008, the PPP further initiated the PAKSTRAN project at the federal level in collaboration
with the UNDP and GEF (as discussed in the previous section) to promote sustainable mobility
options in the country. The key objective of this project was to provide a BRT system in four
major cities of Pakistan (UNDP, 2010a). I have identified a main difference between the
approaches of the PPP and PMLQ regarding provision of a mass transit concept in the
country: the PMLQ focused on the single and high-cost project of light rail in Lahore, whereas
the PPP designed a BRT-based comprehensive mass transit project and selected four major
cities and provincial capitals of Pakistan. Overall, the approach of the PPP was more
comprehensive, effective, and efficient because it was aimed at more cities while planning to
spend less money.
The initial concept of the PAKSTRAN was approved in 2008 and the interim project report
proposed to execute the project over 2009–2013 (UNDP, 2010a). At the federal level the PPP
presented the concept of BRT with the impression that the PPP government preferred a low
budget but efficient public transport project. The political slogan of the PPP for the BRT project
was ‘efficient and economic mobility all over Pakistan’. However, the PPP could not start
PAKSTRAN-based BRT projects in all provinces because at that time at provincial level there
were two different political parties other than the PPP and the respective provincial
governments did not approve the BRT projects (Interviewee, 2018). The federal government
could not start PAKSTRAN without the approval of respective provincial governments because
after the approval of projects, provincial governments must pay 50% of the cost with the other
50% planned to be covered by the federal government. However, the provincial governments
of Khyber Pakhtwon Kah (KPK) and Punjab did not agree with PAKSTRAN, and the project of
BRT in provincial capitals was not implemented.
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This section has highlighted how two different political parties, the PMLQ and PPP, in Pakistan
politicised the projects of mass transit and selected two different options, LRT and BRT. In
other words, the political actors played a role as project selectors. The next section further
confirms the role of political influence on the selection of mass transit concept in Pakistan.
The Istanbul Metrobus as a project of Pakistan Muslim League N (2011–2013)
In this section I examine how the policymakers of Punjab province selected the option of the
Istanbul Metrobus model as the preferred mass transit option. As mentioned earlier, after the
2008 election at the federal level the PPP was the ruling party, whereas at the provincial level
in Punjab the PMLN was the ruling party. The federal government proposed a national BRT
project, PAKSTRAN (based on the Bogota model), for four major cities of Pakistan. In contrast,
the provincial government of Punjab preferred the Istanbul Metrobus model of BRT,
considering it more modern, advanced, and closer to rail than a bus service. One of the
interviewees from the Transport Department said:
To select the option of BRT was a difficult decision for the Chief Minster Punjab
… on one hand he wanted to introduce it as an alternative to the light rail project
in Lahore [initiated by the PMLQ] … and on the other hand he was reluctant to
start the BRT project [proposed by the PPP] … he was also not convinced by the
example from Bogota and asked us [the Transport Department experts] to
explore further options with modern BRT features … it was an unofficial ‘NO’ …
for the Bogota model (Interviewee, 2018).
The above statement reveals the high level of political interference in the process of selecting
different mass transit options. Initially the federal government of PPP rejected the option of
light rail (as it was a PMLQ project) and claimed the project costs were too high. Later the
provincial government of PMLN also rejected the option of BRT based on the Bogota model
(as it was a PPP project), arguing that the TransMilenio features could not compete with the
modern service and other features of light rail. In this situation the PMLN entered the network
of mass transit actors with the new option of the Istanbul Metrobus model as an alternative to
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the projects of both other parties. One of the interviewees from the Transport Department also
stated:
The approval of the Istanbul Metrobus created a win–win situation for the Punjab
government (Interviewee, 2018).
The Chief Minister Punjab used the option of the Istanbul Metrobus in a very political manner
without considering the project implications for the city. The mass transit option that JICA
proposed for Lahore to solve the traffic problems ended up in a political battle in the country.
In other words, by implementing the Istanbul Metrobus model, the PMLN was successful in
getting the credit for introducing the first mass transit mode in the country. In addition to this,
the PMLN also blocked the PPP from gaining political advantage through introducing BRT
projects in other major cities of Pakistan as well. Therefore, the Istanbul Metrobus model
provided PMLN with a strong political advantage. To get that advantage, the PMLN avoided
all possible interactions with the federal government of that time in terms of project approval
and project funding. As discussed in Chapter 5 (Section 5.1), the project was approved in a
unique way by the Punjab Planning and Department, by splitting the total project cost of 30
million USD into 8 small sub-packages to avoid the requirement for approval through the
federal government and funding the complete project from the budget of the provincial
government.
The findings of this section describe how the decision on mass transit was not a simple and
direct decision to transfer BRT as a foreign transport policy option to deal with local traffic
challenges. Instead, it was a highly complex, entangled, and political process where the entry
and exit of different political actors in the mass transit network greatly impacted on the decision
to introduce the mass transit concept in the country.
Overall, I found that the transfer of the mass transit concept happened due to strong political
influence on the project not only in its selection process, but also in its implementation. A
Transport Department interviewee said:
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The dedicated political support in Punjab was the driving force for the Metrobus
project (Interviewee, 2018).
The Punjab government showed strong commitment to the Istanbul Metrobus project. The
project execution started in 2012 and within 11 months it was finished and operational. It was
the only mega transport project of the country that was completed in less than a year’s time,
apparently because 2013 was the election year. As one of the interviewees from the Transport
Department said:
The biggest challenge with limited technical resources was to complete the
project before the election (Interviewee, 2018).
From 2005 until 2013, three different political parties proposed three different transit options,
as summarised in Table 6.2.
Table 6.2: Role of political parties in the selection of mass transit options
Time period Political party Proposal
2005–2007 PMLQ Lahore light rail project
2008–2010 PPP BRT in PAKSTRAN project
2011–2013 PMLN Istanbul Metrobus BRT project (implemented)
Overall, this section describes the influential roles of political actors and the socio-political
conditions of Pakistan in relation to the selection of the Istanbul Metrobus project. The process
of mass transit transfer started with the option of light rail but ended with the Istanbul Metrobus
model mainly on a political basis. Therefore, the results of this section confirm the findings of
other BRT studies in the Global South. The key argument of these studies is that BRT is a
successful example of policy transfer in the Global South because of political ideologies, close
geographical connections and cultural similarities between policy borrowers and lenders
(Hossain, 2006; Montero, 2017, 2020; A. Wood, 2014).
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The findings of this section have also highlighted that political parties and transit technology
were the key actors in the mass transit network of Pakistan because political parties used the
features of the different mass transit modes to select their preferred option. Therefore, the role
of transit technology cannot be ignored in relation to political and international actors. I further
explain in the next section how the local policy actors used the mass transit technology in the
BRT transfer process.
Role of mass transit technology as a non-human actor
In this section I examine the role of non-human elements in the BRT transfer process using
the lens of ANT (Callon & Blackwell, 2007; John, 2009; Latour, 2005). The role of non-humans
as part of the BRT transfer is divided into three sections, identifying the significant non-human
elements, describing the roles of non-humans by showing how non-humans influenced the
human policy actors and finally how a heterogenous network of human and non-human actors
developed into an actor network and performed the action of BRT transfer.
In ANT terms the actions of non-humans are visible in association with human actors (Callon
& Blackwell, 2007). This means the roles of non-human actors are not influential unless non-
humans and human are connected as a network. This is the key argument for developing
heterogenous network connections; in order to explore the roles of non-humans, they must be
allowed to enter the list of actors just like humans. As Latour stated:
The actions of non-humans are always in the form of interaction (Latour, 2005,
p. 78).
Therefore to identify the list of non-human elements as actors in this chapter, I have used the
key understating of actors established in ANT, which is different from the roles of actors as
analysed in conventional transport policy transfer analysis, where only human policymakers
are classified as actors (Nguyen & Pojani, 2018; A. Wood, 2015). In ANT terms, the non-
humans are not actors in proper sense. However:
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Nonhumans can do something more than mere casual actors [humans] (Latour,
2005, p. 70).
The influential role of non-humans is one of the fundamental concepts of ANT that I use for
analysis in this section. The key argument of ANT-based policy transfer analysis is that in
transport policy transfer, the seemingly neutral and technical policy features are not just
objects or things as assumed in the global network of policy actors. Instead, neutral, and
technical objects can have a certain influence on human policy actors and as a result the
human actors perform certain actions which are only visible in ANT-sensitive analysis.
However, the influence of non-humans cannot be denied.
Therefore, I explore the role of non-human elements in this chapter by drawing on the
characteristics described by ANT scholars where the word ‘non-humans’ functions as an
umbrella term and includes a wide range of objects and things (Callon, Rip, et al., 1986; Latour,
1996b). In the context of transport analysis, I have found from previous studies that the
relevant non-humans were policy documents, technical reports, technology features, design
structures, costs, ideas, images, lived experiences, inspirations and types of infrastructure
(Bilodeau & Potvin, 2018; Rydin & Tate, 2016; Wang & Selina, 2018 ).
However, in my analysis I have found the influence of mass transit technology played a
significant role in BRT transfer because the local policy actors (the political actors as well as
transport-related actors, as described earlier) were inspired by the technology of mass transit.
Although the role of mass technology was further segmented into three forms: the light rail
model, the Bogota TransMilenio model, and the Istanbul Metrobus model, all these sub-forms
of technology overall created a strong cumulative influence on the minds of local policy actors.
Furthermore, in the absences of mass transit technology as an actor, there were visible
conflicts between political actors and local transport experts particularly in the selection of
transit mode. However, the LRT, the BRT Bogota model and the Istanbul Metrobus model
collectively established a strong image of mass transit technology and mediated the latent
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conflicts between the local policy actors, allowing the technology to be selected, and this was
the key contribution of mass transit technology as an actor in the BRT transfer process. As
Latour (2011 p.67) said, ‘’things cannot make sense unless they [non-humans] are assembled
in a meaningful manner’’.
Therefore, I found in the case of Lahore that without considering the influence of mass transit
technology as an actor, the decision on BRT transfer was conflicted between the human actors
in the form of the light rail, Bogota model and Istanbul model. To overcome this conflict, the
presence of a non-human actor – the influence of mass transit technology – was a new entry
in the list of actors which developed further connections between the local political actors, the
local transport-related actors and the international actors and completed the process of BRT
transfer as a collective action of all the actors in the form of a network.
The network relations between human and non-human actors are also called purposeful
relations (Latour, 2013a). Therefore, by demonstrating the notion of purposeful relations and
meaningful assemblage, I have shown the entry of mass transit technology as an influential
actor in the list of policy actors that were involved in the BRT transfer.
I have further found from the interviews with local policy actors that the influence of mass
transit technology in their minds was based on the inherent features of mass transit, including
the capacity to carry higher numbers of passengers as compared to conventional buses, the
high speed over existing modes of public transport, the safe and reliable travel service, the
dedicated right of way of the transit modes, the sense of sophisticated and modern mobility,
and – the most astonishing thing – the automation of mass transit technology. As one of the
interviewees from the Transport Department said:
We [Transport Department] wanted to improve the local traffic by using new
technology [he did not mention any particular form of technology] … because we
have experienced the use of technology in small segments and the results were
amazing … for example, I share one experience … on Mall Road [a major traffic
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corridor in Lahore] there was lot of congestion and traffic challenges for us when
we were controlling the traffic manually by assigning different traffic sergeants to
manage the traffic. However, on the recommendation of JICA we installed
automatic traffic-sensitive signals … now there is no problem at all … everything
was sorted out with the use of automatic technology [the focus again on
automation of technology] … same in the case of public transport … the problems
could be solved if we had introduced … new technology (Interviewee, 2018).
The above statement reveals the thinking and the imagination of local policy actors that they
had developed in favour of mass transit technology. Although in my understanding there were
three options in front of them to select one form of technology – light rail, the TransMilenio or
the Istanbul Metrobus – for them it was only mass transit technology. As Wood et al. (2006)
stated in their analysis of contesting characters of neighbourhoods using ANT:
Even as we were presuming to be talking about the same thing, we were evidently
talking about quite different things (Wood et al., 2006, p. 7).
The interviews with local policy actors have also shown their inspiration by the term ‘new
transport technology’ which I call in my analysis ‘the influence of mass transit technology’.
To explore further details regarding the action of BRT transfer, in the following sub sections I
analyse the roles of the three different forms of mass transit technology and describe how
each mode influenced the local policymakers to proceed with the BRT transfer.
Influence of light rail transit technology
The light rail was the first form of mass transit technology that influenced the local policy actors.
At the local level, the policy actors were introduced to the technical features of light rail such
as high speed, automotive locomotives, higher passenger capacity, safety, and environmental
friendliness by looking at the LRMTS technical report. This concept of a mass transit system
in Lahore was planned by JICA in the form of another technical study, the LUDTS (details of
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both studies are discussed in Section 5.2). The local policy actors used these two studies as
their initial reference points for light rail technology.
In addition to these, a feasibility report on the first mass transit (Green line) route and a detailed
reference design report for a Lahore light rail project were also available to local policy actors
as references. In particular, the LRT reference design report played a significant role in the
design of the BRT route as well, as I have discussed in relation to the implementation of BRT.
Overall, the technical studies on light rail and reference design drawings of a light rail route
were the most important non-human elements in the list of light rail actors.
However, I found from the interviews that the lived experience of using light rail in Tokyo played
the most significant role in creating long-lasting impacts of the light rail option on the minds of
the local policymakers in the Punjab Transport Department. Vigar (2017) confirmed the
significance of lived experiences in transport planning by calling learning through site visits
‘situated knowledge’. I also realised the importance of situated knowledge through the
following quote. One of the interviewees from the Transport Department said:
The JICA team not only suggested the idea of light rail but provided us with an
opportunity through a field visit to experience light rail technology … JICA
sponsored a technical tour of transport experts from Lahore … we stayed there
for two weeks … travelled on trains in Tokyo … trains were totally separated from
regular traffic through elevated routes and underground sections … we found that
visit very helpful in designing the same concept for Lahore … later we always
used the examples from that visit … to convince our fellow colleagues … I still
have the image of running elevated trains all over the city as a memory
(Interviewee, 2018).
I found three phrases from the above statement – ‘trains in Tokyo’, ’image’ and ‘memory’ – to
be powerful words to establish network connections between actors in the ANT analysis.
Those three phrases assigned agency and created the influence of light rail technology on
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local policy actors. Furthermore, those three phrases also highlight the strength of imagination
plus the richness of lived experience of using a new transit technology and confirm the findings
of Vigar (2017) that site experience in transport planning is more influential than technical
reports, drawings and policy texts.
Although I found that the technical studies, drawings of a light rail route design and site visits
created an overall influence in favour of light rail. According to the ANT approach, things make
sense by simply relating to each other (Latour, 1984). Therefore, I found in this case that the
field tour of local actors to Tokyo helped them to understand the features of light rail. The
importance of study tours and site visits is also recognised in transport policymaking (Glaser
et al., 2020; Montero, 2017). However, the case of Lahore further confirms through empirical
findings based on the ANT approach that field tour created a strong bond of connection
between a display of technology and human policy actors and help to create the long-lasting
influence of mass transit technology.
Influence of the BRT Bogota model
The technology of BRT was the second form of mass transit that inspired the local policy
actors of Lahore. As discussed earlier in Section 6.1.2, the idea was introduced at the local
level by international proponents of BRT. In the ANT terms, the PowerPoint presentation on
the BRT model of Bogota delivered by ITDP experts and the Mayor of Bogota in 2010 was the
main source of inspiration for BRT at the local level. Overall, the influence of the TransMilenio
was developed by using this presentation, pictures of the Bogota BRT and international
studies on the Bogota model. The PAKSTRAN report on BRT was also prepared by the UNDP
to provide BRT knowledge at local level for policy makers.
Although in policy mobilities analysis PowerPoint presentations are considered an important
source of knowledge sharing (McCann & Ward, 2013; Thomas et al., 2018).However, in the
ANT-based analysis of policy transfer process the influence of presentation and pictures is not
found as long lasting and inspirational as lived experience.
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According to Latour (2005, p. 16), sometimes the associations between human and non-
humans can be ‘temporary’ and keep the network stable for some time; these relations are
called ‘momentary associations’. Overall, I found that the influence of the TransMilenio was
momentary association between local policy actors and the Bogota BRT model as compared
to light rail. Furthermore, there was no chance for local actors to see and experience the
Bogota option and their impression of BRT technology did not inspire the local policy makers
to proceed further with this option of BRT technology.
Influence of the Istanbul Metrobus model
The Istanbul Metrobus model was the third form of mass transit technology which inspired the
local policy actors. The influence of the Istanbul model started with the lived experience of
using the Metrobus in Istanbul, Turkey, of the Chief Minister Punjab during his official visit to
Turkey in 2011, as discussed in Section 6.2. Later members of the Punjab Transport
Department also visited Istanbul in the form of a delegation to observe the service, operation,
design and working of the Metrobus as another form of mass transit technology. In the
delegation team, three members also had the chance to visit the Tokyo light rail, as I found
from the interviews.
Overall, the lived experiences of Tokyo and Istanbul played the most significant roles in
creating the influence of mass transit technology and leading the local policy actors to choose
the option of mass transit technology in favour of the Istanbul Metrobus model. Although
according to the interviewees, for the Istanbul Metrobus technical studies such as a feasibility
report and detailed reference designs were not prepared as predesign working but still the
option of the Istanbul Metrobus was transferred. In this regard I found that the image of the
Metrobus as a modern technology, as well as the image of Istanbul as a modern city in the
Islamic world, acted as connecting nodes between the policy actors of Lahore and the Turkish
experts. Although Lahore could not be transformed into a modern city like Istanbul just by
implementing the same technology of the Metrobus, but the modern image of Istanbul as
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compared to Bogota also instigated the selection of the Metrobus. The ANT understanding
also supports the recognition of an image as a non-human actor; as Latour, (2011) said:
Sometimes the minimal agency of non-humans is so influential that it can change
the entire network connections (Latour, 2011, p. 27).
Figure 6.2 also represents the value of non-human influence in decision-making. In displaying
the flags of Turkey and Pakistan side by side, designing a similar centrally aligned bus route
like Istanbul’s, using red buses showing the colour of Turkish flag and elevating the bus route
like the Bosphorus Bridge, the implementation of the Lahore Metrobus project shows that
objects and things highly influenced the minds of the local policy actors.
Figure 6.2: Route of Lahore Metrobus symbolising the close connections between Turkey and
Pakistan in showing the two national flags at the inauguration ceremony in Lahore
(Source: PMTA, 2013)
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The analysis of the roles of mass transit technology and the local policy actors as a network
demonstrates what happened in Lahore during the BRT transfer and how the Istanbul model
was selected. As per Latour (2013), the explanation of why it has happened, is not in the scope
of ANT, but the beauty of using ANT as a methodology is in finding the descriptions of the
actions performed through actor–network connections. I further provide my judgement on why
it happened and whether selection of the Istanbul model was a rational choice or not, by using
the lens of policy mobilities in the discussion chapter.
The complexity of actor networks in BRT transfer
In this section I further describe that the formation of a heterogenous network of actors
including all human and non-human actors was a complex, contingent, and transient process
because the final network of actors was not developed all at once; instead, it was developed
gradually by making and remaking three sub-actor networks. In the following three subsections
I discuss the three sub-actor networks with the transit models in the centre as influential actors
of the actor networks. By changing the role of one transit mode, a completely different network
of actors appeared in the decision-making process. Therefore, I show that the transit
technology played a central role along with relevant political actors to control the actions of
the international and local-level transport-related actors. Even political parties used the agency
of transit modes to establish purposeful connections with federal and provincial-level project-
approving authorities. Finally, three sub-networks eventually merged into each other and
formed an intact network of actors, which was more complex and entangled.
In the following subsection I explain how transit technology controlled the stability of actor–
network connections in the policy transfer process for BRT in Lahore.
Network instability in Lahore light rail project
The option of light rail was the first mass transit option suggested by international experts to
deal with the demand for public transport in Lahore. I have examined how the light rail
technology made an entry into the local transport system in Lahore by focusing on the roles
of human actors. I found that the preference for light rail by both international and local-level
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actors was based on its advanced features such as being a high-capacity transit mode and a
fast, modern, reliable, and safe mode of mobility. One of the transport planners said:
By introducing the light rail transit as a mode of public transport, we were aiming
to experience modern transport technology … to enhance the image of the
country as well (Interviewee, 2018).
In other words, the local policymakers were thinking to use light rail technology as an actor to
change the challenging traffic and transport conditions of Lahore with a modern public
transport system. The international actors promoted the image of light rail as a new and
modern public transport system in the form of mass transit. The political actors were interested
in using that modern image of mass transit for political purposes and the local transport
planners were looking towards light rail to overcome the local challenges of public transport in
Lahore.
The light rail actor network was very stable because the light rail technology connected all the
international and local-level actors with the common understanding and acceptance that light
rail would provide modern technology in the country. In the light rail actor network, the human
policy actors aligned their interests with the modern image of light rail technology without
considering the high cost and limited technical and financial resources of the country.
Although the instability in the light rail actor network appeared with political instability and
changes in federal and provincial governments in the country. The changes in political setup
immediately impacted on the actor–network associations and the PMLQ as a political actor
made an exit from the network and the PPP took its position. The changes influenced previous
associations between international actors like the ADB and Planning Commission as well. The
Planning Commission and ADB, which were ready to start the project, could not continue their
associations further in implementing this option. Finally, the change in one political actor
impacted on the complete actor–network associations of light rail. Overall, the transfer of light
rail technology did not happen because the network was no longer intact or stable to support
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the action of policy transfer. In Figure 6.3, I show the central role of LRT, the role of
international actors as promoters and the role of the PMLQ as a political actor in stabilising
the network connections. In this network, only the political actor was replaced and so it is
indicated as a colourless node, whereas the rest of the actor network did not perform any
action due to political instability however actors in the network related to each other.
Figure 6.3: First sub-actor network of Lahore light rail transit technology
(Source: Author)
Network instability in the BRT Bogota model
The option of the Bogota BRT was the second mass transit option suggested by the network
of international BRT agents. From the interviews, I found that advocates of BRT used the
discourse of it being low-cost, less technical, flexible in using existing road infrastructure and
quick in implementation to convince the local policymakers. As one of the interviewees said:
The affordable, efficient, and reliable public transport provision was the main
reason to support the option of BRT over LRT (Interviewee, 2018).
The concept of BRT made its entry into the local mass transit network of Pakistan after 2008.
However, the BRT features created conflict between the federal and provincial-level transport
LRT
JICA
ADB
MV Asia
PMLQ
Transport
Dept.
WB
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institutions. The actors in the BRT network compared the features of the Bogota model with
the features of light rail. As mentioned by a transport engineer from TEPA:
The Bogota model was not giving an image of modern transport … it was a high-
capacity bus … that was not enough to convince the people of Lahore, who were
earlier looking towards light rail (Interviewee, 2018).
In the network of the Bogota model, the international actors and federal-level institutions
promoted this BRT option based on low cost and fewer technical requirements, whereas the
actors at provincial and local levels were looking for an alternative to light rail. These
differences created internal conflicts between the actors in the BRT network and it could not
develop stability in network associations, as shown in Figure 6.4. In this case, again the role
of political actor PPP was changed and created instability in network, the white node of PPP
shows the instable position of political actor in the network. Furthermore, the actor network of
Bogota model was not intact because the list of advocates of BRT Bogota model were different
at federal and the provincial. At federal level UNDP with PAKSTRAN proposed BRT option
whereas at provincial level, Mayor of Bogota and ITDP, suggested the Bogota model at local
transport institutions. The actor network of Bogota model was further divided into two sets of
actors (grey-coloured nodes) with no mutual connections with each other. For instance, the
UNDP and PAKSTRAN had no connection with Mayor of Bogota and local transport
institutions. Additionally, the mayor of Bogota did not approach the federal level transport
institutions but only contacted the provincial and city level actors. Overall, in this actor network
only the role of ITDP was as an intermediary connecting the international and local level actors
but the network connections were not intact and stable for policy transfer.
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Figure 6.4: Second sub-actor network of BRT Bogota model
(Source: Author)
Network stability in the Istanbul Metrobus model
The Istanbul Metrobus model was the third mass transit option that local policymakers
considered in Lahore. My findings highlight those local policymakers selected the Metrobus
concept as an alternative to LRT in Lahore as one of the delegation members said:
Metrobus was cheaper than light rail because it was a bus-based system but with
modern features such as an intelligent transport system (ITS), dedicated right of
way and integration of park-and-ride facility, making it an advanced version of a
conventional bus system (Interviewee, 2018).
In my analysis, the Istanbul Metrobus concept acted as a hybrid version of BRT (Bogota
model) and LRT in Lahore. For instance, the Metrobus had a high-capacity service operated
at scheduled intervals with automatic traffic signal priority over the rest of the traffic. Those
features ensured a fast, safe, and reliable public transport service like a train or light rail. The
project cost for the Metrobus was initially calculated at 10 million USD but later implemented
for 30 million USD for a 27 km route, whereas the cost of light rail was estimated at around
1.6 billion USD for a 27 km route (Punjab, n.d.). Through the low costs, the Metrobus was also
BRT
Bogota
ITDP
UNDP
PAKSTRAN
PPP
LTC
UU
Bogota Mayor
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like the BRT Bogota model. Therefore, the option of the Istanbul Metrobus became a hybrid
mass transit mode.
The Istanbul Metrobus option also helped to remove gaps between actors inside the network.
The local transport institutions of Lahore were interested in executing a mass transit option,
political actors were willing to compete with light rail before the pending elections in 2013 and
at an international level Pakistan and Turkey were committed to creating economic and social
stability between Islamic countries through the ECO and D-8. In this scenario, the Metrobus
project provided an opportunity to create purposeful and intact relations between the local
level actors and international actors.
In the ANT terms, intactness in the network occurs when there are close contacts between
actors in the network. In addition, the trust, confidence and historical relations between Turkey
and Pakistan also created closeness between the actors of policy borrower and lender and
kept the network of the Istanbul Metrobus intact and stable. The longer the stability of network
connections between actors lasted, the more intact the network was and the easier it was to
initiate the process of policy transfer. Although public participation and planning professionals
as actors were missing but engineering elites as well as political leaders were dominant in
establishing networks and thus ANT reflected organic nature of network connection in transfer.
Finally, the policymakers in Lahore selected the option of the Istanbul Metrobus and
implemented it as the first mass transit option in the country. The Istanbul Metrobus model
was more influential because the PMLN, the political party, supported this project – the Chief
Minister of the PMLN was in power in Punjab province – and furthermore the local policy actors
were also impressed by the image of Istanbul, as highlighted above, during their visit to
Istanbul. Finally, the Istanbul Metrobus model as shown in Figure 6.5 was more intact, stable,
and influential because there were close connections between international and local political
actors, as shown with a similar colour. Likewise, there was acceptance of the technology at
the local level by political actors and transport-related institutions as well, as shown with the
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green colour. Overall, all the actors were closely connected in the Istanbul Metrobus, which
led the policymakers to select this option as the preferred mode of mass transit.
Figure 6.5: Third sub-actor network of the Istanbul Metrobus model
(Source: Author)
Three sub-networks made an intact actor network to transfer BRT
In this section I describe using the concept of heterogenous assemblages, the complete policy
transfer process of mass transit concept as an intact network of actors in Lahore. The
heterogenous assemblages assigned equal positions to the roles of human and non-human
actors. The roles of the actors are described in previous sections and here the three sub-
networks are discussed as merging into a single intact network.
Initially I identified the list of actors performing different roles and categorised them in the form
of three sub-actor networks. The list included both human and non-human actors that
developed purposeful connections with each other. I found that to initiate the actor network for
the transfer of the mass transit technology, the international actors acted as policy promoters
and identified three different mass transit technology models in Pakistan. The local transport
institutions and transport policy documents were not able to play effective roles in selecting
the mass transit technology due the non-integrated transport planning system in Pakistan and
because the other more powerful actors did not ask for their opinions. Furthermore, the
Istanbul Metrobus
Ulasiam
Mayor of Istanbul
P&D
Trans. Dept
TEPA
PMLN
CM
Punjab
Albayrak
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political actors significantly impacted on the rational planning of the transport sector and made
it a political process of selection. The changes in socio-political conditions further complicated
the policy transfer process and entangled the network connections.
Overall, I have found through the ANT associations that the complete process of the mass
transit transfer in Pakistan was broken up into several sub-networks. The sub-actor networks
of light rail, Bogota BRT and the Istanbul Metrobus all had their roles in the transfer of the
mass transit concept to Lahore. Therefore, the use of actor–network analysis has exposed the
complexity of transferring a transport policy concept by focusing on the roles of both human
and non-human actors and their mutual associations in the form of networks.
Furthermore, the stable and unstable network connections between different actors also
indicated the roles of external and internal factors in the policy transfer process. For instance,
the political breakups, project image, project cost, project completion time and close
connection between the Mayor of Istanbul and the Chief Minister Punjab, which are clearly
nonmaterial features, showed significant impacts on actor–network associations. Indirectly the
non-material features contributed in a significant manner to the transfer of BRT.
The ANT analysis further demonstrated that different material and non-material features
contributed to stabilising the actor–network associations. The involvement of the three
networks of mass transit modes in the transfer of BRT in Lahore further confirm that policy
transfer of BRT was a complex, contingent and hybrid process. The transfer process was
technical as well as political at the same time. Therefore, the roles of the actors in the policy
transfer process were relational and contextual where both human and non-human actors
were related to each other and supported each other’s actions to make the actor network more
intact.
I use the term ‘intact’ in my research to indicate the concept of completeness in network
connections or having stable network connections between actors. An intact network means
closely connected actors in the network. The connection between two or more actors depends
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upon the interests of the actors. Therefore, the bond between actors with similar interests can
create intactness in a network for the effective, quick, and easy transfer of a transport policy
concept. For instance, in my analysis the network of the Istanbul Metrobus was more intact as
compared to the networks of light rail and Bogota BRT, and therefore policymakers selected
the option of the Istanbul Metrobus as the preferred mode of mass transit.
By focusing on the complexity of the transport policy transfer process, this study provides a
comprehensive overview of the policy transfer process of the mass transit concept in Pakistan.
Figure 6.6 illustrates the different stages of transferring the concept of mass transit. Although
analysis of policy transfer in this study is confined to the implementation of the Istanbul
Metrobus concept, the transfer of mass transit did not stop with the Istanbul Metrobus. Firstly,
the Istanbul Metrobus has been further transferred to other cities in Pakistan. In 2013 it was
called the Lahore Metrobus model, but later in 2017 five other cities of Pakistan also
implemented the concept of BRT with provincial funding and local policymakers called it the
Pakistan Metrobus model. Secondly, light rail has also been implemented in Lahore so that a
further policy transfer has taken place, instead of an extension of the BRT network in Lahore.
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Figure 6.6: Overview of transfer process of mass transit to Lahore
(Source: Author)
Overall, I have shown in this chapter how, during the process of BRT transfer, the actions of
local and international actors revolved around three different modes of mass transit
technology: light rail, BRT in the Bogota model and the Istanbul Metrobus model. Therefore,
in the network associations I assigned the role of mediator to the mass transit technology
because the influence of the mass technology impacted on the choices of policymakers in the
selection and transfer of BRT.
Conclusion
Finally, I conclude in this chapter that the transfer of a transport policy concept such as BRT
is not a simple transfer of transport technology; instead, it is technical, political, contextual and
a hybrid process which includes both human and non-human actors in the form of networks.
Section 6.1 has explored the role of international actors as policy promoters of the mass
transit concept in Pakistan. Although previous studies have also indicated the influential role
of international actors in promoting the trends of using private transport modes through
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motorisation and road development in Pakistan (Imran & Low, 2007), the results of this
research further highlight the influence of non-human actors over human policy actors in
making transport policy decisions at a local level.
Section 6.2 has examined the roles of political actors and the implications of socio-political
conditions for policy selection and implementation. For instance, three different political parties
in the country favoured three different mass transit models as part of the policy transfer. These
findings confirm the arguments of transport policy transfer scholars that policy exchange in
the transport sector is highly political and not only a technical process (Nguyen & Pojani, 2018;
Si et al., 2020; A. Wood, 2014; Wu & Pojani, 2016).
Section 6.3 has described the critical role of transit technology as a mediator in the policy
transfer process. The role of transit technology in policy transfer was found to be that of a
controlling or central actor that kept the actor network intact and complemented the transfer
process. However, the political actors used the agency of the mass transit technology to create
stability in the relevant actor–network associations. The process of transport policy transfer is
considered rational, whereas in Lahore the field visits of local policy actors, the unexpected
influence of mass transit technology and political rivalry removed the rationality from the policy
transfer process.
Overall, the selection of the Istanbul Metrobus model in Lahore instead of the Bogota BRT
model confirms the arguments of Pojani (2020), Silva Ardila (2020), Wood (2015) and Montero
(2020) that policy exchange happens through close political ideologies, contextual relations,
personal associations and geographical connections using the global policy transfer networks
of actors. The findings of this section extend the understanding of global policy transfer
networks by showing an additional dimension in how lived experiences, policy documents,
technology inspirations and political rivalry created influences on mass transit technology as
non-human actors and played significant roles in the BRT transfer process.
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Chapter 7 – The Fascination with the Elevated Busway in BRT
Translation
This chapter explores the second research question: How was the universal concept of BRT
translated and adapted to the local geographical and political contexts of Pakistan and how
have these transformations influenced the longer-term BRT outcomes? I describe here how
non-human objects influenced the thinking of local policy actors in BRT transfer. As a result,
human actors assigned different meanings to the design features of BRT and created local
level variations in the universal concept of BRT. I explore the changing of the BRT route design
based on following words of Latour (2002) and analyse how the local policy actors were
impressed by the agency of non-human objects and used the influence of non-human actors
in BRT transfer:
You [Non-human actors] possess meaning perhaps … but you, no longer have
reality, or else have it merely in the symbolic, subjective, collective, or
ideological form … although we [human actors] are able to grasp it objectively
(Latour, 2002, p. 15).
To explore the influence of non-human objects in creating local-level variations in BRT
transfer, I use the translation framework of the ANT approach. The framework of translation
shows the complexity of relationships between human and non-human actors for a certain
purpose to perform an action (Callon, 1999b). Therefore, using a translation framework allows
exploration of the local fascination with the elevated busway as part of BRT implementation at
the local level. It also describes how different policy actors were involved in changing the
design of the Lahore BRT route during policy transfer. The translation analysis further shows
the longer-term implications of changing the design of the BRT route at a local level.
This chapter is divided into four sections. Section 7.1 describes my personal reflections on the
Lahore Istanbul Metrobus model through a metaphor used by one of my interviewees to
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describe BRT in relation to the Lahore city. Section 7.2 explores the details of introducing the
elevated busway as part of BRT translation at the local level. Section 7.3 highlights the
implications of introducing the elevated busway in Lahore for other BRT projects in Pakistani
cities and Section 7.4 concludes the chapter.
Personal reflections and selection of elevated busway as a central BRT
variation
This chapter starts with my personal reflections on the Lahore Metrobus project during
analysis of how the Lahore Metrobus is different from the other public transport modes in
Lahore. I observed how the Metrobus with its modern features fits into the local transport
system of Lahore and the surrounding areas.
I have found from the interviews with local policy actors that they preferred the BRT concept
over the LRT concept based on the lower cost and fewer technical requirements of BRT, as
discussed in Chapter 6. However, from my personal observations I identified that some
features of the Lahore Metrobus made it a controversial choice as a BRT project. For instance,
the design model of Metrobus Lahore was different compared to international examples of
BRT in terms of both cost and service. In terms of cost, it was a high-cost BRT project. In
terms of service, I observed that the Metrobus option is a single-route transit project and not
well integrated with the local public transport modes. Furthermore, a remark by one of the
senior urban planners of the LDA in the interview inspired my analysis:
It [the Lahore Metrobus] is just an artificial jewel that is worn over shabby attire
(Interviewee, 2018).
This was a unique interpretation of the Metrobus for me. I asked the interviewee to explain
why he thought the Metrobus was ‘an artificial jewel’ and what he meant by ‘shabby attire’.
According to him, the Metrobus was an expensive option with fancy features, making it a jewel
in the non-integrated and poor service of local transport system as shabby attire. I further
analyse his statement through my observations as part of this research.
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To explore the position of the Metrobus as a jewel in the local transport system, I visited all
the Metrobus stations and examined the on-site provision of different infrastructure features
as part of the Metrobus project in Lahore during the data collection phase of my study. To
describe the local-level variations, I triangulated the interview data regarding infrastructure
features with the site observations and the focus group discussion and analysed the role of
these features in the transfer of the Metrobus concept. For instance, while travelling on the
Metrobus I compared its features with those of the conventional urban bus of the LTC and
analysed why the Metrobus was different and unique in the local transport system of Lahore.
This analysis helped me to understand why the interviewee called the Metrobus a jewel and
then I further explored the reasons for the artificiality of the jewel.
First to describe the metro bus as a jewel, in my site observation, I saw a large, shiny, red
articulated bus coming towards the station. When it stopped, I noticed that the Metrobus
entered the metro station fully covered with fabricated glass shelters and parked in front of
elevated platforms in designated bus bays, whereas for LTC buses without dedicated bus
bays only roadside sheds are provided for embarking and disembarking passengers. On the
other hand the metro bus stations were newly designed with fabricated glass despite of
considering the local weather in summer and glass design was also criticised by local media
and called as an inappropriate selection (News, 2013). Furthermore, passengers on the
Metrobus are all lined up and controlled by special entry gates giving access one by one to
the designated Metrobus platforms to prevent passenger congestion at entry points. In
contrast, on LTC buses passengers hardly wait for boarding and rush to embark without giving
time for the other passengers to disembark. In this situation, the entry gates, passenger control
and dedicated passenger rows inside the Metrobus platforms were distinguishing features
making the Metrobus project modern and technically advanced in comparison to the local LTC
buses.
Furthermore, the modern Metrobus features were based on automation, and I find automation
to be a key component of the Metrobus as a jewel. In my opinion the use of automation as a
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part of the Lahore Metrobus project was there to signal an arrival of mass transit technology
in the city in an automated, low labour hours and more productive future. However, the
features were not fully automated in terms of functionality but created a modern appearance.
For instance, the automatic ticket-vending machines issue special Metrobus cards if you want
to have multiple rides, while the token machines issue special tokens in the form of coins if
you want to have only a single ride. Then the automatic turnstiles near platform areas ensure
no entry without a ticket and a single entry at a time. Additionally, there were auto-security
walkthrough gates at the entrance of Metrobus stations to ensure public safety (these turn on
an alarm if someone enters carrying any weapon or metal). There was an auto-controlled
security system based on closed circuit television, proper lighting to ensure travel safety at
night-time and a new passenger communication system on platforms. Again, based on
automation, automatic glass doors give access from the passenger area to Metrobus doors,
special screen shields and expensive fabricated glass bus stations that provide shelter from
rain and there is an intelligent transport system (ITS) for Metrobus operation (from my field
notes).
Yet, from my visit to all the Metrobus stations I observed the automation was a form of
artificiality because the features of automation were introduced in a symbolic manner and not
in a functional manner. Automation was giving the Metrobus project only a separate and
unique identity at the local level. For instance, I noted during my field visit that many people
were employed by the Lahore Metrobus authority to operate turnstiles, to operate ticket
machines, to maintain platform protocols, so the features of the Metrobus were not truly
automated. Instead by employing more people means more labour power as compared to
local buses of LTC (where only two persons, bus driver and ticket collector are involved in bus
operation). Therefore, in true sense the idea of automation based on efficiency, low labour
and more productivity was not achieved and hence demonstrates the artificiality of the jewel.
Furthermore, I also found that the local policy makers used the component of automation to
promote the image of the project as shown in the advertisement see figure 7.1. The metaphor
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of artificial jewel was also shown in the Metrobus advertisement from the Punjab government
at the time of its inauguration. The advertisement shown below focused on highlighting the
automation of turnstiles and escalators as modern features of mass transit technology instead
of promoting it as a low cost and integrated mode of public transport. Additionally, I found two
words in this advertisement in the local language (Urdu) which symbolised the Metrobus as a
jewel; munfarad which means ‘unique’ and jadeed which means ‘modern’. These two words
further demonstrate that Lahore Metrobus was planned more as a jewel.
Figure 7.1: Advertisement for Lahore Metrobus designed by Punjab government showing it as a ‘modern’ and ‘unique’ public transport mode
(Source: Dawn Daily, 2012)
I further analysed the artificiality of jewel based on the implementation of the Metrobus project
in Lahore. I have identified through field observations that the concept of the Metrobus was
different from the standard BRT examples like those of Curitiba and Bogota. It was different
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because instead of a network it was a single route and instead of integrating non-motorised
mobility modes like cycling and walking, the Lahore Metrobus model was promoting use of
paratransit modes like rickshaws and Qingqis.
The ITDP guidelines propose the integration of BRTand non-motorised mobility options as an
integral part of the BRT concept. The BRT ranking system of the ITDP also confirms that no
city can have bronze, silver, or gold levels of BRT unless it has introduced walking and cycling
plan as part of BRT project (ITDP 2013). By having only BRT buses and a single route, the
Lahore BRT comes under the category of basic BRT with only 50 points (ITDP, 2013). The
point system in the BRT ranking is based on design criteria for BRT design, operation,
integration with other transport modes, safe pedestrian crossings, shorter pedestrian wait
times, proper bicycle lanes, dedicated bicycle areas at BRT stations, offboard fare system,
BRT service in the form of a network etc. (ITDP, 2008). The basic score for the Lahore BRT
model shows that in Lahore the policy actors focused more on introducing fancy features for
BRT to present it as a modern and different mode as compared to LTC buses, rather than
integrating it with other transport modes. The ITDP guidelines regarding the integrated and
networked service provision of BRT were ignored and after spending 30 million USD for a
single route of 27 km, the Lahore BRT is categorised as a basic BRT service. Therefore, the
high cost of metro bus as compared to the average ITDP cost and the absence of walking and
cycling options as a part of BRT project confirm the artificiality of the jewel.
In addition to this during my site visit the most surprising and unique feature for me was the
exclusively constructed elevated busway only for the Lahore Metrobus. No other mode of
traffic uses the elevated route. Clearly the elevated route is a distinguishing feature between
the Metrobus and the rest of the traffic in Lahore. The local policy actors designed the
Metrobus project with a fancy set of infrastructure features including the elevated busway to
make it a distinct and modern transport project. However, I discovered this feature is not
appropriate for the local public transport users due to the following observations.
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I have also observed the thinness of the automation and the sophistication in relation to more
vulnerable passengers when I saw some women with children not using the escalators. I
asked them why they did not use it and they said that they did not use the escalators because
sometimes they suddenly stop due to power failures (which are quite a common occurrence
in Lahore) and due to the high steps it became hard to move, especially with children.
Therefore, they preferred not to use the escalators and instead used the long staircases. In
the context of the local conditions and cultural demands of public transport users, the provision
of expensive electric escalators to reach the bus route created some questions in my mind
regarding the design of the elevated busway. Furthermore, I also saw a disabled person in his
wheelchair very close to the staircase of the Lahore Metrobus station. He said:
I come here daily and spend time looking at people coming up and down and
enjoying the Metrobus. I keep myself happy just by observing other people who
can enjoy the new ride in the city because I cannot (Field notes, 2018).
I found from his words that he was a missing actor who wanted to travel but could not. This is
mainly because of the elevated design of the busway (see Figure 7.2) and the lack of lifts.
Figure 7.2: The elevated bus station of Lahore Metrobus, the staircase, and the disabled person
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Additionally, I also found from the analysis of the interviews that the elevated route design was
the most conflict-ridden part of the Metrobus project between the urban planners and transport
engineers in Lahore city. Considering the differing points of view of different policy actors
regarding the elevated route option and because of its deviation from the standard BRT
concept. I assume in this chapter that the elevated route was the main feature making the
Lahore Metrobus an artificial jewel in the local transport system. Therefore, I have selected
the component of the elevated design of the bus route to explore further in this chapter as a
local-level variation that took place during the BRT transfer in Lahore.
Translation analysis: the story of the influential role of elevated busway
In this section I analyse how the local policy actors made the decision on the elevated route
by using ANT-based translation analysis (Callon, 1999b). Translation analysis describes how
various actors assign different meanings to the same material object or technology which
changes the relations between the different human actors (Latour, 2011; Law, 2009). In simple
words, when there is a change of actors the context and the understanding of an object
changes as well. The translation analysis of the ANT approach focuses on the roles of actors,
the causes of actions, the mutual connections between actors and finally the process of
assigning agency through actor–network associations to carry out an action (Latour, 2005).
This is a gradual process of making and remaking connections between different actors and
it is hard to predict what will happen at the end. Callon (1999b, 1999a) structured translation
analysis by dividing it into the four stages of problematising an issue, engaging various human
and non-human actors, stabilising connections between them and finally assigning the power
through actor–network associations to complete the process as described in section 3.4.3.
In the translation analysis, to describe the story of the elevated bus route design, first I
identified the local-level actors who generated the need to change the design of the on-the-
ground route. Then I highlighted how the local policy actors belonging to different transport
organisations such as the Transport Department, TEPA and PMTA found reasons for
choosing the elevated option. The analysis of various arguments for the elevated design made
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by those actors shows how the elevated option created fascination at the local level.
Furthermore, I found there was a process of engaging more actors in favour of the elevated
route, although there were some actors who resisted this option as well. However, the actors
showing resistance to the elevated route option were not able to influence the other policy
actors. Finally, the local policy actors were influenced more by the symbolic presence of the
elevated route rather than the high project cost, as per Latour's (1996) argument that a non-
human’s role can be minimal but equally effective. The case of the Lahore BRT shows in the
empirical results how the local policy actors were attracted to the elevation and changed the
design of the Metrobus.
Finally, I have also found that the symbolic influence on BRT transfer was not limited only to
the Lahore BRT project but was further transferred to another five cities of Pakistan as well.
In Pakistan all the BRT projects have been implemented with elevated routes and translation
analysis shows this unexpected outcome of the symbolic influence on the BRT transfer at the
local level. As Callon and Blackwell (2007) described, translation analysis highlights organic,
undetermined or unexpected outcomes based on changing connections between different
actors.
In the following sections I describe the further details of the translation analysis.
The actors generating the need for the elevated busway
In this section I explore the reasons that there was felt to be a need to introduce the option of
an elevated route and who generated this need. I found from the interviews that initially the
Metrobus route was planned to be on the ground, but later the policy actors made changes to
the design so that part of the route became elevated. One of the interviewees from TEPA
stated:
The option of an elevated route for the Metrobus was proposed by the local
design engineers because when we saw the design of the Turkish consultants, it
was all on the ground. But according to the local traffic congestion at some points
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on Ferozepur Road, we required more land to accommodate the central lane for
BRT (Interviewee, 2018).
The above statement shows that the first controversy arose between the Turkish designers
and the local designers because five of the planned stations – Ferozepur Road, Bhatti Timber
Market, Shamaa, Ichra and Katachri – were in highly congested areas (as stated in interviews)
and it would be difficult to accommodate the new bus lane. However, there was another
challenge for local design engineers as the following quote shows:
The Punjab government assigned a clear deadline for Metrobus project
completion by the end of 2012 … before the election ... we had to find some quick
solution (Interviewee, 2018).
The word ‘quick’ indicates the need for further action. The objective of early completion
demanded the engagement of new actors in the process to complete the required action. The
existing actors were the local political actors, the local transport engineers, the Turkish
consultants, and the on-ground design. The gap between the existing actors opened when the
local transport designers required land and more time, whereas the political actors wanted a
quick solution. In the ANT philosophy non-human actors unknowingly make their presence felt
and unintentionally create connections with human actors, and the non-humans can also
change the mutual connections between human actors and demand further actions from the
humans in a network (Latour, 1996a).The definition of an actor in the ANT approach is one
that has the ability to do something (Law, 1992).
In the actor network analysis, I found that local political leaders first engaged local transport
engineers to act on their behalf. The political actors indicated the need to complete the project
earlier. The local transport policy actors wanted to introduce the Metrobus as a transit mode
to reduce traffic congestion and as an alternative to light rail. In this scenario, the elevation
created a fascination for all the human actors in performing the desired action of completing
the project earlier but in a unique way. However, this was not simple as it appears because
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the local policy actors had their own perceptions and experiences of elevation. Different policy
actors wanted to introduce the elevated design for different reasons.
Elevated route – the familiar approach of local transport engineers
I found that the group of local policy actors who were transport engineers preferred the
elevated bus route from an engineering perspective. In Pakistan local transport engineers
have an ongoing practice of building flyovers, considering it an optimum way to avoid traffic
congestion (Haider & Badami, 2004; Imran, 2009). One of the traffic engineers from TEPA
said:
The option of an elevated route was not a new thing … we have already designed
a number of flyovers in the city [Lahore] to ease traffic congestion … the only
difference is now instead of cars, the Metrobus would use this path (Interviewee,
2018).
From the above statement the words ‘not a new thing’ show that for the local transport
engineers the elevated route was not a new actor in the local transport system. Instead, the
new actor was the Metrobus using the elevated path. The local policy actors were already
using the option of flyovers as a solution to manage traffic congestion, as Lahore has 11
flyovers (Transport Department, 2019). I found in my analysis that the thinking behind it being
‘not a new thing’ was already channelling the elevated bus route design in the minds of local
policy actors. As Latour said, ‘the nonverbal language of objects can shape the future of actor
networks by influencing the human relations with objects and nonetheless the influence of
objects cannot be underestimated’ (Latour, 1996b p 84).
In my opinion, the influence of elevation was embedded in the minds of local policy actors,
and they coupled the old practice of flyovers with the new BRT concept. Although the provision
of an elevated busway had the potential to change the overall rationale for providing BRT by
changing it from low cost to high cost, the policy actors ignored the issue of cost and preferred
to continue with the previous practice of constructing flyovers to deal with traffic congestion.
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Furthermore, the experts from TEPA also believed that the change of the on-ground route
option was necessary because it was creating conflict with the main objective of introducing
BRT. As one of the interviewees from TEPA said:
The main reason for providing mass transit on Ferozepur Road was to avoid
traffic congestion; however, reserving one lane for the Metrobus [in the on-ground
option] could potentially trigger congestion because then the space allocation per
unit mode for private modes could be reduced … to avoid future traffic, we
needed more space to widen the existing road or to change the route of the
Metrobus to an elevated option (Interviewee, 2018).
This means the local policymakers were not considering modern techniques for controlling
traffic congestion such as mode segregation, scheduling, auto signalling, traffic sequencing or
rerouting the connectivity of different modes of traffic in peak traffic hours, which do not require
road widening (D. M. Levinson & Krizek, 2005). Instead, they were only focusing on the
conventional engineering options of controlling traffic by either road widening or construction
of flyovers. Overall, I found that due to the previous practice of providing flyovers for traffic
control, the local policy actors were influenced to provide an elevated option and no other
traffic management solution was considered.
Furthermore, in my opinion the provision of BRT and promotion of private modes of traffic
were two opposite approaches to transport planning. After implementing a mass transit
concept, to promote its use transport authorities often aim to minimise the use of private
modes such as cars in the mass transit areas. This concept is successfully practised in
Bogota, where policymakers introduced the idea of car-free days in the city after BRT
implementation (Badiozamani, 2003). Whereas in Lahore the policy actors did not introduce
any measures to restrict or minimise the use of private modes, instead ensuring the use of
private modes even after BRT implementation by changing the alignment of the BRT route
from on-ground to elevated.
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The analysis of the above scenario has shown that for local policy actors the elevated route
was already established in their minds, and they did not consider any other option. In short,
the words ‘not a new thing’ was an indicator of a relation between the elevated option and the
local policy actors. The local policy actors in this network were the transport engineers of
TEPA, who are assigned to design, construct and manage road development in Lahore.
Therefore, their solution to designing the Metrobus route was like their design of roads: a
conventional flyover.
Elevated route –the design feature in common with the Lahore light rail project
In this section I analyse how the option of the elevated route was preferred by the local policy
actors from the Transport Department who were initially part of the light rail project and later
involved in the planning team for the Lahore Metrobus project.
The translation analysis has highlighted that the team members for the light rail project did not
forget their lived experience of using the light rail technology in Tokyo during their site visit as
part of the JICA project. They wanted the Metrobus to appear as modern as light rail and saw
the elevated busway as a way that the Metrobus could resemble the light rail option. One of
the interviewees said:
If the Lahore Metrobus project was selected as an alternative to light rail and it
was aimed to provide service on the Green route [the route first designed for the
light rail] then the route design should be like light rail, an elevated design
(Interviewee, 2018).
The above statement reveals that the local policy actors who wanted to implement light rail in
the city were trying to create commonalities between both mass transit modes. For instance,
the Metrobus project was designed using the details of the feasibility study conducted for the
light rail project and the initially planned Green route for light rail was selected for Metrobus
operation. Now the local policy actors wanted to introduce another common feature in the
route design in terms of an elevated route. The preference of local policy actors for an elevated
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busway shows that although the political actors rejected the light rail option on a political basis
(as highlighted in Section 6.2). The local policy actors were still thinking to create maximum
resemblance with the light rail project and promote the option of the Metrobus as a train-like
project. Although the use of an elevated route for light rail can be effective for grade separation
from local traffic. According to Woodcock and Stone (2015), it is rarely observed that elevated
routes are also used by buses and trams.
As per the ANT understanding, objects are faithful messengers of human actors (Latour,
2005). This means the local policy actors were visualising the design of light rail by using the
elevated route option. I have also found arguments by local actors that elevation would create
design similarity between the two mass transit modes to be an outcome of Callon's (1986)
finding that humans face a series of non-humans that eventually become visible actors.
Because the local policy actors were trying to keep the influence of the light rail project alive
at least by implementing the same route design at the local level.
In this section I have found that the imagination and intention of local policy actors to show the
Metrobus was not of lesser value than light rail, at least in appearance, was their key reason
for preferring the elevated route. The local policy actors were trying to create an image of the
Metrobus as like light rail and therefore the elevated route was part of the BRT’s branding. As
one of the interviewees from the Transport Department said:
The Metrobus would provide a transit facility more than a bus, close to a train-
like service (Interviewee, 2018).
The following Figures 7.3 and 7.4 also show how local policy actors were trying to create a
common design connection between the proposed light rail route and the newly designed
Metrobus route.
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Figure 7.3: Elevated route design proposed for light rail in Lahore
(Source: Reference design of LRMTS – Green Line report)
Figure 7.4: Elevated route design constructed for Lahore Metrobus
(Source: Author 2018)
Elevated route – the resemblance to the Bosphorus Bridge, Istanbul
In this section I highlight how the idea of the elevated bus route was developed by the
delegation members of Lahore who had visited Istanbul to observe the Istanbul Metrobus
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model. I found from the route design that the Istanbul Metrobus model had the option of an
elevated route in the form of the Bosphorus Bridge. One of the interviewees said:
We [Pakistani delegates] saw on the Bosphorus Bridge … cars were waiting in
long traffic queues, but the Metrobus was running swiftly on the bridge … we
wanted the same for Lahore (Interviewee, 2018).
The above statement depicts the perception of local policy actors about the elevated route. In
Istanbul the Bosphorus Bridge carries vehicular traffic along with BRT buses; however, when
the BRT operates on the bridge, cars and the rest of traffic are stopped by signals to give
priority only to buses (Babalik-Sutcliffe & Cengiz, 2015). This inspiration that the bridge gives
priority to the Metrobus was translated in an expensive manner to Lahore in the form of an
elevated busway for the Lahore Metrobus.
This analysis has further shown that the delegation members were influenced by the
Bosphorus Bridge merely based on its appearance. As per ANT:
Non-human agency is complicated but nonetheless … humans do what things
want them to do (Latour, 2005, p. 72).
In the ANT approach, different terms like things, objects, artefacts etc. are used mainly under
the umbrella term of non-human actors (Callon, 1998; Latour, 1996a). Therefore, as per ANT
understanding, non-human actors can perform multiple actions in relation to human actors
such as allowing, restricting, encouraging, influencing, affording or permitting human actions
as part of actor networks (Callon & Blackwell, 2007; Latour, 1996a, 2002). I found from the
interviews that local policy actors in Lahore intended to create a resemblance between the
Lahore and Istanbul Metrobus design models. According to the ANT perspective, the
Bosphorus Bridge was a ‘thing’ in this process and created an ‘influence’. Therefore, in simple
words, the option of an elevated busway was introduced because of the resemblance to its
archetype. In ANT terms, any actor that has capacity to perform direct actions or facilitate
other actors to change the meaning of a material object during translation is a mediator or
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central actor (Laurier & Philo, 1999). I argue that the role of the elevated route was as a
mediator because the concept of elevation changed not only the design of the route but also
increased the cost and the eventual outcomes of the BRT in Lahore.
The network analysis has further highlighted that in the case of Istanbul, the bridge was an
inherited part of the Metrobus route because it was not specifically constructed for the Istanbul
Metrobus project. However, in the case of the Lahore Metrobus the local policy actors
deliberately designed the elevated busway to create a resemblance to the Bosphorus Bridge
and to make the Lahore Metrobus a mirror image of the Istanbul Metrobus. As one of the
interviewees said:
By altering the whole on-ground route option of the Metrobus to some part of an
elevated route … the Lahore Metrobus model could be more like the Istanbul
model … because to get a similar service, similar design features were required
(Interviewee, 2018).
The above statement indicates the symbolic connections created by policy actors between the
elevated busway of Lahore and the Bosphorus Bridge of Istanbul. The local policy actors
indicated that similarity between the Lahore and Istanbul Metrobus models would be achieved
through an elevated busway for the Lahore Metrobus project. This translation of the Bosphorus
Bridge in BRT transfer shows that in policy transfer process the non-cognitive thinking was
involved as described by Schneider (2012).
As per my overall analysis, the decision on an elevated route was based on the combination
of all three scenarios mentioned above, as different actors argued for elevation for different
reasons. Finally, the local policy actors decided to use the option of elevation. However, these
findings also indicate how the fascination with elevation developed in different group of actors
that assigned agency to elevation in different ways according to their own imagination, thinking
and influences.
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The results of translation analysis confirm the argument of Callon and Blackwell (2007) that
there is no fixed or described way to assign agency to non-human actors or to get back that
agency from them. The findings have also shown that elevation was everything for local actors:
elevation had agency to solve local traffic congestion, it could lift the status of the Metrobus to
that of light rail and it could even resemble the Bosphorus Bridge route option. Therefore, they
preferred the elevated option instead of changing the on-ground route design in other ways.
Although local policy actors assigned a strong position to elevation in the local design of the
Metrobus, there were some actors who resisted the elevated design option as discussed
below.
Local level resistance to elevated route design
In this section I highlight the resistance generated by some actors to the elevated design.
Firstly, the local urban designers of the Architecture Department in Lahore criticised the option
of an elevated route as an inappropriate feature of the BRT concept. One of them said:
The elevated route is a ‘visual barrier’ in the skyline of Lahore city because the
Metrobus route passes along some historical sites such as the Royal Mosque,
Lahore Fort, the iconic building of Government College, Shrine of Data Sahib
(Interviewee, 2018).
Secondly, the members of Save Lahore (in Urdu Lahore Bachao), a local NGO working to
preserve the historical and cultural values of Lahore, also criticised the elevated route design
and one of the interviewees stated:
It [the elevated route] ruins the history and the culture of the city. The giant bridge
structure beside the archaeological sites is an absolute stigma on the façades of
historical buildings (Interviewee, 2018).
The above statements depict the disagreement and concerns of local urban designers on the
design of the Metrobus model from the perspective of the historical importance of the city and
the skyline of the city. They protested this decision in the form of rallies in the city and applied
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against the project design to the Lahore High Court, as per my interview findings. However,
the translation analysis highlights that they failed in making network connections with more
actors to stop this decision because they were not directly involved in the network of actors
that were in the main positions in this project like the actors of the transport sector, politicians,
and local transport engineers. Therefore, their resistance did not bring any change in the
decision of elevated design.
As per my understanding, a blend of historical buildings and new developments of mass transit
could have been a suitable option for Lahore if local policy actors created an alternative grade
route like the Ahmedabad BRT in India. The Ahmedabad BRT network is 155 km long and its
route alignment includes a number of historical buildings such as the famous ISKCON temple
(Mahadevia et al., 2013). However, the BRT there enhances the historical value of the city by
providing easy access instead of blocking the view of buildings. Although there are significant
similarities between Indian and Pakistani cities including socio-economic conditions, travel
patterns, livelihoods, planning processes and planning regulations (Rizvi, 2014). However, the
local policy actors in Lahore preferred the early completion of the project and focused more
on the symbolic value of the project design and ignored the negative impacts of the elevated
design on the historical value of the city.
I found in my analysis that another important opponent of the design was the local bus
operators. They were against the option of an elevated route as well and considered it an act
of discrimination against local buses. One of the bus operators’ union members said:
A high-rise route to an overseas bus [the Metrobus] conveyed a message to the
local bus operators that the foreign bus will have priority over local buses … they
[local policymakers] dragged out the Metrobus from the local transport
(Interviewee, 2018).
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The above statement highlights the doubts and concerns of local bus operators on the
provision of an elevated busway only for the Metrobus. The new design created rivalry and
conflict between the local bus operators and the new mass transit option of the Metrobus.
Yet, keeping in view the experience of the Bogota model, the local policy actors could have
created a complete integration plan between BRT and local urban bus providers. Studies of
the Bogota BRT have shown that one of the successful features of the TransMilenio is the
involvement of the local urban bus operators of the city as part of the project (Duarte & Rojas,
2012; Hidalgo et al., 2013). Furthermore, the special TransMilenio buses for the BRT project
were also locally designed and constructed, which enhanced local ownership of the project
(Hidalgo et al., 2013). Therefore, instead of creating conflicts between existing bus-operating
companies and the TransMilenio service, the policymakers of Bogota developed coordination
between the modes of public transport, whereas in Lahore assigning an elevated route to the
Metrobus and ignoring the role of local bus operators created conflict and rejection of the
Metrobus by the local bus operators.
In my understanding, the elevated route provided a superior image of the Metrobus compared
to the local bus operators and they considered it a deliberate effort to promote the foreign bus
service over local buses. Although the local policy actors designed the route to ensure the
exclusive right of way for the Metrobus and quick implementation of the project. The local bus
operators received another message from the design of route that Metrobus was given higher
priority by the provincial government, which created a gap between local bus operators and
Metrobus in the city.
Overall, this section has highlighted that to some actors the elevated route portrayed a
negative image of the Metrobus project, and it became a conflict-ridden feature at the local
level. The design conflicts further demonstrate the arguments of Callon and Blackwell (2007)
that network connections between actors are not coherent but unpredictable and contested.
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The elevation as a part of the BRT translation
The translation analysis in this chapter highlights that the political actors generated the need
to find alternatives route designs for quick and easy execution of the Metrobus project. The
local transport actors started to establish the role of the elevated route as an appropriate option
by using the previous agency of flyovers as a solution to deal with traffic problems. They
visualised the role of the elevated busway as performing the same function as the flyovers for
the local traffic of Lahore. However, the imaginative and symbolic role of the elevated busway
was further strengthened when the local design engineers from TEPA found that the proposed
light rail route was elevated as well. The fascination with elevation was at peak in seeing it as
imitating the Bosphorus Bridge as part of the Istanbul Metrobus route. Finally, the symbolic
influence of the elevated busway was developed in the minds of local policy actors, and they
enrolled more actors in favour of the elevated option to create stable actor–network
associations and implementation of the desired route option.
The interviews highlighted that to establish further actor–network connections, the local policy
actors used both social and political discourses. For instance, the design experts from TEPA
used the discourse of equal rights for all traffic users. By using the discourse of equal rights
for all road users, the TEPA experts presented the option of elevation as a solution to minimise
resistance from private car users and to implement the project on time. In this way, the
potential resistance which could come from private transport owners because their right of
way on road was being shared or challenged by the Metrobus was negotiated by providing a
separate route option.
Therefore, the local policy actors shared the idea of elevation as an option to create more
public acceptance. They used the elevated option to engage the local community in favour of
the project by stating that otherwise, in the case of using the same road width car users would
resist and in land acquisition for road-widening the neighbouring properties would be damaged
and local communities could resist and interfere with timely project completion.
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Finally, by using reasons like equity in road usage, less traffic congestion, minimised land
acquisition conflict and quick implementation, the policy actors enrolled more actors in favour
of elevation. Those actors were political representatives, local community groups, transport
users and residents along the Metrobus route, who strengthened the actor–network
associations for the change in design of on ground route. By adding more actors in favour of
an elevated route, finally the elevated busway was executed in the Metrobus design to make
it a modern, quickly implemented and socially equitable public transport option. Thus, the need
for an elevated route for the Metrobus concept that was generated by local policy actors at the
start of the process was finally they executed as part of the BRT translation at local level.
The implementation of an elevated route as part of the BRT project in Lahore created local-
level variations in terms of design, cost and project outcomes as compared to the universal
concept of BRT. Therefore, I have argued in this chapter that the concept of BRT was not
transferred but translated in the form of an elevated Metrobus model in Lahore.
In the next section I further highlight the role of local-level variations in BRT translation by
showing how local-level changes can have longer term implications for BRT outcomes.
Local level transformations – elevated busways as a new trend in
Pakistan
The findings of this section identify the influence of local level transformations in the universal
concept of BRT from two perspectives. The first perspective highlights the influence of BRT
translation on the local transport system of the country, while the second perspective identifies
the political influence that it created at the local level.
From the perspective of local transport, the Lahore Metrobus model sets an example of
modern transport in the local transport system of the country and has created a significant
influence as the first mass transit project in the country. As one of the transport planners said:
Lahore city has set an example of how to improve the public transport for other
cities (Interviewee, 2018).
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The above statement indicates the popularity and wide acceptance of the Metrobus project in
Pakistan. I found that at a domestic level, the Lahore Metrobus model has become one of the
most circulated transport policy solutions in Pakistan. For instance, in 2013 the first elevated
Metrobus was introduced in Lahore. Later, in 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2021 four other Metrobus
projects were implemented. In 2015 it was transferred from Lahore to the Islamabad and
Rawalpindi Metrobus projects in the Punjab. In 2017 it was implemented in Multan. In 2020 it
was inaugurated in Peshawar and in 2021 the Karachi Metrobus is under construction as well.
Therefore, the translation of Lahore Metrobus in five other Pakistani cities demonstrates the
last stage of mobilisation in the translation analysis as per Callon (2007) and confirms that the
action taken via actor network is apparent and well recognised in society.
From the second perspective, I have analysed that there was also the political influence
created by the local-level BRT transformation. For instance, initially the Metrobus concept was
transferred only to the three cities of Punjab but in 2018 the Metrobus concept was transferred
from Punjab province to Peshawar in the second province, KPK (ADB, 2020). In 2020 the third
province, Sindh, also started a BRT project in Karachi (Ministry of Communications Govt. of
Pakistan, 2019). The first Metrobus project, in Lahore, was introduced by the Chief Minister
Punjab. However, later the chief ministers of other two provinces also copied the model of the
Lahore Metrobus in the two provincial capitals.
Therefore, at provincial level the race to introduce Metrobus projects has started, and three
provinces are constructing expensive BRT projects with elevated routes. One of the transport
planners of Lahore said:
The political use of the Metrobus project was totally an unexpected thing for me
… never imagined our politicians would use it [Metrobus] as a card to play their
game (Interviewee, 2018).
The above statement depicts the influence of politics in transport projects in the country. In
particular, the transfer of Metrobus projects from Punjab to two other provinces of Pakistan,
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KPK and Sindh, with provincial governments of different political parties, is an absolute
example of politics over transport.
I have found that another significant influence of local-level transformation is the symbolic role
of the elevated route as a compulsory feature of Metrobus design. At a domestic level, the
transfer of the Lahore Metrobus model to six other cities with an elevated route is a new trend
in BRT transfer overall. As one of the members of the Karachi Metrobus said:
We followed the model of Lahore, and an elevated route was introduced to
distinguish between the services of the Metrobus and other local buses
(Interview, 2018).
The above statement highlights the local-level acceptance of elevated Metrobus routes as a
symbolic transfer of transport infrastructure and overall, now five cities have elevated BRTs,
as shown in Table 7.1.
Table 7.1: Overview of Metrobus projects in Pakistan.
City – Year Total route Elevated route
On ground Total cost
million USD
Funding
Lahore 2013 27 km 10 km 17 km 30 million USD Punjab govt
Islamabad, Rawalpindi 2015
22 km 12 km 10 km 70 million USD Federal + Punjab govts
Multan 2017 18.5 km 12.5 km 6 km 85 million USD Punjab govt
Trans Peshawar 2020
27 km 13.7 km 13.3 km 120 million USD
ADB + KPK provincial govt
Green line Karachi Metrobus 2021
(in process)
26 km 18 km 8 km 185 million USD
Federal + Sindh provincial govts
(Source: PMTA, ABD, 2020)
The above table 7.1, also highlights that BRT projects in Pakistan are expensive and have
changed the universal understanding of the BRT concept from a low-cost transit option to a
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high-cost project. Instead of discouraging the expensive option of elevated busways, the local
policy actors promoted this influential and symbolic transfer.
The trend of replicating the elevated route design in five major cities of Pakistan also identifies
the implications of non-cognitive transport planning practice in the country. It highlights the
planning focus of local policy actors on the physical appearance and symbolic influence of
infrastructure in transport projects, instead of focusing on the functional use and project cost.
As one of the design engineers said:
The Metrobus without a high-rise route is unacceptable at the local level because
the elevated section has added exclusive value to the design and distinguished
it as a modern transport project (Interview, 2018).
This means that by providing an elevated busway, local policy actors in Lahore created
uniqueness in the Metrobus project and no other city was ready to omit this uniqueness when
introducing this project. I have found that the trend of implementing elevated busways started
from Istanbul to Lahore and from Lahore to other Pakistani cities to show that Lahore was not
the only city that has a modern Metrobus project like Istanbul. Figures 7.5 and 7.6 highlight
the copying of the symbolic image of elevated bus routes. Although the populations of these
cities, their traffic demands and the travel patterns of citizens are different, the local policy
actors have provided the same solution – elevated Metrobus projects – to deal with traffic
problems. The transfer of the Metrobus project merely on a political and symbolic basis with
expensive design features highlights the waste of public money and that the decision-making
process needs further attention. The trend of implementing Metrobus projects by different
provincial governments also highlights the political influence in transport planning. It also
shows that the concept of the Metrobus as a foreign transport policy has now strongly
established its position in the local transport system of the country.
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Figure 7.5: Islamabad Metrobus running on elevated route
(Source: Dawn, 2016)
Figure 7.6: Multan Metrobus with elevated route
(Source: PMTA, 2019)
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Overall, my research analysis of BRT translation at local level also describes that political
influence on transport planning is promoting the trend of symbolic and superficial transport
projects for show casing purposes in political elections in the country. Although political
influence on transport planning is widely acknowledged by transport policy experts (Hossain,
2006; Mann & Banerjee, 2011; Vigar, 2017), this research further identifies that in Pakistan
the political influence is mainly promoting the symbolic role and policy transfer of transport
projects, which is a critical insight into transport planning practice at the local level in Pakistan.
Conclusion
The findings of this chapter have described that the universally proposed low-cost option of
BRT was translated as an elevated, expensive, and modern mass transit option in Lahore.
The design of an elevated busway changed the Lahore Metrobus project from a low-cost to a
high-cost BRT project. However, the significant finding of this chapter is the change of design
merely on an inspirational and symbolic basis.
The translation analysis has further demonstrated that local policy actors took inspiration for
the elevated busway from the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul and from the elevated route of the
proposed Lahore light rail project. The policy actors took the decision on the elevated busway
to create a resemblance to the Istanbul Metrobus and to promote the image of the Metrobus
in Lahore as being like a train service. However, the increase in cost was a critical aspect of
the elevated design that local policy actors ignored, instead emphasising the similarity in
appearance of the infrastructure.
The results regarding the influence of local-level transformations further show the risk of using
the agency of elevation in BRT transfer by identifying that the elevated route has established
its strong position in BRT transfer at the country level because after Lahore, five other cities
of Pakistan also implemented Metrobus designs with elevated routes.
Overall, in this chapter I have documented the story of the origination of elevated busways in
Pakistani cities as a critical contribution of my thesis. In the light of this story, I argue that the
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momentary fascination of local policy actors with an elevated route during policy transfer has
created an exceptionally expensive trend of executing BRT projects in Pakistan.
The empirical results from the Lahore case study describe the overall complexity, influence of
non-human objects and role of symbolism during the BRT transfer. In particular, the role of
symbolism in BRT transfer is a new finding in the Pakistani context which provides an addition
to knowledge in the study of transport policy transfer. While Ashmore et al. (2018, 2019) also
highlighted the symbolic impacts of transport options, their focus was on the perspective of
transport users in developing countries. In contrast, the results of this study identify the
impacts of symbolism applied by local policymakers on the outcomes of policy transfer.
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Chapter 8 – Discussion
This chapter presents the discussion of the major findings of this research. The research
findings describe how the complete transfer process of BRT in Lahore took place by focusing
on the roles of various actors during the selection and implementation of the BRT concept in
Lahore. I have found that the BRT transfer occurred via a heterogenous network of human
and non-human actors. To complete the transfer process, multiple actors developed mutual
connections with each other in an actor network (Callon, 1999a; Latour, 1996a).
The key findings of this study are that symbolism played a crucial role in decisions on the
implementation of BRT, that non-human actors played an important role in the policy transfer
and that local transport planners only played a minor role due to a lack of policy guidance. I
have described using the understanding of actor networks how human policy actors (local
experts, political actors, international actors) were influenced by non-humans (mass transit
technology modes, technical studies, technology image etc.) in the selection and
implementation of BRT during the policy transfer. I have further highlighted using the
translation framework of the ANT approach that human policy actors changed their decisions
on BRT design because of inspiration based on objects and technology.
The empirical findings have described that the process of actor network formation was not
coherent because there were changes in the selection of mass transit from light rail to the
Metrobus and changes in the design from on-ground to an elevated busway. These changes
in the BRT transfer process created controversies in the relations between different human
and non-human actors in the networks. However, the network of actors that had more stability
in connections proceeded further and was successful in implementing the Istanbul Metrobus
model.
In this chapter I discuss how the absence of transport policy guidance, the political
interference, and the influence of mass transit technology from foreign cities impacted on the
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rationality of the transport planning process and the policy transfer process of the BRT. As a
result, BRT, which is globally known as a low-cost mass transit option, was translated as a
high-cost project in Lahore.
The chapter is divided into four sections. Section 8.1 provides discussion of the role of actor
networks in the BRT transfer. In Section 8.2, I discuss the implications of symbolism in BRT
translation and Section 8.3 establishes the importance of using ANT in transport policy transfer
analysis. Section 8.4 provides the summary of the discussion chapter.
Transfer of BRT – an outcome of actor networks
This research has shown that the BRT transfer in Lahore occurred via a network of
heterogenous connections between both human and non-human actors. Human actors
involved includes international actors, local political actors, local transport-related policy actors
and local transport planning professionals. Non-human actors were mass transit technology
modes, infrastructure design features and transport policy documents. All these actors were
mutually connected with each other to create an intact network of actors and complete the
policy transfer process.
The findings regarding the role of networks in the BRT transfer confirm the results of policy
mobilities scholars who have argued that policies are transferred through global networks of
policy actors (Evans, 2017a; McCann & Ward, 2013; Prince, 2012; Stone, 2004). However,
the network of global policy actors in the view of policy mobilities is limited to the roles of
human policy actors and their mutual connections, whereas the results of this research have
extended the network by including non-humans, underpinned by the understanding of Law
(1992), Callon (1990) and Latour (2011). I have found in this case study that in the BRT
transfer, the roles of actors were more influential in the form of the actor network rather than
as the individual roles of actors. The following sections provide further details regarding the
roles of non-human and human actors as the network.
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Influential and significant roles of non-human actors
The findings of Chapters 6 and 7 have shown the significant roles of two non-humans: the
mass transit technology and the elevated route. The human policy actors used the influence
and inspiration of the mass transit technology and elevated route, leading to the selection of
the Istanbul Metrobus and to the change in the BRT route design from on-ground to an
elevated busway. In this section I discuss the role of mass transit technology as part of the
actor network involved in the BRT transfer.
In Chapter 6 I have described the roles of non-human actors based on the understanding of
the ANT approach. The ANT based list of non-humans includes objects, things, text,
machines, technology and many more. This also includes inspiration and influence because
non-humans have the capacity to perform symbolic, influential, restrictive and convincing roles
in actor networks (Callon & Blackwell, 2007; John, 2009; Latour, 2005). The findings of
Chapter 6 have shown that different mass transit technologies such as light rail, the
TransMilenio BRT from Bogota and the Istanbul Metrobus model influenced local policy actors
as modern forms of transport technologies. Initially local policymakers were impressed by light
rail based on the international experiences that the international consultants such as JICA
shared with them in the form of technical studies on Lahore. Later JICA also arranged a site
visit to Japan to show the live working of light rail technology there. The ITPD experts and
Mayor of Bogota also delivered a presentation on the Bogota BRT model in Lahore and local
policymakers then considered the option of BRT. However, when the Chief Minister Punjab
visited Istanbul and experienced the Istanbul Metrobus, he was impressed by its technical
features. Turkish experts shared further details with local transport experts in the form of a
technical report on the Metrobus concept and invited a delegation of Pakistani transport
officials to visit Istanbul to observe live details of Metrobus operation.
There were many non-humans such as international transport studies, technical reports on
light rail in Lahore and the presentation of the Bogota BRT system which inspired local policy
actors in favour of mass transit. In ANT terms, these objects or things had the capacity to bring
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some human actors into close network connections by creating a common interest between
them. Callon (1984), Latour (1996b) and Rydin (2013) also highlighted how texts, objects,
transport technology and policy documents as non-humans can create influence to shape
relationships with human actors as part of being an actor. Finally, local policy actors started
developing a broader network of actors to implement an appropriate form of mass transit
technology to solve the local transportation challenges in Lahore.
However, I have found in my analysis that the lived experiences of using a specific mass
transit technology played the most significant role in inspiring human actors. For instance, the
local policy actors who had used the light rail in Tokyo, Japan, during a field visit were greatly
inspired by the features of light rail and wanted to implement it in Lahore. Likewise, the local
actors who experienced the difference between ordinary bus rides and Metrobus rides during
their visit to Istanbul, Turkey, were influenced by the Istanbul Metrobus model. However, the
local actors did not get the chance to experience the technology of the Transmilenio in Bogota
and the impression of Bogota created through the presentation and reports was not as long-
lasting as with the other modes. In ANT terms, the lived influences of mass transit technology
in operation changed the thinking of the human policy actors and led them to take further
action towards their favourite mass transit option.
According to the ANT analysis, I have found the role of mass transit technology to be also a
mediator in the BRT network. The mediators are those actors that have the capacity to change
the relations among other actors and change their actions as well (Callon, 1998, 1999b).
Furthermore, the outputs of mediators cannot be predetermined based on their inputs. Latour
(2005) also said that non-humans create their agency not in an intentional manner but in an
influential manner. Based on this understanding, I have found that mass transit technology
was a mediator because each technology, the LRT, the BRT Bogota model, and the Istanbul
Metrobus model, mediated latent conflicts between local policy actors, thus allowing one of
these technologies to be selected. In my opinion, the mass transit technology had the capacity
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to change the network associations between the international, political, and local actors, and
its role cannot be ignored as part of the BRT transfer process.
In my understanding, the process of establishing a heterogenous network of actors started
when international actors suggested the option of LRT. Light rail as a mass transit technology
was in a central position to attract further new policy actors. Law (1992) also concluded that
technology can allow, restrict, promote, or control human actions by developing a network of
heterogenous connections with other actors (John, 2009; Law, 1992). Therefore, keeping in
view the above discussion, I have shown that the mass transit technology played an influential
role in establishing the network connections with human policy actors. Next, I discuss how
different human actors used the influence of mass transit technology and entered the BRT
transfer network.
Role of international actors as policy promoters
The results from Chapter 6 have identified the role of the international actors as promoters of
mass transit technology as a foreign transport policy concept. I have identified multiple
international actors including international transport consultants such as JICA and MVA Asia
(a Hong Kong–based transport company that prepared the LRT feasibility report and reference
design) that promoted the LRT technology option. International funding agencies such as the
WB and ADB provided technical and development loans to implement the light rail option. The
third group of international actors, the ITDP and Ulesiam, an Istanbul-based Turkish company,
promoted the BRT options of the Bogota model and the Istanbul Metrobus model, respectively,
instead of light rail. These results show that multiple international actors were championing
different mass transit technology modes.
In ANT terms, I have found the role of international actors to be that of intermediaries.
Intermediaries are those actors that act like connectors in the network but have no capacity to
change the network associations (Callon, 1984; Callon, 1986; Law, 1992). In my opinion, the
role of international actors was that of a network connector because the mass transit
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technology modes were already present in the transport sector, but local policy actors were
not familiar with the working of these mass transit technologies. The international actors,
based on their experiences and awareness of mass transit concepts, promoted different
options at the local level. Hence, they acted as connectors or intermediaries to connect local
policy actors with mass transit technology, but they were not able to control the actions of
other actors in the network. Instead, they facilitated the actions of local level actors by
suggesting different modes of mass transit options.
The findings regarding the roles of international actors as promoters and intermediaries of
mass transit options are consistent with the results of transport policy transfer scholars who
have called them transfer agents, policy gurus and policy intermediaries (Marsden et al., 2011;
Stead et al., 2008; Wu & Pojani, 2016, Si et al., 2020). The significance of international actors
in relation with cultural variations in BRT transfer is also recognised (Paget-Seekins, 2015).
In addition, local transport planning studies have also reported the important role of
international transport consultants in developing policy choices at a local level (Haider &
Badami, 2004; Imran, 2009). Imran (2007) particularly recognised the role of international
development organisations such as the WB and IMF in promoting the trends of private
motorisation and road construction in Pakistan through path dependency (Imran & Low, 2007,
2009). However, the results of this study, by applying the understanding of the ANT approach,
have shown that sometimes, unexpectedly, the influence of non-humans like an image of
technology as a modern transport mode can also play a significant role in changing the
thinking of local policymakers who then make transport decisions which are more inspirational
than rational.
Furthermore, this research has also highlighted another point of difference, that in Lahore the
implementation of BRT was not an outcome of the well-known network of BRT actors. For
instance, studies of BRT transfer in the Global South have highlighted the role of the ITDP,
EMBARQ as a member of the BRT Centre of Excellence and Asia BRTS and assigned the
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role of policy intermediaries to these globally known BRT proponents (Hossain, 2006; Wood
& Wood, 2014; Wu & Pojani, 2016). Instead in Lahore, the concept of BRT was transferred
through a network of the Mayor of Istanbul, the Chief Minister of the Punjab province, and a
relatively less experienced BRT-related actor, Ulesiam, a Turkish transport consultant. The
entry of Ulesiam as a BRT consultant and the selection of the Istanbul Metrobus as the
preferred model over the TransMilenio highlights that BRT transfer is not merely technical but
political as well.
In the next section I discuss the role of political actors as part of the BRT network.
Role of political leaders as policy selectors
The results from Chapter 6 have shown that political actors were involved in the final selection
of the mass transit technology options. According to the ANT analysis, there were three sub-
networks of actors for mass transit options in relation to the local political alliances established
as part of the local policy transfer network. The first network was developed for the light rail
option as a project of one political party, the PMLQ. The second network was developed for
the Bogota BRT model by the second political party, the PPP. The third network was
developed for the Istanbul Metrobus model by the third political party, the PMLN. The Chief
Minster Punjab was from the PMLN, which was in power and in charge of all the financial and
administrative resources of the Punjab province. Therefore, by using the power of his position
at that time, the Chief Minister strengthened the network connections at local and international
levels. He was the first local actor who travelled on the Istanbul Metrobus during his visit to
Istanbul. He was so impressed by the Metrobus technology that after his visit he sent a
delegation of local transport experts to observe the technical details of the Istanbul Metrobus.
The delegates from the Lahore Transport Department were also influenced by the technical
and advanced features of the Metrobus. Therefore, the third network of actors was stronger
than the others and finally it was successful in implementing the option of the Istanbul
Metrobus in Lahore.
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The findings from Chapter 6 further highlight that the political stability and leadership
motivations of the ruling party were key factors in the successful completion of the BRT
transfer. These findings support the results from transport policy transfer cases where political
engagement has been described as key for successful policy transfer cases (Ardila-gómez,
2004; Marsden & Stead, 2011; Wood, 2015). Particularly in circulation of the BRT concept to
developing countries, there were strong influential roles of Enrique Peñalosa, the Mayor of
Bogota, and Jaime Lerner, the Mayor of Curitiba (Ardila-gómez, 2004; Duarte & Rojas, 2012).
Furthermore, political instability has been reported as a hurdle to implementing BRT projects
(Changzhou et al., 2010; Rahman, 2008). To this list can be added the Chief Minister Punjab,
the main political actor that the findings show selected the idea of the Istanbul Metrobus model
as the preferred BRT model in Lahore.
The selection of the Istanbul model as the preferred policy option is also consistent with the
results of Prince (2012) in policy mobilities that the process of policy transfer is highly political
and deeply contextual. In Lahore, the implemented option of the Istanbul Metrobus was
perhaps not the best model of BRT according to transport experts; however, politically it was
the most convenient option for local policy actors. Therefore, the policy actors selected the
politically convenient, contextually favourable, and locally trusted choice of the Istanbul model.
Si et al., (2020) also recognised the importance of political ease, cultural connections, and
similar social economic conditions in policy transfer cases particularly in countries of global
south.
Overall, the political stability, committed political leadership and favourable socio-political
conditions collectively strengthened the network connections between the selected mass
transit technology (the Istanbul Metrobus) and local policy actors. However, the influential role
of political actors also indicates the weak position of local transport institutions.
I discuss the role of planning institutions in the next section.
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Ineffective role of local transport planning institutions
The results from Chapter 5 have shown that the transport planning system in Pakistan is poorly
integrated, highly deregulated, and politically influenced. I have also found that there was a
lack of consistency between multilevel transport planning institutions which made the role of
the planning institutions ineffective in the BRT transfer. The transport planning documents,
local transport planning institutions and transport professionals did not perform their roles as
actors in the network. In addition, the discrepancies in the local transport planning system and
the absence of comprehensive transport policy guidelines created further hurdles for transport
planning institutions to perform an effective role in BRT selection and implementation.
The implications of the limited role of planning institutions in BRT decision-making have also
been shown by Rizvi and Sclar (2014). Changzhou et al. (2010) and Banerjee (2011) further
concluded that lack of involvement by city authorities, unrealistic considerations and ignorance
of local transport demands were the greatest challenges in achieving the long-term benefits
of mass transit modes in developing countries. The absence of a comprehensive transport
policy at the local level and the selection of the Istanbul model over the Bogota model have
shown that the selection of this policy option was not rational or technically appropriate. Here
an important question arises: If local-level institutions were not ready to implement BRT in the
local context, then why was this project selected and implemented in a period of 11 months’
time?
In my opinion, the role of the transport planning institutions was performed by the political
actors due to the absence of clear policy guidelines at the local level. The absence of policy
measures provided space for the international actors to impact on the policy decisions, but
also increased the political influence on planning. This situation led to the changes between
different mass transit options, delays in the policy transfer process, changes in design and
execution challenges faced by local experts. Overall, the local transport planning institutions
being without policy knowledge and with limited financial resources made the local planning
system more vulnerable. At the local level, policy guidance regarding the selection of mass
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transit technology could have given the transport planning institutions more authority and a
stronger position in the BRT transfer network.
To conclude, I have argued in this section that the policy transfer did not occur due to the
influence of an individual actor; instead, it occurred in the form of networks and connections
between various actors. Furthermore, in the transport policy transfer, the roles of actors were
not limited to human policy actors; instead, non-human actors such as mass transit technology
were significant parts of this process. Finally, through actor–network connections all the actors
played significant roles in relation to each other. However, some influential actors (in this case
technology and political actors) created stronger networks with more connections to support
a certain policy option (in this case the Istanbul Metrobus). Furthermore, the favourable
conditions (the PMLN being the ruling political party) helped to create stability in the network
connections of the Istanbul Metrobus. Thus, the complete process of BRT transfer was based
on relations and connections between actors, which in this research is discussed as
heterogenous network connections.
In short, the results of transferring the Istanbul Metrobus concept to Lahore on the basis of
political, contextual and socio-political connections confirm the findings of other studies on
BRT transfer in the Global South (Nguyen & Pojani, 2018; A. Wood, 2014, 2015, 2019b; Wu
& Pojani, 2016). However, the study findings also provide an additional dimension regarding
the heterogenous networking between political, international actors and transport technology.
In the next section I discuss how non-human actors also influenced the implementation of the
BRT concept at the local level.
Transfer of BRT – an outcome of the symbolic role of a non-human actor
The findings from Chapter 7 have highlighted that the central variation in the implementation
of BRT in Lahore was based on the role of the non-human actor the elevated route as part of
the BRT design. The local-level translation of BRT as an expensive, elevated and symbolic
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mass transit project is in contrast to the globally proposed concept of BRT as a low-cost
mobility option (Cervero, 2013; Hidalgo & Gutiérrez, 2013; Wright & Hook, 2007).
The translation analysis explored how the elevated busway design was an outcome of the
fascination of local policy actors with elevation as part of the design. This fascination with
elevation was created in three ways, first by looking at the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, which
is a part of the Istanbul Metrobus route. Second, by using the reference design report for the
Lahore light rail route (the Green route – the same route where light rail was first proposed
was later selected for the Metrobus). The proposed LRT design was elevated on this route;
therefore, to raise the standard of the Metrobus to become like rail, the option of elevation was
suggested by local actors. Third, the local actors looked at the 11 flyovers in the city that were
already provided for traffic ease and assumed that the elevated busway would act in the same
way. Although Woodcock and Stone (2016) reported multiple benefits of elevated routes for
light rail including increased ground-level connectivity, creation of more linear parks and
connecting more streets for cycling and walking. However, these design benefits were not
realised in the elevated design of the busway because in the Lahore BRT project, the concepts
of walking and bicycling were not considered. Furthermore, instead of providing linear parks
and walking paths, the park-and-ride concept was preferred and car parks were provided as
part of the project without considering the fact that car usage is only 8% of total modal share
in Lahore (A Aziz et al., 2018).
Therefore, the findings of this research have shown that BRT transformations regarding the
change in design of the route from on-ground to elevated were made mostly on a symbolic
basis. This result of the symbolic influence of a non-human actor supports the arguments of
the ANT approach that role of non-human elements is equally significant as of human actors
in social science (Callon & Blackwell, 2007; Latour, 2013b). Overall, the changes in BRT
translation at the local level are also consistent with the conclusions of policy mobilities
scholars who have described that similar policy concepts show different policy outcomes
across various geographies (McShane, 2016e; Si et al., 2020; Stone, 2012, 2017). McCann
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and Ward (2012, 2013) further identified transformations in the implementation of transferred
policy concepts based on contextual variances and called them the localisation of global
policies. Scholars of transport policy transfer in the Global South have also concluded that
outcomes of BRT as a policy concept are significantly different in the cities of southern Africa
and South America (A. Wood, 2014). Pojani and Stead (2015) further described the changes
in the outcomes of a non-motorised mobility policy of the Netherlands when transferred to
other European cities. Overall, policy mobilities studies have concluded that due to cultural
variances, geographical differences, changes in regulatory frameworks and changes in
institutional setups cause changes to occur in the original policy concept during policy transfer.
However, the results of this research provide an additional insight into policy transformation
by giving a translation analysis from the perspective of ANT and highlighting the role of a non-
human actor as a cause of policy changes. The translation analysis has explored the basis of
fascination with elevation in the BRT transfer in Lahore. The translation framework has also
highlighted that the elevated route inspired policymakers in three different ways, as described
in Chapter 7. Finally, local policymakers included the component of an elevated busway in the
BRT design to create a resemblance in design to the Bosphorus bridge and to the LRT project
without anticipating the increase in the cost of the BRT project which went against the planning
rationale that BRT is a low-cost mobility option.
The symbolic use of elevated BRT in politics
The findings from Chapter 7 have also identified the political use of the BRT concept in a
symbolic manner. The results show that local political actors favoured the elevated busway
option to avoid the need for land acquisition for an on-ground BRT route. The land acquisition
process could have delayed the project completion before the national election which was
announced to happen after one year. Another reason to avoid land acquisition was to avoid
conflict with the local community around the BRT route, because with land acquisition some
private properties could have been damaged and relocation of people from that area was
expected as well. Therefore, to avoid community conflicts before the election and for early
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completion of the project, the political actors promoted the design of elevated busway to use
the BRT symbolically as a showcase project to be re-elected.
After Lahore, five other cities of Pakistan also implemented the concept of an elevated route
as part of BRT design. The replication of this BRT design at the local level makes the case of
the elevated BRT a complex yet unique case of policy transfer. Initially the Chief Minister
Punjab implemented the elevated BRT in Punjab, but later the chief ministers of other two
provinces, KPK and Sindh, from different political parties also implemented the elevated BRT
concept there. Overall, the symbolic transfer of BRT promoted a political competition of
implementing BRTs between different political parties in Pakistan. These findings confirm the
argument of Latour (2005) that although the agency of non-humans is dissociated from
intentional influence, but the implications of non-human things can last longer than expected,
so it is risky and challenging to analyse the influence of non-humans on human actors.
The study findings showing the role of symbolism in the policy transfer also confirm the results
of Schneider (2012), who described policy transfer decisions can be inspirational, intuitive,
and symbolic, which can complicate the policy transfer process. According to Siemiatycki
(2006), the image of mega transport infrastructure plays a significant role in project approval,
particularly in developing countries where transport projects have a significant symbolic value.
The longer-term implications of the elevated route as a symbolic effect confirm that symbolism
can change the policy outcomes (Roy & Ong, 2011).
Pojani (2015) also highlighted that in developing countries often transport policy actors intend
to copy infrastructure models, designs and development policies from other cities while
ignoring the variations in local-level regulations. Furthermore, changes in institutional setups
have caused policy failures or changed the entire outcomes of similar policy concepts (Pojani
& Stead, 2015; Thomas et al., 2018). Ashmore et al. (2019) also described the role of
symbolism from the perspective of transit users who considered BRT a ‘poor cousin’ of rail
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transit. However, the findings of this study have identified the impacts of symbolism applied
by local policymakers on the outcomes of policy transfer.
The influence of symbolism in transferring the elevated BRT has highlighted the decision-
making approach of local policy actors. The focus of policymakers was more on enhancing
the image of the city, presenting BRT as a modern mass transit technology, or using it for
election purposes. The implementation of the elevated route decision in the Lahore Metrobus
project shows that local policy actors focused more on inspirations, physical designs, and
resemblance to LRT in infrastructure, but not much on the function and cost of the project.
Because the only function that the elevated route performed was preventing land from having
to be purchased for the bus corridor and the project being implemented in less time. However,
in terms of cost, this was significantly higher because to create the symbolic impact of
elevation, the Punjab government paid three times more than the original cost. The initial cost
of the 27 km single BRT route was 10 million USD, whereas after the elevated route design it
was 30 million USD (Interviewee, 2018).
The implementation of BRT in Pakistani cities differed from those in Bogota and Curitiba,
which are successful BRT models (Duarte & Rojas, 2012; Montero, 2017; Silva Ardila, 2020).
In those two model cities of BRT, the option of BRT was implemented in the form of a network
with multiple BRT routes all over the city. However, in Lahore only a single corridor of BRT
was introduced without having a plan for a complete network of BRT routes in future.
Furthermore, in the last 8 years no further BRT corridors have been developed and instead
another form of mass transit has been built which is light rail technology, named the Metro
Orange line train. If the elevation had not been decided on, perhaps there would have been
more funds to extend the network.
Transport planning studies have reported that the BRT concept can have flexible operation by
using existing road infrastructure and it can be more integrated (Cervero & Dai, 2014; Wright
& Hook, 2007). However, this flexibility and integration have not been realised because of the
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elevated route without any integration at the local level. Furthermore, in Lahore the BRT is
operating as a standalone public transport mode because it is not integrated with the local
urban buses of the LTC (Tabassum et al., 2016). In addition, the potential for transit-oriented
development is also being ignored by the local Lahore urban development authority (Imran et
al., 2021). The lack of integration with local transport modes and the single-route BRT project
shows that the emphasis of local policy actors in the BRT transfer was more on bringing a new
technology to the city to symbolise it for political purposes.
The most recent example of a symbolic transfer is the metro light rail orange train. This was
recently built with funds from China as part of the Belt and Road Initiative, China–Pakistan
Economic Corridor (Hussain et al., 2021; Imran et al., 2021). The implementation of a light rail
project on a single route of 27 km in Lahore instead of extending the BRT route shows the
influence of politics on transport, as well as the trend of introducing new transport projects in
a symbolic manner to present in election campaigns.
Overall, I have argued in this section that the symbolism in the BRT transfer was an outcome
of the fascination with elevated busways to look like the Bosphorus Bridge or to make the
Metrobus more like a train. The ANT analysis has shown that instead of assigning a central
role to local transport institutions, the main role in the BRT implementation was performed by
political actors using the influence of infrastructure design features. The political actors
focused more on the symbolic use of the BRT concept instead of considering the longer-term
implications of transferring the BRT concept to the country.
Therefore, this research suggests that a strategic, long-term, and comprehensive transport
planning approach could minimise the role of symbolism in transport planning projects.
Otherwise, ad hoc planning decisions made on a political, symbolic, or contextual basis while
transferring a foreign policy concept like BRT into the local context can result in expensive,
unexpected, and adverse planning outcomes, as was observed in this case study.
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The significance of ANT in policy transfer analysis
In this research I have used ANT as an analytical framework in combination with the
geopolitical lens of policy mobilities to examine the role of actors in BRT transfer. The use of
ANT approach in transport policy transfer analysis is helpful in exploring the complexity of
policy transfer because the ANT is based on a socio-technical analytical approach (John,
2009). Furthermore, the ANT concepts offer a coherent approach to incorporating the roles of
non-humans in a similar way to those of human actors to perform actions as part of a network
(Callon, 1999a; Latour, 1996c).
I have found the ANT approach particularly useful in transport policy transfer because, in
agreement with Marsden and Stead (2011), policies in the transport sector are comprised of
subjective concepts and planning tools such as technology, infrastructure, software etc. The
ANT analysis focuses on relational connections between humans and non-humans as part of
networks and explores how network connections are developed, instead of highlighting why
the networks are developed (Law, 2019). According to Latour (2013), explanation is not within
the scope of ANT, but the beauty of using ANT as a methodology is in finding descriptions of
actions through network connections. This means it shows how the actions are performed by
the actors without giving a judgment about why they performed these actions.
To provide insights into why in this research, I have used ANT methodology in combination
with the theoretical understanding of policy mobilities, which strengthens my analysis of the
policy transfer. I have used three main concepts of ANT in my research: the concept of
assemblages, which has identified the roles of human and non-human actors with equal
agency and capacity to perform any action (Latour, 1990). The concept of heterogeneous
networks, which has highlighted that actors performed their actions in networks but not in
isolation (Latour, 1996b, 1996a). The heterogenous network has also described how the
process of BRT transfer occurred through network associations between actors and
highlighted the significant role of the mass transit technology as a non-human actor as part of
the network. The last ANT concept I have used in my research is translation analysis (Callon,
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1984, 1999a). The potential of translation analysis allowed exploration of the fascination with
elevation developed by local policy actors.
The application of ANT as an ethnographic method has also been suggested in transport and
urban planning studies (Ruming et al., 2016; Rydin, 2013). Larner and Laurie (2010)
concluded that a methodological orientation with an emphasis on ethnographic techniques
can enhance the chances of a comprehensive policy transfer analysis. Rydin and Tate (2016)
reported that use of a translation framework is significant in describing details of urban
planning projects. Wang and Selina (2018) also used the ANT approach in establishing the
roles of non-humans in a belt and road initiative of transport planning. By using the ANT
approach, the consideration of new transport technologies, different mass transit options and
use of transport software can be demonstrated as part of transport policy options in urban
policy and planning studies (Bilodeau & Potvin, 2018; Boelens, 2009; Rydin, 2013).
Another significant feature of the ANT analysis is the transient nature of actor–network
connections, which means the roles of actors and their actions are not pre-determined cannot
be predicted either unless the process of translation happens. Such as the missing links of
actors like the public, the planning professionals, the urban designers were highlighted through
translation in ANT which otherwise was not determined before. Therefore, I have found this
feature of ANT very helpful in my policy transfer analysis because the actual outcomes of
policy transfer can be different from the expected outcomes, as I have found in this research.
Therefore, I suggest the use of ANT to strengthen the transport policy transfer analysis.
Discussion summary
This discussion of the empirical findings of this research has highlighted the complexity
regarding the roles of actors in transferring the foreign transport policy concept of BRT to the
local context in the absence of transport policy guidance and in a poorly integrated transport
planning system. I have described through the discussion how the agency of non-human
actors influenced the thinking of local actors and particularly how the political actors influenced
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the transport planning process by making policy decisions based on inspiration and
symbolism, instead of following a rational planning approach.
Overall, in this research, by using the ANT perspective for analysing a transport policy transfer
I have found that in Pakistan international actors were not the only source of influence on
policy decisions, as has been suggested in earlier studies (Imran & Low, 2009). Instead, the
agency of non-human actors also influenced the thinking of local policy actors to change policy
decisions when implementing a foreign policy solution in the local context.
The discussion in this chapter has shown that the overall findings of this research are
significant in three major respects for the study of transport policy transfer. First, in transport
policy transfer non-human actors are also part of policy transfer networks. Second, the
contextual variances between policy borrower and lender cities can change the outcomes of
the same policy when implemented in different places. Third, the ethnographic approach of
the ANT in combination with the geopolitical lens of policy mobilities is useful for transport
policy transfer analysis.
In the next chapter I conclude the overall research, which set out to answer questions
regarding the implications of BRT having a symbolic role in the transport policy transfer
process.
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Chapter 9 – Conclusion
This chapter summarises the findings of the thesis, identifies opportunities for further
research and concludes with an outlook.
Research overview
This research has explored the detailed process of transferring a transport policy concept from
one city to another city in another country and examined the contingencies of this process.
The study has examined the process of transferring the mass transit concept of Bus Rapid
Transit as a new transport policy to Lahore, Pakistan. The transfer story started with plans
for light rail lines but was in the end implemented ten years later as a Bus Rapid Transit line,
namely Lahore Metro Bus. The research explored the changes in policy transfer decisions,
the reasons behind those changes and the contingencies of policy transfer.
Contributing to the literature on transport policy transfer and particularly the transfer of BRT
in the Global South, the research has sought to answer the following research questions:
• Who were the key actors and what were their various roles in transferring BRT to Lahore,
Pakistan?
• How was the universal concept of BRT translated and adapted to the local geographical
and political contexts of Pakistan and how have these transformations influenced the
longer-term BRT outcomes?
To answer the first research question, the study explored the role of actors that were involved
in the decision to transfer the concept of BRT from Istanbul to Lahore. Furthermore, actors
who promoted other policy transfer options were also analysed. These were for example
international actors, such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Institution for
Transportation and Development Policy and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Actors in Pakistan included the Provincial Government of Punjab, The Lahore Transport
Company, the Provincial Transport Department Punjab, Lahore Development Authority
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and Traffic Engineering and Planning Agency Lahore. Moreover, non-human actors were also
studied, such as the light rail transit model, the Bogota BRT model, the Istanbul metro
bus model, transport policy documents, the infrastructure design model, and the elevated
route design. The role of actors was not only seen at the level of the individuals but analysed
as actor networks. The study has shown how various human and non-human actors were
connected to each other in the form of a heterogenous network of actors. In the actor network
of BRT transfer, I described the role of mass transit technology as a mediator (the central
actor who puts in motion the rest of the actors) in this network. The influence of light
rail technology instigated the local actors to start thinking about a policy transfer and the
process of transfer ended with the implementation of the Istanbul metro bus, which is another
form of mass transit technology. The role of international actors was as policy promoters
and the local political actors were the policy selectors who kept the network intact as well
as stable to perform the required action which in this case was the transfer of BRT.
In response to the second research question, the study has found that the translation of the
concept of BRT was impacted by the local context, and this led to some specific variations. By
using an ad hoc planning approach rather than having a strategic concept, local policymakers
focused on the physical forms of the transport infrastructure, instead of the functions and the
objectives to be achieved by those functions. In the absence of policy guidelines, there was a
limited role for local planning experts and instead local politicians and international actors who
were focused on political impacts and symbolism, rather than function, had strong influences
on decision-making. Overall, the limited participation of local experts, lack of proper planning
framework, inconsistent planning approach and political intervention, as well as changing
socio-political conditions in the country, shaped the translation of the concept of BRT in
Lahore. Regarding the outcomes at the local level, the study has shown that the focus on
symbolism led to an elevated BRT route that was expensive and did not resemble the low-
cost transit option which BRT is generally understood as and promoted as in transport
planning studies (Cervero, 2013; Wright & Hook, 2007).
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Key conclusions of the thesis
Limited role of local transport planning institutions in BRT transfer
The study has shown that the involvement of local transport planning institutions in the policy
transfer process was very limited in Lahore. The transport planning system was disjointed and
planning disjunctures at the national, provincial, and local levels created planning gaps and
limited the role of local transport institutions in the BRT transfer process.
The following describes how transport planning institutions could be involved in order to
enhance the outcomes of a policy transfer process.
1. Before starting a policy transfer process, it is necessary to analyse the local situation and
to understand how the policy fits into this local situation. Analysis of the local planning process
in Lahore has shown that the transport institutions, transport policy documents and transport
planning officials were the main actors in the transport decision-making process but were not
involved in the decision-making process on whether and how to transfer the BRT concept.
The planning experts of the LDA, the main agency in charge of urban planning in the city, were
not involved in transit decision-making. Therefore, a critical component of an integrated
transport planning strategy was missing from the start. Furthermore, no transport study was
conducted at the local level to analyse the opportunities and requirements of different transit
options in the local context. Local design engineers were involved in the implementation, but
only after the decision on the Metrobus had been made. For effective planning and
implementation of a foreign transport policy concept like BRT into a local context, mutual
coordination between transport-related institutions and urban planning institutions is required
throughout the whole process.
2. The research findings have shown that there was a lack of clear policy guidance regarding
the suitability, provision, planning, design, and implementation of mass transit options in the
Pakistani context. This means that the local policymakers were not sufficiently prepared to
implement and adjust possible mass transit options to the local context. This led to changes
between different mass transit options, planning delays, design changes and execution
194
challenges faced by local experts. Overall, comprehensive transport policy guidelines at the
local level could have enhanced the role of transport institutions in mass transit decision-
making and could have reduced the political influence on transport decisions as well.
3. The analysis has also described the lack of advanced technical knowledge and experience,
as well as the limited awareness, of local staff responsible for implementing the new transit
option. The concept of mass transit was a new policy solution for local policymakers and staff
in the local institutions and agencies. Their limited exposure and lack of practical knowledge
about transit options and new design requirements impacted on the roles of local experts in
the decision-making and implementation processes. A feasibility study for different transport
options could have improved the knowledge and understanding of the new policy concepts
among staff members.
Roles of actors in the form of actor networks in BRT transfer
The results of this research have shown that the roles of actors as an overall actor network
are more influential than their individual roles. A contribution of this study is in describing the
roles of non-human actors in combination with human actors as part of the BRT transfer
network. This research has shown that BRT transfer does not happen only with networks of
human policy actors; instead, nonhuman actors also create certain influences on the minds of
human policy actors, influencing policy choices as a part of policy transfer process.
In previous research the role of global policy transfer networks has been discussed in
relational and contextual manners with a focus on network connections between human
policy actors (Marsden & Stead, 2011; Stone et al., 2020; A. Wood, 2019a). However, this
study found that in Lahore the influence of mass transit technology was also an important
factor in establishing policy transfer networks. The ANT analysis also indicated that the role of
transit technology cannot be analysed in isolation, instead the focus of analysis was on mutual
connections between mass transit technology and other international, national, and local level
actors as a part of the policy transfer network. Therefore, this study concludes that in Lahore
195
the BRT policy transfer has happened through heterogenous connections between human
and non-human actors in the form of actor networks.
The following highlights the different roles of human and non-human actors in the BRT
transfer actor network.
1. The thesis study has found that non-human actors played significant roles in creating
network connections with human actors as part of the policy transfer. The actor network
analysis has described the significant influence of different modes of mass transit technology
such as light rail, Bus Rapid Transit, and the Metro Bus model on the local policy transfer
network. The human policy actors were inspired by mass transport technology features
they observed during their site visits. Other non-human actors in this case were transport
policy documents, the project cost, the image of infrastructure features, implementation time
and the mass transit design models. The influence of non-human actors created purposeful
network connections between different humans, and they preferred different mass transit
technology modes because of this influence but also as per their own interests.
2. The research analysis has shown the role that international consultants and funding
agencies played as policy promoters for the mass transit concept in Pakistan. They suggested
to local actors that there was a need for mass transit solutions in Lahore. The international
actors promoted light rail transit as a modern public transport solution because they could be
part of this project to provide technical and financial services among other reasons. The
international studies for the Lahore mass transit system by JICA, the loan agreement with
ADB and the technical assistance grant from the World Bank for the light rail project
indicate that light rail was the preferred choice of international actors.
Previous studies of transport planning in Pakistan have also acknowledged the influential role
of international funding agencies in the promotion of private modes of motorised mobility
(Imran, 2009). However, this research has highlighted the influential engagement of
international agencies in the public transport sector of the country as well by showing that how
196
they promoted the idea of mass transit options at the local level in Pakistan. The international
actors mainly promoted light rail as a modern, efficient, and technically advanced transport
option which shows that they did not consider the limited financial and technical capacity of
the local transport institutions in Pakistan.
3. The analysis has also shown the significant roles of local politicians who used the mass
transit technology projects for political purposes to get re-elected. I have described in my
findings that three different political parties in Pakistan preferred different modes of mass
transit. Starting from the national level, in 2007 the PML-Q which was the ruling
political party at the federal level supported the light rail project for Lahore. In 2010 after
national elections, another political party PPP gained power at the federal level and
proposed the Bogota model of BRT for Lahore. However, at the provincial level in the Punjab
Province, the party in power, PML-N, opposed the Bogota option and supported the transfer
of the Istanbul metro bus model. Overall, the political rivalry between ruling parties adversely
impacted the rationality of transport planning.
I have further highlighted that the selection of the Istanbul model was made merely on an
inspirational and political basis. The Chief Minister of Punjab of the PML-N, who had the
administrative as well as financial powers of the province used his influential role and
promoted the transit technology transfer in a political manner. He preferred the Metrobus
option because he was influenced by the technology features of the Istanbul Metrobus that
he travelled on during his visit to Istanbul in 2010. He was inspired by advanced transit
features which distinguish the Metrobus as a superior mode of over local buses.
These findings show the roles of international actors and political actors in the selection of
mass transit technology options and that in the transport policy transfer process, the role of
mass transit technology (in this case BRT technology) cannot be considered in isolation based
on its technical characteristics. Instead, the BRT exchange is a case of socio-technical transfer
where the process of mass transit selection is embedded in the social, political, and economic
contexts of the local case.
197
In my understanding, the choice and implementation of mass transit technology was more a
political project driven in part by the absence of a comprehensive transport planning policy at
the local level. This absence limited the roles of transport institutions and professionals, but
also created space for international and political actors to influence the decision-making
process. The political actors used the influence and inspiration of mass transit technology and
ignored planning rationality in the decision-making process.
Overall, the results of this research confirm the findings of Ashmore et al., (2019), Nguyen &
Pojani (2018) and Wood, (2015) that BRT transfer is an outcome of technical, social, political,
and economic aspects and not just a rational and technical decision for the best transport
policy option. However, this research has highlighted the additional dimension of how the
influence of non-human actors can also significantly contribute to BRT transfer.
Role of symbolism in BRT translation at the local level
The study has found that symbolism can influence and change the outcomes of policy
transfer. Influence is a form of agency according to the ANT approach which shapes the
actions of human actors. Such as in Lahore the elevated busway design was adapted to create
resemblance in infrastructure designs, but the elevated route has changed the low-cost BRT
option into a high-cost BRT project – a unique Pakistani adaptation.
While Ashmore et al. (2018, 2019) also highlighted the impacts of symbolism on policy transfer
of BRT from the perspective of transport users in developing countries, the findings of this
study identify the impacts of symbolism applied by local policymakers on the outcomes of BRT
during policy transfer. Furthermore, the implications of symbolism were found more often in
developing countries’ transport policy transfer cases where policy makers often borrowed
policy solutions from developed countries (Ashmore et al., 2018; Nguyen & Pojani, 2018).
However, the focus here was the influence of symbolism, generated in part domestically
once the transfer had started, in the implementation of the transferred BRT concept.
The following details the influence of symbolism in BRT transfer further.
198
1. The research has examined the symbolic use of physical design features of the transport
infrastructure in the policy transfer process in Lahore. The elevation of parts of the BRT route
was created during the transfer process to create similarity with the design features of the
transferred BRT concept, as well as previously considered transit options.
Firstly, the elevated route created a resemblance to the Istanbul Metrobus, which has an
elevated element because of the Bosphorus Bridge. In this case the design feature was used
as a policy element to create resemblance between the policy borrower and lender in the
policy transfer process. Secondly, the elevated route created similarity in design with the
previously proposed light rail route. The local policymakers wanted to imply through a similar
design that the option of BRT was overall like light rail because they considered light rail to be
superior to bus transit. By assigning a symbolic role to the infrastructure design and transit
technology features, the local designers introduced the component of the elevated route as
part of BRT to show that the implemented option of the Metrobus was not inferior to the
previously proposed option of light rail.
Another reason for introducing the elevation was that it made the implementation fast and less
contested. The elevated route option ensured a fast, unrestricted, and dedicated route for BRT
and avoided conflicts with local traffic along congested parts of the city. In addition, the
elevated route did not take away traffic lanes from existing road space, avoiding rivalry with
other road users. Finally, elevation allowed to avoid the challenges of land acquisition for
additional road space which could have delayed the project because of resistance from
citizens. Furthermore, transport engineers in Lahore were familiar with the concept of flyovers
to reduce local traffic congestion and similar approach was preferred in case of BRT route as
well. By deciding for an elevated route of BRT, the project could be implemented before the
next election without conflicts with residents, albeit no longer as a low-cost transit option.
Overall, the decision for the elevated route in the local level translation was based on non-
cognitive, political, and symbolic reasons to create design similarity with light rail
199
and the Bosporus Bridge or for early completion to use metro bus as a show case project in
the next elections.
2. The study also helps to uncover a critical moment in the development of Pakistan’s mass
transit projects, as the decision to elevate Lahore’s BRT has been faithfully and uncritically
reproduced at local level. After Lahore the design for BRT projects implemented in other
Pakistani cities such as Multan, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and Peshawar, as well as the
proposed route in Karachi, all feature an elevated route, making the elevation a common
feature in all Pakistani BRTs. The common use of an elevated route as part of BRT transfer
confirms the argument that the policy transfer in Pakistan was influenced by symbolism. The
implementation of an elevated route in all the BRT designs for Pakistani cities also confirms
that the planning approach of local policymakers is more physical than strategic. Furthermore,
it highlights the local planning practices focus more on the appearance of the infrastructure.
3. The study has further shown the outcomes of symbolism in policy transfer. Although the
introduction of the elevated route created a resemblance in the physical features of the policy
transfer, but it has the unintended consequence of transforming BRT into a high-cost transport
project in all the Pakistani cities. In other words, the universal concept of BRT was changed
at the local level in Pakistan by negating one of the main reasons why BRT is generally
suggested as a suitable transport option for developing countries. Overall, the decision of
introducing an elevated route in the Lahore Metrobus design shows the short-term planning
approach focused on election cycles adopted by local policy makers. It also shows that these
decisions while being ad-hoc, have long lasting, adverse, and expensive planning outcomes.
Potential of ANT to broaden transport policy transfer analysis
In this study I have explored the story of how BRT was transferred to Lahore. Unlike the
conventional approach of policy transfer studies focusing on human policy actors (Stone,
2017; Thomas et al., 2018; A. Wood, 2015), this study has extended the network analysis to
non-human actors. To understand the roles of non-human actors, the analytical approach of
ANT was used because of organic nature of links between various actors as networks.
200
The ANT analysis extends knowledge about policy transfer networks by broadening the
analysis to non-human actors in the form of actor networks. The ANT analysis has shown how
the local policy actors were influenced by different mass transit technology features during
their site visits to Tokyo and Istanbul. The translation analysis has further shown how the local
policy actors imagined that an elevated route could create resemblance to the Bosphorus
Bridge and how, by using design ideas of the previously planned light rail route the standard
of the Metro Bus will emulate light rail. Overall, the ANT approach provided an ethnographic
lens to analyse the existence of non-human actors who create changes in network
associations like the influence of technology, the resemblance of infrastructure design and the
implementation of an elevated route in all BRT projects of Pakistan to create a similar
symbolism in all the cities. Using a conventional policy transfer analysis would not have
allowed to identify the influential, inspirational, and symbolic role of mass transit technology
and infrastructure design in BRT transfer, which ANT has done in this study.
Therefore, using ANT approach in policy transfer analysis can assist in examining the impacts
of small or even arbitrary actions as a part of policy transfer process. From the experience of
the policy transfer analysis in this study, the use of ANT approach is recommended to study
transport policy transfer process particularly in cases with multiple actors where instead of
hierarchy the connections between actors are important.
The findings of this research have practical as well theoretical implications. In practical terms,
the research has identified the roles of actors and the local-level variations in the transferred
concept of BRT. This provides lessons for the policymakers of other cities who are interested
in implementing the concept of BRT in future. Although the results of policy transfer case
studies are highly contextualised, many cities in developing countries can learn from the
experience of Lahore due to similar socio-economic conditions. In addition to the conventional
policy transfer approach the use of ANT as an ethnographic approach has been used,
which broadens the analysis to non-human actors which is a new dimension in transport policy
transfer studies of global south.
201
Policy recommendations
Based on the research findings this study presents the following policy recommendations to
be considered while transferring transport policy solutions from one place to another.
1. During policy transfer process instead of focusing merely on physical features of
transport infrastructure, the institutional, cultural, political, and social considerations
need to be focused as well. Because reliance only on physical planning approach can
lead towards biased decision making and may impact the outcomes of transferred
policy concepts as well such as found in the case of Lahore metro bus transfer.
2. The presence of comprehensive transport policy guidance at local level is a key
requirement to identify the local needs before importing any foreign transport policy
solution. Therefore, to achieve long term implications of any foreign transport policy it
must be locally contextualized.
3. Transport policy transfer is not always a democratic process of decision making
instead it can be an outcome of a some highly influential group of actors making an
intact network but of few actors. Therefore, the public participation should be more
involved to make it as a democratic process of policy transfer. Furthermore, the roles
of actors in policy transfer need to be analyzed in relation with each other but not in
isolation as individual actors and ANT can be used as an extended analytical approach
in policy transfer studies.
Research limitations
While this research has contributed to knowledge by analyzing how the policy transfer of BRT
took place in Lahore, it is always difficult to generalize findings from a single case study.
However, the case study approach provides an opportunity to analyze in-depth details and to
develop a deep understanding with thick descriptions of selected research aspects. The
approach of detailed description is particularly suitable in policy transfer analysis, where the
researcher focuses on the detailed roles of various actors and the changes in mutual
connections and their implications for policy outcomes. Previous policy transfer studies have
202
also applied the case study approach and shared their findings, assuming that cities with
similar socio-economic conditions can learn from each other (Marsden et al., 2011; Pojani &
Stead, 2015; A. Wood, 2020). The findings from this case study of Lahore provide a deep
understanding of the roles of actors not as individuals but in the form of actor networks as part
of the transfer process. This perspective on policy transfer can be relevant to other developing
cities with similar socio-economic conditions where international actors, political leaders and
local experts are engaged as part of transferring foreign transport policy concepts to the local
context.
Another limitation of the study is the limited access to JICA and the international officials of
Turkey who were important actors in this actor network. Furthermore, the technical and
financial aspects of the BRT concept and its impact on policy outcomes are not part of the
analysis in this study. As I wanted to focus on the understanding of policy actors which I believe
are particularly important for developing countries, when introducing BRT as a foreign
transport policy solution. Furthermore, the financial and technical aspects of BRT have been
examined by many studies while studies of transport policy transfer in developing countries
are very few. Therefore, this study is based on a qualitative methodology and data collection,
and uses semi-structured interviews, focus groups and personal field observation notes as the
main data sources. There is a risk for misinterpretation of data in the interview analysis, but to
minimize this risk I triangulated and verified interview results through document analysis where
possible.
Implications for future research
This research highlights that in an international transport policy transfer process, the transfer
of a transport technology such as BRT is not merely a neutral exchange of transport
infrastructure between two countries. Instead, the universal understanding of a foreign policy
concept can be changed in the local context depending upon the culture, engagement of local
actors and local socio-political conditions in a country. Therefore, future research needs to
203
analyse in more detail the local variations, cultural connections, political strategies, and their
implications for policy transfer.
The consideration of local-level variations in transport policy transfer is very important and
helpful to policy transfer cases in developing countries, where often foreign options are
preferred as proposed by international policy proponents without analysing the implications
for the local context. In future studies, the relationships between new transport policy concepts
and local conditions can be explored in relation to each other to enhance the outcomes of
transferred policies.
This study also presents the use of ANT approach in policy transfer studies as an opportunity
to explore the relations between various actors and describe the roles of non-human actors.
Contemporary policy transfer studies argue that the outcomes of the transfer of similar policy
concepts differ between different places due to contextual, cultural, social, administrative and
political changes (Pojani, 2020b; A. Wood, 2014). This research shows how the ANT approach
can explore relations between human and non-human actors as part of the policy transfer.
The consideration of both people and technology as actors in relation to each other in policy
transfer networks can provide useful insights for policy transfer scholarship. Future research
could explore the reasons for the changing roles of non-human actors and their implications
for the transferred policy concepts as part of transport policy transfer.
Outlook
The empirical findings of this thesis show that the transfer of a transport policy concept is not
merely a neutral exchange of transport technology or modern transport infrastructure to
enhance mobility options. Instead, it is a heterogenous process and the outcome of an intact
network of policymakers, transport technology and transport planning institutions. To restrict
or support the transfer process, these actors develop mutual connections. However, without
clear policy and planning guidelines, the actual outcomes of policy transfer can differ from the
expected outcomes. In the absence of clear policy guidelines, quick, easy-to-implement and
politically convenient planning decisions can develop long-lasting, expensive, and unexpected
204
planning outcomes, as observed in this study. In contrast, a comprehensive policy framework
with clearly defined objectives and roles for actors can minimise the implications of symbolism
in planning and enhance the outcomes of implementing a foreign transport policy concept into
a local context.
This study has also shown that based on symbolism, BRT has been transformed into a more
expensive version not only in the case study, but also in five further cities in Pakistan. The
implementation of such high-cost mega transport projects based on symbolism or physical
appearance in a developing country like Pakistan with limited financial resources raises the
question of whether there were additional geopolitical reasons behind the transfer and
eventual design of BRT in Lahore: was it to provide low-cost transit mobility in the country or
to compete with the neighbouring countries of India, Iran and China where some cities had
already implemented modern mass transit systems? The rivalry between different political
parties and significant political influence on transport projects also impacted on the rationality
of the transport planning process. Overall, the research findings show that BRT transfer in
Pakistan was based on symbolism and modernism and seen as a chance to impress the local
voters for election benefits. The following interview quote from a local planner expresses this
finding in a fitting metaphor: ‘BRT in our city is just an artificial jewel worn over shabby attire’.
205
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