Overview of Transportation in Kabul City, Afghanistan

Afghanistan and its capital, Kabul, are often in the news as they recover from the years of war with the help of the international community and in particular the United States. Much of the transportation infrastructure has either been damaged or has deteriorated due to lack of regular maintenance over the last three decades. This article presents an overview of the current state of transportation in Kabul and highlights the opportunities for improving the transportation situation through practical research. Specifically, this article discusses the layout and demographics of Kabul, the system of roads, the traffic composition and demand, the public transportation system, the freight and air transportation systems, the traffic regulations, highway safety, transportation security and vehicle emissions. By outlining the current state of affairs, the potential areas of research and improvement are identified. Two important areas of research include systematic planning to rectify the haphazard development that occurred in recent years and creative traffic control strategies to improve highway efficiency and safety. Out of the past destruction of transportation infrastructure arises a Phoenix-like opportunity to re-birth a brand new transportation system for Kabul.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Habibzai, Abdullah
  • Habibzai, Shabnam
  • Sun, Carlos
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 90th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2011-1-23 to 2011-1-27
• Date: 2011

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: DVD
• Features: Maps; Photos; References;
• Pagination: 16p
• Monograph Title: TRB 90th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Demographics; Highways; Infrastructure; Maintenance; Safety and security; Structural deterioration and defects; Traffic control devices; Transportation; Transportation planning; Vehicle mix
• Uncontrolled Terms: Destruction
• Geographic Terms: Kabul (Afghanistan)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01337725
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 11-1568
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Apr 25 2011 2:44PM