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This paper has two key objectives. Firstly, using the findings from case study research undertaken in Colombo (Sri Lanka), Faisalabad (Pakistan) and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), the paper seeks to demonstrate the importance of an appropriate regulatory framework and effective mechanisms of enforcement for sustainable urban transport systems in developing countries. Secondly, the paper highlights the critical importance of communication and co-ordination between stakeholders (defined here as transport users, providers and regulators) if regulation is to be effective. The views of poor and disadvantaged passenger groups-women, children, the elderly and disabled-are used in the paper to illustrate the importance of transport systems to their livelihoods, such as work, education, health and social pursuits. The case studies suggest that in the context of the failure of both the fully regulated public transport sector and the completely deregulated sector self regulation is a potentially useful alternative. In practice self regulation has been achieved in the case study locations through the formation of cooperatives or associations of stakeholders such as users and operators.In the conclusion, the paper makes two key points. Firstly, that regulation must be open, honest and effective, but not so detailed or 'heavy' that it incites the potential for corrupt practices Secondly, communication and co-ordination between stakeholders is critical if any form of regulation is to be effective-owners', employees' and passengers' associations have a vital role in this regard, as do Transport Forums consisting of all stakeholders. The participation of stakeholders and real and effective consultation are more important in the case of self regulation of public transport service provision than in other regulatory regimes.

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Telemonitoring of elderly people in their homes using video cameras is complicated by privacy concerns, and hence sound has emerged as a promising alternative that is more acceptable to users. We investigate methods to address the accuracy degradation of sound classification that arises in the presence of background noise typical of a practical telemonitoring situation. A dual microphone configuration is used to record a database of Sounds of Daily Life (SDL) in a kitchen. We introduce a new algorithm employing the eigenvalues of the cross-spectral matrix of the recorded signals to detect the endpoints of a SDL in the presence of background noise. Independent component analysis is also used to improve the signal to noise ratio of the SDL. Results on a 7-class noisy SDL classification problem show that the error rate the proposed SDL classification system can be improved by up to 97% relative to a single-microphone system without noise reduction techniques, when evaluated on a large SDL database with SNRs in the range 0-28 dB.

Improving access to transport systems and mobility of people with disabilities is a necessary element of alleviating poverty in developing countries. A selected overview of the progress made toward achieving improved access is provided. It is based on an ongoing 3-year research program on access needs and approaches in a selection of developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. A generalized framework is suggested for describing the progress made across different countries. Many least developed countries are at the bottom of a continuum of activities in which issues of human rights and access to basic mobility are still paramount. Others, such as countries in Latin America, have made significant progress on access issues in major cities and are faced with challenges of expanding improvements to noncore areas and to less well-regulated modes. The framework is used to suggest some critical priorities for countries at various levels of development.