Transport and traffic in Tehran, Iran

The earliest involvement of the City Council of Tehran, Iran, in public transport was in 1919 when a Belgian company was awarded a contract to lay rail tracks in five of the streets in the city for horse-driven wagons. The population of Tehran was well under 500 000 and the city was small. Before that period the public transport had consisted of a few horses and carriages run by individuals. Now Metropolitan Tehran reaches over an area of approximately 1500 km² with a population of over 12 million. The city authorities are faced with extreme motor traffic congestion, causing delays, wastage of time and an acute health hazard from pollution. The city authorities are deeply involved in efforts to reduce the traffic congestion. The objective of this paper is to assess how the Tehran Traffic Authority is proceeding with the management of the problem of traffic congestion and the effects of a number of technical measures which have been implemented.